Zig’s Place Chat and News Tuesday PM 4-27-21

Zig:  Welcome to zig's place, a chat room for dinar speculators and others....discuss any topic that you wish here

Sheila   Did anyone notice that Royal Bank of Canada went belly up? Nothing much in news about that. Wonder if anyone can shed light on that event?

Dave   sheila OH OH Canada's largest bank Royal Bank of Canada goes belly up? We ALL living here have seemed to have missed that boat.......

Sheila   Dave Checking to see if that's true or not.

Dave   NOT!      would be great though,.....would be mortgage free .......?

butterfly  Al-Muhammadawi addresses a parliamentary question to the governor of the Central Bank regarding banks and private companies for selling foreign currency (document)

Tuesday 27 April 2021 | 03:43 pm   Al-Muhammadawi addresses a parliamentary question to the governor of the Central Bank regarding banks and private companies for selling foreign currencyMember of Parliament, Representative Jamal Al-Muhammadawi, addressed a parliamentary question to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq regarding monitoring banks, banking companies and brokerage offices for buying and selling foreign currencies.

According to a document issued by his office, Muhammadawi said, “Through the audit of the Federal Office of Financial Supervision, the data on the capital of private banks, it was observed that there were a number of banks that did not increase their capital to (250) billion dinars, in contrast to the uncles of the General Directorate of Banking and Credit Monitoring in the year 2013, and we mention some of these banks.

For example, Dar Al Salam Bank (150) billion dinars, Babylon Bank (178.859) billion dinars, Tigris and Euphrates Bank (100) billion dinars, and Islamic Cooperation Bank (144.481) billion dinars. ” He added that ” Follow-up to the Office of Financial Supervision showed that the Central Bank’s instructions related to the sale and purchase of currency did not include anything indicating the follow-up of the commercial lists provided by private banks in exchange for imported goods that were covered by the funds, thus the central bank loses the element of control over remittances.

The existence of deterrent measures by the General Directorate for Banking Supervision regarding banks that refrain from paying the issuance of letters of guarantee for a specified period of time. ”Al-Muhammadawi continued,“

butterfly   Some companies have been observed to engage in intermediary activities in the sale of currency in Baghdad, but they are not installed in the database of the Banking Supervision Directorate. ”

He stressed that the companies mediating in the sale of currency benefited from the issuance of the Banking Control Directorate to stop requests for granting branches to banks, which led to companies and offices taking advantage of the legal loophole. Al-Muhammadawi was astonished.   aynaliraqnews.com

butterfly  Low dollar prices in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, and specialists provide a reading of the market

Tuesday 27 April 2021 | 10:29 a.m.   Low dollar prices in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region and specialists provide a reading of the marketThe exchange rates of the dollar decreased, on Tuesday, on the main stock exchange in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region .

A source said that the central Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya Stock Exchange in Baghdad registered 147,800 Iraqi dinars for 100 US dollars .

While the Central Kifah Stock Exchange registered 148,000 Iraqi dinars, during its opening on Monday morning .

He pointed out that the selling and buying prices decreased in the exchange shops in the local markets in Baghdad, as the selling price reached 148,250 Iraqi dinars, while the purchase prices amounted to 147,250 dinars per 100 US dollars .

As for Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, the price of the dollar also witnessed a decline, as the selling price reached 147800 dinars per hundred dollars, and the purchase at 147,500 dinars per hundred dollars .

Some exchange office owners attributed the fluctuation in dollar prices to the amount of supply and demand in the markets, which does not exceed one dollar, indicating that the markets will witness stability in dollars during the coming period.    aynaliraqnews.com

Butterfly   Toller: We do not support anyone in the elections. We support the electoral process in Iraq

Tuesday 27, April 2021 23:38 US Ambassador Matthew Tueller affirmed: "The Iraqi government is committed and capable of protecting diplomatic missions."

He explained in a televised statement: "The strategic dialogue is taking place between Iraq and the United States, and the ability of the Iraqi security forces to fight ISIS alone is being discussed, and we evaluate that."

He added, "We do not support anyone in the elections. Rather, we support the electoral process in Iraq and contribute money only to that. We offer advice and support to ensure free and fair elections and to ensure that weapons are not used in them. "

butterfly   US Ambassador: We support a strong and independent Iraq

Tuesday 27, April 2021 23:32 "said US ambassador in Baghdad , Matthew Tauler US support for Iraq, strong and independent.

