Turn a Light On: Electricity Sector Reform in Iraq
By Luay Al-Khatteeb and Harry Istepanian, of the Brookings Institution. The need to confront and drive back the forces of the Islamic State (IS, ISIS. ISIL) has pushed long-term reform efforts in Iraq far down the list of priorities. Yet pressing economic reforms – such as restructuring and rebuilding the country’s energy sector – increasingly […]
Belarus, Iraq to Cooperate on Healthcare, Education
By John Lee. On Tuesday, the Head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Africa and Middle East Department, Igor Leshchenya, had a meeting with the Iraqi Ambassador to Belarus, Haidar Hadi. The sides discussed the whole range of issues, including steps to further strengthen relations between the countries. In particular, they identified possible measures […]
Health Rights for Women in Iraq
Report first published in nina-iraq.com, the magazine for Iraqi women everywhere. By Suaad Allami, a leading Iraqi women’s human rights lawyer, US State Department International Women of Courage Award Recipient 2009, and Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards winner 2014. Based in Baghdad, Suaad founded the Iraqi NGO, Women for Progress, in 2007. Health rights in […]
Video: US returns Iraqi Artifacts
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Ancient Iraqi artifacts seized or tracked down by US Customs were put on display at the Iraqi embassy in Washington at an event to mark their repatriation, even as parts of Iraq remain under […]
GKP Shares Rally as Shaikan Ramps Up
By John Lee. Share in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), operator of the Shaikan field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, gained 20 percent on Wednesday as the company announced that it has resumed production and truck loading operations at both its production facilities (PF-1 and -2), in line with the pre-payment of US$ 26 million […]
WesternZagros Year-End Results
By John Lee. WesternZagros Resources has announced its operating and financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2014. WesternZagros achieved several key financial and operational milestones during 2014 and to date, including the commencement of light oil production and sales at an average rate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day […]
Kirkuk Oil Production hits 400,000 bpd
By John Lee. An un-named industry source has told BasNews that oil production in Kirkuk has risen to 400,000 bpd. He said that, to begin with, they were exporting only 150,000 bpd through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to Ceyhan Port in Turkey, but later increased this to 300,000 bpd, eventually reaching 400,000 bpd on Monday. […]
Three Dead in Explosion near Kuwaiti Border
By John Lee. Three Iraqi civilians were reportedly killed on Wednesday when a booby-trapped truck exploded near the Kuwaiti border in Iraq. The Kuwaiti news agency KUNA quoted a local Iraqi official as saying that the explosion happened at a garage near the main road about 12 km (7.5 miles) north of the Safwan border […]
Militia Attacks Destroy Villages, Displace Thousands
Militias, volunteer fighters, and Iraqi security forces engaged in deliberate destruction of civilian property after these forces, following US and Iraqi air strikes, forced the retreat of Islamic State fighters (also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL) from the town of Amerli and surrounding areas in early September 2014, Human Rights Watch said in a report […]
Iran Sends Additional Arms to Iraq
By Patrick Schmidt. Iran already holds a growing position of influence in Iraq and this position has grown once again. The Iranian government has dispatched a number of advanced missile and rocket systems to Iraq to aid the in the fight against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The systems seem to be Fajr-5 rockets […]
IS Again Deploys Chemical Weapons
By Patrick Schmidt. Kurdish security officials report that the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) has once again used chemical weapons against its forces. The IS used chlorine gas twice against the Peshmerga outside of the city of Tikrit. The militants have used the gas before against the Peshmerga. The last reported gas attacks by the […]
Weekly Security Update: 10 - 16 March 2015
National Overview Ground operations against the militant stronghold of Tikrit have reached a temporary halt outside the city’s central districts as reinforcements arrive in preparation for further heavy fighting. Following last week’s Iraqi update, militia-backed reserves have pressed into the city from the northern, western and southern axes, capturing much of the outlying suburb of […]