Saudi Arabia and Iraq has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to link the power grids of the two countries…reports Asian Lite News
The deal was inked by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Saud and Iraqi Minister of Electricity Adel Karim, on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported citing the official Saudi Press.
It aims to share the electricity-generating reserves and exchange electricity between the two countries for emergency use in case of a power cut, it said.
The deal will also accelerate the export and import of electricity between the two sides or with other Arab countries.
The MoU is the latest of many cooperation initiatives between the two countries that reflect the major progress made in the bilateral ties in recent years.
Iraq tightens security measures on border with Syria after Islamic State jail break
Iraq has tightened security measures on the border with neighbouring Syria after a jailbreak by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in a Kurdish-controlled prison located in the latter country’s Hasakah province…reports Asian Lite News
On January 20, a group of IS militants escaped from the Sina’a prison in the Gweiran neighbourhood of Hasakah, followed by violent clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the terror group, reports Xinhua news agency.
“There are directives issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi forces to double the security measures on the Iraqi-Syrian border,” Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Saturday.
The Iraqi security forces are ready to confront any attempt by IS militants to infiltrate Iraqi territory, Rasoul was quoted as saying by INA.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the IS militants blew off the gate of the Sina’a prison with a booby-trapped car and an explosive-laden fuel tanker.
It said a number of inmates fled the prison while many Kurdish security members were wounded.
Captured IS militants have repeatedly tried to break free from the prison in Hasakah.
A number of IS militants have been imprisoned by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) following the defeat of the terror group in Hasakah and parts of Deir al-Zour province.
Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has taken delivery of its first out of five A220-300 aircraft from Mirabel, Canada…reports Asian Lite News
Upon entry into service, Iraqi Airways will become one of the first airlines to operate the A220 in the Middle East region.
With the A220, Iraqi Airways will benefit from the aircraft’s exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance. Iraqi Airways’ A220-300 features a modern and highly comfortable dual-class cabin that seats 132 passengers; 12 in business class and 120 in economy class. The state of the art aircraft will play an integral part of Iraqi Airways fleet renewal and modernization plan.
The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market and brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines. Featuring a 50% reduced noise footprint and up to 25% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, as well as around 50% lower NOx emissions than industry standards, the A220 is a great aircraft for regional as well as long distance routes operations.
As of the end of November 2021, over 180 A220s had been delivered to 13 operators, from Asia, North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East – proving the great versatility of Airbus’ new generation single-aisle family member.
The Iraqi Ministry of Planning said that the country’s population reached 41.19 million in 2021…reports Asian Lite News
The total population is made up of about 51 percent of men and about 49 percent of women, while 69.9 percent of the population is estimated to live in urban areas and 30.1 percent in rural areas, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.
The numbers were sourced from the calculations done by the ministry’s Central Statistical Organization in accordance with international statistical standards, the statement noted.
The Ministry announced last year that the country’s population had exceeded 40.15 million by the end of 2020, while the population in 2019 exceeded 39 million.
A senior Iraqi government official and head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission in Iraq discussed on Sunday NATO’s support for Iraqi forces and ways to enhance stability in the region…reports Asian Lite News
Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji and head of NATO’s Mission in Iraq, Michael Anker Lollesgaard “discussed ways to enhance security and stability in the region, as well as NATO’s support to Iraq in the field of advice and training for Iraqi forces,” according to a statement from al-Araji’s media office.
Iraq, NATO discuss regional stability
During the meeting, al-Araji said the Iraqi government is responsible for protecting Iraq and keeping it away from any regional conflict, and reiterated “Iraq’s refusal to use its lands, airspace and waters as a launching pad for any aggression against any country,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The meeting came as the coalition forces led by the United States are withdrawing from Iraq, and the task of the remaining foreign soldiers’ mission is shifting to giving advice, help, and empowerment to Iraqi security forces.
On January 5, 2020, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.
In July this year, the United States and Iraq held a session of strategic dialogue, during which the two countries agreed on withdrawing all US combat troops from Iraq by December 31.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced that a new round of talks between delegations from Tehran and Saudi Arabia will take place in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Friday in efforts to normalise ties…reports Asian Lite News
With the efforts of Iraq, “we will participate in the next round of talks between Tehran and Riyadh tomorrow (Friday)”, Xinhua news agency quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying at a joint press conference on Thursday with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein.
Iran, Saudi delegations to meet in Baghdad
“I would like to emphasise that in the last round of talks, we presented a set of practical and constructive proposals to the Saudi side. The delegations of the two countries will meet in Baghdad in the near future and will work on the implementation of the next phase of the agreement,” he said.
The Iranian top diplomat expressed his gratitude to the Iraqi government for its efforts to help resolve the “misunderstandings” between Tehran and Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 after angry protests were held outside its embassy in Tehran in a reaction to the kingdom’s execution of a senior Shia cleric.
