Iraq Executes 3 Over 2016 Islamic State Group Bombing Iraq has reportedly hanged three people convicted for a 2016 bombing that was claimed by the Islamic State group (IS). Military
Iraq Bans Media Using Term ‘Homosexuality,’ Must Instead say ‘Sexual Deviance’ The Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC) ordered all media and social media companies operating in Iraq to avoid using the term "homosexuality" and instead say "sexual deviance." Iraq
Islamic State Group Confirms Leader's Death On Thursday, the Islamic State group (IS) confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, and named Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as his successor. Military
UN Complaint Lodged Over Turkish Airstrikes on Iraqi Hospital Two nongovernmental organizations — the Accountability Unit and Women for Justice — have lodged a formal complaint with the UN concerning Turkish airstrikes in 2021 which allegedly targeted an Iraqi hospital. World
Sweden Moves Iraq Embassy Operations To Stockholm On Friday, Sweden's foreign ministry announced that expatriate staff and operations at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad had been temporarily relocated to Stockholm for security reasons. Politics
Iraq: Protesters Set Fire to Swedish Embassy Iraqi protesters, reportedly angered by Quran burnings in Sweden, stormed and set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday. World
US Bans 14 Iraqi Banks in Crackdown on Iran Dollar Trade According to US officials, the Treasury Dept. and the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York have barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting US dollar transactions as part of a crackdown on transferring US currency to Iran and other sanctioned countries. World
Iraq's Sudani and Syria’s Assad Hold Talks in Damascus Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani traveled to Syria this past weekend. He met with Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in the first visit by an Iraqi leader since the onset of the Syrian civil war. World
CENTCOM: US Conducts Raid on IS Leader in Northwest Syria US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that its forces had launched a helicopter raid in northwest Syria which resulted in the 'probable death' of a senior Islamic State (IS) leader as well as two 'armed individuals.'... Syria
Al Jazeera: Hindu Mob Set Fire to Historic Library at Muslim School On Monday, Al Jazeera reported that Madrassa Azizia, a prominent Muslim school in Bihar Sharif town of Nalanda district in eastern India’s Bihar state, was set on fire by a mob on the occasion of the Hindu festival Ram Navami.... Terrorism
Iraqi Govt Signs Internal Deal to Resume Oil Exports Through Turkey Iraq's federal government and its Kurdistan autonomous region signed an accord Tuesday to restart oil exports through Turkey after oil shipments were halted 10 days ago.... Russia
Top Iranian, Saudi Envoys Meet in China Following China's mediation of a deal to restore relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia last month, the foreign ministers of both nations met in Beijing on Thursday for the first formal gathering of their top diplomats since 2016, when relations between the two countries became highly contentiou... Yemen
Afghanistan: Taliban Carries Out Raid on Islamic State Group Hideout Taliban forces killed six members of the Islamic State group (IS) in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province during an overnight raid on Monday.... Syria
UK Military Record on Civilians Killed in Iraq, Syria Questioned New questions have emerged regarding an admission made by the UK in May 2018 that its military had killed one civilian in eastern Syria two months earlier — the only civilian casualty they have acknowledged. Then defense secretary Gavin Williamson told parliament that the strike was not logged ... Syria
CENTCOM: US Military Kills Top IS Leader in Syria The US military has announced that it killed Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri — who it accused of participating in the planning of Islamic State (IS) attacks in Europe — in an undisclosed location in Syria via a drone strike. No civilians were reported to have been killed or injured.... Syria
NASA Names First Woman and Black Man for Moon Mission The US space agency NASA has named four astronauts, three Americans and one Canadian, for the Artemis-2 lunar mission. Among them are the first woman and first Black man to partake in a mission to the Moon - Christina Koch and Victor Glover.... Space
Oil Prices Surge After OPEC+ Surprise Output Cuts Fuel prices rose sharply after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ countries announced a surprise round of output cuts on Sunday. The 1.16M barrel-per-day ('bpd') cuts could potentially spell trouble for global inflation, which was slowing down just days after an optimistic report on US price data.... Russia
US Senate Votes to Advance Repeal of Iraq War Authorization In a 65 to 28 vote, the US Senate decided Monday to advance legislation to repeal two decades-old authorizations for past wars in Iraq as the US government considers its posture toward the legislative process for sending troops into combat. Politics
Libya: Missing Uranium Recovered, Say Eastern Forces Ten drums of uranium ore that had been reported missing in Libya were recovered on Thursday near the border with Chad, according to armed forces in the country's east. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it is 'actively working to verify' the reports.... Africa
Syria: Assad Welcomes New Russian Bases After Putin Meeting On Thursday, Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad reportedly expressed support for any potential Russian bid to establish new military bases and permanently expand Russia's military presence in the country.... Ukraine
Iran's Supreme Leader Orders Punishment For Schoolgirls Poisoning Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday stated that the perpetrators of the alleged poisonings of schoolgirls across the country must face the death penalty, as responsible organizations are still investigating the origin of this crime.... Iran
Watchdog Report on Afghan Collapse Blames Withdrawal, Lack of Planning A report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released on Monday claimed that years of problems with planning and US oversight, along with the withdrawal of American troops, contributed to the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul in 2021.... Afghanistan
US Warns China Against Arming Russia As US officials report China is considering supplying the Russian military with artillery and ammunition for its war in Ukraine, US Pres. Biden's admin. is warning China that there would be serious consequences if it provided military assistance.... South Africa
Report: US Considers Releasing Intelligence on Potential Chinese Arming of Russia On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) — citing unnamed US officials — reported that the Biden admin. is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows that China is deciding if it should supply weapons to support Russia in the war in Ukraine.... South Africa
At Least 53 Civilians Killed in Attack in Syrian Desert Syrian state media reported that at least 53 people were killed southwest of Sukhna in the Homs province last Friday while picking for truffles. State media, as well as Western sources, have attributed the attack to the Islamic State (IS).... Syria