Author: Ad Dahiyyan

Anti-war organizations held rallies in Los Angeles and San Diego on Saturday in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which started on March 20, 2003. The gathering came amid nationwide anti-war rallies organized by Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER Coalition), a U.S.-based protest umbrella group consisting of many anti-war and civil rights organizations. “We felt today is a good point to get together with younger people to discuss the issues that are involved. It commemorates the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq,” Gary Butterfield, a veteran, told Xinhua.…

The head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce says the current Persian year of 1402 (starting on March 21) will be better for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Beijing. Majidreza Hariri said in 1402, key parts of the 25-year strategic partnership treaty between Iran and China will be implemented and their trade delegations will start visits to the two countries given that China has put an end to its policy of keeping in place a Covid-related quarantine. Hariri added that China accounts for 31 percent of the Iranian non-oil exports. He said the recent meeting between Iranian President…

A Turkish drone attack Monday in northern Iraq killed at least three fighters from the minority Yazidi community affiliated with the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Iraqi Kurdish officials said. “A drone from the Turkish army targeted a vehicle” in the region, killing an officer and two combattants from the Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units, a statement from the Kurdistan region’s anti-terrorist squad said. The three fighters were heading towards Sinjar, a stronghold of the Yazidis, at the time of the attack. Turkey has dozens of military facilities in northern Iraq for use in its war against the PKK, and it…

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating a possible fraud case against a private Bulgarian company suspected of knowingly submitting false data for its annual reports.  The main issue here is the possible falsification of data on emissions within the framework of the EU emissions trading system (ETS). A private company in charge of verifying greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power and heating plants is under investigation in Bulgaria for allegedly submitting falsified reports to the competent national authorities. According to the investigations, from 2017 to date, the company knowingly provided false data and documentation for the annual reports…

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Samih Schukri met his Turkish counterpart for the first time in ten years. After years of the ice age, Egypt’s foreign minister has visited Turkey . On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu expressly thanked his Egyptian colleague Samih Schukri for his solidarity in the face of the earthquake in south-eastern Turkey. “Friendship and brotherhood are seen in difficult times. The Egyptian state and people have once again shown in these difficult times that they are the brother of Turkey and the Turkish people,” Çavuşoğlu said at a joint press conference in Adana, southern Turkey. Shukri had previously visited Syria, which is also affected by…

Baghdad – The Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee revealed on Tuesday the percentage of women’s participation in the oil sector, stressing the importance of women’s participation in this important sector, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Committee member, Zainab Juma Al-Moussawi, told INA that the percentage of women’s participation in the Iraqi oil sector, such as in oilfields and refineries, does not exceed one percent compared to 99 percent for men, whether they are Iraqis or foreigners. Al-Moussawi illustrated that the Ministry of Oil must take several measures to increase the percentage of women’s participation in the oil…

Tajikistan received humanitarian aid from donor countries in the form of medicines, medicines and food products. Since the beginning of the year, humanitarian aid has been provided to Tajikistan by 19 countries of near and far abroad. According to the customs service of the republic, humanitarian aid from donor countries in January of this year was received in the amount of more than $2.6 million. In total, the republic received over 445.4 tons of humanitarian aid in the first month of this year. During this period, Tajikistan received flour, vegetable oil, medicines, medicines, food products and much more as humanitarian…

Female musicians from Sumeryat Music Ensemble perform at the Iraqi National Theater in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 22, 2022. The Iraqi female ensemble held its first concert here on Thursday evening. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) A female musician from Sumeryat Music Ensemble plays an Iraqi traditional instrument at the Iraqi National Theater in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 22, 2022. The Iraqi female ensemble held its first concert here on Thursday evening. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) Source: Xinhua

Baghdad (AFP) – Sanctions-hit Iran is consolidating its hold over neighbouring Iraq, an economic lifeline where pro-Tehran parties dominate politics, all to the chagrin of the United States, experts say. For years, Iraq has been caught in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies Tehran and Washington, themselves arch foes. After a 2003 US-led invasion toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Iran’s influence has grown through political links among both countries’ Shiite-Muslim majorities. Pro-Iran parties now dominate Iraq’s parliament, and in October they named a new prime minister following a year-long tussle with their Shiite rivals. Iraq has become…

At least nine police officers have been killed in a bomb and gun attack in northern Iraq. The attack took place near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, about 290km (180 miles) from the capital Baghdad on Sunday. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility. IS has already said it was behind the planting of a roadside bomb that killed three Iraqi soldiers near Baghdad on Wednesday. Sunday’s attack began when a bomb blast targeted a truck carrying police near the village of Chalal al-Matar, officials told AFP. The blast was followed by “a direct attack with small arms”. “An assailant…