After Turkey Complains, Google Removes Offending ‘Kurdistan’ Map

Google has evidently taken down a user-generated map depicting the boundaries of the historical Kurdistan region, following demands by the Turkish government after a lawmaker complained the map served as “terrorist propaganda.” Read

Iran Tells Trump to Remove Troops From Iraq: ‘This Region Belongs to Us’

A day after President Trump told U.S. military personnel in Iraq that the U.S. would maintain a presence there, in part, to keep a “watch over Iran,” the regime in Tehran slammed the president’s visit and warned him to withdraw the troops. Read

Pro-Iran Militia Leader in Iraq Warns Trump: Pull Out Troops or We’ll ‘Eject Them By Other Means’

President Trump’s unannounced visit Wednesday to U.S. forces in Iraq brought a veiled threat from the leader of an Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia – remove the troops or face the type of bloodshed they confronted before their previous withdrawal, in 2011. Read

Trump and First Lady Pay Surprise Christmas Visit to U.S. Troops in Iraq

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have paid a surprise visit to Iraq, meeting with U.S. troops at an airbase in Anbar province “to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas,” the White House said. Read

Iran Won’t Outlaw Marriage of Under-13 Girls, as Islamic Countries Fare Worst in Annual Gender Survey

Lawmakers in Iran have defeated a bid to outlaw the marrying of girls aged nine to 13, just days after the findings of a new global report indicate, once again, that women fare worse in Islamic countries. Read

After Trump’s Syria Decision US-Led Coalition Continues Airstrikes, Says ISIS ‘Presents a Very Real Threat’

As the various parties engaged in the Syrian conflict mull the looming departure of U.S. forces, the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in both Syria and Iraq announced airstrikes were continuing to degrade a terrorist group that “presents a very real threat to the long-term stability in this region.” Read

Pompeo: Ending ‘Catch and Release’ Will Lead to ‘Truly Historic Drop in Illegal Immigration’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday predicted that a new plan to send illegal aliens back to Mexico to await the outcome of U.S. asylum applications will result in “a truly historic drop in illegal immigration,” since the prospect of being able to disappear into the U.S. will no longer be an incentive. Read

Mattis’ Resignation Letter Cites Loyalty to Allies, Resoluteness With Foes

Defense Secretary James Mattis’ startling resignation on Thursday came amid reports that President Trump plans a 20 percent reduction in troop numbers in Afghanistan, following his decision to withdraw all troops from Syria. Read

Invoking Fallen Soldiers, Trump Says it’s Time For US Troops in Syria ‘to Come Home’

Despite blistering reaction from some senior Republican lawmakers, President Trump said Wednesday his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria now that “we have won against ISIS” would be what American warriors who have been killed in action would have wanted. Read

Russia Threatens New Mid-Range Missiles If US Exits Arms-Control Treaty

The Kremlin is stepping up threats to deploy land-based intermediate-range missiles if the U.S. goes ahead with plans to withdraw from a Cold War-era arms-control treaty. Read

Accused War Criminals Meet in Damascus as Arab Bloc Moves Away From Snubbing Assad

A surprise visit to Damascus by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir made headlines this week because both he and his host are accused of war crimes. The visit may mark a grudging acknowledgment by Arab states that it’s time to resume business with Bashar al-Assad. Read

Pakistan Gov’t Minister Caught on Tape Pledging Support for US-Designated Global Terrorist

Three months after Pakistan complained about a U.S. decision to withhold funding over a failure to tackle terrorism effectively, a government minister has been caught on camera evidently pledging to support a global terrorist who is the subject of a $10 million U.S. reward offer. Read

As CAIR Challenges Texas Ban on Boycotting Israel, Governor Retorts, ‘Texas Stands With Israel. Period’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced a lawsuit Monday challenging legislation in Texas which prohibits government agencies from contracting with or investing in companies that boycott Israel. Read

US Pushes Back Against ‘Reproductive Rights’ Language in UN Texts

The United States waged a lonely struggle at the United Nations on Monday as it opposed language that some advocacy groups have used to promote abortion – and even a global “right” to abortion. Read

Iran’s Zarif Boasts About Regime’s Ability to Evade Sanctions – ‘And We Can Teach it to Others For a Price’

The Iranian regime has perfected “the art of evading sanctions” and is willing to teach other countries to do the same – “for a price,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said at the weekend. Read

‘A Church Without Putin’: Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians Declare Independence From Moscow

In a development that may receive little attention in the West, but could have important geopolitical implications, three Orthodox Church bodies in Ukraine united at the weekend to choose a new head, cementing a split from Russian oversight that Ukraine’s president characterized as the righting of a wrong going back more than three centuries. Read

Iranian Officials Called ‘Hypocrites’ for Sending Their Families to Study and Work in ‘Great Satan’

Denouncing the “hypocrisy of the regime” in Tehran, the State Department’s special representative for Iran says it is “working on” the issue of relatives of senior regime officials living and studying in the country which the mullahs deride as the “great Satan.” Read

US Senate Unanimously Holds Saudi Crown Prince Responsible for Khashoggi’s Murder

The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution declaring that it believes the heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia “is responsible for the murder" of the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. It was a striking show of bipartisan disdain for the de facto ruler of a longstanding ally. Read

Russian Strategic Bombers Fly Over Caribbean With Venezuelan Jets

Two Russian strategic bombers, which held joint exercises with Venezuelan fighter jets over the Caribbean Sea this week, will end their visit on Friday, according to the White House. Read

Pakistan, With Its Severe Blasphemy Laws, Says It’s ‘A Multi-Religious and Pluralistic Society’

