He added during a press conference that security forces came closer to Abu Aiub Almasri leader of AL-Qaida organization in Iraq, and showed a videotape shows Almasri during his training to some persons of cars' bombing, stressing the tape was found by American Forces in Alussefeia before few days.
(Source)AlSabah
The British military spokesman, Major Charles Burbridge, said that Iraqi and British forces started operation "Sinbad" in Basrah (550 Km. to the south) in an "attempt to improve the living levels of the people through repairing the light posts in the streets and removing the garbage". Other projects like reconstructing hospitals, repairing water distribution nets and providing pupils with the necessary requirements will start under the protection of the Iraqi and British forces.
The spokesman confirmed that "The M.N.F is providing the suitable security frame for the Iraqi forces to enter certain districts and help the reconstruction process and support Iraqi engineers and contractors". Burbridge continued that another element has been added to the plan and that is to rid the police force from the militia members who penetrated it. He considered "the key to success in Basrah is providing a secure enough environments that enables Iraqi security forces from controlling things here and then hand over the security file to it. Thus, the existence of the M.N.F. in the streets will be reduced.
This operation is expected to go on till the first months of next year. Seven thousands British soldiers are spreading in the south of Iraq.117 of them got killed since the invasion in March, 2003.
The reaction of people in Basrah towards this plan ranged between welcoming and criticizing it:
Fatima Hussain, a principle of a primary school, said "We are very glad to hear about this plan being carried out by the British forces who offered a lot of help to our schools and children in Basrah. Without these forces, chaos would have prevailed in the city."
Navy officer, Kareem Hussain, said "The American forces must prove the credibility of the promises it made before the war, through activating the work in humanitarian projects." He added that what the Iraqi really needs is the improvement of health and service facilities.
Jamal Musa, an official in the Iraqi General Company of ports, said "In stead of constructing children playgrounds and decorating schools, they should be building hospitals which Basrah needs most." He, also, demanded to "solve the problems of water and electricity." He pointed out that "the existence of the British Forces is one of the reasons of deteriorating the security status (…) They are harming the people and not protecting them."
How ever, a France Press correspondent watched thirty British soldiers fixing up the doors and windows of a school at Al-Baradhi'ia where the British and American consulates are located, while others were busy digging foundations for constructing children playgrounds. (Source)Alwatan
The purpose is to support and encourage investing in the medical field and health services in Iraq, through exchanging point of views among the Gulf, Arabic and international companies who are interested in entering the Iraqi market in this field particularly.
Head of the supreme organizing committee, Badr Al-Inizi, said in a press conference that the idea of organizing this international medical fair and conference in Kuwait to serve the health sector in Iraq is an important step in the cooperation between Iraq and Kuwait. Also, to encourage and support investors, companies and institutions who are interested in investing in the Iraqi market through this specialized international gathering. The fair will display the innovations in the medical field and the developments on them in order to help the medical and health sector in Iraq move forward.
He added that Iraq's great desire was the main reason for organizing this fair and the seminar that is about to be hold in order to establish relations between Iraqi and Kuwaiti doctors as well as between unions, governmental and private institutions from both countries. This will pave the way for big investments in all fields especially the medical one which can take investments in millions or even billions USD.
Al-Inizi said that more than 500 international companies and institutions will participate in the fair to display their latest products and modern medical equipments that fulfill the Iraqi demand. The fair will be held on (Fairs Ground), in addition to organizing and establishing workshops during the conference.
The fair aims at training Iraqi doctors to operate the modern medical devices displayed within its wings as well as in the international market.
Dr. Nameer Annahi, head of pharmacy division in Basrah, said that this international conference serves the constructing process in Iraq because it introduces us to the best there is in the modern science of medicine. It will, also, supply health sector in Iraq with devices and equipments that it needs very much.
Dr. Nameer stated that Iraqi government is working on encouraging investments in Iraq. Therefore, it started facilitating things for the investors who desire to enter the Iraqi market which needs more of the medical and therapeutic products. So, this is a very promising opportunity to invest in Iraq for the ambitious companies and institutions. He pointed out that the government is seriously intending to establish more hospitals and health centers to fulfill the public needs of medical care and health services.
Dr. Qusai Zeebari, head of surgery division at Assadr Instructional Hospital and representative of doctors union in Iraq, said that investments in Iraq are very promising and they can take a lot of products that develop health and medical services as well as enhancing health sector here. He pointed out that this field has an increasing demand for medical products around the clock. He confirmed that health sector in Iraq is in great need for the medicine and drugs that will be provided by the companies, institutions and investors participating in the fair and conference.
