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Thursday, 20 July

23:34

Big risks in oil transfer from rusting Yemen tanker: Greenpeace Iraqi News

Dubai Greenpeace Thursday praised a risky UN-led operation to transfer oil from a rusting Yemen tanker, but warned the threat of environmental catastrophe cannot be ruled out until the operation ends.

On Sunday, the UN-owned Nautica arrived off war-torn Yemen to take on 1.14 million barrels of crude oil from the decaying FSO Safer, a rusting 47-year-old vessel that has not been serviced in more than eight years.

The difficult transfer operation is expected to begin over the next few days, following years of tense diplomacy between the United Nations, Yemens Huthi rebels and the internationally recognised government.

We are happy that the Nautica ship approached Safer because this is the culmination of years of effort to save the Red Sea from a ticking bomb, Ghiwa Nakat, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the Middle East and North Africa, told AFP.

But the risks are very big, she warned.

There could be an explosion while pumping due to a difference in pressure which could lead to a massive leak in the Red Sea.

The Safer is carrying four times as much oil as the amount that spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.

A major spill which could cost more than $20 billion to clean up could result in ecological disaster, devastate Yemeni fishing communities and close lifeline ports and desalination plants.

Greenpeace said the risk of a spill or explosion has been a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of millions of people living in the region.

The threat cannot be averted until the oil is completely and safely removed, it warned in a statement.

Assuming that the transfer operation is successful, the crude oil will stay stored on the Nautica for the foreseeable future.

The Safer is intended to be fully decommissioned and recycled.

We certainly hope that in the next stage, a proper recycling of Safer will take place because there will be leaks and traces of the oil that was present, Nakat said.

This process needs funding, she said, adding that Greenpeace would hold responsible the oil companies that used it for many years.

The UN operation to transfer oil from the Safer and tow the ship to a scrapyard is budgeted at some $143 million.

The world body says that it still needs an additional $22 million to tow the Safer to a recycling yard and safely tether the replacement vessel to ensure safe storage of the oil until its eventual destination is decided.

The post Big risks in oil transfer from rusting Yemen tanker: Greenpeace appeared first on Iraqi News.

23:12

Turkey hikes interest rates but disappoints markets Iraqi News

Istanbul Turkeys central bank hiked its main interest rate for the second month in a row on Thursday but analysts said the unwinding of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans unconventional policy was too timid to tame inflation.

After years of cuts that aimed to boost growth but fuelled inflation and caused the lira to tumble, the bank doubled its rate last month from 8.5 percent to 15 percent.

The latest hike was smaller, at 2.5 percentage points, taking the rate to 17.5 percent.

The central bank said in a statement that it decided to continue the monetary tightening process in order to establish the disinflation course as soon as possible, to anchor inflation expectations, and to control the deterioration in pricing behaviour.

The rate increases have been undertaken since Erdogan named investor-friendly faces to head the central bank and the finance ministry following his re-election in tight May polls.

The bank said after the first rate hike in June that the move was only the start of a process aimed at bringing Turkeys annual inflation rate of nearly 40 percent to single figures as soon as possible.

The inflation rate reached 85 percent late last year and the central bank burned through most of its reserves trying to prop up the lira down 90 percent against the dollar over 10 years from even bigger falls.

But the two hikes have disappointed analysts. who had forecast a five-point hike for Thursday. 

Turkeys central bank today once again underwhelmed expectations and the slow and steady tightening is pushing the limits on what policymakers can get away with, said Liam Peach, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.

There are now clearer risks that the policy shift falls short and that the lira comes under much larger downward pressure, he added.

The lira fell 0.5 percent on Thursday to nearly 27 liras to the dollar.

Terrible decision

The central bank is now headed by Hafize Gaye Erkan, the first woman to hold the job.

Her resume includes diplomas from Princeton and Harvard, a top job at Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs and the role of co-CEO of California-based First Republic Bank.

Erdogan also named former Merrill Lynch economist Mehmet Simsek as finance minister.

Both have promoted conventional policies that include interest rate hikes to combat inflation the opposite of the approach long backed by Erdogan, who has a history of dumping ministers.

BlueBay Asset Management economist Timothy Ash called Thursdays move by the central bank a terrible decision that was again under-delivering.

He said a 17.5 percent interest rate is not enough to bring down inflation of around 40 percent.

It will again play to the script of those saying...

21:55

Egyptian researcher leaves prison after pardon: family Iraqi News

Cairo Egyptian researcher Patrick Zaki on Thursday walked out of prison, his family said, a day after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi granted him a pardon in the wake of an international outcry.

Zakis three-year prison sentence on Tuesday for spreading false news had prompted some participants to walk out of a government dialogue aimed at giving the opposition a voice.

Patrick is free, his sister, Marise George, said Thursday on Facebook alongside an image of the 32-year-old outside the Mansoura prison, some 110 kilometres (60 miles) north of the capital Cairo.

He was jailed over a 2019 article recounting the discrimination he and other members of Egypts Coptic Christian minority say they have suffered.

Sisi on Wednesday granted presidential pardons to Zaki and five others three men and two women.

They include Mohamed al-Baqer, the lawyer for Alaa Abdel Fattah, Egypts best known political prisoner, according to the decree published on the official gazette.

Baqers relatives on Thursday said they were still waiting for his release from a prison in Cairo.

Zaki was studying at Bologna University in Italy until his arrest in 2020 while on a visit to Egypt.

Rights defenders have said Zaki was beaten and electrocuted during his detention.

Thousands in Italy signed petitions calling for Zakis release, and the countrys senate voted in 2021 in favour of granting him Italian citizenship.

Italys far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who speaks regularly with Sisi, in a video message on Wednesday welcomed the news of Zakis impending release and said he will be back tomorrow in Italy.

The post Egyptian researcher leaves prison after pardon: family appeared first on Iraqi News.

21:52

No way out: Ukraine farmers lament collapse of grain deal Iraqi News

Vesele Vitaliy Bylenko looked ruefully at the mountains of grain in his barn, contemplating the growing obstacles to shifting the stockpiles after Russia this week exited a deal allowing Black Sea exports.

Ukraine, European countries and the United States have lamented Moscows decision to scrap the landmark accord brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July.

But Bylenko said the deal signed in Istanbul had actually barely functioned for months.

It has been working only on paper, Bylenko told AFP.

Ukraine grows far more wheat than it consumes and exports contribute to global food security, especially in African countries.

The termination of the deal has renewed fears of shortages or price hikes that could hit vulnerable countries hardest.

Ukraine officials accused Russia of obstructing the deal in recent months, and Bylenko said so few ships were arriving at Ukrainian ports to export grain he was already using alternate routes.

Offers to buy grain from us in Odesa were scarce and we already took almost all our grain to small river ports, he said.

Instead, the wheat, maize and sunflowers he grows on his farm of 1,300 hectares and that employs some 35 people, was leaving via neighbouring Romania.

I think that for the five months left (this year), this will not change substantially.

Rock-bottom price

But the Romania route is more costly and complex than the Black Sea route river ports are around 200 kilometres (125 miles) further from his farm than Odesa.

Your profit margin is decreasing, the CEO of 11 years told AFP.

Due to lack of options, grain will now move through Romania, further lowering prices, Bylenko predicted.

Added to that, five neighbouring EU countries including Romania have blocked sales of grain over concerns of plummeting prices on their local markets, but allowed supplies to transit to other nations.

