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Iraq

Experts see ‘breaking point’ for US policy toward Israel

Voice of America - Sat, 04/06/2024 - 03:30
Israel has been quick to react to a Biden administration warning Thursday that it must protect Palestinian civilians and aid workers or lose the unconditional support of the United States. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
Categories: Iraq

Worrying signs exist that IS growing stronger in Syria

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 23:32
washington — Slowly but surely, the Islamic State terror group seems to be regaining its footing in Syria, launching new and brazen attacks against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  Just-released data from U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces across the Middle East and South Asia, puts the number of Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq at about 2,500 — more than double estimates from late January. And a series of new studies is adding to the concern. The...
Categories: Iraq

Sami Michael, Israeli Novelist With Arabic Roots, Dies at 97

NY Times Iraq - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 23:25
A refugee from Iraq, he explored in popular books the worlds of Jews living in Arabic countries or who fled persecution, and of Arabs living in Israel.
Categories: Iraq

UN rights council accuses Israel of war crimes against Palestinians

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 21:55
GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Friday calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Only six countries voted against the resolution, which passed with 28 votes in favor and 13 abstentions. The council chamber erupted in a wild burst of applause when the results of the vote were announced to the glee of the many countries that supported the resolution and to the dismay of those that did...
Categories: Iraq

Rights lawyers go to court to stop German arms deliveries to Israel

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 19:53
berlin — Human rights lawyers said Friday they had filed an urgent appeal against Germany's government to stop exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways violating international humanitarian law in Gaza. A Dutch court has ordered the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used for attacks on civilian targets in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been...
Categories: Iraq

Six months into war, UN chief demands 'quantum leap' in Gaza aid

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 19:17
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. secretary-general warned on Friday that children are dying in Gaza from hunger and dehydration and said a “quantum leap” in the delivery of lifesaving aid is urgently needed. “When the gates to aid are closed, the doors to starvation are opened,” Antonio Guterres told reporters. He said as the six-month mark in the war between Israel and Hamas approaches on Sunday that the “speed, scale and inhumane ferocity” of the war mark it as one of the deadliest conflicts...
Categories: Iraq

Yemen Houthis continue to attack Israel

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 17:48
The Iranian-backed Houthis have fired dozens of long-range missiles at Israel since the war in Gaza began, most of which have been shot down. As the war continues, there is concern the Houthi attacks could spark a regional confrontation. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. VOA footage by Ricki Rosen.
Categories: Iraq

In Northeast Syrian markets, US dollar is king 

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 14:15
Qamishli, Syria    — In an economy largely shattered by a 13-year conflict, most business owners and shopkeepers in northeast Syria would be content to receive a few customers each day. But it would certainly make them happier if such customers paid in U.S. dollars. "If you don’t have Syrian money, no problem, I take any U.S. dollar bill you have," a teenage fruit vendor in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli told VOA as he was trying to sell his produce. "If you buy these...
Categories: Iraq

Analysis: 6 months into Gaza war, Israel faces deepening isolation

Voice of America - Fri, 04/05/2024 - 11:31
JERUSALEM/CAIRO — Six months into the war in Gaza, the killing of a group of aid workers by an Israeli air strike summed up both the dire humanitarian crisis and the lack of a clear way out of a conflict that is leaving Israel increasingly isolated. The attack on Monday night that killed seven staff of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid group, including six foreigners, has angered even some of Israel's closest allies, adding to growing pressure for an end to the...
Categories: Iraq

Spain's decision to recognize Palestinian state marks potential turning point for Europe

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 20:24
Madrid — Spain’s announcement this week that it will recognize a Palestinian sovereign state by July could mark a major turning point with other European states poised to follow Madrid’s lead, analysts say. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told Spanish media Tuesday Spain would recognize Palestine diplomatically by July. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed the plan, saying it would help an independent Palestine’s entry into the United Nations. Ignacio...
Categories: Iraq

UN rights council votes to maintain Iran scrutiny

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 15:08
Independent international fact-finding mission investigating deadly 2022 crackdown on protests extended
Categories: Iraq

Britain demands investigation into Israeli airstrike that killed aid workers

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 05:16
London — Britain has called for an immediate investigation into an Israeli airstrike Monday on an aid convoy that killed seven aid workers, including three British citizens, in Gaza. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rejected calls to suspend arms shipments to Israel amid mounting global anger over the attack. The bodies of six of the seven victims were taken out of Gaza on Wednesday in a convoy of ambulances through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. The body of the seventh worker, a...
Categories: Iraq

White House shows no indication of restricting weapons for Israel

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 04:12
washington — U.S. weapons sales to Israel have been under increased scrutiny amid outrage over the reported deaths of tens of thousands of people in Gaza since the start of the war, including seven aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike this week. President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday that he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths, his latest stern rebuke of Israel's war conduct. Israel said the strike was "unintentional" and promised an...
Categories: Iraq

Iran turning its prisons into 'killing fields,' says Amnesty

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 03:41
PARIS — Iran has turned its prisons into sites of mass killing with at least 853 people executed in the Islamic republic in 2023, over half of them on drug-related charges, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The London-based group said in a report that stronger international action was needed to halt the rise in executions, otherwise "thousands" risked being hanged in the coming years. The Iranian authorities have "persisted with their state-sanctioned killing spree...
Categories: Iraq

Britain says Gaza situation ‘intolerable,’ demands investigation into Israeli airstrike

Voice of America - Thu, 04/04/2024 - 03:12
Britain has called for an immediate investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in the Gaza strip, amid mounting global anger over Monday’s attack. Three of the dead were British citizens, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Categories: Iraq