Demonstrators demand end to occupation Sarmad al-Safy and Ahmed al-Mukhtar - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD - Thousands of Shia and Sunni Iraqis called for an end to the US occupation in mass demonstrations in Kadhimiya and Adhimiya on Friday. The rare joint protest bridging Iraq's religious spectrum were led by the Shia Muqteda al-Sadr group and ...
Universities Sectarianism 101 – Intolerance and tensions on the rise at Baghdad universities Abdalrahman Al-Juburi and Zaid H. Fahmi - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD – In an attempt to discourage sectarianism at Mustansiriya University, the university leaders may have sparked just the opposite. In a development upsetting for many Iraqi university students, it seems sectarianism and ethnic conflicts are c...
Human rights Iraqis try to fill the NGO void Ghada Butti - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD- Since the separate attacks on the UN and Red Cross headquarters last year, most of international NGOs have left Iraq. But as the major international organizations packed up and left, a few Iraqi NGOs have stepped up to fill the void. ...
Aid groups IRAQ: Plan to register aid groups on hold until May - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD, (IRIN) - A plan to register all aid groups working in Iraq - and to look for possible terrorist organisations or individuals among them - has been put on hold until May.
In most countries around the world, including the US, internati...
Investment Baghdad International Fair opens new horizons for investors Sarmad S. Al-Safy - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD-Around 7000 businessmen from different nationalities and 350 Arab and foreign investment companies are eager to participate in a showroom for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Iraq supposed to be inaugurated at Baghdad International Fair (BIF...
Economy Central Bank is run by total bankers Ali B. Al-Shouk - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Central Bank, in a moment of revival, is seeking to exercise greater control over the Iraqi economy and the Dinar in one of its most aggressive pushes yet to beat down inflation in the country.
According to sources at the...
Transportation Public transport creeks into a new world Sarmad S. Al-Safy - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD—Getting things from one place to another has never been easy in Iraq. Now, with much of the country’s transport infrastructure and garages in tatters, and private companies virtually unregulated, getting from A to B has been getting an F
Oil exports Kirkuk Crude reaches Mediterranean Ghada Butti - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD- Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has issued new tenders for transporting 6 million barrels of Kirkuk crude oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan during the period 12th – 19th March.
SOMO, which markets and administers ...
Power improvement Electricity continues to improve says Ministry Ghada Butti - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD – The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity has announced 280 new contracts worth $3 billion to build new power stations and a further 135 contracts to renovate existing power stations.
Although foreign companies are expected to win most of t...
Interim government GC, CPA ask UN to return for reconstruction Ahmed al-Mukhtar - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD - Members of the Interim Governing Council (GC) have invited the United Nations to help form a new transitional government that would rule Iraq after June 30, when the coalition's role end. The UN has been asked to organize nationwide electio...
Basic Law Citizens keen to learn more about Basic Law - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD (IRIN) - It's lunch hour in the al-Alwei cafe in Baghdad. The place is bustling with hungry customers and the mostly male crowd is talking about the pleasant weather, rising prices and the new constitution signed on 8 March.
...
One year later, good news and bad Hassan Fattah - 22-Mar-2004 As bombs rained down relentlessly over Baghdad and other Iraqi cities a year ago, the shattering windows and shaking walls were a good news story. Even as Europeans and Americans debated the legality of the war itself, terrified Iraqis were nonethe...
Tension Police, religious militias come to blows Hussein Ismael - 22-Mar-2004 NASSIRRIYA – A bloody clash between the Iraqi police forces and Shia militias in Nassiriya last week left three policemen dead as competition between rival political groups in Southern Iraq takes an increasingly violence turn.
The latest outb...
War scrap Saddam’s tanks and arms sold off for scrap Abdalrahman Al Juburi - 22-Mar-2004 TIKRIT - Iraqi contractors have started scrapping thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles left over from Saddam Hussein’s regime and are selling off vehicles bought for millions of dollars for little more than $11 per ton.
The majority of th...
New army The New Iraqi Army takes on Saddam’s hometown Adbalrahman al-Juburi - 22-Mar-2004 TIKRIT – A new brigade of the New Iraqi Army has been assigned to police and secure Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit. The new Sallahudin Brigade has been ceremoniously inducted as American forces have begun to accelerate their withdrawal, replacin...
Troops pullout Iraq pull-out all but inevitable-Zapatero Reuters - 22-Mar-2004 MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's withdrawal from Iraq is all but inevitable, Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in an interview on Sunday, one day after Spanish protesters sent him a stark message to bring troops home.
Zapater...
War anniversary Asian cities mark Iraq war anniversary with protests Reuters - 22-Mar-2004 SYDNEY, (Reuters) - Anti-war protesters staged peaceful demonstrations in several cities around Asia on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and urge the withdrawal of troops.
Rallies took place in Tokyo, Seoul and ...
UN Annan announces 'high-level' probe of UN in Iraq Reuters - 22-Mar-2004 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced late on Friday an independent "high-level" probe into possible corruption and mismanagement in the UN-administered Iraqi oil-for-food program.
Annan has been under pressure...
Japan says Iraq rebuilding must go on, mulls new aid Reuters - 22-Mar-2004 TOKYO, (Reuters) - Japan urged the international community on Sunday to persevere in efforts to rebuild Iraq and backed up its message by saying that it intends to offer the war-torn nation some $20 million in fresh humanitarian aid.
The an...
Security Kidnapping sprees continue to grow Zaid H. Fahmi - 22-Mar-2004 BAGHDAD–After months of anxiously reading the newspapers and watching news on television, Naser Abdul Lateef, an Iraqi living in Germany, decided that the time had come to end his 15 years in exile and see Iraq’s liberation for himself. He saw much m...
