Iraqis Protest Against Bahrain's Rulers
About 7,000 Iraqis protested in the southern oil hub of Basra on Saturday against the presence of Saudi troops in Bahrain, highlighting the sectarian divide in Iraq. Reuters reports that anger has been mounting among Shi'ites in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran over the movement of troops from Sunni Arab states to help Bahrain's Sunni royal […]
ISX safe from Japanese fallout
So far the Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster have had surprisingly little impact on emerging markets. While the Nikkei is down 13% since the quake (as of March 17), the MSCI emerging markets index has fallen only 3%. And in Iraq, Rabee Securities’ RSISX is actually up 0.4%. Emerging markets could continue to slide, […]
Gulf Keystone Jumps 20% on Oil Find
[Update: Gulf Keystone closed the day up 31% at 161.75p] Shares in Gulf Keystone jumped 20% on Friday morning following the company's reporting of significant initial oil flow on the Shaikan-2 Appraisal Well in a 44 meter interval (1,792m to 1,836m) in the Jurassic age formation. Substantial smoke and/ or the oil flare is/ are […]
Bahrain, Baghdad, and Barrels of Oil
As Bahrain declares a three-month state of emergency, and invites troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to help quell the protests, the effects of that particular unrest are being felt strongly in Iraq. Despite having plenty of local issues to complain about, thousands on Iraqi have responded to calls from Moqtada al-Sadr to […]
Erbil Ranked 5th for Foreign Direct Investment
An international investment magazine has ranked Erbil in fifth position among top Middle East cities with potential for foreign direct investment. This places Erbil ahead of Muscat and Riyadh. FDI Magazine, a subsidiary of the Financial Times, in this month's edition, ran a feature on Middle East cities of the future, ranking cities by economic […]
4th Mobile Phone Licence Could Go for $2bn
Iraq's communications minister said he expected the country's planned fourth mobile phone licence to fetch between $1 billion to $2 billion [2.4 trillion Iraqi dinars] in an auction expected by the end of this year. According to Reuters, Mohammed Allawi said the expected cost for the licence, including installations and infrastructure costs, could be in […]
Iraq Needs Another 12,000 Oil Police
Iraq may not be able to protect its oil facilities because of a shortage of equipment and trained oil police, despite intelligence suggesting new attacks on the vital sector, according to Major General Hamid Ibrahim, head of Iraq's oil protection force. Reuters quotes him as blaming al Qaeda for recent attacks on the Baiji [Bayji, […]
Iraq to Spend $1.5bn on Medicine and Medical Equipment
The Iraqi minister of health, Majid Hama-Amin, told AKnews that his ministry has allocated $1.5 billion [1.8 trillion Iraqi dinars] to purchasing medicine and medical equipment in 2011. Khalis Qadr, the spokesman for Kurdistan Health Ministry, told AKnews that the Region will also share in this allocation. The medicine especially for the chronic diseases will be […]
Danish Company Improves Security at Iraqi Ports
The general manager of the Iraqi ports company said on Wednesday that the company had completed a $5 million [6 billion Iraqi dinar] contract with a Danish firm to set up watchtowers in all ports to monitor the works and prevent irregularities. Salah Khudair Abboud told AKnews that the technical staff of the Communications Engineering […]
$58m Baghdad Contract for Sewerage Scheme
The office of the Lord-Mayor of Baghdad has announced on Tuesday the signing of a contract with two companies to implement the largest sewerage project in the Iraqi capital, at a total cost of 68 billion (b) Iraqi dinars [$58 million]. Aswat al-Iraq news agency reports that the contracts would serve 17 housing districts in […]
Weekly Security Update for 16th March 2011
Overview Levels of violence are still higher in Iraq than in January and February, but conditions did not significantly worsen over the past week. There was a decline in the number of violent protests taking place countrywide although there was also a rise in bomb attacks, particularly in Baghdad. The northern city of Mosul saw a […]
Maliki Proposes Allawi for Top Arab League Post
Iraq’s State of Law Coalition, led by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, has reportedly proposed the head of the rival Iraqiya bloc, Iyad Allawi, to run for the position of Secretary General of the Arab League following Amr Moussa’s resignation. Moussa will stand down in order to run for the presidency of Egypt. The Iraqiya […]