Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Officials in the oil sector said that a Turkish delegation in the energy sector met with Iraqi officials in the oil sector in Baghdad on Monday to discuss the resumption of oil exports from northern Iraq, Reuters reported.

The Undersecretary of the Iraqi Oil Minister, Basim Mohammed Khudair, told Reuters last Thursday that the two parties agree that it is necessary to resume oil exports as soon as possible, and Iraq is ready to pump 500,000 barrels per day of oil in case both parties agree on the resumption of oil exports.

Turkey halted exports of 450,000 barrels per day from northern Iraq through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline on March 25 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) issued its ruling in an arbitration case.

The ICC obliged Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in compensation for damages caused by the Kurdistan Regional Governments (KRG) export of oil without permission from the federal government in Baghdad between 2014 and 2018.

The 80-day halt of oil exports from the Kurdistan region of Iraq cost the KRG more than $2 billion, according to Reuters.

The crude oil pipeline extends from the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The KRG began exporting crude oil independently in 2013, a step Baghdad considered illegal.

Attempts to resume oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan were delayed because of the Turkish presidential elections and discussions between the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and the KRG over an oil export deal.

The post Turkish delegation visits Iraq to resume oil exports from northern Iraq appeared first on Iraqi News.

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi football continues to be brilliant in 2023 by advancing to the final of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) for mens under-23.

The Iraqi national under-23 football team is scheduled to play against its Iranian counterpart in the WAFF U-23 Championship on Tuesday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, after beating the Omani team on Sunday.

The Iraqi under-23 football team achieved a 1-0 win over their Gulf neighbours, Oman, in front of 30,000 spectators at Al-Madina International Stadium in Baghdad.

The Iranian U-23 team achieved a 4-3 win against Jordan in the semi-final of the U-23 WAFF following penalty shootouts.

The Iranian team won the first edition of the competition in 2015, while the Iraqi team is trying to win its first title.

Iraqs first team (Lions of Mesopotamia) won the 25^th Gulf Cup title last January, and the youth team achieved second place in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup last March following a 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the final and reached the U-20 World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The final match of the 2023 WAFF U-23 Championship will be held between Iraq and Iran on Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Al-Madina International Stadium, which accommodates up to 32,000 spectators.

The post Iraq advances to West Asia Cup U-23 final appeared first on Iraqi News.

Glasgow Brendan Rodgers made a dramatic return as Celtic manager on Monday, four years after walking out on the Glasgow giants to join Leicester.

Rodgers agreed a three-year contract with the Scottish champions, who were searching for a new boss after Ange Postecoglou left to take charge of Tottenham.

Former Liverpool boss Rodgers had been out of work since being sacked in April by Leicester, who went on to be relegated from the Premier League.

I am really delighted to return to Celtic and I am hugely excited by this great opportunity. When I was given the privilege of being asked to join the club again, it was a very simple decision for me and my family, Rodgers said.

Ange has done some brilliant work across the last two years and I will be doing all I can to maintain Celtics momentum as we face into all our domestic and European challenges.

The manner of Rodgers exit in February 2019 infuriated sections of the Celtic support.

A banner in the first game following his departure read: You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt, always a fraud.

However, time has been a healer, at least for the Celtic board as they have turned to the Northern Irishman to maintain the Hoops domestic dominance.

We have enjoyed some great times at Celtic before and this will be my goal again, to deliver good football, ensure we have a team we all love to watch and ultimately bring more success to our fans, Rodgers said.

The club is in fantastic condition at all levels and I would like to thank the board for putting their trust in me to take the team forward.

A proven winner

Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell added: We wanted a proven winner and thats what Brendan is. Through the process of identifying the new manager, it was clear that Brendan was the outstanding choice.

He has delivered before for Celtic and we are sure through his many qualities, he will do so again.

Celtic have won 11 of the last 12 Scottish Premiership titles and five domestic trebles in seven seasons.

Rodgers more than played his part in that success, winning all seven available trophies during his two-and-half years at Parkhead and left with Celtic eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

The 50-year-old went onto enjoy success with the Foxes too, leading Leicester to back-to-back fifth-placed finishes in the Premier League in 2019/20 and 2020/21 and winning the clubs first ever FA Cup two years ago.

However, it all went horribly wrong for Leicester this season.

Rodgers was fired with 10 Premier League games remaining after dropping into the relegation zone.

But after winning only twice under interim boss Dean Smith, Leicester went down just seven years after winning the Premier League.

...

Edinburgh The UKs main opposition Labour party on Monday vowed to turn the country into a clean energy superpower if it wins the next election.

