Iraq’s new government outlines priorities

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani faces multiple challenges and constituencies to move his agenda.

The Iraqi parliament approved the new government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Oct. 27, as the 29-page ministerial program put forth by Sudani was put to a vote and received more than 250 of 329 parliamentarians’ votes.

Iraq-Iran ties likely to improve under new Iraqi PM

Iran played a key role in helping form the new Iraqi government.

Iraq’s new government under Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani is likely to be on better terms with Iran than the previous government.

The Coordination Framework, the coalition which brought Sudani to office last week, and which consists of Iran-backed groups and paramilitary factions, was able to form the government after Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — an Iraqi nationalist who has long been critical of Iran — withdrew his bloc from parliament this past June.

Achieving Socialism By Definition – OpEd

Among all the conflicts that divide humanity –historically and now when humans should be working together racing against time to save the biosphere—including conflicts of Israelis vs. Palestinians, gays vs. homophobes, pro-life people vs. pro-choice people, Catholics vs. protestants, Muslims vs. Hindus, conflicts among nations seeking power in an “anarchic” world system, blacks vs. racists, Turks vs. Armenians, and others—surely some of the most divisive conflicts, in terms of lives lost, in terms of prisoners tortured, in terms of resources wasted and assets destroyed , in terms of terror, and in terms of truth itself disappearing in endless mazes of lies, have been and continue to be conflicts of socialism vs. capitalism. Could this be a case where one of the major causes of pointless suffering has been and continues to be, conceptual confusion? Yes, it could.

India: Creeping Radicalization – Analysis

On October 23, one person, identified as Jameza Mubin, died in an early morning explosion in a gas cylinder-laden Maruti 800 near the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore District. There were two LPG cylinders inside the vehicle, of which one exploded. As reported on October 26, this incident took place around 200 metres from a Police patrol.

Is Ukraine Going Too Far? – OpEd

In the last couple months, Ukraine has successfully pushed back against Russia’s invading forces. It retook a large chunk of territory around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. It is on the verge of recapturing the only major city—Kherson in the south—that Russia has occupied since February. Ukrainian forces have also targeted airfields in Crimea and may well be responsible for the attack that caused significant damage to the single bridge connecting the peninsula to the Russian mainland.

Iran: Uprising Expands As Regime Launches More Campus Crackdowns – OpEd

Iran’s nationwide uprising marks its 45th day on Sunday after escalating protests in many cities across the country, especially as college students took to the streets in large numbers on Saturday. Following the onslaught against Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology earlier this month, regime authorities deployed their forces into two campuses in the capital and the city of Mashhad where anti-regime dissent has been escalating.

IRGC warns Iran protesters as unrest enters seventh week

Despite the warning, the protests swelled, and faced an escalation in violent police raids on funerals, campuses and dormitories.

As anti-government unrest entered a seventh week in Iran, the commander of the country’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned protesters to go home.