BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 (UPI) — Non-stop air service between Iraq and Europe, virtually non-existent the past 20 years, resumed Sunday when a French passenger jet landed in Baghdad.

Reuters/Baghdad Iraq expects to finish within days the final draft of a multibillion-dollar contract with Royal Dutch Shell and Japan’s Mitsubishi to capture gas being flared in southern oilfields, Iraq’s oil minister told Reuters.

Iraq has hundreds, maybe thousands, of Saddam Husseins, named for the country’s former president during his reign. But nowadays the name is so hated that a group of Saddam Husseins in Diyala province is petitioning the government to change their names.

Iraq’s Shi’ite alliance turned down a Saudi Arabian offer on Saturday to host all-party talks to resolve months of political stalemate because it said it was confident a deal could be struck in Baghdad on a new government.

A research team sees the nation lagging behind in Internet access and wants to help.