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In the names .. Representatives of these Shiite blocs nominated Al-Zarfi to head the government Politics 03/28 2020 11:44:11 Shafaq News / On Saturday, a parliamentary source revealed the names of the Shiite blocs to which deputies nominated Adnan al-Zarfi belonged to the President of the Republic in order to assign him to form the next government. A parliamentary source said to Shafak News that "all the deputies of the Victory Coalition, as well as deputies from the other side, wisdom and the rule of law and conquest, have submitted parliamentary signatures to the President of the Republic, including Adnan Al-Zarfi’s candidacy for prime minister." On March 16th, the President of the Republic tasked Barham Salih, the head of the parliamentary victory bloc, Adnan al-Zarfi, to form the new government within 30 days. This mandate came after the "Seven Committee" of the Shiite forces failed to reach agreement on a specific candidate. Al-Zrafi faces rejection from prominent Shiite forces close to Iran, led by Hadi al-Amiri, the Al-Fateh coalition, and the State of Law coalition led by Nuri al-Maliki, and pushed it to form a new seven-party committee to choose an alternative to al-Zorfi. But a parliamentary source told Shafaq News a few days ago that Al-Zarfi had succeeded in penetrating the ranks of the Shiite forces opposing his assignment, and he persuaded about 100 deputies to give confidence to his government in Parliament. For his part, the deputy of the Parliamentary Bloc, Amjad Al-Aqabi, to Shafaq News, affirmed that "President of the Republic, Barham Salih, commissioned Adnan Al-Zarfi to form the new government based on a request submitted by members of Parliament regarding his mandate." He added that "the seven-party committee formed by the Shiite forces has nothing to do with the nomination of Zarfi." The new government will succeed Adel Abdel Mahdi's government, which was forced by unprecedented popular protests to resign in early December 2019. https://www.shafaaq.com/ar/سیاسة/بالأسماء-نواب-هذه-الكتل-الشيعية-رشحوا-الزرفي-لرئاسة-الحكومة/?fbclid=IwAR3JqhuFPUnjmrk07XCf6DxjEfCDX7Rw2-q1OFFa9BBhfwn2ycGhX9b3KgM

Vietnamese currency more stable than other regional peers Update: March, 26/2020 - 14:23 | The đồng is expected to stabilise around the current level. Photo cafef HÀ NỘI — Though the unofficial value of the Vietnamese đồng has now fallen about 3 per cent against the US dollar, the rate is still a smaller depreciation than that seen by most of Việt Nam’s regional peers and is expected to stabilise around that level, management fund Vinacapital reported. The Indonesian rupiah, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit slid 19, 11 and 9 per cent, respectively. Though the Philippine peso inched down 1 per cent, its relative stability is attributable to the after-effects of a 34 per cent depreciation in the Philippine peso over the five years up to late-2018. According to Vinacapital analysts, foreign investors aggressively sold Vietnamese stocks last week, prompting concerns among some locals that the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) may restrict the flow of US dollars out of the country, which was one of the factors that prompted last week’s đồng depreciation. However, the SBV is not contemplating any restrictions on foreign investors from repatriating dollars, and that the SBV has more than enough reserves to comfortably meet redemption. “Việt Nam’s US$83 billion of foreign currency reserves are much larger than the country’s cumulative $30 billion of foreign indirect investment (FII) in-flows, and a high proportion of those FII are inflows were into illiquid private equity and/or large strategic stakes in publicly listed companies – both of which cannot be sold quickly. In short, the SBV has more than enough reserves to meet any short-term panic redemptions by foreign investors,” the analysts explained. It noted that foreign investors sold around $260 million worth of stocks last week, but unlike past global “risk-off” episodes when investors sold Vietnamese stocks but kept the funds in the country such as at the end of 2018, this time some investors are repatriating dollars back to their home countries in response to the current global shortage. Furthermore, since Việt Nam has not been a major recipient of the “hot money” inflows that destabilised ASEAN tiger economies in the past (for example, the proportion of Vietnamese Government bonds owned by foreign investors is very low, unlike in Indonesia), the SBV is well-positioned to meet any potential short-term panic redemptions by foreign investors. Vinacapital believed the USD-VNĐ exchange rate should stabilise around the current level as the US Federal Reserve took concrete actions to stop the surge in the USD/DXY index last week while the SBV does not need to impose capital controls and the đồng is supported by high bank deposit interest rates and 33 per cent per GDP of forex reserves. Việt Nam’s total reserves now reach up to about $83 billion, or four months’ worth of imports, but this figure understates the degree of support that Việt Nam’s FX reserves afford the currency because Việt Nam’s imports and exports are both around 100 per cent of GDP, which depresses the above-mentioned four months’ figure. “For that reason, we’d like to highlight that Việt Nam’s current 32 per cent per GDP worth of FX reserves has nearly reached the 33 per cent per GDP level of FX reserves that China had accumulated just before the Yuan embarked on a 7-year appreciation that ultimately lifted its value by about 25 per cent,” Vinacapital noted The country’s trade surplus reached nearly $3 billion as of mid-March, including a surplus of nearly $900 million in the first two weeks of this month, driven by 7 per cent year-on-year export growth. Besides, Việt Nam’s deposit rates are attractive compared to regional peers and are becoming relatively even more attractive as regional peers’ central banks slash policy interest rates, the analysts said. — VNS

