Iraq Financial News

The Iraq government on Thursday ordered the expulsion of Sweden’s ambassador over the desecration of the Islamic holy book, Quran hours after angry protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, overrunning the diplomatic compound and starting a small fire. The turn of events was reported after an Iraqi refugee threatened to burn a Koran in Stockholm, prompting hundreds of protesters in Baghdad to storm the Swedish embassy.

Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, online videos purported to show. The videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada Sadr. It wasn't clear if there were any staff inside the complex at the time.

Medical tourism in India has been growing at a galloping pace. Interestingly, among the top 10 countries from where medical tourists arrive, nine happen to be majority-Muslim: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Oman, Turkey, Iraq, the UAE, Sudan and Nigeria, the other being Nepal. This is a true, measurable sign of India's rising stature in the world.

India invited the West’s anger over Russian oil. B...

The updated 2023 Henley Passport Index Tuesday placed Singapore as the world's most powerful passport with visa-free access to 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world.  Three European countries Germany, Italy, and Spain move up one slot with 190 visa-free destinations and shared the second place. Japan has been knocked off the top spot for the first time in five years and slipped to third place as the number of destinations its passport can access without a visa fell to 189.

Russian oil due to slimmer discounts and payment troubles and increase their intake of crude from their traditional Gulf suppliers such as Iraq and the UAE, which are willing to offer increased credit periods, a petroleum ministry official said. The discount on Russian oil has now deeply eroded and so it doesn’t make sense to buy much from Russia, said the official, who didn’t want to be named. The official didn’t give details on the current level of discount.

Germany is confident it will have the best equipped army division amongst European NATO allies in 2025, Army Chief Alfons Mais told Reuters, as countries are scrambling to gear up their troops in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the moment, Berlin does not have a single combat-ready division, a military unit comprising more than 20,000 troops. It aims to have the first of three divisions operational by 2025, with the second to follow in 2027.

GANDHINAGAR : The US and its allies are building on actions to crack down on efforts by Russia to evade sanctions, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday. "One of our core goals this year is to combat Russia’s efforts to evade our sanctions. Our coalition is building on the actions we have taken in recent months to crack down on these efforts," Yellen said during a press conference at the sidelines of the third G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting.

reliance on the dollar. The dominance of the US dollar in international trade and finance has faced increasing challenges, leading to discussions about the future of global economic dynamics and the potential consequences for various stakeholders. This trend, known as de-dollarization, refers to the process by which countries aim to reduce their reliance on the US dollar as the dominant global currency.

Investing.com — With U.S. inflation data and rate hike concerns baked into the cake, OPEC did a grandstanding Thursday on its demand forecast for the current year and next to show all was hunky and dory with the oil market. 

Narendra Modi is on his two-day visit to France where he addressed the Indian diaspora at the La Seine Musicale. On his arrival, he was received by Prime Minister Borne at the airport in a special gesture. A ceremonial welcome and Guard of honour were accorded to Prime Minister Modi upon his arrival at the airport. Some of the iconic quotes made by PM Modi during his speech-

NEW DELHI : At a time when Iraq has emerged as a major supplier of crude oil to India, the Centre is looking at resuming operations of state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd’s (OVL) hydrocarbon exploration block in Iraq, which has been under force majeure since 2003, said two people with knowledge of the development. One of the persons said Indian energy companies may look at investing in oil and gas assets in the West Asian country. “Several aspects would be considered for resumption of operations at the stalled project and investments, including the security situation.

New York Post, this gaffe occurred just a day after Zelensky expressed frustration at Ukraine not receiving an invitation to join the North Atlantic alliance, only to retract his statement shortly afterwards. “Vladimir and I … I shouldn’t be so familiar," Biden said during a press conference in the Lithuanian capital.

A multibillion-dollar agreement signed with France’s TotalEnergies could help resolve Iraq’s longstanding electricity crisis

Reuters. Though the resolution was opposed by the United States and the European Union who opined that it would conflict with their view on human rights and freedom of expression.

China’s fast expanding economic footprint across the Arab world, with a focus on opportunities in various sectors, including healthcare, retail and infrastructure. The sixth edition of the conference is also aimed at promoting a multidirectional flow of investment and facilitating investment in areas of new opportunities, officials said.

NEW DELHI : India is planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Iraq as it looks to diversify supplies and strengthen its energy security, a government official said. The terminal will liquify some portion of the gas currently flared by Iraq and transport it to India, where it will be converted back to LNG for use in city gas distribution as well as power, fertilizer, and steel sectors. A team from state-run Indian Oil Corp.

A drone strike on July 7 killed an Islamic State (ISIS) group leader in Eastern Syria, the US Central Command said in a statement on Sunday.  The US Central Command said, it “conducted a strike in Syria that resulted in the death of Usamah al-Muhajir, an ISIS leader in eastern Syria," without giving any more details on al-Muhajir, the Reuters reported It used the same MQ-9 drones in the attack that had "earlier in the day been harassed by Russian aircraft in an encounter that lasted almost two hours", the statement added. "We have made it clear that we remain committed to the defeat of ISIS throughout the region," AFP reported quoting Centcom chief General Michael Kurilla as saying, using another acronym for the IS jihadist group.

Russian fighter jets have “harassed” American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the U.S. military said. Tension between Russian and U.S. troops is not uncommon in Syria as both countries conduct patrols on the ground as well as overflights. Syria’s 12-year conflict has left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded. The U.S. military said in a statement that Friday’s encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were “once again harassed” by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

Russian and Syrian militaries were engaged in a six-day joint military training which ended on Monday, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said earlier this week. Gurinov, in his remarks quoted by the Syrian state media earlier this week, expressed Moscow's apprehension regarding the drone operations conducted by the coalition led by the United States over the northern region of Syria.

imports of crude oil from Russia fell 6.5% in June after reaching a record high in May, while those from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the US increased, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. India imported 1.8 million barrels per day (mbd) of Russian crude in June. China imported 1.6 mbd of seaborne Russian crude in June, 12% more than in May, and Europe took 0.42 mbd, 28% more than in the previous month.