Iraq News Wire

Rome – Italy’s government held emergency talks with intelligence chiefs on Tuesday following cyberattacks on supermarket freezer systems in at least 11 European countries. The attacks in recent days, for which no one has claimed responsibility, have prompted the EU to warn of a deliberate attempt to disrupt its food supply chain. EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said EU agencies were also holding meetings on Tuesday with national authorities on “how to best respond to this collectiv

Frankfurt – Lufthansa on Tuesday became the latest airline to warn that ticket prices will rise further, as it forecast a two-billion-euro ($2.2 billion) jump in annual fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict. It came a day after Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said it would raise prices and launch a cost-cutting drive, as the US-Israeli war on Iran keeps global energy costs elevated. The conflict, which started in February, has led to the near total closure of key oil and gas trade rou

London – British telecoms group Virgin Media O2  said Tuesday that it would cut thousands of jobs in a sweeping cost-saving programme, helped by greater use of AI, to reduce its debt pile. The telecoms group said it expected to save around £300 million ($400 million) in staff expenses, as part of a broader plan to slash costs by around £800 million a year by 2029.  The group, which employs 16,000 people, did not confirm how many jobs would be axed but said the number would be in the thousa

Paris – Iran on Tuesday hanged two young men on charges related to nationwide protests in January, as rights groups accused authorities of subjecting them to torture and an unfair trial. Amirhossein Maleki, 20, and Amirhossein Ebrahimi, 19, were executed after being convicted over events in a square in the central city of Isfahan during the protests that authorities say caused the deaths of four members of the security forces, Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said. Iran has now exe

London – West Ham sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo on Tuesday after a disappointing start to the Championship season. The 52-year-old Portuguese manager oversaw the Hammers’ relegation from the Premier League last season but stayed with the London club. Many viewed them as favourites to win automatic promotion back to the top flight but they are currently eighth in the second-tier table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough, after 13 games. West Ham had a good run after a sha

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Iraqi dinar maintained relative stability across parallel markets in major commercial centers on Tuesday morning, November 3, 2026, with retail selling prices hovering near the 168,000-dinar threshold per $100. According to morning trading data, exchange desks in Baghdad posted retail selling rates at 168,000 dinars against buying bids of 167,500 dinars per $100. In Erbil, counters registered selling quotes at

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi federal government is actively accelerating its accession procedures to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), targeting full membership compliance by 2028, according to Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) Pamela Coke-Hamilton. Speaking on the Dinar Iqtisadi program broadcast by Al-Iraqiya News, Coke-Hamilton confirmed that the ITC continues to support Baghdad through technical reviews of domestic trade legislation, regulatory

San Francisco – US chipmaking giant Nvidia is ordering its data center partners to scale back work with Chinese customers, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.  Nvidia’s cloud computing clients must now sell at least 51 percent of their services to non-Chinese companies, the FT reported, citing five people with knowledge of the matter.  The new rules only affect future contracts and not existing agreements, the report said. Nvidia neither confirmed nor denied the report to AFP, b

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Baghdad Boulevard is accelerating its commercial expansion within the Iraq Gate mixed-use development in central Baghdad, securing an agreement to bring global Danish jewelry house Pandora into its growing lineup of international retail tenants. The upcoming branch marks another notable entry for multinational fashion and lifestyle brands establishing formal retail presence in the capital. Situated on the grounds of the former Muthanna Airport complex in cen

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad has restarted operations to Pakistan, with twice-weekly flights between Baghdad and Karachi beginning October 21, 2026. The Iraqi airline commemorated its return to the Pakistani market with an introductory flight and a ceremony celebrating the restoration of air connectivity between the two nations. Fly Baghdad now runs two flights per week to Karachi and intends to add a twice-weekly service to Lahore in the near future. The ai

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq achieved a sweeping victory at the 2026 WAMAS International Olympiad in Turkey, securing six global titles—including two Super Champion honors and four Champion titles—across rigorous competitions spanning smart mathematics, coding, languages, and rapid mental arithmetic against more than 400 competitors from over 20 nations. Guljan Berdibekova, President of the WAMAS International Rapid Mental Arithmetic Organization, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Total Iraqi crude oil exports routed through Turkey’s Ceyhan terminal rose to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) on Sunday evening, November 1, 2026, marking the highest export volume recorded since pipeline flows through Turkish territory were officially restored. The surge reflects a substantial 150,000-bpd throughput expansion over the previous 350,000-bpd baseline, driven by the integration of southern crude from Basra into the northern pipeline network. Acco

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The tripartite cooperation team comprising Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt convened on Sunday, November 1, 2026, to examine the technical, engineering, and operational specifications of the strategic Basra–Haditha crude oil export pipeline, alongside joint ventures across petroleum refining, petrochemicals, and renewable energy. According to a Ministry of Oil statement, Ali Warid Hammoud, Director General of the Oil Projects Company (SCOP), chaired the second virtual s

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Agriculture is getting more difficult for farmers in southern Iraq. Rural households whose earnings rely on the land are under a great deal of strain due to water scarcity, rising temperatures, and rising production costs. When Iraqi farmers irrigate their farms with traditional diesel-powered pumps, they also have to deal with ongoing fuel costs, frequent failures, necessary repair, and pollution. To assist farmers in securing water more effectively and lessen th

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – During a virtual meeting on Sunday, seven OPEC+ nations, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to maintain their required September 2026 production levels through December 2026. Iraq’s required allocation remains unchanged at 4.43 million barrels per day. The decision comes as OPEC+ seeks to maintain market stability amid regional disruptions. Iraq has been working to push for higher production baselines—inclu

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Saudi Arabia has given preliminary approval to revive the joint oil export pipeline project with Iraq, sources told local news outlet Shafaq News on Saturday. The original 1,568-kilometer pipeline—which runs from Iraq’s Zubair oilfield in Basra to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu and has been idle since 1990. Riyadh argues that rehabilitation would cost nearly as much as constructing a new line, and Iraq would have to cover part of the cost for its section.

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iran’s gas supplies to Iraq have fallen to 10.5 million cubic meters per day—a development likely to exacerbate the challenges facing the electricity sector in the country. An Iraqi source told Attaqa News that Iranian gas supplies to the southern region have ceased, with flows now limited exclusively to the central region. Iranian gas flows to Iraq are currently less than 20 million cubic meters per day, as reported roughly a month ago. The decline in supplies

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is preparing a new lending program for Iraq after starting formal discussions with authorities in Baghdad. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva confirmed that Iraq submitted an official request for a new support program during the IMF’s annual meetings in Bangkok. The IMF forecasts that Iraq’s economy will contract by 16 percent in 2026, heavily impacted by regional conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hor

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump launched a sharp public attack against his former personal attorney of Iraqi descent, Alina Habba Meldon, describing her acquisition of a financial contract exceeding $50 million as “provocative and completely unacceptable,” following an investigative report by The New York Times exposing her agreement with a firm tied to the family of a pardoned Venezuelan banker while holding senior positions inside the U.S. Departm

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi warned on Sunday, November 1, 2026, against the federal government’s reliance on “unrealistic projections” to estimate revenues for the 2027 sovereign budget—the largest in Iraq’s history at over 174 trillion Iraqi dinars ($114.6 billion). Al-Marsoumi argued that the fiscal calculations rely on unattainable baselines, including crude export targets of 4 million barrels per day (bpd), optimistic collectio