Author: El Thousta

The Iraqi government has condemned US air strikes south of Baghdad that killed eight members of Iran-aligned armed group Kataib Hezbollah, Reuters has reported. The government said that the strikes were a “dangerous escalation” not coordinated with the authorities in the capital. The US has carried out two series of air strikes in Iraq since yesterday apparently in response to more than 60 attacks by Iran-aligned militias against forces in the region. The strikes destroyed a Kataib Hezbollah operations centre and a command and control node. Until this week, the US had been reluctant to retaliate in Iraq because of the delicate political situation…

After offering their initial unequivocal support for Israel’s “wiping out Gaza Strip”, instead of “wiping out Hamas off the face of the earth” as the declared Israeli war objective, almost all Western governments and political leaders started to talk about what should happen when the current Israeli madness ends. Under pressure from their own peoples, who are demanding a ceasefire while condemning Israeli aggression, they have slowly but steadily started to climb down from their earlier shameful positions. They even attempt to appear more dovish than hawkish, by talking about how the current conflict should lead to a final solution…

The Israeli propaganda machine has been working overtime in its effort to portray to the world a narrative of its own victimhood, tirelessly seeking global backing by depicting Israel’s enemies as inhumane ‘people of the dark’. Whilst portraying the 7 October surprise Palestinian resistance infiltration into Israel as a strain on the state, it has skilfully notched up propaganda victories by eagerly seizing the opportunity to conceal its authoritarianism and maintain the false claim that Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Despite groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch declaring Israel an apartheid state, Western leaders, coupled with the media,…

The Pentagon announced this morning that a US destroyer intercepted several explosive-laden drones launched from Yemen from areas controlled by the Houthis. The US Central Military Command, Centcom, said in a post on X: “On the morning (Yemen time) of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. The drones were shot down while the U.S. warship was on patrol in the Red Sea. The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury.” Centcom did not clarify where they thought the drones were heading when they were shot down, but in recent weeks the Houthis have…

London (28/11 – 58) Tajikistan’s human rights record continues to deteriorate amid an increased crackdown on freedom of expression and the political opposition, as well as the targeting of independent lawyers, journalists, and family members of opposition activists abroad. Freedom of assembly is severely curtailed with any local protests, such as a series of protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region (GBAO), violently quashed. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Programme Office in Dushanbe, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, and the Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE organized a study visit to Paris for government officials from…

It was sheer barbarism and savagery that brought an end to France’s brutal 132-year-long occupation of Algeria, and it is the same destructive force that will end Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza. At the moment, though, it is clear that Israel has learnt nothing from France’s blood-soaked occupation of Algeria. Like the ongoing fight for the liberation of Palestine from Zionist rule, history still has much to write about the atrocities committed by French colonialists in Algeria during the occupation from 1830 to 1962. At least five million people were killed and hundreds of thousands were wounded in the struggle…

Iraq and Turkmenistan agreed to the terms of a gas deal on Wednesday, marking another important step in Iraqi efforts to diversify its supply. An Iraqi delegation led by Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel met with representatives of Turkmengaz, Turkmenistan’s state gas company, in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat on Wednesday. During the meeting, the two sides signed a protocol stipulating that Turkmenistan will supply Iraq with 9 billion cubic meters of gas per year. In a statement on Thursday, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry said the gas will be transported via Iran for five years. Iraq had no immediate comment on…

With the Israel-Hamas conflict nearing its third week, the US has taken a clear stand as a steadfast ally of Israel, offering both political and military support. It has played the same tune as Israel when it comes to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been pummelled by Israeli bombs that have now killed more than 7,000 Palestinians, including over 2,900 children and more than 1,700 women. At the diplomatic level, it has opposed resolutions calling for a ceasefire, pushing, instead, its own proposals for temporary “humanitarian pauses”. On the military front, the support has ranged from arms…

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Muhammad Al-Halbousi, and the French Ambassador to Iraq, Eric Chevalier, discussed on Monday the developments in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian crisis. The two sides reviewed the bilateral ties, ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, and the importance of proceeding with the strategic partnership agreement signed between the Iraqi and French governments, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA). The advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Farhad Alaaldin, told AFP last week that Iraq postponed the 3rd edition of the Baghdad Conference for economic integration and…

The conflict in Gaza is taking a devastating toll on civilians. According to the Gazan health ministry, the death toll has exceeded 8,000 people, with over 3,000 of them being children. This number of child casualties surpasses the annual child death toll from all wars in each of the previous three years. Additionally, satellite imagery analyzed by a renowned media house suggests that more than 10 percent of Gaza’s housing has been destroyed, leaving over 280,000 people without homes to return to. While urban warfare tends to be highly destructive, Israel’s actions in Gaza have distinctive features. Conflict in urban…