The Trump administration is expected to drop Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority nations to be impacted by a travel ban that the president was to sign into effect on Wednesday, but didn’t, along with several other substantive changes from the previous executive order that had been put on hold by a federal court. The new order is likely to exempt existing visa holders from the listed countries — the […]

One of the major triumphs of modern archaeology was the hair-raising discoveries of Sir Leonard Woolley at Ur. Amidst the ruins of Ur, he unearthed a Ram-chapel but totally missed its relevance in world history. This crucial finding not only bridges the wide gaps between Indian tradition and archaeology but also unfolds the historic bonds that once united ancient India, Iran and Sumer. Ram-Sin of (Larsa) to whose memory this […]

New Delhi: In what could be a warning bell for the security agencies in India, reports have emerged that the dreaded Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have been recruiting youths from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir to fight in Iraq, Syria and other places in the Middle East. As per reports, over hundred youths may have joined the jihadist militant group as of now […]

Baghdad: Iraqi President Fuad Masoum Monday asked Deputy Speaker Haidar al-Abadi to form the next government but the politicians allied to outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected the premier-designate, raising concerns about a political struggle in the country facing insurgency from Sunni jihadists. The state-run Iraqiya channel showed Masoum signing a letter granting power to form the next government to Abadi, the Shia coalition’s nominee for prime minister, Xinhua reported. […]

The US has launched two additional air strikes against militants from the Islamic State (IS) group in northern Iraq, the Pentagon has said. US drones and Navy fighter jets attacked targets near the Kurdish city of Irbil – a similar location to the first strike earlier on Friday. The Sunni Muslim group IS has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria. Tens of thousands of people from minority groups […]

It is already the world’s biggest cemetery, the final resting resting place of some five million souls but it’s growing all the time. With gravestones stretching out as far as the eye can see, Wadi Al-Salaam, which translates as Valley of Peace, is an ancient Islamic cemetery near the holy city Shiite city of Najaf. The site is located close to the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, the […]

BAGHDAD — Iraqi police say gunmen have killed at least 33 people, including 29 women, in a raid on two buildings in a housing complex in Baghdad. Police officials say the gunmen showed up in four-wheel drive vehicles before storming the buildings in the Zayounah neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad. They say at least 18 people were wounded. Police have cordoned off the area. An Interior Ministry official and hospital officials […]

All the 46 nurses who were in the custody of the ISIS will return to India by 7 AM tomorrow and this could be considered to be a major achivement for the Indian government. There are several questions being asked about what suddenly changed the mind of the ISIS and a decision to release them so soon was taken. None of the nurses sounded confident yesterday and many were shaky […]

More than a million Iraqis have been forced from their homes by conflict this year, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday — a number only likely to rise as Islamist militants and Iraqi security forces battle for control. A humanitarian crisis is brewing, as families who’ve fled fighting with little more than the clothes on their back seek water, food and shelter from the summer heat. Meanwhile, the first of […]

In September 2013 I wrote about how the battle between the Taliban and the Pakistani government lay in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. If that urban centre burned, the whole country might as well burn with it. Up till now the government’s offer of talks exposed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as unreasonable and illogical, but the government persisted – one unable and the other unwilling to accept the idea that perhaps […]