Iraq

09 April 2022; MEMO: The Iraqi government reiterated on Friday that it owes $20 billion in foreign debts and $48 billion in internal debts, Jordanian news agency Petra reported.

Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, advisor for financial affairs to the Iraqi prime minister, said that 67 per cent of the internal debts ($48 billion) is currently deposited in the Central Bank, pointing out a plan to repay the debts in three years.

Iraq's Oil Ministry exported $11.07 billion worth of oil in March, the highest level in 50 years, as crude oil prices soared in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said in a statement that it had exported 3.244 million barrels per day, at an average price of more than $110 in March, achieving the highest revenues since 1972.

According to the statement, 99.11 million barrels of crude oil were exported from oil fields in central and southern Iraq, while 1.4 million barrels were exported from the Kirkuk fields through Ceyhan port.

04 April 2022; MEMO: A roadside bomb yesterday targeted a military convoy carrying supplies for the US-led coalition against Daesh in northern Iraq, Anadolu reported.

The agency quoted a police captain in the Saladin Governorate as saying that the explosion took place in Saladin's main road as a column of civilian trucks carrying supplies for the coalition forces passed by.

The source, who asked not to be named, said the explosion did not cause any material or human damage.

BAGHDAD, Apr 2 (NNN-NINA) – Iraq exported more than 100.56 million barrels of crude oil in Mar, bringing in revenues of 11.07 billion U.S. dollars, the highest monthly revenue since 1972, the Iraqi oil ministry said yesterday.

The average selling price for crude oil in the month was 110.09 dollars per barrel, according to a ministry statement, citing statistics from the State Organisation for Marketing of Oil.

30 March 2022; MEMO: The Iraqi government said on Tuesday that it is studying the possibility of suing Israel for compensation over its air strike against the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre near Baghdad, Arab48.com has reported. Israeli fighter jets bombed the French-built, but unfinished, nuclear reactor on 7 June 1981.

27 March 2022; MEMO: The Iraqi Parliament on Saturday failed to elect the country's president after dozens of lawmakers boycotted the voting session, Anadolu Agency reports.

A statement issued by the Parliament said 126 out of 329 legislators boycotted the session.

At least 220 deputies should attend the session for presidential elections to take place.

A parliamentary statement said the Parliament set March 30 to hold a session to elect the president.

BAGHDAD, March 26 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament failed again on Saturday to vote for a president after Iran-backed groups boycotted the session, in a setback to an alliance led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr which won the election and threatened to remove them from politics.

Sadr had hoped parliament would elect Rebar Ahmed, a veteran Kurdish intelligence official and current interior minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

BAGHDAD, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's northern city of Mosul, once a battleground for fierce battles to dislodge militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, held a four-day festival for traditional music in a bid to breathe life into the worst destroyed areas of the city.

"The Mosul Festival of Traditional Music is the first festival held in the city. It aims to revive traditional music in Mosul and introduce new talents," said Farah Qadour, a senior official of a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) participating in the festival, told Xinhua on Friday.

245 March 2022; MEMO: On the sidelines of Mosul's Traditional Music Festival, an Arabic calligraphy exhibition draws visitors to Mosul's museum, a cultural institution that had been looted and damaged by Daesh, Reuters reports.

Visitors gathered in Mosul's museum on Thursday (24 March) for the opening of a calligraphy exhibition entitled 'The Rhythm of Letters' by Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb, an Iraqi calligrapher.

20 March 2022; MEMO: Iraq's Kurdish region has never been a threat to anyone, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement marking the Newroz holiday, Masrour Barzani said the KRG will continue defending and upholding its constitutional rights.

KRG "will not surrender its rights under any pressure," he added.

Barzani said the Kurdish region will remain a factor of stability in Iraq and the Middle East.