Iraqi forces seize more ground in Mosul from Islamic State

Sixteen Iraqi women hope being part of a wrestling team in the city of Basra can fight stereotypes in conservative Iraqi society.

He sought safety. She wanted freedom. They were dreams they could have died for. From a first date that ended in bloody carnage in Baghdad, to finally receiving the keys to a new home in The Netherlands, theirs is an epic tale of courage, survival and love.

Over the next five years, 26-year-old Delband Rawanduzi and her volunteers aim to plant one million oaks to repopulate forests in Iraqi Kurdistan depleted by war, illegal logging and fires. The resilient trees can endure both the cold of northern Iraq and the dry spells of one of the world's hottest countries.

The Islamic State group claims responsibility for seizing the northern town of Palma in Mozambique. It's the latest attack in an escalating Islamist insurgency sweeping the region. Also, tensions erupt between students and the government in South Africa over free higher education. Our correspondents went to find out whether cancelling student debt is a viable option. And we catch up with DR Congo music star Fabregas Le Métis Noir in the lead-up to the release of his first French-language album.

The Islamic State group claims responsibility for seizing the northern town of Palma in Mozambique. It's the latest attack in an escalating Islamist insurgency sweeping the region. Also, tensions erupt between students and the government in South Africa over free higher education. Our correspondents went to find out whether cancelling student debt is a viable option. And we catch up with DR Congo music star Fabregas Le Métis Noir in the lead-up to the release of his first French-language album.

An Afghan national, codenamed Basim and who allegedly led the terrorist group's military structure, has been detained in Istanbul.

After decades of #conflict, #terrorism and government mismanagement, #Baghdad's monumental buildings are increasingly dilapidated and under threat. Many fear that without laws and protection, they could gradually perish, taking much of Iraq's cultural heritage with them. Our correspondents Jack Hewson and Lucile Wassermann report.

Rewaz Faiq is just one of two women serving as parliament speaker in the Middle East, where politics is a man's world, but the Iraqi Kurdish mother of two is unfazed. Having entered politics at the age of 15, Faiq knew she would face challenges when she was elected in 2019 to the post in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

A group of fighters from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have pledged allegiance to rival group the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) weeks after the former group's leader died, a video obtained by Reuters showed.

Thousands of members of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance gather in Baghdad to mourn comrades killed in American air strikes along the Syrian border. The US raids early Monday sparked an exchange of fire between pro-Iranian militias and the US-led coalition in eastern Syria, as well as fears of a new US-Iran escalation amid faltering efforts to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency has warned that the Islamic State is just as strong as it ever was — even without its caliphate. Terrorism experts agree that it has morphed into a powerful network.

After the so-called "Islamic State" saw its influence wane in the Middle East, the group and its affiliates targeted poorly governed areas in Africa. But just how big is the threat across the continent?