A vote has to be held by the end of next year, and Labour is currently well ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks Conservatives in opinion polling.

Outlining its green energy plans in Edinburgh, Labour promised that its plans to address the climate emergency would be front and centre of its economic strategy for government.

Leader Keir Starmer pledged 100 percent clean power by 2030 creating 500,000 new jobs, including 50,000 in Scotland, to deliver energy independence from the likes of Russia and cheaper household bills.

It is an ambitious goal. It will put us ahead of any major economy in the world. But at the moment were nowhere near the front of the pack, he said in a speech.

This is a race we have to win, he added.

The Conservatives under former prime minister Boris Johnson promised to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

But Starmer claimed that too much time had been lost and there had been a lack of investment in green energy compared to countries such as the United States.

An over-reliance on imported fossil fuels had also left UK consumers exposed to international price fluctuations, he argued.

We will need to run fast to catch up, faster still to get ahead, faster again to stay there, he said. Some nation will become a clean energy superpower. Why not Britain?

Central to Labours plan is the creation of a new state-owned company, GB Energy, to deliver on its 2030 goal and ensure the country is self-sufficient for power. 

Infrastructure investment from borrowing would aim at doubling onshore wind, trebling solar power and increasing offshore wind four-fold.

Labour would also insulate 19 million homes to keep heating bills down, Starmer said.

Local opposition has dogged the development of onshore wind projects in England for years but Starmer promised to provide financial incentives for local communities to give up land.

Environmental campaigners have been angered by Labour refusing to rule out a complete ban on new North Sea oil and gas projects.

Starmer conceded that oil and gas would be part of the mix for decades to come under existing licences well into the 2050s but the sector was dwindling.

In Scotland, questions have been asked about whether a Labour government would give the go-ahead for the Rosebank oil and gas field west of Shetland, in the far north.

Rosebank is probably up for decision very soon now. And if it is granted, that falls into the category of existing licences that Labour would promise to respect, he added.

The post...

Paris Europe should brace for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, said a sweeping report on Monday, noting the worlds fastest-warming continent was some 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter last year than in pre-industrial times.

Crop-withering drought, record sea-surface temperatures and unprecedented glacier melt are among the consequences laid out in a report by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The continent, which has been warming twice the global average since the 1980s, saw its warmest summer on record last year, with countries including France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom experiencing their warmest year on record.

The world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2C since the mid-1800s, unleashing a devastating cascade of extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts in some areas and storms made more ferocious by rising seas.

Hardest hit are the most vulnerable people and the worlds poorest countries, who have done little to contribute to the fossil fuel emissions that drive up temperatures.

But impacts are becoming increasingly severe across the world, with regions in the northern hemisphere and around the poles seeing particularly rapid warming.

In Europe, the high temperatures exacerbated the severe and widespread drought conditions, fuelled violent wildfires that resulted in the second largest burnt area on record, and led to thousands of heat-associated excess deaths, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

Temperatures across the continent rose 1.5C in 30 years, from 1991 to 2021, according to the report, the State of the Climate in Europe 2022.

Severe heat left more than 16,000 people dead last year, the report said, while floods and storms accounted for most of the $2 billion in damages from weather and climate extremes.

Unfortunately, this cannot be considered a one-off occurrence or an oddity of the climate, said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo in the report.

Our current understanding of the climate system and its evolution informs us that these kinds of events are part of a pattern that will make heat stress extremes more frequent and more intense across the region.

Renewable hopes

Increasing temperatures have taken a toll on economies and ecosystems, the report said.

In the Alps, glaciers saw a new record mass loss for a single year in 2022, caused by very low winter levels of snow, a hot summer as well as deposits of wind-blown Saharan dust.

The story was similar in the oceans, with average sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic the hottest on record, with warming rates in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic and Black Seas and the southern Arctic more than three times the global average.

Marine heat wav...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that the number of Iraqi nationals evacuated from Sudan reached 595, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, mentioned in a statement that the number of evacuees has reached 595 so far, explaining that they were evacuated in three flights.

Al-Sahhaf indicated that the aircraft evacuating the Iraqi community in Sudan arrived at Baghdad International Airport with 165 individuals on board, including dozens of Sudanese and Syrians.

The Iraqi authorities announced in mid-May the evacuation of 429 Iraqi citizens from Sudan, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

The statement explained that two planes evacuated Iraqis in Sudan on April 27, and a third Iraqi plane evacuated the rest of the Iraqis in Sudan on May 12.

The step followed the announcement of the Jeddah Declaration, signed last month by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians affected by the armed conflict ongoing since mid-April.

