Zig’s Place Chat Room Discussion and News Fri AM 2-26-21

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

butterfly  Masrour Barzani rules Iraqi Kurdistan with ‘dry, narrow, partisan mindset’: PUK official    https://ekurd.net/masrour-barzani-rules-iraqi-2021-02-26    

butterfly  SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masrour Barzani works with a “dry, narrow, partisan mindset.” member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) general leadership council Atta Sarawi said on Thursday.   Sarawi told NRT TV that the KRG was not just unable to reduce the people’s troubles, but it had in fact increased them.

By way of explaining, he said that many of the Kurdistan Region’s representatives in Baghdad are unable to secure the rights of the Kurds, referring to the persistent disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil across a range of issues including the budget and the disputed areas.

In addition to his criticism of Barzani, Sarawi said that Iraqi president Barham Salih has fallen short of the level of the PUK’s “ambition” in Baghdad.

He also hit back at accusations by several Change Movement (Gorran) officials that the PUK was involved in cross border smuggling.

butterfly  “Gorran is responsible for the administration of part of the areas where there is smuggling,” he alleged.

Discussing recent controversies about the Peshmerga, the PUK official said that the Peshmerga had in effect been “hired” during the war against Islamic State (ISIS), with the International Coalition paying Peshmerga salaries during that period.

Michael Rubin, the former Pentagon official whose major research areas are the Middle East and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute AEI, said in his recent article that “ordinary Kurds will be the ones to suffer, but even they have their limits. If Massoud wants the Barzanis to survive in power, it is long past time for a family intervention and a family shuffle that will remove Masrour Barzani from powers he is not mature enough to wield.”

Spectra   are you Kurdish butterfly? Just wondering because you sure post a lot of articles referring to them?

Spectra   They play no part in this Dinar in my opinion!

butterfly  Smithsonian Partners With Iraqi Authorities and International Heritage Consortium To Rehabilitate Mosul Museum

https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-partners-iraqi-authorities-and-international-heritage-consortium    

Six Years After Islamic State Group Attack, Partners Share Progress

Spectra  When it happens if ever. We will know I see no need for Iraq news . May I ask why you see it as a component?

Spectra  The Articles on PUK?

butterfly    US airstrikes | 17 Iraqis killed and trucks carrying ammunition destroyed in attacks on Iranian-backed militias near border crossing with Iraq     https://www.syriahr.com/en/206643/

butterfly  Al-Kadhimi will not be replaced by Shaghati as the head of the Iraqi intelligence service, Source

https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq-News/Al-Kadhimi-will-not-be-replaced-by-Shaghati-as-the-head-of-the-Iraqi-intelligence-service-Source

butterfly  2021-02-26 04:18  Shafaq News / A source on Friday denied the circulating rumor that the retired Gen. Talib Shaghati is appointed as the head of the Iraqi intelligence service.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that assigning Gen. Shaghati instead of the Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is incorrect.

Zig   People come to these chat rooms for different reasons....many do like reading the articles....I admit to being a bit selective but do read many of them....at least skim through others....Appreciate @butterfly taking the time and effort to do this...

butterfly   Hopefully it won't freeze on me again.

butterfly   https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/fastthinking/biden-first-bombing-syria-iran-middle-east-strike/

FAST THINKING: Biden’s first bombing

butterfly   Thirty-seven days. That’s how long it took before the Biden administration carried out its first known use of force abroad against a US foe. It came in the form of an airstrike against facilities in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups, in retaliation for rocket attacks in northern Iraq on February 15 that killed a contractor working with the US military and injured a US service member and other contractors.

What does the strike signal about Joe Biden’s simultaneous efforts to re-engage Iran in talks to revive their nuclear deal? And what does it suggest about how the president will approach military action and the American presence in the Middle East?

butterfly  Russia: the U.S. strikes against Syria are “illegal” and “unacceptable.”

https://shafaq.com/en/World/Russia-the-U-S-strikes-against-Syria-are-illegal-and-unacceptable

butterfly  2021-02-26 03:44   Shafaq News/ Russia condemned the US strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border area considering them “unacceptable.”

A source at the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Friday, "Moscow condemns the night strike launched by the United States against Syria.”

