Limping and Penniless, Iraqis Deported From Belarus Face Bleak Futures
The New York Times
Hundreds of desperate Iraqis are being sent home after becoming political pawns in Belarus’s quarrel with its European Union neighbors.
ERBIL, Iraq — It was cold in Belarus, bitterly cold, but at least it offered hope, however illusory.
Nazar Shamsaldin was one of thousands of Iraqis who made their way to the Eastern European country in recent months, hoping it would prove a jumping-off point to new lives in the West, only to become pawns in a geopolitical game.
But this weekend he was back in Iraq, sitting on the cold floor of a tiny unfinished concrete house, newly deported from Belarus. Nearby a small boy, one of a dozen children crammed into the house, was trying to warm his hands over a single, battered kerosene heater.
The truce will begin at 8:30 a.m., according to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a mediator in the talks. U.S. and other diplomats see the deal as the best chance to end the 15-month war that has devastated Gaza.
The full Israeli cabinet passed the agreement during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the security cabinet to approve the agreement after a day of delays. His office said the deal, which is expected to be greenlit by the full cabinet later Friday, could go into effect as early as Sunday.
The agreement, which would include the release of hostages, was met with cautious optimism. But Israel’s cabinet needs to ratify the deal, and the prime minister’s office said Hamas was reneging on parts of it, an accusation that the group rejected.
Senior officials said a deal had been reached, but negotiators had yet to confirm a start date or other technical details.
The new interim Syrian government says it will hunt down and punish senior security officials and others, but concern is growing about attacks on former low-level members of the Assad regime’s forces.
The negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, appear to be making progress after months of failed attempts to achieve a breakthrough.
While major ruptures are not expected, Gulf states are urging a tougher stance on Israel and a softening toward Iran, positions that differ greatly from the president-elect’s first term.
Islamic State militants have rampaged across the northern Cabo Delgado Province for more than seven years. The government says the situation has stabilized. Residents tell a different story.
A dispute over a project to cure hams in a bell tower underscored the difficulties that churches in France face trying to pay for restorations.
An image depicting a famous 19th-century painting of Cossacks, with current Ukrainian soldiers standing in for the warriors, has struck a chord as Kyiv battles to assert its identity.
A son of the country’s founding father says he has been persecuted by the government because of a feud with his older brother, who until May was prime minister.
Israel and its allies have escalated strikes against the Houthis, trying to force the Iran-backed group to stop firing on Israel and Red Sea shipping.
A stinging defeat in war has left the once untouchable group on its most uncertain footing in years.
Across China’s west, the Communist Party is placing children in boarding schools to assimilate a generation of Tibetans into the national mainstream and mold them into loyal citizens.
The White House seized a rare chance to undermine Russia and build up regional allies as it built a coalition to support the Ukrainians.
The Freedom Party and its leader, Herbert Kickl, have steadily built support by demonizing immigrants, while entering Austria’s political mainstream.
By suspending Parliament and promising to resign, the prime minister bought the Liberals time. But Canada will now face Donald J. Trump with a lame duck in charge.