The more produce there is, the lower the price, he said, noting he had 400 tonnes of wheat piled at his farm.

If before the war, the price was around $270 per tonne, now those who are buying offer $120. We would like even $135.

To salvage the deal, Ukraine has proposed joint patrols with other Black Sea nations but Russia has repeatedly threatened to target ships nearing Ukrainian ports.

The situation may be painful, but last summer farmers were wondering how to sell any grain at all, Bylenko said.

The symbolic significance of grain in Ukraine is hard to miss.

Were competitive

The office of another agribusiness CEO, Lyudmyla Martinyuk, of Kivshovata Agro, is decorated with sheaves of wheat and a portrait of the national poet, Taras Shevchenko.

She said Ukraine boasts some 30 million hectares of fertile land to...

21:30

One dead, 48 injured in unexplained Johannesburg blast Iraqi News

Johannesburg A body was found in central Johannesburg early Thursday after an unexplained blast ripped through a busy street at rush hour the previous evening, the emergency services said.

The explosion blew a hole in the road  and gouged out cracks, skittling pedestrians and cars.

(In the) early hours of this morning, we managed to recover a body of a male person on site where the explosion occurred, Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said.

Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Johannesburgs Gauteng province, told a media briefing that 48 people were injured.

Witnesses reported chemical odours and escaping vapours after the powerful blast, which overturned vehicles, including minibus taxis. 

Lesufi said a preliminary inspection did not reveal the cause of the explosion.

Experts are still searching for the source, he said. 

The blast occurred on a broad four-lane avenue used as a commuting artery by minibuses, bordered by high-rise buildings housing apartments and street-level stores.

Terrified people ran for safety after the blast, CCTV footage showed.

The area remained closed on Thursday as police chased away onlookers. 

Its about keeping this scene sterile, said Elias Mawela, the provincial police commissioner. Should we have a secondary explosion, then we may lose lives. 

Emergency services initially blamed underground gas pipes for the blast but the citys privatised gas company, Egoli Gas, said it was unlikely this was the case as customers were still receiving their supplies uninterrupted.

However, it issued a further statement after an initial inspection, saying that one or two manhole covers had been blown off and a white gas-like substance was seen coming out of these openings. 

The citys mayor told reporters that homeless people around the area, who often sleep rough on the pavements overnight, had been moved to temporary shelters.

The post One dead, 48 injured in unexplained Johannesburg blast appeared first on Iraqi News.

20:39

Chip giant AMD says AI to be mega-trend for computing world Iraqi News

Hsinchu AI will be the defining mega-trend for the global computing industry, the head of chip giant AMD said Thursday in Taiwan, where the majority of the worlds semiconductors powering the technology is produced. 

California-based Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is one of the worlds largest chip suppliers rivalling giants Intel and Nvidia and their processors are used in everything from gaming consoles and laptops to massive servers. 

In the past year, tech companies have shifted resources to developing chips that have the processing power for generative AI which churns out complex content in seconds after seeing the popularity of products such as ChatGPT. 

The innovation opportunities ahead of us are truly enormous and the computing industry is changing very fast, said AMDs CEO Lisa Su, in Taiwan to receive an honorary doctorate from a university in the city of Hsinchu. 

AI is really the defining megatrend for the next 10 years, she said, adding that generative AI has reshaped how industry players think about techs possibilities. 

Every product, every service, every business in the world will be impacted by AI, and the technology is actually evolving faster than anything than Ive ever seen before, Su said in her speech to the university. 

As a chip design foundry, AMD outsources the production of their microchip designs to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is headquartered in Hsinchu. 

The Taiwanese chipmaking giant controls half the worlds output of the silicon wafers, which are used to power everything from drip coffee machines to cars and missiles.

Unlike the AMD chief, TSMCs chairman Mark Liu cautioned investors on pinning their expectations of a boom in chips due to generative AI. 

The short-term frenzy about AI demand definitely cannot be extrapolated for the long term, Liu told shareholders in a conference call Thursday held around the same time as the university ceremony Su attended. 

Neither can we predict for the near future, meaning next year, how the sudden demand will continue or flatten out.

TSMC reported a 23 percent drop in its second quarter net income to about $5.85 billion.

Our second quarter business was impacted by the overall global economic conditions, which dampened the end market demand, and led to customers ongoing inventory adjustment, said Wendell Huang, TSMCs VP and chief financial officer.

The company also announced that its long-awaited Arizona plant the first in the United States has met delays, due to an insufficient amount of skilled workers, and the start of production will be pushed to 2025, Liu said.

The post...

20:33

Iraqi Presidency to summon the US ambassador in Baghdad Iraqi News

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Presidency announced that it would summon the US ambassador in Baghdad to discuss the recent statements of the spokesperson of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, against the Iraqi government over the cancellation of a presidential decree pertaining to the head of Iraqs Chaldean Catholic Church, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Iraqi Presidency issued a statement expressing disappointment about Millers accusations against the Iraqi government and the presidency, stressing that the presidential decree that was cancelled contradicts the Iraqi constitution.

The spokesperson of the Iraqi Presidency announced that the Iraqi government has worked seriously with the United States since the adoption of the constitution in 2005 to build an effective legal system that guarantees the rights of all citizens.

The role of the president in Iraq is to protect the constitution and laws, and he is not entitled to take measures that contradict the Iraqi constitution, the Iraqi Presidencys spokesperson stated.

The cancellation of the presidential decree pertaining to the head of the Christian Church in Iraq, Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, does not affect his position or religious status.

Judicial and constitutional authorities have confirmed since 2018 that the President of the Republic has no authority regarding the issuance of presidential decrees for any heads of religious sects, including the Christian, Yazidi, Islamic, and other sects in Iraq.

According to the Iraqi constitution, the president in Iraq may not appoint or dismiss the head of a sect chosen by his followers, and the president cannot favor any group over another.

Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated last Friday outside the US embassy in the capital, Baghdad, demanding an end to the interference of Washingtons ambassador in the affairs of their country.

The post Iraqi Presidency to summon the US ambassador in Baghdad appeared first on Iraqi News.

18:14

EasyJet says to land record profits despite disruption Iraqi News

London British airline EasyJet on Thursday said it expected record pre-tax profits during the current peak summer season despite strike action by air traffic controllers and other disruptions.

During its third quarter to the end of June, EasyJet posted profit before tax of 203 million ($262 million), compared with a loss of 114 million one year earlier.

We continue to see good momentum as we move into Q4 where we expect to deliver another record profit-before-tax performance, chief executive Johan Lundgren said in the earnings statement.

We are absolutely focused on mitigating the impact of the challenging external environment on our customers and flying them on their well-earned holidays, he added.

EasyJet, which flies mainly throughout Europe, recently cancelled about 1,700 flights for the summer season owing to air traffic control disruption.

The airline blamed strike action by air traffic controllers as well as constrained air space owing to the war in Ukraine.

The bulk of cancellations, equivalent to almost the number of daily flights operated by the carrier, concern trips to and from Londons Gatwick airport.

France in particular has been hit by air traffic control strikes, while Gatwick is facing its own summer of industrial action by ground staff.

Despite EasyJets upbeat outlook as the aviation sector recovers from Covid-fuelled turbulence, the companys share price dropped 1.3 percent in early London trading.

EasyJet is clearly on a strong flight path, but the share price recovery still has far to go, noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

Airlines market values crashed in the wake of the Covid pandemic that grounded the aviation sector. 

