Iraqi factory boosts production of oxygen tanks to cope with virus demand

With one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, Spain is looking at an exit strategy from the pandemic. Its government says it's time to start treating COVID-19 like any other endemic seasonal respiratory disease. DW's Jan-Philipp Scholz reports.

Baky Meïté is a former captain of the Ivory Coast rugby team. Back in the spring of 2020, he put his rugby career on hold to work as a janitor in a geriatric hospital in Paris. He has now published a book, "Les Chiffons Bleus", as a tribute to his former colleagues who appear somewhat forgotten today. He joined us for Perspective.

This week, Iraq was plunged into more political uncertainty. Lawmakers from the parliamentary bloc of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr resigned en masse at their leader's request. The Sadrist bloc is the largest in parliament and since an election last October, parties have been unable to form a government. The move aims to up pressure in a bid to end the country's political paralysis. We take a closer look.

Baghdad is hoping to revive talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia following the deadly confrontation in Yemen. Diplomatic ties between Tehran and Riyadh have been non-existent for years.

As quickly as Baghdad erupted, Moqtada al-Sadr's supporters went home. All it took was a word from the leader, a demonstration of force by the populist Shiite cleric as protracted coalition-building in Iraq spills over into a power play with neighbouring Iran. Can Sadr stare down pressure from across the border? His umpteenth announcement on Monday that he was quitting politics was the signal for clashes that killed at least 30 people.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Iraq's Foreign inister Fuad Hussein said he was hoping to host a meeting in Baghdad between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Hussein said that after five meetings between intelligence officials of the two rival powers in recent months, it was time to upgrade and have the two top diplomats meet in person.

US President Joe Biden has declared the pandemic to be "over," but hundreds still die in the US daily. Patient advocates and researchers warn that public health and the economy are still at risk.

Created to reduce the gaps and inequalities between the different regions of the European Union, the bloc's cohesion policy was caught out by the unexpected arrival of Covid-19. But did it fail to act against the pandemic? We take a closer look.

The victim was traveling by car when he was fired upon by "unknown persons," according to Iraqi police. The motive for the attack is still unclear.

For decades, Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have sought refuge in neighbouring Iraq. But in recent weeks, they have been targeted by dozens of missile and drone attacks launched by Tehran. Authorities there accuse them of supporting anti-government protests that have swept across Iran since the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

Famous German virologist Christian Dorsten believes the coronavirus pandemic has ended and COVID-19 is now an endemic disease. And Justice Minister Marco Buschmann called for the last restrictive measures to be lifted.

As relations between Iran and the United States continue to deteriorate, FRANCE 24 spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Paris. He warned that "any tension between the US and Iran, any tension between the regional countries, will reflect on Iraq negatively".