BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister said on Tuesday Baghdad is in contact with the United States on settling outstanding debts of $10 billion the country owes Iran for gas imports.
Iranian gas is crucial for Iraq’s electricity generation, but US sanctions on Iranian oil and gas impose restrictions on how Baghdad can pay for its imports.
Iraq cannot directly hand over cash to Iran, but payments must be held in a bank account and be used by Tehran to fund imports of food and medicines.

LONDON: Britain’s government on Tuesday formally declared that atrocities committed by the Daesh group against the Yazidi people in Iraq were acts of genocide.
The UK Foreign Office said the government’s official acknowledgement came after a recent landmark ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice, which found a former member of Daesh, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.

JERUSALEM: The Supreme Court on Monday said all 15 judges in a historic first would take part in a hearing on arguments against a law Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition passed as part of an overhaul of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court agreed to discuss on Sept. 12 petitions to strike down a bill ratified last week that limits its powers to void some decisions made by government and ministers, setting the scene for a constitutional showdown.

CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reiterated his country’s firm position in support of the Palestinian people.

El-Sisi made the remarks during a meeting on Monday with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, who is visiting Egypt.

The meeting of El-Sisi and Abbas followed Sunday’s meeting of several Palestinian factions’ general secretaries in Egypt’s New Alamein City.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s General Directorate of State Security has called on parents to be more vigilant in protecting their children and adolescents from harassment and abuse.

Schools and universities are also being urged to raise more awareness among children, young women and men on how to take precautions and protect themselves from harassers.