The French foreign ministry deputy spokesperson on Friday described the French president's visit to Damascus as “historic" and reiterated France’s support for a unified Syria that includes all its components.

While the sweeping crackdown on corruption across Iraq is an encouraging step forward, it is still too early to assess its impact, a Transparency International regional advisor told Rudaw on Tuesday, following the arrest of dozens of senior officials and politicians as part of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s Operation Dawn, launched Sunday.

The governor of Baghdad has invited companies operating in the Kurdistan Region to invest in the Iraqi capital, calling the city "virgin land" for investors in hopes of drawing investors to emulate Erbil’s city planning projects and green spaces back in Baghdad.