Iraq Reconstruction News 24 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
24 January 2007


1. Kurdish oil boss denies oil law claim. www.Upstreamonline.com A top Iraqi Kurdish oil official denied an agreement has been reached on a draft oil law for Iraq and said more meetings were needed to resolve outstanding issues, according to reports. http://www.upstreamonline.com/incoming/article126622.ece

2. Baghdad bids to break stalemate. www.Upstreamonline.com Senior Iraqi officials will meet again today in a bid to resolve a last-minute hitch in plans to present a landmark law on the oil industry to Cabinet this week, senior government sources said. http://www.upstreamonline.com/incoming/article126625.ece

3. Kurds deny Iraq oil law accord. LONDON, Jan 23 (KUNA) -- Kurdish officials have dismissed a suggestion that Iraqs main political factions had overcome their differences on a proposed oil law and said that a final agreement could still be sometime away. http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=945152

4. Police Recruiting Day in Fallujah. http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/002933.php

5. Iraqi Minister of Industry: 230 factories functioning in Iraq. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093140206

6. D.N.O declines re-negotiations over new oil draft law-Iraq. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093140012

7. ABOT isolation spools installed ahead of time. BASRAH, Iraq – A shutdown to install four isolation spools at the Al Basrah Oil Terminal in the Persian Gulf was completed ahead of time, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-01-20-2.html

8. Iraqi officials wrangle with Kurds over oil law. BAGHDAD, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Senior Iraqi officials will meet again on Tuesday in an effort to resolve a last-minute hitch in plans to present a landmark law on the oil industry to cabinet this week, senior government sources said. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L23884528&WTmodLoc=World-R5-Alertnet-2

9. Provincial Reconstruction Teams Building Local Iraqi Leadership. http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=January&x=20070117180624esnamfuak0.9784815

10. IWPR Iraq Press Monitor. http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1169424000-2-1169510400-3-icr&o1=month-1,year-2007&month=1&year=2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1169424000-2-1169510400-3-icr&o=c-1-1169510400-2-1169596800-3-icr&o1=month-1,year-2007&month=1&year=2007

11. Brookings Iraq Index, 22 January 2007. http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

12. Journalists call for protection in Iraq. Associated Press. BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders on Thursday urged Iraqi authorities to step up efforts to protect journalists here after, it said, six journalists and media workers were killed in less than a week. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_journalists_killed_1

13. Iraqi Troops Bedeviled By a Range of Problems. BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Concerned that an Iraqi military base had grown too dependent on U.S. supplies, American officials decided to test how it would cope if forced to rely on its own supply lines for fuel. The result: three days of intermittent blackouts. U.S. troops finally rushed emergency fuel to turn the base's lights on and keep its vehicles moving. "The Iraqis were not stepping up," says Lt. Col. Kenneth Kirkpatrick, who supervises logistics at the Taji base on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116917142338481046.html?mod=special_page_iraq_1

14. Iraqi dinar surges despite violence, economic hardships. Azzaman. The Iraqi currency is appreciating vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar but economists warn the surge in value may further increase economic hardships. The dinar has risen to nearly 1,200 to the dollar from about 1,500. The U.S. currency has been retreating against almost all major currencies but government officials see its decline in Iraq as a sign of economic well-being. Baghdad University economists said they did not share the government’s optimism. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-01-19\kurd.htm

15. Wheat ships arrive in Um Qasr port. http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?source=akbar&mlf=interpage&sid=35848

16. Instability makes holiday treats a little less sweet. USA TODAY. BAGHDAD — The Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha has been over for more than a week, but the al-Baraka Bakery is still feeling the pinch from a slow season. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-01-11-iraqweek_x.htm