Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday announced the full liberation of the city of al-Qaim near the border with Syria from the Islamic State (IS) militants. A statement by the premier’s office said Abadi, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of Iraqi forces, “congratulated the people of Iraq for the …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani had a phone conversation Friday in which they stressed the need for political negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad.

Stressing the urgent need to help Mali and other countries the Sahel address cross-border terrorism and organized crime, Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday invited the United Nations Security Council to “be ambitious” in deciding how the UN supports the region’s newly-established joint force.