The ministry added that the move “sends a clear signal to the international community that Iraq has become a secure and attractive destination for investment.”
On counterterrorism, the ministry stressed that the repeal does not weaken ongoing efforts, noting that the 2001 authorization—enacted after the September 11 attacks to confront al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups—remains in force.
Iraq on Wednesday welcomed a US Congress vote to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Baghdad, included within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026.
The Foreign Ministry said it views “with great pleasure” the vote by the House of Representatives and the Senate, noting that the repeal awaits ratification by President Donald Trump.
„They committed a criminal and illegal act when they carried out a military assault, kidnapping, and robbery—like pirates of the Caribbean—of a merchant, commercial, civilian, private vessel. A ship of peace, which was attacked almost upon reaching the Atlantic, not off the coast of Venezuela. It was further north, beyond Trinidad and Tobago, towards the island of Grenada.“
Regarding the crew, he said, „As I speak to you now, the crew of that ship, which was carrying 1.900.000 barrels of oil to international markets—oil that was paid for in Venezuela, because everyone who extracts oil pays for it first—are being held captive, they‘ve disappeared, nobody knows where they are. The crew was kidnapped. The ship was stolen, and a new era has begun: that of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.“
“I’m reminded of what my mother would tell me when I was a kid, ‘Ten wrongs don’t make a right,’ so the fact that 10 presidents have done it doesn’t make it right. Our Founding Fathers were united to a person — all those who signed, all those who debated over the Constitution, the Federalist Papers — were unanimous that Congress should declare war, no president should on his own. Now we have disobeyed that, but we do have the ability, if Congress rose up in a clear two-thirds majority and said ‘no,’ we could overturn any veto.”
The U.S. Supreme Court could ultimately decide the issue.
(December 10, 2025)
Former director of the National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre and National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader, retired Coast Guard commander Norman Dindial, said that the Prime Minister’s claim is legally unsound. He said flagless vessels are classified as stateless, not pirates, and cannot be considered lawful targets.
His comments follow renewed questions about the September 2 strike near Trinidad and Tobago’s waters, now under scrutiny for allegedly killing two survivors in a second hit. Speaking outside Parliament on Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar said the incident “had little to do with Trinidad and Tobago” and suggested the unregistered vessel may have been viewed as carrying pirates. Dindial dismissed that interpretation.
Last week, Paul and Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), Adam Schiff (Ca.) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) filed a war powers resolution to prevent the administration from engaging Venezuela in conflict without congressional approval.
The Kentucky Republican reiterated he and his colleagues’ push on Wednesday, saying that “if you want war, the president should come to Congress, like the Constitution dictates, and he should ask Congress for a declaration of war.
“That’s what should be going on right now.”
Israel is party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN. The Convention makes UN premises inviolable – in other words, immune from search and/or seizure – and makes UN property and assets immune from legal process.
The International Court of Justice has also underscored that Israel is obliged to cooperate with UNRWA and other UN agencies.
There can be no exceptions. To allow this represents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world.
(December 02, 2025)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeated calls for peace and pledged “absolute loyalty” to his people at a rally attended by thousands in Caracas, as tensions escalate over potential military action by the United States.
The rally on Monday came as US President Donald Trump met with his national security team at the White House to discuss the “next steps” on Venezuela, according to media reports.
(November 25, 2025)
“Because they know that Donald Trump will be gone and they will not have that protection,” he added. “They’re going to have to do the safest thing possible, which is follow the Constitution of the United States, and you’ll be fine.”
Gallego then looked directly into the camera and gave a message to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On Monday, Hegseth said the Pentagon would conduct a “thorough review” of allegations against Kelly, who first heard of the investigation in Hegseth’s post on the social platform X.
“You will never, ever, ever even be half the man that Sen. Kelly is,” Gallego told Hegseth. “You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. And I can’t wait till you no longer are the secretary of Defense.”
The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said late Saturday they are seeking “full accounting” of an early September U.S. military attack against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean after a report alleged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. troops to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel.
“This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) military operations in the Caribbean,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the House committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the panel, said in a joint statement.
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
The most disturbing aspect is the total impunity given to Israel by the international community – Israel’s Western allies in particular – for the genocide in Gaza and ongoing attacks in the occupied West Bank, he added.
“What they’re lacking is the political will to act and the moral courage to act, and that’s really shameful,” said Parnes.
We are appalled at the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in an apparent summary execution.
Killings of Palestinians by Israeli security forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank have been surging, without accountability, even in the rare cases when investigations are announced. Following yesterday’s incident, which was caught on film by a TV channel, an internal review was announced. But statements by a senior Israeli government official sought to absolve Israeli security forces of responsibility, raising serious concerns about the credibility of any future review or investigation conducted by any entity that is not fully independent from the Government.
Our Office has verified that since 7 October 2023 and up until 27 November 2025 , Israeli forces and settlers killed 1,030 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among these victims were 223 children.
The UN human rights office, OHCHR said on Friday that it was “appalled” by the “brazen killing” of two Palestinian men by Israeli border police in the West Bank, describing it as “an apparent summary execution.”
The shooting occurred on Thursday in Jenin and was apparently caught on film by a TV channel, OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.
