"Tidbits From TNT" Friday Morning 7-2-2021
TNT:
Tishwash: Almost complete power outage in Iraq, and the government is silent
Electricity has been cut off in most parts of Iraq since yesterday, without knowing the reasons.
The responsible government agencies did not explain the reasons behind the power outage, while sources stated that the reasons were multiple, including the targeting of power towers simultaneously and the lack of Iranian gas supply due to the accumulated debts, while other sources in the south of the country indicated that an emergency technical event occurred on the national grid and the separation of all generation plants from Work in the southern region, including the Nasiriyah Thermal Station and the Nasiriyah Compound Station.
Iraq is suffering from a severe heat wave, as temperatures exceeded 52 degrees Celsius in most of its regions link
Tishwash: Al-Kazemi: Iraq succeeded in achieving regional stability... and the white paper for restoring economic balance
The obelisk publishes, Thursday, July 1, 2021, the most important statement of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi during his meeting with the permanent representatives of NATO countries in Brussels:
Iraq highly appreciates cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its member states. In order to support the rebuilding of our military institutions and enhance the capabilities of our armed forces and security services in the face of terrorism, we have a serious desire to develop this joint cooperation.
Iraq has suffered from political and security turmoil for more than four decades, the most recent of which was the terrorist attack by outsiders of the era, the terrorist organization ISIS, whose crimes the region and the world have not witnessed in mass murder, displacement of civilians and the destruction of cultural monuments and infrastructure.
We appreciate the role played by NATO, as it was a partner in providing support for Iraq’s efforts to defeat the terrorist organization ISIS, and we will certainly not forget the huge sacrifices made by the Iraqi security forces, including the army, the federal police, the anti-terrorist forces, the Popular Mobilization, the Peshmerga, and volunteers from among the tribesmen in various parts of the country. regions of Iraq.
Iraq was and still is the first line in the war against the terrorist organization ISIS, and this war, regardless of its severity, has earned our security forces significant experience at the regional and international levels.
Despite the huge security challenges, our forces were able during the periods extending after the defeat of the strongholds of the organization to deal severe and painful blows to its safe havens and havens one after the other, and we succeeded in dismantling its networks and sleeper cells spread in different regions of the country.
The progress we have made on the security front prompts us, through the strategic dialogue that we started in 2020 with the International Coalition, to find time and technical mechanisms for withdrawing the coalition’s combat forces, and continuing cooperation in all fields, especially armament, rehabilitation, training and intelligence support.
We seek to cooperate with NATO countries in sustaining training and working continuously to raise the readiness of our military and security capabilities.
We look forward to NATO countries continuing to train, qualify and equip our armed forces, support military colleges, expand police training programs, and train specialized skills and technicians in all types of air and naval weapons to enable them to confront terrorism.
We hope, through these endeavors, to obtain the necessary expertise to build military institutions to help raise the level of their professionalism and efficiency, with the need to equip them with the necessary modern and advanced military equipment, hoping to strengthen efforts to reform the security system and to contribute to maintaining Iraq's security and stability.
We in Iraq are proud of the religious, sectarian and national diversity of the components of the Iraqi people, and Iraq has succeeded in playing a constructive role in achieving security and stability within its regional and international surroundings. Wars and difficult circumstances have taught us that peaceful solutions are the basis on which we can establish strategic and positive relations, both with neighboring countries. , regional countries, and countries of the world.
We call from this platform to the member states of the alliance and the international community, to use security and military resources in the service of promoting peace and stability, and to entrust the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas affected by conflicts and wars, that crises and wars will not serve international peace and security.
Our government sought to present an economic reform paper called the White Paper, which is a comprehensive road map aimed at reforming the Iraqi economy and addressing the serious challenges it faces.
Challenges have accumulated before the Iraqi economy over the past years due to wrong policies, mismanagement, corruption and lack of planning, in addition to the almost total dependence on oil as a main source of state revenue.
The white reform paper aims to restore balance to the Iraqi economy, and put it on a path that allows the state to take appropriate steps in the future to develop it into a diversified economy that creates opportunities for citizens to live a decent life.
Economic reforms cannot be achieved without achieving economic growth, and that Iraq seeks to encourage the international community to enhance investment opportunities in Iraq in a way that ensures sustainable development that contributes to supporting economic reform.
I would like to refer to the pledge we made at the beginning of my assumption of the position of Prime Minister to hold legislative elections, and we affirm our commitment, through discussions with all political and popular forces, on the need to ensure free, fair and fair elections.
