Iraq unveiled plans this week to build and launch a communications satellite soon and is seeking foreign partners, a government official told The National.
The satellite is intended to help modernise the country's telecommunications services.
"Iraq is seeking foreign and Arab countries to build and launch a satellite for the country. What has been announced this week is the tender for the project," communications ministry spokesman Raad Mashhadani told The National.
Details on how long it will take to be built, where they plan to launch it from and the cost will be finalised after receiving bids, Mr Al Mashhadani said.
The tender invites the developers to design, build, launch and operate the satellite, offering a partnership deal, according to the tender seen by The National.
Interested companies have to pay 75 million Iraqi dinar ($51,000) to obtain the documents and have until November 18 to submit their bids.
“This achievement came with the support and guidance of Prime Minister Mustafa Al Khadhimi who is pushing for Iraq to keep up with developments taking place in the new telecoms sector,” Mr Al Mashhadani said.
Iraq's Minister of Communications Arkan Al Shaibani, who announced the plan at the Second Iraqi Cyber Security Conference in Baghdad, said “the development represents the prestige and sovereignty of the state”.
In 2014 a team of Iraqi students at the University of Rome built a micro satellite called TigriSat, which blasted into orbit in June of that year on board a converted Soviet-era intercontinental ballistic missile.
The small satellite – Iraq's first – uses a camera to detect dust storms over the country and is still in orbit.
Iraq claimed it had tested two rockets capable of carrying a satellite into space in 1989 under Saddam Hussein's government, which would have made it the first Arab state with such a capability.
The launch was the culmination of a secretive space programme called Al Ta-ir, which aimed to put two experimental satellites into orbit.
The programme came to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of the Gulf war in 1991 however, and the satellites, one of which was described as looking like a "1970's disco-themed coffee table", never got beyond the development stage.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
MATCH INFO
Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)
Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
more from Janine di Giovanni
Results
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The five pillars of Islam
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
