"Tidbits From TNT: Sunday Morning 7-12-2020

TNT:

Weekend UPDATE for July 1

Saturday -

Major security operations will be launched today to secure the borders and stop the theft and corruption being controlled by Iran at the Mandali outlet.

The port will be under the protection of Iraqi military forces with orders to "shoot anyone that violates the customs campus" according to PM Al-Kadhimi during his visit there.

Tishwash:  Al-Kazemi: There are major operations that will be launched in the coming hours

Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, revealed that major operations will be launched in the coming hours at the border outlets.

In statements reported by “Sky News Arabia”, Al-Kazemi said, “The security forces were authorized to shoot at the infringers on the border crossings.”

He added, “The anti-terrorist haze carried out airdrops at dawn today, and the Mandali border crossing with Iran was controlled.”

He continued, “The journey to restore order has begun, and we will not allow the theft of public money in border crossings,” noting that “major operations will be launched in the coming hours.”    link

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Tishwash:  95% of the revenue from the outlets goes to the pockets of the corrupt

The Iraqi government began its plan to impose its control on the border crossings, as a military force authorized to shoot at all who blackmailed businessmen at the two border crossings with Iran, Mandali and Muntheria, arrived.

Until now, the central government has not made clear its intention to impose its control on the official and unofficial border crossings in the Kurdistan region, which the Parliamentary Finance Committee indicates is that its annual income is estimated at $ 5 billion, and the government estimates the amount of corruption in the border outlets more than $ 8 billion annually.

The Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, said that there is a tendency for the government to intensify non-oil resources through several means, foremost among which are the border entry points, through which sound management can achieve profits and revenues for the treasury, as an important economic artery .

He added that the Mandali border crossing is considered an important outlet, but it has turned into a den and a crossing for the corrupt, indicating that the government is launching a new stage today, which is to restore order and law in the work of the outlets and stop the waste of money in them, which is also the people's demand and social and political activities, so the money is the people's money and not the money of the corrupt .

He pointed to the presence of "ghosts" in the customs sanctuary extorting merchants and businessmen, and our message to them is that we will track them, infer them, present them to the judiciary and rid the border crossings from them .

The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces confirmed that the Mandali border crossing has come under the protection of our military forces, and has the right to fire at anyone who tries to bypass or infringe on the customs campus and its workers, and indicated that he directed the automation of the administrative aspects of customs, in order to protect public money and fight corruption and corrupt And we also granted powers to the military commanders and the director general of the border outlets to address the situation of the outlets and develop the reality of their work .

On the other hand, the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Haitham Al-Jubouri, said that the unofficial border crossings are two in Erbil, 4 in Sulaimaniyah and one in Maysan and Anbar in each of them, and are led by parties, clans, and factions, noting that the process of controlling customs is not carried out by the security authorities Rather, heading towards governance.

He stressed that Iraq loses about 95% of customs revenue due to corruption in border ports, noting that large exemptions for investors made them take advantage of these exemptions by importing raw materials and selling them in the market, as well as exemptions for civil society organizations.

He pointed out that the simple employee in the border outlets receives daily more than 10 thousand dollars due to manipulation in the gender of the goods, indicating that there are 4 companies submitted to control the border outlets, including two good companies, but so far have not been referred.

Meanwhile, economist Abdel-Rahman Al-Mashhadani stressed that the money wasted at the border outlets since 2003 until now is estimated at about 100 billion dollars, indicating that between 5 and 6 border outlets with Iran are losing control of the country after six in the evening .

Al-Mashhadani said, "The country's border revenues can include a large part of the country's current crisis, with taxes and customs duties forming the most important part of non-oil revenues in Iraq," noting that "Iraq has about 22 border outlets represented by land and sea ports and airports, but all of these The outlets did not meet the expected revenues that are supposed to be included in the general budget .

He added, "What has entered the budget for these revenues over the past years does not exceed a quarter of the assumed real income, except for some years in the period of the rule of the former Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, especially between 2016 and 2017, when the revenues accrued to the state increased to about 3 billion dollars. He pointed out that "the money wasted through the border crossings since 2003 until the moment is estimated at about 100 billion dollars."  link

Tishwash:  Tuesday is an official holiday in the Kurdistan Region

The governmental departments and institutions were suspended from official work on Tuesday in the Kurdistan Region on the occasion of the 14th of July anniversary.

According to the official holiday schedule confirmed by the government “calendar”, Tuesday 7/14/2020 is an official holiday on the occasion of the July 14 anniversary.