He explained that many contracts will be concluded between the Iraqi side and the rest of the Arab and foreign investors to fulfill the needs of the local market in the medical sector in Iraq. Zeebari said that there are some regulations that goes along with the international policy of investing in the field of importing drugs and medical equipments, but the government is trying hard to facilitate the procedures and simplify them. The government is, also, working on adjusting laws and legislations to attract the foreign investor.(Source)AlSabah
It quoted an Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry source as saying the preferential price of oil imports from Iraq is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both countries recently.
It said, the export of Iraqi oil to Jordan is governed by providing security for the oil tanks that proceed by land from Iraq to neighboring Jordan. He hoped for solving the security problem as soon as possible to ease the import of oil from Iraq.
The daily referred to many reports confirming the deterioration of the security conditions all along the road from the Iraqi Beji province to the Jordanian territories. This puts truck drivers at risk of being attacked by militants who literally control most of the Iraq-Jordan expressway.
The MoU signed by both countries stipulates supplying Jordan with Iraqi oil at preferential prices that are not yet officially declared, at the rate of 30, 000 barrels per day (bpd) and that will gradually rise to 60,000 for fulfilling Jordan's need of oil that totals 100,000 bpd.
The daily concluded that many Iraqi security companies are offering to guarantee the arrival of oil supplies to Iraq.(Source)Kuna
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, he put his plan into action. Why name the school American University? Because, he says, Iraqis are grateful to the United States for liberating them--nowhere more so than in Kurdistan. Besides, he adds, "American education is among the best products the U.S. can offer."
Perhaps. But Iraq's American University will be a largely homegrown effort. The local Sulaymaniyah government donated the land for the project--some 162 hectares, with room for a future golf course--and Salih has managed to raise $15.2 million in start-up capital from private donors. Construction won't begin until next March and will take about a year and a half to complete. Meanwhile, the first students will start classes in January in rented offices not far from the future campus.
They'll begin with intensive English to prepare for regular university courses, which will all be taught in English as in the other five American Universities around the world, including three in the Arab world: Cairo, Beirut and Sharjah (U.A.E.). "It's not just Dick-and-Jane, let's-learn-how-to-order-in-restaurant English," says John Agresto, a former U.S adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and the only non-Iraqi member of the college's board of trustees. Language lessons will be supplemented by Western philosophical and political teachings, including the Federalist Papers and other founding documents of American democracy.
The school's emphasis on a liberal-arts education distinguishes it from Iraq's 63 other universities and technical institutes, which tend to specialize in the sciences and engineering. (Top students in Iraq who study medicine, for instance, rarely receive any training in social sciences or humanities.) At least initially, though, the college will focus on economics, public and business administration, political science and information technology--all of which are critical to Iraq's future. Perhaps appropriately for an American-style university, its first degree offering will be an executive M.B.A.
The first year's class will be small--about 250 students--but administrators expect to expand quickly, to 1,000 students per class by 2011 and twice that by 2015. Most students will receive substantial scholarships. Though located in Kurdistan, the university will be open to all Iraqis, school officials emphasize, regardless of religion or ethnicity. "At the end of the day, we care about the same things in life--basic values of liberty and decency," says Salih. "When you bring people together and develop human interaction, they will see Iraq's diversity is an asset, not a problem."
Indeed, Iraqis from all parts of the country have already been calling board members and begging to have their children admitted. Officials insist that admissions standards will be high and transparent--meaning no one will be able to beg or buy his way in. Ultimately, Salih hopes his new creation will help restore his country to the educational pinnacle of the Arab world. Only then can Iraq reverse the exodus of its best and brightest young people, which, after the ongoing sectarian violence, is perhaps the greatest challenge to the country's future.(Source)AINA
Minister Ashahristani officially stated: "I met with representatives of big oil companies during the meeting of OPEC in Vienna and they were ready to negotiate with us about developing our oil fields before the legislation of the gas and oil law is finished. However, the minister did not name these companies. He added that the Iraqi Oil Ministry is currently responsible for running the Iraqi Oil sector and will bound itself to one type of contracts only. This, clearly points out to the dispute over the production process and the sharing agreements. Ashahristani did not comment on what kind of contracts the Ministry will sign with these companies.
