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

Iraq Reconstruction
In northern Iraq, Iraqis are joining together to stop sectarian violence:

Kurds, Turcomans and Christians from northern Iraq have established independent organisations that aim to reduce the influence of sectarian militias operating in the area.

Two of the organisations are the mixed Peace Union for Iraqis(PUI) and the Kurdish Autonomous Freedom Organisation (KAFO).

“Iraqis in the region have begun to unite, without consideration of ethnic background, to prevent sectarian violence from spreading,” said PUI member Dorah Muhammad, 38, from a village in northern Kurdistan near the Turkish border.

The World Bank has provided Iraq with an $8 billion loan to strengthen social safety nets and pensions. The loan will increase the number of households which receive government assistance by a factor of six.

Iraq’s state-run aluminum company has spent $1.6 million to rehabilitate its facilities. The company has orders to provide $3.6 million worth of aluminum to private companies.

Former enemies are mending relations now that Saddam is gone. Kuwait has signed a deal with Iraq on the transfer of natural gas. The $800 million deal will transfer 238 million cubic feet of natural gas from Iraq to Kuwait for domestic consumption.

A new women’s magazine has been launched in Iraq, one of hundreds of new publications since the removal of Saddam.

According to a survey team from Duke University, Iraq’s marshes on well on their way to recovery:

Populations of many native fish, invertebrate animals, birds and plants are well on their way to recovery.

The marshes of southern Iraq, devastated in recent decades by Saddam Hussein’s regime, are showing a “remarkable” recovery, according to an ecological survey team led by scientists at Duke University and the University of Basrah, according to a press release by EurekAlert.

In their latest and most thorough evaluation of the marshes—claimed in some quarters to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden—the researchers found that populations of many native fish, invertebrate animals, birds and plants are well on their way to recovery.

Enviro-guru Al Gore couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Iraqi Association of Security Dealers moved into its new headquarters under the watchful eye of capital markets experts from USAID. The IASD currently represents 51 brokerage companies.

In related news, Iraq has joined the Arab Stock Exchange.

Small and medium-sized businesses in Iraq recently received a boost when Italy offered to provide loans for business expansion.

In Bayji, the grand opening ceremony for an emergency operations center was recently held. The center is similar to 9-1-1 centers here in the U.S.:

The Bayji JCC has a direct line to the police, fire, and medical responders in the city and is currently being run by six employees who take all the calls and assure the proper agency is contacted to provide the needed attention. They currently have several map boards which detail the roads, lanes, and buildings within this community of 92,000 residents. In addition, they have several computers to help track the type and location of incidents within the city.

In addition to getting the typical “9-1-1” type of emergency call, they have had citizens walk into their office and report sightings of insurgent activity; from the placement of improvised explosive devises (IEDs), to ambush or “gathering” activities. It is this community-minded spirit which gives the new leadership of this city hope that the corner has been turned and they can start taking their city back and make it a thriving, safe community again.

Renovations to the Al Jamaii electrical substation are 95 percent complete. When completed, 1,500 homes will have more reliable electrical service:

According to a USACE-GRS spokesman, the project will increase the reliability and safety of the local electrical distribution network when connected to the national grid. In addition, the substation equipment will safely handle more electricity with less chance of equipment malfunctions or loss of service due to local overloads. “This substation will provide electricity for more than five sectors,” explained Kalisz. “That means more than 1,500 homes will have more dependable electrical service.”

In Tameen Province, the last of 52 school projects was completed:

In the Tameen Province, construction of the 52 schools costing $5.4M began in November 2004. The first of the schools was completed in January 2005 and the last to be finished was Zam Zam Primary, completed late last month. The hand-over of the Zam Zam Primary school signals the end of the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Fund program in this province.

The GRD has released the Iraq Reconstruction Update for the two weeks ending May 30.

The Iraq Reconstruction and Relief fund has completed more than 2,900 projects at a cost of $11.4 billion. Projects include:

Hospital Renovation and Construction
Primary Healthcare Facilities
Municipal Buildings and Schools
Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Police Stations and Border Forts
Electrical Power Generation and Distribution
Roads, Sea and Air Ports
Courts and Prisons

In Al Asad, U.S. Marines and Sailors helped clean up an oasis historically important to Muslims and Arabs:

According to Arabic legend, the Quran and other Islamic writings, the oasis was the campsite of Abraham, a patriarch of the Hebrew bible, during his journey from Ur, located near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now named Tellel-Mukayyar, to Harran, located in southeastern Turkey, now Carrhae.

