Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

It is time to implement the Investment Law


Head of the Iraqi Stock Exchange Trustees, Talib Tabatabai, confirmed that security situation is what hinders the Stock Exchange more than anything, and it is the reason behind the considerable challenges faced by the investor... However, he pointed out that the current situation is temporary and exceptional; therefore, the performance must be maintained consistently, as illustrated by general indicators, which confirms that the development in performance continues to be a salient feature in the march of the market.

Tabatabai added in a press statement: that the investment law being not activated, its members are not appointment and working by it has not started, created a great disappointment among investors in the Iraqi bourse, particularly that efforts have been made by workers in the bourse to update its performance; electronic equipment and supplies are being installed and Stock Exchange rooms are being organized for this purpose. He added that such electronic boards are used for the first time in Iraq...
Tabatabai expressed his hope that many factors will help the investments by shareholders better than it is now. In the forefront of these factors is the security situation.

Tabatabai pointed out that the number of shares that have been circulated in the month of September amounted to 4,212 billion shares, at an average of 527 million shares in a session, registering an increase of 54, 9% on last August. As for the volume of transactions in the month of September, Tabatabai said that they amounted to 8,422 billion dinar; that is 1,052 billion dinar in a session; and the number of contracts executed in the same month, increased to reach 2928 contracts for the month of August.

Tabatabai also stated that the banking sector is the main engine of the market, as this sector has achieved greater relative importance.

Source: Iraq Directory




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Posted on Wednesday, December 20

Iraq renews airport security contract with Dubai firm


The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation has awarded a 12 month contract with a six month option to Dubai-based Global Strategies Group to provide all aviation security services at Baghdad International Airport (BIA), the company said in a statement obtained by Gulf News.

"Since June 2004 Global has provided this service at BIA and currently retains in excess of 450 Iraqi personnel along with a small project management cell and a team of foreign technical experts," the statement said.
Global has been working in support of Iraqi national interests since the commencement of its projects in Iraq in March 2003. In particular, Global conducted the Iraqi Currency Exchange of 2003-04 throughout the country and continues to provide security and logistics support to key reconstruction projects across the country.

"BIA is the most critical and politically sensitive infrastructure facility in Iraq and we are honoured to be entrusted with its security," Damian Perl, Global's CEO said in a statement.

"The transition from CPA administration to full Iraqi sovereignty precipitated an on-going negotiation and subsequent tenders for this contract."

Source: Gulf News




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Posted on Wednesday, December 20

Coffee shop for women to open in Erbil


By Himin Mamand
Taman Shakir is a well-educated Kurdish woman and a graduate of Salahaddin University's College of Arts.

Having spent some time in Europe, Taman has now returned to live a more active life in Kurdistan.

One of her activities is writing for various newspapers and magazines on women's issues. Irrelevant to writing, and surprising to many, another one of Taman's activities today is setting up ladies' public washrooms around the city.

Taman is now busy working on the project of opening a coffee shop for the ladies - that is despite the fact that Taman does not agree and dislikes the idea of segregation. She says such barriers of isolating one gender from the other is something that must be overcome and hopes that this coffee shop will also serve that purpose as well. Local authorities have shown support for the project.

Breaking stereotypes, Taman met with our staff at the popular, all-men Machko Teashop downtown Erbil. Although she has returned from Europe, Taman says she still considers herself a member of her people and sees the shortcomings of her society. "That is why I decided to open a coffee shop - one that will not be strictly for women, to overcome some of these shortcomings," said Taman. "This (teashop) is so that female employees, teachers, and the working women, or anyone else for that matter, can step in the coffee shop to meet others, make friends, have discussions, talks, and so forth."

Taman has presented the project to Erbil Governorate, which has shown its support to the plan. According to Taman, the city's governorate had recommended certain areas of the capital for that purpose. The areas included Sami Abdulrahman Park, the public park in the city centre, as well as a location opposite to the Sheraton in Erbil. Taman, however, has chosen the last option as an ideal place for the project - across from the high-rise five-start hotel.

Taman believes this coffee/teashop will be a perfect place for women to go to chitchat, make friends, exchange their ideas and opinions and have great acquaintances. She says once the coffee shop is open, many women will see it as the place to go. She adds that there are many intellectual, smart and open-minded Kurdish women who would love to have somewhere like that to spend their time.

If I talk about a coffee shop for women to go, I have to actually go there myself and be the first one to do so as I am doing now, Taman says.

