Iraq to Reopen Airports on July 23

Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
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Iraq to Reopen Airports on July 23

Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

Iraq will reopen its airports for scheduled international traffic on July 23, the Higher Committee for Health and Public Safety said on Thursday, after suspending regular commercial flights in March because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The country will lift a nationwide night-time curfew after the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha and reopen restaurants and malls as long as they implement preventative health and social distancing measures, the committee added in a statement.

It did not provide further details on flights. Some international flights have left Baghdad in recent weeks with passengers needing prior approval to travel.



Canada Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Citing Unpredictable Security Situation

 Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Canada Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Citing Unpredictable Security Situation

 Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon June 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Canada on Tuesday reiterated a call for its citizens to leave Lebanon while they can, saying the security situation in the country was becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"My message to Canadians has been clear since the beginning of the crisis in the Middle East: it is not the time to travel to Lebanon. And for Canadians currently in Lebanon, it is time to leave, while commercial flights remain available," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement.