Friday, billed as a 'day of rage' in Iraq, saw protests throughout the country despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urging people to not participate in the protests for security reasons. Baghdad: The center of the city was 'virtually locked down' on Friday. Demonstrators trying to get across a bridge going from the square to the […]
The United Nations has prepared a comprehensive Briefing Book on Iraq, and presented it to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The book is comprised of two parts: The first part addresses key policy issues, including: macroeconomic challenges, development planning and prioritization, governance and public sector reform, anti-corruption, private sector development, social protection and the challenges of […]
By Marko Lukic. Iraq's once easy-going visa regime has tightened up, leading to protests from foreign ambassadors. In early 2010, the visa process to enter Iraq was both liberal and easily accessible, taking only around 24 to 72 hours to go through the relevant procedures and paperwork. Officials were so flexible in fact, that expats […]
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. Recent demonstrations across the country in Sulimaniya, Kirkuk, Basra, Kut and other provinces are indicative of the growing disenchantment among the youth who are often jobless or underemployed despite Iraq’s tremendous oil and gas resources. According […]
With popular uprisings sweeping across the Middle East in recent weeks, Iraq too has seen its share of protests, but the focus here is different. Rather than trying to bring down the (elected) government, the people are expressing their anger at problems such as unemployment, sub-standard public services, scarcity of food, and the corruption and […]
Fluor Corporation has announced that ExxonMobil Iraq Limited has awarded the firm an early works program contract for the West Qurna (Phase I) field near Basra, Iraq. The engineering, procurement, construction and management contract is a reimbursable continuing services agreement for oil field and related infrastructure development with an expected duration of three years. Fluor […]
WesternZagros Resources has announced its intention to raise C$40 million in a brokered private placement of common shares. The funds will be raised through a syndicate of agents led by TD Securities Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc. (the "Agents") on an overnight-marketed best efforts basis (the "Offering"). WesternZagros has also granted the Agents an option […]
Iraq's Electricity Ministry has announced that 11 international companies presented investment projects under the first licensing round to develop the electricity sector in the country. The Iraqi government set February 10th as the deadline for receiving offers under this first licensing round. Musab al-Mudarres, the spokesman of the Electricity ministry told AKnews that the award […]
Two former directors and a sales manager of engineering firm Mabey & Johnson Ltd have been sentenced today for providing kickbacks to the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Charles Forsyth, David Mabey and Richard Gledhill inflated the contract price for the supply of steel bridges and disguised illegal payments that were channelled through Jordanian banks. […]
A governmental legal advisor has said that the Council of Ministers agreed to an 80% reduction in the salaries of the three presidencies, according to a report from AKnews. Other reports say the proposals would cut the salaries of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi by 'more than 50 […]
Around $34 million is "missing" from a post-Gulf War fund that Iraq maintains to protect the money from foreign claims, its parliamentary speaker said on Monday as authorities scrambled to head off further protests on cutting politicians' pay and ramping up support for the needy. "There is missing money, we do not know where it […]
Iraq's Ministry of Trade has announced that it has closed a deal to import 125,000 tons of rice from Thailand at a cost of $65 million in order to meet the demands of the government’s food-subsidizing ration card system. The General Manager of the Ministry’s Grain Company, Muthanna Jabbar, told AKnews that deals have been […]
