Iraq inaugurates "Fidelity to the Leader" canal

Iraq has opened a new canal in the southern city of Basra, which it says will provide drinking water.

The canal is more than two-hundred kilometres long, and is one of a number of projects to drain the southern marshlands which have attracted criticism from Western countries.

They say the project will destroy the traditional life of Marsh Arabs and harm the environment.

They also say the scheme would be used to quell Shi'ite insurgents who use the marshes as hiding places.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service