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* Lufthansa in talks to provide services to Iran Air

* Iranian holidaymakers shifting to Europe after U.S. travel bans

* Lufthansa not in talks to expand codeshare with Etihad Airways (Adds quote from spokesman)

By Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI, April 19 Lufthansa is in talks with Iran Air to provide catering, maintenance and pilot training as it seeks to take advantage of emerging business opportunities in the country, executives at the German airline group said on Wednesday.

Foreign companies have been vying for contracts in Iran since economic sanctions were lifted last year in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.

"We are in very, very intense discussions, actually almost on a weekly basis," Karsten Zang, Lufthansa's regional director for the Gulf, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, said at a press briefing in Dubai.

However, a Lufthansa spokesman later told Reuters by email that "the talks with Iran Air are just held to explore business opportunities in the areas of catering and maintenance. There are however no concrete plans for a cooperation."

Lufthansa Group subsidiaries LSG Sky Chefs, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Pilot Training are seeking the contracts with Iran Air whilst the group is also in talks to provide services to other Iranian aviation firms, Zang said.

Iran has signed orders for 200 new Western-built aircraft for Iran Air, taking delivery so far of two new Airbus A330s and an A321.

"We are talking with Iran Air because their new aircraft are coming. They need training, of course, and we have the experience in all of these fields but we can't give timelines," Zang said.

The lifting of sanctions has not brought the economic boom to Iran that many foreign companies had hoped for.

Uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's attitude to the nuclear deal, as well as remaining sanctions that limit international banking with Iran, are seen as deterring some would-be investors.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday it was launching a review of whether lifting remaining sanctions against Iran was in U.S. national security interests, while acknowledging that Tehran was complying with the nuclear deal.

"We are hoping this business will pick up because the market as such is a huge market with high potential," Lufthansa Group's Senior Vice President for Sales Heike Birlenbach said.

Last year the group axed plans for its budget carrier Eurowings to launch a service to Tehran after deciding the demand was not there, although its other airlines Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss already fly to Iran.

Trump's executive orders, since blocked, banning citizens of some Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from travelling to the United States has shifted travel flows to Europe as a holiday destination for Iranians flying with Lufthansa.

"It caused lots of insecurity for our customers," Birlenbach said of the travel bans.

However, the airline has not seen any changes in demand for outbound U.S. flights which continue to grow, she said, whilst a ban on taking electronic devices into aircraft cabins on direct flights to the United States from the Middle East had not brought more inbound passengers to the German carrier.

Emirates said on Tuesday bookings to Iran and the Indian Subcontinent had slowed since the first travel ban in January.

Birlenbach also said Lufthansa has no plans at present to expand a limited agreement to share route codes with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways to include more destinations or to develop a revenue-sharing partnership.

Instead, the two carriers are focusing on the next stage of a maintenance memorandum of understanding signed in February, though no timing has been set, she said. (Writing by Alexander Cornwell and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Adrian Croft)

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK April 19 United Airlines said on Wednesday it planned to testify at an upcoming U.S. House Transportation Committee hearing on commercial airline consumer issues after a passenger was dragged off an April 9 flight in Chicago to make room for crew members.

SAO PAULO, April 19 A judge in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday approved terms of a $184 million fine on Odebrecht SA, which sought a plea deal after admitting to bribing officials to win contracts in the country.

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Lufthansa in talks with Iran Air over catering, maintenance deals - Reuters

Iran will probably be allowed to keep its oil production unchanged if OPEC decides to extend itssix-month agreement on output cuts beyond June, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said.

I think they will keep the same level if the deal is extended, Almarzooq, who chairs the committee monitoring the cuts, said Wednesday in an interview in Abu Dhabi. Kuwait was the first country to call for extending the production cuts beyond June. Oil prices will increase as demand improves, chipping away at oil inventories in the second half, he said.

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Iran was allowed to increase its output under the deal as the nation rebuilds from international sanctions that crippled its energy industry. Since sanctions were eased in January 2016, Irans oil production has climbed 35 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has stabilized this year, gaining less than 2 percent, the data show. Iran pumped just shy of its 3.8 million barrels a day allowed under the deal in the first quarter, according to the International Energy Agency.

They are not cutting, but they arent increasing output from what was agreed on, Almarzooq said on the sidelines of a conference in the U.A.E. capital. Iran is showing good cooperation with OPEC under the deal, he said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decide at its meeting on May 25 whether to prolong the cuts, Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said.

Its too soon to to talk about Iran, Libya and Nigeria joining the cuts if the output reduction agreement is extended beyond June, Barkindo and United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said at the Abu Dhabi conference. Nigeria and Libya were exempt from any obligation to cut as both countries continue to suffer production losses from militant attacks and political instability.

