Today, Thursday, August 8, newspapers issued in Baghdad focused on the first international conference on million-person visits and the file of foreign labor in Iraq, and other issues including pollution and climate change.

Al-Sabah newspaper, issued by the Iraqi Media Network, focused on the first international conference on million-person visits, which was held under the patronage of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani.

It quoted al-Sudani as saying at the conference: “The million-person visits to the shrines of the pure imams and saints, with whom the land of Iraq abounds and is blessed, are a prominent feature and an important event at the level of the region and the world, and not just our country.”

It also referred to the Prime Minister’s confirmation: “The visits, of this size, necessitated the formation of the Permanent Supreme Committee, which assumes major and effective tasks, and a decisive responsibility in supervising and managing all the requirements of the visits, in various seasons and
titles, and it is a facade for Iraq, and a means of developing sustainable solutions to any obstacles that may arise during the visits.

Al-Sudani pointed out: “The impact of the visits hosted by Iraq does not stop at their religious performance, but rather carries many meanings and results at the broadest levels,” indicating that Iraq, with what it presents in the visits of Imams that reflect the greatest images of the generosity of the Iraqis, has become the focus of the world’s attention.

The newspaper focused on the Prime Minister’s confirmation: “The government has laid the foundation for work that serves the million-man visits that will continue for years coming, and providing service to visitors to the holy shrines from all over the world.

Al-Zawraa newspaper, issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, focused on the file of illegal foreign labor and its risks.

Economic expert Safwan Qusay said in an interview with ‘Al-Zawraa’: ‘Iraq suffers from the problem of poor organization of labor, whether Ir
aqi or foreign, and the number of foreign workers in Iraq recorded in the statistics of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs may not exceed 600 thousand officially registered, but the actual labor, as is known, is that there are investment licenses granted to companies that have the right to bring in 50% of non-Iraqi labor.’

He added: “These people are importing foreign workers under the pretext of an investment project and pumping them into traditional jobs within the Iraqi environment and then sending them back to their countries. Currently, the rate of financial transfers by these irregular foreigners is putting pressure on the parallel market, and the monthly financial transfers that can be pumped through them are no less than one billion dollars.” He stressed that “one of the money laundering outlets is the presence of foreign workers who transfer money in inflated amounts in order to extract illegal dollars, under the pretext that there is specialized labor, but it is not specialized, but rather a
gateway for financial transfers for Iraqis who possess illegal Iraqi dinars.”

He explained that “the law provides cover for perpetrators of the act by evasion, but the maximum penalty is the return of the foreign worker to his country if he is in an area where he works without legal permission, and there are no fines for Iraqis who allowed them to enter Iraqi territory.”

In another matter, the newspaper / Al-Zaman / was interested in the file of environmental pollution and climate change and ways to confront it and reduce its effects.

It pointed out in this regard to the increase in the rate of air pollution in Erbil, which prompted its government to take a package of measures to improve the environmental situation.

It quoted the Governor of Erbil, Omed Khoshnaw, as saying: “There are a number of guidelines to protect the environment of cities from the harsh climate, and to address violations, most notably controlling electricity generators and taking legal action against the violators.” Khoshnaw explaine
d: “Erbil decided to close 138 illegal oil refineries, and use high-quality fuel to operate neighborhood generators, while ensuring that its quality is checked daily, in addition to giving the owners of generators that are not equipped with silencers a one-week grace period to install them, otherwise legal measures will be taken against them.”

Source : National Iraqi News Agency