Iraqi PM Discusses Anti-Corruption Measures with Judiciary

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (AP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (AP)
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Iraqi PM Discusses Anti-Corruption Measures with Judiciary

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (AP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (AP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Sunday that his government is working on ensuring the independence of the Iraqi judiciary.

Sudani’s statement followed two separate meetings he held with the President of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zaidan and President of the Federal Supreme Court Judge Jassim Mohammed Abboud.

During his meeting with Abboud, Sudani stressed the importance of the rule of law that should prevail in all circumstances and that the government demonstrates in all its actions that Iraq is a country governed by the constitution and the law.

Abboud, for his part, the importance of consolidating the supremacy of the authority of the law above all institutions and for the judiciary to be the citadel that guarantees to provide the grounds for achieving the will of the Iraqi people, stressing the government's support for the implementation of its governmental program.

In his meeting with Zaidan, Sudani discussed ways of fighting corruption in Iraq.

The Iraqi judiciary had issued a decision to release the main suspect, in what was known as “the theft of the century,” Nour Zuhair Jassim, in exchange for recovering the money he admitted to stealing.

Jassim had embezzled about one trillion Iraqi dinars (about $800 million).

Moreover, the Iraqi Judicial Authority released Haitham al-Jubouri on bail, one of the primary perpetrators behind a corruption scheme that led to the theft of at least $2.5 billion from the bank accounts of the country's General Commission of Taxes last year.

Jubouri was the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and adviser to Iraq's former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. He stands accused of embezzlement of millions of dollars in public funds.

At a time when the judiciary determined the legal justifications according to the Iraqi laws in force, which allow bail in such cases regardless of the amount of stolen money, there was widespread criticism of both the government and the judiciary for releasing the perpetrators.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.