Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Originally Posted by motomachi

And on the economic situation in Iraq. the president said that "this year's budget than last year's budget and there had been significant evolution in the Iraqi economy, and in the salaries of the state. "

Yes, this says it all! Great find!

06 November 2006 (Aljazeera)

Baghdad remains under curfew as Saddam Hussein's appeal over his crimes against humanity conviction begins.

Bassam Ridha, an adviser to Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said on Monday:"The indefinite curfew continues as we want to ensure safety of Iraqi citizens."

Two other provinces - Diyala and Salaheddin - are also under curfew to in an attempt to prevent an outbreak of violence after the verdict in Saddam's first trial.

Baghdad airport has also been closed for the second consecutive day, and the border with Jordan has been shut to all traffic as part of the security measures.

The curfew has been in place since early on Sunday morning.

"The prime minister will discuss with the concerned committee about the security measure later today and will take a decision on further steps," Ridha added.

Dujail deaths

Saddam was sentenced for "wilful killing", part of his indictment for crimes against humanity in ordering the death of 148 Shia residents of the town of Dujail after his 1982 assassination attempt.

"The indefinite curfew continues as we want to ensure safety of Iraqi citizens."

Bassam Ridha, an advisor to the Iraqi prime minister

An appeal - which is automatic under Iraqi law when the defendant has been sentenced to death - will begin on Monday.

Raed al-Juhi, the spokesman for the tribunal which tried the former president, said it would last a month but did not give a date when the decision would be announced.

If the nine-judge panel upholds the verdict, Saddam will be hanged within 30 days of its ruling.

Good spirits

Saddam's defence team said Saddam had expected the death penalty but was in good spirits as he planned his appeal.

"I was among 12 defence lawyers who met Saddam Hussein for four hours on Saturday afternoon. His morale was very high, it was made of steel," Ahmad Siddiq, one of Saddam's lawyers, told AFP news agency.

Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, was also sentenced to die, as was Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, chairman of the so-called Revolutionary Court that ordered the Dujail executions.

Curfew continues after Saddam verdict | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by Lunar

After the r/v when you go to exchange your dinar the bank will send them to be authenticated, in NY I believe.
Photocopying each of your dinar not only proves they are yours but makes a notation of every serial number. That way no one can switch your's for counterfeit ones, etc. It's just a safety precaution but worth the time to do it.
Several bills can be placed overlapping each other on the copier, as long as the serial numbers are visible and this will save time and paper.

I have a very close friend in the banking industry, by the way that back does not do foreigh exchange. But any whoo, she had said to me depends on which side of the river (Mississippi) determan which FOREX office they will send it to to be verified. either in NY, or in Calif.

Originally Posted by Cyberkhan

Has anyone noticed that there is no currency quote on the TBI site. I have never seen them not have that running???

I'll tell ya, I have never made so much of so little before, there is just too much happening for this all to be coincidence.

As of 3:04 Az time on the TBI it is still not running, Who Knows?

I hope it is the something part!

Originally Posted by Cyberkhan

Ok, , I'm not the only one who found that odd!!!!

From your lips to gods ears!!!!!

Just change your browser...if you are using Netscape, that is a script that wo't work - at the bottom of that page. Use Internet Explorer instead.

Updated 11/5 1USD = 1469.265 1470.000

Originally Posted by Jola

Just change your browser...if you are using Netscape, that is a script that wo't work - at the bottom of that page. Use Internet Explorer instead.

Updated 11/5 1USD = 1469.265 1470.000

Correct. Ticker is working.

Update 11/5 but still old quotes of 11/2.

Originally Posted by kiko

Correct. Ticker is working.

Update 11/5 but still old quotes of 11/2.

