Iraq

30 August 2023; MEMO: Iraq is to kick-start the much-delayed cross-border railway line connecting it with neighbouring Iran. Citing a government source, the Shafaq News Agency reported today that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani is to visit the southern province of Basra where he will lay the foundation stone for the 36 kilometre railway project.

23 August 2023; MEMO: Iraq has approved plans for the construction of 15 new residential cities across various governorates of the country as part of efforts to address the post-war housing crisis, according to Zawya, citing the official Arabic language daily Alsabah.

08 August 2023; MEMO: Iraq's water reserves are at the "lowest" in the country's history, a spokesman for the Water Resources Ministry was quoted as saying yesterday, having reduced to almost half of last year's amount.

"Current water reserves in Iraq are the lowest in the history of the country, and are 50 per cent of last year," spokesman Khaled Shamal told Rudaw.

BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (NNN-NINA) – Iraq, yesterday, discussed with the visiting secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ways to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields.

During a meeting with the GCC chief, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rasheed, expressed Iraq’s desire to establish strong political, social, administrative, and diplomatic ties with other countries, according to a statement by the Iraqi Presidency.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah said Saturday that if governments of Muslim-majority nations do not act against countries that allow the desecration of the Quran, Muslims should “punish” those who facilitate attacks on Islam’s holy book.

The comments by Hassan Nasrallah came in a video address to tens of thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashoura, a Shiite holy day commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.

BAGHDAD, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday confirmed its full support for the national dialogue in Yemen to achieve security and stability in the war-torn country.

During a meeting with visiting Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rasheed expressed his country's "full support for the national dialogue to achieve security and stability in Yemen, in a way that guarantees the peace for the people who have suffered greatly because of the conflict," according to a statement issued by the president's office.

20 July 2023; MEMO: Iraqi authorities, on Thursday, declared Sweden's ambassador to Baghdad 'persona non grata' following Swedish police permission for Quran burning in front of the Iraqi Embassy, ​​according to the Iraqi Premier's office, Anadolu Agency reports.

Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, directed his country's Foreign Ministry to recall its charge d'Affaires in Stockholm.

21 July 2023; MEMO: Iraq renewed its agreement to provide Lebanon with up to 2 million tons of crude oil for a year, Lebanese Energy Ministry said in a statement on Friday, Reuters reports.

The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Iraq providing Lebanon with fuel oil and crude oil, the Iraqi state news agency, INA, also reported on Friday, without elaborating.

BAGHDAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- In Iraq's capital Baghdad, a city of more than 9 million people, traffic jams on the streets are way too often and heavy, especially during the commuting at peak hours.

Consequently, many in Baghdad are looking forward to the relaunch of the river taxi, which facilitates the crossing between the banks of the Tigris River that bisects the city, as a way to alleviate the insufferable congestion on the 13 bridges spanning the Iraqi river that watered the civilizations of Mesopotamia throughout history.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government, early Saturday following reports an ultranationalist group burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.

Security forces pushed back protesters, who blocked the Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone, preventing them from reaching the Danish Embassy.