Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi said, on Saturday, his new government will focus on security, stability and protecting Iraq’s sovereignty, while strengthening regional and international ties.
In remarks following the official handover of office from former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al Sudani, Al Zaidi said the coming phase would mark a period of genuine national partnership that transcends differences.
He pledged to work sincerely in confronting challenges and launching a comprehensive economic and financial reform programme aimed at building a strong, diversified and sustainable national economy that does not rely on a single resource.
He added that the government would work firmly to protect public funds and combat administrative and financial corruption in all its forms, stressing that it would be a government of institutions, law and justice that remains open to all.
Al Zaidi and his government took the constitutional oath on Thursday after securing parliament’s vote of confidence by an absolute majority.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying the attacks were causing a shortage of the fuel that is "hurting the world".
Indonesian rescuers were searching on Sunday for 130 people from a passenger ship that sank in the Java Sea after 113 others were evacuated, the country's search and rescue agency said, adding that six people had died.
At least five people were wounded in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Sunday morning, officials said, a day after strikes on the city killed two people.
Authorities in the Philippines said on Sunday it could take weeks or months to identify the victims of a ferry fire that killed 76 people, as forensic experts begin collecting and comparing DNA samples and investigators determine the cause.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister, has approved an official of the rank of Director-General as the first recipient of the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Medal.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, on Sunday said the meeting between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian reflects the UAE's stance of "deterrence and diplomacy".