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Iraq VP in Ankara on election talks ANKARA, Turkey, April 6 (UPI) -- Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Madhi met with Turkish leaders in Ankara as Iraqis wait for the results of an informal poll for the next prime minister. The Iraqi vice president, who is a member of the Iraqi National Alliance, a Shiite coalition led by Ahmed Chalabi, met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and other leaders in Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he discussed the March 7 vote, expressing his pleasure over the election process in Iraq, Turkey's English-language daily Today's Zaman reports. All of the major coalitions in Iraq have issued competing claims of fraud in the parliamentary contest. Iraqi elections officials said there were problems with the vote, though nothing substantial enough to sway the outcome. The Iraqi vice president said Iraq's next government would be formed by the Iraqi people, saying progress was being made on forming a new government. The Sadrist Movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr held an informal poll during the weekend to choose a new prime minister following the March 7 vote. The Iraqiya slate of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won 91 seats, with the State of Law coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki taking 89 seats. A 163-seat majority is needed to form a government in the 325-seat Parliament. The weekend ballot has no legal authority. Sadrists, who ran under the Iraqi National Alliance banner, won 39 seats. Sadrists expect the results for the weekend poll later in the week. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/04/06/Iraq-VP-in-Ankara-on-election-talks/UPI-68501270567734/

By Ryan Scheeler | April 6, 2010 Leading Parties Remain Deadlocked and Scramble for Alliances The Iraq election votes have been fully counted, but the question of who will emerge as the winner of the 2010 Iraq parliamentary elections still remains surprisingly unanswered. The front-runners are clear

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Tuesday, April 06, 2010 Vietnam

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - 03:34 BEIJING (MNI) - The Chinese government denied Tuesday that it has ever manipulated the yuan exchange rate and said that it will continue with reform of its exchange rate regime Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu did not give a specific response to the U.S. Treasury Department's decision to delay release of a politically-sensitive report that had the potential to label China an exchange rate manipulator. But she rejected charges that Beijing has manipulated the currency to boost exports and also denied that yuan appreciation would solve current tensions in China's bilateral relationship with the U.S. "China has never manipulated the yuan exchange rate to benefit from foreign trade," Jiang told a regular briefing with reporters in the government's first official response to the Treasury announcement. She also repeated the official government line that the yuan exchange rate is not the reason for the U.S. trade deficit with China. "Yuan appreciation is not the solution to the Sino-U.S. trade dispute." Jiang said that China hopes the U.S. will be "objective and reasonable" on the trade issue while pledging that China will continue with exchange rate reform. "China will stick with the reform direction. We will further improve the yuan exchange rate formation mechanism," she said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced Saturday his decision to delay publication of the report to Congress on the exchange rate policies of major U.S. trading partners. He cited a series of very important high-level meetings over the next three months that he said would be critical to bringing about policies to create a stronger, more sustainable, and more balanced global economy. Those meetings include a G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Washington later this month, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) with China in May, and the G-20 leaders summit meetings in Canada in June. "I believe these meetings are the best avenue for advancing U.S. interests at this time," Geithner said in a statement. http://imarketnews.com/node/11316

