Thread: Archive - Latest News Think Tank - 15/01/09 - 04/05/09

Ministry of Labor: 18 thousand beneficiaries smart card program

Director of Social Welfare Department, Issam Abdel Latif, 18, was the inclusion of a smart card program beneficiaries. This came in a statement singled out by the reporter (news agency, Iraqi Information/conscious), Adding that the inclusion of all beneficiaries will be the program went through 2009. "Abdel-Latif said the method of work by relying on the hand print, but about the blind can get their hands on behalf of it.

http://66.102.9.102/translate_c?hl=e...BBBYZyrzSC22tg

Finance Committee: this year's budget will not pass if they do not take into account the actual needs of each province

The Finance Committee scheduled in the Iraqi parliament member from the coalition Muna Zalzala that the general budget for this year will not be passed by the Iraqi Council of Representatives, if not from a new compilation to take into account the actual need for each province.

The shaking in an interview with "Uzmatik", on Tuesday, "The Iraqi government stalled over the past years in the ****ution of the request for the Iraqi Council of Representatives to reconsider the allocation of the financial allocations for imports as the ratio of the population of each province of the country, and to continue without the allocation of the proportion of the Kurdistan region of the budget in its current form."

He was a member of the Economic Commission deputy, Sami al-Islamic Union of Kurdistan Atrushi had earlier said in an interview for "Uzmatik" The Committee requested the Parliamentary Economic and Finance Minister to host Iraqi Baqir Jabr to see the foundations that have been adopted for the public budget for 2009."

The shaking was that the government justify the non-implementation review of the distribution of the income of the State over the past four years, cumbersome, which affects the Ministry of Finance as a result, although this is within the responsibilities of the ministry."

She stressed the Finance Committee scheduled in the House of Representatives of Iraq, "the need for the Ministry of Planning and the identification of the economic viability of the peace priority of the country's needs, so that any areas of the notation need to build industrial parks, projects and pressing service, you need to build communities of the rapid housing, and not to be distributed PROFILE those without the knowledge in any field will be spent."

They noted that the shaking, "the text of the Constitution of the State should be the use of experts to determine which of the provinces most affected, so as to build economic and financial strategy, which sets the central government, in conjunction with the Department of provincial areas of the maintenance budget, and continuing supervision by parliament that would evaluate the work and the prevention of corruption financial and administrative during the implementation."

Recalled that the government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh said the beginning of last November that the Council of Ministers approved the budget of the Federal Assembly of Iraq in 2009, amounting to 79 trillion Iraqi dinars, distributed over 62 trillion dinars Kmoisnp operational and 17 trillion dinars Kmoisnp investment.

http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Iraq set to take over oil port

Iraq is making security preparations for the handing over of security responsibility for Khur Al-Amia oil port from multinational forces in southern Basra to Iraqi forces.

Iraqi Minister of Defense Abdel-Qader Jassem presided over a relevant meeting earlier on Monday, the Ministry of Defense said in a release on Tuesday.

During the meeting, arrangements for Iraq's takeover of the deep oil port and future sea protection of the port were discussed, it said.

A memorandum of understanding had earlier been signed between Iraq and the US, allowing Iraqi maritime forces to hand control of the Khur Al-Amia oil port from the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq early 2009.

Iraqi ground forces had taken security control in Basra Province from British forces, who pulled back to their base at Basra airport, but US forces continued security support for city ports.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidKU...r%20oil%20port

Chemical Ali joins Saddam cohorts on trial over Kurd crackdown

Saddam Hussein's notorious hatchet man known as "Chemical Ali" and his former deputy premier Tareq Aziz are among 16 former Iraqi officials on trial for a brutal campaign against Shiite Kurds in the 1980s, a court official said on Tuesday.

The defendants are accused of using members of the Faily Kurd community as guinea pigs for chemicals weapons testing and as human shields during Iraq's eight-year war with neighbouring Iran.

"The Iraqi High Tribunal, headed by judge Rauf Rashid Abdel-Rahman, began reading the charges against the 16 accused on Monday," the official said.