The agreement focused on the withdrawal of military forces from hospitals and service facilities, opening safe paths for the exit of civilians from conflict areas, and bringing humanitarian aid to the capital and conflict-affected areas.

The continuous battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces prompted many countries to increase their efforts to evacuate their nationals or diplomatic missions by land, sea, and air.

Since April 15, violent clashes have been taking place between the Sudanese army forces and the Rapid Support Forces in separate areas of Sudan, most of which are concentrated in the capital, Khartoum.

Hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured, including aid workers, in the battles that started on April 15 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, according to reports issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The post 595 Iraqi nationals evacuated from Sudan appeared first on Iraqi News.

Yerevan The Armenian branch of the Red Cross said Monday that Azerbaijan was blocking access to Nagorno-Karabakh, as concern grows over the humanitarian situation in the restive region.

In April, Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin corridor the only road linking Karabakh to Armenia.

The Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the centre of a decades-long territorial dispute between the Caucasus arch-foes. 

The move followed a months-long blockade by Azerbaijani environmental activists, which Yerevan claims has led to a humanitarian crisis complete with shortages of food and fuel.

Azerbaijan insisted at the time that civilian transport could go unimpeded through the Lachin corridor. 

Last week Armenia accused Baku of blocking traffic through the Lachin corridor.

There has been no Red Cross-facilitated movement through the Lachin corridor since Thursday, Zara Amatuni, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Armenia, told AFP.

Humanitarian supplies of medicines and other medical materials to hospitals in Karabakh and transportation of seriously ill patients have been suspended, she said.

Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the humanitarian situation in Karabakh has worsened dramatically.

He said food supplies to Karabakh have practically ceased and patients are not being allowed to be taken to hospitals in Armenia for medical treatment.

Bakus actions prove that Azerbaijan is pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, he added.

On February 22, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the UNs top judicial body ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement on the road.

The two former Soviet republics have fought two wars for control of Karabakh, in the 1990s and again in 2020.

Six weeks of fighting in autumn 2020 ended with a Russian-sponsored ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territories it had controlled for decades.  

There have been frequent clashes at the two countries shared border despite the ongoing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under the mediation from the European Union and United States.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed some 30,000 lives.

The post Red Cross says Azerbaijan has blocked Karabakh access appeared first on Iraqi News.

Nairobi The European Union and Kenya signed a trade deal Monday in a coup for Brussels as it seeks deeper economic ties with Africa in the face of competition from China.

Kenyan President William Ruto presided over a ceremony in Nairobi to mark the formal conclusion of negotiations to the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement.

Once ratified and entered into force, Kenya will receive duty-free and quota-free access to the EU, its biggest market where it sends roughly one-fifth of all its exports.

Imports from the EU to Kenya such as chemicals and machinery will receive progressive tariff reductions over a period of 25 years, but some sensitive products will be excluded.

Today is a very proud moment for Kenya, and I believe a very proud moment for the European Union, Kenyan Trade Minister Moses Kuria said after signing the accord with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Kenyas main exports to the EU are agricultural products, including vegetables, fruits and the countrys famous tea and coffee.

Over 70 percent of Kenyas cut flowers are destined for Europe.

Ruto said Kenyas farmers could be assured of a predictable market and the agreement provides new opportunities to boost this trade.

It ensures a stable market for industrialists, for our farmers, and also industrialists in the European Union, he said.

Priority region

Dombrovskis said EU companies had invested one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in Kenya in the past decade but that there was a strong appetite to do more business.

With this deal in place, we have the right platform to do so, he said.

It is the first broad trade deal between the EU and an African nation since 2016 and follows a spending spree by China on lavish infrastructure projects across the continent.

The EU has taken steps to counter Chinas Belt and Road programme, announcing in February it would increase investments in Kenya by hundreds of millions of dollars through its own Global Gateway initiative.

Kenya is seen by the international community as a reliable and stable democracy in a turbulent region and Dombrovskis said the East African powerhouse was a beacon of dynamism and opportunity.

In a briefing with reporters ahead of Mondays ceremony, Dombrovskis said Africa was a priority region for the EU and he hoped the Kenya deal would resonate elsewhere on the continent. 

Certainly, we think its going to be a boost, he said of its impact on future trade links with Africa.

The Kenya deal is the culmination of trade talks between the EU and the East African Community (EAC) that started roughly a decade ago.

In 2014, the EU and the EAC then Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania fin...

Jenin Israeli forces on Monday killed three Palestinians including a teenager and fired missiles from a helicopter during a raid on the occupied West Bank the army said was to pursue wanted suspects.

