NEW YORK (AFX), August 4 – The dollar fell against most major currencies Friday after disappointing jobs data deepened doubts over prospects of further interest rate rises.
Bank to set up in Jordan for Iraq aid
The Japan Times Online, August 4 – The Japan Bank for International Cooperation is planning to set up a representative office in the Jordanian capital of Amman by the end of the year as part of preparations for offering aid to Iraq.
IMF OKs Iraq Econnomic reform Program
Easy Bourse, August 4 – The International Monetary Fund said Thursday it approved two reviews of Iraq’s economic reform program, keeping open a precautionary credit line to the government.
Congress called to expand oversight of Iraq rebuilding
The Providence Journal, August 4 – A federal auditor says that the case of Rhode Island-based Custer-Battles illustrates some of the pitfalls of insufficient planning for postwar reconstruction.
U.S. Interests on Line in Iraq
ROBERT H. REID, AP, August 4 – BAGHDAD, Iraq — American generals have laid bare the facts: Baghdad is on the brink of chaos, and the specter of all-out civil war looms.
Instead of standing down, as had been hoped this year, the U.S. military is preparing for a major operation to try to take back Baghdad’s streets from Shiite and Sunni extremists. The goal is to stem sectarian violence that Iraqi security forces could not control.
US donates USD 2.7 million to Pakistan for troops” deployment at Afghan
KUNA, August 3 – The United States Thursday donated USD 2.7 million in aid to its war ally, Pakistan, for deployment of 50 additional Frontier Constabulary (FC) troops at the porous Pak-Afghan border to curb drug smuggling and terrorism.
Hezbollah kills eight Israelis in southern Lebanon, northern Israel
RAMALLAH, Aug 3 (KUNA) – Two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with Hezbollah in southern lebanon, while six others were killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks against northern Israel, accroding to the Israeli army and medical sources Thursday.
Kidnap of Iraqi-American commerce chamber chairman postpones forum in Jordan
Kuna, August 8 – As a form of protest to the kidnapping of its chairman in Baghdad by unknown gunmen, the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IACCI) postponed on Wednesday a forum scheduled to take place in Jordan.
Iraq Oil Pipeline two years Behind
Washington Post, August 3 – A project to build a critical oil pipeline in northern Iraq has fallen more than two years behind schedule, costing the Iraqi government $14.8 billion in revenue and jeopardizing the safety of local water supplies, according to a report by U.S. government auditors released yesterday.
Johanns, U.S. Agriculture Secretary visits Iraq
Brown Field Network, August 8 – The US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns arrived in Iraq Monday to discuss the future of Iraqi agriculture with high level officials and Iraqi agricultural producers. Agriculture is the second largest industry in Iraq and employs a quarter of the nation’s work force.