April 06, 2010, 4:19 AM EDT April 6 (Bloomberg) -- The yuan

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 | 01:19 GMT In Iraq's elections the State of Law party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lost, and he declared: "We will not accept these results under any circumstances." In a precedent-setting ruling, the courts said the task of forming the government would go to the person able to enlist the backing of the most parties - shaking up Iraqi politics even more. The upshot is that Maliki, 60, who came in second with 89 seats in the 325-member parliament, and not Iyad Allawi, whose party won 91 seats, could be prime minister. Advertisement But the biggest obstacle between Allawi, 65, and the prime minister's chair is likely to be the De-Ba'ath Commission for clearing people belonging to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party from government institutions. It will decide on the "fitness" of six newly elected legislators (two from Allawi's party) to serve in parliament. Should the commission invalidate their election, Allawi's achievement is liable to be undermined further. Even this legal-political tangle does not conceal an impressive victory: The Iraqi people will be the source of authority for the next government - and not America nor the Iranian administration. But the United States and Iran were active in the elections, behind the scenes. And both Maliki and two high-ranking representatives of Allawi's party separately visited Tehran - both sides apparently receiving Iran's blessing for forming a coalition. The democratic elections in Iraq - one of the few countries in the Middle East where an electoral outcome is not a forgone conclusion - are in the meantime only a theoretical achievement. The important question is what government will arise and will it succeed in ruling the country? After the election in 2005, Iraq sank into a prolonged civil war. Tens of thousands of people were killed when Shi'ite separatists, armed Sunnis and Al-Qaida terrorists fought one another and the U.S. Army. Millions fled their homes. Intensive military activity by the American forces and their cooperation with the new Iraqi Army brought relative quiet to the country during the past year and a half. However, it is too early to say the danger has passed. The United States has been having a hard time deciding whom it prefers. In the summer of 2007, Hillary Clinton (then a Democratic senator and a front-runner in the presidential campaign race) argued: "It is necessary to replace Maliki and appoint someone who will operate on a less divisive sectarian basis." Then president George W. Bush, in fact, appreciated the leader. Maliki proved he could come out against separatists like Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who operated under the auspices of Iran; he effectively led the military engagement against Al-Qaida people; he cooperated with the American forces and in the end he signed a defense pact with them. When Barack Obama was elected U.S. president, the criticism was replaced by esteem. The demands to remove him from power vanished from Washington but increased in Iraq, where he is accused of corruption and failing to develop infrastructure. His battle against Sadr, considered a victory in the West, is perceived as a betrayal by extremist Shi'ite groups, who will have to decide which of the election winners they prefer to support. Allawi is a a secular Shi'ite, who during Saddam's era spent 30 years as an expatriate in Britain. In exile he planned Saddam's downfall with the American and British intelligence agencies. Upon his return to Iraq, he established the Iraqi intelligence services under the guidance of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This does not mean his victory was achieved thanks to this cooperation but if he does put together a government, they will no doubt be pleased in Washington. Both Maliki and Allawi have glorious pasts as militant oppositionists against Saddam Hussein's regime. Maliki fled Iraq in 1980, after Saddam issued a death warrant against him. Initially, he found refuge in Syria and then in Iran, where he spent several years and controlled subversive networks inside Iraq. In the early 1970s, Allawi, a physician from a Shi'ite family, whose grandfather negotiated with Britain for Iraq's independence, was considered a Saddam loyalist. However, he refused to join Saddam's forces and chose exile, in Beirut and then in London. Saddam sought revenge. Hit men nearly assassinated Allawi with ax blows in 1978. The election results created a complex political mosaic, and both candidates will probably have to agree to a string of concessions to establish a coalition. They will, for example, have to conciliate the 53-member Kurdish bloc, probably by committingto implement Article 140 in the constitution, which states that a census and referendum must be held in the city of Kirkuk. The Kurds see Kirkuk as part of their autonomous region, and all its inhabitants should be returned to their homes there - many of them were expelled during Saddam's regime and Arab population was brought in. Anyone who wants to promise Kirkuk to the Kurds will face Sunni inhabitants who would see this as the betrayal of an asset that belongs to them. Many Sunnis voted for Allawi as a leader who will defend their rights, as compared to Maliki, who is perceived as a "Sunni-hater" even though he founded a non-sectarian party in which Sunnis are also members. A shaky government is likely, one that will tough security issues security issues, like the exit of about 100,000 American soldiers, and will be unable to act in Iraq's development. And we have not yet heard from Iran, Baghdad's most important trading partner. In Washington, they are biting their nails. Democracy, it emerges, is a dangerous commodity for an occupying force. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160905.html

Monday, April 05, 2010 Announced the official spokesman for a coalition and the unity of Iraq, an agreement in principle, the alliance took place between the Iraqi bloc led by Iyad Allawi, Iraq's unity coalition led by Interior Minister Jawad al. The spokesman said in a press statement that the delegation of senior Iraqi List is composed of 9 characters headed by Mustafa al-Hiti, visited the headquarters of coalition and unity of Iraq to discuss the alliance brings them together, adding that the coalition and the unity of Iraq has given preliminary approval to hold this coalition, saying the issuance of a final response within two days. http://radionawa.com/Ar/NewsDetailN.aspx?id=7771&LinkID=151

12:27, April 05, 2010 US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Saturday he was delaying an April 15 report on whether China manipulates its currency, amid growing debate on the revaluation of the yuan. "A move by China to a more market-oriented exchange rate will make an essential contribution to global rebalancing," Geithner said in a statement. He also pledged to press for a more flexible Chinese currency policy, following renewed US calls for China to revalue the yuan. A number of Chinese analysts have said that a sharp revaluation of the yuan will dent China's growth by making its exports more expensive. But the country may start revaluing its currency as early as the second half of the year, with the move not "yielding to US pressure, but seeing to China's own needs", Jin Canrong, a leading US studies expert at the Renmin University of China, said on Sunday. Still, Geithner said he will use upcoming meetings of the Group of 20 and a US-China economic summit in Beijing in May to try to advance the US position. "I believe these meetings are the best avenue for advancing US interests at this time," Geithner said in a statement issued at midday on the Easter holiday weekend. The US Treasury gave no indication of when it will release the report. The US Business and Industry Council, a trade group, said the administration will apparently delay the release of the report until after the G20 summit meeting in June. The latest US decision to delay the report came as President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit Washington next week to attend a nuclear security summit after both sides strived to patch up strained ties over Taiwan, Tibet and trade. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90858/90864/6940716.html

