So-called Islamic State (IS) shot dead 40 civilians on Tuesday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after accusing them of treason, the United Nations says. Their bodies were then hung from electricity poles in several districts, the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner said, citing sources. A man was also reportedly shot dead in public in central Mosul… Read more »
Donald Trump’s election as president raises the prospect the United States will pull out of the nuclear pact it signed last year with Iran, alienating Washington from its allies and potentially freeing Iran to act on its ambitions. Outgoing President Barack Obama’s administration touted the deal, a legacy foreign policy achievement, as a way to suspend Tehran’s suspected drive to… Read more »
A suicide car bomb targeted the German consulate in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province on Thursday, according to local police and officials. Monir Ahmad Farhad, a provincial spokesman, said Friday four people were killed and more 100 people were injured when the attack happened at 10:45 p.m. in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital. No German diplomats were hurt. Local police chief Abdul… Read more »
ISIS has released a rare audio message purportedly from leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, attempting to rally the terror group’s fighters as Iraqi troops enter the key city of Mosul. Addressing the estimated 5,000 ISIS members holed up in the city, Baghdadi says that “holding your ground in honor is a thousand times better than retreating in disgrace.” The tape, the… Read more »
This week I was very surprised to read that Iraq had banned the consumption and selling of alcohol. In Iraq, the main religion is Islam so the religion already bans alcohol, but there are Christians in the cities that rely on the business. The article also discussed the man who had wrote the bill hopes to make all sins of… Read more »
In an unfortunate turn of events in the Middle East and North Africa, there has been a recent trend of failed states emerging, with Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen all having essentially lost control due to a variety of internal and external factors between them. One that has the potential to collapse and is largely ignored, however, is Saudi Arabia…. Read more »
In the past two weeks, the news has greatly shifted from talking about Aleppo to Mosul.The reason is because this is one of ISIS’s strongholds in the middle east. Since 2014 ISIS had had control over it and there are still many civilians in it. ISIS has taken over government duties such as doing trash day and other duties. But,… Read more »
(The Guardian) A shortage of basic goods and skyrocketing food prices are fuelling discontent in Egypt, where a currency crisis has hit imports. Sugar has all but vanished from supermarkets and imports of items such as powdered infant formula and even some contraceptives are down. Egyptian authorities, who have blamed traders and suppliers for hoarding and smuggling goods, said they… Read more »
(JPost) The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday the door to electing a president was “wide open” and his members of parliament would vote for ally Michel Aoun at a parliamentary session at the end of October. Although Christian leader Aoun still faces opposition from some political figures and might not secure the two-thirds majority… Read more »
(BBC) A leading human rights group has challenged the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq over their screening process for men and adolescents fleeing so-called Islamic State (IS). All civilians seeking refuge in Kurdish areas are screened for IS links but males aged 15 and over are held separately for long periods of time. Human Rights Watch says this violates “basic… Read more »