Archive | 2011

Iraq Delays Fighter-Jet Purchase to Buy Food

Iraq is delaying the purchase of 18 American fighter jets because of budget problems, and has decided to use the money to buy food for the poor instead, said the Iraqi government spokesman on Monday. Associated Press reports that Iraq, like, many Middle Eastern countries in the wake of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, […]

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Contracts Awarded at Badra Oilfield

Gazprom Neft has completed the tendering process for the front end engineering design (FEED) for the Badra oil field in Iraq, with the contract being awarded to French Technip, according to Penn Energy. The project preparation is expected to be completed by June 2011. The tender award decision has also been taken for the road […]

Protests in Iraq Lead to Electricity Subsidies

Iraqi residents are to receive their first 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month free of charge, the Ministry of Electricity said on Saturday, according to Reuters. The move follows protests over poor electricity supply and basic services. In the most recent demonstration, hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad on Friday to protest shoddy services and […]

Iraq Signs Fiber-Optic Telecom Agreement

The Iraqi Communications Ministry has signed a preliminary agreement with the Saudi company STC to link Iraq to Turkey and Saudi Arabia by an optical cable system. Official ministry spokesman Samir Ali Hassoun told AKnews that this initial agreement determines the financial aspects of the deal. The Ministry of Communications has been working for a […]

Starlight and Emirates in Erbil Cargo Venture

UAE-based Starlight Airlines, the largest cargo operator to and out of Iraq, has entered into an agreement with Emirates SkyCargo to launch cargo operations between its Sharjah hub and Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Khaleej Times reports that under the agreement, the service commenced last week with a Boeing 777 freighter flight to […]

Syria and Iraq Discuss Oil Pipeline

Syria's Minister for Petroleum, Sufian Allao [Aloa] (pictured), and visiting Iraqi Minister for Oil, Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi], met on Sunday to discuss ways of further bolstering bilateral cooperation in oil, gas and mineral resources. They also discussed a possible 'reoperation' of a Syrian-Iraqi oil pipeline once it is rehabilitated, and closer cooperation between both […]

Wassit Discusses Investment with Turkish Firms

Wassit Provincial Council met with a number of Turkish firms on Sunday to discuss possible investment ventures in the province, according to the chairman of its information committee. The projects are in the fields of sanitation, water networks and "urban communities", Sondos al-Dhahabi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The designs of four new cities in […]

Press in Baghdad 'Less Free Than in Kabul'

An independent Spanish journalist said on Monday that there is greater press freedom in the Afghan capital Kabul than in the Iraqi capital, after experiencing first-hand the ongoing restrictions imposed on journalists and their movements in Baghdad. AKnews reports that on his fifth visit to Iraq, Carlos Zorotoza complained that his camera was confiscated by […]

150 Foreign Companies Pursued over Oil-for-Food Program

A legal adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Sunday that the Iraqi government is currently pursuing more than 150 foreign companies accused of corruption in the Oil-for-Food program, according to an AKnews report. Fadel Mohammed told the agency that the government is determined to bring these companies to justice, adding that there are […]