"The attack was launched on the territory of a sovereign nation, a United Nations member state. This is an unacceptable violation of the international law, it is necessary to ascertain whom they attacked," the source said.

"They are (pro-Iranian groups) there to help the legitimate government and the Syrian people fight terrorists," the source concluded.

In turn, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the upper house's international affairs committee described the US strike on the Iraqi-Syrian border area as an "Illegal” attack, and a violation on a sovereign state."

At President Joe Biden's direction, U.S. military forces launched airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed groups in Eastern Syria. These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq, and to on-going threats to those personnel, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said.

According to the press secretary, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

This proportionate military response was conducted along with Iraqi intelligence, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed.

butterfly    GameStop has deja vu, Iraq reflects on oil and Martian winds blow

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/26/gamestop-has-deja-vu-iraq-reflects-on-oil-and-martian-winds-blow    

butterfly   Decades after the Gulf War, Iraq’s youth view oil as a curse

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/26/decades-after-the-gulf-war-iraqs-youth-view-oil-as-a-curse     

Thirty years after Iraq invaded Kuwait, youth protesters are demanding the government end corruption in the oil industry and finally use its profits to improve people’s lives.

butterfly   New electronic banking service seeks to move Iraq away from cash economy

Just a reminder: https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/07022021

butterfly  ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi Central Bank announced on Sunday that it has given permission for a “first of its kind” electronic banking service to be rolled out in Iraq over the next few years. The new service seeks to revolutionize the way Iraqis spend money by providing an alternative to the cash economy currently prevalent across the country, including the Kurdistan Region, its founder tells Rudaw English.

Established by Iraqi entrepreneur Kawa Rekani six months ago, First Iraqi Bank is the sole bank to get permission to operate such a service, allowing customers to perform financial transactions online or through their mobile device with ease rather than through cash payments.

Unlike Qi Card, a service that has been touted as Iraq’s first step toward electronic banking, customers will not have to retrieve cash at any point.

“This is not just a bank; it is a new financial system for the whole of Iraq and will change the Iraqi economy,” Rekani told Rudaw English via WhatsApp from Dubai on Saturday. “In Iraq everything is in cash, we aim to work in a way that from now until the next three years, there would be an 80% of the population that rely on electronic payment. So the money transfer would be from phone to phone.”

First Iraqi Bank’s service is based on an application that acts as a mobile wallet and can be downloaded by customers on both IOS and android devices, allowing to transfer money from one mobile phone to another 24 hours a day. The application will be in app stores in mid-March.

Only 23 percent of Iraqi households have access to an account at a financial institution, one of the lowest levels in the Arab world, according to data from the World Bank. Most companies in Iraq still operate in cash, with only 26 percent using the formal banking system. Roughly 98% of employers pay in hard currency and nearly half pay their suppliers that way.

The Iraqi banking system riddled with bureaucracy only allows for citizens to open bank accounts in

butterfly  Russia Officials Outraged at Joe Biden Syria Strike As Iran Remains Silent

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-officials-outraged-joe-biden-syria-strike-iran-remains-silent-1572330?piano_t=1     

butterfly  Turkey issues an arrest warrant for seven people Iraqi and Syrian people

https://shafaq.com/en/World/Turkey-issues-an-arrest-warrant-for-seven-people-Iraqi-and-Syrian-people

butterfly  2021-02-26 05:13   Shafaq News / Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for seven foreigners accused of belonging to ISIS.

The Office said in a statement, today, Friday investigations of the Counter-Terrorism Office showed that the seven Iraqi and Syrian nationalities people belongs to ISIS.

The statement indicated that the counter-terrorism of Ankara’s Security Directorate will keep working to arrest the wanted persons.

butterfly  Iraq to receive millions of Corona virus vaccine in the coming days

https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq-News/Iraq-to-receive-millions-of-Corona-virus-vaccine-in-the-coming-days

butterfly   2021-02-26 07:14  Shafaq News / the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment confirmed, on Friday, that 16 million doses of the Corona virus vaccine will arrive in Iraq in the coming days.

Ministry spokesman Seif Al-Badr said in a statement Iraq paid $ 169 million to COVAX to secure 16 million doses of Coronavirus vaccine.

