West Asia
Subregion of the Asian continent
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| 2024 | Washington Institute for Near East Policy reported that Kurdistan Region's autonomy is 'hanging in the balance' due to punitive measures from the Iraqi government. |
| 2024 |
Iraq
Iraqi government launched a joint operation and management program for modern hospitals at the newly opened Najaf Teaching Hospital. The Ministry of Health also reported constructing 13 new hospitals, three specialized centers, two burn units, and 25 kidney treatment centers, with plans to build 16 additional 100-bed hospitals.
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| 2024 |
Iraq
Iraqi government inaugurates 790 new schools across the country, part of the framework agreement with China to address educational infrastructure challenges.
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| 2024 |
Iraq
President Mohammed Shi'a Al-Sudani inaugurated Shaab General Hospital in Baghdad, the first new general hospital in nearly 40 years, featuring 246 beds and state-of-the-art infrastructure.
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| January 2024 |
Iraq
During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Baghdad, a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding was signed between Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, and UAE for the Iraq Development Road project, a 1,200-kilometer railway and highway connection to the Grand Faw Port, estimated to cost $17 billion and planned for completion by 2025.
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| 2023 |
Iraq
Iraq signed a $27 billion energy deal with TotalEnergies to increase oil production and develop renewable energy projects, aiming to achieve energy self-sufficiency and address climate change objectives.
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| 2023 |
Iraq
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced an 'Iraqi vision for climate action', including plans to promote renewable energy, plant 5 million trees, and create green belts around cities to combat dust storms.
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| 2023 |
Iraq
According to V-Dem Democracy indices, Iraq was ranked as the third most electoral democratic country in the Middle East.
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| December 2023 |
Iraq
Al-Sudani laid the foundation stone for Al-Jawahiri city, a new residential development west of Baghdad with 30,000 housing units, estimated to cost $2 billion and be completed in four to five years.
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| November 2023 |
Iraq
Iraqi government announced plans to build 15 new cities across the country to address persistent housing problems, with the first 5 cities planned for Baghdad, Babylon, Nineveh, Anbar, and Karbala.
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| September 2023 | Masrour Barzani, prime minister of KRG, writes a leaked letter warning about an imminent collapse of the federal model in Iraq and urging US intervention. |
| 2022 |
Iraq
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became Prime Minister of Iraq.
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| 2022 |
Iraq
UN Compensation Commission announced Iraq had paid a total of $52.4 billion in war reparations to Kuwait, concluding over 30 years of restitution efforts.
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| October 2022 |
Iraq
Abdul Latif Rashid was elected president after winning the parliamentary election.
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| 2021 |
Iraq
Iraq experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades, with water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers reduced by 30-40%.
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| 2021 |
Iraq
Baghdad hosted a diplomatic meeting between Iranian and Saudi officials, playing a key role in mediating talks between the two countries.
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| 2021 |
Iraq
Iraqi and Chinese governments sign an agreement to build 1,000 new schools in Iraq.
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| 2021 |
Iraq
Iraq announced the repatriation of approximately 17,000 looted artifacts, considered the biggest cultural artifact recovery in the country's recent history.
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| 2021 |
Iraq
UN Refugee agency estimated 1.1 million Iraqis were internally displaced within the country.
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| 2020 |
Iraq
Iraq entered a prolonged drought, experiencing significant environmental challenges.
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| December 2020 |
Iraq
Prime Minister Al-Sudani launched the second phase of the Grand Faw Port project, with Daewood winning the head contractor bid at $2.7 billion.
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| September 28 2020 |
Iraq
Washington prepared to withdraw diplomats from Iraq after Iranian-backed militias fired rockets at the American Embassy in Baghdad.
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| January 5 2020 |
Iraq
The Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution urging the government to expel US troops from Iraq, following an American drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.
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| November 4 2019 |
Iraq
Over 100 Australian Defence Force personnel departed Darwin for the 10th rotation of Task Group Taji, to mentor Iraqi Security Forces at the Iraqi School of Infantry north of Baghdad.
