The televised bidding, launched today at Baghdad's al-Rasheed hotel, marked the first time since 1972 that foreign energy companies had been allowed to consolidate their influence in Iraq.

今天在巴格达拉希德大饭店举行的这次电视直播的竞标标志着自1972年外国能源公司可以巩固他们在伊拉克的影响以来的头一次。

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Al-Maliki cast his ballot in Baghdad's Al-Rasheed Hotel, in the highly protected and fortified International Zone.

CNN: Peace rules as polls close in Iraq

Last year three young Saudis, Feras Boqna, Hussam al-Drewesh and Khaled al-Rasheed were detained after posting a ten-minute film on Saudi poverty to YouTube.

ECONOMIST: Saudi Arabia: The long day closes | The

Presumably aware of this danger, General Musharraf has praised the job being done by Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Al-Rasheed Trust, two Islamist groups in the forefront of the aid effort.

ECONOMIST: A race against winter | The