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May 23, 2010 · Posted in NEWS Sunday ,May 23,2010 Saleswoman Li Li stood in a booth at the Canton trade fair, surrounded by luggage decorated with floral, leopard and news headline prints like “credit crunch” and “economic disaster looms.” She pointed to one that said “dollar exchange rate” with a chuckle. “We’re all worried about the exchange rate,” said Li, whose Globalway Luggage Co. is based in the eastern port city of Ningbo. “If the exchange rate changes, it will really eat into our profits. It’s basic economics: our products will be more expensive overseas and less competitive,” Li said. After nearly two years of keeping its currency stable against the U.S. dollar to help exporters like Li weather the global financial crisis, hopes had revived overseas that Beijing might relax the dollar peg soon. But as the European debt crisis deepens, China is signaling it will hold back on any changes — a stance likely to complicate high level talks next week with the U.S. The latest, most authoritative comment on that came from Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who told reporters while visiting Austria this week that Beijing intends to keep the yuan stable. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner confirmed that the contentious currency issue is bound to be on next week’s agenda. China’s Commerce minister Chen Deming addresses the media at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Friday, May 21, 2010 “I think it is, of course, China’s decision about what to do with the exchange rate — they’re a sovereign country,” Geithner said. “But I think it’s enormously in their interest to move, over time, to let the exchange rate reflect market forces, and I’m confident that they will do what’s in their interest,” he said while visiting Boeing and other exporters in Washington state. Article that was posted earlier in the week. . . GEITHNER WANTS THIS DONE BEFORE THE END OF JUNE! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/China-and-US-look-to-close-rb-9028942.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode= China reported a $196 billion global trade surplus last year, adding to pressure to tilt its economy toward greater reliance on domestic demand. With the Greek debt crisis has come a weaker euro, and a relatively stronger dollar-pegged yuan, “which should reduce the volume of complaints from Brussels on Beijing’s exchange rate policy,” says Tom Orlik, an analyst in Beijing for Stone & McCarthy Research Associates. Even if the euro’s drop to near four-year lows against the dollar alleviates pressure from European trading partners, President Barack Obama has vowed to take a tougher line with Beijing over its controls on the yuan as the U.S. heads toward crucial mid-term elections. Opinions vary, but economists say that depending on how it is measured the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent against the dollar. Fred Bergsten of the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates that bringing the yuan’s value up by that amount could generate some 1.2 million U.S. jobs. That would go a long way toward meeting Obama’s recent pledge to create 2 million jobs, while doubling exports over the next five years. Chinese policymakers insist that adjustments in the yuan’s value will have little direct impact on the trade balance with the United States, and some fret that the yuan’s nearly 15 percent gain against the euro is already too great a burden. “A revaluation would not bring any good to our economy, as our exporters already are under heavy cost pressures. It would be dangerous to revalue,” said Yi Xianrong, an economist at the government-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Yet, a growing number of Chinese experts argue that Beijing does need to move faster on long-standing pledges to loosen exchange rate controls, for the sake of its own economy. By clamping down, they say, China is limiting its options at a time when the economy appears on the brink of overheating, expanding nearly 12 percent in January-March while housing prices surged to record levels. “A more flexible currency rate will do good to both ourselves and the world economy,” says Mao Yushi, a prominent reformist economist. “It is a difficult process though.”Because of China’s large trade surpluses, the central bank intervenes heavily in the exchange market, buying up excess foreign exchange earnings to keep the yuan’s value from rising. This has driven China’s foreign exchange reserves to a record $2.45 trillion while pumping more money into the economy, pushing prices higher. With China’s economy growing at double-digit rates, boosted by 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) in stimulus spending and record bank lending to finance construction projects, Beijing can afford to move faster, some say. Zhang Bin, an economist at the government-run China Academy of Social Sciences, forecast that a 10 percent rise in the yuan’s value would cause a 3.3 percent drop in exports. That would pose no great threat, he said in a recent edition of the magazine Oriental Outlook. Not all American companies favor pushing for a stronger yuan. Executives of multinationals with big operations in China tend to favor keeping currency rates steady. “The stable yuan is obviously easier for managers to cope with,” says Kevin Wale, president and managing director for General Motors China Group, which sources 85 percent of its parts locally. For Pu Fangqiong, a purchasing manager for a Shanghai textile exporter, a stronger yuan would be painful. “The currency appreciation is only a part of it. Pressure is coming from rising costs for raw materials and labor,” she said. “We just hope it won’t get any worse.” For many Chinese companies, adjusting to a stronger yuan would involve trying to climb the “value chain” to produce more expensive products or by selling more inside China. “The answer is to try to sell more to the domestic market. The yuan’s appreciation is inevitable and you cannot survive unless you are well prepared,” said Zhang Yizheng, general manager of auto parts trader Shanghai Ruisheng Industrial Trade Co. Zhang’s company has benefited from China’s surging auto sales. But for most exporters, going local is tough given the fierce competition from both Chinese and foreign companies fighting for a piece of the only booming major market around. “We want to have our own label and create our own unique products, but that’s hard to do,” says Wang Zhansheng, whose Beijing-based company, China Tong Yuan Co., makes tote bags and purses for export. “You have to take customers out to lots of dinners and sometimes even pay bribes to get an order,” he said. http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/International/2010/5/82329/

