Saddam Hussein
FILE In this file photo taken from video, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya speaks during a zoom interview with the Associated Press in Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. A feud between Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin, File)
EXPLAINER: What happens when Olympics and politics collide?

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 04, 2021 04:11 AM EDT

Jordan's King Abdullah II, center, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Egyptian, Jordanian and Iraqi leaders meet in Baghdad

Jun. 27, 2021 11:25 AM EDT

In this 2009 photo from left, Khodeir Majid and Iraq senior producer Ahmad Sami stand at the AP office in Baghdad. Majid, who covered Iraq’s numerous conflicts as a video producer and cameraman for the Associated Press over 17 years has died at the age of 64. Relatives said the cause of his death on Friday morning was complications due to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Ahmad Sami)
Veteran AP producer, cameraman in Iraq dies of COVID-19

By Zeina Karam Apr. 16, 2021 01:15 PM EDT

Today in History

By The Associated Press Apr. 09, 2021 12:00 AM EDT
Today in History Today is Friday, April 9, the 99th day of 2021. There are 266 days left in the year. Today’s...

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2006 file photo, Judge Mohammed Oreibi presides over the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, inside the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. Judge Mohammed Oreibi passed away in a hospital in Baghdad where he was being treated of complications from the coronavirus, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said Friday, April 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool, File)
Iraq judge who presided over Saddam's trial dies of COVID-19

Apr. 02, 2021 02:26 PM EDT

Pope Francis, center, leads a mass at Mar Youssef Church in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Pope Francis and Iraq's top Shiite cleric delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence Saturday, urging Muslims in the war-weary Arab nation to embrace Iraq's long-beleaguered Christian minority during an historic meeting in the holy city of Najaf. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Pope, top Iraq Shiite cleric deliver message of coexistence

By Nicole Winfield And Qassim Abdul-Zahra Mar. 06, 2021 02:21 AM EST

Pope Francis is welcomed upon his arrival at the Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Cathedral, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. Pope Francis has arrived in Iraq to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope urges Iraq to embrace its Christians on historic visit

By Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab Mar. 05, 2021 06:31 AM EST

Pope Francis meets authorities and civil society at Baghdad's Presidential Palace, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. Pope Francis has arrived in Iraq to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Latest: Pope honors massacre victims at Baghdad church

Mar. 05, 2021 06:07 AM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2020 file photo, the new Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, waves after he was sworn in at the Kuwaiti National Assembly. Kuwait said Thursday, March 4, 2021, that the 83-year-old ruling emir of Kuwait has flown to the United States for medical checks, just months after ascending the throne. (AP Photo/Jaber Abdulkhaleg, File)
Kuwait says its ruling emir flies to US for medical checks

Mar. 04, 2021 08:43 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2004 file photo, Iraqis protest in the streets of the southern city of Basra carrying posters of Shiite leaders including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, right, the top cleric of Iraq's Shiite majority. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the 90-year-old Grand Ayatollah who is revered by many Shiites worldwide and whose words hold powerful influence in Iraq and beyond. The pontiff and ayatollah will meet in al-Sistani’s modest home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. (AP Photo/Nabeel al-Jurani, File)
Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra And Samya Kullab Mar. 03, 2021 01:20 AM EST

Iraqi Christians attend a mass in a church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Iraq's Christians are hoping that a historic visit by Pope Francis in March will help boost their community's struggle to survive. The country's Christian population has been dwindling ever since the turmoil that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. And it was dealt a near death blow in 2014, when Islamic State group militants overran northern Iraq, site of Iraq's historical Christian heartland.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit

By Mariam Fam Feb. 24, 2021 01:09 AM EST

Today in History

By The Associated Press Feb. 06, 2021 12:00 AM EST
Today in History Today is Saturday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2021. There are 328 days left in the year. Today’s...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen on a screen, making a statement on the events in Washington with the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters at the beginning of the digital press conference at the winter retreat of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (Kay Nietfeld/Pool via AP)
World watches US chaos with shock, dismay and some mockery

By Lori Hinnant Jan. 06, 2021 10:35 PM EST

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Vatican: Pope to visit Iraq in March, pandemic permitting

By Frances D'emilio Dec. 07, 2020 07:10 AM EST

FILE - In this April 17, 2019, file photo, Iraqi soldiers chant slogans against IS while Australian and New Zealand coalition forces participate in a training mission with Iraqi army soldiers at Taji Base, north of Baghdad, Iraq. In a quest to root out Islamic State group hideouts over the summer, Iraqi forces on the ground cleared nearly 90 villages across a notoriously unruly northern province. But the much-touted operation still relied heavily on U.S. intelligence, coalition flights and planning assistance. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)
EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran?

By Samya Kullab Dec. 03, 2020 01:25 AM EST

Vehicles drive on a highway under an anti-U.S. billboard with a portrait of former President Barack Obama, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic forced authorities to cancel a planned commemoration of the Nov. 4, 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The Persian writings on the billboard reads: "Whoever came inflicted evil. America remains the same." (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran's supreme leader, quoting Trump, mocks US election

By Nasser Karimi Nov. 03, 2020 03:58 AM EST

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 file photo released by Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, middle, receives by Kuwaiti officials after his arrival from the U.S. in Kuwait. Kuwait state television said Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, the country's 91-year-old ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, had died. ( KUNA via AP, File)
Kuwait ruler, longtime diplomat Sheikh Sabah, dies at age 91

By Jon Gambrell And Adam Schreck Sep. 29, 2020 09:35 AM EDT

Bawi UK, 22, right, chats with his brother, Leng Nung, 20, in the apartment they share in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. UK was a small child when his parents fled Myanmar, leaving him and his siblings to be cared for by their maternal grandmother. UK said the family suffered discrimination as Christians in a predominantly Buddhist nation. The military government was also trying to forcibly conscript his father. "To run for office, you had to be a Buddhist; to rent a house, you had to be Buddhist," said UK, a social work student at Rhode Island College and a youth leader at the Refugee Dream Center, an advocacy organization in Providence. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
New US citizen refugees excited for first presidential vote

By Anita Snow Sep. 28, 2020 05:00 AM EDT

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani, right, welcomes Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Iraq's foreign minister makes first visit to Iran

Sep. 26, 2020 07:25 AM EDT

Lebanese Ali Mallah, 27, who recently lost his job as a salesman at a shoe store in Beirut, stands on Beirut's waterfront promenade on the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Millions of youth in the Middle East region have had job prospects, plans for higher education and marriage upended by the pandemic. While such turmoil and uncertainty is universal in the wake of the coronavirus, the despair is particularly pronounced in Arab countries, where wave after wave of war, displacement and corruption has left this generation feeling bitter and hopeless. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Virus adds to deep despair felt by war-weary young Arabs

By Zeina Karam And Qassim Abdul-Zahra Jul. 27, 2020 01:10 AM EDT