Blinken makes unannounced trip to Iraq as international community grapples with Syrian regime collapse
CNN
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq Friday to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as the international community grapples with the implications of the Syrian government’s collapse.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq Friday to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as the international community grapples with the implications of the Syrian government’s collapse. Blinken met with Sudani for more than an hour in Baghdad — the latest in a string of meetings in Turkey and Jordan amid an urgent effort to coordinate an approach to Syria following the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime to rebel forces last weekend. As the US works with its key regional partners like Iraq, there is particular focus on ensuring that “any interim government also makes sure that Syria is not used as a base for terrorism, extremism and pose a threat to its neighbors or ally with groups like ISIS,” Blinken said Thursday. He noted that the infamous terrorist group “no doubt will seek to regroup.” Blinken’s meeting with the Iraqi prime minister comes days after the top US military commander for the Middle East visited “for an assessment of the D-ISIS mission inside Iraq and Syria.” Two top State Department officials were also in Baghdad ahead of Blinken’s visit. The US is also closely watching the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, who have targeted US personnel and interests in the past. National security adviser Jake Sullivan noted Saturday that they “could try to take advantage of” the instability in Syria. Blinken, during a visit last November in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack, had urged the Iraqi government to work to stem those attacks. In Baghdad, Blinken intended to “underscore U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” according to an updated State Department statement about his trip. “He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition.”
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted US political parties because they were ‘in charge,’ memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington, DC, on the eve of the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the country’s political parties because they were “in charge,” prosecutors said Sunday.
The train’s main line only came into service in 2023, under a new program aiming to create an alternative to the Panama Canal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded freezing, missile-tormented Kyiv on Sunday for the frescoed dining room at Mar-a-Lago, where he hoped to gain President Donald Trump’s sign-off on a revised 20-point peace plan to end the war in his country.
More than 30 million people are under winter weather alerts across the Midwest and Northeast early this week with another storm threatening to upend travelers’ plans on what is expected to be one of the busiest travel days this holiday season.
The night was warm and muggy over New Castle Air Force Base in Delaware, the kind of heat that clung to the metal skins of the alert fighter jets lined along the runway.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives here Sunday as his frozen capital of Kyiv comes under assault by Russian missiles and drones, a deadly reminder from the war’s aggressor that its attacks would continue even amid accelerated peace talks.
A Cuban immigrant who had built a new life working at a Kentucky scrapyard died on Christmas Day from severe burns suffered in last month’s UPS cargo plane crash, raising the death toll to 15, officials said.
At least 15 people were killed and 19 injured after a passenger bus plunged into a ravine on the Inter-American Highway in western Guatemala, authorities said on Saturday.
A reform-minded mayor is taking charge of New York City just as the largest police department in the country is finding its stride in its stability, touting a drop in gun violence and homicides while its current leadership stays intact.
When patients come to Eric Frankenfeld’s chiropractic practice with insurance woes, his wife, Lisa, the office manager, tells them not to worry because she’ll work with them to keep care affordable.
Emel McDowell was in a New York City jail when a guard yelled out his name. A single envelope slid through the metal bars into his cell. He stared at the return address in disbelief.
Vivek Ramaswamy barreled into politics as a flame-thrower willing to offend just about anyone. He declared America was in a “cold cultural civil war,” denied the existence of white supremacists, and referred to one of his rivals as “corrupt.” Two years later, Ramaswamy says he wants to be “conservative without being combative.”
The “Epstein files” saga will spill into 2026, despite a deadline earlier this month to release the records.