Because there are so many visitors to the area, garbage builds up on the banks of the pool. To revive the natural beauty of the landscape, a sailor with the chaplain’s office, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, scheduled a cleanup of the location to help preserve the site for future visitors.

“Although the area has not been destroyed by the war, a lot of people tour the area and leave trash,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Hatondra D. Willis, religious program specialist, MAG-16 (Reinforced) and Reed, Ark., native. “I thought that if people were going to continue to tour the area, it would be better if it were clean, due to its religious significance.”

Two-hundred families in Sadr City, a Baghdad slum, were provided with a free meal by coalition forces:

The packages contained canned beef, rice, flour, water, oil, sugar and tea.

“It’s not much, but it’s a token of good will. Handing-out these bags has another benefit because we put a card in it with a number that these people can call if they see any suspicious activity,” said Yarbrough. “That way they don’t have to talk to us directly if they don’t feel comfortable.”

Good Read Raditz!

....And Yes Danny...it is most certainly disgusting. :-(

good post rady,

Kozmar

G W and Iraqi prime minister are supposed to meet tomorrow....i hope it is a "CONSTRUCTIVE" meeting to say the least....lol...i think the dinar will peg soon...very soon.....and all us dinarholics will be "happy"....and dancing on the beach....hope so amyhow....GO DINARS...Pat

It seems quiet in dinar land today. Where is everyone. Any new updates?

LUXEMBOURG (AFX) - Iraq's new government plans to start immediately negotiating a trade and cooperation deal with the European Union, its foreign minister said Monday hailing a "new chapter" in ties with the bloc.

Hoshyar Zebari, speaking after talks with EU foreign ministers here, said the new Baghdad leadership is determined, though realistic about its hopes for the still violence-wracked country.

"We don't want to paint a rosy picture about the situation in Iraq. It's still difficult, it's complex," he told reporters.

But he insisted: "We are facing a new beginning ... we have every opportunity to change the situation and turn it around, but we will need (the) continued support and engagement of the European Union."

Concretely, he said the EU commission had presented him with plans in Luxembourg for the trade and cooperation agreement, which notably includes plans to help Baghdad apply for World Trade Organization (WTO) membership.

"This is an important step for us to move forward," he said. Asked when negotiations would begin, he said: "Very soon. It's on the table ... We the Iraqi side will send a delegation here to immediately start negotiations."

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner echoed his comments from the European bloc's perspective. "I think that this would be a major step forward," she said.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, unveiled plans for its relations with the new Iraqi government last week, including a pledge of 200 mln eur in aid for this year.

The Iraqi minister said: "We were reassured that after the formation of the Iraqi constitutional government there would be a new chapter in relations between the European Union and the new government of Iraq." [email protected] afp/lam

Things look like they are hotting up now, just like this rare British Summer!

hot down here in louisiana too investor...hit 96 for the 6th day in a row.....heat index at a balmy 107....lol....now if only the peg can b as "HOT"....hahaha...GO DINARS...Pat

Hm. A Balmy 63 here in WNY. Bah-humbug! Only thing keeping the goosebumps away are the thoughts of dinars..... :-)

Get a load of THIS! I read it on another forum....That's ok, right mods? It has a link and everything...
___________________________________________
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 6/12/2006
Martin Schubert and his investment boutique, European Inter-American Finance, in joint venture with Merrill Lynch and Aetna, pioneered the private trading of sovereign obligations of emerging market economies, including those in default. In conjunction with private merchant banks, such as Singer Friedlander in the United Kingdom, he conjured up liquidity where there was none and captured the imagination of businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Today, his vision is vindicated by the proliferation of ventures similar to his and by the institutionalization of the emerging economies sovereign debt market. Even obligations of countries such as Serbia and Iraq are traded, though sporadically. Recently, according to Dow Jones, Iraqi debt doubled itself and is now changing hands at about 15 to 20 cents to the dollar.

The demand is so overwhelming that Geneva-based brokerage firm Trigone Capital Finance created a special fund to provide interested investors with exposure to Iraqi paper.
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=1849&cid=12&sid=52