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Iran May Keep Same Oil Output If Others Extend Cuts, Kuwait Says - Bloomberg

BEIRUT A general from Iran's Revolutionary Guards assumed the post of ambassador to Iraq on Wednesday, in a sign of the key role the military force is currently playing in its neighboring country.

Iraj Masjedi previously worked as adviser to Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, according to the Tasnim news site. Soleimani is head of the Quds Force, the branch of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for operations outside of Iran.

Since Islamic State took control of swathes of Iraq in 2014, Soleimani worked with top Iraqi security officials to fight the militant Islamist group, primarily through a Shi'ite volunteer force known as Popular Mobilization Units.

"Iran wants an advanced, powerful, secure and unified Iraq," Masjedi said on Tuesday in Baghdad, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Iran has sent dozens of military advisers and fighters to Iraq and neighboring Syria, where it is supporting Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

Masjedi has more than 35 years' experience in the Guards and a deep knowledge of Iraq, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Masjedi was a commander at the Revolutionary Guards' Ramezan base in Western Iran, which was a center for Iraqi opposition groups planning and carrying out military operations against Saddam Hussein's forces on Iraqi soil, according to the Iranian judiciary's news site Mizan Online.

The heads of some of those armed groups are now senior officials in Iraq.

(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of 'alarming ongoing provocations' to destabilize countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy toward Tehran.

CARACAS/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela Two Venezuelan students died on Wednesday after being shot during protests against unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro, increasing turmoil in the volatile nation amid a devastating economic crisis.

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Revolutionary Guard general takes over as new Iranian ambassador in Iraq - Reuters

Its 9 oclock on a chilly night in January, and the Adhamiyah animal market is teeming with visitors. There are the private zoo owners whove dropped by to size up the mangy lions and monkeys, and young couples sneaking furtive kisses in the shadows, ignoring the animals.

Yet here in Baghdads largest beast bazaar, its families and earnest-looking businessmen who outnumber the gawkers and flirts. And they have no interest in exotic flora and fauna. Darting among the cages, they eagerly scan mutt after mutt, dismissing each in turn. Too small, Mohammed Salama, a car salesman, says of the Jack Russell terriers. Useless, he calls the lone dachshund. Its only when a dealer points out a new shipment of rottweiler puppies, cowering in the back of a shabby enclosure, that Salama and his children stop. Yes, why didnt you show us these before? he asks. This is what I want!

So, it seems, do many of his countrymen. Every week, vendors ship rambunctious pups over the border from Turkey, then circulate them around Iraq. Some are dispatched directly to military installations, where theyre trained for bomb sniffing. Most, however, make their way to markets or small, roadside vendors for sale to private buyers.

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In much of the world, where dogs are beloved, this supply chain would seem unremarkable, but in Iraq, where most people are Muslim and thus many regard dogs as unclean, the recent clamor for canine companionship represents an abrupt change. In 2006, there were only four veterinary practices in Baghdad; today, there are more than 100, Haitham Khalil, a Baghdad practitioner, estimates. On Facebook, Iraqi dog appreciation groups have tens of thousands of members in medium-sized cities like Samarra and Sulaimaniya. After centuries of antipathy toward mans best friend, dealers now complain they cant meet demand. Rich, poor, Kurdish, Arabeveryone wants a dog now, says Mohammed Ismail, a taxi driver turned canine broker in the northern city of Kirkuk. Theyre like gold.

Iraqs unlikely love affair with cuddly canines began during the chaotic years after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Wary of growing crime ratesand perhaps inspired by the American militarys K-9 units, many shopkeepers invested in the biggest, most brutish-looking fleabags they could find. Then, as electricity outages grew more debilitating, often knocking out power for 20 hours a day, some well-to-do families turned to canine burglar alarms to replace their useless electronic security systems. By the time Western security contractors arrived en masse, four-legged pup protection was a fixture of their operations. The British security giant G4S still uses dogs as a key component in its defense of Baghdad Airport.

But it wasnt until the Islamic State group (ISIS) seized tracts of Iraq in 2014 that dogs became popular among the public. With most available policemen and soldiers redirected to the front lines, even homeowners in provinces unaffected by the war began to feel vulnerable. Dogs became an extra layer of security for fearful families.

Likewise, as ISIS punctured Baghdads porous checkpoints with endless car bombs, Iraqi authorities were finally forced to acknowledge that their go-to explosive detectora totally discredited golf ballfinding devicewasnt fit for purpose. In many instances, theyve turned to bomb-sniffing dogs. They are an important part of our security, and we are looking to buy more, a police colonel in the Ministry of Interior says, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

But Iraqis newfound love of dogs hasnt been without its problems. Theres some continued opposition from both Sunni and Shiite clerics who have railed against this new enthusiasm. The Koran says nothing against dogs, but many Muslims take their cue from a hadith, or a saying attributed to Muhammad, which describes them as dirty.

