"Tidbits From TNT" Sunday Morning 5-2-2021
TNT:
Cutebwoy: Iraq Pays another $380m Reparations to Kuwait
2nd May 2021 in Iraq Oil & Gas News, Politics
By John Lee.
The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) made available $380 million to the Government of the State of Kuwait towards the Commission's remaining claim with an outstanding award balance.
The United Nations Compensation Commission is a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council. It was established in 1991 in accordance with Security Council resolutions 687 (1991) and 692 (1991) to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damages incurred by individuals, corporations, Governments and international organizations as a direct result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait (2 August 1990 to 2 March 1991).
The Commission received approximately 2.7 million claims and concluded its review of all claims in 2005. Approximately$52.4 billion was awarded to over 100 Governments and international organizations for distribution to the successful 1.5 million claims in all claim categories.
Successful claims are paid from the United Nations Compensation Fund which receives a percentage of the proceeds generated by the export sales of Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products. This rate was set at five per cent under Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) and reaffirmed in subsequent resolutions. Pursuant to Governing Council decision 276 adopted in November 2017, the percentage was set at 0.5 per cent for 2018, 1.5 per cent for 2019 and 3 per cent for 2020.
The rate will remain at 3 per cent until such time as the outstanding compensation has been paid in full. Payments are made on a quarterly basis utilizing all available funds in the Compensation Fund under Governing Council decision 267 (2009).
With today's payment, the Commission has paid $50.7 billion, leaving approximately $1.7 billion to be paid towards the outstanding claim. This category E claim was submitted by the Government of the State of Kuwait on behalf of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and awarded $14.7 billion in 2000 for oil production and sales losses as a result of damages to Kuwait's oil field assets. It represents the largest award by the Commission.
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Tishwash: Parliamentary committee: The government has failed to contain the economic situation and Iraq has entered a major recession
A member of the Parliamentary Economic Committee, Representative Nada Shaker, warned on Saturday of a major recession that is consuming Iraq's markets now due to government policies.
"A major recession in the Iraqi market for weeks has pushed its activity to the lowest rates, which gives a negative signal on the deteriorating economic situation that millions of Iraqis are paying for in all the provinces," Shaker said.
She added, "The government’s policy of containing high prices and controlling prices has failed to achieve its goal. Rather, there is not yet a clear mechanism for controlling prices, which has led to a double increase in the rates of poverty and unemployment."
She pointed out that "the image that reaches the influential leaders of the countries does not reflect the reality of the general economic scene in terms of the tragic and its effects on the poor and the simple," noting that "the situation is getting more complicated day by day in light of the existence of any government strategy to contain the price fever created by the raising of the dollar price. Without any alternatives that protect the citizen from the high prices.
The Iraqi markets are suffering from the repercussions of raising the exchange rate, despite the passage of months after its application, due to the inability to control prices. link
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Tishwash: Local and international investments achieve development
The reality of the national economy imposes a trend towards hard work to activate investment, which represents the most important directions for development, where it requires trimming all episodes of corruption and complexities, which limit the presence of local, regional and international investments that look to the Iraqi labor market and change the shape of the economy when there is an attractive environment, which achieves competition that serves the national labor market.
Member of the Businessmen's Union Haitham Al-Mayali stressed that "Iraq desperately needs an economic recovery plan, starting from the investment gate in strategic projects to achieve self-sufficiency, and the government's preparation of a detailed plan in the form of stages that take a specified period of time from five to ten years, where the government develops a plan for self-sufficiency within a specified period of time, including the formation of specialized committees in several areas that make up the bulk of various import materials and equipment industrial, food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, military and construction, energy projects, information technology and laboratories. Scientific research."
Product protection
He also warned that “activating the wheel of industry requires a commitment from the government to purchase the product on the condition that the investor is committed to producing materials or devices according to the technical specifications approved in the specification table approved by the competent committee and conforming to international specifications, in addition to the government's commitment to implement the system of protecting the local product in a gradual manner, until Reaching the stage of self-sufficiency by increasing the customs tariff rate on the imported product.
Obscene profit
Calling for «the investor’s commitment not to sell according to the gross profit rates, which constitutes a burden on the citizen or the state. On the contrary, the price of the local product is always competitive, whether it is in the quality of the product or the competitive price, and it is preferable to determine the estimated selling price in the feasibility study.
He stressed “the government's commitment to setting up a mechanism to supervise the implementation of these projects specifically by specialized committees, and it is okay to use foreign expertise during implementation and construction until the final product production is reached, and to ensure that it conforms to the required specifications, as well as to ensure its implementation within the specified period and to remove obstacles and routine procedures at Relevant departments that prevent its implementation ».
Economic problems
A member of the National Business Council, Ahmed Al-Rikabi, called for the adoption of a new work mechanism that is compatible with the country's actual need to prevent complicating economic problems more than it is now. He said: “The global effort is waiting for an opportunity in front of it to enter the labor market, as it searches for safety and an environment free from all forms of corruption, which prevent the implementation of business in its true form. To support and supervise the Single Window from the highest authorities in the country. link
Mot: Arthur is 90 years old. He's played golf every day since his retirement 25 years ago. One day he arrives home looking downcast.
"That's it," he tells his wife. "I'm giving up golf. My eyesight has gotten so bad that once I've hit the ball, I can't see where it went."
His wife sympathizes. As they sit down, she has a suggestion,
"Why don't you take my brother with you and give it one more try."
"That's no good," sighs Arthur. "Your brother is a hundred and three. He can't help."
"He may be a hundred and three," says the wife, "but his eyesight is perfect."
So the next day, Arthur heads off to the golf course with his brother-in-law. He tees up, takes an almighty swing, and squints down the fairway. He turns to the brother-in-law and asks,
"Did you see the ball?"
"Of course I did!" says the brother-in-law. "I have perfect eyesight."
"Where did it go?" asks Arthur.
"I can't remember."
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Mot: ~~~ Phooooey!! --- Wont be able to go to Sleep now!!! ~~~
Mot: These Boots Are Made for Walkin' ~~~ Could You do the Dance?? ~~~