The post EasyJet says to land record profits despite disruption appeared first on Iraqi News.

18:02

Rescued Australian castaway leaving canine companion in Mexico Iraqi News

Mexico City An Australian sailor rescued with a stray dog after more than two months adrift on the Pacific Ocean has decided to leave his canine companion in Mexico with the captain of the ship that saved them.

Timothy Shaddock and his dog Bella were picked up by a tuna vessel after surviving for weeks on raw fish and rainwater while aboard a storm-struck boat.

Shaddock arrived at the Mexican port of Manzanillo on Tuesday thin, with a bushy beard and wild hair bunched into a cap bearing the logo of fishing company Grupomar, whose vessel had rescued him.

The dog was given by Timothy to the captain of the ship that saved his life, Grupomars director Antonio Guerra told local media on Wednesday.

Shaddock, 54, and Bella had set off from Mexicos seaside city La Paz in April, and planned to sail about 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) before dropping anchor in French Polynesia.

But they soon found themselves stranded after rough seas damaged the boat and knocked out its electronics.

In a rescue reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away, the bedraggled amateur yachtsman was plucked from the water more than two months later by a tuna trawler, more than 1,200 miles from land, according to Grupomar.

Shaddock said he had found Bella in Mexico shortly before departing. After failing to find the stray dog a home, he decided to bring her along as a traveling companion.

Shes amazing. That dog is something else, he told reporters on Tuesday. Im just grateful shes alive. She is a lot braver than I am.

The post Rescued Australian castaway leaving canine companion in Mexico appeared first on Iraqi News.

17:13

Senior doctors in England stage rare walk out Iraqi News

London English hospitals were braced Thursday for the latest doctors strike to hit the state-run health service, with managers warning it will leave routine care virtually at a standstill. 

The two-day strike by consultants comes amid record patient waiting times due to a vast pandemic backlog and multiple strikes across the economy over the past year as workers battle a cost of living crisis.

The consultants strike, only the third time the senior specialist doctors have taken industrial action, began at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Thursday and will run until 7:00 am on Saturday.

This could undoubtedly be the most severe impact we have ever seen in the NHS as a result of industrial action, with routine care virtually at a standstill for 48 hours, said National Health Service (NHS) medical director Stephen Powis.

Consultants will not only stop seeing patients themselves, but they wont be around to provide supervision over the work of junior doctors, which impacts thousands of appointments for patients, he said.

The action follows months of disruption as health staff have walked out, leading to delayed treatment and cancelled appointments for hundreds of thousands of patients.

Junior doctors staged an unprecedented five-day stoppage earlier this month over pay and staff retention, their third walkout since April.

Nurses and ambulance staff have also taken strike action, eventually accepting a five percent pay rise in May.

Powis said emergency and urgent care would be prioritised in the eighth month of industrial action, and with more than 600,000 appointments already affected, its becoming even more challenging to get services back on track after each round of action.

Derisory

Consultants are calling for a credible pay offer after years of below-inflation rises which they say have eroded their pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents consultants, says their take-home pay has fallen by 35 percent since 2008.

The consultants, who earn annual salaries of around 88,000-119,000 ($113,000-$153,000), have already announced a second round of strikes for August 24-25.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, however, has told the doctors to call off their stoppages and warned that the government will no longer negotiate on higher salaries.

He said earlier this month the government had accepted recommendations from independent pay review bodies for salary increases of between 5.0 and 7.0 percent in the public sector.

The offer was final, he said, adding: No amount of strikes will change our decision.

Sunak has pledged to halve stubbornly high inflation, currently just under 8.0 percent.

He has said higher pay awards are unaffordable and just risk fuelling inflation.

...

04:14

Malaysias Petronas Latest Oil Company To Want Out Of Iraq MUSINGS ON IRAQ


Malaysias Petronas told the Oil Ministry it wants to sell its share in the Gharraf oil field in Dhi Qar. Petronas won the contract for Gharraf in a December 2009 auction. The company has been unhappy with the business conditions in Iraq and is the latest energy firm to try to leave as a result.

 

On July 2 it was reported that Petronas wanted out of the Gharraf field. It said it intends to sell its share to Indonesias Pertamina.

 

Petronas has not been happy with its experience in Iraq from the start. For instance, shortly after it won a bid for Gharraf local sheikhs demanded extortion payments. (1) Something must have been worked out but then in October 2020 Petronas threatened to leave because of threats by tribes. Foreign companies routinely have to put up with a number of demands by locals for payoffs and to hire people in order to work in the country. It is part of the cost to do business.

 

More importantly Baghdad owes Petronas money and it thinks it can do much better in other markets. When COVID hit the Oil Ministry asked energy corporations to cut back on production and said it would delay payments as the petroleum market collapse with a severe drop in demand. The ministry must still be paying off its debts.

...

04:13

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 19 Qasim started crackdown on Communists hoping to limit their power MUSINGS ON IRAQ

(Historica Wiki)

 

1733 Safavid siege of Baghdad ended by Ottoman relief force

1920 British attacked to relieve Rumaitha Forced back 1920 Revolt

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(Musings On Iraq review Enemy On The Euphrates, The Battle For Iraq 1914-1921)

1921 Royal Iraqi Military College opened

1958 Iraq sent delegation to Syria to meet with Nasser Signed...

00:56

US veteran faked heroics on Ukraine battlefield to become rich "IndyWatch Feed War"

By Ahmed Adel | July 19, 2023

A US military veteran, who claimed battlefield victories as a combatant in Ukraine and gained fame through media interviews and Twitter posts by boasting about his exploits against Russian forces, has been exposed for lying to create a false image that he could take advantage of after the end of the conflict to become rich. This again demonstrates the unprofessionalism of Western media, which knowingly advanced the lies of a mercenary for propaganda reasons.

James Vasquez, who has amassed more than 400,000 followers on Twitter and is regularly quoted by CNN and the New York Times, has falsely claimed exploits on the Ukraine battlefield, Insider reported on July 16.

The portal, which cited allegations by four other foreign volunteers in Ukraine, also confirmed through the Pentagon that Vasquez lied about his military history when he claimed to have had combat deployments as a sergeant in the US Army in Iraq and Kuwait. It is revealed that he served as an electrical systems repairman in the US Army Reserve.

Vasquezs social media posts often went viral, purportedly about his exploits on the front lines.

In his videos and posts, he bragged about capturing Russians and taking out tanks, was regularly interviewed by the news media, and made catchy claims including that he imagined the punchable Tucker Carlson when preparing for battle, wrote the portal.

Other fighters told the media that Vasquez boasted he would become a millionaire when the conflict ended.

James said, and I quote, Im never gonna go back to work as a handyman. Im probably never gonna have to work again after this war. Im gonna be famous, said Tim, an American man working with the Ukrainian army who spoke to Insider on the condition of withholding his last name.

Vasquez created his claims by going to areas where battles had recently occurred, filming videos of destroyed equipment and claiming achievements as his own, say other foreigners. In one case, he claimed on Twitter that he was heading to Soledar, where heavy fighting was allegedly occurring. However, Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from the area days earlier.

Accusations against Vasquez apparently began to surface earlier this year. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, an American who works in the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces media department, said in a Twitter post in March that Vasquez could not have legally gone on combat missions because he did not have a contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

I met James Vasquez three times for a total of about four hours, she told Insider. During our last meeting, in the presence of another person, he gave himself up...