The unavailability of a coffee shop for men and women together, Taman believes, is due to certain aspects of the old-fashioned culture that has grown roots within the society. These barriers have limited the capabilities of women, forcing them to stay home and to only take care of their husbands and children. "They have prevented them from inhaling the outside air and taking some happy and free breath."

"We need to actually do what we say, and practice them," Taman says. "For instance, if I talk about a coffee shop for women to go, I have to actually go there myself and be the first one to do so as I am doing now," she added, referring to Machko Teachouse where she was conducting this interview. Machko is a teahouse at the base of the ancient citadel in the city centre whose customers are usually all men.

Regarding the upcoming coffee shop she has planned, Taman says the opinions of many women were taken prior to the final proposal and a decision being made.

Alan Bapeer, 26, is a female teacher who believes opening a coffee shop for women is a brilliant idea. "This is great news, especially for someone like myself who has nothing to do in the four summer months," says Bapeer, who supports the plan and promised to be the first to visit. However, she hopes that the place will not be strictly for women. "Let discrimination be no more between males and females," she says, adding that some women may want to go with their husbands and others with their brothers, and the customers who choose to go there should not be limited to one type or gender.

Lamiha Babakir, 28, is a housewife. When asked for her opinion about opening such place, she was with her husband Kamaran Nadir. Standing behind the idea and strongly supporting it, she said, "We should first start to make other more serious efforts so that our women are not killed unjustly any more." She said, "When the coffee shop opens, it will be a great place to go to relax especially after my husband and I have had a long day of shopping."

Sarteep Muhammad, 30, is a male driver who also sees the plan as a positive move and has a similar opinion with Babakir. "We often go to the market with my wife or with my sisters, and usually there is nowhere to go to have a seat and relax a bit," he says, adding that "? women, like men, deserve to have their own hang-out places and to take a break from everything else."

The last person interviewed about the project and asked for his opinion was one of Erbil's city officials, Nihad Lateef Qoja. "We support anyone who comes up with a project that will serve the society and the community," he said. "I hope the plan will launch as soon as possible ? since we do view men and women equal, I do not see why we should discriminate when it comes to women's rights," he added.




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Posted on Wednesday, December 20

Cleric to End Iraq Government Boycott
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, December 21, 2006


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(12-21) 14:55 PST BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --


Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to allow supporters to rejoin the Iraqi government after a three-week boycott, officials close to the militia leader said Thursday, as political rivals pushed to form a coalition without him.


Shiites from parliament's largest bloc met Thursday in their holy city of Najaf to try to forge a new coalition across sectarian lines — one that won't include al-Sadr's supporters. They hoped, in part, to pressure al-Sadr to rejoin the political process and rein in his Mahdi Army militia, which is blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian violence.


Fighting in Iraq claimed the lives of three more American servicemen, the U.S. military announced, bringing the U.S. toll closer to 3,000 on a day new Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Baghdad to discuss strategy with military commanders. In December, 71 American troops have been killed; at the current rate, the number of U.S. combat deaths this month could meet or exceed the previous monthly record for 2006.


In the southern city of Najaf, delegates from seven Shiite parties appealed to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose word is law to many Shiites, to support a planned governing coalition. The coalition would include Shiites, Kurds and one Sunni party — and bridge Iraq's treacherous sectarian divide.


Though al-Sistani is expected to approve the deal, he fears the coalition could weaken the Shiite bloc, officials close to him said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press.


It seems likely that al-Sistani intervened to persuade al-Sadr to return to government and avoid a Shiite split. The Sadrist boycott has undercut Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and prevented it from passing legislation.


The new coalition would probably govern more efficiently than the current government, which has been criticized for its ties to al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's loyalists — 30 in the legislature and six in the Cabinet — walked off the job to protest al-Maliki's meeting with Bush in Jordan.


However, a new coalition government is not likely to end the threat from al-Sadr's militia. By ending the boycott, al-Sadr will retain some influence in parliament, and his apparent compromise may help him resist calls to curb his fighters.


Three politically influential Iraqis said the Sadrist boycott is ending. "Within two days, the al-Sadr movement will return to the government and parliament," said Abdul Karim al-Anizi, a Shiite lawmaker from al-Maliki's Dawa faction.


Two figures in al-Sadr's movement — an aide to the cleric and a member of parliament — also said the cleric had agreed to allow his followers to end their boycott. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the talks.


"We will rejoin the government and the parliament very soon," the lawmaker said. "We got some guarantees during our meeting today."


On Thursday, al-Sadr loyalists met with members of the Shiite bloc and laid out their demands, the lawmaker said.


