Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, received on Tuesday the CEO of General Electric (GE) Gas Power, Eric Gray, where he emphasized that the Iraqi government prioritizes the electricity sector, calling on the company to cooperate with the Ministry of Electricity in meeting Iraqs needs for electricity, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

The meeting was attended by a delegation from GE, the Iraqi Minister of Electricity and other Iraqi officials.

The statement indicated that Al-Sudani urged accelerating the completion of the combined cycle power plants to increase energy production without the need for more fuel.

The meeting addressed projects for recovering the associated gas, according to the statement.

Al-Sudani emphasized that the government is working on ending gas flaring in Iraq to be used in energy production projects and other transformational industries.

GEs delegation reviewed the projects the company is carrying out in Iraq, especially in the field of energy production.

Gray stressed that GE is committed to the contracts it signed with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity to improve and develop the electrical system in the country.

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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Australian embassy in Iraq issued a statement condemning the desecration of the Quran in Copenhagen and the attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.

The statement mentioned that Australia unequivocally opposes the desecration of the Quran and other religious texts.

The statement elaborated that such acts are provocative and entirely inconsistent with Australias firmly held belief in the freedom of religion and the equality of all people.

The Australian embassy expressed its disappointment at the failure to prevent recent Quran burnings in Copenhagen.

The statement also revealed that there are no Danish officials on the Australian embassy compound in Baghdad.

Australia supports the right to protest, but incursions into diplomatic premises cannot be justified. Australia expects governments to honor their obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomatic missions and staff in all circumstances, according to the statement.

The statement added that Australia has a vibrant Muslim community, and many Iraqis call Australia home.

Two people burned a copy of the Quran outside the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen on Monday, raising the possibility of a deterioration in relations between Iraq and Denmark.

One of the two people crushed the copy of the Quran into the ground with his feet and set it on fire, placing the Iraqi flag next to it on the ground.

The two people belong to a Danish anti-Islam group called Danske Patrioter (Danish Patriots), which carried out a similar incident last week, broadcasting it directly on Facebook.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned in a statement that Iraq condemns the burning of the Quran outside its embassy in Copenhagen, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry called on the authorities of the European Union to quickly reconsider the so-called freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate, INA reported.

Iran and Iraq witnessed protests after the authorities in Denmark and Sweden allowed the burning of copies of the Quran under laws protecting the right to freedom of expression.

Protesters in Iraq set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad last Thursday.

Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on Saturday to condemn the burning or tearing of copies of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark.

The spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, announced on Monday that Danish diplomats left Baghdad two days ago.

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Hong Kong Hong Kong led a surge across markets Tuesday after Chinas leaders pledged fresh measures to boost the nations stuttering economy, building on optimism that central banks were nearing the end of their rate-hiking cycle.

With data in recent months showing growth stuttering and business activity slowing, Beijing has come under pressure to provide much-needed support, particularly for the vast property sector.

Despite a series of announcements and minor interest rate cuts, investors have been largely disappointed by the policy response from authorities, with very few concrete measures being unveiled.

However, top leaders on Monday signalled a fresh push to get the post-Covid recovery back on track, particularly the troubled property sector, which accounts for a major part of the worlds number-two economy.

After a meeting, the 24-person Politburo recognised the current economic operation is facing new difficulties and challenges and agreed they must implement precise and effective macroeconomic regulation, strengthen countercyclical regulation and policy reserves.

The meeting, headed by President Xi Jinping, also called for efforts to expand domestic consumption and adjust and optimise real estate policies in a timely manner, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The overall stance remains in a pro-growth mindset, but the focus is more forward-looking with an increased emphasis on addressing structural challenges (i.e. local government debt) to facilitate longer-term sustainable growth, said Erin Xin at HSBC.

The announcement keeps a supportive tone, which can help provide some support for the recovery and it may provide some boost to market sentiment, she added.

While it was nowhere near the blockbuster spending plans seen in the past, the news gave investors a boost, with Hong Kong jumping nearly four percent thanks to a rally in real estate companies and tech giants.

