U.S. Ambassador Stephen Beecroft (pictured) and U.S. Embassy staff met on Tuesday April 22 with Mr. Sarbast Rashid Mustafa, the Chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and Mr. Muqdad Alsharify, the Chief Electoral Officer of IHEC. Chairman Mustafa and CEO Alsharify outlined for the Ambassador the extensive plan that IHEC has in place […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com As parliamentary elections approach and competing coalitions seek to position themselves ahead of the votes, the reporting period was marked by a series of movements in the political sphere. In Kurdistan, after months of unsuccessful negotiations, the KDP and Gorran reached an agreement for a new government along with the Islamic League, on […]
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. Months ago, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani began to guide the Iraqi public through statements regularly issued by him or his office, focusing on the need to fix the current situation. Sistani's guidance is going even […]
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. Two days before the rest of the country does, over one million members of Iraq’s military will vote in general elections. The questions are clear: Will the army simply be loyal […]
By John Lee. Citing 100 journalists murdered in the last decade and 100 percent impunity, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said that Iraq is the worst offender on its Impunity Index, a spot it has held since 2008, when CPJ first compiled the index. According to its report: "Nine new murders in late […]
By John Lee. Militants have reportedly closed the Euphrates River dam they control in Iraq, cutting off a major source of water for central and southern Iraq. AFP reports that militants had previously cut the flow of water through the dam near the city of Fallujah several weeks ago, but reopened it when water accumulated […]
By John Lee. Iraq’s justice minister, Hassan al-Shimmari, said on Tuesday that the notorious Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad has been shut due to unspecified security concerns. According to a report from Washington Times, the prison’s 2,400 inmates have been taken to other facilities across the country. Several months ago, rebel al Qaeda groups […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Despite repeated claims that Muqtada al–Sadr will remain on the sidelines of politics with regard to the upcoming elections, the latter has multiplied public appearances, in a clear attempt to influence the voting. On 13 April, Sadr met with influential Shia cleric Ali Al-Sistani and released a joint statement condemning sectarianism and violence. […]
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) Mr. Nickolay Mladenov (pictured) has reaffirmed UN support to Iraq in its fight against corruption. This came at the opening session of the Baghdad Second International Forum on Stolen Assets Recovery, which was organized by the Integrity Commission. “The UN is taking accountability, transparency and anti-corruption […]
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. On April 4, the Iraqi Council of Ministers endorsed the “national safety” bill, which regulates the state of emergency and defines the prime minister’s powers and the steps he can take during “emergency” measures, which […]
By John Lee. Czech aviation company Aero Vodochody has reportedly agreed to sell 12 L-159 subsonic fighter jets to Iraq, but the package must still be approved by the governments of both countries. Martin Danko, the broker for the deal, refused to reveal the price. According to Associated Press, Iraq had initially agreed to buy […]
By John Lee. Bloomberg reports that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is investigating allegations of improper conduct in Iraq. The company said: “These allegations relate to a small number of individuals. However, we are investigating whether there has been any improper conduct. We have zero tolerance for unethical or illegal behavior.” The Wall Street Journal reported that Glaxo […]
