BAGHDAD: Iraq’s central bank must address continued risks of the misuse of dollars at Iraqi commercial banks to avoid new punitive measures targeting the country’s financial sector, a top US Treasury official said, citing fraud, money laundering and Iran sanctions evasion.
In July, the United States barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on the illicit use of dollars.

CAIRO: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna in Cairo on Thursday, stressing “the importance Egypt attaches to strengthening cooperation with France.”

The French minister described Egypt as a “reliable partner and an important country” for France in a post on X — formerly Twitter — as she began her visit to the North African state on Wednesday evening.

NAIROBI/LONDON: North Africa suffered two disasters in three days when a devastating earthquake struck Morocco on Friday, followed by catastrophic flooding in Libya on Sunday, leaving thousands dead and many more missing, sparking a global aid response.

On Friday night, a powerful earthquake, measuring 6.8 in magnitude, struck high in the Atlas Mountains about 70 km south of Marrakech, flattening whole villages, killing at least 2,900 people and leaving thousands more homeless.

ANKARA: Turkiye is sending a ship carrying equipment to set up two field hospitals to Libya with 148 medical staff, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday, after a catastrophic flood killed thousands of people.
Turkiye has already sent three aircraft to transport humanitarian aid as well as a rescue team and an 11-member medical team to Libya on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: The United States should use its influence to help win the freedom of a Russian-Israeli academic at Princeton University who went missing in Iraq nearly six months ago and is believed to be held by an Iran-backed militia regarded by Washington as a terrorist group, her sister said Wednesday.
“The current level of pressure is unsatisfactory. It’s just not enough,” Emma Tsurkov said in an interview with The Associated Press. “My sister is languishing at the hands of this terror organization. And it’s been almost six months.”