A British archaeologist received a resounding applause from hundreds of experts attending a symposium on the wonders of ancient Babylon following his performance of ancient Babylonian musical piece.

The symposium was held in the Greek Theater in the ancient and was attended by some of the world’s top Mesopotamian archaeologists among them Richard Dumbrill from the University of London.

Dumbrill’s performance was based on ancient musical notes inscribed on clay tablets, which archaeologists had unearthed during their excavations of Babylon’s ruins.

The scientist had worked hard to decipher the notes, which are certain to change mankind’s understanding of the development of music in the world, said head of Iraqi parliament’s Culture and Information Commission Ali al-Shallah.

Shallah said he took part in the symposium held early this month and Dumbrill’s musical performance of the ancient Babylonian composition and his explanation were bound to change the world’s perception of when and where music was developed first.

“Dumbrill proved that the musical scale of do re mi fa was first invented in Babylon and that ancient Iraqis had development a system of writing down their tunes,” Shallah said.

Dumbrill’s finding proves that ancient Iraqis were the first to discover and write down musical notes, much earlier than Greeks.

He said Dumbrill told his audience that there were many clay tablets with musical notes originating from Babylon.

Shallah did not say how Dumbrill, a leading expert in the archaeomusicology of the Ancient Near East and the ancient Middle East.

Dumbrill’s is know the world over for his masterpiece The Archaeomusicology of the Ancient Near East.

Shallah said through Dumbrill’s work we now know of the existence of schools in Babylon that taught music.

Iraqi scientists have shown a great deal of interest in Dumbrill’s work and the Antiquities Department has asked the scientist to decipher more musical tablets in the hope of launching a special Babylonian music album.

By Marwan al-Anai

Azzaman, May 23, 2013

Kirkuk will soon be ringed with a fortified moat to prevent vehicles reaching the oil-rich city without passing through the checkpoints manning the highways leading to it.

The digging of the new ditch comes on the heels of massive suicide and car bombings that hit the city recently killing and injuring hundreds of people.

The checkpoints are provided with bomb and explosive detectors that will make almost impossible for vehicles laden with explosives to pass.

“Work on the ditch has already started and several companies are involved in its digging,” said Ahmad Askar, head of the security commission in the Province of Kirkuk.

Kirkuk is the capital of a province of the same name. It is a mixed Iraqi province with several ethnic minorities and religious groups. It is known for its massive oil riches.

“The aim is to stop car-bombings,” Askar said.

The 52-kilometer long moat will be two meters deep and three meters wide with earth embankments on both sides.

Askar said the province has allocated several million dollars for the ditch but he did not say when he expected it to be completed.

The parliament’s Defense and Security Commission lauded Kirkuk’s decision to do what it takes to protect itself against attacks and reinstate order.

In a statement, the commission urged other cities and towns suffering from repeated car bomb attacks to follow Kirkuk’s example.

Arbil, which is the regional capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, built such a moat shortly after the 2003-U.S. invasion which resulted in the total collapse of law and order and security in Iraq.

Azzaman, May 21, 2013

The volatility of the Iraqi currency, the dinar, is deterring both Iraqi and foreign entrepreneurs from investing in the country, the Central Bank said in a statement.

The statement comes following a volatile period that has seen the dinar weakening vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar despite Central Bank’s measures to halt the decline.

The bank, in a statement faxed to the newspaper, acknowledge that traders and investors have incurred losses due to the currency’s instability.

But it blamed “unauthorized statements made in the past short period on the function of the (Central) Bank which have resulted in losses for traders and entrepreneurs.”

The statement made no references to the statements and those behind them, but the bank itself has been criticized for issuing conflicting statements recently.

“There is no justification for (the issuing) of such statements from the economic viewpoint,” the bank said.

Traders said rumors that the bank would either halt of reduce the amount of hard cash it auctions on a daily basis were to blame.

The daily auctions in which occasionally the bank sells up to $200 million dollar to other banks and the public were seen as a stabilizing factor.

But despite the auctions the dinar’s fall continue and in the past few days it has been trading on the spot at more than 1300 to one U.S. dollar while the official price is about 1100.

The statement reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to its daily auctions and it said it has been selling an average of $180 million in the past few days.

But the dinar’s lower value on the streets of Baghdad in comparison to the official prices has been a source of manipulation and corruption.

The auctions are said to be confined to banks with links to the Central Bank and officials with a say in in government who snap all dollars in the auction in a few hours and sell them on the spot market for profit.

