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

A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit on the state of democratic freedoms has downgraded France to a "flawed democracy", as civil liberties in rich and poor countries alike come under attack amid Covid-19 restrictions. We discuss the delicate balancing act of protecting individual freedoms in the midst of a global health crisis with the report's author Joan Hoey, Europe Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She says that although "nobody has put forward a convincing alternative to the policy of lockdowns and social distancing", checks and balances remain essential.

Rich countries need to share their Covid-19 vaccines evenly amongst the entire global population, or else the coronavirus will never go away. That's the message from the organisation The ONE, which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease. The NGO has created a series of films called "Pandemica" to highlight the argument that if Covid-19 is not tackled universally, it will continue to mutate and cross borders. We spoke to the deputy director of The ONE in France, Maé Kurkjian.

Smoke billows at the scene of an explosion at a marketplace in Baghdad's densely populated majority-Shiite Sadr City. The army reported one civilian killed and 12 injured. They did not say who or what caused it.

Iraqi firefighters battle a fire that ravaged a Covid-19 hospital overnight in Baghdad leaving at least 82 dead and 110 wounded. Many of the victims were on respirators when the blaze at Baghdad's Ibn al-Khatib hospital started with an explosion caused by "a fault in the storage of oxygen cylinders", medical sources reported.

After decades of #conflict, #terrorism and government mismanagement, #Baghdad's monumental buildings are increasingly dilapidated and under threat. Many fear that without laws and protection, they could gradually perish, taking much of Iraq's cultural heritage with them. Our correspondents Jack Hewson and Lucile Wassermann report.

The Entertainment industry world over has taken the biggest hit since the world was forced to shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic and Nigeria is not exempted. Estimated to worth over 2 Billion Dollars, GuardianTV takes an exclusive look at the massive impact it has on the Nigerian entertainment and event industry.

Rewaz Faiq is just one of two women serving as parliament speaker in the Middle East, where politics is a man's world, but the Iraqi Kurdish mother of two is unfazed. Having entered politics at the age of 15, Faiq knew she would face challenges when she was elected in 2019 to the post in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

People walk down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles as California -- the first US state to enact a stay-at-home order just under 15 months ago -- celebrates its "reopening day" by lifting almost all pandemic-related social distancing and capacity limits. "It's not up to individual businesses and companies owners to decide if we wear it", regrets a Los Angeles resident reacting to mask mandate exceptions.

A new report on terrorist activity in the EU has highlighted the threat of online propaganda during the pandemic. The research shows Islamist and far-right extremists have posed the greatest threat.

Thousands of members of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary alliance gather in Baghdad to mourn comrades killed in American air strikes along the Syrian border. The US raids early Monday sparked an exchange of fire between pro-Iranian militias and the US-led coalition in eastern Syria, as well as fears of a new US-Iran escalation amid faltering efforts to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

A bell is inaugurated at a church in Mosul to the cheers of Iraqi Christians, seven years after the Islamic State group overran the northern city. Dozens of faithful stood by as Father Pios Affas rang the newly installed bell for the first time at the Syriac Christian church of Mar Tuma.

Iraqi forces claim to have captured a high-ranking IS leader in an international operation.