Among the standout performers were developers Country Garden and Sunac, which piled on almost 20 percent each. The two firms are among several struggling under the weight of massive debts that have sent shivers through the industry. 

Investors now believe the Politburo meeting sets an encouraging tone for more substantial and comprehensive policy easing down the road, said SPI Asset Managements Stephen Innes.

Why is it different this time? Because the lawmakers acknowledged the problem. And to fix any problem, you must acknowledge there is a problem.

And Jizhou Dong, at Nomura Holdings, noted that confidence was lifted by the fact there was no use of the often-repeated message that housing is for living in but not for speculation, which had been a key part of policy-making since 2016, Bloomberg News said.

Shanghai climbed more than two per...

Nablus Israeli troops killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, the latest deaths in a surge of violence in the territory since early last year.

Three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bullets in Nablus, the ministry said, adding the identities of those killed in the northern West Bank city were still unknown.

The Israeli army said three armed terrorists had opened fire on its soldiers from a vehicle in a Nablus neighbourhood and the troops fired back to neutralise them.

The soldiers recovered three M-16 rifles, a gun, cartridges and other military equipment, the army said in a statement.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Since early last year, the territory has seen a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, as well as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities.

Violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year has killed at least 201 Palestinians, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.

The West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians, as well as around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

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Paris Blistering heat that has baked swathes of North America and Europe this month would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, researchers said Tuesday, as intense temperatures spark health alerts and stoke ferocious wildfires.

With tens of million people affected in the northern hemisphere and July on track to be the hottest month globally since records began, experts warn that worse is to come unless we reduce planet-heating emissions. 

Severe heatwaves have gripped southern Europe, parts of the United States, Mexico and China this month, with temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius. 

In the new rapid analysis of the scorching temperatures, scientists from the World Weather Attribution group found that the heatwaves in parts of Europe and North America would have been almost impossible without climate change.

Temperatures in China were made 50 times more likely by global warming, they found.  

The role of climate change is absolutely overwhelming, said climate scientist Friederike Otto, of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London. 

Intense temperatures have swept much of the southwest and southern United States including in Phoenix, Arizona, which suffered a record-breaking three straight weeks of highs above 43C.

Blazes on the Greek mainland and islands have caused tens of thousands to flee, sent tourists scrambling for evacuation flights and prompted the prime minister to say the country is at war. 

In Beijing, the government urged the elderly to stay indoors and children to shorten outdoor playtime to reduce exposure to the heat and ground-level ozone pollution.

More extreme

Scientists have already established that climate change with about 1.2C of global warming since the late 1800s has made heatwaves in general hotter, longer and more frequent. 

To trace how far the July heatwaves in the northern hemisphere had departed from what would have been expected without that warming, Otto and her WWA colleagues used weather data and computer model simulations to compare the climate as it is today with that of the past.

Researchers said they focused on periods when the heat was most dangerous in each region.

Otto said in the past it would have been basically impossible that such severe heat waves would happen at the same time and that people should no longer be surprised to see temperature records tumbling. 

The future could be even worse.  

As long as we keep burning fossil fuels we will see more and more of these extremes.

The researchers found that these severe heatwaves can now be expected roughly once every 15 years in North America, every 10 years in southern Europe and every five years in China.

And they...

Kyiv Karina, a seven-year-old war orphan who lives in Kyiv with her aunt, has vivid memories of life before her parents were killed fleeing invading Russian forces.

I remember mom and dad. Me and dad ate sausages, she says with a giggle. The sausages only with dad, she stresses, adding: I helped mum wash the dishes and clean up.

The swelling number of orphans like Karina has added to the pressure on a care system already in need of reform before Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

More than 9,000 children many of them traumatised by their experiences in the conflict have lost their parents due to the war, according to Ukrainian social services. 

Karinas mother and father died as the family tried to flee their village in the besieged northern region of Chernigiv in the early stages of the conflict.

An explosion potentially caused by a land mine or a shell killed her parents and catapulted Karina out of the car they were in.

She had a concussion because she flew out the window, says Karinas aunt Ruslana Nosenko.

