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The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to end the UN political mission in Iraq established in 2003 following the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein to coordinate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, and to help restore a representative government in the country. The Iraqi government asked the council in a May 8 letter to wrap up the mission by the end of 2025 and that's what the resolution does: It extends the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, known as UNAMI, for a final 19 months until December 31, 2025 when all its work will cease. The US-sponsored resolution asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to prepare a transition and liquidation plan in consultation with the Iraqi government by December 31, 2024 so UNAMI can start transferring its tasks and withdrawing staff and assets. The council said it supports Iraq's continuing stabilisation efforts including its ongoing fight against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida ..
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi looks like "Saddam Hussein", the former Iraqi dictator, and it would have been better had he turned his appearance like Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi. Hitting back, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Assm CM was sounding like a "petty troll". Gandhi has been seen sporting a beard during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress. During a public rally in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, Sarma said, "I just saw that his looks have also changed. I said in a TV interview a few days back that there is nothing wrong with his new look. But if you have to change the looks, at least make it like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel or even Jawaharlal Nehru will do. It is better if it looks like Gandhiji. But why is your face turning into Saddam Hussein?" This is because the Congress culture is not closer to Indian people. Their culture is closer to people who have never ..