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Smiling broadly and clad in military fatigues, young Iraqi Mohammed Imad’s last TikTok post was in a field carved up with heavy vehicle tracks in what appeared to be Ukraine. Smoke was rising behind him.”Pray for me,” read the caption next to a Russian flag.That was in May. Months went by without a word, only rumours. Mohammed had been taken hostage, was injured, had the flu or had been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike.Like many Iraqis now fighting in Ukraine, the 24-year-old travelled to Russia without his family’s knowledge to enlist in Russia’s armed forces, his mother Zeinab Jabbar, 54, told AFP.Like them, he was drawn by promises of money and a Russian passport.”He went and never came back,” Jabbar said, tears streaming down her face as she clutched a picture of Mohammed in their modest home in Musayab, south of Baghdad.”We Iraqis have seen so many wars… we have had enough,” she added. “What do we have to do with Russia” and Ukraine, “two countries fighting each other?”Mohammed was a baby when the US-led invasion of Iraq spawned decades of bloody sectarian violence, and the brutal but short-lived jihadist “caliphate”. Many young people were called up into the army or joined Shiite paramilitary groups to fight the Islamic State group, with others pulled into Syria’s long civil war.With one in three young people now jobless and the country mired in corruption and mismanagement, AFP found many Iraqis are being lured to fight for Russia by seemingly irresistible offers pushed by influencers on social media.They include a monthly salary of $2,800 — four times what they could earn in the military at home — and a sign-up fee of up to $20,000 to set them up in life.A Russian passport, insurance and pension also come as part of the package, they are told, as well as compensation in case of injury.- TikTok recruiters -AFP spoke to relatives of four men from impoverished families who travelled to Russia to join its army, three of whom are officially missing. A fourth was returned to his family in a body bag.We also talked to another who has also donned the Russian uniform and doubles as an online cheerleader and recruiting sergeant.”Give me an Iraqi soldier and a Russian weapon, and we will liberate the world from Western colonialism,” he declared in one post.Social media apps like TikTok and Telegram are brimming with people offering help to Iraqis to join Russia’s ranks.Early in the war, when Moscow was propping upformer president Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted to recruit 16,000 fighters from the Middle East, with around 2,000 regular Syrian troops later reportedly sent to Russia.The Telegram channels sharing the tempting deals are now targeting a different, younger demographic.Their administrators offer assistance to other potential Arab recruits from Syria, Egypt, Algeria and beyond. Similar methods have been used to recruit young men from Central Asia, India, Bangladesh and Nepal, AFP reporters have found, as well as from Cuba.They even provide a list of important military terms to learn in Russian, including “ammunition is depleted”, “mission accomplished”, “we have casualties” and “suicide drone attack”.One channel said it also provided assistance to Iraqis transferring money back home. AFP contacted the phone number shared by the channel. A man responded saying all that was needed was a copy of a passport, an address and phone number.He would then send an invitation for a visa, and later cover the ticket cost.- ‘I want my son’ -But among the enquiries about how to enlist are posts from families searching for missing sons.Mohammed’s family believes that propaganda on social media persuaded him to travel to Russia to sign up earlier this year.For weeks Mohammed posted videos on TikTok. In one, AFP geolocated him to the Oryol region, close to the border with Ukraine.His family thought he was working in the southern Iraqi province of Basra.But by the time Mohammed posted his last TikTok selfie video on May 12, they knew the truth. His mother Jabbar called him, begging him to return home.”He told me he is going to war… and asked me to pray for him.” It was the last time she talked to him.”I want my son… I want to know if he is dead or alive,” Jabbar said. Mohammed’s sister Faten spends countless hours on social media tracking Iraqis who claim to have joined the Russian army, desperate to find some clue about her brother.She has been given various accounts of his fate, including one that he just had the flu. But the worst account came from Abbas Hamadullah, a user who goes by the pseudonym Abbas al-Munaser.Munaser, 27, is among many Iraqis who share their experiences in the Russian army on TikTok and Telegram and offer help to those who want to enlist.His posts made him a reference for Mohammed. Munaser told AFP that Mohammed had sought his guidance and was determined to follow his footsteps.Munaser finally delivered the devastating news to Faten: Mohammed had been killed by a Ukrainian drone near Bakhmut. He stood up and fired at the drone when others were taking cover.His body was lying in a morgue.”If he is dead, we want his body,” Faten told AFP, also furious that they have not been officially told what happened to him. “It is not only my brother, but many others,” she said. “It is a shame that young men are going to die in Russia.”