Trump Signals Conditional Push for Ukraine Peace Talks as Frustration Mounts 
Democrats Face Uphill Battle in Midterm Elections Despite Recent Victories, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Shows 
Thailand Vows Continued Military Action Amid Cambodia Border Clash Despite Trump Ceasefire Claim 
Trump Claims Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire After Intense Border Clashes 
Russian Drone Attack Hits Turkish Cargo Ship Carrying Sunflower Oil to Egypt, Ukraine Says 
Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Targets Senior Hamas Commander Amid Ceasefire Tensions 
U.S. Intelligence Briefly Curtailed Information Sharing With Israel Amid Gaza War Concerns 
Ukraine, US and Europe Seek Unified Peace Framework With Security Guarantees for Kyiv 
Belarus Frees 123 Political Prisoners in U.S.-Brokered Deal Over Sanctions 
Trump Signals Two Final Candidates for Fed Chair, Calls for Presidential Input on Interest Rates 
International Outcry Grows Over Re-Arrest of Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran 
U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Amid Shift in Brazil Relations 
Bolivia Orders Pre-Trial Detention of Former President Luis Arce Over Embezzlement Probe 
Air Force One Delivery Delayed to 2028 as Boeing Faces Rising Costs 
Brazil Arrests Former Peruvian Foreign Minister Augusto Blacker Miller in International Fraud Case 
Modi and Trump Hold Phone Call as India Seeks Relief From U.S. Tariffs Over Russian Oil Trade 
This week, protesters, most of whom were made up of supporters of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada-al-Sadr, stormed the Iraqi parliament. The demonstrators went past the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, protesting against the nomination of a pro-Iran candidate for prime minister.
Hundreds of protesters stormed the Iraqi parliament, breaching the Green Zone to oppose the nomination of a pro-Iran candidate. No lawmakers were present when the protesters entered parliament Wednesday. Law enforcement officials that were in the building appeared to allow the protesters to go in.
The protesters oppose the candidacy of former minister and provincial governor Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. al-Sudani belongs to the Iran-backed Coordination Framework, which nominated him for prime minister.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called on the demonstrators to leave the Green Zone, the high-security area of the capital. al-Kadhimi issued a statement warning the protesters that security forces would ensure the “protection of state institutions and foreign missions, and prevent any harm to security and order.”
This comes as al-Sadr’s bloc won the largest number of seats during the general election in 2021, taking 79 out of 329. However, after the vote, talks to form a new government were put on hold, and al-Sadr stepped down from the process.
Riot police dispersed the protests with water cannons on the demonstrators who were pulling down cement blast walls. Still, the protestors had already breached the gates, moving past the Green Zone.
“They want to convey their message that they are against corruption, against corrupt politicians,” said Mahmoud Abdelwahed of Al Jazeera. “They say the country has suffered many years of corruption and mismanagement…they say they will continue to protest peacefully here.”
Al-Sadr later issued a statement on Twitter, telling the protesters to go home and that their message was received.
On the same day, the Turkish consulate-general in the northern Iraq city of Mosul was reportedly attacked. The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the attack, calling for those responsible for being brought to justice. No casualties were reported.
The ministry said the attack came at the same time the United Nations Security Council held a meeting at the request of Iraqi authorities to discuss an attack in northern Iraq that took place last week.
