‘They will never let go’: Isis fighters regroup in the heart of Iraq
Iraqi special forces hunt Isis in lowlands south of Kirkuk, where the militants keep on the move, seeking to regain territorial control
by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Iraq
Along convoy of humvees, trucks and troop carriers moved slowly through the countryside to the south of the city of Kirkuk, ferrying dozens of Iraqi special forces. Their target was a string of hideouts used by Islamic State militants in the rough terrain of hills and lowlands crisscrossed by canals and long-dried seasonal river gullies, or wadis as they are called in Arabic.
In the lead vehicle sat the commanding officer, a young lieutenant-colonel, Ihab Jalil, with a clipped moustache and hazelnut-coloured eyes. He charted the routes of the convoy on his tablet. At the same time, switching between three radio sets, he talked to the pilots of two helicopters that circled over the convoy, scouting the road ahead.
Ethiopia PM Abiy's party wins landslide victory in June parliamentary poll
PM Abiy on Saturday hailed the outcome of a “historic” election after results showed his party winning an overwhelming majority in the federal parliament.
Abiy's party won 410 of 436 parliamentary seats, election board deputy chairperson Woubshet Ayele announced Saturday in the capital Addis Ababa. Chairperson Birtukan Mideksa said the board had delivered a credible election.
Abiy described the June 21 vote as a “historically inclusive election”, in a statement on Twitter, adding: “Our party is also happy that it has been chosen by the will of the people to administer the country.”
“No Story Is Worth as Much as My Life”Fears Mount Following Attack on Dutch Journalist
Did “cocaine baron” Ridouan Taghi commission a hit job on Dutch star reporter Peter R. de Vries? The assassination attempt casts new light on the power of drug gangs in the Netherlands.
Ridouan Taghi had many code words for "murder." He sometimes spoke of "letting someone sleep" or wanting to "deactivate" someone in the encrypted messages he sent to confidants that were reviewed by investigators. But it appears that they always meant the same thing: Taghi wanted to kill someone for getting in the way of his drug business.
Investigators believe the Dutchman with Moroccan roots was involved in the cocaine trade, and that he rose to become one of the country’s biggest smugglers. Taghi has been in prison since December 2019, and for years, he has been considered "public enemy No. 1" in the Netherlands. Prosecutors accuse him of having run his criminal organization "like a well-oiled machine."
Brazil highway auction fuels export hopes but Indigenous concerns
Proponents say auction of stretch of BR-163 will boost grain exports, but Indigenous people fear harmful environmental effects.
A recent auction of a stretch of Brazil’s so-called “Soy Highway” – along which millions of tonnes of grains are transported annually – has spurred hopes that the country’s booming soy exports will get another welcome boost.
But the July 8 auction on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange that saw private consortium Via Brasil win the bid to administer a 1,009km (626-mile) tract of the BR-163 highway has also sparked concern among local Indigenous groups.
US heatwave: Wildfires rage in western states as temperatures soar
Wildfires are raging in the west of the United States as the region is hit by a heatwave that has brought record temperatures to several areas.
Communities have been told to evacuate as firefighters struggle to battle the blazes in the extreme conditions.
Two firefighters in Arizona died when their aircraft crashed while responding to a wildfire.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas matched its all-time temperature high of 47.2C (117F) on Saturday.
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