Three Palestinians died as a result of the occupation (Israeli) aggression on Jenin, a statement from the Palestinian health ministry said, adding that at least 29 others were wounded.

It named the three killed as Qassam Abu Saria, 29, Khaled Assassa, 21 and Ahmed Saqer, 15.

The Israeli army said a massive exchange of fire erupted as forces entered the northern West Bank city to arrest wanted suspects.

IDF (army) helicopters opened fire toward the gunmen in order to assist in extraction of the forces after large numbers of explosive devices were hurled at the forces, it added in a statement.

The army said a military vehicle had been damaged by an explosive device.

A Palestinian intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity it was the first time since 2002 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising that the Israeli army has fired missiles from an aircraft during a raid in Jenin.

An AFP photographer in the city, the scene of frequent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, confirmed that fighting was ongoing as of 10:30 am (0730 GMT).

Jenins deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, told AFP the Israeli forces had launched the raid at around 04:00 am (0100 GMT).

The army stormed the (Jenin refugee) camp and the city after the dawn prayer in large numbers, and there was intense gunfire, he said.

Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Authoritys civil affairs minister, said a fierce and open war is being waged against the Palestinian people by the occupation (Israeli) forces.

He called for the Palestinian leadership to take unprecedented decisions without elaborating.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and its forces regularly launch incursions into Palestinian cities, which are nominally under the control of president Mahmud Abbass Palestinian Authority.

Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp have frequently been the site of violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians. 

In March, four Palestinians were killed during the a raid on the camp.

Ten Palestinian were killed in another operation in the camp in January the deadliest single raid in the West Bank for 20 years.

Since the start of the year, at least 162 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources.

The figures include combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab min...

United Nations A new global treaty on the high seas will enable the creation of sanctuaries deemed vital for the oceans, but many questions remain unanswered. Among them: How can we protect marine areas far from the coast? Where will they be created, and when?

Unique, fragile areas

The text to be adopted at the United Nations on Monday provides for the creation of marine protected areas in international waters, in areas that are unique, particularly fragile or important for endangered species.

Biodiversity is a priority, but its not the only important criteria, Minna Epps of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) tells AFP, referring also to ecological functions in areas conducive to plankton blooms.

One example is the thermal dome off the coast of Costa Rica. Each year, the upwelling of nutrient-rich deep-sea water causes an algae bloom, the first link in a food chain that provides a highly hospitable habitat for blue whales.

You dont want to just protect one ecosystem, adds Liz Karan of the Pew Charitable Trusts, underlining the importance of a network that would allow corridors for migratory species. 

The network ideally would link high seas marine protected areas with existing protected areas in national waters near coasts.

Based on such criteria, scientists and NGOs have already identified a dozen potential marine areas.

In addition to the thermal dome, they include the Emperor seamounts that extend across the Hawaiian archipelago in the Pacific, the so-called lost city in the middle of the Atlantic with its many hydrothermal vents, and the Sargasso Sea.

Also noteworthy are the Nazca and Salas y Gomez ridges, off the coast of Chile, which could become one of the first sanctuaries established after the treaty.

When will they be created?

Not for several years.

Four years would be very optimistic. Sadly, I think maybe five or six is more realistic, predicts Glen Wright, a researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), while Epps reckons we wont see any before 2027.

Once adopted, the treaty must be signed and ratified by 60 countries to come into force and enable the Conference of the Parties (COP) to meet.

The COP will be empowered to create a sanctuary on the proposal of one or more states, whereas today it is mainly NGOs that put forward such proposals.

Only Chile has mentioned a formal project at Nazca and Salas y Gomez.

Objective 3030

Although it will take several years for sanctuaries to be established, the treaty is considered crucial to achieving the goal set by all governments of protecting 30 percent of the planets land and oceans by 2030.

Without...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Minister of Trade, Atheer Al-Ghurairy, stated on Saturday that Iraq achieved self-sufficiency in wheat for this season as the supply exceeded expectations, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Iraqi ministry illustrated in its statement that Al-Ghurairy visited marketing sites in Kirkuk governorate and met with farmers to discuss ways to overcome obstacles and organize the entry of wheat trucks into the market.

An official at the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture said that the wheat crop is expected to range between 4 million and 4.5 million tons this season.

The Iraqi Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Jabr, said last March that wheat production in Iraq is expected to reach four million tons during the 20222023 season, according to Reuters.

Jabr explained that the increase in production is a result of the governments plan to cultivate 4,000 square kilometers in desert lands and 2,500 square kilometers in other parts of Iraq.

