Thursday, November 23, 2006
Iraqi media round-up
World Bank in Erbil
(Kurdistani Nwe) - The World Bank has opened a representative office in Erbil, after spending several months conducting research in Iraqi Kurdistan. Osman Shwani, the regional planning minister, told Kurdistani Nwe that officials held extensive meetings with a World Bank delegation, who expressed a willingness to provide aid to the region in a number of different fields. (Kurdistani Nwe is political daily issued by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan)
Collaborators investigated
(Hawlati) - A judge from the Kurdistan parliament is expected to head a committee set up by Kurdistan president Masoud Barzani to investigate the files of those suspected of spying for - and collaborating with - the Baathist regime. The PUK, KDP and other local parties will have representatives on the committee. A source told Hawlati that it wants its representatives on the committee to be members of the KDP's intelligence. (Hawlati is and independent newspaper issued weekly in Sulaimaniyah)
Iraq and Syria to form security committees
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) - Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a press statement that the Syrian delegation headed by Syria's foreign minister, Walid al-Mu'allim, that recently visited Iraq agreed with Iraq to form security committees to control the borders between the two countries and exchange information. The Iraqi side also discussed financial and economic issues with the Syrian delegation. (Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily paper.)
Hundreds of insurgents killed this year
(Azzaman) - Multi-national forces' spokesman General William Caldwell said in a press conference that his troops, together with Iraqi and tribal forces, have dealt a heavy blow to al-Qaeda. But he admitted that the insurgent group had not lost its operational power and "the war continues against it ". He also said that US and Iraqi forces had over the last ten months killed 425 foreign insurgents and arrested 676, the largest number being Syrians and Egyptians. Caldwell said most had infiltrated across Syria's borders. (London-based Azzaman is issued daily by Saad al-Bazaz.)
New border fence
(Asharq al-Awsat) - Iraq and Kuwait have signed an agreement that allows Kuwait to finish building an iron fence along their border and obliges it to pay compensation to Iraqi farmers harmed by the project, officials from the two countries have confirmed. Khalid al-Jarallah, the Kuwaiti deputy foreign minister, told reporters after he had met with his Iraqi counterpart that "we have signed an agreement that allows Kuwait to finish building the security fence". (London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi is issued daily.)