May 23, 2010 · Posted in NEWS May 23 2010 Kawthar – Middle East: The general director of Iraq’s largest bank is the only country in the world, which is the exchange of liquidity into the bags, he went to Iraq to delete the zeros from the currency to overcome the problem of huge liquidity in the country. The general director of Bank of Iraq, Abdul-Hussein al-Yasiri, the Iraqi currency in circulation «or what we call liquidity, a very large, amounting to more than 27 trillion dinars, but unfortunately we find that the circulation of currency is by the bags, there is no country in the world treat bags in trading currency, and the enclave is Valtdol personal portfolio, and that there is a tendency to delete some of the zeros from currency . Revealed an Iraqi official for embezzlement of huge amounts of money in one bank branches in the province of Basra, saying that the process is orchestrated by the President of the National Bank of Basra, in coordination with the Bank of Iraq branch of al-Basrah, the Iraqi official, however, did not specify the value of this embezzlement. The head of Bank of Iraq in an interview with «Middle East», that fraud occurred in the main branch of the tributaries in the province of Basra, the so-called branch of Algeria, also Branch Bank of Baghdad (7 insufficiency), «exploited the director of the bank mentioned the subject to give information to manage Iraq without informing the Baghdad branch, Here, spent huge amounts of money due to transfers for a period of time without an account statements by, we were able to uncover them in collaboration with the Department of the Inspector General, and through cooperation with the Ministry of Finance arrested a bank manager, Hassan Kubba, who wanted to liquidate its assets and smuggled out of Iraq, but we Astbakna events and with the assistance of military intelligence, we found, which is currently in prison with a number of staff in Basra and Baghdad, for interrogation on charges of embezzling large sums of money too, but unfortunately the exercise is great pressure on the investigating and the prison administration and even the judge, so I contacted the Minister of Finance, who supported us greatly to trial of this accused, and we have to freeze all funds », explaining that he has doubts about that person using these large amounts of money in other things, make it clear that currently points investigative Where are these funds. He also pointed Yasiri files to a major corruption has been exposed recently, is to re-evaluate all the personnel files of those receiving salaries from Iraq, either retired or other groups, said «It is between one million people and found that there are more than 71 thousand cases fall within the corruption, with detection and identification are paid salaries, and several different destinations, and the decision was made to stop their salaries delusional and turning them for the Elimination . Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri, who recently won the membership of the Iraqi parliament for Najaf province, said that he would be part of the Economic Committee, and the first decision will be taken is to rid Iraq from the clutches of the seventh item, which has damaged much of the property and funds of Iraq, he said, pointing out that a lot of money stolen under the pretext of compensation «and became both the sundry claims on Iraq debt or damages and take in agreement with the law firms and, unfortunately, that is what the Jordan some time ago when it seized Iraqi funds deposited with it on the grounds that traders Jordanian their belongings with Iraq, and this is totally wrong, the information received I suggest that law firms began approaching people and traders there and convince them to submit claims, following the successful cases share the money among themselves, and took large sums of money had been frozen in Jordanian banks under the Act of 30 Jordanian », referring to the debt of Kuwait, which he described without substantive« because they raise the ire of people Iraqi, who rose against (former Iraqi President) Saddam, because he invaded Kuwait in 1990 Unfortunately most Kuwaitis are resentful now on Iraq and its people, although it caused them harm and also for us is the same person, Saddam Hussein . The Yasiri also that the Bank of Iraq have suffered a lot in the past ranging from the imposition of economic sanctions in 1991 and so far, and the harm has mostly taken place during the entry of U.S. forces in Iraq, according to Iasri the of the 147 branches of the tributaries 17 branches settled with the land and stolen money, furniture and demolished buildings, , 27, another branch ratios sabotage reached 50%, «even came to the liquidation of Bank of Iraq, this imposing edifice, which was founded in 1941, because of the devastation, debt and spending, which reached 45 billion Iraqi dinars per month, and a loss of 5.8 trillion dinars and debts amounting to 28 billion dollars , and the loss of the bank; accounts parked billion and 800 million dollars and the presence of Moukova the Trustees of the Fund amounting to 33 billion dinars, and the number of accounts corresponding to the total 147 branches, only 12 branches match, and documents were burned in 27 branches, financial documents with a lot of other problems, but I worked to keep this edifice and convinced the government to this, and actually back now stronger than before, and around the loss to a profit after a few months in 2006, reaching 321 billion, and in 2007 won the bank 727 billion, we actually pull 70% of the liquidity of Iraq, amounting to 24 trillion Iraqi dinars from of the 28 trillion dinars, bearing in mind that all banks Iraq do not have 30% of this financial magnitude, and we are currently supporting the industrial economy and service, construction, and loans to farmers, especially housing projects, the number of units of housing needed by the country of 3 million units, so we went to the bank real estate and its curve 300 billion dinars, we also support internal and external trade, and lent the Ministry of Electricity 5 trillion dinars, the Ministry of Industry 24 million dollars for the rehabilitation of companies . The director of Rafidain Bank of Iraq, it is currently being re-opening of all bank branches outside Iraq, and the development of new branches in Gulf, Europe and America and Iran, China, France, «especially for our membership in the Federation of French banks, as well as in Brussels and Germany, we currently have branches operating in the Bahrain, Sana’a, Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Alexandria, Beirut and Jordan . http://www.alcauther.com/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14180

Sunday, May 23rd 2010 7:25 PM Najaf, May 23 (AKnews) - The leader of the Sunni-backed bloc of Iraqiya, Ayad Allawi, said Sunday that a meeting with leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, was canceled yesterday, but stressed his determination to uphold the constitutional right of the list in forming the next government. Allawi told a news conference after a meeting with the Shiite religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, that he had tackled with Sistani the latest developments in the Iraqi arena and "found Mr. Sistani very keen on understanding and dialogue." Allawi was speaking to reporters alongside other leaders in his list, Tariq al-Hashemi and Rafi al-Issawi, noting hat the meeting with arch rival Nuri al-Maliki was canceled yesterday, but hoped the meeting would take place to get out of the impasse of forming the new government, the delay of which has plunged the country into s security and political vacuum. The Shiite cleric stressed on the acceleration of the formation of new cabinet, according to Allawi. "Al-Sistani was keen on the national unity and that Iraq be for Iraqis to enjoy the wealth of their country... and to move towards stability and security," Allawi added, stressing that his list upheld its constitutional and democratic right to form the government. For his part, said Tariq al-Hashemi said the political stalemate was clear to all, and Mr Sistani has repeated in more than one occasion that he stands at an equal distance from everyone and does not want to impose his will on politicians in taking decisions. "Iraqiya issued a statement a while ago in which it indicated that any merger with any coalition, or more, is a subject to be left for those broters themselves, and it is up to them," Hashemi said, before adding that "but we are keen on not going back to sectarian groupings." Al-Issawi said once the federal court ratifies the elections results, "it becomes clear that the Iraqiye will move to form the new government," Allawi arrived in Najaf on Sunday, heading a delegation from the Iraqiya included Hashemi and al-Issawi, and drew upon his arrival to Najaf to meet with the religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, to discuss the political crisis facing the country. Iraqiya list insists on the forming the next government basing their claim on the interpretation of the Iraqi constitution's Article 76 which vaguely entitles the winning list to form the government after the elections, while Maliki's bloc emphasizes the term "largest parliamentary bloc" as stipulated in the article means any majority list in the parliament whether a stand-alone or a merger of more than one lists, rather than a top vote-getter. http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/148397/

