Wassit to Build Residential Units and Power Plant
The Wassit [Wasit] council signed a contract on Tuesday for the building of residential units and an 80 MW power station, according to the council’s vice president. “The council signed a contract at the Kut Investment Commission with the Turbat al-Rafideen company to set up a power station with a production capacity of 80 MW, […]
Iraqi Minister Injured in Traffic Accident
A road accident in Jordan has killed at least six people, including two British nationals, and injured 28 others, including an Iraqi minister, police say. The crash happened when a tourist bus was transporting the victims from the Dead Sea back to Amman late Thursday night, said police spokesman Mohammed al-Khatib. Four Iraqis were also […]
Can Iraqi security forces stand up as the US stands down?
One of the advantages of working with a Private Security Company is that you can get out and about in Iraq, visiting the provinces and districts where the really important local dynamics are unfolding. Every village and every checkpoint in Iraq offers a partial microcosm of national-level trends. Getting into local communities can be a […]
Weekly Security Update
National Overview The total number of hostile incidents reported nationally was 117, an increase of 9 from the previous reporting period. The number of incidents in the south central region increased again, the third consecutive rise. Elsewhere the number of incidents was within the normally expected levels; however the lethality of the attacks increased in […]
Freedom of Speech in Iraq
The planned second session of the new Iraqi parliament was due to be held on Tuesday, but considering the lack of progress in forming the next government, few were surprised when it was postponed. “We are postponing the session until further notice because the political entities failed to reach any agreement”, said Fuad Massum, who […]
Warka rights mystery deepens
So far two subscription periods for Warka Bank’s ID 150 bn rights issue have come and gone without any official announcement of the results. The last date for existing shareholders to subscribe was May 16. As most of them did not take up their rights, there was a subsequent public offering open to everyone except […]
Eni to Award Oilfield Drilling Contracts
Italian oil major Eni is expected to award a tender to drill more than 100 new oil wells at its Zubair oil field in southern Iraq in August, according to a report from Dow Jones. "We received the bids and we are in the process of assessing them," an executive told the news agency. Several […]
Basra Council Discusses $240m Projects
On Tuesday, Basra Council discussed projects which will be implemented in 2011, according to a head of the reconstruction committee. The projects are in several budgetary categories and have a total value of 286 billion Iraqi dinars ($240m). “The council made a comprehensive assessments of all projects for 2011 in the areas of health, electricity, […]
Iraqi Inflation Continues to Fall
A senior official in the Iraqi Central Bank said that inflation in Iraq continuedto fall in June and reached 2.7%, compared with 3% in May. The Central Bank of Iraq slashed its base rate by 100 basis points to six per cent in April in reaction to subdued inflation, though the interest rate is considered […]
The Best Place in the World for Oil
At Monday’s AGM of Petrel Resources (LON:PET), the Dublin-based oil exploration company, managing director David Horgan told investors that Iraq is "the best place in the world for oil". “Petrel has raised a total of US$15 million or £10 million from 1994 to date ... It has operated continually in Iraq since 1999 and has […]
Diamonds in Demand in Kurdistan
A source at the directorate of jewelry quality control in Erbil told AKnews on Sunday that 19 Kg of diamonds have been imported into the Kurdistan Region so far this year. A diamond dealer confirms that demand for diamonds has grown in the Region in recent months. “We check diamonds and other jewelry imported into […]
Economist Calls for New Border Crossings
An Iraqi economic expert has called on the government to use the border areas to support the Iraqi economy and to create more border crossings for trade. "Over the years, Iraq has not pushed hard enough to open commercial markets with the surrounding countries”, Ali Ke Ji, an Iraqi economic expert, said on Sunday. "We […]