Day: February 9, 2023

A delegation representing the Progressive Socialist Party command, commissioned by Party Chief Walid Jumblatt, and the head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblatt, visited today the Turkish embassy in Lebanon, offering condolences over the earthquake victims and expressing solidarity with the Turkish leadership and people in wake of the humanity disaster that has befallen Turkey.

Source: National News Agency

Today, the Director of the Media Department of the Syrian Civil Defense, Mohammad al-Shibli, announced the arrival of a 17-member Egyptian team to northern Syria to rescue those affected by the earthquake, according to “Russia Today” news agency.

He explained that Egyptian doctors, including health service providers, and specialists in removing rubble and rescuing and recovering victims, are the only ones who were able to enter the regions of northern and western Syria.

Al-Shibli added, “The Syrian Civil Defense extended its gratitude and appreciation to the Egyptian people based on the efforts of the only technical team that entered difficult areas that were greatly affected by the devastating earthquake, which caused thousands of victims so far,” noting that “the Egyptian technical team is working in the meantime to rescue the largest number of victims.”

Source: National News Agency

The US administration has accused the Chinese army of being “probably” behind a daring aerial espionage program that targeted more than 40 countries on five continents, according to “Russia Today” news agency.

The administration of President Joe Biden provided a statement about “the program, which was carried out through observation balloons at high altitudes similar to that of the balloon that the United States dropped over the Atlantic coast last weekend.”

The US statement comes in an attempt to refute China’s persistent denials of using a spy balloon, including Beijing’s statement Thursday that US accusations about the balloon amounted to an “information war” against China.

Source: National News Agency

Baghdad The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, headed the fifth regular session of the parliament, which its agenda includes reading nine bills.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The House of Representatives, in its session held today, Thursday, finished the first reading of the draft law, the first amendment to the law to support small income-generating projects.

The Parliament also finished the first reading of a draft law ratifying the investment promotion and protection agreement between the government of Iraq and the government of the United Arab Emirates.

The House of Representatives also completed the first reading of the draft law ratifying the agreement on avoiding double taxation and exchanging information with regard to taxes on income and capital between the government of Iraq and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the protocol attached thereto .

The House of Representatives, in its session held today, Thursday, completed the first reading of the draft law on the accession of the Republic of Iraq to the agreement establishing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the year 1990.

The Parliament also finished the first reading of the draft law ratifying the cooperation agreement between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the field of maritime transport.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Iraq and Saudi Arabia announced their agreement to facilitate Hajj and Umrah procedures, including reducing costs for Iraqi pilgrims.

The Head of the Iraqi Hajj Authority, Sami Al-Masoudi, said in a statement to reporters on Thursday evening, “We discussed opening new border crossings between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which abolished the age requirement for Iraqi pilgrims.”

He added, “Iraq agreed with the Saudi side to facilitate Hajj and Umrah procedures for Iraqis and to ensure the provision of the best services.”

For His part, the Saudi Minister of Hajj, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, confirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is always keen to facilitate procedures for all Iraqi pilgrims and Umrah performers.

He added, “We have provided the Nusk electronic platform to facilitate the entry of Iraqi pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we have also taken the initiative to reduce the costs of Hajj and Umrah for Iraqis, and the amount of insurance for pilgrims as well and Iraqi pilgrims has been reduced by a rate ranging between 60-70%.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Head of the Azm Alliance, Muthanna al-Samarrai, praised Iraq’s openness towards its Arab surroundings.

Al-Samarrai said in a tweet on Twitter: The openness of Iraq towards its Arab surroundings and the warm reception of the brothers in the United Arab Emirates to Al-Sudani confirm the existence of a common strategic vision to achieve a better tomorrow for Iraq with its Arab brothers.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The meeting of the Iraqi delegation with the US Treasury Department in Washington ended this evening, Thursday.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Iraq and Jordan signed today, Thursday 16 memorandums of understanding within the framework of the two countries’ pursuit of a complementary relationship that serves the interests of the two peoples.

A statement by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals said: “The Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, Khaled Batal Al-Najm, and the Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Yusef Al-Shamali, chaired the work of the twenty-ninth session of the Iraqi-Jordanian joint committee, in the presence of the Minister of Water Resources, agents and representatives of Ministries and relevant official bodies from both countries, with the aim of strengthening relations and historical ties that bind the two brotherly countries and areas of joint cooperation in all sectors.

Al-Najm added, according to the statement, that “the current session of the committee gains special importance as it culminates in the work of the previous sessions and reached tangible results in the joint economic city project, which developed the declaration into a global developer after the effort and hard work of former Ministers and officials, in addition to reaching the final stages in the pipeline project, Iraqi-Jordanian oil, the electrical interconnection project, and others, stressing the desire of the Iraqi and Jordanian private sectors to work jointly in order to localize industries between the two countries.

The star stressed the need for “communication between the ministries and relevant authorities in both countries to follow up on what was discussed and agreed upon during this session.

For his part, the Jordanian Minister of Industry indicated that “the relationship between Iraq and Jordan is a distinguished strategic relationship, and that there is a real desire to continue this historical relationship in order to achieve promising projects that serve the two countries.”

The statement continued, “The meeting reviewed programs and cooperation agreements that were reached in the economic, trade and investment fields, especially in the economic city project, and the agreements in the fields of health, energy, education, electricity, water, culture and others.

The statement pointed out, “the meeting witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between the two countries in various fields and the minutes of the meeting for the purpose of deepening the partnership in various fields.”

The statement concluded, “the star announced in a press conference the end of the work of the Iraqi-Jordanian committee, whose meetings lasted for two days to discuss many sectoral issues and the signing of 16 memorandums of understanding within the framework of the two countries’ pursuit of a complementary relationship that serves the interests of the two brotherly peoples.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Riyadh– Former Prime Minister of Estonia and the head of the “Ovi” Technologies Company Taavi Roivas reiterated, in a session within the activities of the LEAP23 conference themed “The future of mobility between electric cars, aviation, and autonomous cars”, that most European countries are far from the progress achieved by the Kingdom in digital services.

Roivas explained that self-driving cars are the ideal solution for future mobility, as they allow people to move easily within facilities with large areas such as universities, residential complexes, commercial centers, and various roads. They also have no problems with movement and cause no accidents, given that human errors cause 20% of road accidents.

Source: Saudi Press Agency