May 23, 2010 · Posted in NEWS By Leila Fadel Sunday, May 23, 2010; A11 BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned Saturday that rushing the formation of the new government could reignite sectarian violence. “If the government is formed in the wrong way, if it is formed by extremist Sunnis, who are present, or by extremist Shiites, who are also present, the sectarian violence will return and will wipe out everything we have already achieved,” Maliki said in an interview. “I say we should not bow to the pressures of time and make a big mistake.” The results of the March 7 parliamentary elections have not been ratified, and it remains unclear who will be Iraq’s next leader. Maliki has emerged as the most likely next prime minister following a tentative deal with another Shiite political bloc. But hundreds of people have been killed in an uptick in violence since the vote, and analysts and Western officials worry that a prolonged political vacuum could further destabilize the nation. Maliki lost the popular vote to former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, and a partial recount has reaffirmed Allawi’s lead. But Maliki said Saturday that he was confident that he would retain his post. He said he believed that a tentative deal between his State of Law bloc and the Shiite Iraqi National Alliance would hold and make that bloc the largest in the next parliament. The Iraqi National Alliance includes a faction led by fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which said last week that it would no longer veto Maliki’s rule. If the alliance falls through, Maliki said he would try to ally with the Kurds, and parts of both the Shiite alliance and Allawi’s bloc. If that fails, he said he would try to join with Allawi’s Sunni-backed Iraqiya coalition to form the government. Maliki said that Sunni representation in key government positions will be crucial to Iraq’s stability, and in all three scenarios he would form an inclusive government with Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. “It’s a must that we reach an understanding with Iraqiya,” he said. The majority of seat winners in the Iraqiya bloc are Sunni Arabs, and without their presence in the next government Sunnis will feel disenfranchised. Allawi said that Iraqiya should get to form the next government because it received the largest number of seats in the elections. Maliki said he was still pained by what he saw as the manipulation of results in the elections. But he was confident that he would become Iraq’s next leader. Even if Allawi would not support Maliki, some of the mostly Sunni bloc will, he said. “The State of Law is the safety valve for the political process,” Maliki said, referring to the charges that he ordered offensives against both Shiite and Sunni militants during his rule. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey D. Feltman recently said that the top contenders for prime minister should consider accepting other positions to speed up the process. But Maliki said it was not America’s place to get involved. “These are not foreign recipes,” Maliki said. “Why should we go to Plan B? The arena is open to anyone who can manage it. The political process is going along, we shall go to Parliament and whoever has the largest bloc will form the government.” He warned that U.S. pressure could be detrimental. “The demand by the Americans for a faster pace would be at the expense of the quality of government. The American interests will be harmed as well,” he said. “This is not like sitting in a café for tea and exchanging posts. I’m not one who sells and trades the interests of the people.” He also called on Arab countries to refrain from interfering in Iraqi affairs and backing specific blocs. Last week, Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, was quoted as saying that Maliki was trying to “hijack” the elections and “deny the people their legitimately elected government.” Faisal warned of “potential civil war. “We ask the friends of Iraq to stop the interference of the region,” he said. “Otherwise, Iraq will not be stable.” Maliki said he was disappointed that the March 7 balloting showed that the country is still divided along sectarian lines. “It seems that the transition from the sectarian situation to a state based on the notion of citizenship still needs time,” he said. http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-5893025/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9jbGljay5waGRvP2k9MTAyMjJiMTJlN2VlN2U5YjAyNzczYTkzMGRhMWVhYmQ=

May 22, 2010 · Posted in NEWS 22/05/2010 Kuwait’s ambassador in Baghdad for his government’s interest to rid Iraq of Chapter VII penalty, pointing out that the two governments are trying to resolve differences and strengthen the brotherly relations between the two peoples.The Sheikh (the insured) during his visit to the threshold Husseiniya sacred with the delegation of media facilities has in his statement to (site N): “The Kuwaiti Government is seeking through the current period to get Iraq out of huge seventh item and have to take positive steps in this regard, “considering the the same time that the item succumb to Iraq is” the duties of the Iraqi government, “which need to be some action and which are not disclosed but he described” the necessary measures to end this matter. ” The seventh item that came in a decision issued by the Security Council against Iraq after American troops marched into Kuwait in 1990 and included a binding international sanctions, notably the large amounts of frozen its assets in international banks to pay compensation to those affected, including the invasion of Kuwait. On the other hand he (the insured) in an interview with the correspondent N in Karbala to the governments of Iraq and Kuwait are seeking to strengthen official relations of fraternity, and that the Iraqi people now enjoy the liberties and wealth and go to the democracy that we aspire to, adding that “Kuwait has defended Iraq picking up a seat at the Arab League at a time when the ceding of the occupation,” saying that these endeavors is the “best evidence of the Kuwaiti government’s intentions towards Iraq.” http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://non14.net/display.php%3Fid%3D8938&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com

Saturday, May 22nd 2010 1:55 PM Baghdad, May 22, (AKnews) - The recent efforts by the Iraqi Oil Ministry are great and special," an expert of oil affairs said on Saturday. "The Oil Ministry has succeeded recently in revitalizing the projects to extract and export oil, in order to support the Iraqi economy," Yassin al-Taei said. "The marked improvement in the security situation and attracting important companies that have a prominent role in the process of extracting oil have played a clear role in active economic movement, thing that increased the oil revenues to US$17 billion ( in four months," he added. "The plan should be developed to support this achievement and point it out forward without interruption," stressing on "the need to follow new technological means to support the Iraqi economy through the activation of the role of industry and agriculture in the country," he said. Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein al-Shahrestani said in a previous press statement that Iraq would have the largest reserves of oil in the world, if more oil sites were discovered, and the amount of oil discovered in Iraq so far is up to 115 billion ( barrels. The Iraqi government has announced that Iraq’s oil revenues, during the first four months of this year, have reached US$17 billion (, exceeding budget projections by more than one billion ( dollars, after the exported oil reached to 7.222 million barrels during the past four months, at a value of US$17 billion ( and 218 millions, at an average price of 6.75 dollars per barrel. http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/148010

American Forces to Open Banks in Iraq Baghdad (NINA) – American forces in Iraq decided to open banks in ten American bases through out Iraq to provide services to civilian contractors working inside the bases. Liaison officer with Finance Department at the Financial Operations Office, Captain Andria Singer, said that the initiative to open banks inside bases will become to deal with Iraqi Dinars instead of US Dollar, to strengthen Iraq’s economy. She added that the bank will not only provide work opportunities, but it will also increase confidence in the Iraqi currency as well as Iraqi banks. A statement by the American Army said that first bank will be opened at Victory Base, near Baghdad International Airport, which is a branch of Bank of Baghdad, which has been approved by the US Department of Treasury, to deposit American government and firms’ funds in it to finance American forces in Iraq. The statement said that by the end of the year, Iraqi banks will start operating in American bases through out Iraq. http://www.ninanews.com/english/News...ar95_VQ=EMGLKG

