Last month Iran broke an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to stop attacks on villages in the Pshdar district, according to a fresh report coming out of Iraq.

Amnesty international is urging campaigners to help stop the execution of 128 Iraqis. Amnesty International reports that the Iraqi government plans to execute as many as 128 people in the next couple of weeks.

Students and staff from The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education and St Francis Hall in Birmingham University will hold a lamentation ceremony on the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Even though the physical voting process at the Iraqi electoral sites seemed fair, the IHEC's implementation of its internal registration rules, led to a flawed outcome disfavouring the Kurds, says Peggy Gish.

The escalating conflict in Gaza frays all well-intended political and faith-based efforts at peacemaking in the Middle East, says Wilson Tan. But Christian peacemaking is still a viable and necessary option.

The Iraqi parliament has voted to accept a deal on the future withdrawal of US troops from the country after negotiations with the White House, the State Department and a variety of interests and voices within the country.

President-elect Obama is being deluged with well-meaning advice, says Middle East expert Michael Marten. Maybe we expect too much, but taking a realistic look at how he might handle various conflicts in the region remains important.

US National Council of Churches' General Secretary Michael Kinnamon has welcomed a call by World Council of Churches chief the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia "to quell the violence" against the hard-pressed Christian minority in Iraq.

Christian and other peacemakers staged a 10-hour vigil outside Canada House in London's Trafalgar Square yesterday, to call on on the Canadian government to halt the deportation of US soldiers who have fled the war in Iraq.

Five years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq the humanitarian situation for many people continues to deteriorate, says Mennonite Central Committee, which is extending its humanitarian work there.