Iraq Seeks to Increase Electricity Imports
By John Lee. Iraq's new Minister of Electricity, Qasim Mohammad Abid Hammadi al-Fahadawi [Qassim al-Fahdawi] (pictured), is to travel to Iran on Tuesday to hold talks on electricity imports. At a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hamid Chitchian, the Minister will also discuss the expansion of economic ties between Tehran and Baghdad. In 2013, the […]
Non-Members Welcomed at IBBC Conference
Iraqi and British politicians will be joining senior business leaders from both countries at the Iraq Britain Business Council’s (IBBC) eighth London conference in early November. Entitled “Iraq – Accentuating the Positive”, the event is being held at the spectacular Institution for Civil Engineers building, One Great George Street, on November 5th and 6th. In light […]
UN sees Improvements in KRI Human Rights
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani today received Ivan Šimonović, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, and his accompanying delegation. The delegation said that compared to their previous visit back in 2011, they noticed sound improvements made by the Kurdistan Region in the areas of diplomacy, foreign relations, infrastructure, a free press, freedom of speech, […]
Rains Causes Flooding in Refugee Camps
By John Lee. Heavy rains have reportedly flooded refugee camps in Dohuk, where an estimated 100,000 Iraqis, mostly Assyrians and Yazidis, are living having fled from the Islamic State. According to a report from AINA, hundreds of refugees held protests to call attention to their miserable living conditions and to demand emergency relief from the […]
Video: Minorities join Fight Against ISIL
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Several minority ethnic groups are trying defend their towns from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. They say they've lost confidence in the Iraqi army, and its ability to protect their […]
Refugee Crisis Strikes Anbar
By Patrick M Schmidt. The United Nations (UN) has estimated that nearly 180,000 civilians have been displaced from Anbar province following the advance of the Islamic State (IS) into the province. These individuals add to the nearly 1.8 million Iraqis who have been displaced since the initial expansion of the Islamic State earlier this summer. […]
Islamic State Fighter Jet Concerns
By Patrick M Schmidt. Concerns are now mounting with Western defense agencies that the Islamic State (IS) has gained control of Syrian fighter jets. It is believed the captured at least three jets during their assault of the Syrian air force base, al-Jarrah. The fighters may be receiving training from Iraqi pilots who have defected […]
Currency Auction Results, 20th Oct
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 18 banks took part in its currency auction on Monday. A total of $231,723,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Declaration of Commerciality on Khalakan Block
Range Energy Resources has announced that, on October 16, 2014, Gas Plus Khalakan ("GPK"), the sole contractor of the Khalakan Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, announced by press release that it has declared the Shewashan light oil discovery commercial under the terms of the Khalakan Production Sharing Contract (the "PSC") and is preparing […]
Additional Cabinet Ministers Approved
The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. After a month of wrangling and indecision that extended into the Eid al-Adha holiday, […]
US Pledges Continued Support for Kurdistan
The United States and its allies will continue to provide support and assistance to the Kurdistan Region, a visiting US delegation told Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday. The Prime Minister, along with a number of senior Kurdistan Regional Government officials yesterday in Erbil welcomed the United States Deputy National Secretary Advisor Anthony Blinken and his […]
Corruption Plagues Iraqi TV, Film Industry
By Shukur Khilkhal for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Each year, Arab TV stations compete to buy and broadcast dramatic productions from Egypt, Syria and Gulf counties. Yet, there is no demand for Iraqi drama, which is limited to local TV channels. It is […]