The United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Lise Grande, along with Neill Wright, the country’s UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representative, today visited Iraqi families recently displaced from Al Baghdadi district in the western province of Anbar. “The situation facing these families is very worrying. They have been under siege for days and […]
By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Feb. 18, the bodyguards of national security adviser Faleh al-Fayad beat up a group of journalists and media workers in the Al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies when they refused to leave the conference Fayad […]
By John Lee. Iran’s Minister of Health, Seyed Hassan Hashemi, has announced the opening of a branch of the University of Medical Sciences in Iraq. Following a meeting with Iraq’s Minister of Education, Hasemi said that several deals have been made in the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical facilities, investment in the construction of hospitals and health […]
The World Bank Group and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-Iraq, have launched a social protection program of support to promote equity in living standards and reduce vulnerability. The program is aligned with the government’s efforts to develop a comprehensive social protection system and contributes to the goals of KRGs Vision 2020 of “freedom, health, welfare, […]
By Fazel Hawramy for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. "How are the skies?" a gruff voice asks in Iraqi Arabic dialect. "The skies are clear," is the reply, after a crackle of static on the walkie-talkie through which a Kurdish major is listening to […]
As a result of the recent widening of the conflict in Iraq, many more people – numbering in the hundreds of thousands – have been affected. The provinces of Al-Anbar, Ninawa, Salah al-Din, Diyala, and Kirkuk have been under heavy attack, driving more people to abandon their homes to seek shelter in safer areas. This […]
By John Lee. Oil Minister Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi [Adel Abdel Mehdi] met recently with a delegation representing the Japanese ministry of commerce and industry, headed by Mr. Shozo Takada. Also in attendance were representatives from the Japanese companies Mitsito, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Tio Engineering. Discussions concentrated on the development of commercial, economic, […]
In the context of his visit to Britain, Minister Falah Mustafa, the Head of KRG Foreign Relations met with Tobias Ellwood, Middle East Minister at the Foreign Office, and during their meeting both sides discussed the current situation in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and the threats of the terrorist organization of Daesh. The Head […]
By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Contradiction prevails in official announcements regarding the course of the battles against the Islamic State (IS) and the group's movements on the ground. When Iraqis were expecting a Mosul liberation battle, IS rushed to send […]
By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. An Iraqi contractor who works on road pavement and sewage projects in the Iraqi capital told Al-Monitor, “Government officials as well as senior contractors related to them have stakes in most, if not all, of […]
By John Lee. Following yesterday's gain of 55 percent on the announcement of a possible takeover, shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) were down 7 percent on Thursday morning. The company has confirmed receipt into its bank account of a further US$26 million [30 billion Iraqi dinars] gross payment (US$20.8 million net to Gulf Keystone) constituting […]
By John Lee. BasNews reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi secretly tried to block the Turkish government's deal to lend $500 million [583 billion Iraqi dinars] to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). According to sources, Abadi made the request to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a telephone call. A later request to Turkish […]
