The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By Simon Kent. The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) have announced that they will be offering expert advice on Iraq’s marketplace and how UK businesses can get involved on 21 October 2015 at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Companies are welcome to register for 20 minute appointments by contacting LCCI at [email protected] […]
By Simon Kent. The Royal Air Force has launched a total of 300 sorties against the self proclaimed "Islamic State," according to a report on the strikes released by the UK's Ministry of Defence. In military parlance, a "sortie" is a mission where bombs are dropped, as opposed to a mission which may not find […]
By Simon Kent. Various sources have reported Tuesday that acting deputy justice minister Abdel Karim Faris was kidnapped in northern Baghdad, by "black clad" assailants. One source Iraq Business News spoke with speculated that terrorists had taken advantage of PM Haidar al Abadi's recent decision to cut security staff for politicians, but in the absence of details we […]
By Robert Tollast. The US Department of Defence has reported 11 air strikes in Iraq, usually indicative of 24-48 hrs of activity. Coalition aircraft normally conduct air strikes along three fronts in Iraq, the Euphrates front, which cuts across western Iraq to Syria and covers the western flank of Baghdad, and includes the ISIS occupied […]
By Simon Kent. A recent report by Standard & Poor gave Iraq a B- foreign currency rating, indicating significant risk for investors, but nonetheless noted that in the short term, the economy would remain stable with 0.3% growth and longer term, up to 5% from rising oil output up to 2018. That is the good news […]
By Simon Kent. 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. Around a fortnight ago, in the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar, the Iraqi government ceremonially handed over many of its powers to the local authorities. It's […]
By Simon Kent. Carlson Rezidor, the international hotel group with over 1,300 hotels in over 100 countries, has announced that it has finalized a deal for a new hotel, 3kms from Erbil International Airport. According to Gulf News, the 260-room hotel will be located in the Western suburbs and contain an all-day dining restaurant, speciality restaurant, lobby bar, […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's long awaited delivery of F-16 fighter bombers have now made their combat debut, The Guardian reports. The jets made 15 sorties in Salahaddin, a key front north of Baghdad where the Baiji oil refinery and nearby town are still contested battle zones. The Guardian report suggests that with Coalition strikes hitting ISIS on […]
By Robert Tollast. An interview with Mohamed Ridha, of the Baghdad entrepreneurial tech collective Fikra Space. So what on earth is a hackerspace? Since the essence of the concept is open source, it seems apt (although not so professional!) to quote Wikipedia, which has the most succinct definition. According to the page a hackerspace is, […]
By Robert Tollast. The following opinions are the authors only, and do not necessarily represent the views of Iraq Business News. This article examines Iraq’s localised and national level attempts to foster pan sectarian cooperation against ISIL, looked at in the context of previous counterinsurgency campaigns fought by Britain and the US. “Our fighting against […]
By Simon Kent. Al Jazeera have reported a string of violent incidents in Iraq in the past 24 hours. In Salahaddin, a suicide bomber targeted a meeting of anti ISIL Sunni Sheikhs, killing at least 18 people. ISIL and its predecessor ISI have long targeted opposing Sunnis, fearing widespread Sunni opposition in Iraq would undermine […]
By Simon Kent. Lukoil, the Russian energy giant with one of the biggest investments in southern Iraq at the vast West Qurna 2 oil field, have issued a statement in support of Iraq's move to split crude grades into Basra Heavy and Basra Light. Previously, different grades arrived at Basra for blending, which not only […]