It was not working earlier but you are correct that it is working now. The ticker was not working before though.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2503

The Kurds may be sitting on buried treasure, and foreign firms want to do business

06/11/2006
Source: USNews

In a small townhouse in the financial district here, a high-ceilinged room is packed to capacity with oil executives in dark suits. They are men from all over the world, representing some of the largest multinational oil companies, and they sit in rows like schoolchildren, assiduously taking notes. At the front of the room, the minister of natural resources from the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq is speaking, his English fluent. On the wall behind him is a large map of potential oil fields in the Kurdish region and the beginning of a PowerPoint presentation that reads, "Oil Can Be a Source of Stability."

The government of Iraq may be far from ready to welcome foreign investment into its oil sector right now but, like it or not, the Kurds are moving ahead. While the government in Baghdad is still haggling over its petroleum law and violence wracks much of the country, the Kurds are about to pass their own oil law. They have already signed contracts with a handful of foreign oil companies, and they're aggressively wooing more. The question now is whether these attempts to sign separate contracts, establish a parallel legal regime, and attract much-needed foreign investment will be a source of stability or instability in a country that knows far too much of the latter and very little of the former.

Money. The dispute over oil goes to the heart of the political debate in Iraq. The Kurdish region, currently the only autonomous region in Iraq, has enjoyed self-rule since 1991. Earlier this month, the Shiite-dominated parliament in Baghdad passed a federalism law, allowing other regions to be formed-but not for another year and a half. The law was hotly debated because although the Shiites would like to create their own zone in their oil-rich heartland in the south, the Sunnis fear being left with only an area in resource-poor central Iraq. An agreement empowers the federal government to receive all oil revenues and redistribute them to the regions according to population and "needs."

But the real question is who gets to sign the contracts and manage the fields. And on this point the Kurds won't budge-Iraq's Constitution, they say, gives them control over so-called future fields (existing fields are controlled by the central government, and the fate of those in Kirkuk will be decided by a referendum next year). "In management of new fields, we are adamant that we will not share with federal authorities," says Ashti Hawrami, an English-trained petroleum engineer who is the new minister of natural resources. "Planning, coordination-no problem. But who has the right to write contracts? We can consult with the center, but the ultimate authority lies with the [Kurds]."

High-level jabs have already been exchanged over the issue. The Iraqi oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, has insisted publicly that contracts signed by the Kurdish regional government must be subject to the ministry's review. In response, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani issued a statement that many interpreted as a threat of secession: "The people of Kurdistan chose to be in a voluntary union with Iraq on the basis of the Constitution. If Baghdad ministers refuse to abide by that Constitution, the people of Kurdistan reserve the right to reconsider our choice."

Iraq has the third-largest proven oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 115 billion barrels, and oil companies have salivated over the country's potential since Saddam Hussein's regime fell in 2003. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 90 percent of Iraq's regions are unexplored, with only about 2,000 wells drilled, compared with about 1 million in Texas alone. But the industry has been in terrible shape for the past 20-some years. International sanctions against Saddam's regime meant that the infrastructure was not upgraded. Oil experts think that if international expertise were brought in and facilities modernized, Iraq could produce up to 4 million barrels per day (which is what it produced in 1990, before the invasion of Kuwait). "Iraq's entry into the market will change the entire global oil game," says Ed Chow, a longtime oil consultant who used to work for Chevron.

And that is what is so tempting for the oil companies. In the London townhouse, after the presentations, the questions come quickly from the audience, as much flattery as inquiry. "Congratulations," one oil company rep tells Hawrami. "When can we come negotiate with you?" His answer: "It's first come, first served. We welcome entrepreneurs, but we want structured companies with experience, who offer something we don't have ourselves."

Reserves. Oil companies say that though there are no producing oil fields in the Kurdish territory, initial exploration has shown geological structures similar to large oil fields in other parts of Iraq. The Kurdish government claims 25 billion barrels of proven reserves in the north, plus 20 billion barrels of potential reserves. A Norwegian company, DNO, began drilling last November and discovered its first well this spring. While there is much more oil in the south, the violence there prevents those reserves from being exploited now.

