Saddam Hussein

After a 27-year hiatus, an Iraqi TV program banned by Saddam Hussein for its gritty depiction of life under sanctions has returned to portray drug lords thriving in the war-scarred country.

Television viewership in the Middle East traditionally peaks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful tune in to their favourite shows after breaking their daily fast at sunset.

Iraqis vote on Monday to choose their provincial councils, the first such election in a decade and one which is expected to strengthen powerful Shiite pro-Iran groups.

The vote will take place with disillusionment widespread among the country's 43 million inhabitants, with endemic corruption eating away at the oil-rich nation.

Iraq's prime minister has announced plans for a $17 billion regional transportation project intended to facilitate the flow of goods from Asia to Europe.

The announcement was made at a one-day conference in Baghdad that convened transport ministers and representatives from Iraq, the Gulf countries, Türkiye, Iran, Syria, and Jordan.

Over 17,000 looted ancient artefacts recovered from the United States and other countries were handed over to Iraq's Culture Ministry on Aug. 3, a restitution described by the government as the largest in the country's history.

class='cf'>

U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sealed an agreement on July 26 formally ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, but U.S. forces will still operate there in an advisory role.

The agreement comes at a politically delicate time for the Iraqi government and could be a boost for Baghdad.

Iraq fears an economic "collapse" if Washington imposes the promised sanctions, including blocking access to US-based accounts, in which Baghdad holds oil revenues that supply 90 percent of the national budget, according to BGNES.

Flights between Baghdad and Damascus will resume on May 18 after an eight-year hiatus, Iraqi Airways said on May 16.

Mohammed Abdul Ameer's nostalgia for better days and his roots in the Levant were what inspired him to open Basra's first mixed-gender cafe since the rule of Saddam Hussein, and themed in honor of the Lebanese singer Fairouz.

DW - The confusing golden effigy of the Turkish president has been removed by the fire brigade in the western German city of Wiesbaden. It was put up without the knowledge of city officials, and was not generally welcomed.

An "ensemble cast" from international terrorist groups came together to carry out a terrorist attack with a RPG launcher against the US Embassy in Bulgaria's capital Sofia in 1991 as a warning against the United States before the launch of the Desert Storm operation against Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein (essentially the second stage of the First Gulf War or the First Iraq War), a former