Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 16/08/07 - 03/11/07

Lower demand for dollar in daily auction

Demand for the dollar was lower in the Iraqi Central Bank’s auction on Thursday, reaching $40.405 million compared to $82.860 million on Wednesday.

In its daily statement, the bank said it had covered all bids, including $10.055 million in cash and $30.350 in foreign transfers, at an exchange rate of 1,232 dinars per dollar, unchanged for the 11th session in a row.

The 14 banks that participated in Thursday's session offered to sell $4 million, which the bank bought at an exchange rate of 1,230 dinars per dollar.

In statements to the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that the governmental transfers were lower, causing a decrease in the overall demand for the dollar.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Lower demand for dollar in daily auction | Iraq Updates

Oil Briefly Rises Above $92 a Barrel

Crude oil prices rose in Asia Friday -- spiking above $92 a barrel at one point -- on a rumbling of tensions in the Middle East and renewed concerns about oil supplies.

Lebanese troops fired on Israeli warplanes Thursday, and while a conflict between Israel and Lebanonwould not directly affect oil supplies, traders worry any hostilities in the Middle East would draw in oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Also, the United States announced Thursday new sanctions against Iran, targeting the elite Revolutionary Guards, which Washington accuses of supporting terrorism by backing Shiite militants in Iraq. Any confrontation between the world's largest oil consumer and its fourth largest oil producer has the potential to roil markets.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.47 to $91.93 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. It briefly rose to a new trading record of $92.22 during Asian trading.

The Nymex crude contract jumped $3.36 to settle at $90.46 a barrel Thursday in the U.S., closing above $90 a barrel for the first time.

Amid the tensions, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri told The Wall Street Journal Asia on Thursday that the cartel is not in discussions to boost production by 500,000 barrels. The comments counter rumors that Saudi Arabia is pushing for another production increase after pressuring the group into one of similar size that goes into effect Nov. 1.

And while U.S. crude stocks fell to a nine-month low last week, Dow Jones Newswires reported that Oil Movements, a company that tracks oil tanker traffic, said extra crude shipments from OPEC members next month will grow more slowly than anticipated.

Energy traders also remain concerned that a threatened incursion by Turkish armed forces into Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels would cut oil supplies out of northern Iraq.

The combination of supply worries and geopolitical concerns has pushed crude oil prices up more than 6 percent since Tuesday.

Prices first jumped sharply Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories fell 5.3 million barrels last week when analysts had expected them to grow 300,000 barrels.

That report reversed a three-day downward price trend, and put energy traders back in a bullish mood, analysts said.

December Brent crude rose $1.27 to $88.75 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London. Nymex heating oil futures rose 2.42 cents to $2.4326 a gallon while gasoline prices added 2.89 cents to $2.2647 a gallon. November natural gas futures fell 4.2 cents to $7.146 per 1,000 cubic feet.

PUKmedia :: English - Oil Briefly Rises Above $92 a Barrel

$30 million to revamp Basra airport

International donors have agreed to give the southern city of Basra $30 million to repair its airport, a member of the city’s provincial council said.

Munadhil Khanjar, who heads the council’s economic development committee, said the airport suffers from neglect and bringing it to life was important for the city’s reconstruction.

The money, he said, was pledged during a conference on Iraq’s reconstruction held in Dubai recently. The government says it wants to turn Basra, on the head of the Gulf, into a new Dubai in the Middle East.

The Dubai conference mainly centered on luring Dubai international investors to start new businesses in Basra. But that remains a fart-fetched dream for the run-down city amid reports of mounting insecurity.

Khanjar said the council wanted to reopen the airport and make it possible for foreign investors to fly in directly. But currently there are no scheduled flights to Basra ore anywhere else in central and southern Iraq.

Only the airport in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil is operational to scheduled international flights.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-10-26\kurd.htm

Baghdad's press evaluates al-Maliki government's one-year performance

Baghdad, May 19, (VOI) – Iraqi newspapers on Saturday focused on evaluating the performance of the current Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and its efforts towards national reconciliation, one year after it came to power.

The government-funded al-Sabah newspaper wrote, "Nouri al-Maliki's government will start its second year tomorrow, following a series of achievements de****e the difficult circumstances that prevailed in Iraq during its first year."

Marking the government's second year in office, al-Maliki's media office released a statement outlining the Iraqi government's achievements over the past year. According to the statement, al-Maliki's government proposed a draft law on investment, which was later approved by the parliament, in addition to the draft law on oil and gas, and the national housing program, which the statement said aimed to improve the economic conditions of the Iraqi people.