He said Tauler in a televised statement:" There is no talk about withdrawing US embassy from Iraq, and we have strategic with Iraq , a dialogue which is a positive. "

He added:" The Many of the weapons used in bombing the Iraqi bases are Iranian. ”/

Butterfly   Foreign Minister: These are the foundations of our foreign policy

Tuesday 27, April 2021 23:56 Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein identified the foundations of Iraqi foreign policy regionally and internationally.

Hussein said in a televised statement: "The first basis of our foreign policy is to be active in the regional environment and take the initiative, and secondly to create a state of balance with the regional environment, and thirdly to rely on common interests and exclude others from interfering in internal affairs, and to launch our relations with the outside as actors away from Hubs. "

He added, "Iraq is frank in raising issues in the region, and we offer economic cooperation with countries during officials' visits to Iraq."

He continued, "We have internal files that have problems and need to be addressed, and this can be achieved with neighboring countries. "/

Butterfly   The US ambassador: The strategic goal in Iraq is to be strong and able to defeat ISIS alone

Tuesday 27, April 2021 23:46 The US ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Toller, affirmed, "The threat of ISIS still exists in Iraq and Syria."

Tueller said in a televised statement: "The United States provides air support to Iraqi forces to bomb ISIS cells and provides intelligence information to Iraqi forces where they are located."

He added, "The strategic goal in Iraq is to be strong and able to defeat ISIS alone, without assistance."

He praised the steps taken by the Iraqi government to draw close to Arab countries and respect Iraqi sovereignty by the Iranians, indicating: “The relationship between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region is good, and that any targeting of the region affects a federal Iraq, so the rule of law must be over everyone.”

Butterfly   Iraq is fourth in the world in the production of dates and a statistic for the number of its date palm

Time: 04/27/2021 18:50:58   {Economist: Al Furat News} Iraq is the fourth country in the production of dates.

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

According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Ministry of Planning, last year the volume of production amounted to about 735 thousand tons from about 17 million palm trees, placing the country fourth in the list of major producers of dates.

These data also indicate that the rate of Iraqi dates exported abroad last year amounted to nearly 600 thousand tons to Turkey, India, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the Emirates, in addition to other countries such as China, Bangladesh and some European and American markets.

The volume of local consumption in all Iraqi provinces ranges between 150 and 200 thousand tons annually of dates, as Iraqis prepare dates as one of the basic food meals for them.

Among the types of Iraqi dates that still appeal to citizens until now and give a special flavor to the Ramadan table and at all times: Al-Kestawi, Al-Khadrawi, Al-Asrasi, Al-Jamali, Al-Halawi, Al-Sayer and Al-Maktoum.

And the derivatives of Iraqi dates: liquid sugar, molasses, bread yeast, citric acid (citric acid) and vinegar.

Iraq is considered one of the first countries to produce dates because it contains a large number of palm trees, and this is what Hatem Karim, Director General of the Department of Horticulture and Forestry at the Ministry of Agriculture sees it as a good indication of large quantities of dates produced annually to cover the local need while exporting the surplus to foreign markets.

butterfly   During the years 2020 and 2021, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture paid great attention to the field of dates by providing the private sector with all facilities, such as granting investment licenses and fogging dates according to -the cream- in order to sustain the process of exporting dates abroad.

The agricultural official emphasized that the Iraqi market is promising, pointing out that there is widespread interest by the government in supporting the dates sector by allocating funds in the federal budget to support the private sector.

The Director of the Department of Horticulture and Forestry diagnoses the challenges facing the dates sector by being rudimentary in the packaging process, and the lack of interest in the activity of the production, processing and exportation of dates abroad, in addition to the presence of competitors.

Butterfly   Zarif Barzani: The stability of the region is of special importance to us

Time: 04/27/2021 23:31:41  (Baghdad: Al Furat News) The Iranian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif, affirmed that the stability of the Kurdistan region is of special importance to his country.

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

A statement issued by Masoud Barzani's office stated that "Barzani received in Salah al-Din, Muhammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his accompanying delegation, which included Iraj Masjedi, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq, Nasrallah Rashnudi, Consul of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Erbil, and Mahdi Shushtari as Consul. "The Islamic Republic of Iran in Sulaymaniyah, and a number of officials and advisors in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

butterfly  During the meeting, they discussed developments within the political process in Iraq and the challenges facing Iraq, as well as the political situation in the region. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran declared that the stability of the Kurdistan region is of special importance to his country.

At the same meeting, views and views were exchanged on ways to reach stability in Iraq and the region and confront terrorism and extremism.

The need to strengthen the historical relations between the Kurdistan region and the Islamic Republic of Iran was also emphasized.