Both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government were suspended annually on this date on the occasion of the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq on July 14, 1958.   ink

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Tishwash:   He revealed the files of Al-Kazimi's upcoming visit to Washington

July 12, 2020

Said adviser to the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, that the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to the United States will include several aspects, including security.

"It is a visit that includes the development of all relations, including those on the security side," Hisham Dawood told Al Furat News.

He added, "Our relations with America are strategic, cultural, scientific, economic, agricultural, and there is no doubt on the security side, and this is normal because we have a common war against ISIS and military relations and we import weapons from them."

It is expected that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi will visit Washington, DC, in the next few days, during which he will head the Iraqi side in the second round of the strategic dialogue between the two countries.  link 

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Tishwash:  Deputy: No agreement between Baghdad and Erbil will succeed without passing the oil law

Deputy of the state of law, Kata al-Rikabi, affirmed on Sunday that no agreement could be implemented between Baghdad and Erbil without passing the oil and gas law, indicating that the controversial laws disrupted the political process in Iraq .

Al-Rikabi said in a statement to "information" that "dozens of controversial laws between political forces, which have hindered the political and development process in Iraq because of the differences of the various parties."

He added, "Any agreement between Baghdad and Erbil will never be successful without adopting the oil and gas law that has caused billions of dollars in waste."

Al-Rikabi said, "Without approving controversial laws and activating the work of the Council, successive and accumulated crises in Iraq, especially with the Kurdistan Region, have not been resolved ."  link

Tishwash:  Germany pledges to work to remove Iraq from a black European list

On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged to work to remove Iraq from the European blacklist on money laundering and terrorist financing.

This came during a telephone conversation between the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his German counterpart Maas, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

The statement stated that the two sides "discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and the prospects for upgrading them to what meets the aspirations of the two friendly peoples."

Hussein called on Germany to "exercise its political and economic weight with regional states to prevent interference in Iraq's internal affairs, and to intensify efforts to remove the name of Iraq from the list of high-risk countries in money laundering and terrorist financing."

For his part, the German Foreign Minister said that he will "chair next week the ministerial meeting of the European Union, pledging to harness efforts to address the issue of removing the name of Iraq from the list of high-risk countries."

Mas noted that "Germany will work hard to protect Iraqi sovereignty," stressing "Germany's continued support for Iraq in all fields."

On Wednesday, the Iraqi foreign minister sent a message to his European counterparts urging them to reject the decision of the European Union Commission to include Iraq in the list of high-risk countries regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The European Commission, Iraq, along with other countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Iran and North Korea, were included in the list of countries that pose financial risks to the European Union, due to a deficiency in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The European Commission says that these countries "pose a major threat to the financial system of the Union."

Under European Union laws, banks, other financial companies, and tax companies are obligated to have more careful scrutiny of their customers who have dealings with the countries on the list.   link

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Tishwash:  Coca-Cola launches "Open Your Heart More Before" initiative to support local small stores in Iraq

The Coca-Cola Company announced on Sunday the launch of the "Open Your Heart More Before" initiative to support local stores in light of the Corona pandemic crisis, indicating that it will provide free products to retailers to help alleviate the problem of cash.

The company said, in a statement received by "Economy News", that "the launch of this initiative comes in response to the faltering business climate in the retail sector during the current period," stating that "the initiative will work with 50 thousand stores across Iraq to help them overcome these difficult times." .

She added: "As the region begins its recovery phase from the negative repercussions of the emerging crisis of the Corona virus, small businesses have been affected by this crisis more than others, and the changing nature of trade has greatly affected small groceries and local stores."

The company clarified that it "aims to support retailers to help them overcome the difficulties they face and to give priority to health and personal safety standards."

"The leading beverage brand will provide 500,000 muzzles, in addition to in-store awareness campaigns designed to encourage customers to support local stores across Iraq. Moreover, Coca-Cola will give more than 1.3 million products to retailers for free to help mitigate Cash problem. "

Commenting on the initiative, Tolga Sibi, Vice President and General Manager for the Middle East at Coca-Cola, said, "In light of the negative repercussions of the Corona pandemic that affected retail and small shops, we have seen that we have a duty to participate in providing the necessary support to alleviate these."

He added, "The initiative aims to boost the momentum and encourage other companies and the public to build a common force for small businesses and contribute to making a real difference in cooperation with each other   link