Zig’s Place Chat and News Friday AM 5-7-21

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Butterfly  KRI Court upholds Jail Terms for Journalists ...................7th May 2021 .............In response to the Erbil Court of Cassation's recent decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of Iraqi Kurdish journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued the following statement:

"With the Erbil Court of Cassation's decision to uphold the six-year jail sentences of journalists Sherwan Amin Sherwani and Guhdar Zebari, the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government has shown that its purported commitment to press freedom is nothing but empty words," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado.

"Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq should immediately release both journalists, drop the charges against them, and stop harassing members of the media."

"In the court's April 28 decision, which was made public today, Judge Abdullah Ali Ahmed Sharafani upheld a lower court's decision and restated allegations that Sherwani and Zebari received money from the U.S. and German consulates in Erbil and were conspiring to undermine the security of Iraqi Kurdistan, according to news reports and the court decision, which CPJ reviewed.

"On February 16, an Erbil criminal court convicted Sherwani and Zebari of destabilizing the security and stability of the Kurdistan region and handed down six-year sentences, in a trial marred by circumstantial and flimsy evidence and due process violations, according to CPJ reporting.

"The decision comes three days after Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan, pledged his "full support" for press freedom in the region in a statement on Twitter marking World Press Freedom Day."   (Source: CPJ)

butterfly  UNDP, FBA advocate Gender Perspective in Peace-Building ......................7th May 2021 ................Advocating a Gender Perspective in Peacebuilding: New MoU between UNDP Iraq and Folke Bernadotte Academy signed

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Iraq and Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) to enhance local capacities for peacebuilding in Iraq with concentration on gender mainstreaming in peacebuilding.

With a mandate to support international peace and security-related efforts, Folke Bernadotte Academy is a governmental agency based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Focused on effective peacebuilding, FBA and UNDP Iraq's new partnership aims at advancing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 agenda on women, peace, and security, within the realm of social cohesion and the promotion of peaceful co-existence.

Through working to advance a gender perspective in community peace processes, this partnership also contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Gender Equality (Goal 5) and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (Goal 16).

UNDP Iraq's Social Cohesion Programme works with Iraqi local peace practitioners, including Community-Based Organizations and Communal Peace and Dialogue Committees, which FBA will provide training for on gender mainstreaming in dialogue processes under the year-long agreement.

According to UNDP Iraq Resident Representative Zena Ali-Ahmad:

"This new collaboration with Folke Bernadotte Academy will further strengthen our efforts for inclusive and gender sensitive peacebuilding in Iraq through our extensive work with local organizations and peace structures. We are thankful to Folke Bernadotte Academy for this partnership and its contribution to advancing gender equality through our Social Cohesion Programme in Iraq."

Taleb Sobeh, project manager for Sweden's strategy for development cooperation with Iraq, from FBA states:

butterfly  "UNDP is a key actor in the promotion of social cohesion and peaceful co-existence in Iraq, and this cooperation enables us to, together with local actors, work for gender equal processes that strategically take the priorities and perspectives of both women and men into account."

UNDP Iraq has launched in 2020 a dedicated 5-year Social Cohesion Programme to promote stronger, peaceful, and more cohesive communities in all areas of Iraq.  (Source: UN)

butterfly   Iraq Seeks Recovery of Funds Frozen in Italy ......................7th May 2021 ................................Iraq is reportedly trying to recover Iraqi funds frozen in Italy.

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (pictured) is reported as saying that Baghdad is attempting to recover around EUR 600 million, plus interest, that the Saddam Hussein regime paid to Italian companies to purchase weapons.

According to Basnews, the weapons were not delivered because of the 1991 embargo on the sale of arms to the country.  (Source: Basnews)

butterfly  2021-05-07 02:46   Shafaq News/ The dollar stayed under modest pressure on Friday ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could cement expectations of a strong economic recovery and fan investor appetite for stocks, higher-yielding currencies and commodities.

The dollar's index against six other major currencies stood near its lowest level so far this week, at 90.868 , having lost about 0.4% overnight.

As the dollar is softer against most currencies, the euro outshone many others, having gained 0.5% on Thursday to trade at $1.2063 .

Against the yen, the dollar dipped to 109.05 yen , almost flat so far on the week as its rebound since late April has lost steam.

U.S. payrolls data due at 1230 GMT will likely confirm the economy's solid path to recovery from the pandemic, analysts said. Economists expect 978,000 new U.S. jobs for April, according to a Reuters poll.

Ahead of the closely-watched report, data showed on Thursday the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a year ago.

Although signs of a strong job recovery could stoke inflation worries, so far most Federal Reserve policymakers have downplayed the risks of higher prices, a sign stimulus tapering will not be on agenda any time soon.

