On October 10, Iraq held their sixth parliamentary election since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, reports The New York Times. The parliamentary election decides the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who elect Iraq’s president and confirm the prime minister.
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Israel has invalidated approximately 2 million vaccine passports after requiring individuals to have a COVID-19 booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated. The country is now requiring the third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination for those 12 years of age or older, with the exception of those who received their second dose or tested positive for COVID-19 within the last six months.
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Saudi Arabian officials confirmed that a fourth round of talks this year with Iranian officials occurred earlier this month, following a period of silence between the two rival nations after the election of Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi.
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On September 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will consider buying a second S-400 missile system from Russia, drawing international scrutiny. This announcement concerned United States defense officials, particularly following the events of 2020, in which Turkey was kicked out of NATO’s F-35 program for similar actions, reports ABC News.
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Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, many questions have arisen regarding women’s rights in the country. The Taliban announced that they would lead an inclusive government where women would work “shoulder to shoulder” with men, promising to govern differently than before, says Al Jazeera.
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On Tuesday, September 21, the Taliban requested to address world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and nominated Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, according to Reuters. This was one of many strategic efforts by the Taliban as it continues to woo world leaders in a bid for recognition as the official political authority in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries that recognized the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
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The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is deepening the country’s long-standing refugee crisis. According to the United Nations, there were around six million Afghan refugees and internally displaced people at the end of 2020. Another half a million could leave by the end of the year.
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The United States intervened in Afghanistan to hunt down the perpetrators of the September 11 terror attacks and deter another incident of such magnitude. Although this mission was successful at first, the Taliban’s return to power raises serious questions and concerns about the likelihood of a renewal of terrorism in Afghanistan and its implications for the American homeland.
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The United States has concluded its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking the end of America’s longest war and a complete Taliban takeover of the country. CNN reports that the last U.S. military planes left Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, officially ending American intervention in the conflict.
Read MoreA massive fire at a hospital in Baghdad injured 110 people and killed more than 80 as officials are still searching for missing people. An exploding oxygen cylinder started the fire at the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital, an institution dedicated to serving COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms, reports The Associated Press.
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