Following the Israeli strikes on Syria' capital, Damascus, our verification specialists are assessing the damage A fire that tore through a shopping centre in the Iraqi city of Kut has left dozens dead,

Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in the cases against accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, has been fired. Although a reason for the dismissal was not immediately clear, she is also the daughter of James Comey, who is the former director of the FBI and a critic of President Donald Trump.

Mourners in Iraq grieved their loved ones, weeping on their coffins after a shopping mall fire killed more than 60, including children. (AP video shot by: Ali Sadiq)

Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.

Video circulating online showed flames engulfing a five-storey building in the city of Al-Kut, with ambulances delivering casualties to hospitals until the early hours of Thursday.

A fire tore through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut on Thursday, killing more than 50 people, medical sources told AFP. “We have more than 50 martyrs and many unidentified bodies,” a medical source said.

Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a key step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.