"Our demands are to hand over the security file and not allow any regional interference in Iraqi affairs," he said, meaning, apparently, that U.S. forces must hand over all control of security forces to the Iraqi government.


The U.S. military is gradually transferring responsibility for security to Iraqi troops in less violent areas, but doubts remain about whether the Iraqis will be able to replace American troops throughout Iraq in the near future.

US troops turn over Najaf to Iraqis
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-12-21 09:24

US forces ceded control of southern Najaf province to Iraqi police and soldiers, who marked the occasion Wednesday with a parade and martial arts demonstrations. But doubts remain about whether the Iraqis, vulnerable to insurgent attacks and militia infiltration, can handle security in more volatile provinces anytime soon.

Iraqi army soldiers celebrate and raise their rifles during a security control handover ceremony in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006. [AP]

In one of those provinces, Baghdad, police found 76 bodies, some of them blindfolded and handcuffed, on Wednesday. Many of the victims had been shot and some showed signs of torture, a police officer said on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Two suicide car bombings also killed at least 19 people in the capital.

The handover of Najaf came as new Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Baghdad, seeking advice from top commanders on a new strategy for an increasingly unpopular war just two days after taking charge at the Pentagon. Roadside bombs took the lives of two more US soldiers, one in Baghdad and the other southwest of the capital.

Home to 930,000 people, Najaf saw heavy fighting two years ago, but has been relatively peaceful lately. It was the third of Iraq's 18 provinces to come under local control. British troops handed over southern Muthana province in July, and the Italian military transferred neighboring Dhi Qar in September.

Authorities in Najaf city banned vehicles as provincial and tribal leaders and dignitaries gathered in the dusty, blue bleachers of a soccer stadium for the handover ceremony.

About 1,500 police officers, soldiers and security personnel staged a parade around an infield of stubby brown grass, in festivities complete with warriors on horseback.

At one point, a small group of soldiers stepped forward with a live rabbit and tore it to pieces. The leader bit out the heart with a yell, then passed around the blood-soaked remains to his comrades, each of whom took a bite. The group also bit the heads off frogs, as some of those in the crowd held their noses from the stench.



Chewing on live animals is a traditional display of ferocity for elite troops in Iraq and was also observed by special units during Saddam Hussein's rule.


Police then steered shiny new cruisers and motorcycles with ribbons and flowers stuck to their windshields around a track ringing the soccer field, which was still littered with fur and discarded frog legs.

"Our soldiers do a lot of things, but I've never seen them do anything like that," said Maj. Gen. Kurt Cichowski, who attended the ceremony.

US forces closed their major outpost in the region in September, as the 8th Iraqi Army Division and 6,900 police officers assumed greater responsibility in the province.

American forces will remain on standby in the area in case violence erupts again.

"Every province is important," Cichowski said. "There's 15 to go and we hope we can accomplish that by the end of 2007."

Critics charge that handing over control here was easy because Najaf is overwhelming Shiite and has not faced the same level of sectarian violence as religiously mixed areas like Baghdad.

They have also expressed concern that, with the Americans scaling back, the province could become a key staging ground for Shiite militias with strong ties to soldiers in the largely Shiite army.

"There were the same kind of concerns in Muthana and Dhi Qar and they've done very well," Cichowski countered.

Lt. Gen. Nasier Abadi, deputy chief of staff of the Iraqi Army, acknowledged that militia groups hold sway among many soldiers, but said "they can be weeded out."

Abadi, a veteran of Saddam's army, said the handover was "important for Iraq because up until now, everybody thinks that the coalition is doing the governing, so now Iraqis need to take over the responsibility."

He said his troops lack basic equipment such as aircraft and tanks that will prevent them from handling security in all of Iraq. But he said that he expects U.S.-led forces to provide key equipment throughout next year.

Najaf is home to the iconic Imam Ali shrine, where Shiites believe the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad is buried. Millions make pilgrimages to the city annually, and Shiites from across Iraq come to bury their dead in the huge cemetery.

The city of Najaf endured heavy fighting in 2004 between the US Army and militiamen loyal to radical anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and parts of Najaf lie in ruins. Some violence now is aimed at Shiite pilgrims.

After meeting with President Bush last month in Jordan, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the two leaders agreed on the need to speed up the Iraqi takeover of security responsibilities.

However, even with US troops leading the battle, the Pentagon reported Monday that attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians jumped sharply in recent months to the highest level since Iraq regained its sovereignty in June 2004.

