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Iraq

Israel Cabinet to Vote on 2024 Wartime Budget, Higher Deficit

Voice of America - Mon, 01/15/2024 - 03:24
Jerusalem — Israeli cabinet ministers Sunday began what is expected to be a marathon session on approving an amended 2024 budget to account for a sharp rise in spending to finance the country's war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Typically, the discussions last into the night and a vote may not occur until daybreak on Monday. Israel last year approved a two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, but the war against Hamas in Gaza has shaken government finances, requiring budget changes...
Categories: Iraq

Mental Strain, Deepening Risks as Israel-Hamas War Reaches 100 Days

Voice of America - Mon, 01/15/2024 - 03:11
Jerusalem — One hundred days after Hamas gunmen broke out of Gaza to launch the deadliest attack in Israel's history, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, Gaza lies in ruins and the Middle East is sliding toward a wider, more unpredictable conflict. For both Israelis and Palestinians, the war has been a trauma that looks likely to last for years, deepening the hostility and mistrust that have stood in the way of peace for more than 75 years. "No one will win,"...
Categories: Iraq

Crew of Iran-Held Tanker Safe, Greek Owners Say

Voice of America - Mon, 01/15/2024 - 01:19
Athens, Greece — The crew of a tanker seized by Iran's navy this week in a row with the United States are safe, the vessel's Greek owners said on Sunday.     Empire Navigation said in a statement that an associate had contacted Iranian authorities and reported that "all the crew members on board the St. Nikolas are safe and in good health."   The company added that it had not been itself able to directly contact the 19-man crew of the Marshall Islands-flagged ship,...
Categories: Iraq

2 Iranian Journalists Jailed for Reporting on Mahsa Amini's Death Released on Bail

Voice of America - Mon, 01/15/2024 - 00:47
Dubai, UAE — Two Iranian journalists who were serving long prison sentences over their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini have been released on bail pending their appeal, Iranian media reported Sunday. Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Amini's death while in police custody for wearing her headscarf too loose, and Elaheh Mohammadi, who wrote about Amini's funeral, were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively, in October, on charges including collaborating...
Categories: Iraq

Israel-Hamas War Reaches 100-Day Mark

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 23:28
Sunday marked 100 days since Hamas launched a terrorist attack into southern Israel. The Jewish state responded with a military operation in Gaza that is ongoing. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the toll the war has taken on the Israeli and Palestinian civilian populations.
Categories: Iraq

Lebanon Strike Kills 2 Israelis as Israel-Hamas War Enters 100th Day 

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 20:02
Jerusalem — Two civilians were killed in northern Israel on Sunday after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit their home in a town near the border, raising new concerns of a second conflict erupting against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The deadly strike came on the 100th day of a conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85% of its 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a...
Categories: Iraq

Iran Reveals Afghan Origin of Islamic State Kerman Attack; Retaliation Options Limited

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 10:48
Washington — More than a week after Iran experienced its deadliest terror attack in decades, its Islamist rulers said one of the suicide bombers trained in Afghanistan with the Islamic State group that claimed responsibility for the attack. Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate against the IS perpetrators of the January 3 suicide bombings that killed at least 90 people in the city of Kerman as they attended a memorial for top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary...
Categories: Iraq

As Israel-Hamas War Reaches 100-Day Mark, Here's the Conflict by Numbers

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 08:24
JERUSALEM — Now 100 days old, the latest Israel-Hamas war is by far the longest, bloodiest, and most destructive conflict between the bitter enemies. The fighting erupted on October 7 when Hamas carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and a ground offensive that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighborhoods. The offensive has displaced the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza,...
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India's Foreign Minister to Travel to Iran

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 03:05
New Delhi — India's Minister of External Affairs will make a two-day trip to Iran starting Sunday, following Western airstrikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels over the Tehran-backed group's attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. The visit by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar comes a month after a drone attack on a ship near Indian waters that the United States blamed on Iran. A government statement issued Saturday said that Jaishankar would meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein...
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Egypt Worries US-British Attacks on Houthis Could Escalate Gaza Conflict