Among the defendants are Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali, who already faces the death sentence for genocide against the Kurds, as well as Tareq Aziz, former interior minister Watban Ibrahim Hassan and Saddam's private secretary Abed Hamud.

The charges relate to a violent campaign against the so-called Faily Kurds, who unlike most Kurds follow the Shiite branch of Islam rather than Sunni and who live mainly in the Iraqi province of Diyala which borders Iran.

The defendants are accused of forcibly displacing Faily Kurds, confiscating their property and belongings, as well as using them for chemical weapons experiments and as human shields on the battle front during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988.

Chemical Ali has already been condemned to death for genocide over the so-called Anfal campaign against Kurds in the 1980s and for war crimes and crimes against humanity over the crackdown on Shiites during their ill-fated 1991 uprising after the first Gulf war.

Aziz, a Christian who also served as foreign minister under the now ****uted Saddam, is also on trial over the ****ution of 42 Baghdad merchants in 1992 and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...rd%20crackdown

Al-Qaeda attacks threaten Iraq vote: army

Al-Qaeda remains a threat to this weekend's election in Iraq, a senior army commander warned on Tuesday, as the United States said it expected its troops to be involved in the war-torn nation for many years. There are fears violence could mar Saturday's provincial polls which are seen as a key test of the country's stability, nearly six years since the US-led invasion that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

A top Iraqi army commander, Lieutenant General Ali Salih Farhood Oothman, said "On election day we have in our mind that there might be Katyusha rockets, mortars, or suicide bombers at polling stations," he told reporters in Baghdad. "Al-Qaeda are the outlaws," he said. "They have changed their strategy and are using IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and ambushes but we are capable of keeping the peace and they are incapable of defeating us."
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US Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan, deputy commanding general for operations in the same eight provinces where Oothman operates, also warned that violence could break out when the election results are announced. "More than 90 percent of the people running are not going to be elected and we are paying a great deal of attention to what happens then," he told AFP. "A peaceful election and transition of power is really the antidote to violence," said Buchanan, whose soldiers will provide logistic and air support to the Iraqi police and army during the ballot.
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Although Saturday is the main polling day, advance voting will start on Wednesday when 614,000 policemen, soldiers, hospital patients and convicts cast their ballots.

They will vote at 1,672 special voting stations from 7 am (0400 GMT) to 5 pm (1400 GMT).

The advance voting is taking place as there were security, logistic and even electoral fraud problems four years ago when all Iraq's eligible citizens were called to vote on the same day.

Election officials have ordered transport bans and night-time curfews to boost security.

Iraq's international and provincial borders will be sealed and civilian airports closed from 10 pm (1900 GMT) on Friday until 5 am (0200 GMT) on February 1, the election commission announced.

Curfews are to be imposed on Friday and Saturday from 10 pm until 5 am, and civilians banned from carrying guns, even with a permit.

Only vehicles with official authorisation will be allowed to take to the streets of Baghdad and provincial capitals on Saturday.

Polling day and Sunday will be public holidays, with the first results expected to be declared on Tuesday.

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/bre...0128-7r3w.html

The banking sector due to take the leadership role after the central proposal of the establishment of investment fund

Economists said the Iraqi market for securities, the impact of the proposal of the Central Bank of Iraq to the banks for the establishment of an investment fund started running with them during the trading session, where the banking sector has returned to take the leadership role for the rest of the sectors.

The experts said the proposal came against the backdrop of a seminar held at the Central Bank and private banks last month, which resulted in the approval of the establishment of such banks, investment funds with each other to buy shares that are currently experiencing a decline for the purpose of ensuring price stability, in addition to the granting of loans to ensure equity stake in the market.

http://66.102.9.100/translate_c?hl=e...RWE9hBCWlKp5sA

U.S. Secretary of State in a telephone conversation with Zebari: to be the transfer of the security agreement to reality

Held on Tuesday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

A source at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, told the independent press (EYBENS) said: "The minister confirmed during Clinton's contact with a strong commitment to the sovereignty and democratic Iraq and bilateral relations between Iraq and America, also praised the important role played by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in Iraq linked to its environment to deepen the Arab and Islamic and international.