Some new owners also dont know how to take care of dogs. Huskies are among the most popular breeds in Iraq, but with the temperature often 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above, several buyers have needed to install air conditioning just to keep their furry friends alive. Dealers in Kirkuk still laugh about a local farmer who thought hed bought a husky; once it ate several of his sheep, he realized it was a wolf in dogs clothing. Or so the story goes.

Another problem: The wholly unregulated nature of the booming industry has also allowed charlatans with few or no medical qualifications to pass themselves off as veterinarians. These new people, theyre nobodies, says Saidoon El Tai, who practices in a small established clinic along the Adhamiyah markets periphery. They just hang a sign on the wall and then start poking at the animals.

Even the trainers seem to have some interesting ideas about what makes dogs tick. If you want them to behave, you have to speak to them in English or Ukrainian, from where many of these dogs are imported, says Gharid Farik Abu Mariam, Kirkuks most established instructor (call him the Iraqi d og whisperer ), who originally taught himself about dogs by watching National Geographic documentaries. Never Arabic.

But perhaps the most confounding matter is the one these pups were largely acquired to address: theft. Prices have risen so high that some people now find themselves having to guard their guard dogs. As the value of a pit bull tops $300 and Doberman puppies go for up to $500, gangs of thieves have taken to raiding kennels. Traumatized owners hope the governments recent decision to ease import controls on dogs will boost supply and cause prices to subside.

Iraq isnt the only part of the Middle East thats slowly warming to dogs. Attitudes appear to be changing in Egypt, where security concerns after the Arab uprisings appears to have inspired a similar enthusiasm for canine protection.

But in Iraq, dog lovers say their affection for these four-legged friends now extends well beyond their ability to ward off intruders. Sweet Labrador retriever puppies now appear on advertising billboards and in marketing campaigns. Even if the security situation stabilizes, Iraqs odd assortment of huskies, German shepherds and rottweilers are here to stay, fetch and roll over.

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Iraq's Unlikely Love Affair With Cuddly Canines - Newsweek - Newsweek

LALISH, IRAQ // Thousands of Yazidis flocked to a shrine in northern Iraq to mark the New Year on Wednesday, in their biggest gathering since they became victims of mass murder by ISIL.

Wearing traditional Yazidi clothes, holding candles and paraffin lamps, they began gathering in the holy town of Lalish the day before in preparation.

The event, known by the ethno-religious minority as "Carsama Sari Sali", is meant to commemorate the creation of the universe by the angels and celebrate nature and fertility.

But the mood was sombre among the faithful, every one of whom was affected by the violence that erupted nearly three years ago when ISIL took over their traditional homeland.

"Im not happy, its not like before, because there are those who are still in the hands of Daesh," said Zoan Msaid, a Yazidi woman from the Sinjar area who now lives in a camp for displaced people. "We cannot forget our customs and traditions but I just want those who are still held to come back, thats all. We ask for nothing more."

Yazidis are neither Arab nor Muslim. In what the United Nations qualified as genocide, ISIL carried out massacres against them when the fanatics swept across northern Iraq in 2014. Most of the several hundred thousand members of the minority live in northern Iraq, mainly around Sinjar, a large town that was greatly destroyed before anti-ISIL forces retook it. ISIL fanatics captured Yazidi women and turned them into sex slaves to be sold and exchanged across their self-proclaimed "caliphate". About 3,000 of them are believed to be still in captivity.

"Of course, after three years under the domination of the jihadists who killed Yazidis and imposed mass slavery, nothing is like before because we are all suffering," said Cheir Ibrahim Keshto, a professor and expert in Yazidi culture.

"We live in sorrow now and the situation in the camps is catastrophic."

Yazda, a charity supporting Yazidi victims of extremist persecution, urged the community to continue defending its unique belief system.

"Yazda calls on our people to continue to observe their religious events to preserve the ethno-religious identity and heritage of one of the most ancient peoples," said the charitys director, Murad Ismael.

Even areas that were retaken from ISIL remained unsafe for Yazidis due to disputes between local forces for regional supremacy, the charity said.

Tensions have recently escalated between peshmerga forces n Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan region and forces from Turkeys Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), creating what Yazda said could be "more dangerous than the ongoing genocide itself." .

Nadia Murad, a prominent Yazidi human rights activists who has been campaigning worldwide to draw attention to her peoples plight, stressed in a New Year message delivered at Stanford University in California that the jihadists had not yet been held accountable.

"Our hearts have been broken as we still seek justice, and we havent found it yet," she said. Last year, Ms Murad and fellow Yazidi Lamiya Aji Bashar were jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the prestigious Sakharov Prize.

* Agence France-Presse

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Sombre mood as Iraq's Yazidis mark New Year - The National