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Baghdad, 07 December 2021 UNDP Iraq and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have signed a renewed partnership agreement to monitor and support acceleration of the implementation of socio-economic infrastructure projects in Iraq. The projects are implemented by the Government of Iraq (GoI) with loan assistance from JICA with the aim of improving the economic recovery and living conditions of Iraqi communities.

Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq Zena Ali Ahmad emphasizes, This 11th renewal of JICA UNDP partnership agreement is a demonstration of confidence and strong partnership showing the solid commitment of the Government and People of Japan. UNDP and JICA will work together to support the Government of Iraq in achieving and laying the foundation for growth in key service sectors, with focus on electricity infrastructure, water and sanitation, oil, transportation, and health.

JICA Chief Representative Kei Toyama states, Since 2009, UNDP has been an important partner for JICA in Iraq. JICA and UNDP had jointly supported for the enhancement of the project management capacity of our Iraqi counterparts to overcome many challenges by close monitoring and various trainings. We look forward that our partnership will further contribute to the acceleration of the implementation of GoIs projects under our joint support in this 11th agreement.

Despite the challenges imposed by COVID-19, two major Official Development Assistance Loan projects in electricity and fertilizer production sectors were completed during the first half of 2021 with support from JICA, adding 330 Megawatts from Al-Mussayab Thermal Power Plant in Babil governorate to the national grid and an increased annual output of 300,000 tons of urea fertilizer from the rehabilitation of one production line against the previous two-lines production of 180,000 tons from the South Fertilizer Company in Khor Al-Zubair, Basra Governorate, feeding reliable supply of urea fertilizer to 50% of local market demand.

Through signing this agreement, the GoI, JICA and UNDP reaffirm their commitment to improve the state of national infrastructure, public services, and private sector development, advancing Iraq closer to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Excerpt from:
Infrastructure projects for socio-economic development in Iraq accelerated with partnership renewal between UNDP Iraq and JICA - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Issued on: 08/12/2021 - 17:33

It's a job normally reserved for men, but one group of women in Iraq has taken on the dangerous task of clearing mines in the northern region of Mosul. The area is littered with hidden explosives left behind by the Islamic State group. We take a closer look at these women risking their lives and shattering stereotypes along the way.

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea International Film Festival is running until December 15 in the port city of Jeddah. Four years ago, Saudi Arabia lifted its 35-year ban on cinemas. But critics say the glitz and glamour are a smokescreen for the kingdom's continuing crackdown on dissent.

Finally, we look at an unlikely role model for the next generation of kung fu fighters. Fadel Othman is a Syrian amputee who lost his leg in the decade-long war. But his disability hasn't stopped him from training dozens of children at his academy in western Aleppo.

Read the rest here:
Middle East matters - The women clearing Iraq's landmines - FRANCE 24

By Osama Al-Sharif*

Of all the Iraqi religious scholars turned politicians, Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr is the most controversial, bold and charismatic. He comes from a family that has stood up to oppressive regimes on nationalistic grounds. At 47, he is still young and relatively inexperienced. Once an ally of Iran, he is now distancing himself from Tehran, but is also careful to underline his hostility to the US presence in the war-torn country.

At one point he led an armed militia, the Mahdi Army, to fight the Americans, only to break it up and form a political coalition of like-minded figures that is proud of its Shiite background, but not at the expense of the Iraqi national or Arab identity. Between the 2003 US invasion, which resulted in the dismantling of Baath Party rule, and the chaotic formation of an ethnosectarian political setup, Al-Sadr never fully embraced the new system, even when the Shiite politicians were firmly in control of the country.

Of all the major Shiite blocs and political parties, his was the only one brave enough to denounce the political quota system and the rampant corruption beleaguering the new Iraq. And he is among the few political figures to have called for the dissolution of the armed pro-Iran militias that were formed to stand up to Daesh, the radical Sunni revisionist movement that at one point was only a few kilometers from Baghdad.

The last decade, with its myriad seismic political and economic events, has ripened Al-Sadrs political vision. He remains a charismatic figure, especially among Iraqs disenfranchised Shiites, who failed to benefit from the rise of powerful leaders such as Nouri Al-Maliki and Haider Abadi.

This is perhaps why Al-Sadrs Sairoon alliance emerged as the clear winner in Octobers general election at the expense of pro-Iran blocs such as Hadi Al-Amiris Fatah coalition a political front for the pro-Iran militias. The phenomenal rejection by voters included Al-Maliki, Abadi, Ammar Al-Hakim and Ayad Allawi.

They all rejected the outcome of the elections, claiming nationwide fraud, and Al-Amiri and his ally Qais Al-Khazali threatened to use force. Their firebrand rhetoric may have prompted last months failed assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

The Shiite powers formed a Coordination Framework that called for a manual recount of the ballots. And when the election committee confirmed the results after such a count, they invited Al-Sadr to a meeting. None wanted to dispose of the quota system that favored them. But Al-Sadr had another objective in mind: He reiterated that he wanted to form a national majority government that will be neither eastern nor western; i.e., that will end the convenient status quo that has brought the country to its knees. He will either form such a majority government with the help of the Sunni Arabs, the Kurds and the independents who were behind the 2019 mass protests, or else sit in opposition.