On her back the burns were dark, dark blue. They have not healed completely, says Nosenko, 22, who took Karina in after she had been treated in hospital in Chernigiv.

Physically, I think she was very, very lucky, but psychologically she suffered a lot.

Family home

Over 100,000 children lived in Ukraines institutional orphanages before the war the largest number in Europe after Russia. 

Now, authorities are looking to place more children in foster homes and with families, providing financial incentives for carers.

But despite moves to make adoption easier, the process still involves too many hurdles for Nosenko.

You need to have an official income, unlike mine, says Nosenko, who studies in Kyiv and has a child of her own.

I simply couldnt process the adoption, and at this stage I cant process it either, because Im a student.

At their Kyiv apartment, Karina practices playing the keyboard for Nosenko, who acts as the girls guardian in lieu of adoption.

A month after the incident, Karina was reunited with her aunt, who broke the news of her parents death to the girl.

She was very nervous. She cried a lot, Nosenko says, recalling how Karina would wake up in the night sobbing.

Nosenko took Karina to a psychologist, who encouraged her to write letters to her parents to work through the trauma.

Protecting children from the psychological consequences of the war has become a challenge, according to Ukraines first lady Olena Zelenska, who has campaigned on the issue.

The horrors of war meant a large number of our children, li...

Los Angeles Tue Nguyen became a TikTok star by posting videos of herself cooking Vietnamese dishes during the pandemic.

With lockdowns over, the young chef has leapt from the virtual to the real world to open her first restaurant near Los Angeles.

I think thats always kind of been like a dream, Nguyen, 25, told AFP recently at Di Di, her restaurant in the vibrant suburb of West Hollywood.

But I honestly didnt know that it would come this fast.

Nguyen attended culinary school to learn the basics of the craft, but says she truly mastered gastronomy when she tapped into her heritage.

I genuinely didnt learn how to cook until I really looked back at what I grew up with. And thats the taste of my moms cooking.

Nguyen, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with her family as a child, credits her mother and stepfather as her main influences in the kitchen.

They remind me every time that Im in the kitchen to cook, to make good food and to trust your taste, Nguyen said.

Find my taste in the kitchen

Known on social media as @TwayDaBae, Nguyen first started posting mukbangs, or videos in which people livestream themselves eating.

But it was her cooking videos that made her genuinely popular on platforms like TikTok.

Nguyen began posting on social media just for fun, but she quickly saw that people had an appetite not only for eating but also for learning to recreate the food themselves.

And that was when I realized okay Im going to take this opportunity as a way for me to not only learn but also develop like my style of cooking and find my taste in the kitchen.

Unlike other chefs who rise to restaurant fame before they become media celebrities, Nguyen tried the opposite approach and began bringing her online dishes to the real world at pop-up restaurant venues.

The location of her first appearance is where she later opened Di Di.

With hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and millions of likes on her videos, Nguyen doesnt think sharing her recipes with the world will hurt her restaurant business.

A lot of times my recipes online are very easy to follow, Nguyen said. 

Here, Nguyen said of Di Di, its more polished.

My story, my heart

Filled with huge armchairs and golden lamps and decorated with tropical plants, Di Di the Vietnamese phrase for Lets go opened its doors on Thursday.

Nguyen, who takes care of every detail at Di Di, describes her cooking style as a blend of the techniques she learned in culinary school and the taste of her mothers cooking she grew up with....

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Jordanian Prime Minister, Bishr Hani Al-Khasawneh, stated on Monday that the second phase of the electrical interconnection with Iraq is progressing quickly, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Al-Khasawneh mentioned that Iraqi-Jordanian relations are strong, highlighting the importance of military coordination to combat terrorism.

The Jordanian Prime Minister called for strengthened cooperation to fight drug cartels, pointing out that he discussed Iraqs need for renewable energy.

Al-Khasawneh illustrated that he also discussed the tripartite mechanism between Iraq, Jordan and Egypt, indicating that there are promising discoveries near the Iraqi-Jordanian border.

The Jordanian official arrived earlier on Monday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where he and Al-Sudani headed the meetings of the joint Iraqi-Jordanian committee.