"Markets are convinced that the Fed won't make actions until the U.S. will see a full employment. That means positive environment for risk assets such as stocks," said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo Branch Manager of State Street.

"I often hear people say they are fine with the idea of selling the dollar. The question is becoming, what you should buy against the dollar?"

The Canadian dollar rose almost 1% overnight to a 3-1/2-year high of C$1.21455 and last stood at C$1.2157.

The currency has been bolstered by oil price gains and the Bank of Canada's recent shift to more hawkish guidance.

butterfly  The Chinese yuan also held firm near a two-month high, standing at 6.4655 per dollar in offshore trade , just short of its April 30 peak of 6.4613.

The British pound traded at $1.3896 , unable to hold on to gains made on Thursday after the Bank of England slowed the pace of its trillion dollar bond-purchasing programme.

The decision was largely expected and the BoE stressed it was not reversing its stimulus.

The British currency could be capped for now by uncertainties over Scottish election that could trigger a showdown with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over its independence movement.

Although the polls already closed at 2100 GMT, votes will not be counted until Friday morning due to the coronavirus pandemic

Just over a third of the results will be announced on Friday and the remainder will be announced on Saturday.

Elsewhere, ether hit a fresh record high of $3,610.04 and last traded at $3,473.51.

Bitcoin fetched $56,541 , trapped in a range between $53,000 and $59,000 over the past week. Source: Reuters

butterfly  2021-05-07 02:19  Shafaq News/ Oil prices recovered after a 1% dip in the previous session on buoyant economic data from China and the United States, even as the surging COVID-19 pandemic in India capped prices.

Brent crude futures for July were at $68.40 a barrel by 0616 GMT, up 31 cents, or 0.5%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.

Both Brent and WTI are on track for a second weekly gain as easing restrictions on movement in the United States and Europe, recovering factory operations and coronavirus vaccinations pave the way for a revival in fuel demand, while pent-up summer travel is likely to give gasoline and jet fuel consumption a further boost.

In China, data showed export growth unexpectedly accelerated in April while a private survey pointed to a strong expansion in service sector activity. [nL1N2MU04N]

However, crude imports of the world's biggest buyer fell 0.2% in April from a year earlier to 40.36 million tons, or 9.82 million barrels per day, the lowest since December.

"The import figure isn't the best," said economist Howie Lee at Singaporean lender OCBC, adding that a fall in operating rates at independent refiners in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong last month may have caused the decline.

"It is, however, still too early to call for an end to China's commodity binge, as evident in the import numbers of iron ore and copper," Lee said.

In the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, jobless claims have dropped, signaling the Labour market recovery had entered a new phase amid a booming economy.

butterfly However, oil demand recovery has been uneven as surging COVID-19 cases in India has reduced fuel consumption at the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer.

"India remains the weak link in the oil rally narrative," OANDA's senior analyst Jeffrey Halley said.

Resurgence of COVID-19 in countries such as India, Japan and Thailand is hindering gasoline demand recovery, energy consultancy FGE said in a client note, though some of that lost demand has been offset by countries such as China where recent Labour Day holiday travel surpassed 2019 levels.

"Gasoline demand in the U.S. and parts of Europe is faring relatively well," FGE said.

"Further out, we could see demand pick up as lockdowns are eased and pent-up demand is released during the summer driving season."  Source: Reuters

butterfly  2021-05-06 08:08  Shafaq News/ Jordan on Thursday floated a tender for transporting crude oil from Iraq to the Kingdom's refinery, following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries.

The tender, floated by the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, is for transporting 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Iraq to Jordan's Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa Governorate.

"Obtaining bidding documents must be before Monday, May 27th, while the deadline for bids submission is Thursday, June 3th," according to a statement by the ministry.

In the statement, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hala Zawati, stressed the importance of implementing the MoU for activating land transport between the two countries, operating Jordan's and Iraq's truck fleets, and rehabilitating roads.

"Importing oil from Iraq is part of the ministry's plan to enhance Jordan's energy cooperation with neighboring Arab countries," she added.

PeteV  hi all

butterfly  Al-Kazemi and Hammoudi stress the importance of the regional role of Iraq in the region

Friday 07, May 2021 15:13....................Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and President of the Islamic Supreme Council, Hammam Hammoudi, stressed the importance of the regional role that Iraq plays in bridging views and dissolving tension, in a way that enhances stability and peace in the region.

During the meeting, the two sides stressed the importance of re-imposing the prestige of the state and the cooperation of all on the road to building a generous, fair and capable state, combating corruption, and ensuring that elections are held on time, and ensuring their integrity and transparency.