He added, "Iraq has signed an agreement with Pfizer BioNTech and is awaiting the parliament approval…we also has contracted with the Chinese company Sinopharm, and the vaccine will be delivered soon.”

Al-Badr affirmed that the Ministry will make deals with other companies adding that it is “committed to vaccinating all focus groups."   So far, Iraq recorded 684,362 cases and 13,351 fatalities.

butterfly  Oil drops on dollar strength and OPEC+ supply expectations

https://shafaq.com/en/Economy/Oil-drops-on-dollar-strength-and-OPEC-supply-expectations

butterfly  2021-02-26 08:11   Shafaq News/ Oil prices fell on Friday as bond price rout led to gains in the U.S. dollar while crude supply is expected to rise in response to prices climbing above pre-pandemic levels.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures for April, which expire on Friday, fell 99 cents, or 1.4%, to $65.89 a barrel by 1203 GMT. The more actively traded May contract slipped by $1.19 to $64.92.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped $1.27, or 2%, to $62.26.

A sell-off in bond markets lifted the U.S. dollar, making dollar-priced oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Friday’s gains also reflect profit-taking after both Brent and WTI headed towards monthly gains of about 20% on supply disruptions in the United States and optimism over demand recovery on the back of COVID-19 vaccination programs.

Investors are betting that next week’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, a group known as OPEC+, will result in more supply returning to the market.

“Oil prices have gone too far and too fast. Brent is above pre-pandemic levels even though global oil demand is still playing catch-up,” PVM analysts said.

For all the talk of tightening fundamentals, the demand side of the market is nowhere near warranting current oil price levels, they added.

U.S. crude prices also face pressure from the loss of refinery demand after several Gulf Coast facilities were shuttered during the winter storm last week.

Refining capacity of about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) is still shut and it could take until March 5 for all shut capacity to resume, though there is risk of delays, analysts at J.P. Morgan said in a note this week.

butterfly  The United Kingdom supports the United States’ airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups

https://shafaq.com/en/World/The-United-Kingdom-supports-the-United-States-airstrikes-against-Iranian-backed-groups

butterfly  2021-02-26 07:43  Shafaq News/ The United Kingdom supports the United States’ airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday.

“The UK supports the US targeted response against militia groups which attack coalition bases in an effort to destabilize the region. We recognize the threat posed by the militia and share the US aim to

At President Joe Biden's direction, U.S. military forces launched airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed groups in Eastern Syria. These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq, and to on-going threats to those personnel, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said.

According to the press secretary, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

This proportionate military response was conducted along with Iraqi intelligence, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed.

Butterfly  Crown Prince receives phone call from Iraqi PM

https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/603903/SAUDI-ARABIA/Crown-Prince-receives-phone-call-from-Iraqi-PM

butterfly  RIYADH — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, received here on Friday a telephone call from Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

During the call, the Iraqi prime minister inquired about the health of the Crown Prince following surgery and wished him good health and happiness. The Crown Prince thanked the Iraqi prime minister for his sincere feelings.

butterfly  Desert tales: Under fire from Saddam’s Scuds

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/desert-tales-under-fire-from-saddams-scuds/   

Top surgeon Colin Shieff reflects on his role in the first Iraq war thirty years after the first Gulf War February 26, 2021, 4:51 pm

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Zig   Welcome  ...This chat room was established in Aug. 2020...The main purpose was to discuss the Dinar, Iraq, and related matters...however, any topic may be introduced for discussion...Please be civil and no "Name-Calling" please...Thanks.....MEMBERSHIP...REGISTERING: Register a username by clicking on "name" in the message box below...choose your username and then hit enter or click on the arrow at top right...pick a password, etc...POSTING: Log in the same way that you registered....Post by clicking into the message box and typing a message...then hit enter or click on the arrow at bottom right... PM: Private Messaging only between members and admins... OUR STAFF: Founder: Zig... Admins: sheila... Chief Newshound: butterfly ... :coffee:

Zig   There have been quite a few people who have registered recently but have not posted...Please do...I delete inactive memberships...There is absolutely no reason to register here if you do not intend to participate...no benefit whatsoever...no special list  to get on to receive a secret 800 number...  :Shhhh: ...lol..

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