The Iraqi market needs about 4.2 million tons annually to achieve self-sufficiency in the wheat crop.

For quality purposes, Iraq imports one million tons of wheat to mix it with the local wheat, which does not have the required percentage of gluten, according to the Ministry of Trade.

Iraq was self-sufficient in wheat during the three years before the war in Ukraine, with production of 4.7 million tons in 2019, 6.2 million tons in 2020, and about 4.2 million tons in 2021.

However, factors such as water scarcity and desertification led to a decrease in the local production of wheat, which reached about three million tons last season, prompting the government to import wheat to cover the shortfall.

The lack of rain in the winter season constitutes the most significant challenge to the production of agricultural crops in Iraq, including wheat, rice and barley.

The post Iraq achieves self-sufficiency in wheat appeared first on Iraqi News.

Baghdad Iraq unveiled on Sunday a 2,800-year-old stone tablet returned by Italy, as the war-ravaged country works to recover from abroad antiquities looted from its territory.

The tablet whose text is written in cuneiform, the Babylonian alphabet  bears the insignia of Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian king who ruled the region of Nimrod, in present-day northern Iraq, from 858 to 823 BC.

The circumstances surrounding the tablets arrival in Italy remain unclear, but the Italian authorities handed it over to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid during a visit to Bologna over the past week.

I would like to thank the Italian officials for their efforts and cooperation in bringing back this piece, Rashid said during a ceremony Sunday at a Baghdad presidential palace to hand the artefact over to the national museum.

The tablet had arrived in the 1980s in Italy, where it was seized by police, said Laith Majid Hussein, director of Baghdads council of antiquities and heritage.

Iraqi Culture Minister Ahmed Fakak al-Badrani said the circumstances behind its discovery were unclear.

Perhaps (it was found) during archaeological excavations or during work on the Mosul dam, Iraqs biggest built in the 1980s, he said.

He underlined the importance of the piece, whose cuneiform text is complete.

Modern Iraqs territory is the cradle of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian civilisations, to which humanity owes writing and the first cities.

The countrys antiquities have been the target of looting that increased in the chaos following the US-led invasion of 2003.

We will continue to work to recover all the archaeological pieces of Iraqi history from abroad, said the Iraqi president.

We want to make the national Iraq Museum one of the best museums in the world, and we will work to do so.

In May, New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg announced the return of two ancient sculptures to Iraq: a limestone Mesopotamian elephant and an alabaster Sumerian bull from the old city of Uruk.

The figurines, stolen during the Gulf War, were smuggled into New York in the late 1990s, according to the prosecutors office.

The bull was part of the private collection of Shelby White, a billionaire philanthropist and Met trustee.

The post Iraq unveils 2,800 year-old stone tablet returned by Italy appeared first on Iraqi News.

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced on Saturday it is launching internet service through space, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The statement mentioned that the Ministry of Communications is seeking to provide the best internet service to people in Iraq.

Projects to provide internet via fiber-optic cables require a relatively long time to complete the deployment of cables in all areas because of the difficulties represented in the excavation works and the expensive costs of these projects, the statement illustrated.

In order to diversify the sources of internet service, increase competitiveness, and reduce prices, the concerned department in the Iraqi Ministry of Communications started the contractual procedures to introduce internet via space service in Iraq for the first time, according to the statement.

Iraq is following in the footsteps of developed countries that use low-orbit satellite technologies that provide internet service directly to users through a huge network of satellites provided by reputable international companies.

The Iraqi Ministry of Communications is negotiating with international companies to provide satellite internet to the people of Iraq as soon as possible, the statement added.

The post Iraq to provide satellite internet for the first time appeared first on Iraqi News.

Brussels NATO on Sunday underlined the unwavering commitment of its KFOR peacekeeping force to its duties in Kosovo as tensions flare with pressure building on Serbia over the detention of three Kosovo police officers.

The commitment of NATO KFOR to the implementation of its mandate is unwavering, as demonstrated by the recent additional deployment of 500 troops, alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.

We once again remind all parties of their obligations to KFOR including respect for the Administrative Boundary Line, procedures for the Kosovo Police and the 2013 Agreement on the deployment of the Kosovo Security Forces to the north, she tweeted.

NATOs KFOR has swelled to more than 4,000 troops after a battalion of 500 reinforcements from Turkey was sent to Kosovo two weeks ago, following clashes with ethnic Serb protesters in late May that wounded 30 of the peacekeepers.

An extra NATO battalion is on alert to deploy to Kosovo if required.