Azzaman, May 20, 2013

Scores of foreign firms have fled the restive Iraqi Province of Anbar, a senior provincial official said.

The official, Saadoum al-Shaalan, said the flight of foreign firms comes amid an upsurge in violence that has swept the country in the past few months.

Explosions and car bombings have returned to the country, targeting even provinces where conditions have relatively been quiet in the past two years.

Shaalan said: “At least 23 foreign firms have withdrawn from the province in the past four months due to worsening security situation.”

Anbar, of which Ramadi is the capital, has traditionally been Iraq’s most violent Province.

It enjoyed a semblance of tranquility when its tribes turned their guns against al-Qaeda, forcing its member to leave their areas.

But violence returned nearly four months ago when the province, which is predominantly Muslim Sunni, rose against the majority Muslim Shiite government.

The flight of foreign firms from Anbar is feared to cause other firms working in other restive provinces such as Diyala, Tikreet and even Baghdad to do so.

Azzaman, May 19, 2013

The latest upsurge in violence that has seen hundreds of fatalities in the past few days has prompted the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to order the arrest of security chiefs in charge of areas where the explosions and car bombings have taken place.

Maliki is commander-in-chief in Iraq and acting Interior Minister. It is not clear how many senior officers are currently behind bars but the measure has been harshly criticized by the parliament.

Maliki’s move cames following deadly car bombings and suicide attacks in the restive Province of Diyala, specifically targeting Muslim Shiites during their Friday prayers.

The bombings have terrorized Shiites in the Province of which Baaquba is the capital and have shown the vulnerability of the measures the government has take to protect Iraqis.

There has been a surge in attacks in the past few weeks and many Iraqis now fear a return of the days of massive bombing attacks by the al-Qaeda branch of Iraq.

Iraq was witnessing a semblance of quiet prior to the start of anti-government demonstrations in the predominately Sunni provinces, protesting what they see as marginalization by the Shiite-dominated government.

The parliamentary Security and Defense Commission hit out at Maliki, blaming his government for the latest security failures and the increase in attacks.

“The security situation is very chaotic and it is getting worse with every passing day. The strategy to reinstate security is wrong,” said Shwan Taha the commission’s head.

He criticized Maliki’s order to arrest the security chiefs in charge of areas where the explosions have taken place, saying such moves will lead to nothing.

“The explosions represent a failure in security strategy and not security mishap. We are in a quagmire because the whole security apparatus of the country is now politicized.

“The aim of security forces today is the protection of those in power and not safeguarding citizens,” he added.

Azzaman, May 17, 20103

The corruption in Iraq has turned into a phenomenon, which is certain to be there for generations to come. The only way to put an end to it is through the formation of a national unity government that will make fighting corruption its top priority.

There are two tiers of corruption in Iraq and both are intimately related. Financial and political corruption are intertwined and have become two sides of the same coin.

‘Corruption’ is a word that is there in every seminar, statement and declaration in Iraq. Some speak of the amounts of money that has been stolen, the secret commissions and contracts and even refer to the persons involved by name.

But no one has the guts to bring any of the suspects to account. The reason is not that difficult to understand why no one bears the responsibility for how and why Iraq has become the corrupt country that it is now.

It seems it has become a habit for any high-ranking politician to engage in corruption. Corruption is part of the political post a person holds in Iraq.

Holding a position is key to riches in the ‘new’ Iraq. The term of service is an opportunity to amass as much wealth as possible and not to serve.

There are stories of infighting among Iraqi politicians over contracts and commissions. It is no secret to reveal that Iraqi politicians enter into fights that may lead to liquidation over winning or offering of contracts and the wealth and riches they may bring.

Corruption takes place at the expense of the most vulnerable in the society. It is the poor, the homeless, the downtrodden, the orphans, the widows and the elderly who are bearing the brunt of corruption in Iraq.

If these rise as they do now in massive demonstrations in several parts of the country, no one should be surprised.

What is so peculiar about the echelon of power in Iraq, mainly those holding high-ranking positions, is the fact that  they always have their feet close to the Baghdad International Airport than to the people they are meant to serve.

How many senior Iraqi officials have fled the country following allegations of corruption and the disappearance of massive sums of hard cash?

When senior officials feel they have no roots in the country, how could one expect them to serve its people.

These officials’ main target is not to stay in the country and serve. Their ultimate aim is to fill in their pockets and then flee.

Stories of Iraqis who served in the government and buying property, shares factories  and companies in different parts of the world are too many to be told.

The implosion of a country does not necessarily come about via a foreign invasion such as the one through which U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003.