Al-Taakhi newspaper, issued by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani, published a lengthy front-page headline that read, 'President of the Federal Republic of Iraq highlights the importance of improving the government's performance and says consultations are underway with political blocs to establish security and stability.'

The newspaper quoted Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi as stressing the importance of respecting human rights during arrests and detention conducted by the joint forces under a security crackdown in Baghdad.

Al-Bayyina newspaper, the mouthpiece of Iraq's Hezbollah movement, quoted the deputy chairman of the Iraqi parliament's economics committee, Yonadam Kanna, as expressing his concerns about the possibility of putting the new budget into effect in the light of the several obstacles which he said are looming up ahead.

Citing "rampant administrative corruption," Kanna explained that many laws are not enforced, which he said has negatively affected the general performance of the government.

Under a front-page headline reading, 'Gunmen's target was to release al-Tasfeerat prisoners in Mosul,' the independent al-Mada newspaper quoted Ninewa's police chief as saying, "The main target of the attacks carried out by gunmen on al-Tasfeerat prison was to release the prisoners, just like the attack on Badosh prison a few weeks ago. The security forces foiled their attempt."

Covering the security situation in Nassiriyah, capital city of the southern Thi-Qar province which witnessed violent clashes between fighters from Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Iraqi security forces over the past few days, the newspaper unveiled a ceasefire agreement between the two sides that is aimed to end the bloodshed that left 10 people dead and 60 others injured.

The London-based al-Zaman newspaper published a front-page headline reading 'Concerns over Turkish invasion of Kurdistan region.' "A number of (Iraqi) parliamentarians and citizens expressed their concerns over military operations that have been conducted by Turkish forces in northern Iraq for a month, which coincided with threats made recently by Turkish officials of a possible (Turkish) military interference in Iraq for chasing fighters from the Kurdistan Labor Party," the newspaper wrote.

The newspaper also published the following main headlines: ' The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory presses for quashing Interior Ministry's decision to prevent journalists from covering blasts' and 'A secret cell smuggling armor-penetrating ammunition arrested.'

Aswat Aliraq

Talabani appoints Kurd as political advisor

Baghdad, Oct 26, (VOI) – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani appointed renowned Kurdish intellectual Omar Daza-Yi as political advisor, according to a release by Talabani's office on Friday.

"Daza-Yi will officially start the responsibilities of his post as of Saturday," read the release received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

No further details were mentioned in the release.
Daza-Yi had worked in the Kurdish radio service, based in the United States. The broadcast was an offshoot of the Voice of America radio.

Aswat Aliraq

Talks over PKK threat "positive" - Iraqi team

Baghdad, Oct 26, (VOI)- The visiting Iraqi delegation held on Friday talks with Turkish officials, Iraqi Defense Ministry Spokesman Mohammad al-Askari said, noting that a second round of talks will be held between the two sides.

"Ministerial talks between Iraq and Turkey over the threat posed by the presence of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq led to "positive' results," al-Askari said in statements quoted by mass media.

He also said that a second round of talks would follow the initial session.
Iraq's delegation to the talks comprises Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili and Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir al-Ubeidi.
The Turkish side involves Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Minister of Interior Besir Atalay.

The talks aim at defusing tension between the two countries after Ankara threatened to launch a cross-border attack to chase the Turkish outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters hiding in the mountain areas in northern Iraq.

Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops along the frontier before a possible cross-border operation to crush about 3,000 guerrillas of the PKK who launch deadly attacks into Turkey from northern Iraq.

Iraqi, Turkish and U.S. diplomats have stepped up efforts to avert a large-scale Turkish incursion.

The Turkish parliament approved last week a memorandum forwarded by the government allowing the Turkish army to hunt down members of the PKK, or Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan in Kurdish, in northern Iraq. Only 19 out of 555 legislators in the Turkish parliament voted against the proposal.


Aswat Aliraq

Originally Posted by Seaview

Baghdad's press evaluates al-Maliki government's one-year performance

Baghdad, May 19, (VOI) – Iraqi newspapers on Saturday focused on evaluating the performance of the current Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and its efforts towards national reconciliation, one year after it came to power.

The government-funded al-Sabah newspaper wrote, "Nouri al-Maliki's government will start its second year tomorrow, following a series of achievements de****e the difficult circumstances that prevailed in Iraq during its first year."

Marking the government's second year in office, al-Maliki's media office released a statement outlining the Iraqi government's achievements over the past year. According to the statement, al-Maliki's government proposed a draft law on investment, which was later approved by the parliament, in addition to the draft law on oil and gas, and the national housing program, which the statement said aimed to improve the economic conditions of the Iraqi people.