Serbia is holding three Kosovo police officers who were detained on Wednesday.

Kosovos government has called it a kidnapping and, as a security measure, banned all Serbian trucks from entering its territory.

The United States has strongly called for Serbia to release the police officers. Washington and Brussels are both urging a de-escalation of tensions.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovos premier Albin Kurti to meet in Brussels in the next few days to agree on ways to ease the situation.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Its ethnic Albanian majority rose up in 1999, sparking a NATO military intervention against Serbias forces.

But Belgrade and its allies Beijing and Moscow refuse to recognise its independence, effectively preventing Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations.

Serbs in Kosovo remain largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.

On Friday, hundreds of Kosovo Serbs protested in the flashpoint northern town of Mitrovica against the arrest of an alleged Serb paramilitary leader.

Also on Friday, KFOR issued a statement saying it was unclear where exactly the Kosovo police officers were arrested whether it was on the territory of Kosovo or Serbia.

It urged both parties to refrain from provocative rhetoric and to avoid any unilateral act that could escalate the tension in the area.

The post NATO says peacekeepers unwavering as Kosovo tensions flare appeared first on Iraqi News.

Beijing An Armenian poet and communist fighter in World War II will enter the Pantheon mausoleum and join an elite group of Frances revered historical figures, French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

Known as being pantheonised, the rare tribute is reserved for those who have played an important role in the countrys history.

Missak Manouchian, who arrived in France in 1925 as a stateless refugee after fleeing violence, later joined the communist Resistance during World War II.

He led a small group of foreign Resistance fighters against the Nazi occupation, carrying out attacks on German forces and acts of sabotage in Nazi-occupied France in 1943.

Macron said Manouchian embodies the universal values of France, and carries a part of our greatness.

In 1944, the group, which included a number of Jews, was put out of action when 23 of its members were rounded up and sentenced to death by a German military court.

Manouchian was shot by the Nazis on February 21, 1944.

The collaborationist Vichy regime later tried to discredit the group and defuse the anger over the executions in an infamous red poster depicting the dead fighters as terrorists.

By entering the Pantheon, Manouchian will become both the first foreign and communist Resistance fighter to be awarded the honour.

Macron paid tribute to Manouchians bravery and quiet heroism in a statement Sunday, as well as to other foreign Resistance fighters.

Manouchian will enter the Pantheon alongside his wife Melinee, who survived him by 45 years and is buried alongside him at the Ivry-sur-Seine cemetery.

Other major French figures to be reburied in the Pantheon, which sits on a hill in Pariss Left Bank, include Victor Hugo, Voltaire and Marie Curie.

Since 2017, Macron has pantheonised three others including the French-American dancer and rights activist Josephine Baker, who became the first black woman to be honoured in the secular temple.

The pantheonisation of Manouchian had been called for by the French left, particularly the Communist Party.

On Sunday, Macron will decorate Robert Birenbaum part of the foreign Resistance fighter group alongside Manouchian at the Mont Valerien site where Manouchian and other resistants were executed by the Nazis.

The post Armenian Resistance fighter joins Frances Pantheon greats appeared first on Iraqi News.

Paris One by one, the 10 women, mostly aged under 30, went defiantly to their deaths by hanging in a city square in Shiraz in southern Iran. The youngest was only 17 years old.

They had been charged with crimes including espionage but, for supporters around the world, they were simply being hanged because they were Bahais, and refused to renounce their faith even under pain of death.

On Sunday, Iranian Bahais marked 40 years since the June 18, 1983 executions of the 10 Bahai women in Shiraz, seen as one of the most egregious abuses committed against the non-Muslim minority that has been persecuted ever since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Their deaths continue to horrify Bahais but also inspire the community as it still struggles against discrimination in daily life in Iran. Bahais hope all Iranian women can draw strength from them after a wave of women-led protests shook the clerical leadership late last year.

The arduous path to gender equality in Iran has been walked by countless women over the decades. That road has been marked by the sacrifices of those who chose to stand for their principles even over their lives, said Simin Fahandej, the Bahai International Community (BIC) representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Asked to recant

The women had been arrested in October and November 1982, tortured, denied the right to a lawyer and had been offered the opportunity to save their lives by converting to Islam, according to the BIC.

They refused to sign the statements that were prepared for them and were taken on June 18, 1983 from their prison to Chowgan Square in Shiraz where they were hanged one by one in front of each other.

Two days earlier, six Bahai men were executed in the same square, some of them relatives of the 10 women. In all, more than 200 Bahais were executed in the frenzy of hangings that followed the revolution, according to the BIC.

