Bittersweet Christmas for Iraqi Christians near Mosul

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a defiant Christmas message amid the somber background of Russia's war. "We will not wait for a miracle, we will do it ourselves," he said.

Bucha was one of the earliest targets of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Christmas for the survivors of the war crimes committed there is bittersweet. But it's a chance to celebrate the survival of Ukrainian traditions.

Five years after the end of the war against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq, the fight against jihadist holdouts continues in some areas. In Mosul, which lived for more than three years under the yoke of the terrorists, residents are determined to reconquer their cultural and historical heritage.

Iraqi authorities said at least one person was killed in a stampede at a stadium in Basra ahead of the final of the Gulf Cup football competition. Hosts Iran reached the final, prompting increased interest.

The German Bundestag recognized the massacre of Yazidis by jihadists from the so-called Islamic State in Iraq as "genocide."

As relations between Iran and the United States continue to deteriorate, FRANCE 24 spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Paris. He warned that "any tension between the US and Iran, any tension between the regional countries, will reflect on Iraq negatively".

Award-winning French journalist Samuel Forey joins us for Perspective to discuss his newly-released book, which retraces six years of reporting from the Middle East. He tells us more about why he decided to become a war reporter and also reacts to the devastating twin earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Iraq's government is going after what it calls "decadent content" on social media. Users of TikTok, Instagram and other platforms who are found to breach "morals and traditions" can now be jailed. The campaign was announced in January and so far, a dozen people have been arrested. Our correspondent Marie-Charlotte Roupie reports.

Fallujah is one of the cities that has paid the highest price for the US-led invasion of Iraq two decades ago. A stronghold of support for former dictator Saddam Hussein, it quickly became the scene of brutal guerrilla warfare. The instability created by the conflict produced long-lasting effects. In particular, it laid the foundations for jihadism, giving birth to al Qaeda in Iraq, which later evolved into the Islamic State group.

On March 20, 2003, a US-led coalition invaded Iraq. Years of conflict and insecurity followed, with wide-ranging consequences to this day. In mid-April 2003, as American troops advanced on Baghdad amid the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Baghdad Museum was looted and tens of thousands of pieces disappeared. Twenty years later, many of these priceless artefacts are still missing and antiquity trafficking remains a serious problem in Iraq. Our correspondent reports.

Mohamed ElBaradei was director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 until 2009. In an interview with FRANCE 24, he reflected on the US-led invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this week, which he opposed. "If I now look in hindsight, it was not really about weapons of mass destruction.

At the height of the Iraq war an estimated 10, 000 African mercenaries participated but their contributions are seldom talked about. 20 years on, The Flipside explores the untold stories of Africa’s Iraq war veterans.