***Sorry in advance if this was posted i've looked through 7 pages and couldn't find it posted** Banking & Finance Posted on 17 May 2010. Iraqi banking expert, Abdul Aziz Hasoon, said in phone call with the Independent that the process of removing three zeros from the Iraqi dinar will be positive for the Iraqi economy. He added that there were many countries that took the same step, including Turkey which removed six zeros from it is currency. Hasoon clarified that if the exchange rate was amended in the proper manner, then the whole process will be beneficial. The Iraqi central bank would set up the mechanisms to replace the current banknotes with new banknotes, and allow a period for everyone to replace their banknotes. Members of the economic committee in the previous parliament had urged Iraqi Central Bank and Iraqi Ministry of Finance to address what they called financial flabbiness of the Iraqi money by removing three zeros from the currency. (Source: Iraq Directory ) Hasoon said that removing three zeros from the Iraqi currency will not affect the Iraqi market significantly because one new dinar will be equal to one thousand dinar of the current currency. Iraqi Central Bank did not specify when it is going to implement the process of removing the zeros, while some media sources said that the Iraqi Central Bank cannot proceed with this step currently because of the cost. http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/?cat=4

I have it posted here because i have no links - but i know these articles were posted Next week Tues. May 25th - Indicating that on the twenty-fifth of this month will be the last government’s days in the absence of new government we have entered into a constitutional vacuum is real and thus should be enacted in this article to avoid a constitutional vacuum until the formation of the government. Noting that “the Constitution permits the President as prime minister in addition to his position as President of the Republic in case of any reason, and we do not mind that in the event of the expiration of the mandate of the present government or the inability of the political blocs to form the House of Representatives next to the pending agreement to form a national government that includes the collection components. State of Law extends the work of leadership committee for ten days The work of the leadership body which includes fourteen members, responsible for developing mechanisms to select the next Iraqi PM is extended for ten days ( posted today May 18 ) Here are the next official steps and constitutional deadlines as Iraq’s fledgling democracy crawls toward establishing its next government: * The Independent High Electoral Commission said it would publish the preliminary results on Monday and objectors would have three days to file complaints before the results could be sent to a court for final certification. * The supreme court has no deadline for certifying the results but election officials said they did not expect a long delay. The court has been considering the results from 17 other provinces, excluding Baghdad, for several days already. * President Jalal Talabani must call on the new parliament to convene within 15 days from the date of the certification of the election results. * The oldest member of the Council of Representatives chairs the first session, in which members have a maximum of 15 days to elect a speaker and two deputies. * The council elects a new president within 30 days of its first session. * The new president has 15 days to ask the largest bloc in parliament to try to form a government and choose a prime minister. * The prime minister-designate must form a governing coalition and name a cabinet, or Council of Ministers, within 30 days. * If the prime minister-designate fails to pick a cabinet in the required time, the president has 15 days to nominate someone else to try to form a government. * The new prime minister designate has 30 days to try to form a governing coalition and council of ministers. * A new government is deemed to have been formed when a prime minister’s cabinet nominees and their programmes win the approval of an absolute majority of the members of the Council of Representatives, or parliament. BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Council of Ministers decided on Tuesday during its last session to implement the agreement between the oil ministry and the Kurdistan region to export crude oil extracted from the region, the official spokesman for the Iraqi government said.( posted May 18 ) We cannot forget Iraq’s Parliament Recess will begin around July! Hang onto your seat it looks like next Tuesday will certainly be an interesting day.

May 18, 2010 · Posted in NEWS McClatchy Washington Bureau Baghdad staff | McClatchy Newspapers last updated: May 18, 2010 05:52:05 PM BAGHDAD, Iraq — Millions of Iraqi voters defied bombings and intimidation to cast ballots in the country’s March 7 parliamentary election, which was billed as historic because it was the first since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 to be organized, carried out and secured by Iraqis. The excitement of Election Day wore off quickly, however, and the country’s been locked in a state of political paralysis ever since as its top politicians battle to control the next government. The results were an upset: Secular Shiite Muslim politician Ayad Allawi’s bloc won more seats in parliament than favored incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, a conservative Shiite, did. The margin was so close, however, that political maneuvering to change the results has delayed the seating of a new government. Here’s a look at where the election results stand, what happens next and when a new government might take shape in Baghdad. Q: Have the major players changed since election day? A: Not much. The main blocs are still Allawi’s Iraqiya, a mixed-sect ticket with broad Sunni support; Maliki’s State of Law, mostly from his conservative Shiite Dawa Party; the Iraqi National Alliance, the main religious Shiite grouping of Iranian-backed parties, including politicians loyal to militant cleric Muqtada al Sadr. The two main Kurdish parties ran on a single ticket as the Kurdistan Alliance. An upstart Kurdish opposition party, Gorran, won some seats, as well. Q: One of the first snags was an attempt to disqualify some winning candidates by accusing them of ties to the late dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. Did they lose their seats? A: There were several rounds of de-Baathification, the controversial process of rooting out former Baathists and barring them from public service. Former exile and Bush administration ally Ahmad Chalabi and his deputy Ali al Lami, who both ran in the elections, oversaw the purges. Hundreds of candidates were eliminated, but an Iraqi court Monday ruled in favor of nine victorious candidates whose cases were in dispute. Those candidates are expected to take their seats in the next parliament. Q: Maliki rejected the election commission’s results and demanded a partial recount. Did the recount uncover fraud or change the results? A: At Maliki’s insistence, a court ruled that the election commission should conduct a recount, but only in Baghdad province. The recount uncovered no major fraud and didn’t alter Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc’s slight lead. Q: OK, so now the recount is over and the de-Baathification efforts have been suspended. What’s next? A: The next step is for Iraq’s top court to certify the final election results, which would start the clock on forming a government in accordance with the Iraqi constitution. The chief delay now is the intense, behind-the-scenes haggling over who’ll get the prime minister’s post and other key positions. With no group winning an outright majority, alliances are starting to take shape. For now, it looks as if Maliki’s State of Law and the Shiite-dominated Iraqi National Alliance are pairing up to challenge Allawi’s group for a majority in parliament. However, the Sadrists, a backbone of the Alliance, have long opposed Maliki as premier, which jeopardizes cooperation between the two groups. Also, there’s growing concern that cutting out Allawi, whose bloc was the nation’s top vote-getter, would be unacceptable to millions of Iraqis who voted for him, especially the Sunni minority. Q. What do ordinary Iraqis think? A. The word on the street is similar to the criticism from political quarters: The leadership is too busy guarding its own interests to pay attention to the security and other needs of ordinary citizens. With so many government offices in limbo, Iraqis say, everyday aspects of life have slowed to a halt: obtaining passports, approving state jobs, road and utility repairs, awarding contracts, to name just a few. The longer and bloodier this transition becomes, the more Iraqis begin to question their participation in the democratic process. Q. So when can we expect to see a new government? A. It’s hard to say. Maliki has predicted that it won’t take longer than July. Foreign diplomats speculate it’ll be sometime this summer; religious authorities hope things will be resolved in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which begins in August; and other political observers fear that it could last into the fall. Q. What are some of the main points of negotiation among all these blocs? A. Each bloc holds some powerful cards. Allawi’s bloc is the top vote getter, has the most Sunni support and is looked upon favorably by both the Americans and Iraq’s Arab neighbors. Maliki also won a huge number of votes, is the incumbent and has branded himself with some success as a nationalist. The chief kingmakers are the Sadrists, who want hundreds of their prisoners released and some senior cabinet posts, and the Kurds, who are insisting on keeping the presidency, gaining control of oil-rich Kirkuk and other territories that Sunni Arabs also claim, and holding cabinet positions in numbers that are proportionate to the Kurdish population. Q. What’s the role of the Americans, the Iranians and other foreign powers with vested interests in the outcome of the Iraqi elections? A. Both the Americans and Iranians have played it cool publicly, while meeting privately with all the key players. The Americans prefer a government that includes Sunnis and other minorities and is diverse enough to act as a spoiler to outright Iranian control. The Iranians, who have numerous allies and agents in Iraq, would like to see a continuation of Tehran-friendly, Shiite-dominated government, though some Iranian officials have said that some of Allawi’s allies must be included in order to work toward a more stable Iraq. Q. Who’s in charge while all these negotiations are going on? Are there limitations on the caretaker government? A. Maliki’s administration is carrying on with business as usual, but absent a parliament, the government cannot enter into international treaties, declare war or make any other major decisions that normally would require parliamentary approval. Q. Are there constitutional mechanisms to ensure that the paralysis doesn’t last forever? A. Yes. However, the current government found loopholes after the last parliamentary elections in 2005. For example, the constitution calls for the naming of a speaker of parliament in the legislature’s first session. To get around this and buy more time, the last parliament simply called a session to order and didn’t adjourn it for several weeks. Strictly speaking, once the top court certifies the election results, the parliament must convene within 15 days. In the first session, the members are required to choose a speaker and two deputy speakers. After that, they’re supposed to name the Iraqi president, though the constitution doesn’t specify a timeline. Once a president is elected by parliament, the president has 15 days to ask the nominee of the largest bloc in parliament to form a government within a month. If that fails, the president can ask another candidate from any bloc to try. Q. Will the delay in forming a government affect security in Iraq? A. Many Iraqis, including members of the current parliament, argue that the delay already has chipped away at security. In the aftermath of a series of devastating bombings, including a day when attacks killed more than 100 people, some Iraqi politicians said that militants were taking advantage of the security void, which they blamed on the Iraqi leadership’s preoccupation with political negotiations. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/18/v-print/94397/qa-iraq-had-elections-so-why-isnt.html

