As the initial phase of the new Karbala International Airport (KIA) becomes operational, a major addition to the Middle East’s portfolio of airports will appear as early as 2018. The airport will be situated on the outskirts of Karbala, about 60 KM southwest of Baghdad and about 40 KM north of Najaf. It is expected to be particularly used for religious tourism traffic....

On last Sunday, Iraq’s oil marketing company stated that the country exported 592.378 million barrels of petroleum during the first half of 2017....

In Canada, a court has issued a warrant for the seizure of hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil reportedly originating from the Kurdistan Region in a tanker recently seen off North America's eastern seaboard. A court in Halifax, Canada, has recorded a “warrant for the arrest of the cargo of 721,915 barrels of crude oil abroad the M/T [motor tanker] Neverland,” on June 29, 2017....

A project of constructing 3,812 houses in the Southeastern Maysan governorate has been approved by Iraq....

In Baghdad, Iraqis recall first anniversary of devastating ‘Karrada bombing’ that killed more than 300 people. This was the deadliest attack on the country since 2003. In one year, much of the damage has been repaired, but a massive banner bearing images of the victims still hangs at the site, and the psychological wounds inflicted by the fear and loss are far from healed....

As Mosul is liberated from IS ‘caliphate’, rumors have emerged in social media that end of ISIS is also nearing at Syria....