Sheikh Ali: breaking the quorum of the session to give confidence to the interim government because of the threats of "Muqtada Al-Sadr" 27-02-2020 05:14 PM Baghdad - news Member of Parliament, Faeq Al-Sheikh Ali, confirmed today, Thursday, that the quorum of the session to grant confidence to the government of Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi was broken due to the threats of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr. Sheikh Ali said in a tweet on his personal page on Twitter followed by "Al-Akhbaria", that "everyone who asked him today about why he did not attend the parliament session and broke the quorum? Is it because of your objection to Muhammad Allawi and his cabinet formation," noting that "most of the deputies confirmed Their breaking of the quorum came because of the threats of Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr! ". He added, "Al-Sadr can threaten 54 of his deputies, but he cannot threaten another 275 representatives." The Presidency of the Council of Representatives decided to postpone the holding of the confidence-giving session to the interim government until next Saturday, due to the lack of a quorum to hold the session. https://www.ikhnews.com/index.php?page=article&id=209975&fbclid=IwAR1ynMxKT5FU3Bc35QXoZZZP4CzKUWXf8dcKuNNNYeHDsfVdTdc3fx91l6w

For the first time four women in the Iraqi government Sumerian special 2020-02-26 | 10:21 Dialogues are accelerating and cramping with the approaching date of the parliament session to vote on the government of Muhammad Allawi, who has completed the nomination of his ministers, with the exception of four ministries that will be vacant. The Allawi government also included four women and this is the first government in which women are represented by this number. While some of the blocs settled their position by voting on the interim government, such as the Al-Fateh Alliance and others, as negotiations and meetings continue. The Alliance of Forces denied that there were any dialogues with the Prime Minister-designate as a result of the Alliance's objection to an Allawi person and the government's approach. As for the Kurds, they are the closest to grasping the stick from the fair between the supporters of Allawi and those who refuse, they want a government that represents all components. This representation is seen by the prime minister as a return to quotas. The House of Representatives plans to hold an emergency session next Thursday to vote on the interim government, with rejection and acceptance. video at link https://www.alsumaria.tv/news/%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9/335588/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9-%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9

Allawi, called the deputies to a meeting this evening to inform them of the biographies of the ministers of his cabinet 02/21/2020 Baghdad today - Baghdad A source close to the Prime Minister-designate, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, said on Friday (February 21, 2020), that Allawi invited members of Parliament to attend a meeting today, to inform them of the biographies of his cabinet ministers. The source said in an interview with (Baghdad Today), "The Prime Minister-designate, Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, invited all members of the House of Representatives to attend the government palace at 6 pm." The source, who refused to reveal his identity, added that "Allawi's invitation is to inform MPs of the biographies of his cabinet ministers and the government program." Earlier in the day, the deputy of Saeroun, Salam Al-Shammari, sent a letter to Parliament regarding the holding of an extraordinary session to vote on the cabinet of Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi. Al-Shammari said in a statement received (Baghdad today), that "a large number of deputies pass through the ministerial cabinet and support it in order to start steps to implement legitimate popular demands during the coming period." He added, "The presidency of the parliament must respond to the voice of the people and its representatives, call for the session and not respond to some attempts from here and there that are trying to delay the session and thwart the steps of the Prime Minister-designate within the constitutional period." Al-Shammari stressed "the need for political blocs to work in the public interest and leave their narrow demands and pay attention to the situation of the country, which is in urgent need of a new government that meets the demands of the people." On Wednesday (19 February 2020), Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi called on the House of Representatives to hold an extraordinary session next Monday in order to vote on granting confidence to his next transitional government. وكالة بغداد اليوم الاخب baghdadtoday.news مصدر: علاوي دعا النواب إلى اجتماع مساء اليوم لاطلاعهم على السير الذاتية لوزراء

