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

Iraq issues 32 licenses to import food products


The Import Department in the State Company for Iraqi Affairs has issued 32 licenses for several companies to import food products.

A source from Iraq's Ministry of Trade said in a press statement Sunday that these licenses included 15 licenses to import eggs from Iranian origins and 14 licenses to import chickens from American and Brazilian origins.
The source added that the company has issued two licenses to import 6,000 tons of Indian beef worth $7,900,000, in addition to one license to import 500 tons of dairy products from Iran.

The company has also issued 16 importing cards for Iraqi businessmen, according to the source.

Source: Portal Iraq




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Posted on Thursday, December 28

Iraq allocates $2 billion for Ministry of Electricity next year


Iraq's Council of Ministers has approved the allocation of $2 billion to be used in executing electric power projects throughout the country - especially the safe areas which are suffering power outages because of the accident at the Beiji Steam Power Plant.

Senior engineer Ra'ad al-Harriss said the government has approved allocation of the funds to execute a number of production projects to transfer electricity in various regions in Iraq within the 2007 budget plan. He added that the allocation is to be very great compared with that of 2006, which was $800 million.
Source: Portal Iraq




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Posted on Thursday, December 28

U.S fund to carry out pioneering projects in Iraq


The Minister of Housing and Reconstruction announced that the Ministry has received $5.2 million from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration to establish a training center for the exchange of information on roads and bridges in Iraq.

Bayan Dazaie said that the fund is the result of her last visit to the United States which resulted in many other important projects.
Source: Portal Iraq




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Posted on Thursday, December 28

People prepare for Feast


By Qassin Khidhir
Kurdish people like any other Muslim nations celebrate Qurban Feast (Eid Ul-Adha), one of the two festivals that Muslims celebrate.

Qurban Feast is four days long, usually men, women and children dress in their finest clothing. Men and women attend morning prayers at their local mosques.

Although for many in Kurdistan it is a reason to enjoy and celebrate, for some it is no more than a boring routine.

"For me the meaning of Qurban Feast is going to mosque in the early of morning and shake hands with people," said Rasul Ali, 73.

In the first day of Qurban Feast people in Kurdistan eat a heavy meal, usually rice with chicken. A short time after breakfast neighbors exchange greetings and relatives, friends visit each other.

Some families slaughter cow or sheep as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice, Prophet Abraham, in particular those families who can afford to do that. Then, they distribute the meat equally among themselves, neighbors, relatives and the poor.

"I bought a cow and I m going to sacrifice it in Qurban feast, it makes me happy to distribute the meat among neighbors, poor and my children and grand children," said Halima Ibrahim Ahmad, 79.

Ahmad stated that in the past people during Feasts' days were happier and more satisfied than now.

"In the past we had little problems and stresses than now," Ahmad said.

During the four days of Qurban Feast children are very happy, they wake up in the early morning, they dress in new color dresses and they receive candies, gifts and money from their parents, relatives and neighbors.

"I like Qurban feast, because my mom buys me new cloths and a new shoes," said Aras Khidir Hamad, six years old.

People, in general, are complaining about the expensiveness of goods and foods, as well as fuel shortage.

Government employees complain that they haven't received salaries on time this month. That has made many not to be able to do shopping for this Feast.

Tariq Omer, owner of dress shop, stated that, in this Feast market is not so warm up; less people are buying new clothes. Omer linked this situation to the expensiveness of market and instability of dollar exchange.

Fuel shortage is one of main problem which Kurdish people are suffering in this Feast.

"Fuel and gas are very expensive, one bottle of gas is 30, 000 Iraqi dinars, and it is our main facility during feast days, because every days of Qurban feast we have to cook heavy meals," said Nasreen Taha, a housewife.




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Posted on Thursday, December 28

Iraqi President Talibani To Visit Syria In January
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Posted GMT 12-28-2006 18:27:18
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(DPA) -- Iraq's President Jalal Talibani is to visit Syria in January for talks on all "pending issues" between the two countries, Talibani's Kurdish National Union party said in a statement Thursday.

The Kurdish party statement issued in Damascus said the meeting to strengthen bilateral relations was agreed following the reception of Talibani's special envoy Fakhri Karim Zankneh by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Damascus office of the Kurdish National Union stated that a letter from Talibani was delivered to Assad, whose meeting with Zankneh was "cordial and dealt with all issues of mutual interest."

Zankneh on Wednesday also met with Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa, according to Syria's official news agency SANA.

Following a visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem to Baghdad last month, Syria restored diplomatic relations with Iraq early December after a break of 24 years.