Also Wednesday, a US military statement reported the capture of a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader during a raid by coalition troops in the northern city of Mosul. It said the suspect served as al-Qaida's military chief in Mosul in 2005 and then took up the same job in western Baghdad. The military did not name the detainee.





Source:AP
Related articles

Senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq detained
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-12-21 14:02

The American troops in Iraq captured a senior al-Qaida leader and five suspected insurgents during a raid in Mosul, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
The leader, who was military Emir of Mosul City in 2005 and later military Emir of Karkh in Baghdad, was arrested during a raid on Dec. 14, the military said in a statement without disclosing the name of the captured leader.

"The terrorist leader was attempting to flee from the location when Coalition Forces chased him across a street and detained him," said the statement.

During 2005, the insurgent leader "coordinated vehicle borne improvised explosives device attacks and kidnap for ransom operations in Baghdad,'' the statement added.

"He also reportedly organized an attempted shoot down of a Coalition Forces helicopter in an Adhamiyah neighborhood in May 2006," it said.

Few months after Adhamiyah incident, the leader fled Baghdad "due to Coalition Forces closing in on him,'' according to the statement.





Source:Xinhuanet

Iraq Prepares to Start Negotiations with World Trade Organization

18 December 2006 - Iraq achieved an important procedural milestone towards its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession bid on December 15, when the WTO General Council formally accepted the country’s nominee for the chairmanship of the Working Party charged with Iraq’s accession process. Ambassador Claudia Uribe of Colombia will serve in this position.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy hailed the successful agreement on the Chair for Iraq’s Working Party as an “important step in the process of anchoring Iraq in the multilateral trading system” and noted that “the appointment of the Chair… means that the negotiations can now start in earnest.”

This acceptance opens the door for formal face-to-face negotiations to begin in Geneva with Iraq’s WTO Partners at the first Working Party Meeting, which can now be scheduled. “We look forward to working with the Government of Iraq to prepare for the opening of direct talks with the WTO counterparts, which marks a significant phase in Iraq’s accession process”, said Baljit Vohra, Chief of Party of the USAID-funded IZDIHAR project.

IZDIHAR has been assisting the Government of Iraq throughout the process of meeting the procedural requirements for convening the first meeting of the Working Party, such as completing the Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) and the written “questions and answers”. In addition, IZDIHAR is assisting the Government of Iraq to undertake broad-based legal and trade policy reforms related to its accession into the World Trade Organization

Australia Won't Increase Its Iraq Force
By Associated Press

December 21, 2006, 6:16 PM EST

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia does not plan to contribute to a potential increase in troop numbers in Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard said Friday.

"I don't have any plans at present to increase Australia's troop commitment, nor do I have any plans to reduce it," Howard told the Nine Network television.





Australia sent 2,000 troops to back American and British forces in the 2003 Iraq invasion. It now has about 600 troops inside Iraq, 450 of whom are providing support for Iraqi security forces in two southern provinces. The remainder are guarding Australian diplomats in Baghdad, training Iraqi troops or disarming explosives.

American officials are considering broad changes to Iraq policy, including a possible short-term surge in U.S. troop numbers.

Howard said he would be notified if President Bush decided to send more troops, but that would not mean Australia would follow.

While the opposition Labor Party has pledged to withdraw most Australian troops from Iraq if it wins elections due late next year, Howard said his center-right coalition government cannot plan that far ahead.

"What the situation is at the next election will depend on conditions in Iraq and the one thing we won't do is be part of any withdrawal which hands victory to the terrorists," he said.

Howard said Australia relies on the United States and their 55-year-old bilateral security alliance must continue.

"People are critical of America and their President Bush, but in the end, our futures are linked and the strength and power of America is important to us," he said.

Excellent posts Mike!

One after the other.... Loads of extremely positive news coming out!

Keep up the good work..... As they say- "The stars are aligning...."

All this positive news right before the New Year? What else can it mean.....???

Iraqi Comedian Slain In Baghdad

POSTED: 9:29 pm PST December 20, 2006

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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A veteran Iraqi comedian and actor was killed in Baghdad, police said on Wednesday.

Police said gunmen shot Mitashar al-Sudani, 60, multiple times while he was driving to theater offices. It's believed that the actor was specifically targeted.

Al-Sudani was a television and stage actor known for comedic performances. But he also played in serious roles. Though many of his roles in his decades-long career were minor, al-Sudani was a familiar face among Iraqis.


Armed groups have often killed prominent figures in media, politics and other fields, in what seem to be attempts to foster fear and intimidation.

Last month, another popular actor-comedian was killed while driving through western Baghdad.