Mon Apr 5, 2010 4:27am (Reuters) - The U.S. decision to delay a ruling on whether China manipulates its currency may have defused political tensions enough for Beijing to let the yuan resume appreciation as early as the next few months. China Beijing has flagged to Washington that foreign pressure may in fact stifle any yuan move, and it seems, the U.S. Treasury Department has understood that message. China has effectively repegged its currency some 20 months ago around 6.83 to the dollar as the financial crisis spread and offshore forwards market has been reflecting expectations it will allow the yuan to rise again over the next 12 months. Here is a look what Beijing might do in months ahead. RESUMPTION OF GRADUAL APPRECIATION * Probability: Likely. Many analysts expect Beijing to let the yuan start strengthening as early as in the second quarter and allow it to climb 3-4 percent over the 12 months. Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan said in March that the decision to keep the yuan stable in mid-2008 was a "special policy" to cope with the global downturn and Beijing would have to let the yuan resume its rise at some point. Offshore yuan forwards are currently pricing in 2.8 percent appreciation against the dollar over the 12 months, roughly in line with a Reuters poll last month. However, how such a measured climb would be engineered is subject to much debate. A gradual appreciation, possibly combined with a widening of the yuan's daily trading band appears most likely. But a small one-off revaluation, as in July 2005, still cannot be ruled out, though Beijing might be concerned that it could be seen as yielding to pressure from the United States. * Market impact: Even though such scenario is largely priced in, offshore non-deliverable forwards may up the appreciation bets. The impact on commodity markets and commodity-linked currencies is harder to predict, as such a move would make imports cheaper but could also be seen as a tightening measure that would temper Chinese growth in the medium term. DE FACTO PEG MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR * Probability: less likely. China's reluctance to let yuan rise is, in large part, a function of deep-seated concerns about the strength of its economic recovery. The Commerce Ministry has repeatedly said that a stable yuan has benefited both China and the world during the global crisis and the yuan should not be blamed for global imbalances. China is expected to report its first monthly trade deficit in six years this week, giving Beijing an excuse to ignore calls for a stronger yuan. But keeping the yuan stable runs the risk of fuelling inflation as the economy recovers, while a lack of action might lead to increased tensions between Beijing and Washington in the run-up to the mid-term U.S. elections in November. * Market impact: Yuan rises implied by offshore NDFs, particularly short-dated forwards, are likely to fall. NEW EXCHANGE RATE REGIME * Probability: Less likely but garnering attention Economists have suggested that China would benefit from a new model for determining the yuan's exchange rate. Although the exchange rate is theoretically set against a basket of currencies, it has in practice been overwhelmingly centered on the dollar. Beijing let the yuan gain 21 percent against the dollar between July 2005 and July 2008. Ting Lu, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has said that Beijing should follow Singapore's example and target a basket of currencies, keeping the basket's composition a secret to keep markets guessing when the central bank might intervene. Jun Ma, an economist with Deutsche Bank, advocates a "flexible crawling peg against a basket" that would generate uncertainty, as in Singaporean, but with daily and monthly volatility limits against the dollar to avoid hurting companies. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top government think-tank, have suggested a policy of making it clear the yuan will appreciate by 3-5 percent each year, but in an unpredictable pattern to keep speculators at bay. * Possible market impact: Markets may price in faster yuan rises if China allows greater yuan flexibility, but there will be greater uncertainty about its moves. BIG ONE-TIME REVALUATION * Probability: Unlikely A substantial one-time revaluation would fly in the face of Beijing's promised policy continuity and might appear to domestic critics as if the government was caving in to foreign pressure. Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill said Beijing could let the yuan rise as much as 5 percent, while Societe Generale expects a revaluation of 5 to 10 percent around April or May. A big enough revaluation would, in theory, deter hot money inflows by dampening expectations of further major gains. But if it was deemed insufficient, investors might still pile into Chinese assets on expectations the yuan would rise further. Conversely, if the adjustment was big enough to deter speculators, it might batter the very exporters that Beijing has tried so hard to support. * Possible market impact: A major revaluation could initially boost currencies such as the yen and Australian dollar, which tend to have high correlations with Chinese growth. But the sharper the move, the greater the risk that it would also hit commodity and equity markets due to concerns about its impact on exporters and growth. Shares of companies geared toward Chinese final consumption, from luxury goods retailers to automakers, might rally on the hope that cheaper imports would drive China's demand. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6340WY20100405

