The four attackers, some of whom wore military uniforms, held guns to the heads of security guards late on Thursday and planted four large explosives in a building housing routing and switching equipment, Asiacell chief executive Diar Ahmed said.

“One of [the devices] exploded and caused severe damage to the network. The other three were dismantled,” Ahmed said. “It’s a partial outage in (Nineveh) province but it’s the majority to be honest.”

The centre, located in a normally safe area in a Mosul free trade zone, just 60-70 metres from a police station, serves Nineveh province and parts of neighbouring Dahuk. Work crews hoped to restore service later on Friday.

Ahmed said he suspected the al Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) was behind the attack. Mosul is considered an al Qaeda stronghold.

“The ISI has threatened our offices and our employees in Mosul many, many times because we work with the government,” he said.

There were no reported injuries.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Ghassan Hasbani, the company’s chief executive officer for international operations, told MEED that they will only be interested in the licence if they receive “concrete” information from the government.

(Sources: MEED, Bloomberg)

Over the years’ stamps have been widely studied for their historical significance. I asked myself what stories Iraq’s choice of stamp designs revealed about the nation, past and present? After coming to power, was Saddam’s dictatorial style reflected on the nations’ postage stamps? Did they portray his face? If so, was he in military uniform? Did they depict ancient scenes, the agriculture or oil industry?

The earliest Iraqi postal system is said to have originated in northen Iraq, or Assyria, as it was then known in approximately 600BC. Letters were written in cuneiform (pictograms) on clay tablets and enclosed in clay envelopes.

The Ottoman Empire saw post offices open in Baghdad, Basra, Mogul and Kirkuk, and in 1868 India operated two post offices in Baghdad and Basra from 1864 – 1914. Interestingly, these stamps carried Indian imagery, which were later overprinted by the British military during World War I, as British soldiers fought in Basra and Mosul. Already, it’s curious to see that India and the UK had literally stamped their mark on Iraq’s postal system during that time.

The British mandate granted by the League of Nations in 1920 saw the first official Iraqi postal system, which led to the introduction of the very first Iraqi national stamps – not, at this point depicting a monarch or political head, but they contained scenes of ancient and present day Iraq, connoting a sense of pride in the countries’ rich sites of historical importance. Faisal I of Iraq appeared on stamps in 1927 and again in 1931. This was the first time that Iraqi stamps were definitively Iraqi, without the presence (albeit temporary over-printing) of another country, and interestingly, this was pre-Iraqi independence.

Independence in 1932 saw a new currency, and a re-printing of the original (1920’s) set of stamps, including Faisal’s. To coincide with the accession of King Ghazi, new stamps appeared yet again in 1934, followed by another set in 1941 after the unexpected death of King Ghazi. The 1941 designs reverted back to depictions of scenery because Faisal II was an infant at the time. However, 1942 marked the young boy, Faisal II’s first appearance on the stamps, followed by updated versions of him as a teenager in 1948.

As many other nations did in 1949, Iraq printed its first commemorative set of stamps to mark the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union. This was 17 years after Iraq’s independence. Concurrent with the coronation of Faisal II three more designs were commissioned, some of which were only partly available prior to the 1958 revolution, which saw these designs overprinted by General Qassim’s regime, perhaps an indication that he was seeking to assert his authority instantly. General Qassim was behind Iraq’s very first commemorative set of stamps that featured him as benevolent leader.

Saddam Hussein was Vice President when he was first depicted in 1976 and by the mid 1980’s it is claimed he appeared on the majority of stamps produced. February 2003 saw the release of the last stamp he was featured on. Two other designs were scheduled but the printed versions were reportedly destroyed by looters, however the proofs survived and one, on the theme of transport was later approved for release by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Since then, overprints have been in use, but don’t appear to have been officially authorized.

An interesting set I came across, although I have no idea if they were official or not, is a series of “No” stamps. The eight designs are said to reflect the views of the majority of the population, commissioned under Iraq’s PM of the time, Al-Maliki. Printed on them are these words: No to Terrorism, No to Occupation, No to Dividing Iraq, No to Killing the Innocent, No to Sectarianism, No to Militias, No to Baathism, No God but Allah.

Although Saddam Hussein has been the most-featured man on Iraq’s stamps, the “No” set struck me as the most politically charged. Yes, Saddam’s face had appeared on a lot of stamps but from what I could find there seemed to be a distinct absence of powerful political messages that, I for one, found entirely unexpected.

Lisa Knight is Creative Director & Founder of The Brand Foundation, a Dubai-based branding agency. Prior to that, Lisa led the creative team of the UK’s governing political party, firstly under Rt. Hon Tony Blair and latterly, Rt. Hon Gordon Brown. Lisa’s career spans 18 years and numerous industries; arts & entertainment, business & finance, fashion, travel, youth, sport & international development.

