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Iraq

UN Envoys Say 'Enough' to War on Trip to Gaza Border

Voice of America - Tue, 12/12/2023 - 05:35
RAFAH CROSSING, Egypt — U.N. Security Council envoys spoke of unimaginable suffering and urged an end to the war in the Gaza Strip on Monday as they visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the besieged Palestinian enclave's only entry point for aid. China's representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, asked by reporters if he had a message to nations that opposed a cease-fire in Gaza, said simply: "Enough is enough." Most U.N. member states support...
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EU to Propose Sanctions on Violent Israeli Settlers in West Bank

Voice of America - Tue, 12/12/2023 - 04:48
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday he would propose sanctions against Jewish settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Borrell was speaking after EU foreign ministers debated possible next steps in their response to the Middle East crisis triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel from Gaza. While much international attention has focused on the cross-border...
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Austrian National Accused in UK Over Iran TV 'Terror Plot'

Voice of America - Tue, 12/12/2023 - 04:15
LONDON — An Austrian national went on trial Monday in London for allegedly spying for a group that may have been preparing to attack an Iranian TV station in the British capital. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, who is originally from Chechnya, was detained by counterterrorism officers in west London on Feb. 11. He was charged with possession of records containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at a...
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Holocaust Survivors Mark Hanukkah Amid Worries of Israel-Hamas War, Antisemitism

Voice of America - Tue, 12/12/2023 - 04:12
Berlin — Holocaust survivors from around the globe will mark the start of the fifth day of Hanukkah together with a virtual ceremony as Jews worldwide worry about the Israel-Hamas war and a spike of antisemitism in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Survivors can join an online ceremony of a menorah lighting Monday night to pay tribute to the 6 million European Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Several dozen survivors were also expected to gather in-person for a menorah...
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UN Seeking $46 Billion for More Than 180 Million of World’s Neediest

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 22:06
geneva — The United Nations is appealing for $46.4 billion to provide life-saving assistance to more than 180 million of the world’s neediest people in 72 countries next year. The appeal comes as donor fatigue sets in amid the proliferation of natural and manmade disasters. In launching its humanitarian appeal Monday, the U.N. warned that conflicts, climate emergencies and collapsing economies are wreaking havoc in vulnerable communities around the world, resulting in “catastrophic hunger,...
Categories: Iraq

Iraq Farms Swallowed by Desert

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 20:04
As officials in Dubai enter the final hours of the international climate conference, families in Iraq, one of world's most impacted countries, are being forced to abandon their farms as villages get swallowed by desert. VOA's Heather Murdock reports with Halan Akoiy. Videographer: Hamode Altaee, Assad Niazi
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In Photos: Egyptians Vote Amid Crises at Home and in the Region

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 19:29
Egyptians are going to the polls in three-day presidential elections that began Sunday. As incumbent authoritarian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi appears set to win a third term, long breadlines and crises both in Egypt and across the border in Gaza weigh heavily on Egyptian voters. Cairo-based photojournalist Hamada Elrasam is following the story, starting Sunday in the North Sinai city of Arish. Written in collaboration with Elle Kurancid.
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Kurdish Woman Leaves US to Open Winery in Ancestral Homeland

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 18:15
Tanya Fuad is a Kurdish woman who moved to the heart of Kurdistan’s Sulaymaniyah province after living in the United States for 50 years. Now, she is uncorking a new chapter for women in the region by opening a winery. VOA’s Snur Karim filed this story, narrated by Rikar Hussein.
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Iran Unveils Drones Armed With Air-to-Air Missiles

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 01:04
Iran has reinforced its air defense capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal, state media reported Sunday.  "Dozens of Karrar drones armed with air-to-air missiles have been added for air defense in all border areas of the country," the official IRNA news agency said.  The drones, said to have an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), were exhibited Sunday morning during a televised ceremony organized at a military...
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Violence Escalates Between Israel, Lebanon's Hezbollah

Voice of America - Mon, 12/11/2023 - 00:43
Violence escalated at Lebanon's border with Israel on Sunday as Hezbollah launched explosive drones and powerful missiles at Israeli positions and Israeli airstrikes rocked several towns and villages in south Lebanon.   Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since the war in Gaza erupted two months ago, in their worst hostilities since a 2006 conflict. The violence has largely been contained in the border area. An Israeli airstrike on the town of Aitaroun...
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US Explains Veto of UN Resolution for Gaza Cease-Fire

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 21:52
Amid growing criticism over its continued support of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, the United States defended its stance Sunday but also reiterated the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians. Verónica Balderas Iglesias reports.
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WHO: Gaza 'Catastrophic' Health Situation Almost Impossible to Improve

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 21:15
The World Health Organization chief said on Sunday it will be all but impossible to improve the "catastrophic" health situation in Gaza even as the board passed an emergency WHO motion by consensus to secure more medical access. Palestinian officials have also described a disastrous health situation in Gaza, where Israel's assault has left most of the population homeless, with little electricity, food or clean water, and a medical system facing collapse. The emergency...
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Blinken: Israel Failing to Protect as Many Civilians as Possible 

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 20:01
The United States, Israel’s staunchest supporter in its war against Hamas militants, said Sunday that the Israeli military is failing in its announced intention to protect as many Palestinian civilians as possible who are trying to flee Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. “It’s imperative that civilians be protected,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union” show. He said Israel had fallen short in protecting Palestinian civilians as it continues its offensive...
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Israel Says It Helped Foil Iranian-Ordered Attack on Israelis in Cyprus 

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 18:39
Israel helped Cyprus foil an Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews on the island, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday, saying such plots were on the rise since the Gaza war erupted. Netanyahu's office gave no details of the planned attack but said in the statement on behalf of the Mossad intelligence service that Israel was "troubled" by what it saw as Iranian use of Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus "both for terrorism...
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Iran Tries Swedish EU Employee for 'Spying for Israel'  

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 18:17
Iran said on Sunday that it had begun the trial of a Swedish national employed by the European Union who is charged with spying for Israel and "corruption on earth," a crime that carries the death penalty.  Sweden said on Saturday that the trial had begun of Johan Floderus, who was detained in April 2022 while on holiday in Iran, but did not say what he was charged with.  The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said in an online report on Sunday that Floderus's trial...
Categories: Iraq

Heavy Fighting Continues in Southern Gaza

Voice of America - Sun, 12/10/2023 - 13:27
Heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants continued Sunday in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. Palestinians were told to evacuate to southern Gaza to avoid the fighting in the north. Now the fighting has traveled south. Nine out of 10 people in Gaza are unable to eat every day, according to Carl Skau, deputy director of the World Food Program. The Israeli military says its offensive must go forward and that it is expanding its operations in the southern Gaza...
Categories: Iraq