Tuesday, 6 April 2010 Why are we asking this now? Iraqis went to the polls on 7 March to choose a 325-member parliament to replace the one elected in 2005. The results have only recently been announced and are being challenged by the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It is expected to take four or five months to produce a new government and violence has not diminished. Bombings in Baghdad on Sunday killed 41 people and wounded a further 437. Was the election fair? The election was closely monitored by Iraqi and foreign observers and accepted by the UN as reflecting the will of the voters. Allegations of fraud have more to do with some political lists doing unexpectedly badly, notably that of the Prime Minister. He asked for a recount but his demand is comical in the eyes of many Iraqis because only Mr Maliki himself had the means of fixing the election by using the security forces, the bureaucracy and government funds. His State of Law bloc won 89 seats and former prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya coalition 91 seats, a lead which gives Mr Allawi the right to be the first to try to form a government. What is unfair is the arrest of Iraqiya members of parliament by police and military units loyal to Mr Maliki. There is also an effort to ban successful candidates because they once belonged to Saddam Hussein's Baath party. It is not clear yet how far this attempt to fix the election ex-post facto will go. But Mr Allawi's supporters, mostly from the embattled Sunni Arab community, might come to think that the election has been stolen, giving it an incentive to use armed force to destabilise any incoming government in which it is not adequately represented. So the election did more harm than good? Not at all. Overall the election is likely to stabilise rather than destabilise Iraq. A crucial aspect of the poll was that the Sunni Arabs participated massively, unlike 2005, when they mostly boycotted the polls and took up arms against the US occupation and the Iraqi government. There is a danger that they might be marginalised again but it is more likely that this time they will get a share in power and the spoils of office. Another important change is that the followers of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who fought the Americans in bloody battles in Najaf in 2004, participated enthusiastically and successfully in the election. They have every incentive to rely on their enhanced political muscle

Mon Apr 5, 2010 1:59am (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has postponed a report due out on April 15 that could have branded China a "currency manipulator." China The decision follows an announcement in Beijing that Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend a nuclear security summit in Washington from April 12-13 and seems to be a move to keep tensions over currency in check. Both governments are seeking to cool those tensions. Here is a timeline of significant dates in relations this year: January 12 - Google threatens to pull out of China over censorship and hacking attacks from within the country. January 21 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers speech calling for Internet freedoms, names China as a country that has stepped up censorship of the web. January 29 - Obama administration notifies U.S. Congress of proposed arms sales to Taiwan worth $6.4 billion. China condemns the sales to the island, which it considers its territory, and threatens sanctions on companies involved. February 17 - U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz visits Hong Hong, the self-administered territory under Chinese rule, despite a Chinese pledge to curtail military exchanges with the United States after its announced arms sales to Taiwan. February 18 - Obama meets exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama at the White House. China reviles the Dalai Lama as a separatist for advocating self-rule for his homeland and condemns the meeting. March 2-4 - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Jeffrey Bader, Senior Director for the U.S. National Security Council for Asian Affairs, visit Beijing for talks, seeking to overcome tensions. March 15 - One hundred and thirty members of U.S. Congress issue a letter demanding more pressure on China to let its yuan currency appreciate. The next day, a bipartisan bill on the issue goes before the Senate. March 22 - Google shuts its China-based search service Google.cn and begins redirecting mainland Web searchers to a portal in Hong Kong. China criticizes Google but does not entirely shut off the Hong Kong site. March 31 - China agrees to serious negotiations with Washington and other Western powers about proposed new U.N. Security Council-backed sanctions on Iran after months of stressing its reluctance to back sanctions. China has the power to veto any Security Council resolution. April 1 - China says Hu will attend a summit on nuclear security in Washington, adding to signs that tensions between the two nations are ebbing. April 3 - Geithner said he was delaying an April 15 report on whether China manipulates its currency but pledged to press for a more flexible Chinese currency policy. April 12-13 - Obama hosts a multi-nation nuclear security summit in Washington, opening an opportunity for a bilateral meeting with Hu. April 15-16 - Hu due to attend "BRIC" summit in Brazil, bringing together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China for their second such meeting. May 15-25 - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke leads trade mission to Hong Kong, China and Indonesia, promoting deals with American companies in clean energy. Late-May - Senior officials from the United States and China due to meet in Beijing for Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an annual meeting to discuss broad economic, foreign policy and security concerns. The U.S. side is likely to be led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Geithner. June 26-27 - Meeting of G20 leaders of major rich and developing economies scheduled in Toronto, Canada, giving Hu and Obama an opportunity to meet. Later in the year - The two countries are preparing for their Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, a regular meeting that focuses on economic ties. Last year's was held in late October in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. November 2 - Mid-term elections for U.S. Congress. With economic concerns uppermost in many voters' minds, trade and currency tensions with China may become a electoral issue. November 13-14 - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, to be held in Yokohama, Japan, presents another opportunity for the two leaders to meet. November - South Korea scheduled to host second summit for the year of the G20 group of major rich and developing economies, where Hu and Obama will have a further chance to meet. The summit is likely to take place immediately before or after the APEC summit. November-December - When Obama visited China in November 2009, Hu accepted his invitation to visit the United States in 2010. This would be a state visit separate from his attendance at the nuclear summit. No date has been set for the trip. One possibility is June, when Hu attends the G20 summit in Canada, but a date after the U.S. mid-term elections appears more likely. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6340MN20100405

