MEED is a subscription-based online business intelligence service and has a weekly magazine. It is based in Dubaiand is owned by the UK’s Top Right Group.

MEED Projects This subscription-only service offers in-depth project tracking through its database, which monitors projects from inception and feasibility through to financial close, the awarding of engineering, procurement and construction contracts and completion. Its data is used to track the market with the Gulf Projects Index, which is updated weekly.

MEED Events MEED’s portfolio of events has been developed over the past decade to cover all of the region’s key business sectors. From large-scale summits and conferences to breakfast briefings and webinars, MEED’s events are well known for their senior speakers.

MEED Insight MEED’s premium research division, MEED Insight brings together MEED’s data-rich archives and unique relationships with key business decision-makers across the region to produce authoritative reports, such as the Mena Projects Forecast & Review.

Media in Iraq

Under Saddam Hussein, media was tightly controlled. Today, freedom of expression is guaranteed by Iraq’s constitution. However, Reporters Without Borders has still found that it can be hard for journalists to do their jobs. The France-based non-profit organisation says: “The threat to Iraqi media staff today comes above all from the authorities or political figures that block them from gaining access to certain areas.” Aggressive legal action against newspapers has also become common.

The internet in Iraq is not controlled by the state. However, Reporters Without Borders says: “The culture ministry has drafted a law to censor some websites, but its vague and imprecise wording could open the way – if it is adopted by parliament – to serious violations of the right to information.”

Until such a time, expatriates in Iraq have unfettered access to news websites from their home countries. Internet connections are slow and expensive, though, so those working in Iraq may have to check the news from their offices or internet cafes rather than at home.