AL-DIWANIYAH, IRAQ — The last moments of the Iraqi special forces officer came in the nondescript outskirts of Mosul, amid tight house-to-house combat against jihadists of the so-called Islamic State. In one scene, a BBC Arabic television crew captures the hulking sergeant-major of Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Force (ICTF) kicking through the door of a house. In the next, the officer steps ...

BBC Radio 5 live has been reporting from Iraq on the stories of women, children and men who have fled from the forces of the so-called Islamic State. Reporter Nick Garnett reflects on his time there. As Anna Foster, presenter of 5 live Drive, and I sat opposite one another deep into the night editing video and audio, we had ...

A British woman can adopt a girl who was abandoned in a cardboard box on a street in Egypt shortly after birth, a high court judge has decided. Ms Justice Russell ruled that the woman, an NHS administrator, can bring up the six-year-old in the UK, despite objections from Egyptian authorities. The judge revealed details in a written ruling on ...

Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oil driller by market value, said Sunday it had signed a preliminary deal to study an Iranian oil field, as Donald Trump’s presidential victory has yet to deter U.S.-connected companies from dealing with Tehran. The contract is one of the most prominent signed since the Nov. 8 election. Mr. Trump has vowed to undo a ...

Last week’s fires were about 80 percent as bad with a similar problem: Pine forests might now expand at the expense of natural woodland Israel’s five days of fires have burned more than 20,000 dunams (5,000 acres) of forest, brushland and other open space, a similar scope as the record 2010 Carmel fire, the Jewish National Fund and the Israel ...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s chief of staff of the armed forces said Saturday that Tehran may be interested in setting up naval bases in both Syria and Yemen, the semi-official Tasnim reported. “Maybe, at some point we will need bases on the shores of Yemen and Syria,” the report by Tasnim quoted Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri as saying. “Having naval ...

A cross-party group of MPs will make a fresh effort to hold Tony Blair to account for allegedly misleading parliament and the public over the Iraq war. The move, which could see Blair stripped of membership of the privy council, comes as the former prime minister tries to re-enter the political fray, promising to champion the “politically homeless” who are ...

EDITED BY KALAHAN DENG 1. Soda Pop Sodas are a sugar loaded, empty source of calories that can be very detrimental to your health. In addition to being linked with weight gain, inflammation, and insulin resistance, this sweet caffeinated beverage can lead to gastro-esophageal reflux disease. This condition causes the stomach acid to leak back into the esophagus resulting in ...

IT HAS been five years since Egypt and Tunisia underwent regime change, and both countries are still suffering from low economic growth, large fiscal deficits, high unemployment, and rising public debts. Having failed to institute reforms on their own, both have turned to the International Monetary Fund, which entered into an arrangement with Tunisia in 2013 and has just approved a $12 ...

Egypt’s Court of Cassation orders retrial in the case for deposed president who had a death sentence overturned earlier. Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi has had a life sentence overturned by the country’s Court of Cassation, which ordered a retrial in the case that revolves around accusations of espionage with Palestinian group Hamas. Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, had ...