The Iraqi Prime Minister elaborated that the bilateral meetings were constructive, specifying that important issues related to the economy, health, food security, and public security were discussed.

Al-Sudani illustrated that he supports cooperation between the Iraqi and Jordanian private sectors and encourages the Iraqi-Jordanian Business Council to invest in real estate development, housing, industrial and agricultural projects.

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Algiers Wildfires raging across Algeria during a blistering heatwave have killed more than 30 people and forced mass evacuations, the government said on Monday.

As temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in parts of the North African country, it recorded 97 blazes across 16 provinces, fanned by strong winds, said the interior ministry.

The fires killed at least 34 people, including 10 soldiers, as they raged through residential areas, the interior ministry said, revising an earlier toll of 15 dead.

According to that initial toll, at least 26 people were also injured.

Some 1,500 people were evacuated from the Bejaia, Bouira and Jijel provinces east of the capital Algiers, according to the ministry.

The three provinces in Algerias Mediterranean coastal region have seen the worst of the fires.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Monday expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

The interior ministry said that 7,500 firefighters and 350 firetrucks were mobilised with aerial support to fight the flames.

Operations were underway to extinguish fires in six provinces, it added, calling on citizens to avoid areas affected by the fires and to report new blazes on toll-free phone numbers.

Civil protection services remain mobilised until the fires are completely extinguished, the ministry said.

The Bejaia prosecutors office has ordered a preliminary probe to identify the causes of the blazes and potential perpetrators, it said in a statement.

Images shared by local media showed fields and forests that had caught fire in the area as well as charred vehicles and storefronts destroyed by the flames.

In the northeastern province of Tizi Ouzou, 15 fires were extinguished late Sunday, according to civil protection forces.

Fires regularly rage through forests and fields in Algeria in summer, and this year have been exacerbated by a heatwave that has seen several Mediterranean countries break temperature records.

Mediterranean heatwave

In neighbouring Tunisia, temperatures on Monday neared 50 degrees Celsius.

Tunisias state energy supplier STEG announced planned half-hour to one-hour power cuts in a bid to preserve the networks performance.

Fires raged again on Monday in a Tunisian pine forest near the border with Algeria, after another blaze in the area last week.

At least 300 people were evacuated by sea and by land from the village of Melloula, according to the national guard.

AFP journalists saw extensive damage near the town of Nefza, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Tunis.

During last weeks fire, a border crossing had to close temporarily, according to Tunisian officials who confirmed 470 hectares (1,100 acres) of forest had been burned.

In some other North African countries such as Morocco and...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Lania Fakher, hailed as the youngest equestrian in Iraq, recently received a generous donation of horses from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the present ruler of Dubai.

At only eight-years-old, Fakher has stirred deep emotions among social media users. In a touching video, she mourns the loss of her beloved horse, Jesno, which was a gift from her father at the age of five. The horse was her most valued and cherished companion.

Sheikh Mohammed was deeply moved by the young girl in the viral video. He has pledged his support to establish a personal training center for the aspiring rider, along with his gift of new horses.

Despite the veterinarians warning about the risks involved, Fakher continued to care for her sick horse, showing unwavering dedication and love. The young rider persists in making frequent visits to the horses grave, offering sugar and apples as a tribute, despite the profound pain she endures from the loss.

Fakher dreams of one day educating fellow young Iraqis about various disciplines of horse riding, showcasing the deep bond and harmony between riders and horses.

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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Marking the 6^th anniversary of Mosuls liberation from the grip of ISIS, UNESCO officially delivered heritage house number 100, labelling it a significant milestone in its work to restore the historic part of the city, according to a statement issued by UNESCO.

The statement revealed that as part of its flagship initiative Revive the Spirit of Mosul, UNESCO launched in 2020 the rehabilitation of 124 historical houses within the Old City of Mosul, which suffered severe damage during the recent conflict.

The statement elaborated that this project was made possible through generous financial support from the European Union and fruitful collaboration with the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and local authorities.

The reconstruction of these houses was done according to the highest heritage standards, using traditional techniques and traditional materials, so that this exceptional heritage of Mosul can once again be transmitted from generation to generation, according to the statement.