He said an internal review was announced following the incident, but statements made by a senior Israeli official sought to absolve security forces of responsibility, “raising serious concerns about the credibility of any future review or investigation conducted by any entity that is not fully independent from the Government.”
On Monday, the Pentagon announced an investigation into Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot, for possible violations of military law for appearing in the video. The video was published as legal questions swirl around the Trump administration‘s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
While the White House has since walked back the president‘s remarks calling the Senators‘ video „seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH,“ Kelly told All Things Considered he thinks President Trump is „declaring that loyalty to the Constitution is punishable by death.“
President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress.
Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews. No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.
We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.
Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.
No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.
We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.
(November 23, 2025)
Israeli chief of staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday dismissed senior officers in the military over „failure to prevent“ the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, local media reported.
Zamir ended the service of several retired generals, including the former Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva, former Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman, and former Operations Directorate chief Oded Basyuk, according to the public broadcaster KAN.
The report said that Zamir also dismissed Gaza Division reserve commander Avi Rosenfeld, while the division’s intelligence officer was expelled from the army altogether.
New York City‘s CEOs and other billionaire business leaders spent more than $40 million trying to stop Mamdani from becoming the city‘s next mayor. Now they have to live with him — and their reactions range from threatening to leave the city to pragmatic acceptance.
„I think it‘s the stages of grief,“ says Kathryn Wylde, who runs the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group that represents more than 300 large employers.
(today, 10:47)
The Lebanese army has requested that the committee responsible for overseeing the ceasefire take action to stop ongoing Israeli violations and continues to monitor incidents in coordination with UNIFIL.
The directive came during a meeting this morning at Baabda Palace with Army Commander General Rudolph Haykal, who briefed the President on the details of last night’s Israeli incursion into Blida, during which municipal employee Ibrahim Salamehwas killed while performing his duties.
President Aoun condemned the attack, describing it as “part of a continuous pattern of Israeli aggression” and noting that it occurred “shortly after the meeting of the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (Mechanism), which must not limit itself to recording incidents, but act to end them by pressing Israel to respect the November ceasefire agreement and cease its violations of Lebanese sovereignty.”
(October 27, 2025)
President Gustavo Petro warned the United States not to attack Colombia in response to a threat by the conservative US Senator Lindsay Graham.
In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that “the Colombian people, every time they are attacked anywhere, en masse head to the mountains and arm themselves” to become “invisible like the jaguar with passionate stealth.”
“Don’t try it, that’s the only advise I give,” said the president, “because I know the history of my people and I am… the legitimate son of my people.”
Mamdani tied the raids to the city’s failure to pass a package of street vendor reform legislation that would lift the cap on street vendor permits. Currently, there are over 10,000 people waiting for vending permits.
“What we need to do is actually pass the street vending reform bills that have been in the city council, some of which this mayor has actually overridden,” said Mamdani. “That’s an example of how we can both protect street vendors, ensure quality of life, and leave no stone unturned in delivering for the people of the city, as opposed to working with the president, who is looking to declare war on those same people.”
NEW YORK, NY — Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) was joined by Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams today for a press conference calling on New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to strictly enforce state and local laws and hold federal immigration agents accountable for unlawful conduct, including potentially arresting federal officers who illegally assault or detain New York residents. Assemblymember Tony Simone and Councilmember Alexa Aviles were also in attendance.
The press conference followed Goldman’s letter to NYPD Commissioner Tisch, citing numerous instances of federal immigration officers abusing their authority and detaining, arresting, and deporting American citizens and law-abiding, non-violent New Yorkers.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Goldman, who was focused on the detention of citizens — rather than the noncitizens, who remain detained in New Jersey — suggested that the involvement of the NYPD would help prevent federal abuse. “We will continue to call on the NYPD to make sure that they are present for these raids,” he said. “Because it’s the NYPD’s job to protect New Yorkers.”
The Congressman also announced that his office would be starting a “Rapid Response Task Force” to coordinate a response to overreach by federal authorities.
“This is not immigration enforcement,” he said. “This is lawless terror to create a pretext for Donald Trump to send the military into New York City.”
sraeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on UNRWA is “shameful.”
“They are blaming Israel for not cooperating with UN organs… They should be blaming themselves. Those organs became breeding grounds for terrorists. Take for example UNRWA… an organization that supported Hamas for years,” Danon says.
(October 19, 2025)
President Gustavo Petro said a U.S. strike in the Caribbean had killed a fisherman. President Trump said he would cut aid and impose new tariffs on Colombian imports.
„So far, they‘ve carried out five lethal attacks, resulting in 27 deaths,“ he said, adding that some of the victims have been reported as Colombians, Venezuelans, and Trinidadians, so these actions „affect the entire region; it‘s not just a Venezuelan issue. The victims come from other countries as well.“
He warned about Donald Trump‘s threat to escalate these incidents into potential attacks on land targets, which violates the „provisions of Article 2.4 of the United Nations Charter, relating to the abstention from the use of force.“
As T&T and the wider Caribbean await an official response to reports that two nationals were among six people killed in a United States kinetic strike off Venezuela’s coast, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Defence Minister Wayne Sturge avoided questions from the media on the matter yesterday.