The US Navy confiscates 150 Iranian missiles 02/13 2020 14:01:17 Shafaq News / The US Navy announced on Thursday that a ship belonging to it in the Arabian Sea confiscated 150 Iranian-made missiles, last Sunday, on its way to the Houthis in Yemen. The US Army Central Command's statement stated that the weapons that were confiscated included 3 surface-to-air missiles. The source pointed out that the 150 missiles that were confiscated in the Arabian Sea are anti-tank type. Later, the US Navy said that Iranian weapons were on their way to the Houthis. The confiscation of Iranian-made missiles by the American army, after Washington and Tehran entered into great tension, in January, following the killing of a prominent military commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, in an American strike near Baghdad airport. Iran responded to the killing of its military commander, by bombing two bases hosting American forces in Iraq, but the vendetta described limited and did not cause massive losses in the ranks of the American army, although some of the soldiers suffered a concussion due to the noise caused by the fall of the missiles. https://www.shafaaq.com/ar/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1-150-%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AE%D8%A7-%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7/

Al-khalidi: Allawi will present his Government to parliament next week {Baghdad: Al Furat News} The head of the Bayraq Al-Khair Parliamentary Bloc, Muhammad Al-Khaldi, said, “The ministerial cabinet is about to be completed, despite all the conflicts that occur between the political blocs or even the components.” Al-Khaldi revealed in a press statement that "the Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi intends to present his ministerial cabinet to Parliament in the middle of next week and perhaps on Monday." In response to a question regarding the conflict of positions between the political blocs, some of which have not clearly disclosed the nature of their support for Allawi or not, Al-Khalidi said: "I can say that most of what is announced in the media is not true, as things are proceeding almost naturally except for one bloc ( He did not name her) her position remains unclear or unsupportive. " Al-Khalidi expected that "voting {in parliament” would be comfortable in all cases, because the convictions of many representatives are no longer identical to those of their leaderships necessarily. Ammar Al-Masoudi To receive everything that is accurate, reliable and urgent, subscribe to the Furat News news https://alforatnews.com/news/الخالدي-علاوي-سيقدم-حكومته-الى-البرلمان-الأسبوع-المقبل?fbclid=IwAR1J7tRxILk0UXblpx4o2tVDdf4LbDeaRZn8V31dUYIHfabHe4hkno1LxBw

NATO willing to expand Iraqi training mission to meet Trump demand February 11, 2020 / 6:39 AM / Updated 39 minutes ago BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO is considering an increase to its training mission in Iraq to relieve the burden on the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, senior officials and diplomats said on Tuesday. NATO and the coalition have non-combat “train-and-advise” missions which aim to develop Iraqi security forces but both are suspended over fears for regional stability after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan. 3. After the killing, U.S. President Donald Trump called on NATO - founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the Soviet Union - to do more in the Middle East but he has not specified publicly what that might entail. NATO defense ministers including U.S. Secretary of State Mark Esper will discuss options for non-combat operations in the Middle East at a two-day meeting in Brussels starting on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “We are discussing what more NATO can do,” he told reporters, adding that the alliance would first seek to restart the training with the Iraqi government’s blessing. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said the alliance was also seeking military advice, both from NATO and Iraq, on how to increase the mission, but gave no details. “I think it will definitely be the answer to what President Trump has requested,” she said. NUMBER OF TRAINERS SET TO RISE Established in Baghdad in October 2018, the NATO training mission in Iraq numbers some 500 personnel. It does not deploy alongside Iraqi forces during their operations. Two allied diplomats told Reuters the number of NATO trainers in Iraq could rise to as much as 2,000, but it would not be a net increase of Western troops in Iraq because the U.S.-led coalition would simply re-assign trainers. While symbolic, the coalition is outside NATO structures. Putting more personnel under a NATO flag would solidify training in Iraq and could make it more long-term, also cementing NATO’s presence in the region. When Trump first raised increasing NATO’s role in the Middle East in 2017, France and Germany resisted, worried that NATO would be caught up in another costly, Afghan-style deployment, anger Arab countries or risk confrontation with Russia in Syria. But diplomats said Paris and Berlin were now open to an expanded NATO mission in Iraq because it was non-combat, held fewer risks, would not be under a U.S. general’s command and would go some way to mollifying Trump, a sharp critic of NATO. https://www.reuters.com

From what I understand....Citi Bank heads up the Trade Bank of Iraq as well.