Restoring these heritage houses also means creating jobs for 4710 workers and craftsmen. UNESCO provided training to local workers in various methods of rehabilitating heritage buildings, as mentioned in the statement.

The statement indicated that 1568 local job seekers were involved in the rehabilitation process in partnership with the Ministry of Labor.

The statement elaborated that the rehabilitation of the 24 remaining houses is on track and they will be delivered to their owners by the end of this summer.

The statement added that this successful project in Mosul has been extended to Basra in southern Iraq, where UNESCO is currently restoring 11 historic houses in coordination with the local authorities.

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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Jeanine Plasschaert, discussed on Monday the displaced issue and climate challenges, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Presidency.

The statement mentioned that the meeting addressed the political situation in Iraq and the efforts exerted by the United Nations to tackle the issue of the displaced and climate challenges.

The Iraqi President and the UN representative also talked about the work of the United Nations and its associated organizations in supporting Iraq and activating their role, especially in the projects adopted by the United Nations, such as the issue of the displaced and ways to facilitate their return to their areas of residence.

Plasschaert emphasized her eagerness to do everything possible to help the Iraqis in all fields.

A report issued in July by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) mentioned that one million people remain displaced in Iraq six years after the defeat of the terrorist group ISIS, with a quarter of them perceived as ISIS-affiliates.

On a visit to Anbar, Baghdad and Basra in mid-July, the UNDPs Assistant Secretary-General and Crisis Bureau Director, Asako Okai, stated that supporting the countrys efforts to reintegrate everyone is critical to preventing extremism and boosting recovery.

More than six million people were forced to flee their homes between 2014 and 2017 as ISIS fighters controlled around 40 percent of the country, including Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city.

80 percent of displaced people have been able to return home, according to the UNDP.

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San Francisco Twitters owner Elon Musk and its new CEO said Sunday that the social media network would ditch its bird logo, be rebranded with the name X and move quickly into payments, banking and commerce.

Founded in 2006, Twitter takes its name from a play on the sound of birds chattering, and it has used avian branding since its early days, when the company bought a stock symbol of a light blue bird for $15, according to the design website Creative Bloq. 

Late on Sunday night, Musk changed his profile picture to the companys new interim logo a white X on a black background and changed his Twitter bio to X.com.

Musk said the company was Going with (a) minimalist art deco logo, and that X.com now points to twitter.com.

He had earlier tweeted that If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, well make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow.  

Musk also tweeted that under the sites new identity, a post would be called an X.

The changes were not visible on the website as of 0530 GMT Monday.

Musk had already named Twitters parent company the X Corporation, and previously said his takeover of the social media giant was an accelerant to creating X, the everything app a reference to the X.com company he founded in PayPal. 

Such an app could still function as a social media platform, and also include messaging and mobile payments.

Powered by AI, X will connect us in ways were just beginning to imagine, Twitter chief executive Linda Yaccarino tweeted Sunday.

Yaccarino, an advertising sales executive at NBCUniversal who Musk poached last month to become Twitters CEO, said the social media platform was on the cusp of broadening its scope.

X is the future state of unlimited interactivity centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities, Yaccarino tweeted.

New revenue streams

Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the platforms advertising business has partially collapsed as marketers soured on mass firings at the platform that gutted content moderation as well as on Musks management style.

In response, the billionaire SpaceX boss has moved toward introducing payments and commerce through the platform in a search for new revenue. 

Twitter is thought to have around 200 million daily active users, but it has suffered repeated technical failures since the 52-year-old Tesla founder bought the app and sacked much of its staff.

Since then, many users and advertisers alike have responded adversely to the social media sites new charges for previously free services,...

London Mick Jagger once sang what a drag it is getting old but the most senior swinger in town shows little sign of slowing down as he turns 80 on Wednesday.

The Rolling Stones frontman is still strutting and gyrating in front of packed-out arenas, most recently touring Europe to mark the bands 60th anniversary.

The icon of 60s counterculture underwent a heart valve replacement in 2019, but his regime of running, kick-boxing, cycling and yoga has maintained his svelte figure and longevity as an energetic showman.

