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.

The oil is pumped 24 hours a day several meters from Raghed Jasim's home in Iraq's crude-rich southern heartland. Gas flares from the field light the night sky bright orange, spewing acrid smoke; when the wind picks up, the 40-year old's clothes are coated black.

Iraqi telecommunications worker Youssef Ahmed is married with a five-year-old son, but lives with his parents because he is unable to afford his own home amid soaring property prices.

"Even if your income increases, it will never be up to the exorbitant prices of houses or land", said 29-year-old Ahmed, who earns a "comfortable" monthly salary of $1,000, double the national average.

To feed and cool his buffaloes, Hashem Gassed must cross 10 kilometers of sunburnt land in southern Iraq, where drought is devastating swathes of the mythical Mesopotamian Marshes.

Verdant landscapes, stylized portraits of peasant women, curved sculptures, an exhibition in Baghdad is allowing art aficionados to rediscover the pioneers of contemporary Iraqi art.

Around 100 items are on display in the capital, returned and restored nearly two decades after they were looted.

The small motorboat chugging through southern Iraq's marshes is similar to those tourists use to explore the vast swamplands, the reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden.

Lebanon's Ministry of Culture handed over to Iraq on Feb. 6 337 ancient artifacts that had been on display in a Lebanese museum for years.

The items, which included clay tablets, were returned by Minister of Culture Mohammed Murtada to Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon during a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut.

Art exhibitions, book fairs on the Tigris and Godot in Baghdad - after decades of conflict and strife, the Iraqi capital is experiencing an artistic renaissance.

"People need art, they want to develop their artistic taste - it's an escape route," said Noor Alaa al-Din, director of art space The Gallery.

"We are like any country, we have the right to art to entertain us."