The Kurds themselves marvel at the change in international reaction to their advances. "Five to six months ago, no one would shake hands with a Kurd," says Hawrami. But in May, the Kurdish government created the Ministry of Natural Resources and appointed the minister. In July, Kurdish legislators passed an investment law, which spells out foreign investors' rights. And last month the Kurds published the final version of their own petroleum law. The regional government intends to move it through the Kurdish parliament this month-despite being asked by the United States to hold off for the sake of national reconciliation. The Kurds have signed four contracts with foreign oil companies, and the government's website says it "expects a large-scale licensing round following the passage of the act."

Downstairs, over bites of salmon and pasta, the oil executives feel one another out warily. One congratulates another on a just signed production-sharing agreement. Another group discusses options for doing seismic testing in Kurdistan (there are only two operators there now, both Chinese). Representatives from two major oil companies chat with a British government official. One was preparing to go to Kurdistan but decided to stay in order to meet with Hawrami. "What stage is the central government at with its petroleum law, anyway?" one asks. "I'm not sure," answers the other. "I guess if there's a conflict, that would make things complicated."

That's the consensus view. The U.S. government has expressed concern about companies investing in Kurdistan before the rest of Iraq is ready. "If the Kurds pass their own law, it definitely complicates things-the opportunity for cooperation probably diminishes," says one senior U.S. official. "But it's a great negotiation tactic-you offer something up that's your ideal and then go from there."

To the Kurds, however, their law is most definitely not just a starting point. In fact, though they are involved in the negotiations over the central hydrocarbons law, Kurdish officials say it will not mean much to the region. "Not for investing in Kurdistan, it doesn't," says Hawrami. "But it does matter for the Kurdish people, because we need our fair share of revenue from the rest of the regions!"

So the companies are going with what is available now. Hawrami comes into the room after having had private discussions with one company and is instantly mobbed. Tibor Szatmari, the CEO of a Hungarian oil company that is the largest in Central Europe, waits to talk with him. When he gets an opening, he thrusts his company's annual report into the minister's hands. He admits that he's desperate to get one of these contracts. "If you wait until the situation is absolutely clear, you'll never go," Szatmari explains. "So you take a calculated risk."

Especially if you don't expect to be entering Baghdad anytime soon. "There's a paralysis in the central government," says one former senior U.S. official who quit to start a company that is now investing in Kurdistan. "It's the cultural baggage of the old regime-no one can make a decision without consulting the top guy."

So what's next? A mess, perhaps, as the Kurds press ahead despite Baghdad's explicit protests. Hawrami finishes his presentation on an upbeat note-and just the hint of a threat. "We will soon be awarding new contracts, perhaps on the strength of the new law," he says. "If you come to Kurdistan, we guarantee that you can go to Basra and work as well. After all, who's going to block you?"

I think that is why 4 of the 5 points of the HCL are solved.

The extension of curfews in Baghdad and Salah al-Din, Diyala

(Voice of Iraq) - 06-11-2006
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The extension of curfews in Baghdad and Salah al-Din, Diyala, until further notice

The Iraqi government has announced the extension of the curfews imposed on the provinces of Baghdad, Salahaddin and Diyala, starting from six of the morning today, Monday, and until further notice.
A statement by the Council of Ministers received Radio (Tigris) stated that this decision came "against the backdrop of the popular demonstrations at the differing death penalty against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The fear of violence. "
For his part, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Ahmed Khafaji in a press statement that "the continuation or termination of the ban would be subject to the security situation."
Tigris

Iranian delegation comprising a number of businessmen visiting

(Voice of Iraq) - 06-11-2006
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Iranian delegation comprising a number of businessmen visiting the city of Nasiriyah


Nasiriyah News Network / Akram al-Tamimi :

Iranian delegation visited a number of businessmen accompanied and met the President of the Al Ihsan Dhi Qar presence of a number of members of the preservation The meeting covered several topics, notably the possibility of mutual cooperation, especially in the field of investment between the two Iranian and Iraqi people and work together to support development projects and Alast Ratejeh in maintaining delegation also met a number of officials in the service in Dhi Qar.