Implosion occurs when ordinary citizens feel they are occupied by a local force, which does not only undermine them but also treads on their rights in the name of the constitution, national interests, legitimacy, religion or sect.

Azzaman, May 16, 2013

The parliament has decided to call in the Finance Minister and heads of Iraqi banks following the latest slump in the value of the Iraqi dinar vis-à-vis the dollar.

The move comes as the dinar dropped to more than 1300 to the dollar at a time the Central Bank has reported a substantial rise in the country’s hard cash reserves.

“The dollar was worth 1160 dinars in 2006 when our hard cash reserves were only $10 billion. Today we have $74 billion in reserves and the government exchange price is 1250 dinars for the dollar,” said Ameen Hadi, a member of the influential Financial Commission at the Iraqi parliament.

The drop in the currency value has puzzled analysts since the Central Bank’s coffers currently brim with hard cash.

Previously, the bank’s daily auctions of selling more than $150 million to other banks and the public used to be a stabilizing factor.

But the analysts say demand for the greenback in Iraq has skyrocketed following the rebellion in Syria and the tightening of U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Iran.

Hadi said the parliament wanted to hear from the Finance Ministry and bank executives on the reasons for the currency’s instability.

Iraqi Finance Minister Rafi Al Essawi resigned early this year in support of Sunni protestors in the Province of Anbar.

But Essawi was facing government allegations of fraud and corruption as well as involvement in ‘terrorist’ attacks.

The ministry is currently administered by the Minister of Planning Ali Al-Shakarji, who acts as Acting Finance Minister.

By Khawla al-Aukaili

Azzaman, May 14, 2013

Iraq currently has the ability to meet domestic needs for vegetables and fruits of different kinds, said deputy Agriculture Minister Ghazi al-Ubaidi.

Ubaidi said the country has seen leaps in agricultural produce following the implementation of a self-sufficiency plan that was launched in 2008.

He said the government, encouraged by the latest surge in agricultural produce, has banned imports of vegetables and fruits. “Only fruits and vegetables which cannot be grown or planted in the country are not covered by the import ban,” Ubaidi said.

“It is important for the government to back local agricultural produce by banning exports,” he said.

Asked whether the ban on exports would lead to prices hikes, Ubaidi said: “On the contrary, vegetable and fruit prices has never been as cheap as they are now.”

Ubaidi even predicted that Iraq would soon attain self-sufficiency in wheat yields.

He said currently Iraq met 65% of its domestic needs for wheat, with yields reaching 3.2 million tons.

The Agriculture Ministry, he said, was introducing new fruit trees and new breeds of vegetables and cereals to boost output.

Iraq imported huge quantities of vegetables from Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and mainly Syria prior to the country’s descent into violence.

It currently imports most of its rice needs estimated at more than 1 million tons a year.

Despite Ubaidi’s claim of bumper wheat harvests, the country is still a big importer of the cereal, with annual import volumes estimated at about 3 million tons.

Azzaman, May 13, 2013

Iraq’s Central Bank coffers brim with hard cash and in quantities never seen in its history, a Central Bank said.

“The volume of hard cash reserves of the Iraqi Central Bank have reached $74 billion. This the highest figure of reserves ever in Iraq’s history,” the bank added.

It said the reserves were sufficient to fulfill Iraq’s financial obligations in terms of imports and sustaining stability of the domestic currency, the dinar.

The dinar has plummeted recently but the bank says it has succeeded in shoring up the currency through its daily auctions in which it sells an average of $150 million to other banks and the public at official prices.

The daily auctions, analysts say, are a sign of a boom in hard cash earnings emanating from surges in oil output and oil export royalties.

The bank says it is investing its reserves in international banks and other financial outlets as part of a strategy to diversify income and profits.

Azzaman, May 11, 2013

Work has started in earnest on a new power plant that will specifically serve the inhabitants of the Province of Diyala, said Turath Al-Azawi the province’s information officer.

The plant is one of the largest in the country and will generate 730 megawatts of electricity on completion, Azawi said.

Franc’s Alstom, one of the world’s leading energy solutions and transport companies, is building the plant at a cost of $450 million.

Electricity Minister Abdulkarim Aftan, accompanied by representatives from Alston, laid down the foundation stone for the project last week.

It will take 18 months for the project to be completed, said Azawi.

Diyala, of which Baaquba is the provincial capital, relies solely on electricity imports from Iraq.

But the energy ferried from Iran falls short of the province’s domestic needs estimated at 500 megawatts, said Azawi.