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.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
