TNT:
Tishwash: Al-Moussawi: Iraq’s financial reserves are constantly increasing and salaries are fully secured.
MP Jassim al-Moussawi confirmed on Monday that Iraq’s financial reserves are witnessing a continuous increase, stressing that salaries are fully secured and there are no concerns about their payment in the coming period.
Al-Moussawi told the Information Agency that “Iraq’s financial situation is reassuring and the reserves at the Central Bank are constantly rising,” adding that “this reflects the state’s ability to fulfill its obligations towards employees and retirees.”
He added that “salaries are fully secured and cannot be affected by the current political or economic crises,” noting that “the government is working to manage the financial file cautiously to ensure economic stability.”
Al-Moussawi pointed out that “the increase in financial reserves gives Iraq strength in facing economic challenges and enhances confidence in the state’s financial situation,” emphasizing that “the next period will witness additional measures to boost revenues and control spending.” link
Tishwash: $65 Billion Investment to Transform Al-Tayeb Border City into an Economic City
The head of the National Investment Commission, Haider Makkiya, announced on Saturday a planned investment in the border city of Al-Tayeb to transform it into an economic city, noting that the investment is valued at $65 billion.
Makkiya told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Al-Tayeb is a multi-service economic city located on an area of more than 120,000 dunams, and the value of investments there exceeds $65 billion, of which $5 billion is allocated to infrastructure, roads, electricity, sewage, and other services.”
He pointed out that “the city has an abundance of natural resources that enable it to succeed, including water, hills, fuel, and other natural resources such as sand and gravel. There is a wealth of natural resources that allow for the establishment of a city with this specialized focus.” link
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Tishwash: Did Maliki obstruct the presidential candidate?
Arif al-Hamami, a former member of the State of Law Coalition, confirmed the soundness of the position of the Union and Democratic parties regarding Nouri al-Maliki’s candidacy for the position of Prime Minister.
Al-Hamami told Al-Maalouma, “The issue of the Kurds not putting forward a candidate for the presidency is not related to the issue of Maliki’s candidacy for prime minister. If the Kurdish bloc has taken the issue of Maliki’s candidacy as a reason for not putting forward a candidate for the presidency, then it should clarify its position.”
He added that “the head of the Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, is one of the first supporters of Maliki’s candidacy for the position of Prime Minister, in addition to the fact that the other parties in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan do not have any problem regarding the candidate for Prime Minister.”
He explained that “certain biased parties have been spreading interpretations aimed at linking the delay in nominating a presidential candidate to al-Maliki’s candidacy for prime minister.” link
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Tishwash: Maliki refuses to meet Trump’s envoy in Baghdad despite al-Sudani’s attempt
Information obtained by Network 964 indicates that developments are escalating in the case of withdrawing Nouri al-Maliki’s nomination for the premiership, with a meeting between al-Maliki and Barak proving impossible.
Network 964 learned from political sources that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani offered to mediate a meeting between prime ministerial candidate Nouri al-Maliki and Tom Barrack, the envoy of US President Donald Trump, who arrived in Baghdad this evening on a visit that was not previously announced, coinciding with the intensification of the prime ministership crisis, and the demands of several forces, including the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement and the Hikma movement, for al-Maliki to withdraw after the American warning issued by Trump four days after al-Maliki’s nomination.
According to sources close to the State of Law Coalition, Maliki rejected the request made by Sudani to bring Maliki together with Trump’s envoy. According to the coalition’s spokesman, Aqeel al-Fatlawi, Maliki is waiting for “clarifications from the Iraqi ambassador in Washington, Nizar al-Khairallah,” who is said to be carrying clarifications regarding the true American position on Maliki’s candidacy and the circumstances surrounding Trump’s tweet.
Maliki believes that it was driven by internal and external parties, and he is trying to avoid any direct contact with an American figure before he personally ascertains the nature of the American position beyond what is being circulated.
According to the sources, Maliki has been refusing for weeks to attend the framework meetings or discuss any other scenario that would call for his withdrawal. His atmosphere is repeating one call, as he personally expressed it in his only interview on February 3, when he said that he was nominated by the framework and that he would not withdraw, but rather the framework should withdraw his nomination if it wished.
The opposition forces are demanding that Maliki withdraw in order to avoid embarrassing all the leaders of the Shiite forces and forcing them to withdraw Maliki’s nomination in response to American pressure, while Maliki’s supporters respond that he is not prepared to bear this embarrassment, that he is ready to face all pressures, and that the framework should back down if it wants, without forcing Maliki to appear in a position of retreat. link
Mot: “a buttload of something” – HUH?? Ur Kidding!!!!
The word “buttload,” often used colloquially to mean “a large amount,” actually has roots in old English wine measurement systems.
A “butt” was a real unit used to measure large quantities of liquid, especially wine or ale, during medieval times and into the early modern era.
One butt equals two hogsheads, and each hogshead typically holds 63 gallons (in the imperial system), making a butt exactly 126 gallons.
This unit was most commonly used in England and parts of Europe, especially in reference to shipping and storing wine, beer, and other liquids in wooden casks or barrels.
These massive barrels were known as butts (yes, that’s the actual term), and they often appeared in old taverns and ships’ cargo.
Today, the term survives mostly as slang or humor — “a buttload of something” — but it does in fact originate from a formal measurement that once held legal and commercial significance.