May 18, 2010 · Posted in NEWS Tuesday, May 18th 2010 11:05 AM Baghdad, May 18 (AKnews) – The outgoing Iraqi government developed new regulations to reduce the smuggling of foreign currency to neighboring countries”. “The Iraqi government developed new regulations for foreign hard currency transactions between Iraq and some countries, and calculating the encrypted accounting system,” the government adviser Salam al-Quraishi said. “Many problems faced the Iraqi government in facilitating the dealing with hard and huge sums of money, the thing that could help the growing corruption in the country, especially in state institutions.” “There are certain procedures that will be followed by the financial agencies supervising the subject to reduce the smuggling of money abroad, especially by some senior officials in the state,” al-Quraishi added. “This proposal was made by the Integrity commission to adjust the amount of money smuggled out of Iraq, and the Iraqi government will develop a law that defines how to deal with hard currency and how to bring large amounts of money out from Iraq to the outside.” “Such a topic would contribute effectively to preserve state funds and excluding the spoilers.” It is noteworthy that a number of senior officials accused of corruption have fled after converting their money into hard currency and the last one of those was an employee at the Municipality of Baghdad, who fled last February and was arrested at Lebanon airport by Lebanese police, in cooperation with the Public Integrity commission. Rn/gs AKnews http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/146681

17 May 2010 Baghdad, Omar Abdel-Latif Said one senior source in the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation that Iraq is about to sign the Convention on the strategy with the European Union during the next phase. The Director General of International Cooperation Department in the Ministry engineer Huda Abd al-Malik in a statement summarized by the (morning) that the delegation includes a number of government officials and state institutions held a meeting last month with officials of the European Union discussed the signing of strategic cooperation between the two sides extended from 2011 until 2013 to be signed during the next phase. She noted that other meetings held with the advisory board of the Union in the presence of representatives of all ministries to discuss priorities for the Iraqi government in this Convention, asserting that frame the strategic to the Convention will be passed during the next phase in the EU headquarters in Brussels followed by the stage of signing the agreement, saying they hoped to signed to return benefit to the country and its economic rise. King Abdullah pointed out that the security situation and political situation in the country over the past years has led to the basis of disability presence and officials and international organizations, which resulted in additional delay in the reconstruction of the desired, which it hopes to contribute to those organizations in their implementation. http://translate.googleusercontent.c...8c2VZzv22sFhLw

The Iraqi government develop new regulations for finance transactions in hard currency 17/05/2010 22:28 Baghdad, 17 May (Akaniwz) - The Iraqi government announced the outgoing, Monday, on the status of new regulations for foreign currency transactions in order to reduce smuggling to neighboring countries, with The government consultant said Salam al-Quraishi told Kurdistan News (Akaniwz) that "the Iraqi government developed new regulations for foreign hard currency transactions between Iraq and some countries, and calculating the encrypted accounting system." He explained that "many of the problems faced in the Iraqi government to facilitate the deal to work hard and the huge sums that could help the growing corruption in the country, especially in state institutions." Qureshi added that "there are certain procedures will be followed by the financial supervisory agencies on the subject to reduce the smuggling money abroad, especially from some senior officials in the state." He pointed out that "this proposal made by the Integrity Commission to adjust the amount of money smuggled out of Iraq," noting that "the issue of dealing with money of hard-currency government will seek to develop a law that defines how to handle them and how to drive massive amounts of money from Iraq to the outside." Increased Quraishi said: "Such a topic would contribute effectively to preserve state funds and by raising the spoilers on it." It is noteworthy that a number of senior officials accused of corruption have fled after converting their money into hard currency and was the last of those involved, an employee at the Municipality of Baghdad, who fled last February and then was arrested at the airport in Lebanon by Lebanese police, in cooperation with the Commission on Public Integrity. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/3&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com