Hammoudi called for the continuation of the strategic dialogue committee and scheduling the withdrawal of foreign forces, in order to reach all that preserves the sovereignty and security of Iraq.

butterfly  Al-Fateh Alliance: We have an agreement with the Mobilization Committee and the heads of the blocs to develop sufficient financial allocations to deal with the return of those whose contracts were avoided

Friday 07, May 2021 15:00 ..................The Al-Fateh Alliance demanded the Ministry of Finance to instruct the Mobilization Authority to initiate the procedures for the return of those whose contracts were canceled within the ceiling of their financial allocation for this year, similar to their counterparts in defense and the interior, and the relevant government agencies carried the results of what is happening in the procrastination of returning the youth of the crowd to service under unreal pretexts.

The coalition stated, "For more than a year and a half, the House of Representatives and the Ministry of Finance and the competent authorities have been following up on the issue of returning those whose contracts have been canceled from the members of the Popular Mobilization Forces ... and a decision issued by the Judge 315 to reinstate their contracts in defense, the interior, the Popular Mobilization and the Anti-Terrorism Service has been taken, and measures have been taken and reinstated."

Contracts for this segment are in the defense, interior, and counterterrorism apparatus, while the decision regarding the members of the crowd was not implemented, and at that time a committee was formed in the office of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, with the membership of the central administration in the Hashd Authority and others.

butterfly  He added, in a press release, that "the committee, after setting controls and checking the priorities, concluded that the number included in the return is 35 thousand, and the decision was in April 2020 that their return would be through a transfer of degrees between the Ministry of Defense and the Interior to the crowd, and the decision was not implemented due to the government change." Then we followed up on their case and demanded to add them in the borrowing law to finance the deficit, and this paragraph has not been implemented.

He stated that "the 2021 budget includes an addition of 30 thousand degrees for the crowd to return those whose contracts have been avoided and we were glad," indicating that "after controversy and discussions about the budget and reducing expenditures by approximately 20% of the total budget, political parties and some members of the Financial Committee demanded to delete the paragraph of those whose contracts were rescinded because it causes great embarrassment."

The fact that it came with 11 trillion dinars allocated to degrees and contracts, and these funds were deleted and keeping the title of those whose contracts were canceled will explode the situation in Parliament and impose the addition of the rest of the paragraphs. "

The coalition pointed out that "the compromise that was agreed upon with the Finance Committee, the Mobilization Committee and the heads of the blocs with whom it was agreed was to put financial allocations within the crowd budget without the need to mention its address, and this has already been done, and sufficient financial allocations have been put in place to address the issue of their return," criticizing the discussion about The lack of allocations sufficient to return their contracts whose contracts have been canceled is inaccurate, and we can speak with them in the language of numbers in the attached tables, which the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee spoke a few days ago. "

butterfly  Unusual" ... China is preventing its workers in Iraq from returning

05/07/2021 15:49:54........................(Economist: Al Furat News) The Chinese embassy in Baghdad said, on Friday, that employees of two Chinese state-owned companies in Iraq are prevented from returning to China for two months, after 14 colleagues returned to their countries infected with the Coronavirus.

Al-Mukhtasar al-Mufid .. In important news, you can find it on the Al Furat News channel on the Telegram .. To subscribe, click here

China has repeatedly suspended the rights of airlines to operate certain routes, after the discovery of injuries among their passengers. But the decision to target Chinese citizens working for state-owned enterprises abroad is unusual.

The Chinese embassy said on its social media account that the 14 employees who returned home with the virus in April worked for "China Power Construction Corporation" in Rumaila and for "China Machinery Engineering Corporation" in Basra.

And the embassy added that China had suspended issuing health codes to other employees in those projects for two months. This prevents them from taking flights to China.

The statement said that the lack of detection of the virus before the employees boarded two Iraqi Airways flights, "caused serious risks of importing the epidemic." It did not give details of whether they had transmitted the virus to anyone in China.

The ruling Communist Party has lifted most of the restrictions imposed on travel and business inside China since announcing control of the virus last March. And gradually relax controls imposed on travel to and from the country.

Health codes, carried on smartphones, are being used in China to track whether individuals have been infected or visited high-risk areas.

Once the suspension is lifted, the embassy said, employees in Iraq will be required to undergo tests for the virus within 48 hours before boarding the flight.

butterfly  On Friday, the Chinese Aviation Regulatory Authority announced the suspension of Iraqi Airways flights from Baghdad to Guangzhou for a period of two weeks due to the accident.

And the aviation regulatory authority announced a two-week suspension of flights operated by Air France, Rwandan Airlines and US-Bengali Airlines, due to the discovery of passengers infected with the Coronavirus on their flights.

butterfly  Trade announces the addition of new materials in the ration card   05/07/2021 12:07:50...........{Economic: Al Furat News} The Minister of Trade, Alaa Al-Jubouri, announced today, Friday, the addition of two items of tomato paste to the ration card items that will be distributed to citizens during the coming months.