There is tremendous pride in the faith and selfless courage of the 10 women and their strength in the face of extreme physical and psychological pressure, Anthony Vance, director of the US Bahai Office of Public Affairs, told AFP.

Soosan Sabet, the second cousin of one of the women executed, Akhtar Sabet, who was hanged aged just 25, said she had good memories of her relative, a pure, kind, friendly and sociable person who worked as a nurse.

Even in prison, she started serving the elderly and sick people. She would prepare their breakfast, provide medical treatment and wash their clothes, Sabet told AFP.

During the interrogation, she was asked repeatedly to recant her faith and convert to Islam in order to be released from prison. Akhtar Sabet refused and was hanged.

Ruhi Jahanpour, who was initially held with the women, freed, evaded re-arrest and escaped abroad, described the wo...

Athens After an inconclusive election in May, Greece returns to the ballot box next Sunday with conservative former prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on course to win a second straight four-year term.

Polls show that Mitsotakis New Democracy party is in line to be the clear winner, with between 40 and 43.9 percent of the vote.

Mitsotakis, 55, last month cruised to victory with a score of 40.79 percent, more than 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, former leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras.

But he fell short of a workable parliamentary majority and declined to form a coalition government.

A Pulse poll for private Skai TV last week said nine out of 10 New Democracy voters would vote conservative again on Sunday.

Mitsotakis says that under his stewardship, Greeks paid lower taxes and the country became a success story attractive to investors, posting growth above the European average and returning tourism revenue to nearly pre-pandemic levels.

Growth will continue

I promise Greeks that (economic) growth will continue, he told Skai TV last week.

We are more experienced, more prepared and more determined.

Mitsotakis critics counter that he showered billions of euros on political allies and friendly media, tried to bury a major wiretapping scandal and attempted to dodge responsibility for Greeces worst train disaster in February.

This time, Harvard graduate and former McKinsey financial consultant Mitsotakis faces a challenge on his right that could determine the size of his parliamentary group.

A new hard-right party, Niki, narrowly missed out on parliamentary seats in May and is now polling over the required 3 percent threshold, as is the established nationalist party Greek Solution.

Another new party, Plefsi Eleftherias, headed by hard leftist former parliament speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou is also likely to clinch parliamentary representation.

And former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis also seeks election under the radical left MeRa25 party.

If eight parties succeed in entering parliament on Sunday, the winner will need a higher percentage of the vote to maximise their parliamentary group in the 300-seat chamber.

Mitsotakis has been criticised for warning that a third election could be held in August, at the height of the busy tourism season, if a government cannot be formed after Sunday.

A final vote?

Last month, the former PM blamed deep policy differences with his closest rivals, leftist leader Alexis Tsipras and socialist head Nikos Androulakis, for his refusal to form a coalition government after Mays ballot.

And he has declined to cooperate with any hard-right party.

The upcoming election is held under new rules that give the winner a bonus of up to 50 seats, facilitating efforts to form a singl...

Khartoum Sudans warring generals agreed a new 72-hour ceasefire from Sunday, US and Saudi mediators said, after fighting intensified with deadly air strikes in Khartoum and an exodus of wounded from Darfur over the border into Chad.

Air strikes killed 17 civilians, including five children, in the capital Saturday, a citizens group said, as medics in Chad reported hundreds of wounded from Darfur seeking treatment.

Multiple truces have been agreed and broken during the two-month war, including after the United States slapped sanctions on both generals after a previous attempt collapsed at the end of May.

A 24-hour ceasefire from June 10 to June 11 provided Khartoum residents with a brief respite from the air strikes and artillery exchanges that have ravaged whole neighbourhoods of the capital but the fighting resumed within 10 minutes of the ceasefire ending.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United States of America announce the agreement of representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a ceasefire throughout Sudan for a period of 72 hours, a Saudi foreign ministry statement said late Saturday.

The ceasefire is due to take effect at 6 am (0400 GMT), the mediators said.

The two sides agreed that during the ceasefire period they would refrain from movements and attacks, the use of warplanes or drones, artillery bombardment, reinforcement of positions, resupply of forces, or refrain from attempting to achieve military gains, the mediators said.

They also agreed to allow freedom of movement and the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Sudan.

The SAF, commanded by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has since April 15 been battling the paramilitary RSF, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, after the two fell out in a power struggle.

A record 25 million people more than half Sudans population are in need of aid, the United Nations says.

Intensifying air strikes

Witnesses say air strikes have intensified in the capital over the past few days.