Al-Taakhi newspaper, issued by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Iraq's Kurdistan President Massoud al-Barazani, published a lengthy front-page headline that read, 'President of the Federal Republic of Iraq highlights the importance of improving the government's performance and says consultations are underway with political blocs to establish security and stability.'

The newspaper quoted Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi as stressing the importance of respecting human rights during arrests and detention conducted by the joint forces under a security crackdown in Baghdad.

Al-Bayyina newspaper, the mouthpiece of Iraq's Hezbollah movement, quoted the deputy chairman of the Iraqi parliament's economics committee, Yonadam Kanna, as expressing his concerns about the possibility of putting the new budget into effect in the light of the several obstacles which he said are looming up ahead.

Citing "rampant administrative corruption," Kanna explained that many laws are not enforced, which he said has negatively affected the general performance of the government.

Under a front-page headline reading, 'Gunmen's target was to release al-Tasfeerat prisoners in Mosul,' the independent al-Mada newspaper quoted Ninewa's police chief as saying, "The main target of the attacks carried out by gunmen on al-Tasfeerat prison was to release the prisoners, just like the attack on Badosh prison a few weeks ago. The security forces foiled their attempt."

Covering the security situation in Nassiriyah, capital city of the southern Thi-Qar province which witnessed violent clashes between fighters from Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Iraqi security forces over the past few days, the newspaper unveiled a ceasefire agreement between the two sides that is aimed to end the bloodshed that left 10 people dead and 60 others injured.

The London-based al-Zaman newspaper published a front-page headline reading 'Concerns over Turkish invasion of Kurdistan region.' "A number of (Iraqi) parliamentarians and citizens expressed their concerns over military operations that have been conducted by Turkish forces in northern Iraq for a month, which coincided with threats made recently by Turkish officials of a possible (Turkish) military interference in Iraq for chasing fighters from the Kurdistan Labor Party," the newspaper wrote.

The newspaper also published the following main headlines: ' The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory presses for quashing Interior Ministry's decision to prevent journalists from covering blasts' and 'A secret cell smuggling armor-penetrating ammunition arrested.'

Aswat Aliraq

The date at the top of this article is MAY 19

Is that a typo on their part? Or are they re-printing an old article from 6 months ago?

Grafts financing Iraqi insurgents (I think read Grant in place of Graft)

Economic corruption by Iraqi insurgents and sectarian militias hinder the official government's effectiveness and provide a source of revenue for rebel groups.

Graft schemes involving oil, cement, soft drinks and real estate generate millions of dollars to finance the Iraqi insurgency, officials said.

A former official with an Iraqi government corruption watchdog group said that insurgent groups have infiltrated every aspect of the oil sector, telling the Los Angles Times that "this has resulted in the Ministry of Oil effectively financing terrorism through these militias."

U.S. officials also said the insurgency tapped into funding for U.S. government projects, noting al-Qaida in Iraq financial recruiting efforts coincide with the announcement of grants.

"If you think that the majority of the money is coming from outside the country to fund the insurgency, you'd be wrong," U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric Welsh, a battalion commander in Mosul, told the Times.

U.S. and Iraqi officials cite the lucrative black market as one of the greatest obstacles to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Graft schemes were used in the 1990's to counteract embargoes imposed by the United Nations.

LexisNexis News - Latest News from over 4,000 sources, including newspapers, tv transcripts, wire services, magazines, journals.

Originally Posted by Cdn Scrooge

The date at the top of this article is MAY 19

Is that a typo on their part? Or are they re-printing an old article from 6 months ago?

On reflection I think it must be recycled. It was in the headlines today. But as I was posting it I thought it seemed odd because he has been ruling for longer than a year.

I usually check the dates but Aswat is usually fairly reliable for up to date news. Sorry, I've been a bit distracted today.

Iraqi President Talabani assures Japan of efforts to end PKK attacks

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has assured Japanese Ambassador to Iraq Kenjiro Monji that the Iraqi authorities are making the utmost efforts to stop the violence launched by Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

In talks at the president's office in Baghdad on Thursday, Monji reaffirmed that Japan's aid policy for Iraq remains unchanged and applauded Talabani's efforts for national reconciliation, the ministry said.

Talabani thanked Japan for its support and called for the further strengthening of bilateral relations. He also expressed optimism regarding the significant progress in national reconciliation with the Iraqi Islamic Party set to rejoin the government soon.

Earlier this week, Japan urged Iraq to take appropriate measures to stop cross-border attacks on Turkish soldiers and civilians by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

LexisNexis News - Latest News from over 4,000 sources, including newspapers, tv transcripts, wire services, magazines, journals.