BAGHDAD (Reuters) – In Iraq where renovating a single street can take years, government plans for a multi-billion dollar high-speed train to rival Japan’s bullet train have been greeted with skepticism by many Iraqis struggling to get even basic electricity services.

The $10 billion project to build a railway connecting Baghdad to the southern provinces is the latest in a series of large-scale infrastructure proposals by Iraq’s government to try to rebuild the OPEC oil-producing country after years of war.

BAGHDAD, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Iraq’s electricity minister has
resigned on the request of the country’s premier after
irregularities worth $1.7 billion were uncovered in power deals
with two foreign firms, a government official said.

Ali al-Moussawi, media adviser to Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki, said on Thursday Maliki had accepted Raad Shallal’s
resignation earlier this week.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s fiercely anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has warned that U.S. military trainers will be targets if they stay in the country beyond a year-end deadline for American troops to leave.

The statement from Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia fought U.S. troops until 2008, follows a deal by Iraqi leaders to allow Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to negotiate with the United States on whether to keep trainers in Iraq after the deadline.

ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – - In a country only slowly recovering from the impact of war and economic sanctions, Iraq’s state-owned car assembly plant is a hive of activity.

Workers bustle around, fixing tyres and bumpers on to trucks. The sprawling plant in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, is filled with brand new vehicles.

ISKANDARIYA, Iraq, July 28 (Reuters) – - In a country only
slowly recovering from the impact of war and economic sanctions,
Iraq’s state-owned car assembly plant is a hive of activity.

Workers bustle around, fixing tyres and bumpers on to
trucks. The sprawling plant in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km
(25 miles) south of Baghdad, is filled with brand new vehicles.

BAGHDAD, July 20 (Reuters) – - It is a tough road ahead for
Iraqi private banks required to raise their capital to boost
business as they battle against decades of state dominance to
win a slice of the asset base from government-run enterprises.

A poor credit culture, lack of a modern banking system, and
the dominance of state banks have slowed development in Iraq’s
key financial sector more than eight years after the U.S.-led
invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

BAGHDAD, July 18 (Reuters) – Trade Bank of Iraq is operating
normally and expansion plans are moving ahead, its new president
said on Monday to allay fears of correspondent banks after its
former chief fled amid allegations of financial irregularities.

Hamdiya al-Jaf, who was recently appointed chairwoman and
president of the state-run bank, said TBI is operating
independently and without political interference.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s leaders hope the country’s still largely untapped oil wealth can one day rival Saudi Arabia and provide a decent living to its citizens after years of conflict and chaos.

But for 12-year-old Abbas Mohammed and his family, it is used plastic bottles and empty aluminum cans that keep them alive. Mohammed spends his school summer holidays picking through a Baghdad garbage dump so he can sell the discarded items and help support his family.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – At least 21 people were killed on Tuesday when bombs exploded at a checkpoint outside a provincial governor’s house in central Iraq, the latest attack targeting a government building, local authorities said.

One suicide bomber blew himself up and at least one car bomb exploded outside the Diwaniya governor’s house, 150 km (95 miles) south of Baghdad, as guards changed shifts at the checkpoint. Most of the victims were guards, officials said.

BAGHDAD, June 12 (Reuters) – Iraq’s cabinet approved $927
million in financing for electricity generation projects on
Sunday in a move by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government
to defuse simmering public anger over chronic power outages.

The funds cleared by the cabinet followed a complaint by
Electricty Minister Raad Shallal that his ministry had not been
allocated enough financing to tackle what is one of the biggest
complaints of ordinary Iraqis. [ID:nLDE757239]