The band completed its 14-date Sixty tour last year, although had to cancel one date when Jagger caught Covid.

It was the first time the band had performed without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.

The remaining members plan to release a new album in tribute to their late drummer later this year, the first LP of original material since  A Bigger Bang in 2005.

It will reportedly feature Beatles legend Paul McCartney and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman, 86, more than 30 years after his departure from the band.

Beyond the Stones, Jagger teamed up with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in 2021 to record Eazy Sleazy, a song about life during the pandemic.

With songs like Jumpin Jack Flash, Gimme Shelter, Sympathy for the Devil and Not Fade Away, Jaggers band helped detonate the cultural and social explosion of the 1960s.

The charismatic frontman built a reputation for pushing boundaries, taking full advantage of the eras sexual revolution and recreational drug use.

Establishment figure

Michael Philip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, to middle-class parents in Dartford, south of London.

He started jamming with childhood friend Keith Richards in 1960 after they discovered a mutual love of the blues, and have enjoyed a productive, if love-hate, relationship ever since.

Jagger dropped out of the London School of Economics in the pursuit of fame and in 1965 the band had their first smash hit with (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction.

A string of massive hits across five decades followed, including Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Women and Paint It Black.

The band became as famous for their off-stage antics as those on it.

Jagger and Richards were found guilty of drug offences in 1967, while founding member Brian Jones paid the ultimate price for the rock and roll lifestyle, drowning in his swimming pool in 1969.

I wasnt understanding enough about his drug addiction, Jagger said in 1995. Things like LSD were all new. No one knew the harm. People thought cocaine was good for you.

Despite the drug-fuelled indulgences and controversies, Jagger has always kept a careful eye on the c...

Paris Ukrainian athletes are steadfast in their condemnation of the IOC permitting Russians to compete in sports events but some are at odds with their government over the threat to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

With no end in sight to the hostilities since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine and with a year to go to the start of the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to decide whether competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus can compete under a neutral flag.

Olha Saladukha, Ukraines 2011 triple jump world champion and now a lawmaker, prays that her compatriots are not presented with an ultimatum.

I hope that neither the IOC nor the French government will force us to make a difficult choice: boycott the Games or shake hands with those who have the blood of Ukrainians on them, Saladukha told AFP.

Talented 800 metres runner Dmytro Kovalschuk is one of the many Ukrainian athletes who have fought on the frontline.

His faint hopes of competing in Paris were dashed when after seven months of combat he suffered a serious shoulder wound.

I believe (the Olympics) is not the place for them, for those bringing violence into the world we should not ignore it, Kovalschuk told AFP.

I believe the Olympic Games is about uniting people.

How can we unite with those who launch rockets and heavily shell facilities or homes and kill people?

This is unfair if Russian sports people whose country started this should be able to compete and we cannot.

The toll in terms of both athletes lives and facilities is stark.

At least 317 athletes and coaches were killed, said Saladukha.

These are not only soldiers at the front, but also people in the rear.

The enemy is deliberately and systematically destroying our sports infrastructure.

As of today, 343 sports facilities have been damaged, 95 of them completely destroyed.

Saladukha says a boycott of the Olympics is a last resort. She hopes France will listen to the Ukrainian parliaments demand to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from French territory.

The 40-year-old would though be willing for them to be in Paris on one condition.

Another solution could be for those Russian and Belarusian athletes who want to participate in the Games to sign an anti-war declaration, she said.

They should condemn Putins war. After that, those who sign such a document can form a refugee team and compete at the Olympics.

Bach ignores the majority

However, two athletes with hopes of being in Paris agree with tennis player Lesia Tsurenko who told AFP in June it was best for Ukrainians to beat the Russians on any field.

Tennis has allowed Russians and B...

Paris Paris airports face a double challenge during the Olympics next year already under huge pressure, they will also be the first impression that many foreign visitors get of the Games.

Frances main international airport, Charles de Gaulle (CDG), and the smaller Orly will be two crucial gateways to the Olympics, which open in around a year on July 26, 2024.

