Thursday, June 28, 2007
Govt plans to employ three million
Politics
(Al-Sabaah) - The Government is working out an economic plan to employ three million unemployed to end the unemployment problem in the country. Vice President Dr. Adel Abdulmahdi informed Grand Ayatollah Mr. Ali Sistani about a new national front which includes four main political parties and efforts which aim to widen it, an MP close to the Prime Minister said that Mr. Maliki hopes to make a comprehensive reshuffle soon and he considers a suggestion to decrease the number of ministries to twenty.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, unemployment
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Iraq unveils five year reconstruction plan
Reconstruction, International
(BBC) - Iraq's vice-president has spelled out the details of a five-year reconstruction plan at a key UN conference on the country's future. Adel Abdul-Mahdi outlined annual growth targets and a series of pledges on security, the rule of law, protecting human rights and tackling corruption. International pledges for the plan are expected next month.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged members to back the plan and not let Iraq face its problems alone.
Representatives from almost 90 countries were attending the meeting on the International Compact with Iraq, a partnership between Baghdad and donors launched last July.
Mr Abdul-Mahdi, one of two Iraqi vice-presidents, vowed to adopt legislation to share oil wealth among the regions and a scheme to give amnesty to militants who renounced violence. The plan projects economic growth of 15.4% in 2007, compared to 3% last year. It also targets 3.5m barrels a day of crude oil by 2011 - doubling the annual crude export revenue to about $50bn.
Mr Ban said the five-year plan should be seen as "a tool for unlocking Iraq's own potential". He said: "The challenges ahead are immense. I am sure you will all agree that we cannot leave Iraq on its own to cope with them. The UN plans a meeting no later than the end of April for the international response to supporting the compact.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged members to back the plan and not let Iraq face its problems alone.
Representatives from almost 90 countries were attending the meeting on the International Compact with Iraq, a partnership between Baghdad and donors launched last July.
Mr Abdul-Mahdi, one of two Iraqi vice-presidents, vowed to adopt legislation to share oil wealth among the regions and a scheme to give amnesty to militants who renounced violence. The plan projects economic growth of 15.4% in 2007, compared to 3% last year. It also targets 3.5m barrels a day of crude oil by 2011 - doubling the annual crude export revenue to about $50bn.
Mr Ban said the five-year plan should be seen as "a tool for unlocking Iraq's own potential". He said: "The challenges ahead are immense. I am sure you will all agree that we cannot leave Iraq on its own to cope with them. The UN plans a meeting no later than the end of April for the international response to supporting the compact.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq Compact, reconstruction, U.N.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Attempt on VP's life could have been inside job
Security, Politics
(AFP) Police probing how a bomb was smuggled into a Baghdad ministry in a bid to kill Iraq's Shiite vice president believe the attack was carried out by an insider, a security official said yesterday. "Thirty-five employees of the public works ministry are now under interrogation by the interior ministry about how the bomb was brought into the building," the official said on condition of anonymity.
"Most of them are bodyguards and ministry security men," he said, adding that those wounded in the explosion will be questioned once they recover. Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi escaped with little more than a few scratches when a bomb exploded Monday next to a room in the ministry where he was attending a function, but five people were killed. State television described Monday's bombing as an assassination attempt while the security official said it appeared that high explosive was used.
"Employees were told a day before that the vice president was going to attend the ceremony. So the person who planted the bomb was already aware that he was going to be present," the security official said. "They started preventing visitors from entering the ministry a day earlier, so the criminal must be from inside. Early investigations indicate that an employee ... smuggled TNT into the building," he said.
"Most of them are bodyguards and ministry security men," he said, adding that those wounded in the explosion will be questioned once they recover. Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi escaped with little more than a few scratches when a bomb exploded Monday next to a room in the ministry where he was attending a function, but five people were killed. State television described Monday's bombing as an assassination attempt while the security official said it appeared that high explosive was used.
"Employees were told a day before that the vice president was going to attend the ceremony. So the person who planted the bomb was already aware that he was going to be present," the security official said. "They started preventing visitors from entering the ministry a day earlier, so the criminal must be from inside. Early investigations indicate that an employee ... smuggled TNT into the building," he said.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, assassination attempt
Monday, February 26, 2007
Abdul-Mahdi survives apparent assassination attempt
Security, Politics
(AP) The Iraqi vice president escaped an apparent assassination attempt Monday but suffered bruises and was taken a hospital to be examined, an aide said, after a parked car bomb exploded near a building where he was attending a conference. At least 10 people were killed and 18 wounded in the blast targeting a municipalities office in western Baghdad.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite and one of two Iraqi vice presidents, fell during the blast and was taken to the hospital to undergo an examination, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. The aide said the vice president was giving a speech when the blast occurred. The conference, which included municipal and public works officials, was in the upscale Mansour neighborhood that houses many embassies and has been the scene of kidnappings blamed on militants.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite and one of two Iraqi vice presidents, fell during the blast and was taken to the hospital to undergo an examination, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. The aide said the vice president was giving a speech when the blast occurred. The conference, which included municipal and public works officials, was in the upscale Mansour neighborhood that houses many embassies and has been the scene of kidnappings blamed on militants.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, assassination attempt, Mansour