In another axis of the meeting, the two sides discussed the agreement signed between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government regarding the normalization of the situation in Shingal, and the upcoming Iraqi elections.

It is noteworthy that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif, arrived today, Tuesday, to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, from Baghdad, where he arrived yesterday.

Zarif was received at Erbil International Airport by the Vice President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani, the Minister of the Interior of the Kurdistan Region, Reaper Ahmed, the official of external relations, Sven Dzi, and the head of the Office of the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, Fawzi Hariri.

butterfly   In the context, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iran, Nazem al-Dabbagh, indicated to Rudaw Media Network that the meetings that Zarif holds with senior officials in the Kurdistan region will discuss several files, including seeking to resolve differences between Tehran and Washington, adding that the relations between the Kurdistan region and Iran Continuous improvement. "

Regarding the objectives of Zarif's visit to Baghdad and Erbil, Al-Dabbagh explained that "the opening of the Silk Road and efforts to resolve differences between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America are the focus of the talks."

Earlier, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, described the relations between Erbil and Tehran as "deep and historical," indicating that "the volume of trade exchange between Iran and Iraq amounts to $ 13 billion, most of which takes place through the Kurdistan region."

The Kurdistan region has a long border with Iran, and it has three border ports with it: Hajj Omran, Parweizkhan and Bashmakh, in addition to four unofficial ports.

During the past years, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif, visited the Kurdistan region several times, and emphasized the strengthening of bilateral relations, the last of which was in July 2020.

butterfly   Hussein confirms that an Iranian-Saudi meeting will be held in Baghdad and that reveals secret negotiations

Time: 04/27/2021 23:17:18   {Politics: Al Furat News} The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fouad Hussein, confirmed that an Iranian-Saudi meeting would be held in Baghdad, while secret negotiations between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran had been revealed for a year and a half.

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

Hussein said in a televised interview, "The reciprocal visits from Iraq and the countries of the world and the neighborhood are not for courtesy and not protocol, but rather with practical programs, most of which are related to coordination on political issues, exchange of views on issues in the region and pushing tensions on them in addition to economic issues."

"We have many problems in the economic and financial reality, oil, the private sector, gas, electricity, the energy file, agriculture and other issues, and these are all issues that must be raised and discussed and cooperation with other countries on them," he added.

Hussein pointed out, "We are not neutral in the sense that we are with right against falsehood, not in this concept, but are neutral with the interests of Iraq, and regional and international interventions are reflected on the Iraqi reality, and we deal with everyone and do not enter into the axes of one country against another."

butterfly   He added, "Iraq has collected contradictions in the relations between the countries of the region, and it is the only alternative that communicates with everyone regardless of the relations of other countries with each other. Iraq is frank in raising issues in the region, and we also have internal files that have problems and need to be addressed, and this can be achieved with neighboring countries."

And Hussein said, "Iraq played a role in the rapprochement of relations between Egypt and Turkey, and I read in the press that there was a diplomatic meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and he is happy with this meeting, and Iraq is playing a role in this aspect, and Iraq was a victim of the Iranian-American conflict in the region, and that contact with former US President Donald Trump It was difficult and they diagnosed the issues. "

He added, "Our relations are good with Washington and Iran, and when I spoke with the officials of the two countries, they said that we are free to talk with the other, and the course of the US-Iranian negotiations will continue and there may be turning points in it. Some negotiations between the two countries have been unannounced and a secret negotiation for a year and a half x but some neighboring countries had a position." Of regime change in Iraq after 2003. "

butterfly   The foreign minister affirmed, "We have passed the stage of discontinuity between Iraq and Saudi Arabia and entered the issue of understandings and cooperation in various fields and the joint ministerial council between them and some neighboring countries and the region. Saudi companies are ready to come to Iraq, but some security events make them await but do not back down from their decision to invest."

He revealed, "After Eid al-Fitr, the tripartite summit will be held between Iraq, Egypt and Jordan," adding, "There is no cancellation of memoranda of understanding with China, and there is no idea to establish a fund between Iraq and Egypt. Rather there are ideas about exchanging oil for electricity or construction, and we are discussing many things with Jordan starting with From political cooperation to the cultural level. "

Hussein noted, "The government of Adel Abdul Mahdi has added 200,000 jobs in state institutions, which has put pressure on the state budget. The current government has had to pay the salaries of employees from the Chinese fund, but we were able to recover their sums with the rise in oil prices."