- ‘There is death here’ -Abdul Hussein Motlak’s son, Alawi, travelled to Russia with Mohammed in April. Both of them went missing in May.Before he disappeared, the 30-year-old called his family almost every day and sent them pictures of himself sitting in a bunker with Mohammed in military fatigues, or training together near Bakhmut.”I told him to come back,” his father told AFP, but Alawi was determined to complete his contract.In one video, he thanked Munaser for helping them get to Russia.Munaser said he travelled to Moscow with his heart set on continuing further to Europe, like thousands of other Iraqi migrants. But the streets of Russia offered him a more enticing prospect: billboards to join the army.”There is no future in Iraq. I tried my best there, but I couldn’t make it,” he said. “It is not about Russia or Ukraine. My priority is my family.”Munaser said he joined the Russian army in 2024 and now has a Russian passport.Despite the risks, he said he is happy he can send his family “around $2,500 a month”, an amount unimaginable for many Iraqis.On his Telegram channel, Munaser offers visa invitations for people hoping to enlist, which he said cost up to $1,000, most of which goes to travel agencies.The website of the Russian embassy in Iraq said a single-entry visa costs up to $140.Munaser said he did not charge recruits for his service but warned that “brokers” on social media exploit young Iraqis and take a percentage of their army sign-up fee.AFP was not able to verify his claims.But Munaser warned that whatever the financial rewards of fighting for Russia, “there is death here”.”We lived through many wars in Iraq, but this one is different. It is a war of advanced technology, a war of drones.”Still, he said he had no regrets about enlisting, and was fighting under a Muslim Chechen commander. He has even signed a new army contract for another year. – ‘Shame’ -Thousands of foreign fighters have joined the Russians in Ukraine, with the biggest acknowledged contingent sent from North Korea, and with Chinese volunteers now also reportedly serving alongside Russian troops.Ukraine has around 3,500 foreign fighters, according to its embassy in Iraq, but they receive standard army pay.Estimates vary on how many Iraqis are fighting for Russia, but they are certainly hundreds.Ukraine’s ambassador to Iraq, Ivan Dovhanych, said they “are not fighting for an idea. They are looking for a job.” Russia’s embassy in Baghdad did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Iraqis have long fought abroad, with many joining local pro-Iran factions to fight alongside Russia to support Syria’s former president Assad.But that intervention was a political decision and, for many, a religious duty to protect Shiite shrines in Syria.Although Russia has good relations with Iraq and long supplied Saddam Hussein with weapons and military training, it has few religious and historical ties with the country’s Shiite majority.Baghdad has been at pains to remain “neutral” in the Ukraine war and does not welcome its young men going to fight for Russia. Indeed some believe they are shaming Iraq.In September a court in the south of the country jailed a man for life for human trafficking, accusing him of sending people to fight “in foreign countries”.A security source told AFP he was “recruiting” for Russia.The same month Iraq’s embassy in Moscow warned of “attempts to lure or coerce some Iraqis residing in Russia or abroad into joining the war under various pretexts”. The uncle of an Iraqi missing in Russia for over two months told AFP he hoped the government cracks down on those luring young men to Russia.”Mercenary” is a particularly pejorative word in Arabic. Such is the taboo that a family of a Russian recruit left their village in the south when he joined up, a relative told AFP.In September he came home in a body bag and was laid to rest under the cover of darkness with no loved ones to mourn him, such was the heavy feeling of “shame”.The relative said that the family — who received more than $10,000 with the body — faced disapproval from their community. Many believed he had dishonoured them.”It is heartbreaking. A boy died abroad and was buried in secret,” he said.rh-strs/ser/fg/js/ceg/mjw

Thousands of visitors streamed through the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday as almost the entire collection of King Tutankhamun’s treasures — over 4,500 artefacts — was displayed together for the first time since the young pharaoh’s tomb was discovered in 1922.Curated and conserved over nearly two decades, the collection was unveiled to the public two days after the museum’s lavish opening ceremony on Saturday. In a vast, dimly lit main hall spanning four levels, visitors gazed at chariots, household items, jewelled ornaments and, at the centre, Tutankhamun’s iconic golden mask.The mask sits surrounded by personal belongings, gilded tools, family heirlooms and funerary statues. An adjacent room showcases two small mummified princesses — Tutankhamun’s daughters who died before birth — also on public display for the first time. Tutankhamun died aged 18 or 19 between 1323 and 1324 BC, with genetic and radiological studies suggesting malaria combined with a bone disorder as his cause of death. He was mummified and buried in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings inside three nested coffins, the smallest weighing 110kg, all placed within four gilded shrines like matryoshka dolls. While the coffins are now at the museum, the mummy remains in Luxor. Visitors can also see the Khufu Sun Boat, described as the oldest and largest wooden artefact in human history, while a second solar boat is being restored. These 4,600-year-old funerary boats, made of cedar and acacia, were intended to transport the king into the afterlife. The first, measuring 43.5 meters, was discovered in 1954 at the base of the Great Pyramid; the second will soon be displayed behind glass in a live restoration lab. The museum, a monumental structure overlooking the Giza Plateau, contrasts sharply with the colonial-era, cramped Egyptian Museum in central Cairo. Natural light filters through vast triangular windows, illuminating both colossal statues and delicate jewellery from Egypt’s ancient civilisation. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi officially opened the $1-billion museum on Saturday in a ceremony attended by kings, queens, heads of state and other dignitaries. Egypt hopes the museum will revive tourism and bolster its economy. Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy expects five million annual visitors, which would make it among the most visited museums in the world.So far, he said, it had welcomed 5,000–6,000 visitors each day.

