News Summary April 6, 2010

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Following is a summary of news reports posted until 10:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Tuesday – April 6:

*Politics:

BAGHDAD - The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemned the recent bombings that targeted diplomatic missions in Baghdad last Sunday, according to a statement of a German media center.

BAGHDAD - Ibrahim al-Jaafari, leader of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), and Salam al-Zobaee, leader of the al-Iraqiya Alliance, discussed on Tuesday methods to accelerate the issue of forming the new Iraqi government.

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi discussed on Tuesday with Bahraini King Hamad bin Issa al-Khaliefa the ways of boosting bilateral relations, according to a presidential statement.

BAGHDAD - The dissolved Baath Party, al-Qaeda Organization, and U.S. forces are involved in the blasts that targeted Iraqis on Sunday and today, Jamal Jaafar al-Ibrahim – a member of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) – said on Tuesday.

*Security:

NINEWA - Security authorities in Talafar have adopted a tight security plan to face the current security challenges, an official police source said on Tuesday.

NINEWA - Police forces seized on Tuesday a weapons cache west of Talafar suburb, Ninewa province.

BABEL - One civilian was wounded on Tuesday by unknown gunmen in the north of Babel, a police source said.

BAGHDAD - Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) has employed strict security measures in Baghdad, especially near embassies, after the recent bombings today and on Sunday.

BAGHDAD - President of Iraqi Jalal Talabani said on Tuesday that security forces should bear responsibility for the security situation.

DUHUK - The Turkish artillery shelled a border region in east of Zakho, without causing damage, a source from the border guards said on Tuesday.

NINEWA - Security forces have intensified their deployment on the mountains around Talafar as a precautionary measure against possible attacks against the district, a police source said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD - Security forces on Tuesday arrested 11 suspects in separate areas of Baghdad, according to the Baghdad Operations Command.

NINEWA - A civilian from Talafar was killed on Tuesday by gunmen in western Mosul, a police source said.

*Economy:

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) index went up by 2.3% to close at 93.3 points as trading took place on Tuesday over shares of 33 out of a total of 82 electronically-registered firms.

ARBIL - Kurdistan region’s parliament will start on Thursday a regular session to resume discussing the general budget draft law, according to the media advisor of the parliament’s chairmanship on Tuesday.

MISSAN - Missan’s governor discussed on Tuesday with a delegation from a Greek company the possibilities of investing in the province, mainly in the housing sector, according to a media official.

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