The two countries have recently held four rounds of negotiations, brokered by Baghdad, over resolving their differences.
Iraq FM: 417 stranded Iraqi migrants evacuated from Belarus
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that it has evacuated 417 Iraqi migrants stranded in Belarus due to the ongoing crisis at the latter country’s border with European nations…reports Asian Lite News
“A ninth evacuation flight was operated for those who wanted to return voluntarily, with 417 Iraqi passengers on board,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf said in a statement on Friday.
The number of evacuated migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border has reached over 3,550, many of whom are women and children, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
Iraq FM: 417 stranded Iraqi migrants evacuated from Belarus
In an earlier statement, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi stressed the importance of taking all “necessary measures to preserve the security and safety of Iraqi citizens, and work to avoid any Iraqis becoming a victim of human trafficking networks”.
Since August, thousands of migrants, most of whom are from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, have been stranded at the border between Belarus and its neighbours, seeking to enter the EU territory.
Iraqi Ministry of Oil has said that the country exported 98.19 million barrels of crude oil in November, bringing in revenues of about $7.59 billion…reports Asian Lite News
The average selling price for crude oil in November was $77.33 per barrel, according to a Ministry statement, citing statistics of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil.
Nearly 95.86 million barrels were exported from oil fields in central and southern Iraq through the Port of Basra, while about 2.32 million barrels from the northern province of Kirkuk through the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean during November, the statement said.
Iraq’s crude exports exceed 98mn barrels in November
It added that crude oil exports for November were at an average of 3.27 million barrels per day, Xinhua news agency reported.
Iraq used to export more than 100 million barrels per month with higher revenues, but the OPEC Plus agreement to cut oil production and a dip in oil prices due to impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy have combined to cause the decline of the country’s oil exports.
Iraq poll body confirms manual recount matches electronic results
The manual recount matched the electronic results, except for a very few invalid ballot papers, which appeared after the audit that they were valid…reports Asian Lite News
The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that it has ended consideration of appeals and complaints submitted by several political parties over the results of the October 10 parliamentary polls.
An IHEC statement said the Commission received a total of 1,436 appeals from the country’s provinces, and it took necessary measures to consider the appeals and checked all the ballot papers in every polling station, reports Xinhua news agency.
Iraq poll body confirms manual recount matches electronic results
The statement confirmed that the manual recount matched the electronic results, except for a very few invalid ballot papers, which appeared after the audit that they were valid.
The results of the recount have been presented to the Board of Commissioners, who in turn transferred them to the IHEC’s judicial commission for approval, then the judicial commission will announce the final results.
According to the law, the country’s Federal Supreme Court must ratify the final results.
Earlier, the IHEC announced the full results of the elections, showing that the Sadrist Movement, led by prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took the lead with more than 70 seats, while the al-Fatah (Conquest) Coalition garnered 17 seats compared with 47 in the 2018 elections.
Political parties unsatisfied with the results said the elections were manipulated and that they would not accept the “fabricated results”.
Followers of the political parties rejecting the election results took to the streets in many Iraqi cities, including the capital Baghdad.
The elections, originally scheduled for 2022, were held in advance in response to months of protests against corruption, poor governance, and a lack of public services.
A total of 3,249 candidates within 167 parties and coalitions competed for 329 parliamentary seats.
Antonio strongly condemns assassination attempt against Iraqi PM
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the foiled assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi…reports Asian Lite News
Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief called for the perpetrators of this crime to be held accountable, and urged Iraqis to exercise utmost restraint and reject violence and attempts to destabilise Iraq, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Secretary-General “urges all political actors to uphold the constitutional order and resolve differences through peaceful and inclusive dialogue”, the statement added.
Antonio strongly condemns assassination attempt against Iraqi PM
Al-Kadhimi escaped the attempt on his life after an explosive-laden drone struck his residence in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone early Sunday morning.
According to reports, the exploding drone caused damage to the residence and several of the Prime Minister’s security guards were injured in the attack.
In his latest statement, Kadhimi said that he has identified the perpetrators and “ee will pursue those who committed the crime. We know them well, and we will reveal their identities”.
These perpetrators are the same who killed Nibras Farman, an Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) officer, and they will be brought to justice, the Prime Minister said late Sunday without giving further details.
The assassination attempt came amid protests by followers of political parties rejecting October’s election results.
On November 5, the protests escalated into a clash with the security forces at the entrances of the Green Zone, which led to the killing of two protesters and the wounding of dozens of security members and protesters.
In the Parliamentary elections on October 10, the Sadrist Movement, led by prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took the lead with more than 70 seats, while the al-Fatah (Conquest) Coalition garnered 17 seats compared with 47 in the 2018 polls.