LIV Golf will abandon its abbreviated 54-hole format in favor of 72-hole tournaments in 2026, officials said Tuesday.The Saudi-backed circuit, whose name is derived from the Roman numeral for ’54’, had previously touted its three-round tournaments as a core distinction from traditional golf events.However the 54-hole format prevented LIV events from earning Official Golf World Rankings points, making it harder for LIV players to qualify for golf’s majors.A statement from LIV on Tuesday said the circuit’s events will now be played over four days, with most starting on a Thursday.”As we enter our fourth season as a League, the move to 72 holes marks a pivotal new chapter for LIV Golf that strengthens our League, challenges our elite field of players,” LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil said.”The most successful leagues around the world …continue to innovate and evolve their product, and as an emerging league, we are no different,” O’Neil added. “LIV Golf will always have an eye towards progress that acts in the best interest of LIV Golf and in the best interest of the sport.”The decision to adopt the 72-hole format also boosts the chances of LIV reaching an agreement with the PGA Tour over unifying golf. The two circuit’s different formats had reportedly been a key stumbling block in ongoing negotiations.The circuit’s decision was welcomed by LIV’s biggest stars, with former world number one Jon Rahm describing it as “a win for the League and the players.””We are competitors to the core and we want every opportunity to compete at the highest level and to perfect our craft,” Rahm said in a statement.Two-time major champion Bryson DeChambeau said he hoped the move would enable more LIV players to compete in majors.”Everyone wants to see the best players in the world competing against each other, especially in the majors, and for the good of the game, we need a path forward,” DeChambeau said.”By moving to 72 holes, LIV Golf is taking a proactive step to align with the historic format recognized globally.”Launched in 2022, LIV Golf divided the sport after signing a slew of golf’s biggest names to big-money deals including Rahm, DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson.The 2026 LIV Golf season tees off in Riyadh in February.

Sudan’s defence minister said on Tuesday that the army would press on with its fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after the country’s security and defence council met to discuss a US proposal for a ceasefire. “We thank the Trump administration for its efforts and proposals to achieve peace,” Hassan Kabroun said in a speech broadcast on state television, while adding that “preparations for the Sudanese people’s battle are ongoing.” “Our preparations for war are a legitimate national right,” he said following the council meeting in Khartoum.No details of the US truce proposal have been made public.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that Washington wanted “to see this conflict come to a peaceful end, just as we have with so many others, but the reality is it’s a very complicated situation on the ground right now”.She said the United States was “actively engaged” in seeking a peace deal alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.The war in Sudan, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more over the past two years, has spread to new areas in recent days, sparking fears of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.The army-aligned authorities had rejected an earlier truce proposal from the four countries — referred to as the Quad — under which both they and the paramilitaries they are fighting would be excluded from a transitional political process.The latest discussions follow an escalation on the ground, with the paramilitary RSF appearing to prepare an assault on the central Kordofan region after capturing El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in the vast western Darfur region.People forced to flee El-Fasher have described facing intimidation and violence from the RSF.Mohamed Abdullah, 56, told AFP he was stopped by RSF fighters while leaving the city last week the day before its fall on October 26. “They demanded our phones, money, everything. They kept searching us thoroughly,” he said of the RSF. On his way to Tawila, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) to the west, he saw “a body left on the street that looked like it had been eaten by a dog”.- ‘Out of control’ -Trump’s envoy to Africa, Massad Boulos, held talks in Sudan’s neighbour Egypt on Sunday with Cairo’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and then on Monday with the Arab League.During their discussions, Abdelatty stressed “the importance of concerted efforts to reach a humanitarian truce and a ceasefire throughout Sudan, paving the way for a comprehensive political process in the country”, according to a foreign ministry statement.According to the Arab League, Boulos met the regional body’s chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and briefed him on recent US efforts in Sudan to “halt the war, expedite aid delivery and initiate a political process”.The Quad has been engaged in months of diplomacy aimed at securing a truce in the more than 30-month conflict in Sudan.In September, the four powers proposed a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian rule, but the army-aligned government immediately rejected the plan at the time.In the aftermath of the RSF’s assault