Baghdad

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he is in close contact with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen regarding a possible ban.

Ankara has issued a strong condemnation against the recent "vile attack" on Islam's holy book, the Quran, near the Iraqi embassy in Sweden.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday and set it on fire to protest an expected Quran burning in Sweden, Reuters reported.

All embassy staff in Baghdad are safe, the Swedish Foreign Ministry press office said in a statement, condemning the attack and stressing the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions.

Many masterpieces of Iraqi painting were looted or destroyed during the years of war, but now the country's artistic heritage faces another threat: rampant counterfeiting and illicit trafficking.

Iraq's shrunken and conflict-scarred Christian community is launching a new television channel as part of efforts to save their dying language, spoken for more than 2,000 years.

Syriac, an ancient dialect of Aramaic, has traditionally been the language spoken by Christians in Iraq and neighboring Syria, mostly in homes but also in some schools and during church services.

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.

The holiday of Eid al-Fitr ushered in a day of prayers and joy for Muslims around the world on Friday. The celebration was marred by tragedy amid the explosion of conflict in Sudan, while in other countries it came against the backdrop of hopes for a better future.

Far from being sealed, the so-called new Eastern Land Route, which came to the public's attention during the second half of 2021, appears to be very much active today, with migrants, activists and border guards settling into what one expert terms a "routinization" of their actions on this border.

In a palm grove north of Baghdad, bemused Iraqi shepherds looked on as models paraded second-hand garments down an improvised catwalk, seeking to raise awareness of the fashion industry's environmental impact.

Iraq's prime minister said yesterday the country's central bank governor had been relieved of his duties as the local currency continues to fall against the dollar.