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 Says It Will Provide C$10 Million in Aid to Lebanese Civilians

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures as he speaks to the media on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, US, September 24, 2024.  REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures as he speaks to the media on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
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Canada Says It Will Provide C$10 Million in Aid to Lebanese Civilians

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures as he speaks to the media on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, US, September 24, 2024.  REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gestures as he speaks to the media on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, US, September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Canada is deeply concerned by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and will provide C$10 million ($7.4 million) for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Lebanon, the Canadian foreign ministry said on Saturday.
"Canada urges all parties involved in the conflict to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, from harm," the foreign ministry said in a statement in which it reiterated a call for a 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 33 people and wounded 195 others on Saturday, including Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The strikes continued on Beirut's southern suburbs throughout the early evening on Saturday, according to a Reuters live broadcast, sending large clouds of smoke over the city.
One Israeli strike hit an industrial area 500 meters (yards) from Beirut airport buildings, a security source told Reuters. The airport continued to operate normally, according to Middle East Airlines boss Mohammad al-Hout.
More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 6,000 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks in the past two weeks, the health ministry said, and about one million Lebanese have been displaced by the strikes, including hundreds of thousands since Friday, Nasser Yassin, the minister coordinating the government's crisis response, told Reuters on Saturday.