Pakistan – whose prime minister said recently there was “no mention of Jesus in history” while calling for greater global awareness of how much Muslims revere Mohammed – said Wednesday it was “a multi-religious and pluralistic society.” Read

Incoming Muslim Congresswomen Mock Pence’s Christian Faith

One of the first two Muslim women elected to the U.S. Congress took a snide dig on Twitter at Vice President Pence for sitting with eyes closed during a heated Oval Office meeting, posting a photo with the caption, “Jesus take the wheel!” – and the other incoming Muslim congresswoman applauded the insult. Read

Religious Freedom Envoy: China One of the ‘Worst Human Rights Situations in the World’

The administration’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom painted a bleak picture Tuesday of the landscape in China, and called the communist regime’s suppression of Uighur Muslims one of the “worst human rights situations in the world.” Read

Under Trump, U.S. Finally Blacklists Pakistan for Religious Freedom Violations

For 16 consecutive years, the State Department under three administrations has rejected advice from an independent statutory watchdog to blacklist Pakistan for religious freedom violations – until now. Read

Russian Nuclear-Capable Bombers Return to Venezuela

For the third time in a decade, Russian strategic bombers have landed in Venezuela, amid stepped-up tensions between Washington and Moscow, and continuing allegations by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of U.S. plotting against his regime. Read

Invoking Otto Warmbier, Administration Sanctions 3 Top North Koreans, Including Kim’s No. 2

Six months after President Trump’s historic summit with Kim Jong Un, his administration marked international Human Rights Day on Monday by imposing sanctions on three of the North Korean dictator’s top officials – including the man viewed as his number two – for human rights abuses and censorship. Read

Days After Dodging UN Condemnation, Hamas Hails ‘Heroic’ Shooting Attack Seriously Wounding Pregnant Israeli

Three days after a U.S. bid to get the U.N. General Assembly to condemn Hamas for the first time ever failed, the terrorist group on Sunday night praised as “heroic” and “blessed” a drive-by shooting in which seven Israelis were wounded – one of them a pregnant 21-year-old. Read

U.S. Opposes U.N. Effort to Advance a Global Framework on Migration – Including Illegal Immigration

Representatives of more than 150 countries are meeting in Morocco on Monday to formally adopt a “compact” on migrants – an initiative which the Trump administration calls an attempt to “globalize migration governance at the expense of state sovereignty.” Read

As U.S.-Sponsored Censure of Hamas Fails at U.N., Haley Asks Arabs, ‘Is the Hatred [of Israel] That Strong?’

A U.S. attempt Thursday to have the U.N. General Assembly pass a first-ever resolution condemning Hamas was stonewalled when Arab states insisted on a two-thirds majority vote for adoption – a step U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said was designed “purely to disrupt” the U.S. initiative. Read

6,000 Miles Apart, Trump and Netanyahu Mark Hanukkah on Anniversary of Historic US Jerusalem Policy Shift

In two ceremonies 6,000 miles apart, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday marked the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, each noting that the occasion fell a year to the day since Trump in a historic policy shift recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Read

New Report: UN Should Investigate Secret Execution of Thousands of Iranian Dissidents 30 Years Ago

The Iranian regime’s refusal to come clean about the secret executions of thousands of dissidents 30 years ago amounts to an ongoing crime against humanity, a global human rights group says in a new report. Read

Up to Two Million Uighurs Incarcerated in Chinese Camps; Islamic Bloc Silent

Over the past 20 months Chinese authorities have incarcerated between 800,000 and two million Uighurs in internment camps, according to U.S. intelligence estimates cited by a senior State Department official on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Read

US Warship Sails Near Disputed Waters to ‘Challenge Russia’s Excessive Maritime Claims’

Amid simmering U.S.-Russia tensions over missiles and Ukraine, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer on Wednesday sailed near disputed waters between Russia and Japan, in an operation designed “to challenge Russia’s excessive maritime claims” in the area. Read

UN Peacekeeping Force Silent About Hezbollah’s Cross-Border Attack Tunnels

Israel’s discovery of a sophisticated tunnel dug by Hezbollah to breach the Lebanon-Israel border has brought a bland reaction – and no condemnation for the terrorist group – from the U.N. peacekeeping mission deployed there. Read

With NATO’s Backing, US Gives Putin 60-Day Notice to Comply With Missile Treaty

Accusing Russia of deploying missiles threatening Europe in violation of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration on Tuesday gave Russia 60 days to return to compliance, failing which the United States will itself withdraw. Read

Hostages’ Families Urge Gov’ts to Make ‘Political Cost’ for Iran So High That It Releases Them

The families of seven Americans and others incarcerated or missing in Iran urged the international community Monday to apply pressure on the regime to secure their release and to end what they said amounts to hostage-taking. Read

State Dep’t Scorns Iran’s Claim That Missile Tests Are Defensive

The State Department on Monday urged the European Union to join the U.S. in imposing sanctions in response to Iran’s ballistic missile program, rejecting the regime’s claims that its launches are “defensive.” Read

Putin: Movie Depicting US Military Rescuing Russian President ‘Sounds Like a Bad Film’

Russian President Vladimir Putin took a dig at America’s military prowess – and filmmaking abilities – at the weekend, calling a movie scenario farfetched because it portrays U.S. military personnel penetrating a Russian naval base. Read

Haley Pushes Ahead With First-Ever UN Resolution Condemning Hamas

Weeks before she leaves her post at the U.N., Ambassador Nikki Haley is driving a concerted push to have the world body, for the first time ever, adopt a resolution condemning Hamas by name. Read