Ashahristani added: "there will be many forms of contracts specified to develop our oil fields. The Iraqi oil sector will need about 20 billion USD of investments so that it will be able to double its oil production up to 4.5 million barrel a day during the next five year." He also mentioned: "The current production of oil in Iraq is ranging between 2.3 and 2.4 million barrel a day. But, Iraq is still facing many difficulties like: the need to exhort more efforts to raise up the production rate to their pre-war levels, the deteriorating security status, bad and old technology bad weather and insufficient logistic support."
Officials in the Iraqi oil sector says that many oil fields have been discovered in the south, center, north of Iraq and they are ready to be developed. According to Asahristani, the Energy Committee in the Iraqi Government is writing down the final draft of the gas and oil law which is expected to be passed on to the Parliament before end of the current year. Ashahristani added that his new law will found a new Iraqi national oil company supervising the activities of the oil sector. According to the new law of gas and oil, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil will supervise the planning for the oil sector and design the oil policies instead of carrying out numerous oil operations which will be done by the new Iraqi National Oil Company. The establishing of the new Company was already suggested two years ago by the ex-minister of Iraqi Oil, Thamir Al-Ghadhban. The previous Iraqi National Oil Company was converted to a ministry run by the ex-dictator Saddam Husain in 1987. The role of the new Company will concentrate on: determining the important decisions and policies, strategic planning for the Iraqi Oil industry as well as dealing with international relations and oil investments which include production, exportation and excavation.(Source)Iraq National Congress
The same source stated that these companies reserved an area of 200 square meters with a special wing inside the area of the sponsoring companies [sponsors] where they will display a scheme of action to develop the electrical services inside Sulaymaniyah. It is hoped that they will, also, take part in the campaign of reconstructing and re-qualifying electrical stations in Sulaymaniyah as well as all over Iraq.
The official spokesman of the German companies, Hoshiar Mustafa, said that their purpose is introducing the German companies to ministries government institutions and regional companies. A better introduction will be achieved after the German companies display their products. Then, it will be possible to conclude commercial contracts in future. He said "we expected this to happen through participating in the Fair, especially that these companies are entering the region for the first time. Some of these companies are Lucart Company, Bowels and Visa." (Source)Alsabah
Dr. Matheel Alwan, deputy director of the hospital, stated to "Voices of Iraq" independent news agency: "The grant offered by the Japanese government to Iraq will be utilized to develop the General Hospital in the province by a specialized Japanese company."
He added that the Japanese company will start shipping its equipments from Japan during the second half of next October; 40 containers will arrive in Iraq carrying very modern medical equipments, air condition systems and washing devices.
He said that the development process will include all divisions, after evacuating them from patients and doctors, successively.
Some of the most important sections included in the development are: the delivery and surgery rooms, drainage and air conditioning systems, elevators and other service divisions.
However, Dr. Alwan did not reveal when this development process will start or how long it will take and how much it will cost.
He said that the company promised to supply all divisions in the hospital with modern medical equipments because the current ones have expired.
Azzahraa General Hospital is the biggest one in Wasit with the capacity of 400 beds. In the early nineties of the past century, Japan built modern and developed hospitals in all the provinces of Iraq with capacity of 400 beds and 6 floors each.
The Japanese Government gave Iraq a big financial grant in the form of reconstructing and re-qualifying about 13 hospitals located in different parts of the country including Kurdistan region.
The Japanese Government, also, gave an additional grant to the Iraqi Public Health Ministry in the form of 700 ambulances to improve medical services in all the provinces.
Notably, the health status in Iraq is seriously deteriorating mainly because of the very old building of hospitals and the extreme shortage in medicines and other medical requirements. (Source)Aswat Iraq
He added that the distribution included blacksmiths, iron and steel sellers, aluminum factories and others who used to work in different places inside the city. The city council will supply them with the basic services and the directory of electricity has already started providing the area with electricity lines.
He, also, added "we even specified certain places to build a health centre, a mosque and a big restaurant there."
Baker Mohammad, vice president of Kurdistan Wage Earners Association, said that 10 tons of cement has been specified for each one of them at the cost of 65 USD a ton which is the official price while in black market, a ton worth's 150 USD. Most of the small factories' owners are members in this Association.
It is mentioned that the second Industrial District was built in 2005.
Kurdistan Wage Earners Association is none-government one. It takes care of the craftsmen and the small factories. It was established in 2004.
It is said that there had been some tension between the city council in Sulaymaniyah and the small factories' owners few months ago due to the council's resolution to close these factories which are located down town.(Source)Aswat Al Iraq
