A new museum celebrating the rich cultural heritage of southern Iraq has opened its first gallery at a ceremony in Basrah. The gallery, which displays artefacts from the Hellenistic period (c. 300 BC) through to the present, represents the first major milestone in an eight-year project involving the Iraq Ministry of Culture, the State Board […]
By John Lee. A joint report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Sunday Times claims that London-based PR firm Bell Pottinger was hired by the US military to run a "covert" propoganda operation during the Iraq War. The $540-million campaign was run by the agency's now-dissolved 'conflict resolution' arm between 2007 and 2011. […]
UNHCR scholarship scheme helps Syrian refugees access university degrees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), this week opened its DAFI scholarship enrolment programme in KR-I and started receiving applications. UNHCR’s higher education […]
By John Lee. On Tuesday, Iraqi oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi [Allibi] met the envoy of the British Prime Minister, Baroness Emma Nicholson, who was leading a delegation from the Iraq British Business Council (IBBC). The two parties discussed cooperation and the development of the oil and gas industry in Iraq. Mr. Allibi said the Ministry […]
By John Lee. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ibrahim Al-Jaafari met the British Minister of State for International Development Mr Rory Stewart in London on Saturday. Both sides discussed a number of important issues, especially the return of the displaced families to their homes after liberating their towns from Da'esh. His Excellency said that Iraq […]
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is assisting the Government of Iraq (GoI) in its efforts on Security Sector Reform (SSR) through a well-established partnership with the Office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA). On 29 August, UNDP and ONSA co-chaired the first meeting between the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and international partners within the […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Baghdad has reached agreement with BP, Shell and Lukoil to restart stalled investment in Iraqi oil fields, allowing production to increase by 250,000-350,000 bpd in 2017. According to documents seen by Reuters, the three firms agreed to spend in the second half of 2016 roughly half the budgets they proposed […]
Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jets have participated in a major coalition air strike on Saddam’s former palace in Mosul, used by Daesh as a headquarters and training establishment for foreign terrorists. In Mosul, extensive surveillance had established that Daesh were using a palace, built by the former dictator Saddam Hussein, as a major headquarters […]
Japan's Marubeni-Itochu Steel has joined the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC). The company is a joint venture between Marubeni Corporation and Itochu Corporation, established in October 2010 when the two companies merged their respective steel divisions. Its Tubular Products Division, which operates under the name Marubeni-Itochu Tubulars, supplies tubular products for the energy sector; its […]
Scotland-based casing and completion tool specialist Deep Casing Tools has continued its Middle East expansion with a successful deployment of its unique drillable turbine technology in Iraq. The company’s 7” Turbocaser Express™ high-speed reaming system was deployed recently for a client who had experienced previous liner running issues. The Turbocaser Express™ reamed through multiple problematic […]
By John Lee. The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it is conducting a criminal investigation into Unaoil, the Monaco-based company that has been implicated in an international corruption scandal. A statement from the SFO called for information relating to the allegations: "The SFO is conducting a criminal investigation into the activities of […]
Iraqi Government, EU, IMF, UNAMI, and World Bank representatives participate at IBBC’s annual retreat in Windsor Dara Rasheed, Iraq’s acting Minister of Housing and Construction, Jan Kubis, Head of UNAMI and Special Representative of the United Nations for Iraq, Robert Bou Jaoude, World Bank’s Special Representative for Iraq, Patrick Simmonet, EU Ambassador to Iraq and […]