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| 2018 | Negotiations among the five Caspian Sea states conclude after nearly three decades of discussions. |
| 2018 |
Iraq
UN estimated oil accounts for 99% of Iraq's revenue, with the oil sector providing 92% of foreign exchange earnings.
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| 2017 |
Iraq
Iraq defeats the Islamic State, ending the major conflict with the terrorist group.
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| September 2017 | Iraqi Kurds hold a unilateral independence referendum, which ultimately failed and was abandoned, leading to subsequent political tensions with the Iraqi government. |
| July 2017 | Iraqi government declares victory in the Battle of Mosul against ISIS, defeating the group in its last stronghold in the country. |
| 2016 | Kurdish Institute of Paris estimated the total population of Kurdistan at around 34.5 million, with Kurds comprising 86% of the population in Northern Kurdistan. |
| 2016 |
Iraq
Government employment expanded to approximately 7 million employees, a significant increase from the 1 million employees during Saddam Hussein's regime.
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| 2015 |
Iraq
An Iraqi parliamentary committee uncovered widespread financial fraud, revealing $6.5 billion was fraudulently obtained by Al-Huda Bank through the 'dollar auction' system.
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| 2015 |
Iraq
Approximately 9.2 million children are attending school, with annual enrollment rates increasing by 4.1%.
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| 2014 |
Iraq
Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of large territories including Tikrit, Fallujah, and Mosul, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
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| 2014 |
Iraq
ISIS militants captured Mosul International Airport during the Northern Iraq offensive, which remained closed even after the city was retaken by the government.
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| July 14 2014 |
Iraq
Kurdistan Regional Government seized control of Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields, leading to conflict with Baghdad.
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| June 28 2014 | Hüseyin Çelik, a spokesman for the Justice and Development Party (AKP), suggested Turkey's readiness to accept an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq in comments to the Financial Times. |
| March 14 2014 |
Iraq
International Energy Agency reported Iraq's oil output increased to 3.6 million barrels per day, the highest since 1979.
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| 2013 |
Iraq
Iraq's population reached 35 million, marking a significant population boom in the post-war era.
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| 2013 |
Iraq
Iraq begins a war against the rising Islamic State terrorist organization.
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| December 2013 |
Iraq
Iraq confirmed it was facing a housing crisis, with only 5 percent of the needed 2.5 million homes expected to be completed by 2016.
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| June 2013 |
Iraq
South Korean firm Daewoo reached a deal to build Bismayah New City, a planned development of 100,000 homes to accommodate approximately 600,000 residents.
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| 2012 |
Iraq
Over 252,000 Syrian refugees of varying ethnicities fled to Iraq to escape the Syrian civil war.
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| 2012 |
Iraq
Student enrollment reaches six million, marking a substantial increase from 2000 levels.
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| July 2012 | Turkey and the Kurdistan Region signed an agreement for regular supply of refined petroleum products in exchange for crude oil, establishing a significant energy trade partnership. |
| 2011 |
Iraq
Nearly 3 million Iraqis were displaced, with 1.3 million within Iraq and 1.6 million in neighbouring countries. More than half of Iraqi Christians had fled since the US-led invasion.
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| 2011 |
Iraq
Start of the Syrian Civil War prompted numerous Iraqis in Syria to return to their native country.
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| 2011 |
Iraq
The Iraq War officially ends, concluding the U.S. military occupation.
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| November 2011 | Exxon challenged the Iraqi central government's authority by signing oil and gas contracts for exploration rights to six parcels of land in Kurdistan, including a contract in disputed territories near the Kirkuk mega-field. This led to Baghdad threatening to revoke Exxon's contract in its southern fields. |
| October 2011 |
Iraq
The Turkish parliament renewed a law allowing Turkish forces to pursue rebels across the border into Iraq.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Caspian Sea, Iraq & Kurdistan, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.