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Wednesday, 19 July

20:21

Iraq to reuse Syrian port to export oil across the Mediterranean Iraqi News

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The spokesperson of the Iraqi government, Basim Al-Awadi, confirmed on Monday that Iraq is considering reusing oil pipelines linking oilfields in Kirkuk with the port of Baniyas in Syria to export oil through the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Al-Awadi indicated that Iraq rejects the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, which increase regional destabilization, and is working to help Syria boost its economy.

The Iraqi official illustrated that Iraq is looking for new outlets to export oil, expecting that the government is ready to discuss with the Syrian side reusing the oil pipeline to export oil through the port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean Sea.

The improvement of economic conditions in Syria will provide Iraq with new opportunities to export its crude oil and deliver it quickly to buyers in Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.

The pipeline connecting Kirkuks oilfields with the northwestern Syrian port of Baniyas was operational for many years before it was badly damaged during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In 2007, Iraq and Syria agreed to rebuild the pipeline, but a contract awarded to Stroytransgas, a subsidiary of the Russian Gasprom group, was cancelled in 2009 due to high costs and other reasons, Zawya News reported.

The post Iraq to reuse Syrian port to export oil across the Mediterranean appeared first on Iraqi News.

20:07

Benjamin Mendy signs for French club Lorient after sex trial acquittal Iraqi News

Rennes Benjamin Mendy signed for French club Lorient on Wednesday after the former Manchester City and France defender was acquitted in a sex offences trial in England last week.

Lorient are happy to announce today the signing on a two-year deal of the French international left-back Benjamin Mendy, the Ligue 1 club said in a statement.

Mendy, 29, was cleared of sex offences last week, ending a three-year court process.

The player, who would have faced a lengthy jail term if convicted, had previously being cleared in January of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault following a six-month trial.

But jurors in that trial had been unable to reach a verdict on two other counts, triggering the retrial that ended last week.

Mendy, whose contract with English and European champions Manchester City expired at the end of June, had denied all the charges against him.

Lorient, 10th behind champions Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 last season, said Mendy would start training from Wednesday after taking a medical.

His arrival at the club comes almost two years after his last match for Manchester City.

Last Friday, at Chester Crown Court in northwest England, the 2018 World Cup winner broke down after the not guilty verdicts on one count of rape and one of sexual assault were delivered.

Mendy, a record signing for a defender when he moved to Manchester City from French club Monaco in 2017, played 75 times for City.

But his playing time was limited by injuries and a loss of form.

The last of his 10 caps for France came in November 2019, after the defender won the World Cup with the national side in 2018 in Russia.

The trials meant that he missed Manchester Citys treble last season of the English Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

The post Benjamin Mendy signs for French club Lorient after sex trial acquittal appeared first on Iraqi News.

19:04

US economist renounces EU job after Macron doubts Iraqi News

Brussels A US economist has decided not to take up a job advising the European Commission, after French president Emmanuel Macron expressed doubts about hiring an American for the role.

Yale University professor and big tech expert Fiona Scott Morton had been hired as chief economist by EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, to advise on anti-trust strategy.

But her appointment was later criticised by French politicians as well as by several EU lawmakers from both the right and the left. On Tuesday, Macron weighed in.

This was followed by the intervention of five of Vestagers colleagues on the commission, who broke ranks to urge EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to reconsider the appointment. 

Macron said that the EU executive hiring an American had raised many questions noting that neither the United States nor China would hire a foreigner to such a job.

He suggested that, whatever Scott Mortons qualifications, having her advise the commission on how to regulate US tech giants was not coherent with his vision of EU strategic autonomy.

Grilled by MEPs, Vestager defended the choice, arguing that Europeans were better served by having the most qualified available candidate in the role, regardless of nationality.

She said any conflicts of interest that arose because of Scott Mortons previous consultancy work for US giants Apple, Amazon and Microsoft would be dealt with under existing rules.

But, a day later, Scott Morton had announced her decision to step aside.

In a letter posted on Twitter by Vestager, she said she was pulling out due to the political controversy that has arisen because of the selection of a non-European to fill this position.

I have determined that the best course of action is for me to withdraw and not take up the chief economist position, Scott Morton wrote, in the letter addressed to Vestager.

Frances junior minister for digital transition, Jean-Noel Barrot, welcomed Scott Mortons responsible decision, telling AFP: Europes digital sovereignty is an absolute necessity. 

Respect for her integrity

In a European Commission statement, however, Vestager expressed regret. 

Having also spoken with Professor Scott Morton, I accept her decision, with regret and full respect for her integrity, Vestager wrote. 

I also wish her all the best for the future, and that she will continue to use her extraordinary skill-set and expertise to push for strong competition enforcement and regulation on both sides of the Atlantic.

The controversy had been stirring in Brussels political circles for more than a week, since the commission first announced that it had hired Scott Morton.

The appointment had been approved by Von d...

18:53

Afghan women protest against beauty parlour ban Iraqi News

Kabul Security officials shot in the air and used firehoses Wednesday to disperse dozens of Afghan women protesting against an order by Taliban authorities to shut down beauty parlours, the latest curb to squeeze them out of public life.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban government has barred girls and women from high schools and universities, banned them from parks, funfairs and gyms, and ordered them to cover up in public.

The order issued last month forces the closure of thousands of beauty parlours run by women often the only source of income for households and outlaws one of the few remaining opportunities for them to socialise away from home.

The post Afghan women protest against beauty parlour ban appeared first on Iraqi News.

18:38

Tata to build 4 bn electric car battery factory in UK Iraqi News

London Indian conglomerate Tata Group announced plans Wednesday to build a 4 billion ($5.2 billion) electric car battery factory in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover brands, bolstering the countrys efforts to phase out fossil fuel vehicles.

Britain plans to ban the sale of new high-polluting diesel and petrol cars from 2030, forcing its car manufacturing sector to switch production to electric vehicles.

The factory Tata Groups first gigafactory outside India will be built in Somerset, southwest England, after the site reportedly beat competition from Spain.

Tata Group will be setting up one of Europes largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, said Tata chairman N. Chandrasekaran.

The government said the factory will be a huge boost to the UKs automotive sector, providing almost half of the battery production that the UK will need by 2030.

The investment would secure UK-produced batteries for another Tata Sons investment, Jaguar Land Rover, as well as other manufacturers in the UK and Europe, the government said.

Production is due to begin at the factory in 2026, creating up to 4,000 jobs and thousands more in the wider supply chain.

The UKs goal of phasing out new diesel and petrol cars is part of its long-standing goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in order to help tackle climate change.

Significant moment

UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said in a statement the multibillion-pound investment demonstrated that the government has got the right plan when it comes to the automotive sector.

Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Paul Morozzo hailed the announcement as a significant moment for the UK car industry and a signal that the government has finally started the engine in the international clean technology race, while other are speeding ahead..

But he warned that the UK government must stay on track with its 2030 target.

Failing to do so would mean waving goodbye to any meaningful electric vehicle manufacturing sector in the UK, regardless of this new gigafactory, which would put domestic car manufacturing as a whole in jeopardy, he said.

The factory will be the UKs second electric battery plant compared to a reported over 30 that are already operational or in the pipeline across the European Union.

Nissan established Britains first battery gigafactory in Sunderland, northeast England, in 2013 with its Leaf car.

In 2021 it also announced a further investment totalling 1 billion in a standalone battery only plant.