The foreign minister concluded his dialogue by saying, "It is not correct to talk about Jordan's benefit more than Iraq in the memorandums of understanding between the two countries, and there is a restorative vision beyond that."

butterfly  2021-04-27 13:05  Shafaq News / Al-Faruq Minaret in the far west of Iraq is a pre-Islamic creation and is one of Iraq's most important monuments. It was previously used for military purposes, such as monitoring enemy armies attacking the city. Despite being ancient and neglected by the concerned authorities, this historical landmark continues to hold out.

Al-Faruq Minaret is located in the archaeological district of Hit, west of Al-Anbar, and was named after Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab, who rebuilt and rehabilitated it.

"The minaret was also used to light the road for convoys from the desert, as well as ships crossing the river at the time", Hit District Antiquities Superintendent, Nabil Moussa told Shafaq News agency.

He continued, "The minaret was greatly affected because of the neglect of successive governments, the lack of maintenance work, the construction of many streets nearby, and the opening of Cornish Hit Street".

"The minaret is 100 meters high and can be seen from anywhere inside Hit. Its diameter is three meters, and it looks like a cylinder", Moussa added.

Speaking on behalf of Hit's residents and Al-Anbar in general, Moussa stressed, "Al-Faruq Minaret and other heritage and archaeological sites in Al-Anbar should receive government support, and a specialized team should start working to maintain the minaret and other heritage sites in the district".

"There are three Al-Minaret Minarets in Al-Anbar, the first in the village of Jabba in Al-Baghdadi district, the second is the Al-Faruq Mosque in Haditha district, and the latter is the Al-Faruq minaret in Hit, all of which archaeological and heritage sites", said Mohammed Jassim, director of al-Anbar antiquities.

butterfly  Jassim pointed out that there was a problem hindering the maintenance of Al-Faruq Minaret in Hit, "The minaret belongs to the Sunni Endowment, and maintenance work was proposed on the endowment, under the supervision of the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, but the endowment responded that maintaining the minaret needed huge amounts of money".

"Discussions with the Sunni Endowment regarding the maintenance of the minaret have been going on since 2011, but with little result. The General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage does not have any financial allocations for maintenance anywhere in Iraq", he added.

Historian Seifeddine Islam called on the Sunni Endowment to "contribute to the maintenance of archaeological sites instead of wasting money by building a mosque at the cost of more than 80 billion Iraqi dinars in Al-Fallujah, which contains more than 150 mosques".

"Hit district is famous for its heritage, whether Al-Faruq Minaret, Al-Nawa'eer, or Hit Castle, all of these landmarks are neglected and have not been maintained for many years", Islam told Shafaq News agency.

"The majority of slogans in state institutions carry this minaret, but being a slogan without maintenance and attention is just desperate", he added.

For his part, Hassan Nadhim, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, commented, "All archaeological sites are subject to plans within the Ministry of Culture and the Antiquities and Heritage Authority for maintenance and rehabilitation".

He also added, "What hinders the start of maintenance work is the association with international organizations that sponsor heritage properties and antiquities".

butterfly   "The ministry has urgent plans regarding Taq Kasra. There is controversy about some archaeological sites in Iraq. Still, they have not been initiated yet because there are neither financial allocations nor agreements with international organizations in this regard so far", Nadhim concluded.

butterfly   2021-04-27 11:31  Shafaq News/ Infographics of the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNRA) said that Iraq houses more than 245 thousand Syrian nationals of seven million who sought refuge abroad from the ongoing war in their country.

The official website of UNRA published an infographic elaborating the headcount of Syrian nationals in displacement in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

UNRA expected a slight drop in the officially registered displaced people from 5,593,304 in March 2021 to 5,459,724 in December 2021.

According to the UNRA estimates, Turkey houses the highest headcount of Syrian refugees, with more than 3.665 million. Lebanon comes in second place with 885 thousand registered refugees, noting that the Syrian community in Syria is more than one and a half that.

The Infographics demonstrated that there are more than 7.181 million Syrian refugees in diaspora, 95% of whom are blended in the host community, and only 5% reside in displacement camps.

Of the people in need, 66.3% were women and children. 35% of the children are outside the educational system.

"In 2020, over 60% of the households reported loss of job and entire income due to the pandemic in some countries," the infographic showed.

The "daily voluntary return average" until March 31 in 2021 is 92, with 8,307 voluntarily repatriated Syrian nationals this year.

butterfly   2021-04-27 11:28  Shafaq news / In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guards Corps call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice, The New York Times reported.

In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Mr. Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Guards’ elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020.

The general, Mr. Zarif said, undermined him at many steps, working with Russia to sabotage the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and adopting policies toward Syria’s long war that damaged Iran’s interests.

