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Iraq's social media mercenaries dying for Russia

Smiling broadly and clad in military fatigues, young Iraqi Mohammed Imad's last TikTok post was in a field carved up with heavy vehicle tracks in what appeared to be Ukraine. Smoke was rising behind him.

"Pray for me," read the caption next to a Russian flag.

That was in May. Months went by without a word, only rumours. Mohammed had been taken hostage, was injured, had the flu or had been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike.

Iraqi Russian recruit Mohammed Iman, 24, in Ukraine. He is now missing and thought dead

US asks UN to lift sanctions on Syria's president ahead of White House visit

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States has proposed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

The draft resolution, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, would also lift sanctions on Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab. It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the U.S., France or Britain to be adopted.

FILE PHOTO: Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he attends the “Aleppo, Key to Victory” celebration marking Syria’s liberation, in Aleppo, Syria May 27, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

US may ask UN to mandate international force in Gaza for two years, document shows

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States has drafted a United Nations resolution that approves a two-year mandate for a Gaza transitional governance body and an international stabilization force in the Palestinian enclave, according to the text seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The draft - which is still being developed and could change - was shared with some countries this week, but has not yet been formally circulated to the 15-member Security Council for negotiations, diplomats said. It was not immediately clear when Washington planned to do that.

A Palestinian man and children stand at a heavily damaged building surrounded by rebar and rubble, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, November 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

LIV Golf switching to 72-hole format in 2026: official

LIV Golf will abandon its abbreviated 54-hole format in favor of 72-hole tournaments in 2026, officials said Tuesday.

The Saudi-backed circuit, whose name is derived from the Roman numeral for '54', had previously touted its three-round tournaments as a core distinction from traditional golf events.

However the 54-hole format prevented LIV events from earning Official Golf World Rankings points, making it harder for LIV players to qualify for golf's majors.

LIV Golf plans to switch to 72-hole formats in 2026, the circuit said

Exclusive-Saudi Arabia's request to buy F-35 jets clears key Pentagon hurdle, sources say

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge."

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs fly side by side with Republic of Korea Air Force F-35s as part of a bilateral exercise over the Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea, July 12, 2022.  U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Trump to meet with Syrian president on Monday, White House says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday at a press briefing.

Since seizing power from Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has made a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria's ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during Assad's rule.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Israel says it received the body of another deceased buried by Hamas in Gaza

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel on Tuesday received a body from Hamas via the Red Cross in Gaza that would be transported to Israel for identification, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said, after Hamas said it had located the remains of a hostage to be returned to Israel.

Hamas said it had found the body of a hostage who had been held by Palestinian militants in Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City in an area still occupied by Israeli forces, after Israel granted access to the location for teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A Red Cross vehicle transports a body, after Hamas said that it found the body of an Israeli hostage soldier on Tuesday and prepares to return it to Israel through the Red Cross, in Gaza City, November 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Cheney shaped US like no other VP. Until he didn't.

Dick Cheney achieved influence unrivaled for a vice president in shaping US foreign policy, ruthlessly pursuing military might and advocating pre-emptive war to reshape the world.

The descent of Cheney, who died Tuesday, was also spectacular. His hawkish brand of neoconservatism, including the invasion of Iraq, began to be repudiated even before he left office, and today both major US parties largely reject his views.

US Vice President Dick Cheney takes to the stage on March 18, 2008 to deliver remarks to US troops stationed at Balad Air Base, Iraq

French pair released after 3-year Iran jail ordeal

Iran released from prison a French pair held for more than three years and sentenced to lengthy jail sentences on espionage charges their families always rejected, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday, but it remained uncertain when the Islamic republic would allow them to return home.

Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72 were arrested in May 2022 at the end of a trip to Iran that their families say was purely touristic in nature.

The families say both are wholly innocent of the charges against them

Iran releases two French nationals - France's Macron says

PARIS (Reuters) -Iran has released two French nationals held there for more than three years, French President Macron said on X.

Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who had been detained since 2022, "are out of the Evin jail and en route to the French embassy in Teheran" Macron said on X.

"I welcome this first step, the dialogue contnues," he added.

(Reporting by John Irish, Dominique Vidalon)

A man holds a placard with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, during a support rally to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, at Place de la Nation in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor