By Omar al Jaffal for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Sept. 5, unidentified gunmen attacked the home of Ann Nafaa Awsei, the newly appointed minister of construction, housing and public municipalities, in the Iraqi capital, which resulted […]
By Omar Sattarfor Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. What's the status of IMF loan as Iraq dismisses finance minister? Prior to his dismissal Sept. 21, Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari ran successful negotiations with international banks to obtain […]
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. Political conflicts, war with extremists and millions of displaced: All these threaten to see Iraq’s next elections postponed, despite the fact that many say they will be the country’s most […]
By John Lee. Iraq’s finance minister, Hoshyar Zebari (pictured), has been voted out of office by the country’s parliament on Wednesday. Lawmakers voted 158 to 77 against Zebari, after a parliamentary inquiry last month into charges of corruption and mismanagement of public funds. Zebari, a senior Kurdish official who previously served as foreign minister, denies all […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appointed a new interim defense minister on Monday. General Othman Ghanm, the interim Chief of Army Staff, will take over from Khalid al-Obeidi, who lost a confidence vote in parliament last week. Ghanm's position as interim Chief of Army Staff will be filled by Anwar Hama Amin, Lieutenant General/Aviator […]
By John Lee. Iraq's interior minister, Mohammed Ghabban, resigned on Tuesday following one of the deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which has claimed the lives of at least 250 people so far. According to a report from Reuters, his resignation will be official only if Prime Minister Haider Al […]
By John Lee. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Baghdad to protest at a months-long political crisis and lack of reform, according to BBC News. Supporters of the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr (pictured) marched towards the Green Zone to press Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to push ahead with his plan […]
By John Lee. Iraqi lawmakers voted on Friday to remove the parliament speaker, Salim al-Juburi (pictured), and his deputies. The move further delays Prime Minister al-Abadi's efforts to appoint a new 'technocrat' cabinet. It came a day after a fist-fight reportedly broke out between lawmakers in the parliament hall following an overnight sit-in. (Source: AFP)
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi lawmakers held an all-night sit-in at parliament protesting efforts by powerful political blocs to maintain control of key government posts, pushing the speaker to convene an emergency session Wednesday.
By John Lee. Several dozen members of Iraq's parliament held an overnight sit-in in the parliament building to demand that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stick to his plans for cabinet reform. In central Basra, several hundred supporters of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr blocked the main street voicing similar demands, according to Reuters. Abadi was forced to […]
By John Lee. Associated Press reports that Iraq's parliament has delayed a vote on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's new technocrat cabinet. The reduction from 21 cabinet ministers to 16 was met with opposition from Iraq's powerful political blocs, which rely on patronage systems to remain in power, with several nominees withdrawing. He left ministers of […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi's nomination for the position of Finance Minister has withdrawn his candidacy, a week after the withdrawal of his proposed Oil Minister. According to Gulf Today, Ali Allawi (pictured) cited “political interventions and partisan bickering” for his decision. The US-educated former banker had already served as finance minister […]