IMF: US Debt Nearing 100 Percent of GDP May 17, 2010 By: Frank McGuire The United States’ national debt will soon reach 100 percent of gross domestic product, the International Monetary Fund predicts in a new report. The sharp rise in U.S. debt started in 2006 and by 2015, the IMF suggests, debt could reach more than 100 percent of GDP. At the end of first quarter of 2010, the gross debt was 87.3 percent of GDP, of which 56.6 percent was held by the public, and 44.4 percent was intragovernmental, U.S. officials have said. The IMF predicts that the U.S. would need to reduce its structural deficit by the equivalent of 12 percent of GDP, a much larger portion than any other country analyzed except Japan. Greece, in the midst of a financial crisis, needs to reduce its structural deficit by just 9 percent of GDP, according to the IMF’s analysis. The IMF also encouraged rich countries including the U.K. to eliminate value- added-tax loopholes to help cut their budget deficits, the Financial Times reported. The IMF said the United Kingdom could raise an amount equivalent to 3.3 percent of GDP, or a third of its estimated deficit, by removing exemptions and improving collection of the sales tax, according to Bloomberg. As the global economy recovers, governments’ fiscal balances are on average continuing to deteriorate, the IMF said. Meanwhile, the IMF also waded into the debate over healthcare reform, questioning the CBO’s analysis that healthcare reform would reduce the U.S. deficit, according to thehill.com. “There are some risks to the CBO estimates, however, including that the substantial decrease in Medicare payment rates to healthcare providers may prove difficult to implement,” the report reads. President Barack Obama has established a fiscal commission to make recommendations on addressing the nation’s fiscal woes. http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/imf-us-debt-gdp/2010/05/17/id/359219?s=al&promo_code=9E57-1

May 16, 2010 · Posted in NEWS 05/16/2010 The advisory board held a cabinet meeting with the United Nations to search for co-financing mechanisms for projects of donor countries. The chairman said Thamer Ghadhban, the press section at the National Center for Public Information, said the meeting recommended the formation of a joint technical committee between the relevant ministries, to choose the mechanisms that is consistent with legislative and administrative frameworks in Iraq. For its part, said the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Christine McNab said the UN agency is determined to define the mechanisms of good co-financing, through the recruitment of international expertise for the benefit of Iraq. In turn, asked the representative of the Ministry of Finance to open up co-financing projects to the controls and instructions of government contracts with respect to the port by the Iraqi government and coordination between the ministries concerned. http://www.nmc.gov.iq/mnews/2010/5/16_1.htm

May 16, 2010 · Posted in NEWS SCENARIOS-What happens next in Iraq after Baghdad recount? 16 May 2010 BAGHDAD, May 16 (Reuters) – The end of a recount of votes in Baghdad opens the way for Iraq’s March 7 election results to be finally certified more than two months after the ballot, and for coalition-forming talks to begin in earnest. It does not mean the pace of government formation will necessarily pick up, and the ingredients are still in place for a protracted political vacuum in which sectarian tensions could lead to violence as U.S. troops pack up and start to leave. The sectarian warfare between once dominant Sunnis and majority Shi’ites that was kicked off after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion has subsided substantially since its peak in 2006/07. But a string of attacks by a weakened yet still lethal Sunni Islamist insurgency since the ballot has fuelled fears of a slide back into broad bloodshed that could derail U.S. plans to end combat operations in August ahead of a full pullout in 2011. The following is a glimpse into political negotiations thought to be taking place and a review of possible outcomes. WHO GETS FIRST CHANCE TO FORM A GOVERNMENT The recount left intact the two-seat election lead of the cross-sectarian Iraqiya list of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi over the predominantly Shi’ite State of Law bloc of incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But Allawi’s chances of forming a government are slim, raising the prospect of anger among minority Sunnis who backed Iraqiya and who see its electoral success as a vindication of their claim to greater clout in post-invasion Iraq. Instead, a Shi’ite mega tie-up announced between Maliki’s faction and the other main Shi’ite group, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), has the best chance. They are just four seats short of a governing majority in the new 325-seat parliament. In theory, the president picked by the next parliament when it sits should give Allawi as the election winner the first shot at trying to form a government and 30 days in which to do so. The supreme court, though, has already issued an opinion stating that right could also legally be granted to the single biggest bloc in the new parliament. WHO IS TALKING TO WHOM In the meantime, State of Law and the INA will be talking to the recently unified Kurdish bloc about what concessions will be needed to bring the Kurds’ 57 or so seats into the fold. The Kurds want the presidency, a resumption in their oil exports, and commitments on disputed areas like Kirkuk, which the Kurds want wrapped into their semi-autonomous enclave. Maliki’s envoys will also be talking to members of Iraqiya who might cross the floor if offered a suitably attractive deal, such as a ministry. It will be important to bestow a Sunni tint on an otherwise Shi’ite-Kurdish dominated government. Among those who might be tempted to desert Allawi could be incumbent Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a prominent Sunni, or members of former Sunni lawmaker Saleh al-Mutlaq’s list. Hashemi would bring with him around 9 seats while Mutlaq’s former National Dialogue Front could deliver at least 20. Mutlaq himself was barred from the election because of alleged links to Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath party. Sunni politician Osama al-Nujaifi, who controls around half of Iraqiya’s 20-odd seats in the violent northern province of Nineveh, may also be willing to deal with State of Law and INA. The inclusion of a large-enough Sunni bloc may defuse some of the outrage Sunnis will feel at Allawi being sidelined by the Shi’ite factions that have dominated Iraq since Saddam’s fall. WHAT STILL STANDS IN THE WAY OF A SHI’ITE MEGA-MERGER The pick of prime minister is a hurdle that could yet defeat the plans to create a Shi’ite mega-faction. Maliki, the top vote winner in the March election, insists that he be returned to office for a second term. But he is opposed by the movement of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which won 39 of INA’s 70 seats and dislikes Maliki for sending troops to crush Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia. Maliki is viewed with disquiet within the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which has seen its former dominance of Shi’ite politics whittled away by Maliki’s growing stature. In addition, the incumbent prime minister is thought to be viewed by Tehran as overly independent. Shi’ite power Iran has been an influential player in Iraq since its Shi’ite majority was propelled into political supremacy by the invasion. Under the tie-up, State of Law and INA were to create a 14-person committee to decide on a prime ministerial nominee. The formation of the panel has been stymied by disagreement within the INA as to who should be included in it, and by State of Law opposition to the INA side appointing too many Sadrists. The committee, once formed, will have a week to endorse a prime minister unanimously. If it fails, it will then vote on a selection. The winning candidate will need 80 percent support. If that also fails, a new mechanism will have to be agreed. HOW LONG It could still take months to form a new government. While the election results will most likely be certified by June, diplomats expect politicians to want a package deal on all remaining issues — prime minister, president and ministries — before the new parliament is allowed to hold its first session. A popular estimate for a new government is August, just when U.S. troops levels are supposed to go down by half to 50,000. SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE When Iraq waited months for a government in 2006, sectarian bloodshed took hold. Some fear history could repeat itself. But Iraq in 2010 is different to Iraq in 2006. The 650,000-plus troops and police Iraq now has have proven to be relatively professional, while not flawless, and capable of battling both Sunni insurgents and Shi’ite militia. Iraqis themselves are tired of war, and less inclined to turn a blind eye to or provide a safe haven for armed groups. Iraq has also signed 10 deals with global oil firms that could turn it into the world’s No. 2 oil producer. The allure of booming oil revenues may persuade many who might otherwise take up arms that it would be more profitable to join the government, than to fight it. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE64E02O.htm