In 1982, Syria broke diplomatic ties with Iraq, which Syria accused of inciting riots by the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Damascus also sided with Iran in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Trade ties between Iraq and Syria were restored in 1997.

© 2006, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use.

ISF proves eager to help, become more capable
Thursday, 28 December 2006


Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV addresses members of the media at a Media Roundtable Dec. 27 at the Combined Press Information Center.BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Security Force and Iraqi Police are eager to help find solutions for the challenges facing their country, and they are becoming more capable of assuming increased responsibility for security, a senior U.S. military officer said Wednesday.



As President George W. Bush deliberates the way ahead in Iraq, the Iraqi people and their security forces will ultimately have the responsibility to quell violence and effect peace across the country, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman, told reporters.

“Ultimately, Iraqis have to step up and develop solutions to their country’s problems,” Caldwell said. “Yet, in the face of persistently high levels of violence, the Iraqi people are demonstrating that they are eager to do just that.”

More than 1,100 Iraqis recently signed up for the Police Force in troubled Anbar province, Caldwell said, a place where there’d been no previous demonstration of such civic resolve.

More Iraqi citizens are also stepping forward to provide information about extremist and criminal activities to authorities, Caldwell said. From January to September 2006, he said, Iraqis provided an average of 4,500 tips monthly to authorities about possible terrorist or criminal activity in their areas.

Between October and November, such citizen-supplied tips increased by 66 percent to more than 7,600 tips per month. As of Dec. 22, the pace of tips received was anticipated to yield more than 8,700 this month, Caldwell said.

“This would indicate to us that the Iraqi people are tired of the violence perpetrated upon them by terrorist and criminal elements, and they want to be part of the solution,” Caldwell said.

Consequently, Coalition officials are accelerating plans to transfer more security responsibilities to the government of Iraq and its Security Force, Caldwell said.

The Iraqi Army and Police now have overall responsibility for all security and law enforcement activities in Najaf province. It is the third Iraqi province, he said, that provides its own security and law enforcement.

“This transfer of responsibility comes as the Iraqi Security Forces continue to demonstrate increasingly tactical capabilities,” Caldwell said, noting that 87 percent of operations conducted so far this month have been conducted by Iraqi Security Force operating either independently or jointly with the Coalition force.

Recent Iraqi-conducted operations in Baghdad, he said, uncovered 18 significant enemy weapons caches. The situation still isn't perfect, however. The Iraqi Security Force still has to improve their logistics systems and leadership, and some Soldiers and Police have proven disloyal to the government, Caldwell said.

“That is why the Multi-National Force is consistently and continuously reassessing and strengthening how we train, advise and assist the Iraqi forces,” Caldwell said. “We are seeing signs that the Iraqi forces are beginning to address some of these problems themselves.”

For example, Iraqi Police and British forces raided a rogue Iraqi Police unit in Basra that had been infiltrated by extremists, Caldwell said. That operation rescued more than 120 hostages, most of whom had been tortured.

“While infiltration of some (Iraqi) units persists, this operation demonstrates that the government of Iraq takes it seriously and understands and is initiating steps to mitigate this infiltration within the police units,” Caldwell said.

Although significant challenges remain in Iraq and violence there is likely to remain high in the near term, Caldwell said there’s hope for the future.

“Iraqi Forces are making progress to provide their own security and the Iraqi people are demonstrating great resolve to defeat these terrorists and criminals plaguing Iraq,” he said.

(By Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service)

Medics clear rats from Saddam’s bunker
Thursday, 28 December 2006
By Maj. Bobby Hart, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service



U.S. Army Lt. Col. Van Sherwood, preventive medicine officer for Task Force 3rd Medical Command, developed and executed a plan to rid Saddam Hussein’s bunker of rats. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Sam McLartyBAGHDAD — It was a scene straight from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” or maybe “Willard.” American soldiers walking through a dimly lit, underground command bunker once used by a brutal dictator, now filled with hundreds of rats. Throw in a snake or two, and you have the perfect setting for a horror movie.

But it was not a movie.

Soldiers of the 3rd Medical Command, Fort Gillem, Ga., found themselves in just such an environment when they went to investigate a potential rat infestation.

Civilians on a forward operating base near Baghdad reported they had seen increasing numbers of rodents in the area surrounding what was known locally as Saddam Hussein’s presidential bunker — a massive, two-level, network of tunnels and rooms estimated to be able to support upwards of 100 people for several months.

The bunker included meeting rooms, a kitchen, huge underground generators, restrooms, showers, private living quarters and rats. Lots and lots of rats.

Army Lt. Col. Van Sherwood, a 3rd MEDCOM preventive medicine specialist, said he had seen rat infestations before, but nothing compared to what he saw when he pulled open the doors and entered Saddam’s bunker.

