"Thursday News" Posted by Samson at KTFA 7-22-2021

KTFA:

Samson:  Iraq is the fifth largest exporter of crude oil to China in June

22nd July, 2021

The Chinese Customs Administration showed that Iraq was the fifth largest exporter of crude oil to China, while Saudi Arabia topped the oil-producing countries

The administration said in a statistic seen by "Economy News", that "China imported from ten crude oil-producing countries in the month of June an amount of 40,130 thousand tons of crude oil, which is equivalent to 9.363 million barrels per day

Saudi Arabia and Russia held the top two seats in June, as Saudi Arabia sent 1.680 million barrels per day of crude oil to China in June, while Russia's shipments reached 1.551 million barrels per day

She added that "Oman came third as the largest oil exporter to China, with a rate of 896,000 barrels per day, followed by Angola fourth, with 858,000 barrels, while Iraq came fifth, as it exported 3.550 tons of crude oil in June, equivalent to 24.850 million barrels per month, equivalent to 828,333 thousand barrels per day

She noted that Kuwait came sixth with 560,000 barrels per day, Brazil came seventh with 548,000 barrels per day, then the UAE came eighth, with 403,000 barrels per day, America came ninth, with 331,000 barrels per day, and Malaysia ranked tenth, with 273,000 barrels per day  LINK

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Samson:  Financial survey: The Chinese yuan competes with the dollar and is heading to become a global currency

21st July, 2021

A survey issued by the "Forum of Official Monetary and Financial Institutions" showed that the yuan could become a global currency, as about a third of the world's central banks plan to increase their reserves of the Chinese currency.

According to the Global Government Investor Survey, which is published annually by the Forum of Official Monetary and Financial Institutions, an independent think tank active in Britain and the United States, 30% of central banks plan to increase their holdings of the yuan over the next two years. According to the "Forum", the yuan's share is currently equivalent to 10 percent of the foreign exchange reserves of central banks.

The survey showed that 20 percent of those banks plan to reduce their holdings of US dollars within two years, while 18 percent of them plan to reduce their holdings of euros. According to the survey, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds maintain a record level of assets of $42.7 trillion.   LINK

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Samson: Analysts and activists call for fighting corruption inside and outside Iraq

22nd July, 2021

On Thursday, analysts and activists called for fighting corruption inside and outside Iraq, hours after the British Embassy in Baghdad announced the punishment of five people accused of corruption, including an Iraqi.

The British Embassy announced today, Thursday, that the United Kingdom announced its decision to punish five individuals involved in corruption cases worldwide, adding that one of the persons subject to sanctions today is an Iraqi citizen involved in corruption cases. Analysts and activists said in interviews with Alsumaria News, "This matter strongly calls for the need to fight corruption inside and outside Iraq because of its great impact on the lives of Iraqis."

They added that "fighting corruption and punishing the corrupt will contribute to returning state funds that were looted, especially from abroad, as well as being an important deterrent for those who beg themselves to steal Iraq's money," calling on the government and relevant authorities to "follow up on the matter and prosecute those involved wherever they are."

Two months ago, the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, presented a draft law on “recovering the proceeds of corruption” to Parliament, which includes subjecting all Iraqi state officials who held high positions most vulnerable to corruption, and since 2004 until now, from the rank of director general and above, to procedures this is the law. LINK

Samson:  Dams in the world, including Iraq, are in danger of collapsing due to rising water levels

22nd July, 2021

The rise in the level of waterways poses the greatest threat to the security of dams in the world, given that they are vulnerable to the repercussions of climate disruption, according to Michel de Vivo, Secretary-General of the International Committee on Large Dams.

The most prominent danger lies in the water more than in the earthquakes. When the water rises to the unflooded part of the dam, it penetrates into it and damages the foundations of the facility and may eventually topple it. The danger is especially high for the earthen dams, which are the most common in the world, such as the Egyptian Aswan Dam.

Modern dams have been erected in the mountainous regions of China using roller-compacted concrete technology, which allows saving materials and speeding up construction, and the Chinese and Spaniards are pioneers in this field. This risk can be reduced through continuous monitoring of the facility and its surroundings with a set of tools that measure the extent of the mobility of its components, and the majority of structures built since the seventies of the last century are equipped with tools of this type.

This monitoring also allows the dam to continue to operate, even when a gap is detected. Gaps whose size does not exceed a few centimeters do not greatly hinder the dam’s work, as the dam must have been badly damaged in order to collapse. It is also recommended to hire civil engineering experts to regularly inspect these facilities.

The main danger lies in the difficulty of anticipating a rise in the water level. The dams were designed to withstand the surge in water levels hundreds of years ago. However, climate change is changing the equation. The amount of water is not necessarily increasing, but the fluctuations are becoming more intense, with longer droughts and more severe rises in the water level.

It is necessary to review the local expectations for each dam, if available. This step would help to strengthen and adapt the rules of management.

The water crisis in Iraq

The matter also applies to Iraq, which has witnessed a major water crisis since 2003, after the decline in the water level across the Tigris and Euphrates rivers due to the water policies adopted by neighboring countries to reduce release rates, change the tributary paths and build giant dams. Iraq established eight dams and lakes to regulate the use of water and benefit from it in various fields in agriculture, tourism, staving off floods, storing water and developing fisheries, most notably the Mosul Dam, which revolved around it in recent years, fears of its collapse.  LINK

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Samson:  The Pentagon: The fate of our direct military presence in Iraq will be decided with our Iraqi partners

07/22/2021 19:24:46

 The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) announced, on Thursday, hosting an Iraqi delegation as part of the ongoing strategic dialogue between the two countries.

The Pentagon said in a statement, "The direct US military presence in Iraq is under discussion with our Iraqi partners." The Pentagon explained, "Our mission, which focused on ISIS, was not intended to be permanent, and that the fate of our direct military presence in Iraq will be decided with our Iraqi partners." The Pentagon confirmed, "We will continue to talk with the Iraqis about our military presence in Iraq to serve the American interest."

Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein arrived on Tuesday 7/20/2021 in the American capital, Washington, at the head of the negotiating delegation to hold the fourth round of strategic dialogue to be held on Monday 7/23/2021 between Iraq and the United States of America.  LINK