May 15, 2010 · Iraq and Kuwait still going at it By ALI KAREEM AND MOHAMMAD FURAT The Institute for War & Peace Reporting A fierce legal fight between the national airlines of Iraq and Kuwait has revived deep resentments that have been simmering since Saddam Hussein first sent his army into oil-rich, neighboring Kuwait back in 1990. The dispute has been playing out in British courts since soon after the end of the first Gulf War, with Kuwait Airways claiming it is owed $1.2 billion by Iraqi Airways for 10 aircraft and spare parts that were looted during the occupation by Iraqi forces. Lawyers representing Kuwait have accused Iraq of perjury, forgery and a general perversion of the justice system. In turn, Kuwait has been accused of exploiting Iraq’s instability and being insensitive to the suffering of the Iraqi people. The dispute resurfaced April 25 when the first Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London in more than 20 years was met at Gatwick Airport by lawyers representing Kuwait Airway armed with an injunction issued by a British court. The authorities confiscated the passport of Iraqi Airways director Kifah Hassan Jabbar, and impounded the aircraft, which had been leased from a Swedish company. “We are surprised by this escalation and provocation by the Kuwaiti authorities and their insistence on pursuing and harassing Iraqis when they tried to open a new window to the world and (a way) out of the suffering that they have lived through for several decades,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of Transportation. Jabbar’s papers were eventually returned after he promised to provide the British court with a complete accounting of Iraqi Airway’s assets. Until then, any of the airline’s assets in British banks will remain frozen. “Iraqi Airways has agreed to make available an official statement of global assets. They want to freeze all Iraqi Airways assets, but Iraqi Airways has no assets. It is very simple. So, there is no case,” said Saad al-Khafaji, a senior official with Iraqi Airways. “Frankly, where I’m sitting the claim of having no assets just doesn’t ring true,” said Chris Gooding, a lawyer representing Kuwait Airways. “They are operating flights to England and Sweden and other places on a regular basis and they are presently re-fleeting to the tune of billions of dollars,” he said, referring to Iraqi Airway’s pending purchase of 47 new aircraft from the United States and Canada. All parties agree that Iraq’s refusal in the past to deal with Kuwait’s demands has allowed the dispute to escalate into the current crisis. “Whenever the Kuwaitis made a claim in court and we didn’t respond, the court ruled in favor of the Kuwaitis,” Khafaji said. “The reparation demand didn’t exceed $200 million in 2000, but it has doubled and doubled until it has now reached $1.2 billion. That was a big mistake on our part; otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about this large amount,” Khafaji said. Iraqi officials have repeatedly claimed they have made restitution offers and pledges of friendship only to be rebuffed. Some have said it was unfair that Iraq be held accountable for the actions of the former regime. “The Kuwait Airways issue has been exaggerated by the Kuwaitis, who have attached political dimensions to the case. Kuwait has to respect the will of the Iraqi people and stop taking advantage of the circumstances in Iraq for the purpose of retribution,” said Adnan Bilaibl, director of Iraq’s civil aviation authority. “What Kuwait is doing is unjustified and this needs to be stopped because things are getting dangerous,” he added. The danger of escalation was on display at Baghdad International Airport in April when hundreds of demonstrators carrying signs reading “Stop sucking the blood of Iraqis with your so-called compensation” turned up to protest Kuwait’s demands. “The issue has become seriously dangerous,” Hassan Shaban, a Baghdad- based legal analyst, said. “If there is no agreement between Iraqis and Kuwaitis, it must come through intervention by the Arab League or United Nations. This case can’t go on like this, or it will deeply damage the future of aviation in Iraq just as it is beginning to recover.” . http://www.kentucky.com/2010/05/14/1264697/iraq-and-kuwait-still-going-at.html

May 15, 2010 · Posted in NEWS May 15 (Bloomberg) — Iraq hasn’t yet agreed on financing from the World Bank to help cover a budget shortfall caused by a drop in oil revenue, the governor of the Iraq central bank said. “Discussions are continuing,” Sinan al-Shabibi said in an interview in Manama today. Iraq was hopeful it could raise money itself by selling bonds, he said. “The government would like to depend on its own resources and is waiting for developments in oil prices.” The International Monetary Fund in February approved a two- year, $3.6 billion loan for Iraq, and said that the World Bank and other lenders should make up the rest of the Persian Gulf nation’s estimated $5 billion funding gap through 2010 and 2011. Iraq, which depends on income from oil exports for 85 percent of government revenue, recorded a budget deficit of 20 percent of gross domestic product last year. The deficit is expected to amount to 19 percent of GDP this year and 6 percent in 2011, according to the IMF. While a rebound in oil prices from their low point in December 2008 of around $32 a barrel has improved the outlook for the country’s deficit, inconclusive March elections have increased political concerns. Iraqi leaders are still holding talks on forming a governing coalition. The U.S., which led a 2003 invasion to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, is scheduled to pull out all its troops by the end of 2011 and leave Iraq’s security in the hands of the country’s own forces. Sovereign-Debt Crisis An 18-percent plunge in oil prices since May 3 triggered by the European sovereign-debt crisis makes the situation harder for Iraq, said al-Shabibi. “Of course this is a concern, it will be difficult for fiscal policy.” Iraq had a deficit of $19 billion in 2009 and its 2010 budget forecast a deficit of $15 billion based on an average price of $62 a barrel. Crude oil for June delivery fell $2.79 to $71.61 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Feb. 5. Oil has dropped 18 percent on the Nymex since it reached $87.15 a barrel on May 3, a 19-month high. Iraq holds the world’s third-largest oil reserves, with its 115 billion-barrel reserve behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran. IMF and Iraqi authorities are projecting average production of 2.6 million barrels per day with exports of 2.1 million barrels a day this year. Next year, the projections are for production of 2.9 million barrels a day and exports of 2.25 million a day. Iraq has said it can increase oil production more than fourfold to 12 million barrels a day after signing contracts with international oil companies last year in a bid to rebuild its war-torn economy. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-15/iraq-is-still-holding-talks-with-world-bank-on-loan-update1-.html