“We saw some rats around the entrance when we walked up with our lights,” said Sherwood, a Gainesville, Fla., native and graduate of the University of Florida, who currently works at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. “Once we opened the doors and walked in, it was like rat heaven.”

Sherwood said American Special Forces troops had taken over the bunker and used them for operations and storage until January 2006. When they left, they left behind pallets of military food rations and water.

“I really had no preconceived idea of what to expect when I heard they had a rat problem,” Sherwood said. “I’ve been called out on these types of cases before, and most of the time, they are pretty mundane. For most people, one or two rats can be an infestation. As soon as we opened the doors, you could see rats scurrying down the corridors and could smell the rat urine. I knew then there were a lot of rats there.”

The rats had moved in to take over the bunker when the American soldiers left and the limited access hindered the entry of predators. The rats had a secure nesting area with a high-calorie, high-protein food source and water. A healthy female rat is capable of producing a brood of around a dozen offspring monthly. It didn’t take long for the rat population to reach epidemic proportions.

Until Sherwood and his rat patrol arrived, about the only thing the rats had to worry about was the snakes — one which was tentatively identified as a sand boa estimated to be at least five to six feet long.

“We knew we had to get rid of the rats some way, but it wasn’t as easy as it might seem,” he said. “There were so many cracks and crevices that they could easily escape the bunker and go to ground level, where there were hundreds of rodent burrows that would provide them harborage.”

Sherwood said the last thing he wanted to do was to take away the food supply and water or do anything that would drive the rats out of the bunker to the base camps to forage for their next meal.

The rats had devoured most of the military rations -- they ate everything but the salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce -- and shredded everything else except the spoons to use for nesting material. The cases looked intact, except for one or two small holes in each.

“I think that was the most surprising thing,” Sherwood said. “The boxes looked fine, but when you picked them up they were empty except for the ones that had nests built in them.”

Another surprising thing was the consistency with which the rats emptied the water bottles, which were almost all chewed through at the same height on the bottle with the holes all being very similar in size.

Sherwood decided to place poison near the now-empty pallets, which still contained ample food for the thriving rodent population, to rid the area of the problem. He said after placing the poison, his team returned and picked up dead adult rats by the hundreds and estimated many more may have died in their nests or in underground burrows.

The body count of the dead rats did lead Sherwood to believe the problem had been solved and shouldn’t happen again.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Once we got rid of the population and cleaned out the food and water, there was nothing down there that would make a rat want to go there.”

Originally Posted by DEAN

Thanks but no luck.

No Diner at Barclays Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Nat West Bank and The Halifax and travelex in the UK.

Dont suppose anybody across the pond no of any links?

Thanks in advance.

Go to safe dinar, just order another 4 million! no more 5k notes, they sold out in one day already. Good luck

PM postpones government reshuffle



Azzaman, December 28, 2006



Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not been able to muster enough support to introduce new changes in his government.



Parliamentary blocs have been adamant in their attitude not to give any concession that would have seen a reformed government brought to light this year.



Maliki had promised President George Bush during a meeting held in Amman recently that he would form a national unity government as part of efforts to contain terror and violence.



The Prime Minister had hoped to have the unity government in place before Bush’s much-awaited for announcement of his new Iraq strategy.



Bush is expected to make public his new Iraq policy early next year and Mailiki now fears he might not be able to honor his pledge to have the national unity government ready by then.



“The prime minister is facing huge hurdles in his efforts in this regard. Political forces in the country are still using wrong methods in their approaches,” said Abdulkarim al-Anzi of the ruling unified Iraqi coalition.



Anzi said some political parties in the parliament were not willing to accept any changes in the structure of the government while others persisted on certain names.



“This is a difficult situation,” he said.

Japan to seek extending Iraq aid beyond July
(Reuters)

29 December 2006



TOKYO - Japan will seek to extend a law allowing its military to provide humanitarian and reconstruction aid in Iraq beyond next July, media reports said on Friday.


Japan currently has some 200 air force personnel based in Kuwait who are transporting supplies to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, but a law enabling the mission is set to expire on July 31, 2007.

The government will seek to extend the law for another year or two in a session of parliament that starts next month, newspapers said.

Japan sent around 600 ground troops to southern Iraq in 2004 for reconstruction and humanitarian aid, but the last of the soldiers returned home in July this year, completing the mission without firing a shot or suffering any casualties.

The dispatch, the Japanese military’s riskiest overseas mission since World War Two, was a milestone in Japan’s shift away from a purely defensive posture towards a bigger international role for its forces.

Critics said the mission violated Japan’s pacifist constitution by sending the soldiers to a de facto war zone