Published: April 5, 2010 at 10:34 AM BAGHDAD, April 5 (UPI) -- An unofficial vote for Iraqi prime minister by the party loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr was designed to avoid backing the incumbent, observers said. The Sadrist Movement held an informal poll during the weekend to choose a new prime minister following a parliamentary vote held March 7. Hamid Fadhel, a political science professor at Baghdad University, told al-Jazeera that Sadrists were frustrated with dealing with the State of Law coalition of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "The negotiations with State of Law have stalled and the Sadrists want to push for someone other than Nouri al-Maliki, armed with popular support," he said. The State of Law slate lost to the secular Iraqiya slate of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by two parliamentary seats. Sadrists, a group running under the Iraqi National Alliance banner, won 39 seats on the 325-seat Iraqi Parliament. Iraqiya won 91 seats, with State of Law taking 89. A majority of 163 seats is needed to form a unity government. The weekend ballot has no legal authority, though Sadrist officials said turnout was "very high." The ballot included Maliki, Allawi, Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi, former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafar, and newcomer Jaafar al-Sadr, a State of Law candidate with close ties to the Sadr family. Allawi gained additional Shiite backing when the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council threw its weight behind Iraqiya. SIIC won eight seats in the election. Sadrist officials said their informal results would emerge later this week. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/04/05/Sadrists-moving-against-Maliki/UPI-73151270478084/

05/04/2010 By Ma'ad Fayad London, Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat - A prominent Iraqi politician has disclosed that there are major disagreements within the State of Law Coalition [sLC] which is led by incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and that the "Iran wing" in it is pressuring for removing Al-Maliki and not naming him for the post of prime minister. The Iraqi politician, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said that the "Iran wing inside the SCL is pressuring for replacing Al-Maliki with other figures, one of them Shirwan al-Waili, the present minister of state for national security affairs", adding that the "majority inside the SLC supports nominating Al-Maliki for a second term." On its part, an informed Iraqi source in Tehran told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran punished Al-Maliki and is working to deprive him of leading the government because he "rebelled against it" by refusing to have an alliance with the Iraqi National Alliance [iNA] which is led by the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council whose leader is Ammar al-Hakim. Al-Maliki split from his Shiite allies and contested the elections alone after the sweeping victory his coalition achieved in local elections held early last year. This development comes amid signs of a split inside the SLC following Al-Maliki's insistence on renewing his mandate for a second term. Sources talked about the withdrawal of more than "two important figures" for failing to obtain posts in the next Iraqi government since Al-Maliki's bloc stopped being the principal player on the Iraqi political stage after Al-Iraqiya List of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi forged ahead in the legislative elections held on 7 March. The INA expressed reservations about naming Al-Maliki for a second term and Al-Sadr Trend leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who is allied to Al-Hakim, also refused to name Al-Maliki. The Iraqi politician added "there are parties which believe it is important to discuss with Al-Iraqiya List about working with it to form a coalition government while other parties believe that the INA's embracing of Al-Iraqiya List is to prevent Al-Sadr Trend from attempting to split from the coalition and join Al-Iraqiya List." Al-Maliki is refusing Al-Iraqiya's participation in the Iraqi government while Al-Hakim and Al-Sadr are insisting on this. But Al-Sadr Trend is fearful that its cozying up to Allawi's Al-Iraqiya List might be interpreted as cozying up to the Baathists. The Iraqi politician went on to stress that "Al-Sadr Trend is now using tactical steps to get a proper position in the next government. Al-Iraqiya List probably promised them this position on condition that they will represent the Shiites in it." He pointed out that "there are scenarios for the alliances which might be surprising. The first includes the SLC, Al-Iraqiya List, and the Kurds leaving the other parties and blocs in opposition in parliament." He added that "there is another scenario which is to name Iyad Allawi president of the republic, Nuri al-Maliki prime minister, and Tariq al-Hashimi parliament speaker. This scenario has not been resolved so far and talks about it are ongoing since another decision is being awaited from the Elections Commission and the announcement of the results of the appeals." Al-Maliki, who won 89 parliament seats, refused the elections results, considered them "fraudulent", and appealed against them to the commission. The results of the appeals are expected after 10 days. The Iraqi politician noted that "the United States wants the winning four blocs (the blocs of Allawi, Al-Maliki, Al-Hakim, and Kurds) to be included in order to pave the way for its withdrawal from Iraq." http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=20481

