Archive | 2013

Educational Support Programme for Refugees

Around 1.5 million people in Iraq are refugees or internally displaced people, women, men and children who struggle every day to meet their basic needs and access essential services. While finding shelter and ensuring food for these people are obvious immediate priorities, education should be part of the emergency response as well as of long-term […]

A New Iranian President

Iraq's neighbour Iran has elected a “moderate conservative”, Hassan Rohani, to be its new President, a contrast to his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was more openly belligerent. The extent to which this is a real change is debated, with many sources, not least in Israel, taking a more sceptical view of developments. Iran is, of […]

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KRG to Export Oil by New Pipeline ‘Very Soon’

By John Lee. Ashti Hawrami (pictured), the Natural Resources Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said on Wednesday that Iraqi Kurdistan will start exporting crude oil by pipeline "very soon" after the completion of a new link to the Turkish border by the end of September. Bloomberg quotes the minister as saying that the pipeline to […]

Iraq Increases Gas Reserves

Iraq's Ministry of Oil has reportedly announced that Iraqi gas reserves reached to 137 trillion standard cubic meters (sic) [cubic feet?], due the increase in exploration sites. Spokesman Asim Jihad said investment and development operations comprised of three stages to reach the peak of production. Earlier, oil under-secretary Fayadh Hassan said that Iraq is trying […]

Foreign Min meets Member of UK House of Lords

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari met on June 18, 2013, at the headquarters of the Ministry, member of the British House of Lords, Baroness Emma Nicholson, and her accompanying delegation comprising representatives of a number of British companies. During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to develop them at all levels. They […]

Video: Interview with Former PM Ayad Allawi

More than a thousand people were killed in violence in Iraq last month according to the United Nations. The country appears to be dividing along religious lines, not helped by its neighbour Syria's descent into civil war. In this BBC Hardtalk interview, Sarah Montague talks to Ayad Allawi, the country's first Prime Minister after Saddam […]

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Paulson Buys WesternZagros Convertible Notes

By John Lee. Paulson & Co, the hedge fund run by John Paulson (pictured), has bought Cdn$70 million [$68.6 million USD] of WesternZagros 4.00% Convertible Senior Unsecured Notes ("Convertible Notes"). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement have been used to repay the remaining Crest Energy International ("Crest") debt of US$44.5 million plus […]

Gulf Keystone Starts Drilling at Shaikan-7

By John Lee. Gulf Keystone has announced the commencement of the Company's drilling campaign to explore deeper, yet untested horizons of the world class discovery at the Shaikan field, which the Company operates. Shaikan-7, the first deep exploration well on the Shaikan block, is targeting the mid to lower Triassic and, potentially, Permian horizons, spudded […]

Launch of First Environment Strategy for Iraq

The United Nations welcomed the launch of the National Environment Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) in Baghdad on Monday, on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification. “This is a landmark step, the first ever national strategy for the environment and a blueprint for sustainable development in Iraq,” said Martin Kobler, the Special […]