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Iraq Gets a White House as Kurdish Tycoon Builds Replica

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Shihab N. Shihab reckons he’s going one better than U.S. President Barack Obama.

After admiring the White House in Washington for its “beauty and simplicity,” the Kurdish businessman is building a $20 million replica in the Iraqi city of Erbil replete with layers of Italian 21-carat gold leaf covering banisters and ceilings and Greek marble columns that grace the entrance.