He would also welcome others to join, but only on his own terms. Even then, his demand that the pro-Iran militias be dissolved stands, while he continues to promise to expose those behind the assassination attempt on Al-Kadhimi.When push comes to shove, Al-Sadr and his new-found allies including the Arab Sunnis (Mohammed Al-Halbousis Taqaddum), the Kurds (Barzani branch) and the independents do have the upper hand. His rivals, under the umbrella of the Coordination Framework, may lose the glue that keeps them together when they realize that the election results will not be overturned.

Al-Sadr is proving to be a maverick by opposing the Americans and insisting on doing away with pro-Iran militias. Timing is very important and it may be on his side. The Americans are supposed to be leaving by the end of the year as they review their military presence in the Middle East. The threat of the pro-Iran militias subjugating the political system has subsided since the assassination of Qassem Soleimani last year. It is now clear that Irans grip over Iraq is waning and for many reasons. The Iraqi people are fed up with Iranian meddling, the vast corruption of the ruling political class and the failure to deal with existential economic, political and environmental challenges.

Al-Sadr has praised Al-Kadhimis efforts to keep Iraq neutral in the US-Iran showdown. He may decide to let him stay as prime minister, even if this is anathema to his Shiite rivals. This would be a major step forward for Iraq, which is trying to revive its national identity and rejoin the Arab fold. If Al-Sadr succeeds in toppling the ethnosectarian system, it will be a historic milestone in the countrys recovery. His failure would be disastrous on all fronts, so his gambit must succeed.

Originally posted here:
Al-Sadr's Gambit Must Succeed If Iraq Is To Have Bright Future OpEd - Eurasia Review

Iraq's water ministry has completed procedures to sue Iran at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Tehran's water policy, which it is argued has reduced the flow of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers creating shortages for Iraq.

"The Ministry of Water Resources has submitted a letter to the foreign ministry and the cabinet, and completed all technical and legal procedures for the lawsuit," Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani told Al-Hurra TV.

"The decision to take matters further is now up to the foreign ministry and the Iraqi government," he added.

Although the two rivers make up the vast majority of Iraq's surface water supply, they both originate outside the country and are vulnerable to the upstream dam projects in Syria, Turkey and Iran. Rising temperatures have also led to an increase in evaporation and research has shown that the country is now about 40 per cent desert.

READ: Bleak future awaits MENA if climate change effects not tackled

Baghdad has accused Tehran of cutting off water that feeds into the rivers that flow into the Tigris and increasing its dam construction which has threatened Iraq's agricultural sector and water security. Over the past 30 years, Iran has built around 600 dams.

Last week, the water ministry warned that Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates could dry up by 2040 due to falling water levels and climate change.

However, Iran is facing its own water shortages, with the some 97 per cent of the country experiencing some level of drought, according to the country's Meteorological Organisation. Late last month, the protests erupted in the central city of Isfahan over the dried up riverbed of the Zyandeh Rud River with calls for the government to revive the river. Farmers, who are the worst affected by the mismanagement, accuse the government of redirecting the water to other cities and industrial complexes.

READ: Syria reservoir dries up, increasing concerns over climate change in region

See the article here:
Iraq moves to sue Iran over water access - Middle East Monitor

US hedge fund tycoon Michael Steinhardt has surrendered $70 million of stolen antiquities, several of which came from the Middle East, and accepted a lifetime ban on acquiring more historic artefacts, New York prosecutors have said.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said Mr Steinhardt, a billionaire financier and philanthropist, had bought antiquities stolen from Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and other countries, many of which passed through the hands of antique traffickers.

They included a multi-million-dollar bulls head statue stolen from Lebanon during its civil war, a gold bowl looted from Iraq during the ISIS expansion, and a gold coffin stolen from Egypt in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. Three stone death masks, approximately 9,000 years old, originated in the Judean foothills in Israel.

Three death masks, circa 6,000 to 7,000BC, were crafted from stone and originated in the foothills of the Judean mountains, most likely in the Shephelah in Israel. Photo: Manhattan District Attorneys Office

"For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artefacts without concern for the legality of his actions, Mr Vance said in a statement on Monday.

He cared little about the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe," added the prosecutor.

Mr Steinhardt denied criminal wrongdoing in resolving the matter, which ended a grand jury investigation into him.

Still, the deal involves a lifetime ban from acquiring antiques on the legal art market.

Mr Steinhardts lawyers said in a statement he was pleased that the investigation was over, and items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries.

They also said Mr Steinhardt may seek compensation from dealers who misled him.

Mr Steinhardt, 81, built his wealth running the hedge fund Steinhardt Partners, which he closed in 1995 to focus on Jewish charity work.

He is worth $1.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and is a big donor to such institutions as New York University and the Metropolitan Museum, which named a gallery after him.

Mr Vance said the antiquities will be returned to their rightful owners in Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. Law enforcement in these countries assisted in the probe.

According to a 142-page case file, 138 of the antiquities came from Greece, Israel or Italy, with Mr Steinhardt once acknowledging that a majority of items he bought from one dealer "did not have provenance".

Among the antiquities was a 4th century BC wrought Grecian stags head worth $3.5 million that Steinhardt loaned in 1993 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The stags head had been Found in Western Turkey, according to undated handwritten notes in Mr Steinhardt's records.

Information from a seller identifying the find spot of an unprovenanced antiquity is often an indication that it has been looted, the case file said.

Mr Vance formed an antiquities trafficking unit in December 2017. He leaves office after 12 years at the end of the month.

A 2008 file photo of Michael Steinhardt. Reuters

Updated: December 7th 2021, 6:23 PM

Original post:
Chastised US tycoon returns $70m of looted antiquities from Iraq, Lebanon and beyond - The National