The Parisian airports authority ADP believes it can cope with the increased traffic in July and August next year in what is already one of the worlds most visited cities.

What is keeping managers awake at night is the exceptional nature of tens of thousands of the arrivals and their outsized baggage.

Some 85,000 competitors, coaches and officials will be accredited for the Olympics and the Paralympics, excluding spectators, said Renaud Duplay, the deputy director of CDG.

In terms of numbers, its a drop in the ocean compared to the approximately 340,000 people who pass through CDG and Orly on peak summer days, he said.

On the other hand, the Olympic arrivals have expectations that are different from those for which our infrastructure is designed.

The canoeists, for example, will bring kayaks, there will be crates and crates of bicycles and unwieldy poles for pole vaulters.

There will be a volume of oversized luggage that is just not the one we usually have, Jerome Harnois, the top state official in charge of Paris airports, said.

Lost or misplaced equipment could mean competitors missing out on Olympic glory, and trigger a storm of negative publicity for the organisers and France as a whole.

Access to the centre of Paris is also a concern.

The upcoming extension of the Metros line 14, which will link Orly to the centre of the capital and several key Olympic venues in Seine-Saint-Denis to the north of Paris, should help alleviate some pressure.

On the other hand, a long-planned fast rail link between CDG and Paris will not be ready, leaving the often-derided RER B suburban train line as the alternative. 

Coach and bus traffic between the two airports will be strongly regulated to avoid chaos, Duplay said.

A question mark also hovers over what passenger numbers can be expected in the summer of 2024, when the post-Covid recovery in tourism will still be being felt. 

Past Olympics though have shown that visitor numbers actually decline during the Games because tourists postpone their visits.

During the London Olympics in 2012, for example, traffic only increased by six or seven percent compared to normal, Harnois said.

Personalised welcome

Each team delegation arriving on a regular flight will benefit from a personalised welcome, with around one thousand volunteers chosen for the task.

We will pick them up at the...

Toronto World number two Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Toronto Masters due to fatigue, Tennis Canada said on Sunday.

The announcement comes a week after the 23-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia fell to Spains Carlos Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon.

His withdrawal deprives the US Open tune-up tournament that starts on August 7 of a four-time champion.

I have always enjoyed my time in Canada, but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take, Djokovic said in a statement released by Tennis Canada.

I would like to thank Karl Hale, the Tournament Director, for understanding this decision. I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there.

Alcaraz denied Djokovic a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title last week, handing him his first defeat on the All England Clubs Centre Court in 10 years.

The Spaniards victory also ended 36-year-old Djokovics chance of a calendar Grand Slam after his triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open took his tally of major titles to a mens record 23.

Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks will now gain automatic entry into the Toronto main draw.

The American defeated fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and 12th-seeded Cameron Norrie en route to the last eight at Wimbledon.

Hale acknowledged that Djokovic, who won the Canadian title in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2016, would be missed.

Of course, were disappointed that Novak wont be playing at the National Bank Open this year, Hale said in a statement. Hes an incredible player and one we know our fans were eager to watch at Sobeys Stadium.

He will be missed but we still have a long list of sensational players confirmed for this years event, including 41 of the top 42 players in the world.

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Rome Italy hosted Mediterranean leaders in Rome on Sunday at a conference aimed at extending an EU-backed deal with Tunisia to curb the arrival of migrants on European shores.

The summit convened by Italys Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni laid the foundations for a fund to finance investment projects and support border controls, with a medium-term aim of better regulating migratory flows.

Opening the conference, Meloni said talks would focus on illegal and legal immigration, refugee support and the most important wide cooperation to support development in Africa.

The day of talks was the start of a process that would be followed with a donors conference to finance investment projects and support border control, Meloni said, adding that no date had yet been set.

The United Arab Emirates pledged 100 million euros ($111 million) to that fund, Meloni said in a press conference following the conference.  

Ahead of the talks, Pope Francis appealed to the leaders to help the scores of people who try to enter Europe each year in search of a better life as they flee poverty and conflict.

The Mediterranean can no longer be the theatre of death and inhumanity, the pontiff said during his weekly Angelus prayer.

