Paris

Four containers packed with laboratory equipment, reference books and student textbooks valued at $6 million (£3.08 million) are due to arrive in Iraq by the end of the month as part of an international effort to revitalise the country's universities.

The consignment has been organised by Unesco and the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq, established by Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, First Lady of Qatar.