$103 allowance denied: Teachers accuse Iraq’s government of post-election betrayal

2025-11-19T10:29:05+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News Iraq’s teachers and education staff are preparing for nationwide protests after the Ministry of Finance refused to release a 150,000-dinar (roughly $103)... Read more »

Jonah Feingold’s ’31 Candles’ reinvents the bar mitzvah movie for late bloomers

A 31-year-old finally having his bar mitzvah sounds like a throwaway joke in a Netflix rom-com. In “31 Candles,” it’s the whole point.  The film follows Leo Kadner, a Jewish New York... Read more »

Iraq’s new political equation: Armed groups’ gains put pressure on US

Shafaq News On the morning after Iraq announced the results of its 2025 parliamentary elections, the political landscape felt familiar yet fundamentally transformed. The Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), led by Muqtada Al-Sadr,... Read more »

European Union official says bloc could train 3,000 police officers in Gaza

The European Union wants to train up to 3,000 Palestinian police officers in the Gaza Strip under a program similar to one it already runs in the West Bank, an EU official... Read more »

Barzanis Proved They Are Heavyweights in Iraqi Politics

2025-11-19T07:32:30+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News – Erbil By Manish Rai* In the recently concluded Iraqi federal legislative elections, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has emerged as a... Read more »

Saudi Arabia normalization with Israel delayed

The inability to reach agreements on a start date for direct talks with Israel regarding Saudi Arabia normalization has delayed the final US approval for the sale of F-35 aircraft to the... Read more »

Witkoff to meet again with senior Hamas leader for talks on Gaza ceasefire — diplomat

US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday in Istanbul with a delegation of senior Hamas officials led by Khalil al-Hayya to discuss efforts to maintain the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza,... Read more »

From the sausage aliyah to pumpkin spice olim: How two generations of post-Soviet Jews made Israel home

Strolling through Tel Aviv, a tourist from an ex-Soviet country might exclaim, “What a solyanka!” In Russian, solyanka is a traditional soup, consisting of whatever ingredients are on hand. By calling the... Read more »

Former chief rabbi among senior religious officials suspected of extortion

Police pulled back the curtain Tuesday on a covert probe into three senior officials in the rabbinical court system, one of whom is reportedly a former chief rabbi of Israel. Investigators believe... Read more »

Hasidic pop star Alnev is bridging faith and music in new EP

Growing up in a Hasidic family, Ari Rabin would secretly share one of his sister’s earbuds to listen to Taylor Swift. He was just 10 — the son of a rabbi who... Read more »