Hakan Fidan makes his moves on Iraq's complex political chessboard

• MOLDOVA - Presidential cabinet musical chairs.

• RUSSIA - Roskomnadzor strengthens border controls.

• CHINA/RUSSIA - Beijing gets involved in peace efforts in Europe.

• TURKEY/IRAQ - Ankara searches for equipment to fight PKK in northern Iraq.

Groupe ADP picks ex-Baghdad mayor Habbobi to handle its only project in Iraq 

Though it lost out on a contract in Mosul, the French airports operator still has a project on the go in the south of Iraq, in Kerbala. It has picked local bigwig Manhal Al Habbobi to see it through.

Moscow and Tehran behind Syria-Hamas reconciliation 

Damascus and Hamas officially buried the hatchet on 16 September, after a decade of dispute, in a deal brokered by Russia and Iran that gives the Palestinian faction the lead over Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah.

Franco-Iraqi torchbearer Groupe ADP left in limbo in Mosul 

France's Groupe ADP, which had been due to rehabilitate Mosul International Airport, has been left at a loss following Baghdad's decision to award the contract to Turkish companies instead. With little in the way of explanation from the Iraqi authorities, it has opted to withdraw from the project and its possible follow-up phases.

Turkish and Syrian spy chiefs Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk talk again at Russia's initiative 

Keen to play the role of mediator between Turkey and Syria, Russia sponsored a new meeting between the spy chiefs of the two countries, which have been at daggers drawn since 2011. The results were not convincing but the meeting at least allowed Ankara and Damascus to set out their demands.

Baghdad hires Vinson&Elkins to defend oil interests in Washington 

Texas-based Vinson & Elkins, an energy sector international arbitration specialist, is helping the Central Iraqi state get its position across to the State Department while awaiting a ruling in its oil arbitration case against Turkey.

Ankara's spymasters squabble over best strategy against PKK 

Still engaged in military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, Turkey has been suffering heavy losses while failing to eradicate the perceived Kurdish threat. It is now rethinking its strategy while trying to ensure the continued support of the Kurdish KDP, its ally on the ground.