The post...

18:09

UN cuts aid to Syrians in Jordan, citing funding shortfall Iraqi News

Amman The United Nations World Food Programme has announced it would reduce cash assistance to nearly 120,000 Syrian refugees in Jordanian camps, saying the move was unavoidable as funds run precariously low.

The UN logs about 650,000 Syrians in Jordan who fled their native country since war broke out there in 2011, but Amman estimates their number at 1.3 million.

The WFP said in a statement late Tuesday that further reductions in food assistance for refugees in Jordan have become unavoidable as funds run precariously low.

The statement added it was compelled to reduce by one-third the monthly cash assistance for all 119,000 Syrian refugees in Zaatari and Azraq camps.

As of next month, the Syrian refugees in the two camps will receive a reduced cash allowance of $21 per month per person down from the current $32.

Syrian refugees living in both camps have limited income sources with only 30 percent of adults working - mainly in temporary or seasonal jobs - while 57 percent of camp residents say cash assistance is their only source of income, the WFP said.

The agencys representative in Jordan, Alberto Correia Mendes, warned of increased negative coping strategies including child labour, child marriage and debt accumulation as a result of the aid cuts.

We are deeply concerned about the potential deterioration of families food security, but as funding dries up, our hands are tied, he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The WFP said it still faces a critical funding shortfall of $41 million until the end of 2023 despite the cuts.

The war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and displaced millions, including at least 5.5 million refugees hosted by neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, according to the UN.

The post UN cuts aid to Syrians in Jordan, citing funding shortfall appeared first on Iraqi News.

17:27

US urges Egypt to release jailed rights researcher Iraqi News

Cairo The United States called on Egypt Wednesday to release rights researcher Patrick Zaki, a day after he was sentenced to three years prison for spreading false news. 

Concerned by 3-year sentence of Egyptian human rights defender Patrick Zaki, the US State Department said on Twitter, urging the immediate release of him and others unjustly detained.

Zaki, 32, was jailed over an article recounting the discrimination he and other members of Egypts Coptic Christian minority say they have suffered.

He had previously spent 22 months in pre-trial detention, and was again taken into custody Tuesday after the court ruling in Mansoura, 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Cairo.

The drawn-out case has triggered international condemnation, particularly in Italy where Zaki was studying when he was arrested in 2020 on a visit to Egypt.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday Romes commitment to a positive resolution of the Patrick Zaki case has never ceased, adding that we still have faith.

Over 40 Egyptian and international organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy have condemned the sentence, which they said followed a trial rife with due process violations.

Rights defenders have said Zaki was beaten and electrocuted during his detention.

The sentence has pushed three human rights activists to walk out of the governments national dialogue which aims to involve Egypts decimated opposition but has been met with heavy scepticism.

National dialogue coordinator Diaa Rashwan who also runs the State Information Service said Tuesday the dialogues board of trustees had appealed to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for Zakis immediate release.

Washington has repeatedly criticised Cairos human rights record, accusing authorities of the use of torture, life-threatening prison conditions and curbs on free speech.

Egypt is a key ally of the United States and one of its top recipients of military aid.

Though voices within the US Congress had called for broader aid cuts to Egypt over its rights record, the administration of President Joe Biden withheld only $130 million in 2021.

In January, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Sisi to free all political prisoners of which rights groups estimate Egypt holds tens of thousands while welcoming the important strides the country had made.

The post US urges Egypt to release jailed rights researcher appeared first on...

17:23

UK annual inflation drops under eight percent Iraqi News

London Britains annual inflation rate slowed more than expected in June as it dropped below eight percent, official data showed Wednesday, easing the countrys cost-of-living crisis.

The Consumer Prices Index rose by an annual rate of 7.9 percent, down from 8.7 percent in May as food price inflation eased, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

The CPI rate was the lowest since March 2022, while analysts consensus forecast had been for a drop to 8.2 percent. The UK rate remains the highest among G7 nations.

The data sent the British pound sliding against the dollar and euro, although the Bank of England is expected to keep on raising interest rates to combat elevated prices, analysts said.

Food price inflation eased slightly this (June) month, although it remains at very high levels, ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said in the release.

He added that although manufacturing costs remained elevated, the pace of growth has fallen across the last year.

Huge worry

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt noted in a separate statement that high prices are still a huge worry for families and businesses.

The best and only way we can ease this pressure and get our economy growing again is by sticking to the plan to halve inflation this year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has set a target of reducing inflation to five percent by the end of 2023.

In a bid to cool prices, the Bank of England has ramped up interest rates 13 times in a row to the current level of five percent.

The move has sparked mortgage turmoil as commercial lenders lift their own rates on home loans, worsening the cost-of-living crisis.

Following Wednesdays data, the pound dropped under $1.30 as softer inflation tempered Bank of England hawks who favour raising rates, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. 

But even with a softer-than-expected figure, inflation in Britain remains high and stickier than in other Western economies, and that keeps odds for further BoE action on raising rates.

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said the latest inflation data was unlikely to be enough to prevent the Bank of England from raising interest rates in early August to at least 5.25 percent.

Stubbornly-high inflation is weighing on the wider UK economy, with official data last week showing that output shrank in May.

However, this was owing also to an extra public holiday for the coronation of King Charles III.

The post UK annual inflation drops under eight percent appeared first on Iraqi News.

13:11

Hoping to attract tourists, Iran looks to neighbours Iraqi News

Tehran Iran, largely shunned by western tourists, is making a push to attract visitors from wealthy Gulf Arab states and other nearby countries to boost its sanctions-hit economy. 

The Islamic republic is also drawing more visitors from Russia and China to its ancient sites that date back to the Persian empire and the fabled Silk Road, industry figures say.

Irans Beijing-brokered diplomatic thaw this year with Saudi Arabia paved the way for direct flights, and Tehran is also seeking closer ties with other countries from Egypt to Morocco.

The slow but steady change is noticable at major tourist sights where more visitors can now be heard speaking not English, French or German, but Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

In the past, we were receiving many tourists from Europe but now those numbers have seen a sharp decline, said one Tehran travel agency owner, 46-year-old Hamid Shateri.

Europeans are afraid of visiting Iran, he said, after years of tensions over the countrys contested nuclear programme and after Western government warnings against travelling there.

These days, mostly Chinese and Russian people visit Irans historical sites and spectacular scenery and Arab tourists, especially from Iraq, come to attend religious ceremonies.

Years of isolation

Iran has long attracted foreign visitors with its ancient splendours including the cities of Shiraz, Isfahan and Mashhad and its 2,500-year-old Persepolis complex.

It has deserts and snow-capped mountains as well as Gulf and Caspian Sea coastlines, and prides itself on its cuisine and tradition of hospitality.

A steady stream of mainly European visitors long kept coming despite the strict dress code for women and bans on alcohol and nightlife after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

As the largest Shiite Muslim power, Iran also hosts a steady stream of religious pilgrims, many from neighbouring Iraq, to its ancient shrine cities of Mashhad and Qom.

There were high hopes for a lucrative boost to tourism after Iran and major powers struck a landmark deal in 2015 to restrict its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

But those hopes were dashed three years later when the then US president Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the agreement.

Bad news has spiralled since, including the Covid pandemic that hit Iran early and hard. 

Last year, mass protests rocked the country, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for allegedly flouting the dress rules, before authorities put down the women-led riots, which they blamed on hostile forces abroad.

Iran has also jailed several Europeans, prompting multiple Western countries to advise their citizens against all travel there, many citing the risk of arbitrary detention.

Last year Iran attracted 4.1 million foreign...

13:00

Thai reformist faces second uphill battle in bid to become PM Iraqi News

Bangkok Reformist Pita Limjaroenrat will again ask Thailands parliament to endorse him as prime minister Wednesday but with little chance of wooing the military-appointed senators who scuttled his first bid.

Pitas Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May elections, buoyed by the hopes of young and urban Thais wearied by nearly a decade of army-backed rule, but its efforts to form a government have stumbled.

Thailands conservative establishment vehemently opposes the partys pledge to soften the kingdoms strict royal defamation laws, and Pitas first tilt at the premiership fell 51 votes short last week.

Parliament opened to weigh his candidacy again on Wednesday but few believe the 42-year-old Harvard graduate has managed to turn the numbers in his favour.

He has vowed to step aside to make way for a coalition partner to form a government if his second attempt fails.

Pita is less likely to get the vote passed, Napisa Waitoolkiat, a political analyst with Naresuan University, told AFP.

Thailands senate is stacked with military appointees a reliable brake on the kind of liberal reforms sought by MFP and its progressive voter base.

Only 13 of 249 serving senators voted for Pita last week and Napisa said his only likely pathway to power was to successfully court many more members of the chamber.

And I dont think the senate is going to be brave and courageous enough to do that, she said.

Pita was optimistic on Monday that several MPs who missed the vote could be persuaded to rally behind him. 

We still are talking to find more support, he told reporters. 

You cannot allow that

But other roadblocks have been thrown in front of his candidacy.

A possible motion by military-aligned lawmakers could see parliament rule Pita ineligible to be considered a second time.

The Constitutional Court will be in session as parliament meets, and may decide to proceed with a case about whether Pita should be disqualified from parliament entirely for owning shares in a media company.

Doing so is prohibited by Thailands constitution, even though the station has not broadcast since 2007. Pita, wealthy from a family-run agrifood business, has said the shares were inherited from his father.

If the case does proceed, Pita could be given an interim suspension from parliament while his candidacy for prime minister is being considered.

The court has also agreed to hear a case alleging that MFPs campaign promise to amend Thailands royal defamation law is tantamount to a plan to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

Pitas party has ignored strident opposition to its pledge to revise the law, which can allow convicted critics of the monarchy to be jailed for up to...

03:31

Sadr Finally Returns To The Political Scene By Telling His Followers To Protest In The Streets MUSINGS ON IRAQ

(Bas News)

One of the big questions in Iraqi politics was when was Muqtada al-Sadr going to return to the scene. He did so at the end of June telling his followers to protest against the burning of a Quran in Sweden. In early July they were back attacking their rivals.

 

On June 29th protesters broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad over the burning of the Koran by an Iraqi living in Sweden. This was after Sadr called for action. The demonstrations continued for the next week and spread to several cities in the south. The Shiite religious parties often use foreign events such as this to rile up their followers and turn them into the streets to show their influence.

 

In July the Sadrists returned this time going after their opponents. July 11 hundreds marc...

03:30

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 18 Iran and Iraq agreed to ceasefire to end Iran-Iraq War MUSINGS ON IRAQ

(Getty Images)

 

1921 Christian Jewish Muslim notables had meeting at Grad Rabbis house in Baghdad Gave

support for Faisal to be king after much lobbying by Gertrude Bell

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review Gertrude Bell, Explorer of the Middle East)

(Musin...

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Tuesday, 18 July

22:17

Temperature in Iraq reaches 50 degrees Celsius Iraqi News

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Like other parts of the world, the Arab world is suffering these days from a severe heat wave that is longer than its predecessors, and the temperature in some Arab countries reached 50 degrees, which is greatly affecting the lives of people.

Many cases of eye inflammation, sunstroke, and other cases began to appear recently in Baghdad because of the high temperature, Sky News Arabia reported.

Iraq is usually affected by heat waves for several days, then the temperature returns to normal levels, but current expectations indicate that the heat wave sweeping Iraq will continue this month and next month.

The temperature reached 50 degrees Celsius on Monday and Tuesday in different Iraqi governorates, causing a negative impact on the lives of Iraqis, especially with the continued power outages.

Although power production improved with the arrival of the new government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, high temperatures remain a serious problem.

The post Temperature in Iraq reaches 50 degrees Celsius appeared first on Iraqi News.

20:12

Iraq to generate electricity from waste recycling Iraqi News

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Ali Fadel, confirmed on Monday that the government is intending to take advantage of waste recycling to produce energy, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Electricity Ministry mentioned in a statement that Fadel chaired a meeting to discuss possible ways to diversify energy sources in accordance with the directions of the Iraqi government and to use waste recycling to generate electricity.

The Electricity Minister emphasized that the governments directions aim to reduce dependence on gas and fossil fuels to produce energy and to move towards clean, renewable and solar energies not only to produce energy, but also to reduce emissions, limit global warming, and reduce negative impacts on the environment.

Fadel elaborated that the ministry is studying technical offers to generate energy from waste recycling and coordinating with several governorates and municipalities to build the required facilities to produce electricity from waste recycling.

The Iraqi minister added that the Ministry of Electricity has been working on diversifying sources of energy through electrical interconnection, wind energy and solar energy projects.

The post Iraq to generate electricity from waste recycling appeared first on Iraqi News.

17:33

Markets drop as China growth worries offset Fed rate hopes Iraqi News

Hong Kong Most Asian markets sank Tuesday as further weakness in Chinas economy fuelled worries about the effects on global growth, overshadowing optimism that the United States is winning its battle against inflation and could avoid a recession.

Regional traders extended Mondays retreat sparked by disappointing second-quarter data out of Beijing that missed forecasts badly and highlighted the tough job officials face in getting the countrys post-Covid recovery back on track.

And while there is an expectation that fresh stimulus measures are in the pipeline, analysts warned that leaders were limited in how far they could go.

The figures came after last weeks reports showing inflation had flatlined, suggesting China was on the brink of a period of painful deflation, while exports plunged for a second straight month.

Youre gonna see some stimulus coming in, which means that the second quarter may have been more of the low, the third quarter a bit better, Joyce Chang, global head of research at JPMorgan, said on Bloomberg Television.

But weve taken half a percent off of Chinas growth and I think that the deflation risks are there.

Hong Kong led losses Tuesday, shedding around two percent following a five-day rally, as it reopened a day after being shut because of a severe storm.

Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Wellington and Taipei also dropped, though Tokyo, Mumbai and Bangkok edged higher.

Paris and Frankfurt dipped at the open while London was flat.

The losses came despite a positive lead from Wall Street.

In a report on China, Alicia Garcia Herrero and Jianwei Xu at Natixis CIB said in a report: We are conservative about the extent of the policy support down the road. Fiscal policies may not be easily implemented in the current situation, given the already high public debt and the reduced efficiency of these policies.

They said there was a possibility that the central bank would cut interest rates again and lower the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve, allowing them to provide more loans.

But, they added: The effectiveness of the monetary policy space may be limited due to the lack of investor confidence. Currently, the market is awaiting further regulatory relaxation on key sectors, such as the real estate sector, which could help bolster investors confidence.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned about the effects of Chinas weakness on the global economy.

Many countries do depend on strong Chinese growth to promote growth in their own economies, particularly countries in Asia, and slow growth in China can have some negative spillovers for the United States, she said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

However, she did say she was optimistic about the out...

17:07

Indian tycoon Adani slams malicious Hindenburg report Iraqi News

New Delhi Indian tycoon Gautam Adani on Tuesday denounced fraud accusations against his group by a US investment firm as a deliberate attempt to damage its image, at the first annual general meeting since the scandal. 

US short-seller investment company Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group in January of using offshore tax havens to manipulate stock prices.

Before the allegations Adani was listed by Forbes as Asias richest man, but shares in his group firms plummeted in the wake of the report, sending him tumbling down the rankings, with his fortune at one point dropping by more than $100 billion.

The shares have since recovered some of their losses, but the groups flagship subsidiary Adani Enterprises remains around 30 percent below its price level before the report.

Addressing shareholders at the Adani Enterprises annual general meeting, Adani called the document a combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations. 

This report was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a short-term drive-down of our stock prices, the media-shy billionaire said. 

He was confident of the groups governance and disclosure standards after a panel set up by Indias top court found no regulatory failure, he added. 

Short-sellers seek to profit by offloading shares in the hope that their prices will fall and they can buy them back cheaper, and Hindenburgs report accused the conglomerate of artificially inflating its market value using related-party transactions conducted through tax havens. 

Soon after the report, the group abruptly cancelled a stock sale and refunded investors. 

But Adani said Tuesday: It is worth noting that even during this crisis, not only did we raise several billions from international investors but also that no credit agency in India or abroad cut any of our ratings. 

The groups income grew 85 percent in the last financial year, the tycoon added. 

Political opponents accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of abetting Adanis rapid rise, allowing the billionaire to unfairly win contracts and avoid proper regulatory oversight.

Both men come from the western state of Gujarat, and Adani praised the Indian government on Tuesday, without naming Modi.

There was little doubt India would become the worlds third-largest economy by 2030, and its second-largest by 2050, he said.

It is well understood that for any economy to implement policy and lay the foundation of growth, a stable government is critical, he said.

We have seen this impact with the implementation of several structural reforms that are critical for strong, sustainable, and balanced growth.

Opposition lawmakers have demanded a pr...

11:26

Pretty in pink: Barbie marketing blitz hits fever pitch Iraqi News

New York Hollywood A-listers have been walking red carpets in hot pink, glitter is back, and companies from The Gap to Burger King are doing rose-colored collaborations: Barbie mania is everywhere as the hotly anticipated film hits theaters worldwide.

Toy maker Mattel, who first unveiled the iconic doll in 1959, has reached about 100 licensing agreements for everything from roller skates to toothbrushes in connection to director Greta Gerwigs summer flick. 

Of course, Barbie is big in the beauty world too lipsticks, blushes and mirrors all bear the famous logo.

In the 30 years that I have been tracking and analyzing box offices and trends, Ive never quite seen anything like this before, said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore.

Barbie is tailor-made for marketing, he said. Its perfect because Barbie is a toy, its already a product, and beyond that, its a lifestyle and a color.

The movie, which stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as boyfriend Ken, has been hyped as one of the biggest blockbusters of the season, with numerous premieres held around the globe ahead of Fridays debut in US theaters.

Of course, that promotion blitz has been curtailed at the 11th hour, with Hollywood actors now on strike over pay and other conditions.

But the list of corporate partners is sure to keep the buzz going.

Microsoft, Forever 21, Ulta Beauty, Hot Wheels, Chevrolet and even Progressive insurance are among the companies looking to cash in on Barbie mania. 

The influential color company Pantone even has a shade to match the zeitgeist: 219C is officially Barbie Pink. 

Mattel has even reached a deal with rival toy giant Hasbro, Monopoly in the fall. 

In exchange, Mattel will showcase Transformers on its Uno card game in connection with a Hasbro film release.

Irresistible

Robbie has embraced Barbiecore fashion at premieres around the world, recreating some of the dolls most iconic looks, but the Barbie lifestyle trend is also full steam ahead

Airbnb is offering up a stay at Barbies Malibu DreamHouse for two nights in connection with the films debut.

Placed perfectly above the beach with panoramic views, this life-size toy pink mansion is a dream come true! reads the listing.

Singer John Legend and his model wife Chrissy Teigen took the plunge, posting a series of pictures on Instagram of their stay at the hot pink property. 

The most ubiquitous shade of pink used on the Warner Bros films set, a retro bubblegum hue made by Rosco, was used in such great quantities that the shoot has been blamed for a global shortage.

Its just be...

10:38

Building collapse in Egypt capital kills eight Iraqi News

Cairo Eight people including seven members of one family were killed in Cairo on Monday when a residential building in Egypts capital collapsed, the public prosecution and state media said.

A statement from the public prosecution said the building in the citys Hadayek al-Qubba district completely collapsed, killing eight people.

Civil defence workers pulled out nine people, among them an injured woman, while the eight others were deceased, the statement added, adding that another five were able to leave the property before it fell down.

It said the woman and two residents gave testimony suggesting that the collapse was caused by a resident who recently knocked down walls in his first-floor flat, despite neighbours asking him not to do so.

The prosecution ordered the arrest of the buildings owner, the contractor in charge of the works and one of his employees for questioning.

Government newspaper Al-Ahram, quoting a resident of the area, reported that seven members of one family had been killed.

A large portion of the buildings in central Cairo date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, and many are dilapidated or in some cases have been abandoned.

Egypt has seen a number of deadly building collapses in recent years, both because of the poor state of some and also because of non-compliance with building and town-planning regulations.

The post Building collapse in Egypt capital kills eight appeared first on Iraqi News.

10:08

Taylor Swift sets womens record for most number one albums Iraqi News

New York Taylor Swift now has more number one albums than any other female artist in history following the recent release of Speak Now (Taylors Version), Billboard said Monday.

The record debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, becoming the pop queens 12th number one album and surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most among women.

For male performers, Jay-Z and the Beatles both have over a dozen number one albums, though Billboard notes it has changed its album ranking system over the decades to include anthologies.

Swift, 33, has also become the first living artist in nearly 60 years to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time, the organization added.

They include Midnights, Lover and Folklore.

Billboard said Swift had also become the first living artist to have 11 albums in the top 200 simultaneously.

Swifts record-breaking feats come as she performs many of her best hits on the fan-frenzied Eras tour.

The 106-date stadium concert series kicked off in March and is within striking distance of becoming the first billion-dollar tour.

Speak Now was originally released in 2010. Swift has vowed to re-record her first six albums so she can control their rights a process she was contractually allowed to begin in November 2020.

She has also re-recorded Fearless and Red.

Last October, Swift became the first artist ever to simultaneously nab all 10 spots on the top US song chart after the release of her tenth studio album Midnights.

The post Taylor Swift sets womens record for most number one albums appeared first on Iraqi News.

07:52

Willian staying another season at Fulham Iraqi News

London Veteran Brazilian international Willian on Monday re-signed for Fulham on a one-year deal with an option for a further 12 months.

The 34-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal winger scored five times in 27 Premier League appearances for the Cottagers last season.

He had reached the end of his contract and visited the Nottingham Forest training ground last week.

But he said he is staying at Fulham.

Happy to sign one more year with Fulham, he told the clubs website. 

Happy to continue the work that I did last season with all my teammates and the whole club. I think its a club that can do even better this season.

The post Willian staying another season at Fulham appeared first on Iraqi News.

07:28

Israel recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara Iraqi News

Rabat Israel has decided to recognise Moroccos sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, the royal office in Rabat announced Monday, citing a letter from the Israeli prime minister.

According to the letter, Benjamin Netanyahu informed Moroccos King Mohammed VI of the State of Israels decision to recognise Moroccos sovereignty over the mineral-rich desert region, the royal office said in a statement.

Netanyahu said in the letter that Israel is examining the opening of a consulate in the town of Dakhla, located in the Moroccan part of Western Sahara a move long demanded by Rabat.

Israel confirmed the contents of the statement from Morocco when contacted by AFP.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Netanyahus announcement would strengthen the relations between the states and peoples, as well as the continued cooperation to enhance peace and regional stability.

The Western Sahara dispute dates back to 1975, when colonial ruler Spain withdrew from the territory, sparking a 15-year war between Morocco and the Polisario Front movement seeking independence in the territory.

Rabat controls nearly 80 percent of Western Sahara and sees the entire region, home to abundant phosphates and fisheries, as its sovereign territory.

Rabat advocates for limited autonomy for the vast desert territory while the Algeria-backed Polisario seeks independence and has called for a UN-supervised referendum on self-determination, but it has never taken place.

Since late 2020, the Polisario says it has been in a war of legitimate defence and has declared the entire Western Sahara, including its land, sea and airspace, a war zone.

Abraham Accords

Amir Ohana, the speaker of the Israeli parliament, paid an official visit to Rabat in early June and said that his country should move toward recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Ohana said serious discussions between the countries over the issue were underway and that Netanyahu will be announcing his decisions in the near future.

According to Mondays statement from the royal office, Netanyahus letter said Israels decision would be transmitted to the United Nations, international organisations, and every country with which Israel has diplomatic relations.

Israels chief of military staff also announced the appointment of the countrys first ever military attache to Morocco on Monday.

Colonel Sharon Itah should be assuming the position in the next few months, a military spokesperson told AFP.

Morocco and Israel normalised relations in December 2020 as part of a series of similar US-backed deals with Arab states known as the Abraham Accords.

In return for norm...

07:26

Collapse of Ukraine grain deal to have medium-term impact Iraqi News

Paris The collapse of the Black Sea export corridor, which allowed the export of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain over the past year, should have little immediate impact but over the medium term create market tension and push up food prices.

Little immediate impact

The situation is very different from February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, which cut off shipping in the Black Sea, the main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products.

Kyiv was the worlds top exporter of sunflower seed oil and the fourth-largest for wheat and corn, and its exit from global market sent prices to record highs in May.

The opening of the export corridor on August 1, 2022, helped ensure supplies for importing nations and bring down prices, even if the conflict has cut Ukrainian farm output.

Wheat output is forecast to drop to 17.5 million tonnes in the 2023-2024 season from 33 million tonnes in the 2021-2022 season. 

For corn, production is expected to fall to 25 million tonnes from 42 million tonnes.

In 2023-2024, Ukraine should export six million tonnes less of wheat and 10 million tonnes less of corn, said Gautier Le Molgat, an analyst at Agritel, which provides data and analysis on agricultural markets.

The lack of immediate impact is partially due to timing: it is currently harvest season in the northern hemisphere.

Future needs will be clear at the end of the harvest, said Le Molgat.

It is a calm period on the markets which reacted little to the news of the suspension of the deal, he added. 

European wheat futures edged higher, while they fell in the United States.

Moreover, Russias refusal to renew the deal was expected and it had already worked to undermine it.

Over the past months weve observed a bottleneck in the Bosphorus with very slow traffic, due in particular to a low number of Russian inspectors for the ships using the corridor, said Edward de Saint-Denis, a trader at commodities trading firm Plantureux & Associes.

Land routes

Even before the Black Sea corridor was opened the EU had created Solidarity Lanes, land and river routes designed to facilitate the export of EU agricultural products via Europe.

The Farm Foundation, a think tank that specialises in agricultural issues, estimates that half of Ukraines agricultural exports already takes these routes.

One of the questions that needs to be asked is if the EU, which has taken half of the Ukrainian grain on offer since the start of the conflict, has capacity to re-export these volumes, said Olia Tayeb Cherif, research director at the Farm Foundation.

The EU would like to improve its ability to transport by harmonising the rail gauge with Ukraine.

They can increase the tempo a bit, but t...

05:00

Security In Iraq Jul 8-14, 2023 MUSINGS ON IRAQ


Security remained unchanged in Iraq during the second week of July. The Islamic State remains at its lowest point in its history and the insurgency is largely over.

 

There were three incidents during the week, but one of them was an old IED. That compared to just one incident during the first week of July.

 

The incidents took place in Babil (1), Diyala (1), and Kirkuk (1).

 

They left two dead and 1 wounded. 1 civilian and 1 Hashd al-Shaabi lost their lives while one civilian was injured.

 

In Babils Jurf al-Sakhr district in the northeast an old IED exploded that left 1 Hashd dead.

 

Another IED went off in the Abu Saida district in central Diyala that resulted in one civilian injured. This is the area where IS has its main bases. It used to be the most violent part of Iraq but now, like the rest of the country, there is barely any insurgent ac...

04:54

This Day In Iraqi History - Jul 17 Gen Bakr led Baathist coup overthrowing Arif govt MUSINGS ON IRAQ

(Wikipedia)

 

869 Deposed Abbasid Caliph Mutazz executed by Turkish soldiers

(Musings On Iraq review when baghdad ruled the muslim world, the rise and fall of islams greatest dynasty)

1920 British worked out ceasefire with Iraqi rebels to end siege of Abu Sukhair

(Musings On Iraq review Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

(M...

Monday, 17 July

05:38

Military Situation In Syria On July 16, 2023 (Map Update) "IndyWatch Feed War"

Military Situation In Syria On July 16, 2023 (Map Update)

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  • On July 16, the Russian Ministry of Defense recorded no cases of hostilities and ceasefire violations in Idlib region in the past 24 hours;
  • On July 16, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed Shayya al-Sudani arrives in Damascus and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad;
  • On July 16, an explosion was reported in the city of Manbij. One person was wounded.

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03:54

Iraq: 'First' Captagon laboratory found in country, says ministry "IndyWatch Feed War"

Iraq: 'First' Captagon laboratory found in country, says ministry

Iraq has long been a transit country for the stimulant plaguing the Middle East and mostly produced in Syria, but Iraqi officials say it has also become a consumer market for the drug
MEE and agencies Sun, 07/16/2023 - 18:54
This picture taken on July 27, 2022 shows a view of sacks of confiscated captagon pills at the judicial police headquaters in the town of Kafarshima south of Lebanon's capital Beirut
The vast majority of the region's Captagon is produced in Iraq's neighbour Syria and Lebanon (AFP)

Iraq said on Sunday it had found a site in a province bordering Saudi Arabia where Captagon was being produced, a rare discovery in a country that has become a transit route for the illicit drug.

"Today, and maybe for the first time, a laboratory where Captagon is produced was found," Interior Ministry Spokesman General Saad Maan said in a video posted online.

Iraq has long been a transit country for Captagon, the amphetamine-like stimulant plaguing the Middle East, but officials say it has also become a consumer market for the drug.

The laboratory was discovered in the southern province of Muthana, a statement from the ministry said.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest market for the drug.

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