on El-Fasher, reports emerged of mass killings, sexual violence, attacks on aid workers, looting and abductions during the offensive.The International Criminal Court on Monday voiced “profound alarm and deepest concern” over the reports, adding that such acts “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity”.Speaking at a forum in Qatar, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the warring parties Tuesday to “come to the negotiating table, bring an end to this nightmare of violence — now”. – ‘Do not kill children’ -In Sudan’s capital Khartoum, which is under army control, children took part in an anti-paramilitary protest on Monday.One pupil held up a handwritten sign that read: “Do not kill children, do not kill women.””The militia is killing the women of El-Fasher with no mercy,” another sign said.Both sides in the war have been accused of committing atrocities.The UAE is accused by the UN of supplying arms to the RSF — allegations it has repeatedly denied. Meanwhile, the Sudanese army has received support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran, according to observers.The fall of El-Fasher gave paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, raising fears that Sudan would effectively be partitioned along an east-west axis.The RSF now dominates Darfur and parts of the south, while the army holds the north, east and central regions along the Nile and Red Sea.

Dick Cheney, arguably the most powerful vice president in US history as George W. Bush’s number two during the September 11, 2001, attacks and ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died Monday. He was 84.Cheney forged an influential role in the traditionally inconsequential job and was a major power behind the throne as Bush thrust the United States into the so-called “war on terror,” with a dark underbelly of renditions, torture and the Guantanamo prison site.A hated figure by many on the left, he made a remarkable pivot toward the end of his life when he opposed Donald Trump’s ultimately successful campaign to return to the White House in 2024.Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, said her deeply Republican father had voted for Trump’s Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.Cheney, also a former congressman and defense secretary, “died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease,” according to a family statement.As 46th vice president, Cheney served for two terms between 2001 and 2009.The job is often frustrating for ambitious politicians, but Cheney’s Machiavellian skills gave him considerable sway.He helped usher in an aggressive notion of executive power, believing the president should be able to operate almost unfettered by lawmakers or the courts, particularly during wartime.It was an approach that saw Bush enter military quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq, and prompt major controversy over his impact on civil liberties.Bush on Tuesday hailed his former vice president as “among the finest public servants of his generation” and “the one I needed” when in the White House.Cheney was “a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence and seriousness of purpose to every position he held,” Bush added.White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt pointedly offered no condolences when asked Tuesday about Cheney’s death.Trump “is aware of the former vice president’s passing,” she told a briefing, noting White House flags had been lowered to half staff “in accordance with statutory law.”- Neo-con -Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941, Cheney grew up mostly in the sparsely populated western state of Wyoming.He attended Yale University but dropped out of the prestigious East Coast school and ended up earning a degree in political science back home at the University of Wyoming.He spent ten years in Congress as a representative for Wyoming before being appointed defense secretary by George H.W. Bush in 1989.Cheney presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, in which a US-led coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.As vice president, Cheney brought his neo-conservative ideology to the White House and played a greater role in making major policy decisions than many of his predecessors in the role.Cheney was one of the driving forces behind the decision to invade Iraq following the September 11, 2001, attacks by Al-Qaeda on New York and Washington.His inaccurate claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction fueled the drumbeat for war ahead of the 2003 US invasion.Seen as Bush’s mentor on foreign policy, Cheney remained loyal to his former boss and a staunch defender of Bush-era policies.In a 2015 interview, Cheney said he had no regrets over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and credited a so-called “enhanced interrogation program” for the successful hunt for Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in 2011. Despite a preference for privacy, Cheney was rarely out of the headlines.He once hurled an expletive at a Democratic senator on the Senate floor and infamously accidently shot his friend Harry Whittington in the face during a hunting trip.His professional life was punctuated by a series of health scares — he suffered five heart attacks between 1978 and 2010, including one in 2000, the year he and Bush were elected to the White House.He underwent quadruple bypass surgery and had a pacemaker fitted in 2001, which was later replaced.