“In the Islamic Republic the military field rules,” Mr. Zarif said in a three-hour taped conversation that was a part of an oral history project documenting the work of the current administration. “I have sacrificed diplomacy for the military field rather than the field servicing diplomacy.”

The audio was leaked at a critical moment for Iran, as the country is discussing the framework for a possible return to a nuclear deal with the United States and other Western powers. Talks through intermediaries have been taking place in Vienna.

It is unclear what effect, if any, the revelations will have on those talks, or on Mr. Zarif’s position.

The recording, of a conversation in March between Mr. Zarif and an economist named Saeed Leylaz, an ally, was not meant for publication, as the foreign minister can repeatedly be heard saying on the audio. A copy was leaked to the London-based Persian news channel Iran International, which first reported on the recording and shared it with The New York Times.

butterfly   On it, Mr. Zarif confirms what many have long suspected: that his role as the representative of the Islamic Republic on the world stage is severely constricted. Decisions, he said, are dictated by the supreme leader or, frequently, the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Iran’s foreign ministry did not dispute the authenticity of the recording but questioned the motive for the leak. Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the ministry, called it “unethical politics” and said the portion of the audio released did not represent the full scope of Mr. Zarif’s comments about his respect and love for General Suleimani.

In the portions that were leaked, Mr. Zarif does praise the general and says they worked productively together in the prelude to the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. He also says that by assassinating him in Iraq, the United States delivered a major blow to Iran, more damaging than if it had wiped out an entire city in an attack.

But he said some of Mr. Suleimani’s actions also damaged the country, citing, as one example, his moves against the nuclear deal Iran reached in 2015 with Western nations, the United States among them (the Trump administration later renounced it).

Mr. Zarif said Russia did not want the agreement to succeed and “put all its weight” behind creating obstacles because it was not in Moscow’s interests for Iran to normalize relations with the West. To that end, Mr. Zarif said, General Suleimani traveled to Russia to “demolish our achievement,” meaning the nuclear deal.

Mr. Zarif took issue with General Suleimani on other fronts, criticizing him for allowing Russian warplanes to fly over Iran to bomb Syria and for moving military equipment and personnel to Syria on the state-owned Iran Air airline without the knowledge of the government and deploying Iranian ground forces to Syria.

butterfly   By Sunday night, Mr. Zarif’s critics were calling for his resignation, saying he had threatened Iran’s national security by revealing to the world the country’s inner politics. Even his supporters expressed concern that the comments could influence the presidential elections in late June and harm candidates from the reform faction, which Mr. Zarif is associated with, by reinforcing voter apathy and the idea that elected officials are not really in charge.

The leak follows a series of security breaches within Iran’s intelligence and government circles that have been implicated in two assassinations and two explosions at the Natanz nuclear site. A former vice president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, said that the publication of Mr. Zarif’s audio was “tantamount to Israel stealing the nuclear documents” from Iran.

Mr. Zarif acknowledged on the tape that when it comes to negotiations, he is bound not just by the directions of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but by the demands of the Guards. He said Mr. Khamenei had recently “forcefully rebuked” him for straying from the official line when he said Iran was willing to work with the United States to choreograph steps toward returning to a deal.

“The structure of our foreign ministry is mostly security oriented,” Mr. Zarif said.

Mr. Zarif said he was kept in the dark on government actions — sometimes to his embarrassment.

On the night that Iran decided to retaliate against the United States for the killing of General Suleimani, two Quds Force commanders went to see the Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, to inform him that in about 45 minutes Iran would be firing missiles at a military base where U.S. troops were stationed, Mr. Zarif said. The Americans knew about the strike before he did.

butterfly   Former Secretary of State John Kerry informed him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times, to his astonishment, Mr. Zarif said.

He also pointed to the cover-up of the Guards’ downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in Iran that killed 176 on board on the morning after Iran attacked the air base.

The Guards knew immediately that their missiles had hit the plane, but only admitted to it three days later.

Soon after the plane was brought down, Mr. Zarif attended a small meeting of the national security council with two top military commanders, and said the world was demanding an explanation. The commanders, he said, attacked him and told him to send out a tweet saying the news was not true.

“I said, ‘If it was hit by a missile, tell us so we can see how we can resolve it,’” Mr. Zarif recalled. “God is my witness, the way they reacted to me is as if I had denied the existence of God.”

Butterfly   I will say that Iraq looks much much better than when I use to post articles. Still corruption, but not as much. Wanting to be with the best of the best, so it is taking time.

PeteV  heck yeah they've come a long way

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