Cabinet approves budget, oil contracts

BAHGDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi cabinet approved on Tuesday the 2010 federal budget and the first round’s oil investment permissions. “The decisions came during the cabinet’s 38 th meeting on Tuesday,” Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government’s official spokesperson, said in a release received by IraqiNews.com news agency. He said that the budget’s total amount is ID78.733 trillion, with a deficit of ID17.9 trillion. Al-Dabbagh said that the government will pursue certain measures to get more incomes and to minimize spending. MH (P)/SR 1