Monday, April 5th 2010 2:03 PM Baghdad, April 5 (AKnews) - "Iraq needs a new study for its economic system to be a member in the World Trade Organization (WTO)," an official in the Iraqi Finance Ministry said today. "The Iraqi committee gave its final results about the Iraqi acquisition of the membership in the World Trade," The Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry, Abdul Alim Kadhim, told The Independent National News Agency of Kurdistan (AKnews) "The Committee called for reducing the difference between the U.S. dollar and the Iraqi dinar, activate the role of the private sector, open the world markets in Iraq with customs on imported goods that commensurate with the economic laws applied in the country," he added The Iraqi team to annex Iraq to the WTO was formed on December 13, 2004, and it presented a memorandum to join the organization on September 16, 2005. Iraq became an observer in the WTO on January 24, 2007, and the meetings of the first round of the Working Group began in 2007, followed by a second round in 2008, and the third and last round was in 2009. "The organization called Iraq to pay half of its debts, in order to be a member in the WTO which will improve the economic and commercial situation in the country," Kadhim pointed out. He stressed on the need of improving the Iraqi economy according to modern economic frameworks found at the present time among the economically developed countries. The World Trade Organization WTO was formed according to Bretton Woods convection at the end of 1944 in the United States, accompanied by the formation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It includes approximately 150 countries and has several functions that aim to remove the distortions found in the trade patterns between the States and the establishment of multilateral trading system more stable and more opened and has the ability to predict, in addition to addressing the customs and non customs barriers, as well as addressing the communication problems, building services, and address the matters pertaining to the international investment, and resolve the international trade disputes. It also aims to expand the exchange of goods through the reduction of customs and opening world markets for goods and services (except oil). The organization doesn't belong to the United Nations system, and it depends on negotiating mechanisms based on business partnerships and not on voting in the decision-making. Thus it sometimes succeeds and sometimes fails in its negotiations and it tries to impose the liberalization on trade policies of member countries, and to stay away from governmental intervention in the private sector. http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/131984/

Saturday, April 3rd 2010 9:34 AM Baghdad, April 3 (AKnews)- The Iraqi Finance Ministry mentioned that it intends to end the file of debts in 2010, noting that most of the creditor countries expressed their willingness to reduce that debt. "The plan prepared by the Ministry of Finance to reduce the size of the debt is proceeding according to the study made by the Commission on debt reduction, which ended a substantial part of its tasks successfully." The chancellor in the Ministry of Finance Dea Kayon said. Kayon added that "Iraq has signed an agreement with the Chinese government an agreement to reduce 80% of the debts of the Chinese companies to Iraq, which is another attempt to close this file in 2010 " adding that "China and Korea have shown their desire to establish investment projects in Iraq in return of cutting the debts to approximately 80% of them." Iraq has been seeking since 2003 to cancel the debts arising on it during the period of the previous regime, which is more than 120 billion dollars of some compensation because of wars; most of them had been dropped, particularly the Paris Club debt amounting to about $ 55 billion. Iraq is still owed to some Arab countries, including the Gulf States $ 21 billion which is 15 billion dinars to Saudi Arabia and six billion dollars to Kuwait , negotiations are under way to settle them permanently. http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/131194/

