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Butterfly  Erbil Hopes To Reach 200 Billion Dinars From Baghdad In The Middle Of This Month

Economic  Last Update 01/03/2022 | 5:00 PM  A member of the Finance Committee in the Kurdistan Regional Parliament, Havidar Ahmed, confirmed, on Monday, that according to the budget law, the federal government will continue to send an amount of 200 billion to the Kurdistan region per month.

Ahmed told the "Information" agency, "The budget law provides for work until a new budget for 2022 is approved, and therefore Baghdad will send 200 billion dinars per month."

He added that "Baghdad will send the amounts in the middle of this month, and with the financial revenues that the region has, the distribution of salaries will begin at the end of the month."

Baghdad sends a monthly sum of 200 billion dinars to the Kurdistan region, despite the region not handing over the oil revenues to the federal government. https://almaalomah.me/2022/01/03/574506/

butterfly  Oil prices welcome the beginning of 2022 with a positive rise ............Economie- 03-01-2022 08:03 AM

Oil prices rose today, Monday, with the positive start of the new year 2022 market, despite fears of a decline in demand due to the rapid spread of the Omicron mutant, at a time when OPEC + expects that the effect of the mutator will be simple and short-lived.

Brent crude rose 59 cents, or 0.76 percent, to $78.37 a barrel by 05:01 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.84%, to $75.82 a barrel.

And in the past year, oil prices rose about 50%, spurred by the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and producer controls, even as infections reached record levels around the world.

Health experts in the United States have warned Americans to prepare for severe disruptions in the coming weeks, with infection rates likely to worsen amid increased holiday travel and New Year's celebrations and the reopening of schools after the winter holidays.

US energy companies added oil and natural gas drilling rigs for a record 17 straight months, as higher prices lured some drillers back to the well plate after demand slumped last year due to the coronavirus.

OPEC sources said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies - the so-called OPEC+ community - will likely stick to their plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in February when they meet on Jan. 4.

Butterfly   Economist: International Moves To Stabilize The Price Of A Barrel Of Oil At $ 75 During 2022

Economic  Last Update 01/04/2022 | 8:48 AM  The economic expert, Dr. Safwan Qusay, explained that the data indicate an international move by the largest oil exporters in order to stabilize the price during the current year at the threshold of $ 75 a barrel, pointing out that Iraq is able to deal with the increase in production.

Qusai told Al-Maumalah, "Oil prices are witnessing price stability at $75 a barrel, especially since Russia and Saudi Arabia are determined to prove this figure for the current year."

He added that "reducing the amount of cuts that was agreed upon by 4 percent of the volume of production, provided that it is reduced continuously, it would allow OPEC to increase exports at the level of the first quarter of this year."

And he indicated that "Iraq can raise its production level to more than 3 million and 500 thousand barrels, and this will maintain prices relatively."

He pointed out that "the withdrawal of two million barrels by the United States contributed to the rise in prices, especially that the world coexisted with Omicron without any closures, and it also addresses the shortage of production during the past year, and therefore oil prices will continue as they are, just as OPEC Plus will contribute." By easing restrictions on oil in order to increase exports, especially at the level of Iraq and Libya. https://almaalomah.me/2022/01/04/574565/

butterfly   Will 2022 Be Without A Budget?   Economic  Last Update 01/04/2022 | 11:30 AM

The previous Parliamentary Finance Committee denied, on Tuesday, statements that talked about the expectation that the current year 2022 will be free of the budget due to the delay in Parliament and the absence of a government, likely to be approved in the month of next June.

And the former member of the Finance Committee and the winning deputy for this session, Jamal Kougar, said in an interview seen by / the information /, that “the absence of a budget for this year is incorrect, and the issue is far from the constitutional timings, because without a budget it means that the new government will be a (caretaker) government.” It will not implement its government program, and if it does not implement it, it means that a quarter of its life has gone without implementing its government program,” he said, expecting that “the 2022 budget will be approved in next June.”

He added that "this year's budget will not contain anything new and will not differ from the previous one and will be similar to others, because the new government will not have room for creativity and the old government is the one who set the budget."

