The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has released its 33rd Quarterly Report to the U.S. Congress.

This 158-page report is a valuable resource for all who are interested in economic development in Iraq.

Please click here to download.

Anglo-Arab Insurance Brokers (AAIB) launched the first on-line global travel plan to include war and terrorism cover as standard at the Arab Travel Markets Conference and Exhibition in Dubai on 30th April 2012.

Marketed under the ‘Frontier Travel’ banner, www.frontiertravelinsurance.com offers insurance to travellers in any country in the world except the US and Canada and countries subject to global sanctions.

The new policy insures against accident as a result of war, invasion, civil war, riot, rebellion, insurrection, revolution, overthrow of the legally constituted government, civil commotion, military or usurped power, explosions of war weapons, murder or assault, terrorist activity and kidnap.

It was designed for companies engaged in the energy sector, reconstruction and development, media companies and even governments and their contractors.

It is the first time such a product has been available off-the-peg. War and terrorism can currently be added to conventional travel cover but only after referral back to an underwriter. This typically takes between 24 and 48 hours to arrange and can lead to a substantial increase in premiums.

The Frontier Travel plan can be bought on-line in minutes. It offers savings of up to 30% on current average prices and is available to anyone travelling in emerging and high risk markets, including security contractors and Journalists.

Because it can be bought on-line it is available to travellers from any non-sanctioned country, including those without a developed insurance infrastructure. It can be booked wherever there is internet access -even after a trip has begun.

The new product was developed by AAIB and its London underwriters drawing on AAIB’s deep knowledge of ‘frontier markets’ and the size of its war & terrorism book, which allows it to confidently assess risk and the minimum premiums required.

Benefits include up to $500,000 personal accident cover, comprehensive accident cover for riot, war terrorism and kidnap, emergency medical treatment and evacuation. The premium for seven days cover for a clerical worker going to Basra, Iraq with $100,000 AD&D and $500,000 medevac will be $41.43. Similar cover in Baghdad and Kabul is $43.24 and $23.34 in Kurdistan.

AAIB CEO William Wakeham said the new product is good news for any country deemed dangerous and any company doing business there. “Our Frontier Travel plan will aid the development of conflict and post-conflict countries by making it easier to do business with them.”

He added: “We want to make life as easy as possible for people working in these markets. Frontier Travel cover will allow companies with people travelling at short notice to insure themselves faster, cheaper and more comprehensively than ever before.”

For further information contact: enquiries@aaib-insurance.com

Levels of violence fell in Iraq last week following a spate of al-Qaeda attacks the previous week which killed dozens of people. Nonetheless, conditions were still relatively bad. At least 47 people were killed and 65 injured in nationwide incidents.

Tactics
A suicide bomber in Ba’qubah killed 10 people and injured 15 mid-week. Otherwise a total of 25 non-suicide bomb attacks left 19 people dead and 36 injured. Small arms fire attacks left 15 people dead and 10 injured. An RPG attack in Mosul also left three people dead and four injured. There were no reported kidnappings.

Geographic Distribution
Mosul was in fact the most violent part of the country last week, followed by Sa’adiyah in Diyala province, where Kurdish civilians appear to have been singled out for attack by Arab militants. Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) territory on the other hand remains relatively secure. Baghdad, Tikrit, Kirkuk and Fallujah also saw several attacks.

Weekly Attacks in Iraq - the last 6 months

April Casualties
According to ministry statements at least 126 Iraqis were killed in violence during April. However, AKE research contradicts this, suggesting the much higher figure of 231 dead. Either way, conditions worsened over the course of the month, with the majority of casualties inflicted during a spate of co-ordinated al-Qaeda attacks on 19 April.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British risk mitigation company working in Iraq since 2003. You can access AKE’s intelligence website Global Intake here, and you can obtain a free trial of AKE’s Iraq intelligence reports here.

In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 3rd May to be World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), a day which, among other objectives, serves as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom.

According to UNESCO figures, since 2008 a total of 26 Iraqi media workers have been killed, the most recent of which was just weeks ago in Tikrit.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) currently ranks Iraq as worst in the world in its Impunity Index for the fifth consecutive year, with not a single case brought to justice.

Meanwhile, Iraq pushes ahead with new laws that have the potential to further stifle freedom of expression.

This is a concern not just from a social perspective, but also from a business perspective; the United Nations cites a correlation between press freedom and economic development, and says, “a free press is not a luxury that can wait until better times; rather, it is part of the very process through which those better times are achieved“.

So on this World Press Freedom Day, we remind ourselves of Article 19 of  the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.“

Iraq’s the deputy head of the parliamentary security and defence committee, Iskander Witwit, has told Reuters that Iraq will take delivery of the first 24 of 36 F-16 fighter jets it has ordered from the United States at the beginning of 2014.

He said the first 24 planes would make up two air force squadron, and Iraq would be in the market for more planes in the future.

“Iraq intends to have equipment which is more developed than neighboring countries have. Small neighboring countries like Kuwait even have five squadrons,” Witwit said.

The announcement has increased tensions between Erbil an Baghdad. According to AFP, Massud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan, said he opposes the sale of F-16 warplanes to Iraq while Nuri al-Maliki is premier, as he fears they would be used against the region.

“The F-16 must not reach the hand of this man [Maliki],” Barzani said. Placing some hope in the region’s relationship with ExxonMobil, he added: “If ExxonMobil came, it would be equal to 10 American military divisions … they will defend the area if their interests are there.”

(Sources: Reuters, AFP)

would be in the market for more planes in the future

Crews in Baghdad pull down a series of massive concrete walls that had divided the Iraqi capital, sparking hope that life in some parts of the battle-scarred city will return to normal:

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq’s Commission on Integrity referred hundreds of cases of suspected corruption, involving 1088 suspected criminals, to the judiciary in the first quarter of this year.

The total value of the frauds involved comes to $69 million (83 billion Iraqi dinars).

A organisation’s quarterly report breaks down the cases by region:

• Baghdad /Al-Rysafa: 67 cases;
• Al-Karkh office, 101 cases;
• Al-Basra office, 86 cases;
• Thiqar (Dhi Qar) office, 61 cases;
• Missan (Maysan) office, 37 cases;
• Babel office, 68 cases;
• Wasit [Wassit] office, 72 cases;
• Al-Muthanna office, 23 cases;
• Karbala [Kerbala] office, 31 cases;
• Al-Najaf office, 27 cases;
• Diwaniya office, 150 cases;
• Nineveh office, 106 cases;
• Kirkuk office, 113 case;
• Salahaddin office, 30 cases;
• Diyala office, 63 cases; and,
• Al-Anbar office, 53 cases.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Tuesday that both Libya and Iraq continue to show interest in buying Russian-made weaponry despite regime changes in these countries.

According to RIA, the minister, who oversees the Russian defense industry, told reporters in Moscow: “The Libyan military leadership and the Iraqi government have shown serious interest [in Russian weaponry].”

After the fall of Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, many experts had suggested Russia lost both lucrative arms markets.

He said acting Iraqi Defence Minister, Sadoun al-Dulaimi [Sadun al-Dulaymi] (pictured), had recently visited Russia and discussed the current state of bilateral military-technical cooperation with the Russian officials.

(Source: RIA)