We are making all efforts to ensure electoral security through military and security plans that we have been preparing for months, and through training and practices carried out by security institutions in preparation for election day, aimed at protecting voters, international observers and journalists.
The government has adopted the law of the Independent High Electoral Commission, and we have sought to approve a budget for the commission, and we have also welcomed the UN Security Council resolution supporting the elections in Iraq,
in addition to the role of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq by coordinating the presence of international observers to monitor the elections, and we have directed to overcome all obstacles that come from It is possible that the voting process and the next stage will face it, and we have set the tenth of next October as the date for holding the elections.
Terrorism that destroys mosques, churches and hospitals and kills innocent people in Iraqi cities is the same that strikes the cities of the world, so we must strive to prevent Iraq from becoming an arena for regional conflicts on the one hand or international conflicts on the other.
The security and stability of Iraq is affected by the security of the region, and the security of the region can only be achieved by adhering to international resolutions that call on all parties to the conflict to abide by international legitimacy, respect human rights, non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, and avoid launching any transnational aggression against any independent and sovereign country. Noting in this regard to Iraq's categorical refusal to use its territory to attack its neighbors.
We renew our thanks and appreciation, and we highly appreciate the positions that support Iraq, its people, its institutions and its democratic experience, and we look forward to continuing cooperation in vital areas, military training and training of the military police in Iraq, and in consultation with the Iraqi government.
We appreciate and appreciate the assistance of the NATO countries to Iraq in supporting construction and reconstruction projects and achieving economic development that requires providing security and stability in a way that ensures experts, technicians and companies start their investments within optimal security conditions, which will therefore serve the security, safety, stability and interests of our peoples looking forward to building, reconstruction, prosperity and progress.
Media Office of the Prime Minister
1 - July -2021 link
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Harambe: Bloomberg: Venezuela to Cut Six Zeroes Off Bolivar to Simplify Transactions
(7/1/21)
Venezuela is preparing to once again lop off zeroes from the national currency in an attempt to simplify daily transactions which sometimes barely fit on a calculator or require swiping cards multiple times to complete a purchase.
The central bank is planning to slash six zeroes from the bolivar as early as August after previous attempts to issue larger-denomination bills failed to resolve problems created by endemic inflation, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter who aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
That means one dollar would fetch 3.2 bolivars instead of 3,219,000 at present.
Venezuela last carried out a “redenomination” of the bolivar in 2018 and in March began printing a 1 million-bolivar note, the largest in the country’s history. But that bill is now worth just $0.32 and isn’t enough to buy a cup of coffee. Since 2008, the government -- first under the late Hugo Chavez, and then under current President Nicolas Maduro -- has removed 8 zeroes from the currency, as hyperinflation decimated people’s savings.
While the country has now informally adopted the U.S. dollar for many every day transactions, most Venezuelans only earn bolivars and the local currency is needed for things like bus fare, parking and tips.
With electronic payments on the rise in Venezuela, the central bank shouldn’t have to print as many of the new bills as in previous “redenominations,” the people said. The bank will likely roll out six different denominations ranging from 2 to 100 bolivars, they said. The name would remain “bolivar soberano.”
The push for simplifying bolivar transactions has come largely from companies who have raised the issue with the government. Things like paying taxes and dealing with other accounting calculations have become absurdly complex.
“This has been desperately awaited by businesses due to the serious operational consequences that come from the overflow of digits in the system,” said economist Tamara Herrera, head of consulting firm Sintesis Financiera.
The central bank didn’t respond to several requests for comment while the government declined to comment on the matter.
While previous attempts to relaunch the currency by cutting off zeroes and printing new bills have failed shortly after implementation, a series of recent reforms that have slowed consumer price gains may mean it has a better chance of sticking now.
Following the second-longest hyperinflation stretch in the country’s history, annual inflation is down to 2,339% a year from more than 300,000% in 2019, according to Bloomberg’s Cafe con Leche index. On a monthly basis, price gains slowed even further to about 20% in May from April. The central bank no longer publishes regular inflation data.
Venezuela’s economy may have hit bottom after seven years of economic contraction during which the currency became virtually worthless amid crashing oil prices and unchecked state spending. Under pressure by U.S. sanctions, the government was forced to scrap some price controls, reduce subsidies on goods including gasoline and remove many restrictions on foreign exchange which may allow the economy to grow this year.
“Everyone has been affected by the huge lag in providing cash for the country,” Herrera said. “Without a real economic stabilization program, we will need another redenomination in a few years.”
Mot~~~ Being a Silly Dad!!! ~~~
Mot: --- oooooh Dear!!! ----