Qtel, the Gulf state’s former monopoly, has a 30-percent stake in Asiacell, Iraq’s number two operator, while its partner MerchantBridge owns 19 percent.

Morgan Stanley is reportedly assisting Qtel in the process, while London-based MerchantBridge is being advised by Credit Suisse.

In October, Asiacell appointed HSBC and Morgan Stanley to manage an initial public offering in Iraq. A potential sale of MerchantBridge’s stake was likely to happen before the IPO, the sources said.

(Source: Reuters)

The firm has been planning an initial public offering (IPO) in Iraq since the summer and has asked London-based M:Communications to support communications relating to the listing process.

M: will provide PR and investor relations advisory services in Iraq itself.

The Zain listing is one of three major telecoms floats in Iraq planned for 2012. However, the Zain account is understood to be the only one of the three that has specified on-the-ground support in Baghdad.

It is thought the need for representation in Iraq proved problematic for a number of agencies that ultimately declined to pitch for the brief.

Nicholas Lunt, MD of M:’s Gulf business, added that the company would also be working with the management of Zain Saudi Arabia.

The news comes days after it was confirmed that FTI Consulting was working for Iraqi telecoms firm Asiacell ahead of its planned flotation later in the year. The firm, partly owned by Qatar Telecommunications, plans to sell a 25 per cent stake, potentially valuing the firm at more than $4bn.

Korek, a mobile group in which France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics group Agility have a stake, is also planning a 2012 IPO. Korek is not thought to have selected a comms consultancy at this stage.

(Source: PRweek)

Bassam Salem al-Zaidi, a Diyala Province spokesman, told AKnews that the company will start work “in the coming months” in Diyala, where it will connect 35,000 subscribers at a cost of $13 million USD (15 billion IQD). It will then connect 35,000 subscribers in Anbar.

(Source: AKnews)

Representatives from the Qtel Group and from some of the world’s most innovative companies recently met in Qatar to discuss such innovations to mobile healthcare as well as how mobile phone technology can be used to support key healthcare goals across the region.

Collaborating with the global mobile association, the GSMA, the Qtel Group is organising a series of workshops on the subject of “mHealth”, as part of a wider series of international events held with the mHealth Alliance, a campaign to champion the use of mobile technologies to improve health throughout the world. Mobile health, or “mHealth,” is a term used for the practice of medicine using wireless devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs and remote monitoring devices, to improve patient care.

Global studies have shown that involving mobile devices in the practice of healthcare can have an immediate and significant impact. In remote locations and for rural communities, it can provide a vital link to physicians and healthcare advisors. In major cities, it can deliver incredible savings. US operator Verizon estimates, according to reports, that mobile broadband can improve health care productivity in the US to the tune of $6.9bn, which could increase nearly eight-fold by 2016.

Hosted at the W Doha hotel, representatives from across Qtel’s Group of companies gathered together to gain a greater understanding on the dynamics of the health industry and how operators can make a difference to both patients and societies worldwide.

And following a rigorous selection process among the leading telecom solutions providers, Vanrise Solutions and ITPC have signed an International Traffic Marketing Management and Anti-Fraud Platform Agreement.

Under the five-year agreement, Vanrise will become ITPC’s main channel for International Direct Dial (IDD), SMS and MMS traffic into and out of Iraq. In addition, Vanrise will provide its advanced T.One solution for managing quality, routing and fraudulent use of the network and other tools required for this business segment. Furthermore, Vanrise will be responsible for managing relationships with International Carriers to terminate IDD traffic to and from Iraq.

“Vanrise Solutions is a leading provider of advanced routing, quality management, fraud control and billing solution in the Region for international wholesale voice business, and they were the best fit in terms of technology and know-how making them an ideal partner to help us achieve our business goals“, said Mr. Saleh Hassan Ali Director General ITPC.

“We look forward to working closely with Vanrise“, he added.

Mr. Khalil Yehia, Chairman of the Board of Vanrise Solutions, concluded the project kickoff meeting with ITPC saying:

“We are proud to become ITPC’s partner in this first of a kind venture in Middle East region. The Marketing Agreement will provide for improved quality of IDD calling to local Iraqi population and offer ITPC monitoring capabilities to manage the quality and fraudulent use of their telecommunications network. Our teams are very eager to start working with ITPC and forging a long term relationship.“

Within the terms of this unique partnership, Vanrise Solutions would not only be providing its exceptional software solution, but would also be deploying its teams and equipment in Iraq, being present on the ground to put together all the required infrastructure for fraud management, routing, wholesale billing systems and Quality of Service to facilitate all the processes involved.