IRAQ GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Iraqi Airways May Be Disbanded Over Kuwait Row [May 26]
“The Iraqi government is considering dissolving state-owned Iraqi Airways, after a row with neighbouring Kuwait over war reparations. Baghdad and Kuwait have been locked in a long-running dispute over billions of dollars in reparations from Iraq, including some $1.2 billion related to aircraft and parts seized during former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990-91 invasion of Kuwait. An aide to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki told Reuters the cabinet, or Council of Ministers, had decided on Tuesday to dissolve the flag-carrier. But Transport Minister Abdul-Jabbar said the decision was not final and that the cabinet would meet advisers on Wednesday to discuss the issue, adding: “After the meeting we will announce whether or not we will dissolve the company.” Iraqi Airways has regular flights to Beirut, Dubai, Tehran and other cities. Last month it made its first commercial flight to London in 20 years, only for a lawyer for the Kuwaiti authorities to try to seize the plane on landing..” [Complete Report]
Iraqi Election Results Closer to Being Certified [May 26]
“Iraq’s election commission says it’s sending the final results of the March 7 elections to the Supreme Court for certification. Commission spokesman Qassim al-Aboudi says the results will be sent to the court on Wednesday. He didn’t say when their certification was expected but once they are certified, it will clear a major obstacle to the formation of the new government. Al-Aboudi says the commission has rejected all appeals of the results by candidates, which paved the way for submitting the tally to the court. A Sunni-backed bloc won the most seats in the 325-member parliament, but fell far short of a majority. An alliance of two Shiite blocs — which together are just four seats short of a majority — is now expected to form the next government..” [Complete Report]
Iraq’s Ex-Oil Chief Criticizes Baghdad Deals [May 26]
“The former head of Iraq’s largest state-owned oil company and advisor to the country’s oil ministry criticized long-term deals that Baghdad signed with international oil majors to develop some of its biggest fields, saying the country instead should have agreed to short-term technical deals. “There is no clear national plan on how to develop these huge oil fields,” Jabbar Al Luaiby told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview. BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Cnooc Ltd., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Italy’s Eni SpA have bagged deals with Iraq to develop fields in the war-torn country, which holds the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran, according to BP. Mr. Al Luaiby’s remarks could increase pressure on Baghdad to revise contracts awarded to foreign companies. Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc, which won the most seats in the recent parliamentary election, said it would like to review oil contracts signed with the majors..” [Complete Report]
Iraq Eyes 8 Foreign Firms for $3bln Metro Project [May 26]
” Iraq has shortlisted eight foreign firms for the construction of a $3 billion metro rail through the capital Baghdad as it seeks to rebuild infrastructure damaged by decades of war and underinvestment. Baghdad’s municipality media office said on Wednesday the companies — which include British engineering consultancy firm WS Atkins (ATKW.L) and U.S. project management company Versar (VSR.A) — would have to present their bids to the project consultants, French engineering group Systra. The other companies shortlisted for the contract are a consortium of British project managers Halcrow Group, German consulting firm Dorsch and Finnish engineering and consulting group Poyry (POY1V.HE); British firms Mott MacDonald and Arup; Italy’s Torno and IECMB; and U.S. firm Parsons Brinckerhoff. “The metro rail will help to solve a big part of the problem in Baghdad’s streets, which suffer from huge traffic jams due to the continuous rise in the number of cars that have entered Iraq (since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion),” the office said in a statement..” [Complete Report]
Iraq PM Details ‘Several’ Assassination Attempts [May 26]
“Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki claimed in remarks released Wednesday that he had escaped several assassination attempts, including one where insurgents tried to shoot down his plane. “There have been several attempts,” Maliki told London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, according to a transcript of the interview released by his office. One of the alleged attempts “was targeting a plane I was flying in while returning from Mosul (northern Iraq) to Baghdad in 2009, but it failed,” he said. “A missile was fired against the plane, but thermal decoys diverted it,” he added. “There have been several attempts like this but they have all failed,” Maliki said. He also warned of a return to sectarian violence as Iraq languishes without a new government, more than two months after elections in which no group has yet assembled a parliamentary majority..” [Complete Report]
