By John Lee. Reuters reports that Kuwait has accepted an Iraqi government request to delay payment of $4.6 billlion in war reparations, pending further discussions in Geneva. The reparations were imposed by the U.N. Security Council following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but the country's finances have been strained by the falling oil price and […]
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Despite all the negative developments concerning extremist groups in the Middle East, they have had a positive impact on religious communities. Shiite and Sunni institutions in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to denounce […]
By John Lee. The former CEO of US-based engineering consulting firm Louis Berger Group has pleaded guilty to overbilling for reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bloomberg reports that Derish Wolff, 79, admitted that he conspired to defraud the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over nearly 20 years, enriching himself and his company with […]
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. The first rainfall of the season swept Iraqi cities Nov. 21, causing flooding in schools, houses and streets. Siham Ahmed, a student from al-Diwaniya city south of Baghdad, couldn’t get to […]
By John Lee. Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari recently met the President of Iran, Mr. Hassan Rohani, in Tehran. The Minister was in the city to participate in an international conference on violence and extremism. He said that Iraq is progressing steadily, and it is important to clarify issues of common interest between it and […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP) have collaborated to deliver eight mobile medical clinics which arrived in Erbil on Sunday. These urgently needed clinics will be immediately deployed to parts of Iraq and Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The vehicles, flown in from Amman, Jordan, were procured by WHO and have […]
Reconciliation between Sunni groups and the Iraqi state remained at the top of the political agenda this week, as PM Abadi sought to strengthen his domestic and international alliances. With Sunni-tribal fighters now fighting alongside ISF units across Anbar, Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces, cooperation between the two groups has improved substantially over recent months, though […]
During a speech to an audience of top Washington scholars and officials at the Center from Strategic International Studies (CSIS), Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said, ‘Iraq can only be saved if Baghdad is willing to devolve some of its powers to regional authorities and be more inclusive of minorities.’ He […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS, IS) have mounted two suicide car-bomb attacks aimed at security checkpoints at the main entrance into Haditha city. Al Jazeera's Jane […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Roadside Bankers Profit From Extremists’ Mobile Phone Shutdown in Mosul It has been around two weeks since the extremists running Mosul decided to cut off mobile phone coverage in the […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Finance Minister, Hoshyar Zebari (pictured), has told Reuters that he is trying to postpone the final $4.6 billion installment of reparations for its 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait. To fund its reparations commitments, Iraq pays 5 percent of its crude oil exports to the U.N. Compensation Commission (UNCC). So far, nearly all […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari says ISIL is now on the defensive, although they are still in control of Mosul. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad:
