United States President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi have met at the White House in Washington, DC, with both leaders pledging to deepen economic ties and boost Iraq’s oil output.

The meeting on Tuesday came after Trump threw his support behind al-Zaidi, a businessman with no history in politics, and publicly opposed Iraq’s former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the prime ministerial role earlier this year.

Al-Maliki, a divisive figure seen as having close ties to Iran, subsequently dropped out of contention in April.

The Iraqi government had previously said it expected several oil and gas agreements to be signed during al-Zaidi’s visit to the US, with Trump also vowing a raft of deals during the Oval Office meeting.

He called al-Zaidi “a fantastic champion, a new champion”.

“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” Trump said.

“We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil. A lot of oil is coming out,” he said.

Al-Zaidi, meanwhile, said the “visit was not like any other visit”, calling it the beginning of an “economic partnership”.

He said US-Iraqi relations were shifting from militaristic to economic.

Both he and Trump said the remaining US forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, would completely withdraw from Iraq by September 30. That is the same date al-Zaidi pledged that armed factions active across Iraq would disarm.

Iraq has long contended with the competing influences of Tehran and Washington in its domestic politics, with tensions over the continued US troop presence, deployed amid the conflict with ISIL (ISIS), and the pull of Iran-aligned armed groups.

In his first speech in parliament as prime minister, al-Zaidi vowed to disarm the country’s varied paramilitary groups, which have wielded power since the 2003 US-led war on Iraq.

He has not said how he will achieve the ambitious goal. Shortly before his departure, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups in the region, including Iraq, said it would reject any outcomes of al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq has also been one of several fronts in the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28, with the conflict looming and its recent escalation looming large during al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq’s economy has also been particularly hard hit by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with about 90 percent of its 3.4 million barrels per day of fossil fuel exports passing through the water.

The recent fighting has thrown into question the future of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which in June beckoned in a temporary end to the fighting, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, al-Zaidi also said that Iraq needs a “fair share” from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Iraq has been pushing for a higher quota on its oil production, with al-Zaidi saying the need is a direct result of the destruction caused by the war against ISIL, over which Iraq officially declared victory in 2017.

“The ⁠damage suffered by Iraq exceeds $400bn, and to this day, some ⁠Iraqis still have destroyed homes ⁠and are living in camps,” he said. “I have a plan to return them to their homes, and that is why I ‌want a fair share for Iraq in OPEC.”

[Aljazeera]

Spain snuffed out France’s dream of a third World Cup triumph, taming their galaxy of forwards to win 2-0  and progress to a final against England or Argentina.

Didier Deschamps’ men were hot favourites for the trophy after a string of breathtaking displays in the United States but they met their match against the slick European champions at the semifinal stage on Tuesday.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for the 2010 winners with an emphatic penalty in the first half in Arlington, Texas, and Pedro Porro doubled their lead in the second half.

Shell-shocked France could not find a way back into the match despite their wealth of attacking riches.

The game at the Dallas Stadium caught fire midway through the first half when Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed to the penalty spot after a reckless challenge by France left-back Lucas Digne on Spain winger Lamine Yamal.

Oyarzabal hammered the ball past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan for his fifth goal of the World Cup to leave France trailing for the first time in the tournament.

Minutes later they suffered another blow when centre-back William Saliba had to leave the pitch after a recurrence of his lower back injury, replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.

Spain went agonisingly close to extending their lead after some dazzling one-touch football but Dayot Upamecano’s challenge denied Fabian Ruiz.

France finished the half without a single shot on target, and just two attempts overall.

Deschamps threw on Desire Doue for Bradley Barcola in the 57th minute in a bid to supercharge his attack but a minute later they were 2-0 down after a stunning team goal for Luis de la Fuente’s men.

Defender Porro delivered a sharp pass to the feet of Dani Olmo on the edge of the box and collected the return ball before coolly slotting past Maignan.

(Aljazeera)

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply to
appoint  S. N. B. M. Patdmasiri who is a Special Grade officer in Sri Lanka Engineering Service and currently serving at the Department as the Additional Director General to the post of Director General of the Department of Government Factories with immediate effect.