BEIJING, April 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. decision to delay a ruling on whether China manipulates its currency showed easing tensions over the yuan, but it is too early for China to change its currency policy, a government economist said on Monday. Global Markets "I believe this is a positive signal. At least the U.S. side has created some room for further consultations and negotiations," said Huo Jianguo, head of the Commerce Ministry's think-thank. "But I don't think there will be a yuan adjustment in the near-term. We need to to see whether China's export recovery will be sustained and need to see whether companies can cope with a stronger yuan," he told Reuters. The ministry's repeated warnings that many firms would be ruined and millions of jobs lost if the yuan strengthened stand in contrast to the central bank's signals that it would welcome a more flexible currency and its dampening effect on inflation. Analysts believe, however, the two institutions will eventually reach a compromise, possibly as soon as mid-2010. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Saturday he was delaying an April 15 report on whether China manipulates its currency but pledged to press for a more flexible yuan policy. The decision follows Thursday's announcement that Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend a nuclear security summit meeting in Washington April 12-13 and seems to be a move to keep tensions over currency in check. [iD:nTOE63100K] Huo said many Chinese exporters oppose a stronger currency out of fear that their thin profit margins could be wiped out. Any yuan policy change would ultimately depend on China's own economic interests, although the impact on other countries would also be taken into account, he said. China's exports jumped 45.7 percent in February from a year earlier but the growth may have been exaggerated by the low base, while imports were growing at a faster clip due to robust domestic, slashing the trade surplus, he said. Huo echoed recent official forecasts that that China could post a small trade deficit in March, the first since 2004. "This may help ease upward pressure on the yuan. We need to watch whether the trade deficit is short-lived or it's a turning point," Huo said. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE63404P20100405?type=usDollarRpt

First Published 2010-04-05 Iraqi voters seem to favour fresh faces, rejecting incumbents accused of failing to deliver. By Ali Kareem - BAGHDAD Several high-profile politicians failed to secure parliamentary seats in the country

Published: April 5, 2010 06:25 ET Can the single accomplishment of Nouri al-Maliki's tenure weather the transition? DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

04/04/2010 14:30 Baghdad 4 April (Akaniwz) - The French embassy in Baghdad on Sunday to bring more than 123 companies specializing in France assembling cars and transport development and implementation of residential building projects to Iraq to participate in the rebuilding of Iraq. French Ambassador Boris Bwalun told Kurdistan News (Akaniwz) announced today that "France translated its desire to be released earlier to participate in the reconstruction effort on the ground and called on all French companies wishing to come to Iraq to submit offers and access to the most prominent projects that Iraq might wish to invest " He added that "123 companies that early stage there is a fear from some French companies from the deterioration of security situation far form the government, and this figure has certainly escalate all the improvement of the security in Iraq" Bwalun described Iraq as the only country to succeed the investment because of its strong economic factors and powerful rely on studies based on distinct and clear set by the government agencies concerned with the subject " The head of the outgoing government, Nouri al-Maliki has called last March France to present their experiences viewed from Alastmar aspects of trade and construction and active participation in nation building. http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/131674

Arbil, April 4 (Akaniwz) The Undersecretary of the Iraqi Finance Ministry on Sunday, that in order to strengthen the Iraqi dinar exchange rate was changed to deal with tariff and unit using a mobile phone from the dollar to the Iraqi dinar, but economists view that "it is necessary to change dealing in the purchase of all goods from the dollar to dinar. " The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Fadhil Prophet told Kurdistan News (Akaniwz) today, "because Iraq's national currency, they should support local currency in all business dealings of the Interior, not to deal with the currency of another foreign State, for example, are sold tens of thousands of cards shipment of mobile phones per day in dollars, but recently decided to sell these cards in Iraqi dinars, and this process is a step to strengthen the local currency. " He said the Prophet that "all operators are invited to adopt the Iraqi dinar in the calculation of unit cost price of queen, but we will not allow an increase the unit price of the call, because this decision should be made naturally." For his part, the expert said economic substance Ahmed said "the Iraqi decision the adoption of the dinar in the price of telephone calls would have a positive impact in strengthening the local currency, because telecommunications companies have large amounts of capital, the majority of citizens are involved in these firms, and is daily buying and selling large numbers of mobile phone recharge cards. " He pointed out that "changing the deal from the dollar to dinar local, granting additional power to the dinar's exchange rate, because it enjoys the greatest confidence by the citizens, but it is necessary to the State to adopt this resolution in all business dealings, through the sale of all goods and other products, now are dealing with the dollar in the Iraqi markets broadly, and this has a negative impact on the local currency exchange rate. " http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/131635/