Al-Mukhtasar al-Mufid .. In important news, you can find it on the Al Furat News channel on the Telegram .. To subscribe, click here

And a statement by the ministry, the Al Furat News Agency received a copy of it, from Al-Jubouri as saying, "The Council of Ministers approved the project of one basket of the ration card items, adding tomato paste and legumes to the ration card items, as well as the four basic materials: sugar, edible oil, flour and rice."

He added, "The Cabinet's decision in its last meeting contributed to supporting the ration card system in Iraq, as well as adding new materials to it and preparing the items with one basket for citizens across the country."

He continued, "The Prime Minister provided great support for the ration card by addressing the problems of the ration card and contributing to the processing of two rations in the month of Ramadan, as well as approving one food basket that contributes to supplementing the ration card system and delivering foodstuffs to the citizens covered by the ration card system."

He pointed out that "this project will contribute to supporting the ration card project and the stability of its processing mechanisms and contracting with sober global origins, and the financial allocation will be from the state budget or from the Ministry of Oil through allocating quantities of oil to purchase items."

butterfly The outlets seize fraudulent fees that cause more than 12 million dinars to be wasted

05/07/2021 09:42:57...........{Economic: Al Furat News} The Ports Authority has seized manipulation of the value of customs duties and taxes, which caused a waste of public money of more than 12 million dinars.

Al-Mukhtasar al-Mufid .. In important news, you can find it on the Al Furat News channel on the Telegram .. To subscribe, click here

The Trebil border port announced in a statement that the Euphrates New Agency received a copy of it today, "that a wheel loaded (electric cable) with a load of (40 tons) was seized outside the customs area upon the search and investigation control. The measurements of its goods and the value of the customs and tax duties and their customs procedures were tampered with by a committee.

The customs disclosure affiliated to the border crossing point of Customs, contrary to the regulations and instructions in force, and indicated that "after checking its customs treatment, it was found that there was a waste of public money in the amount of (12 million and 978 thousand Iraqi dinars) for the difference in fees that was charged as revenues to the state treasury.

He added that what was seized according to a fundamentalist report was referred to the police station of Kamark Trebil for the purpose of presenting it to the attention of the competent investigating judge to take the necessary legal measures.

Butterfly   Al-Rafidain: Increasing the fixed deposit interest rate for depositors with their money

2021-05-07 23:04   Al-Rafidain - Increasing the fixed deposit interest rate for depositors with their moneyShafaq News / Al-Rafidain Bank announced, on Friday, an increase in the fixed deposit interest rate for citizens who deposit their money in the bank.

The bank’s media office said in a statement that it had been decided to increase the interest rate on deposits for a period of six months to 4.5 percent, as well as to increase the interest rate on fixed deposits for a year to 5.5 percent.

The statement added that the interest rate on deposits for two years had been increased to 6.5 percent. shafaq.com

butterfly  Dollar and gold prices in Iraq

05/07/2021 10:12:16  Dollar and gold prices in IraqThe exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar today reached 149,000 dinars per 100 dollars

The price of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar  Exchange offices prices:

The sale price of the dollar is 149,000   The purchase price of the dollar is 148,000   approximate

The price of the dollar against the Iranian Toman

Baghdad  $ 100 2,215,000 tomans   approximate

Global foreign currencies  100 € 120.58 dollars   100 pounds $ 139.10    $ 100,827.56 TL

Minerals

The price of an ounce of gold worldwide  $ 1818.84

Oil

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil  $68.40   The price of a barrel of US crude oil  64.95 dollars alforatnews.com

butterfly   Biden extends the “state of emergency” in Iraq and Syria for another year

2021-05-07   Biden extends the state of emergency in Iraq and Syria for another yearOn Thursday, US President Joe Biden signed a decree extending the “national state of emergency” related to the situations in Iraq, Syria and African countries for another year.

“I am extending for one additional year the system of the declared state of emergency in response to the actions of the Syrian government,” the decree stated.

In addition, Biden signed similar orders to extend the state of emergency regime in some Central African Republics and Iraq.

It is noteworthy that the extension of the state of emergency regime will allow the United States to continue to freeze the property and assets of a number of people associated with the Syrian government, as well as prohibiting the export of some goods.

During its war on Iraq, America declared, under an executive order, a state of emergency in Iraq, to ​​deal with its unusual threat to national security and foreign policy, leading to the development of political, administrative and economic institutions in Iraq.

Biden said in the decree, “There are still obstacles to the reconstruction of Iraq and the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country.”

He added that the development of political, administrative and economic institutions in Iraq constitute an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.   burathanews.com

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