Voice of America - Sun, 01/14/2024 - 01:44
cairo — After the latest U.S. and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to Houthi drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, some commentators in Egypt said that more attacks could reduce Suez Canal traffic and damage the Egyptian and world economy.   Former Egyptian deputy foreign minister Hussein Haridi told Arab media that the U.S. and British attacks would probably damage Egypt's already-struggling economy and cut shipping through the Suez Canal even more...
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US Launches Follow-Up Strike on Houthi Radar Site

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 23:44
washington — The United States launched a follow-up strike against a Houthi target in Yemen early Saturday, after officials said they were not satisfied with the damage inflicted during the initial round of airstrikes late Thursday.  U.S. Central Command said it launched the additional strike from the USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer, firing multiple Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles to take out a radar site that it said presented a continuing threat to maritime traffic.    The strike...
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Biden: US Delivered Private Message to Iran About Houthi Attacks

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 21:52
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday the United States had delivered a private message to Iran about Iran-backed Houthis responsible for attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.  "We delivered it privately, and we're confident we're well-prepared," Biden told reporters at the White House before departing to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend.  The Houthi movement threatened a "strong and effective response" after the United...
Categories: Iraq

Seized Marshall Islands-flagged Tanker Located Off Iranian Coast

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 21:44
CAIRO — The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday has been located east of Iran's Qeshm Island, monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.  Iran seized the St. Nikolas, loaded with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey, in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its Iranian oil cargo by the United States, Iranian state media reported.  "The Greek-owned,...
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Global Protests Draw Thousands in London, Elsewhere in Pro-Palestinian Marches

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 19:31
LONDON — Children joined thousands of other demonstrators making their way through central London for a pro-Palestinian march Saturday, part of a global day of action against the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Palestinians in 75 years. The plight of children in the Gaza Strip after nearly 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war was the focus of the latest London march, symbolized by the appearance of Little Amal, a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) puppet originally meant to highlight the...
Categories: Iraq

Families of Hamas Hostages Prepare to Mark Loved Ones' 100th Day in Captivity

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 16:48
LONDON — It has become a daily ritual. Every morning, before she’s even out of her pajamas, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tears a piece of masking tape off the roll, grabs a marking pen and in thick black strokes writes down the number of days her son, Hersh, has been held hostage by Hamas militants. Then she sticks the tape to her chest. “I find it so remarkable how nauseating it is every single time,’ she said. “And it’s good. I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want anybody to get used to...
Categories: Iraq

Turkey Launches Airstrikes Against Kurdish Militants in Iraq, Syria

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 11:35
ISTANBUL — Turkey carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, coming a day after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers. Turkey often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq it believes to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a banned Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s. The defense ministry...
Categories: Iraq

US Launches Follow-Up Strike on Houthi Radar Site

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 07:27
WASHINGTON — The United States launched a follow-up strike against a Houthi target in Yemen early Saturday, after officials said they were not satisfied with the damage inflicted during the initial round of airstrikes late Thursday. U.S. Central Command said it launched the additional strike from the USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer, firing multiple Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles to take out a radar site that it said presented a continuing threat to maritime traffic. The strike comes...
Categories: Iraq

US, Houthis Both Vow to Respond After Western Strikes in Yemen

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 04:54
The Iran-backed Houthis vowed Friday to continue attacking ships in the Red Sea following U.S. and British retaliatory strikes in Yemen. U.S. President Joe Biden said he would respond accordingly. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.
Categories: Iraq

Israel Defends Itself at the UN's Top Court Against Gaza Genocide Allegations

Voice of America - Sat, 01/13/2024 - 04:51
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel insisted at the United Nations' highest court Friday that its war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide. Israel described the allegations leveled by South Africa as hypocritical and said one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court reflected a world turned upside down. Israeli leaders defend their air and ground...
Categories: Iraq