Regarding the Cabinet’s decision to create job levels, Cougar stated that “the funds for these degrees are supposed to be included in the 2022 budget, but if the installation is according to (deletion and creation), it is possible, but any new installation is not possible.”

He explained that "according to the statements of the Minister of Finance that Iraq will lay off its employees after ten years, this means that the numbers are large, and according to international standards, the number of employees in Iraq is eight times the rest of the countries. https://almaalomah.me/2022/01/04/574581/

butterfly   Asa'ib: We Agreed With Al-Sadr To Preserve The Largest Shiite Bloc To Form A Consensus Government

Politician  Last Update 01/04/2022 | 11:18 AM  The Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement confirmed, on Tuesday, that the coordinating framework agreed with the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to preserve the largest Shiite bloc, to form a consensus government.

A member of the movement's political bureau, Saad Al-Saadi, said in an interview seen by "The Information", that "Al-Sadr did not present any conditions in return for his return to him and the formation of the largest bloc in the first session of Parliament."

Al-Saadi added, "The meeting of the framework delegation headed by Al-Amiri with Al-Sadr was positive and witnessed a convergence of views," noting that "they agreed on the unity of visions to form the government and preserve the largest Shiite bloc, to form a consensus government, because no party can be excluded."

And the winning deputy from the Al-Fateh Alliance, Ahmed al-Moussawi, had confirmed in a previous statement, the coordination framework agreement with the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to come up with a unified vision through committees that would choose a strong prime minister with a clear program set by the two blocs. https://almaalomah.me/2022/01/04/574594/

butterfly   Apple Becomes 1st Company Worth $3 Trillion 022-01-04 01:18

Shafaq News/ Apple became the first company to reach a $3 trillion market value Monday, a leap of $1 trillion in just 16 months, despite sometimes unsteady iPhone sales and supply chain issues.

Apple's dramatic growth was reinforced by rising iPhone sales, which increased almost 40% over the 12 months ending September 2021, the New York Times reported.

According to a report by Wedbush Securities, demand for Apple products exceeds supply by about 12 million units, with supply chain issues expected to ease during the first half of 2022.

Bloomberg reported that the Company's 2022 product launches are expected to include the iPhone 14, upgraded AirPods and potentially a virtual-reality headset with augmented-reality features.

Wedbush also predicted the release of an Apple Car by 2025, prompting further growth for the Company.

Apple's closest rivals are Microsoft, valued at $2.53 trillion at the end of 2021; Google parent company Alphabet, valued at $1.92 trillion; and Amazon, valued at $1.69 trillion.

Today, its value is greater than the $2.76 trillion GDP of the United Kingdom but still short of Germany's $3.85 trillion GDP, according to World Bank data.

Over the past month, the stock has risen more than 12 percent, compared with a 3.6 percent rise in Microsoft, which now has a valuation above $2.51 trillion.

Despite the optimistic outlook, there are risks to Apple's forward march.

butterfly    The company faces the most challenging regulatory atmosphere in its history, with governments bearing down in the US and India over its App Store practices and dealings with third-party developers. Any laws impacting Apple's practices could limit its income from services, now one of the Company's most important segments.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is also hitting snags and contending with new rivals. The Company's upcoming virtual and augmented reality headsets will vie with gear from Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook. Its long-in-development car project has also hit roadblocks with ever-changing goals and critical departures. https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Apple-Becomes-1st-Company-Worth-3-Trillion

butterfly   The top Kurdish parties to work together for unifying the “KURDISH HOUSE” 2022-01-03 13:32

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) revealed an agreement with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on a joint program to negotiate with the political blocs regarding forming the new Iraqi government.

In a statement, the PUK Political Bureau stressed the need to form a federal government in the light of the election results and “based on the constitution, consensus and true partnership for all components.”

The Patriotic Union affirmed their position about achieving the entitlements of the Kurds in Baghdad and starting an intense dialogue with the various political forces.

“For these purposes, the KDP/PUK joint committee will develop a cooperative program.”

