Guardian News published this video item, entitled “‘Salam, salam, salam!’: thousands attend Pope’s mass at Irbil stadium” – below is their description.
Thousands of people filled a sports stadium in the northern Kurdish-Iraqi city of Irbil for an open-air mass held by Pope Francis. An estimated 10,000 people erupted in cheers when he arrived and did a lap around the track in his open-sided popemobile, the first and only time he has used it on this trip due to security concerns. During the mass, which was the final event of the Pope’s visit to Iraq, the pontiff declared that the Church in the country was ‘alive’.
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Guardian News YouTube Channel
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About This Source - Guardian News
The video item below is a piece of English language content from Guardian News. The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust.
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabakis, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, Sabians and Kawliya. Around 99% of the country’s 38 million citizens are Muslims, with small minorities of Christians, Yarsans, Yezidis and Mandeans also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish.
Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation.
Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 19 governorates, four of which make up the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Disputes over the sovereignty of Kurdistan Region continue.
Iraq is a founding member of the UN as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement and the IMF.