Iraqi Shiites pushing for al-Maliki’s removal
By HAMZA HENDAWI FILE – In this Friday, March 26, 2010, file photo, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks to the press in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq’s Vice President Khudeir al-Khuzaie…
Religion and politics
Bishop to restore defrocked pastor’s credentials
By MARYCLAIRE DALE and MICHAEL RUBINKAM ILE – In this June 20, 2014, file photo, Frank Schaefer, a United Methodist Church pastor who was defrocked for officiating his son Tim’s…
Sunni fighters expand offensive in western Iraq
By HAMZA HENDAWI and SAMEER N. YACOUB Volunteers of the newly formed “Peace Brigades” participate in a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 21,…
Iraq: al-Maliki’s rivals jockey to replace him
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA FILE – This Dec. 3, 2011 file photo shows Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks during an interview with The Associated Press in…
Young Iraqis volunteer to fight surging militants
By HAMZA HENDAWI and SAMEER N. YACOUB Iraqi men board military trucks to join the Iraqi army at the main recruiting center in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June. 14, 2014, after…
Al-Qaida breakaway pursuing an Islamic state
By RYAN LUCAS Militias of the al-Qaida breakaway group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) deploy in an area in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad,…
Israel chooses veteran hard-liner as president
By TIA GOLDENBERG Newly elected Israeli president Reuven Rivlin, right, raises a toast with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, June, 10, 2014.…
UN COMMITTEE BLASTS VATICAN ON SEX AB– USE, ABORTION
By NICOLE WINFIELD Kirsten Sandberg, center, chairperson of the U.N. human rights committee on the rights of the child, talks to committee members Maria Herczog, right, and Benyam Mezmur during…