Day: 18 April 2024

SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites into space on Thursday.

According to SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida.

The Falcon 9’s upper stage continued carrying the 23 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO), SpaceX, said, adding that it will deploy them there about 65 minutes after liftoff, if all goes to plan.

The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned. It landed vertically on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Source: Qatar News Agency

A Diwaniyah Governorate police force arrested an accused of raping his sisters by force and coercion.

A source in the governorate police media said, ‘The accused confessed to raping his sisters, and he is a drug addict and has a criminal record. He had previously been sentenced and his statements were judicially certified in preparation for his referral to the competent courts.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research participated in the General Assembly meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which was held in the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry of Higher Education, according to the Ministry’s statement, was represented by Undersecretary Dr. Adnan Ibrahim Abdel-Jumaili in the sessions, which came under the slogan ‘Outcomes of the Conference of the Parties (COP28): Infrastructure, policies, and skills necessary to triple the production capacity of renewable energy and accelerate the energy transition.’

The dialogues witnessed the participation of more than 1,300 participants from 144 countries, in the presence of Ministers and executive officials. The attendees discussed the features of the strategic path for countries and regions of the world based on the outcomes of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) and the first global assessment of the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The attendees reviewed energy transition priorities and the necess
ary steps to accelerate progress towards doubling the production capacity of renewable energy by 2030.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

A large fire that broke out in the industrial district of Hilla destroyed a number of shops, without causing any casualties.

Civil Defense Media Director Aqeel Abdullah said, “A large fire broke out in a number of commercial stores for unknown reasons, causing material damage but no casualties.”

He added that the civil defense teams were able to extinguish the fire and that the police opened an investigation to find out the causes of the fire.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

A young man in his twenties died in the city of Al-Amara, the center of Maysan Governorate, as a result of his fall from the highest café in the city.

Eyewitnesses told the correspondent of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA /: ‘The young man climbed onto the balcony of one of the cafés for the purpose of cheering for the Real Madrid club, and he fell while cheering from the top of the café, which led to his immediate death.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Minister of Water Resources, Aoun Dhiab Abdullah, announced today, Thursday: ‘Iraq will lose more than 10 billion cubic meters of its water resources by the year 2035 as a result of the increased demand for water,’ stressing: ‘The federal government is working to reduce this.’

He said during his hosting of a seminar on the sidelines of the eighth Sulaymaniyah Forum: ‘There are climatic changes that are putting pressure on the water resource, and there is an increase in demand, while the availability is limited, in addition to the possibility of a decrease in the amount of water in the future as a result of these changes due to the increase in population and demand.’

He added: ‘We conducted a study under the name (the strategic study of lands and waters in Iraq) in the year 2015, and we updated it by contracting with an Italian company,’ indicating: ‘That study led to a somewhat painful fact that there is a shortage by the year 2035 of more than 10 billion cubic meters in water resources.

He explained:
“There is a large gap between supply and demand for water resources, and we are working to reduce this gap, not only by the Ministry of Water Resources, but also by the Iraqi government in general.”

Regarding the water problem with neighboring countries, the minister said: ‘No solutions have been found in order to activate the agreement to divide water between Iraq, Syria and Turkey, and we are working in this direction and we discussed this issue in several meetings.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Ministry of Interior revealed the truth about a video recording circulated by some social media sites and platforms, showing the presence of forces from the Rapid Response Division near al-Najaf International Airport.

The Interior Ministry said, in an official statement: ‘These forces have had an established duty, for years, to protect the airport only, and are not concerned with any matters within the jurisdiction of other government institutions.’

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Kenyan President William Ruto announced that the army commander, General Francis Omondi Ogola, and nine senior officers were killed in a military helicopter crash in the west of the country.

Ruto said: ‘Today at 14:20, our nation suffered a tragic aviation accident… It is with great sadness that I announce the death of General Francis Omondi Ogola.’

He explained, “The accident also caused the death of nine other officers and the survival of two of those on board the helicopter.”

The Kenyan newspaper “The Standard” reported earlier, quoting the authorities, that “a helicopter belonging to the Kenya Defense Forces crashed and caught fire in the Elgeo Marquette area in the west of the country.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency