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Iraq

US Investigators Visit Homes of 2 Palestinian-American Teens Killed in West Bank

Voice of America - Fri, 02/16/2024 - 01:20
JERUSALEM — The families of two Palestinian-American teenagers killed in separate but eerily similar incidents in the West Bank say investigators from the U.S. Embassy have visited their homes to look into the shootings.  The launch of U.S. probes into the killings of Mohammad Khdour and Tawfic Abdel Jabbar reflects what appears to be a lack of confidence in the Israeli justice system to properly investigate the cases. Rights groups have long said that Israeli investigations into killings...
Categories: Iraq

Red Sea Attacks Foster Arab-Israeli Trade Link by Land

Voice of America - Thu, 02/15/2024 - 19:43
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — Houthi drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping have spurred the development of an alternative “land bridge” to carry cargo by truck from the Persian Gulf across Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Israel and Egypt. The project, which is already seeing dozens of trucks per day reach the Israeli port of Haifa, is seen as an early benefit of the 2020 Abraham Accords normalizing ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. It bodes well for future cooperation between...
Categories: Iraq

Nightmare Far from Over for Eritrean Refugees Caught in Gaza War’s Crossfire

Voice of America - Thu, 02/15/2024 - 16:36
The nightmare of the October 7th attacks by Hamas gunmen and the war that’s followed them is far from over for Eritrean refugees in southern Israel. With no Israeli IDs and limited access to benefits, the refugees - twice displaced - are struggling to rebuild their lives as the war in nearby Gaza shows no signs of ending. VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from the southern Israeli port city of Ashkelon.
Categories: Iraq

US CENTCOM Says Its Forces Seized Iranian Arms Bound for Houthis on Jan. 28 

Voice of America - Thu, 02/15/2024 - 15:34
DUBAI — U.S. forces seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid from Iran that were bound for Houthi-held areas of Yemen on a vessel in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 28, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Thursday.  Over 200 packages containing medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military...
Categories: Iraq

Israeli Airstrikes Kill 10 Lebanese Civilians in 1 Day

Voice of America - Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:13
BEIRUT — The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese state media reported Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest one in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for the strikes, which hit in the city of Nabatiyeh and a village in southern Lebanon, just hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier. In Nabatiyeh, the strike knocked down part of a...
Categories: Iraq

Blasts Hit Natural Gas Pipeline in Iran That Official Calls Act of Sabotage

Voice of America - Thu, 02/15/2024 - 03:11
dubai, united arab emirates — Explosions struck a natural gas pipeline in Iran early on Wednesday, with an official blaming the blasts on a "sabotage and terrorist action" in the country as tensions remain high in the Middle East amid Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Details were scarce, though the blasts hit a natural gas pipeline running from Iran's western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province up north to cities on the Caspian Sea. The roughly 1,270-kilometer...
Categories: Iraq

Istanbul’s Christians in Fear After Islamic State Church Attack

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 22:43
Turkish security forces are detaining hundreds of people in the aftermath of an Islamic State attack on an Istanbul church. Authorities are warning of further attacks against Jews and Christians. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Leaders of Turkey, Egypt Work to Stop Israel's Looming Offensive in Gaza's Rafah

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 20:33
Cairo — Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Edrogan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, united their efforts Wednesday in Cairo, calling for a halt to Israel's looming offensive on a southern Gaza city in its war against Hamas. Erdogan's visit comes as ties between Ankara and Cairo are back on track after years of tensions and frosty relations. Turkey has long been a backer of the pan-Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, which has been outlawed as a terrorist...
Categories: Iraq

Indian PM Modi Opens Hindu Temple in UAE Ahead of Elections

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 18:13
ABU MUREIKHA, United Arab Emirates — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Middle East's first traditional, stone-built Hindu temple on Wednesday, internationalizing his reelection campaign and his effort to push secular India into a Hindu state.  The trip to the BAPS Hindu Mandir just north of the city of Abu Dhabi capped Modi's whistlestop tour of the United Arab Emirates during which the Indian leader embraced the UAE's president, describing him as a brother, and...
Categories: Iraq

Palestinians Say West Bank Settler Attacks on Rise Since October 7

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 16:34
West Bank Palestinians say that since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israeli settlers have significantly increased acts of violence against them, with the aim of forcing the Palestinians to abandon their homes. A settler council, however, denies these allegations, saying incidents have decreased. For VOA, Linda Gradstein reports from the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.  Camera: Ricki Rosen     
Categories: Iraq

UN Seeks Taliban's Presence at Qatar-Hosted Huddle on Afghanistan

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 14:52
ISLAMABAD — The United Nations says it would like to see Taliban representatives attend a two-day international conference on Afghanistan that will take place in Qatar next week. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Wednesday the Taliban would participate in the February 18 meeting, provided they are received as official representatives of Afghanistan. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host the two-day session, with member states and regional organizations’ special...
Categories: Iraq

It’s Not Time for Our Troops to Leave the Middle East

NY Times Iraq - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 09:00
Should U.S. troops stay in Syria and Iraq, or should they go? And if they stay, how does American leadership prevent these attacks from continuing?
Categories: Iraq

US Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific

Voice of America - Wed, 02/14/2024 - 04:39
The U.S. Senate approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan early Tuesday. But as VOA's Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, the bill faces a tough path to passage in the Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives.
Categories: Iraq

UNRWA Chief: Agency Essential to Respond to Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

Voice of America - Tue, 02/13/2024 - 23:37
Geneva — The head of the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees has dismissed calls for it to be disbanded and says that UNRWA is the best positioned agency to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “I have talked with the member states about all these calls for UNRWA to be dismantled, to be terminated and I have warned about the impact. I have said that these calls are short-sighted,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA. Major donors, including the United...
Categories: Iraq

Gaza Tops Agenda as Erdogan Visits Cairo to Mark Turkey-Egypt Reset

Voice of America - Tue, 02/13/2024 - 20:24
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Egypt Wednesday (Feb 14), after more than a decade to mark a reset in ties between the two regional powerhouses. The Israel-Hamas war is expected to top the agenda. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
Categories: Iraq