May 14, 2010 · Posted in NEWS Baghdad, 14 May (Akaniwz) - identified the Electoral Commission’s election, on Monday, the next date for the announcement of the results count and hand count in the capital Baghdad, confirmed that it will receive the results of the appeals for three days. Saad al-Rawi, member of the Board of Commissioners in the Office, told the Kurdish news agency (Akaniwz) “The results of counting the hand held in Baghdad for the 11300 polling stations will be announced next Monday,” stressing that “the Commission Act gives the political entities the right to challenge the election results within three days of date of publication in the official newspaper. ” The narrator explained that “UNHCR has so far completed all the ballot boxes, leaving only 95 stacks of the voting results private and will expire in the evening today.” The narrator added that “the law gives the judiciary of Seven in the Office has 10 days to decide all appeals submitted to it by political entities,” noting that “in the absence of Appeals on the results of the elections, the judiciary supported the results of counting the hand and sent to the Federal Court for approval “. And the narrator that “The Commission provided the Tribunal with the Federal election results for 17 counties with notes on excluded by the named of the accountability and justice and this holds a number of problems.” UNHCR began the Electoral re-counts and the hand count of the results of the elections in Baghdad in May 3 / May, based on a decision of the judiciary that have accepted the challenge list of a coalition of law. Announced that the Electoral Commission for elections it received more than 250 appeals from political entities, but all appeals did not bear the red and the counting process and the hand count of all polling stations did not detect a fraud organization. The list of the Kurdistani Alliance submitted earlier this month challenging re-counts and hand counts in the provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk and returned the list to withdraw her appeal last weekend, by contrast, the withdrawal of the President a list of coalition rule of law, Nuri al-Maliki’s appeal for the reinstatement of counting in Baghdad before the judicial organ but did not issued a decision to stop the process. According to the Electoral Commission for elections that the errors detected and corrected results of the elections in Baghdad did not change much from the overall results there will be no change in the electoral denominator, but the impact would be slight. http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/3

BAGHDAD (Iba) / follow-up / ... To end the Electoral Commission for elections in Iraq today re-sort the counting of votes in Baghdad, two months after the legislative elections. It is scheduled to announce the election commission later in the evening in a news conference the completion of the process of sorting and counting without an announcement of the results. The Electoral Commission has started during the last period to implement the decision of the Court's re-counting manually in Baghdad in scrutinizing the 11 000 polling stations in Baghdad. After it complained about some of the Iraqi parties, especially the rule of law, including a coalition led by Nuri al-Maliki complaints challenging the integrity of the elections. The Electoral Commission announced recently that the results of counting was 90% identical to the final results of the elections and announced in 26 of the month of March http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?name=inner&t=politics&id=25173

May 14, 2010 - 10:01:00 BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Former prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari expressed readiness to ease all difficulties facing the meeting between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and former premier Iyad Allawi. “Al-Jaafari held a meeting with Chairman of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council Ammar al-Hakim, with whom he discussed the latest political developments and the ongoing talks to form the government of national partnership,” said an official statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. On May 12, Spokesperson of Al-Iraqiya Alliance, Hayder al-Mullah, had said that Allawi will held a meeting with Head of Dawlat al-Qanoon Alliance, Nouri al-Maliki, within the coming 48 house. “The meeting aims for finding a　mutual foundations between the two alliances to proceed with the national partnership concept,” Hayder al-Mullah said. He noted that the meeting will be the starting point for a series of other meetings between the two alliances “to crystallize the project of national partnership.”　 Preliminary election results reveal that the two alliances are the biggest winners. http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131699

May 13, 2010 Obama renews emergency regarding Iraq: WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) — Political and administrative developments in Iraq pose a continued threat to the United States, the U.S. president said, extending a state of emergency. U.S. President Barack Obama said that obstacles to the “orderly reconstruction,” the maintenance of peace and administrative developments in Iraq continue to pose an extraordinary threat to U.S. national and foreign policy interests. “Accordingly, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to this threat and maintain in force the measures taken to deal with that national emergency,” he said. U.S. Defense Department officials this week downplayed suggestions that insecurity and political issues in Iraq were delaying plans to pull U.S. troops out of the country. Iraq turned violent in the wake of March 7 elections for the Council of Representatives. A wave of shootings and bombings directed Monday at security forces and civilians killed nearly 100 people and injured at least 300 in Iraq. Bombings in Fallujah and Sadr City, meanwhile, claimed scores of lives during the week. Iraq has yet to form a government in the wake of the March 7 vote. The Iraqiya slate of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warned this week warned that political infighting threatened national security. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/…1121273769177/ C. The Prime Minister shall be delegated the necessary powers which enable him to manage the affairs of the country during the period of the declaration of war and the state of emergency. These powers shall be regulated by a law in a way that does not contradict the Constitution. http://www.uniraq.org/documents/iraqi_constitution.pdf

Whats ahead is my money ...Would someone go and find it - i'm tired of waiting

May 13, 2010 · Posted in NEWS By Ben Lando of Iraq Oil Report Published May 13, 2010 BAGHDAD – U.S. President Barack Obama has extended the protection offered to Iraqi funds kept in the United States since 2003 for yet another year. The money has been protected by both the United States and United Nations in part to ensure Iraqi revenues aren’t depleted by claims from countries, companies and individuals who seek damages from incidents perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, as well as those who funded Saddam Hussein’s regime through business dealings that went unpaid. In a notice to the U.S. Congress Wednesday, made public Thursday, Obama wrote that “obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” Since 2003, Iraq’s revenues, 95 percent of which are from oil sales, have been funneled directly to the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), an account in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The bank cycles through tens of billions of dollars annually, and also holds a separate currency reserve estimated at $25 billion that stands up the Iraqi dinar. The DFI is monitored by U.S., U.N., Iraqi and international banking officials for both accurate payments and other revenue flow accounting. Five percent of Iraq’s revenues are set aside to pay reparations to Kuwait and other claimants. The immunity policy keeps the funds free from being frozen by orders of attachment, which might otherwise threaten to cripple the economy and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. By the end of this year an all-Iraqi oversight committee is to take over the DFI. “The Iraqi government continues to take steps to resolve debts and settle claims arising from the actions of the previous regime,” Obama wrote. “Before the end of the year, my Administration will review the Iraqi government’s progress on resolving these outstanding debts and claims, as well as other relevant circumstances, in order to determine whether the prohibitions … on any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to the Development Fund for Iraq, the accounts, assets, and property held by the Central Bank of Iraq, and Iraqi petroleum-related products, should continue in effect beyond December 31, 2010, which are in addition to the sovereign immunity ordinarily provided to Iraq as a sovereign nation under otherwise applicable law.” http://www.iraqoilreport.com/business/economics/obama-continues-u-s-immunity-from-claims-to-iraqs-oil-dollars-4461/?utm_source=Email%20Update%20Subscribers

Final Election Results Will Be Announced on Friday May 12, 2010 – 08:28:59 BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The final results of Baghdad’s election will be announced on Friday, May 14, 2010. “By then we will know if there are changes in the election results,” a source from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Iraq told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Wednesday. He noted that the IHEC has not discovered any wide-scale rigging in election results. http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131592