During the 2022 election campaign that brought her to power, the far-right Meloni vowed to stop the disembarkation of migrants in Italy, which the government puts at nearly 80,000 coastal arrivals since January, compared to 33,000 in the same period last year. 

But while the government has put obstacles in the path of humanitarian ships rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean, it has failed to stop the departures themselves, which mostly originate in Tunisia and Libya.

Italy and the European Commission have sought to step up engagement with Tunisia, promising funding if it stems emigration from its territory.

Meloni has also sought to act as an intermediary between Tunisia cash-strapped and on the cusp of a major debt crisis and the International Monetary Fund, where a nearly $2 billion bailout package for the North African country has stalled amid an IMF demand for structural reforms.

Last week, the EU signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia that provides for 105 million euros in direct European aid to prevent the departure of migrant boats and combat smugglers. 

The deal also provides for more Tunisians who arrive illegally to be repatriated, and for sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia to be sent back to their countries of origin.

A much larger EU package to Tunisia, a long-term loan of around 900 million euros proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in June, is conditional on approval of the IMF loan.

Tunisia is a nation that is in extreme distress and clearly leaving it to its fate can have consequences that a...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, announced on Sunday that the bank will resume the sale of US dollars through licensed banks in the northern governorate of Nineveh, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministers Office.

The decision was made during a meeting on Sunday with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, where he directed the government to adopt simple procedures for citizens.

The meeting addressed measures taken by the CBI regarding the stability of the Iraqi currency in the market and the plans prepared to reform and develop the banking sector in Iraq to be able to face challenges.

The Deputy Governor of the CBI, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, explained during his speech at the 6th edition of the Iraq Finance Expo held at the Baghdad International Fair that Iraqs foreign reserves rose to $113 billion, driven by the rise in global oil prices, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

Khalaf explained that the CBI plays a key role in financial and economic stability, adding that 2023 is witnessing many changes that will contribute to achieving stability in Iraq.

Khalaf added that the Iraqi economy is seeing growth in gross domestic product, a surplus in the general budget due to increased global oil prices, and an increase in deposits in Iraqi banks.

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Budapest Lewis Hamilton said he was taking the positives from his pole position qualifying lap on Saturday to boost his spirits after missing out on the podium in Sundays Hungarian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion made a poor start and was well beaten by runaway championship leader and defending double champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull who cruised to a crushing victory. 

It was Red Bulls record 12th consecutive race win and Verstappens seventh in succession, leaving Hamiltons Mercedes a distant fourth.

The initial getaway wasnt the worst Ive ever had, but it obviously wasnt as good as Maxs! 

I had a bit of wheelspin and obviously Max was on the inside and ran me wide and then I got done by the two McLarens, he said. 

So definitely, not a great start! Actually, it was reminiscent of 2015 when I fell back from first too. 

After that I just didnt have the pace to keep up with the guys. The balance of the car was pretty awful in the first stint, I had a lot of understeer, a snap of oversteer through corners and I just couldnt keep up with them. 

But then bit by bit the car became more drivable.

So, Im going to take the positives from yesterday. It was amazing from the team to get to where we were and to beat everybody in qualifying. 

That was really spectacular for us and while it shows we dont have the best car it was an incredible lap. We have a lot of work to do. It looks like we are a long way from the Red Bull in a race and now we are behind the McLaren, but we just got to keep pushing.

Team-mate George Russell came through the field from the back of the grid to finish a strong sixth. 

P6 was beyond our expectations, he said.

Strategists quoted P11 before the race, P7 if we maximised. At the end we were P6, ahead of both Ferraris who started 12 positions ahead of us. 

The car was really quick. This place is one of my favourites and as a team we generally do well here, so it was no surprise how quick we were today.

Team chief Toto Wolff said: Yesterday was a mega Lewis lap, but we screwed it up with George in qualifying. I think we had the second-quickest car today but we didnt monetise on it and ultimately Verstappen won.

The start played a role, but that can happen. We brought the tyres in maybe too carefully.

We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but youve seen the pace Verstappen and Red Bull have. Its like a field of F2 cars against their F1 car.

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