Iraq Reconstruction News 19 February 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
19 February 2007


1. Rebuild Iraq 2007, May 07-10, 2007, Amman, Jordan. The U.S. Department of Commerce is pleased to certify the 4th annual "Rebuild Iraq" trade exhibition and conference, to be held May 07-10, 2007, in Amman, Jordan. Last year's event attracted over 1,000 exhibitors from 48 countries and more than 13,000 professional visitors, including 4,000 Iraqis. The leading industry sectors highlighted were Building/Construction, Electricity, Water Resources, Oil/Gas, Health, and ICT. For more information, please visit the event Web site. For exhibiting opportunities through the Commerce Department-certified U.S. Pavilion, U.S. companies and their agents/distributors should review the exhibitor package (1.85MB PDF only) and contact Mr. Giles Hazel at tel. (201) 251-2600 x119, e-mail: gilesh@kallman.com.

2. Interview of Samir Sumaida'ie, Iraqi Ambassador to U.S. http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Washington%20Journal%3A%20Sunday%2C%20Feb.%2018&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2Fproject%2Firaq%2Firaq%5Fwj021807%5Fsumaidaie.rm

3. Crop prospects and food situation - No. 1, Feb 2007. HIGHLIGHTS: Favourable prospects for 2007 world cereal crops, mainly following expansion of plantings in Europe and North America, coupled with generally satisfactory weather conditions. FAO’s latest estimates put global cereal output in 2006 at just under 2 billion tonnes, 2.7 percent lower than in the previous year but still above average. In percentage terms production of wheat declined the most, then coarse grains, while the reduction for rice is seen to be marginal. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-6YK9GD?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq

4. Iraqi Sunni Lands Show New Oil and Gas Promise -- KARABILA, Iraq, Feb. 18 — In a remote patch of the Anbar desert just 20 miles from the Syrian border, a single blue pillar of flanges and valves sits atop an enormous deposit of oil and natural gas that would be routine in this petroleum-rich country except for one fact: this is Sunni territory. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/world/middleeast/19oilfields.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

5. WindsofChange.Net Iraq Report, 19 Feb/07 http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009464.php#more

6. Jihad: the fall in oil exports due to bad weather. The official spokesman for the Oil Ministry said, last Saturday, that Iraq's oil exports fell last January because of poor weather conditions and not because of the closure of Basrah oil port, , as was mentioned by some press reports. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3158

7. Dangers of the Turkish dam “Aliso” on Iraq’s water resources. Its share of the Tigris will shrink to 9.7 billion cubic meters annually. Iraq fired an intensive international campaign, to explain the dangers of dam ”Aliso” which the Turkish government intends to build on the Turkish Part of the river Tigris, and that will deprive thousands of hectares of Iraqi land from water. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3156

8. Water shortage leads people to drink from rivers - BAGHDAD, 18 February 2007 (IRIN) - Umm Muhammad Jalal, 39, starts every day walking to a river 7km away from her temporary home in a displacement camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, 70km west of the capital, Baghdad. Because of severe water shortages, she and many others make the daily trip to the river to collect water for all their needs. http://www.irinnews.org:80/Report.aspx?ReportId=70243

9. Khamoushi calls for more extensive trade exchanges with Iraq - IRNA - Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce and Industries Alinaqi Khamoushi here Saturday called for development of of economic exchanges with Iraq and improvement of the relevant laws and regulations. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3186

10. Artifact smugglers arrested. Azzaman, February 19, 2007. Anti-crime squads in the southern province of Missan have seized a group of smugglers trading in archaeological artifacts. The police say they were tipped that one of the smugglers was hiding ancient relics and was on his way to take them to sell them to middleman with contacts abroad. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-19\kurd.htmA

11. Transport workers strike over fuel shortages. Azzaman, February 15, 2007. Taxi and bus drivers are staging a strike in the northern city of Mosul over fuel shortages. The strike has almost brought life to a standstill in the city home to nearly two million people. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-15\kurd.htmA

12. Ambulance drivers risk their lives daily to save injured. USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — Driving an ambulance in Iraq is a labor of love. Drivers risk carjackings, roadside bombs and sniper fire — all to save other people's lives. If their ambulance does arrive safely at the scene of a bombing, then they often must face a confused, emotional crowd. "People are in hysterical situations," ambulance driver Hussein Mohamed Bressem explains, "so everyone wants to save his loved one." http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-15-iraq-week_x.htm

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