4/4/2010 12:03:56 A 4/4/2010 12:03:56 A Press release issued by the Central Bank of Iraq And handled the media format to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance based on information ديوان الرقابة المالية يوضح فيه ان أرقام الاستيراد من السلع والبضائع الداخلة الى البلاد عن طريق هيئة الكمارك لاتتطابق مع مبيعات مزاد العملة الأجنبية في البنك المركزي وان البيان المذكور يحمل مسؤولية ذلك البنك المركزي والمصارف التجارية كافة بما فيها المصارف الحكومية نفسها والتابعة الى وزارة المالية ويود البنك المركزي بهذا الشأن أن يوضح ما يأتي :- Office of Financial Supervision, explaining that the numbers of import of goods and cargo entering the country through the customs, to coincide with the sales of auction of foreign currency at the central bank and the above statement carries the responsibility of the Central Bank and commercial banks, all including banks, the government itself and affiliated to the Ministry of Finance and would like the Central Bank in this regard to clarify the following: - ان إستراتيج ت يه في بناء مسار الاستقرار في هذه المرحلة الانتقالية والصعبة التي مر بها العراق سعت الى توفير مناخ مستقر جاذب للنمو ابتدأ بقطاعه النقدي الذي يغدو اليوم قويا وراسخاً عند كل المنصفين من ابناء شعبنا ، مؤكدين ما يأتي : The Microcredit T are building a path of stability in this transitional phase and difficult experienced by Iraq sought to provide a stable climate that attracts growth began Baktall cash becomes today a strong and solid at every fair-minded people of our people, stressing the following: اولا : يعد مزاد العملة الأجنبية من وسائل السياسة النقدية غير المباشرة المؤثرة في الاساس النقدي للبلاد بغية التحكم بالطلب او الانفاق الكلي الذي تولده النفقات الجارية لاسيما الموازنة العامة و مواجهة الضغوط التضخمية عنها ، أذ يؤدي ذلك المزاد ثلاثة أهداف هي : First: The auction of foreign currency and means of indirect monetary policy impact on the cash basis of the country in order to control overall spending, or demand generated by current expenditures, particularly the general budget and inflationary pressures them, as they lead the auction three objectives: 1 - أنه اداة تدخل للبنك المركزي في سوق الصرف لتحقيق الاستقرار في قيمة الدينار 1 - It is a tool of central bank intervention in the exchange market to stabilize the value of the dinar continued.............. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darabeen.com

(Voice of Iraq) - 05/04/2010 (Voice of Iraq) - Voices of Iraq: Uncovering the official spokesman for the Kurdistan Alliance bloc Faryad Roandzi for a meeting on Tuesday in the Kurdistan region in order to name members of the Kurdish delegation heading to Baghdad for the purpose of research alliances with other lists of winning legislative elections. وقال رواندزي إن

Gulf News Published: 00:00 April 5, 2010 Political factions need to speed up talks to help form the new government The carnage in Iraq, which left dozens killed in the past two days, should not come as a surprise to anyone. The current political turmoil is bound to allow terrorists to exploit the vacuum. Yesterday's suicide bombings, which targeted a number of embassies, were also most probably meant to isolate Iraq, which is trying hard to assume its role in regional and international folds. The targeting of diplomats reminds us of a similar terrorist campaign in the early years of US occupation. Iraq has since come a long way. But as political factions quarrel over election results and officials talk of long months to come of negotiations to form the new government, terrorists seize the opportunity to de-legitimise the government and the entire political process by showing the state, its military and security forces as paralysed institutions, unable to defend citizens and ensure stability. The tragic events must prompt the main political factions to speed up talks to form the government in order to take charge of the security situation and regain the trust of the people and foreign governments which had sent envoys to Baghdad as a means to help rebuild the war-ravaged country. Terrorists must not be allowed to sabotage the political process and render futile years of efforts that helped reduce the level of violence. http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/iraq-stalemate-must-end-soon-1.607851

Maliki's salary equivalent to the salaries of six thousand two hundred Iraqi civil servants and weak salary Obama Voice of Iraq) - 04/04/2010) By the center today - the entire country الأحد, 04 أبريل 2010 Dealing with most of the Iraqi press the issue of elections and alliances taking place between the blocks winning, but the administrative corruption taking reads the headlines because of the poor humanitarian situation, which showed that two thirds of the Iraqi people to live the level of the poverty line while growing up the rulers of the Green Zone, the advantages that the disposal of the State Treasury, led by a commercial bank dating its ownership to Ahmed Chalabi. Iraqi funds continued........... http://www.sotaliraq.com/iraqnews.php?id=61328