A HOAX??? https://bankofbaghdad.com.iq/ “Dear customers.. we would like to inform you that our correspondent bank in US dollar currency is Citibank of New York through our account with the following details: Citi bank N.A. SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33XXX ROUTING: 021000089 Therefore, please make sure to use the above account details for all your incoming transfers to your accounts with the Bank of Baghdad "

Trump on deal with Turkey: an amazing result and save the lives of the Kurds 2019/10/17 Baghdad Today _ Continue US President Donald Trump said Thursday that reaching an agreement with Turkey on a ceasefire in northeastern Syria was "an amazing result," while noting that the deal saved the lives of Syrian Kurds. "This deal could not have been made three days ago," Trump tweeted on Twitter. "It would have required some hard love to accomplish," he said. He considered the US President, the agreement on a ceasefire in Syria with Turkey an amazing result, and saved the lives of the Syrian Kurds. The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, announced on Thursday, that his country has suspended military operations in northern Syria, and did not stop it completely. "Ankara stressed during the meeting with Pence, the territorial integrity of Syria," he said during a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence. He added, "The meeting stressed the suspension of the military operation (spring of peace) and not stop completely, to monitor the withdrawal of armed organizations." The Turkish Foreign Minister, that "the goal is to create a safe area of 44 km and a depth of 32 km," noting that "Ankara agreed with Washington to collect heavy weapons from units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the destruction of their positions." US Vice President Mike Pence confirmed the agreement with Turkey for a ceasefire in northeastern Syria. "The United States did not impose further sanctions on Turkey after the ceasefire in Syria," Mike Pence told a news conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Pines added that "the Turkish side agreed not to conduct military operations, in the head of the Syrian eye," noting that the work "began to withdraw Kurdish forces from the area of hostilities." He continued, "The United States will not have soldiers on the ground in Syria," noting that Washington "received assurances from the Syrian Kurdish YPG for an orderly withdrawal." "What has been agreed will serve the interests of the Kurds in Syria and establish a long-term buffer zone," he said. https://baghdadtoday.news/news/98747/ترامب-بشأن-الاتفاق-مع-تر?fbclid=IwAR0xFrnKrlGkz6j44Y77jCwn0Sd9JW0brXjQy7zJ-4vz6Trzp80Tvg54XQA

Information / Special… Jassem al-Bukhati, a member of the Wisdom Movement, said on Saturday that the religious authority's speech on Friday was the last warning to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government tocorrect its course and provide services to citizens. Bukhati said in a statement to the information, that the boycott of the religious authority of the current government and politicians is clear evidence of its dissatisfaction with the government work and provide services to citizens, pointing out that "the reference will have a position during the next stage if the government remains on the perspective of quotas and corruption." . He added that "the sermon of the religious authority yesterday is the last warning to the government of Abdul-Mahdi to correct its course and provide services to citizens," noting that "the reference is not satisfied with the work of Abdul-Mahdi and his steps are still tangible in the implementation of the government program." The representative of the Supreme Religious Authority in the city of Karbala, on Friday, a series of questions to the decision-makers in the country, stressing that the focus of these questions that "the citizen feels unfair," wondering, "Is there a horizon to solve our problems and a time limit for them."

America gives the green light to its friends .. Nominated alternative to Abdul - Mahdi Updated 11/08/2019 3:53 PM (Watan News) - Baghdad The United States has given the green light to liquidate them over the nomination of Abdul Mahdi, a political source said Sunday. The source said in an interview with (Watan News) that "the United States of America gave the green light to the political parties in the Iraqi government loyal to nominate new personalities for the post of prime minister instead of Adel Abdul Mahdi." http://wataniq.com/news?ID=44300 https://twitter.com/DavidMWitty1/status/1160573005451472896

2019-07-29 BY SOTALIRAQ Parliamentary Integrity calls for follow-up of the movement of funds of officials and politicians! The Parliamentary Integrity Committee on Monday called on the competent government agencies to monitor the movement of funds of all officials, politicians and their economic committees. "The competent government bodies should follow the movement of the money of all officials, economies and banks belonging to political entities and personalities," said member of the committee Kazem Sayadi. "The economic bodies and the banks of parties and political figures, has become the biggest smuggler of the currency, as well as stealing money and salaries of Iraqis," he said, adding: "Certainly do not mean everyone with regard to banks, although most of them as well," he said. https://www.sotaliraq.com/2019/07/29/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d8%b2%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d8%b1%d9%84%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%b7%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8-%d8%a8%d9%85%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%83/