In the same context, a source told Shafaq News Agency that a high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party would visit Al-Sulaymaniyah, Tuesday to meet with members of the Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

They will discuss “the mechanism and program of the two parties regarding forming the new Iraqi government, unifying the Kurdish House, and forming a joint delegation in the negotiation with Baghdad.”

In the Iraqi elections, the Kurdistan Democratic Party topped the Kurdish parties, with 31 seats, followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (17 seats) and the New Generation Party (9 seats.) https://www.shafaq.com/en/Kurdistan/The-top-Kurdish-parties-to-work-together-for-unifying-the-KURDISH-HOUSE

butterfly   Until Iraq returns as a country

Perhaps there is nothing more dangerous than the state being an empty meaning. Not only that, but that the state, in its concept that it was known after the First World War and completed after the Second War, turns into a front for implementing everything that a state cannot do.

Perhaps this is some of what is happening in Iraq after 2003. It is not an exaggeration to say that Iraq today is living in a spiral of no state that has turned the state into a mere vehicle through which and through which everything it wants to do is committed. All you have to do is follow the news coming from Mesopotamia, to realize the truth of what is going on there.

A few days ago, the Iraqis, or at least those of them who are still following the news of their death-ridden country, were devastated by an incident that reaffirms that the non-state in Iraq reproduces the concept of the state according to what it wants, as an Iraqi security force coming from the capital Baghdad wiped out an entire family in the Jableh district In the north of Babylon, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad.

The details of the story, according to what was reported by official and local sources among the relatives of the victims, stated that a family dispute between the head of the victims’ family and his daughter-in-law, an officer in a security apparatus in Baghdad, led to this officer taking advantage of his position and directing a large military force to the victim’s house, under the pretext Presence of a terrorist wanted by the Islamic State (ISIS).

And because force in Iraq is used without any scruples or deterrents from the law, the attacking force smashed the house on the heads of its owners, to find out later that neither a terrorist was inside nor those who grieve, but rather a family of 20 members, including 12 children and five women, all perished. At the hands of the state that no longer has anything of its name.

butterfly   You find that the majority of organized crime spread in Iraq belongs to what should be part of the protection of the citizen. more precisely; The hand of what is called the state in most of these crimes, even if you feel, at a certain moment, that the Iraqi state, with all its institutions, is the one that practices organized crime, and not people who have turned against the normal instinct of the human being.

Rape crimes perpetrated by members of the security services, smuggling crimes, murders, malicious charges, drug trafficking crimes, kidnappings, theft crimes, money laundering crimes, and many other crimes, all perpetrated by the parties that are supposed to protect society and sponsor the system.

Yes, Iraq may be living in the chaos of the absence of the state, but we should not neglect other aspects that also contribute to the incursion of this great collapse that Iraq is standing on its doorstep, and this is represented in the collapse of values ​​in society, which may not be accused in the first place in what Today, crimes are taking place in Iraq, but it also contributes greatly to this collapse.

butterfly   A severe campaign of pressure was applied to the Iraqi society, which did not start only after 2003, but also preceded that, specifically during the period of the economic blockade imposed on Iraq following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, as the system of societal values ​​was put to the most severe test, and it was subjected to major shocks,

but what was What distinguishes that period is that the state was present, so the system of values ​​did not collapse completely, and it continued to preserve what it had of originality that it derives sometimes from religious values, and other from tribal values, and thirdly from civilized societal values, but the biggest collapse of the community values ​​system in Iraq was After 2003, the day the state renounced its role and lost its prestige, and even authority, to be an effective participant in the collapse of the societal value system. https://rawabetcenter.com/archives/140451

butterfly   The US withdrawal gives the Gulf states promising opportunities in 2022

The Gulf states, led by the UAE, have entered an exceptional year by 2022, as they will seek to complete their moves aimed at filling the void left by the United States' withdrawal from the region.