He said: "It also stressed that despite the progress and the significant improvement achieved by the Iraqi government, not much remains to be done to transform the strategic framework agreement between the two countries into reality.

The source said: "The Minister Zebari and invited them to visit Iraq at the earliest possible opportunity

http://66.102.9.100/translate_c?hl=e...iqLkpvsAEg0xfw

PRIVATE BIN: Iraq touted as safe haven for investors in 2009

These days it’s hard to know where to put your money. Property and sharemarket values are in reverse and central bank actions have neutered fixed interest returns.

One fund claims to have found a golden nest egg in the most unlikely of places – Iraq.

The Babylon Fund, run by British fund manager Godvig Capital Management, holds about $US22 million in Iraqi-dependent securities, mostly listed on the prestigious Iraq Stock Exchange, where brokers scribble numbers on whiteboards.

But while the methods may be somewhat primitive, the exchange’s results put most western economies to shame.

For example, unlike its occupier the US, Iraq did not see a single bankruptcy or bailout among its 100 publicly listed companies last year.

In a country where staying alive is more of a priority than buying foreign-made p.l.asma screen TVs, the “credit crunch” is not as much of an issue as elsewhere, which indicates Iraq’s banking system is also in good shape compared to other countries.

Hopefully the banks have online deposit and withdrawal functions, however; the peace of mind that comes from safe money may be outweighed by having to dodge mortar fire on the way to the ATM.

The Babylon Fund did experience a drop last year, but it was relatively small and mainly due to price declines hitting oil companies, which are likely to recover this year.

Anyway, the fund has offset some of this loss by buying into the lucrative Iraq tourism industry, purchasing a stake in the five-star Mansour Hotel.

As a generous gesture it has offered discounted accommodation for its loyal investors during their Baghdad business trips (not sure if they’ll also pay for the armoured vehicle transportation around town).

One wonders, though, whether anyone from Godvig Capital Management would have the guts to show up at an Iraqi company shareholder meeting.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/private...ors-2009-39954

Oil Minister, Announced the discovery of three Oil Wells

Threw Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, a lecture at the University of Karbala today under the title of (prospects of Iraq's oil industry) to the university Which revealed the discovery of three new oil wells.

The reporter said al-Shahristani, spoke highly of the future of the oil industry, adding that Iraq is witnessing a boom in the oil industry and will open new horizons for the Arab world and the EU. Adding that the country issued the various sciences to the world since time immemorial

We need to preserve this heritage of the great advantage of our ministry, and self-sufficient without relying on the general budget of the country. Adding that the Oil Ministry opened a large number of refinery units in all the refineries in Iraq, we need to import oil derivatives, as was the case in the past as well as we have established a large refinery in Karbala, which features from the rest of the Iraqi refineries and other al-Shahristani announced the discovery of three oil fields in the triangle (Karbala, Najaf, Babel). Adding that these fields had been referred to a specialized international companies through service contracts with these companies and noted that the lecture lasted for more than two hours and saw interventions and questions from the audience in order to exchange information.

http://www.iraqstockx.com/ISXForum/default.asp

Ministry of Finance will hold the conference today, the first Iraqi bank

The Finance Ministry on Friday confirmed the first Iraqi bank under the banner of (the Iraqi bank and a solid means to establish a prosperous Iraq) the presence of the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers and the representative of the U.S. Treasury and the ministers of electricity and financial agents of some ministries and the Director of the Central Bank of Aziz Jaafar as well as the parliamentary figures and managers across the Iraqi and international banks said. Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in the conference which was attended by reporter said the local sources Houdet sector support the Iraqi bank and the allocations of appropriations million U.S. dollars each to develop and adopt Mleonii dollars and now have made four million dollars.

He added that the ministry and the Central Bank These amounts will be given to the banks according to the terms announced by the workshop will be prepared for this purpose. Meanwhile, a letter was received at the conference of the electronic Tijani Ibrahim, the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund in the Jordanian capital Amman, in which he thanked the participants and described the conference as an important step in building Iraq and the establishment of a solid bank, adding The International Monetary Fund played a pivotal role in supporting the development of the banking system in Iraq.

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