Iraq Reconstruction News 31 December 2006

Iraq Reconstruction News
31 December 2006


1. Iraq's petroleum and gas infrastructure. Shows oil and gas fields and pipelines, exploration blocks, crude processing plants, pump stations, refineries, and tanker terminals. Includes ancillary map of "Distribution of Iraq's main ethnoreligious groups." http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g7611h+ct000895))

2. Gardeners shed blood to beautify Baghdad. BAGHDAD — The flowers appear overnight, and in the unlikeliest of places: carnations near a checkpoint, roses behind razor wire, and gardenias in a square known for suicide bombings. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/16321872.htm

3. Iraqi, Dutch officials discuss Iraqi investment. Iraqi Ambassador to Holland Siamend Abdulsamad Bana'a recently held a seminar on Iraq at Holland's Council Headquarters for Trade Development in The Hague. The seminar - New Developments in Iraq - highlighted investment opportunities in Iraq and Iraq's new investment rules. http://www.portaliraq.com/news/Iraqi%2C+Dutch+officials+discuss+Iraqi+investment__1112401.html

4. Basrah Children's Hospital provides More Than Healthcare. AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq – Of the thousands of reconstruction projects in Iraq, projects that benefit children have special interest. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is leading the construction efforts for the Basrah Children’s Hospital (BCH), which when complete, will provide help and comfort to generations of Iraqi children. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR06-12-22.html

5. World Bank Iraq Trust Fund Datasheet. The World Bank ITF Datasheet outlines contributions and implementation progress through end-November 2006. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/64168382-1092419012421/21166949/DATASHEETIRAQNov2006.pdf

6. U.S fund to carry out pioneering projects in Iraq. http://www.portaliraq.com/news/U.S+fund+to+carry+out+pioneering+projects+in+Iraq__1112393.html

7. World Bank and Iraq's Ministry of Environment sign agreement. Washington, December 21, 2006 - The World Bank and Iraq’s Ministry of Environment have signed a $5 million grant agreement to strengthen environmental management capacity. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/64168382-1092419012421/21170746/PressReleaseEnvironmentPrDec2106.pdf

8. Unemployment Fuelling Iraq Insurgency. InsideDefense.com NewsStand. The top U.S. commander overseeing military “lessons learned” in Iraq says economic factors like high unemployment, combined with a campaign of intimidation by insurgents and death squads, have fueled escalating violence against Iraqi troops and civilians, as well as added to the American death toll. http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,121041,00.html

9. Iraq Vignette: Police Reform in Basra. http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Iraq%20Vignette%3A%20Police%20Reform%20in%20Basra&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2Fproject%2Firaq%2Firaq122106%5Fpolice.rm

10. Defense IG to ramp up Iraq spending audits. The Defense inspector general will continue to pursue a series of audits related to spending and financial management for activities in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next year, and plans to launch several new studies on whether funds were used as Congress intended. http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=35745&dcn=e_gvet

11. Najaf Teaching Hospital Nears Completion. NAJAF, Iraq -- The Najaf Teaching Hospital, a project worth over $10 million, will open in early 2007 featuring a seven-story building capable of housing 420 patients and containing 13 operating rooms. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR06-12-21.html

12. Iraq Radio: The Other Half. The Other Half radio show explores the changing lives of women in Iraq through interviews, features and commentaries. The programmes are produced in Arabic by IWPR trainees and are broadcast on Iraqi radio stations. The contributors come from all over Iraq, while production is done by a team of four, three of them women, at IWPR's radio studio in Sulaimaniyah. http://www.iwpr.net/?p=irr&s=p&o=-&apc_state=henpcrs or http://www.iwpr.net/?p=irr&s=p&apc_state=henh

13. The State of Iraq: An Update. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/opinion/20ohanlon.html?ex=1167714000&en=bc9c6f515fd4b7f0&ei=5070 Go to "Multimedia".

14. Statement by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board on the Development Fund for Iraq, 18 December 2006. http://www.iamb.info/pr/pr121806.htm