As it has become a striking military and balanced political force, the UAE is working to gather allies in the region witnessing an escalation of Iranian influence on the one hand, and also for the presence of influential extremist forces that the United States has allowed to expand and to be able to restore the initiative, similar to the Taliban movement that managed to control Afghanistan in earlier time.

The UAE is not alone in leading the efforts to compensate for the US withdrawal, as Saudi Arabia is a natural member of the alliances that are in the process of forming with its geographical depth, military capabilities and moral influence, in addition to Riyadh's latent anger at the US President Joe Biden's administration's disregard for the capabilities and fate of the region.

butterfly   An opportunity for the UAE

The American withdrawal made the UAE face a situation similar to that which it faced when it gained independence from Britain in 1971, from which it emerged stronger

Last December, the UAE celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, while thinking about the future in light of the American withdrawal from the region, after Washington was tired of wasting blood and wealth east of the Suez Canal.

The UAE had previously faced a similar situation upon its independence from Britain in 1971, but it came out in a better and stronger position, as its leaders at that time, led by the late founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, thought about the country's future.

Even before Biden's inauguration in January 2021 as US president, the next US administration did not hide its intention to "do a little, not a lot" in the Middle East. The rapid and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last August reflected what that phrase meant.

Observers believe that the US withdrawal from the Middle East will provide the UAE with opportunities similar to those provided by the British withdrawal 50 years ago.

butterfly   Jonathan Journal, a British journalist, says that “the same way that Britain’s withdrawal 50 years ago liberated the UAE and made it think and work for its future, and opened the door wide to a phase of economic and social development like no other, reducing American interests and influence represents a political opportunity for the Emirates to benefit from Well equipped area.”

The Journal, who previously worked with The Times and lived and worked in the Middle East and is now based in the United Kingdom, added: “There is no doubt that the presence of the US military has been a welcome safety cover for the UAE and other Gulf states, as has the presence of the British army half a century ago for its predecessors. Gulf residents, a safety cover to deal with the looming threat from the Iranian side.”

However, he added, "But the safety cover may be stifling, as the Emirates prospered beyond expectations after its liberation from the British protection, and certainly the British government officials at that time secretly doubted the success of their former protectorates."

butterfly   The UAE relies on an effective internal and external policy that enabled it to achieve unparalleled internal prosperity and develop its relations with its surroundings through a policy of zeroing problems with active powers, which was reflected in the development of its diplomatic relations last year with countries such as Israel.

Relying on diplomacy

advanced military force

In the face of the vacuum left by the American withdrawal from the region, the UAE relies on diplomacy as an option to expand the circle of allies and solve problems as well, despite the fact that it possesses a striking military force that is able to curb threats.

On the sixth of last December, UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed visited Tehran to hold talks with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.

This Emirati initiative did not come from a position of weakness, as the UAE armed forces became one of the best-trained and armed in the Arab world. And just three days before that meeting, the United Arab Emirates signed a $19 billion deal to buy 80 Rafale aircraft from France.

Jonathan Journal: The UAE and Saudi Arabia are determined to deal with Tehran on their own terms

Butterfly   The Emirati-Iranian rapprochement was not unlikely, and the visit came in the wake of reports of four rounds of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran were present at a summit jointly organized by Iraq and France in August, and the absence of the United States from that summit was remarkable.

On the thirteenth of last December, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made the first historic official visit by an Israeli prime minister to the UAE.

The “Abraham Accords” may have been initiated by the US government, but it is clear that it was the UAE and Israel that signed a series of trade deals in order to get the most out of them.

The impact on the region depends on efforts underway in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, and neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia is a party to the talks, although they are concerned that any agreement must also include ending Iran’s support for armed militias across the region along the lines of Houthis in Yemen and others.

Nevertheless, the Journal said, "it is clear that the Saudis and Emiratis, backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, are determined to engage with Tehran diplomatically, on their own terms and within the broader interests of the region."

He added, "As it was in 1971, no one can say with certainty what the year 2022 hides for the Gulf states, yet it is clear that the UAE has never been in a better position than it is today to shape its future, and it is equipped and determined to to do that".    https://rawabetcenter.com/archives/140445

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