Feb 28 2013
By Shaymaa Adel Azzaman, February 28, 2013 Iraq’s Christian legacy is in danger with many of its churches, relics and monuments left unprotected. Scores of churches in Baghdad, Mosul and other towns in central and southern Iraq are without priests or congregations. The country’s Christian population has dwindled to about 200,000 from nearly 1 million [...]
Feb 26 2013
By Shaymaa Adel Azzaman, February 26, 2013 The Planning Ministry says Iraq’s budget is too reliant on oil revenues and any drop in prices will cause “dangers and problems” for the country. The Iraqi parliament is debating 2013 budget, which according to Planning Minister Ali al-Shukri is 93% reliant on revenues from oil sales. But [...]
Feb 25 2013
By Shaymaa Adel Azzaman, February 25, 2013 The Iraqi parliament has authorized the Ministry of Oil to seriously consider diversifying access to oil export outlets in neighboring states. Suzan Aklawi of the parliamentary Oil and Energy Commission said Jordan is emerging as the most suitable outlet. Jordan’s only maritime outlet to the outside world is [...]
Feb 23 2013
By Ali al-Mawsawi Azzaman, February 23, 2013 The long-standing conflict over payments to oil firms operating in Iraqi Kurdistan has been solved, according to a senior Iraqi official. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who heads the pro-government national alliance, announced that the sides “have reached a legal framework to cover the payments due to foreign firms with [...]
Feb 22 2013
By Adel Kadhem Azzaman, February 22, 2013 The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced 10,000 scholarships for students and university teachers to proceed ahead with studies abroad. The announcement was made by Higher Education Minister Ali al-Adeeb as he bid farewell to the first batch of students on their way to universities [...]
Feb 21 2013
By Khayoun Saleh Azzaman, February 21, 2013 The State Company for Cement Industries says cheap and low-quality imports of cement are making it hard for it to sell its products. The company’s director-general, Nasser Idris, warned that the industry might collapse without immediate state support. Idris did not say where the cement was imported from, [...]
Feb 20 2013
By Khayoun Saleh Azzaman, February 20, 2013 Iraqi police have seized 13 archaeological pieces in the southern Province of Dhiqar, an Antiquities Department official said. The official, Hakem al-Shammari, said the relics were passed to the Iraq Museum and Iraqi scientists were examining their antiquity and value. “The pieces were stolen from ancient mounds in [...]
Feb 18 2013
By Wail Matti Azzaman, February 18, 2013 Iraqi Christians have asked the authorities to preserve their churches and other monuments as excavations reveal that Christianity was the dominant religion in many parts of the country until the Arab Muslim invasion of the seventh century. Latest digs and earth moving activities to prepare the ground for [...]
Feb 17 2013
By Fatih Abdulsalam U.S.’s media and diplomacy machine are stirring the issue of minorities in the Arab world in an intensive and extensive manner. But there is little sincerity in raising the issue. The fate of minorities in the Arab world is being politicized. For the U.S. the target is not preserving and safeguarding these [...]
Feb 15 2013
By Adel Kadhem Azzaman, February 15, 2013 There has been a substantial surge in Iraq’s wheat produce in the years since 2003, when a U.S.-led coalition invaded the country. Wheat harvest had dwindled to an average 1.5 million tons in the years since the invasion, turning the country into a net importer of wheat and [...]