On Saturday, warplanes struck several residential districts of Khartoum, killing 17 civilians, including five children, according to a citizens support committee. AFP was not immediately able to independently confirm the committees figures.

Residents had earlier reported air strikes around the citys southern Yarmouk district home to a weapons manufacturing and arms depot complex where the RSF claimed full control in early June.

In a video published Friday on the armys Facebook page, deputy army chief Yasser Atta warned civilians to keep away from houses where the RSF are located because the army will attack them at any time.

Since battles began, the death toll across the country has toppe...

Paris Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal won in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday after Scotland produced a stunning late comeback to beat Erling Haalands Norway in Oslo.

Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in Lisbon to make it three wins out of three in Group J, with Manchester City star Bernardo Silva opening the scoring a minute before half-time.

Fernandes headed in the second from a Ruben Neves cross in the 77th minute and scored his second, and Portugals third, in added time.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore the captains armband and played all 90 minutes as the 38-year-old mens international appearance record-holder won his 199th cap.

However, the forward now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia did not manage to add to his record 122 international goals he found the net with a header midway through the first half only to be denied by an offside flag.

Portugal, who visit Iceland on Tuesday, are top of Group J with nine points out of a possible nine having scored 13 goals and conceded none.

They are two points clear of Slovakia, who beat Iceland 2-1 in Reykjavik with Tomas Suslov unwittingly scoring the winner 20 minutes from time after an Alfred Finnbogason penalty for the hosts cancelled out Juraj Kuckas opener.

Luxembourg beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in the same six-team group, from which the top two sides qualify for the finals in Germany.

Scotland have three wins out of three in Group A after following a famous victory over Spain in March by coming from behind late on to beat Norway 2-1 on Saturday.

It looked as if Norway would get their first win of the campaign after Erling Haaland was fouled in the box on the hour mark by Ryan Porteous and converted the resulting penalty.

It was Haalands 22 goal in 24 games for Norway, and he was taken off six minutes from time by coach Stale Solbakken with the job seemingly done.

But then Scotland equalised in the 87th minute when Leo Ostigard failed to deal with a John McGinn pass, allowing Lyndon Dykes to stab home.

And Scotland were not finished as they snatched the winner with a minute left, McGinn and Dykes combining to set up Norwich Citys Kenny McLean to slot in, leaving Norway with just one point from three outings.

Lukaku rescues Belgium

Scotland, who went 23 years without appearing at any major tournament before going to Euro 2020, are now in a fantastic position on top of Group A, five points clear of Georgia and six ahead of Nations League finalists Spain.

They have played a game more than both of those sides, however, and welcome Georgia to Glasgow on Tuesday.

Sometimes when its your moment you just have to ride the wave. The boys believe in themselves and kept going, said Scotland boss Steve Clarke.

Georgia, coached by ex-France international Willy Sagnol, won 2-1 in C...

Beijing Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in China on Sunday for the highest-level trip by a US official in nearly five years as the rival powers look to lower the temperature after soaring tensions.

Neither side expects breakthroughs during Blinkens two-day visit, with the worlds two largest economies at odds on an array of issues from trade to technology to regional security.

But the two countries have increasingly voiced an interest in seeking greater stability and see a narrow window before elections next year both in the United States and Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy which Beijing has not ruled out seizing by force.

In a sign of the fragility of the effort, Blinken had been due to visit four months ago, the fruit of a cordial summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali in November.

But Blinken abruptly postponed the trip after the United States said it detected a Chinese spy balloon over US soil, leading to furious calls for a response by hardliners in Washington.

Speaking in the US capital before his departure, Blinken said he would seek to responsibly manage our relationship by finding ways to avoid miscalculations between the countries.

Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict, he said.

Blinken was speaking alongside Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who said that the region wanted the United States both to stay as a power and to find ways to coexist with a rising China.

Blinkens trip is essential, but not sufficient, Balakrishnan said.

There are fundamental differences in outlook, in values. And it takes time for mutual respect and strategic trust to be built in.

Major differences persist

Foremost among the sensitive issues is Taiwan. Beijing carried out major military drills around the island in August, seen as practice for an invasion, after Nancy Pelosi, then-speaker of the US House of Representatives, defiantly visited Taipei.

And in April, China launched three days of war games after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States, where she met with current speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Ahead of Blinkens visit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the United States needed to respect Chinas core concerns and work together with Beijing.

The US needs to give up the illusion of dealing with China from a position of strength. China and the US must develop relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respect their difference in history, culture, social system and development path, he said, a nod to frequent US criticism of Chinas rights record.

Blinken is the first top US diplomat to visit Beijing sin...