Hundreds of Iraqis gathered in front of the Central Bank's headquarters in Baghdad on Wednesday to protest over the currency inflation crisis.
Security officials were sent to safeguard the headquarters as riot police cordoned off the area as dozens of activists gathered near the Central Bank building.
However, no clashes or arrests were made.
“Our demands are clear: government must intervene to stop the decline of dinar value because we’re suffering from high prices in local markets,” said Asaad Khudhaer, a labourer who came to the protest from the southern city of Najaf.
“Stop the neighbours stealing our dollars,” one banner read, referring to Iran.
Some merchants in the surrounding area also closed down their shops and joined the protesters, some raising placards that read “the politicians are the ones covering up financial corruption for the banks.”
The protesters, mainly young people, rallied amid a heavy security presence in the capital.
Protesters were seen waving Iraqi flags in Baghdad early on Wednesday, and protests then spread to different regions, with people demanding government intervention to stop the decline of the currency.
Activists close to the Sadrist and youth-led Tishreen movement, as well as civil rights groups, had called for gatherings outside the bank on Wednesday after a week-long plunge of the Iraqi dinar that led Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to sack Central Bank chief Mustafa Ghaleb Mukheef.
The demonstrations were expected and a journalist from The National confirmed early on Wednesday that several groups of people had been seen crossing Al Shuhadaa (Martyrs') Bridge that leads to the bank.
The Iraqi dinar hit new lows on Friday, reaching about 1,670 to the dollar on the street. The currency has lost nearly 7 per cent of its value since mid-November. The official rate stands at 1,470 dinars per dollar.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry on Wednesday announced the arrest overnight of suspects accused of “manipulating” dollar exchange rates in Kirkuk and Erbil.
Mr Al Sudani is expected to travel to Paris on Thursday where he will meet the French leadership.
He said the drop in the dinar’s value would be top of his agenda as part of discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Al Sudani dismissed the previous bank governor and appointed its former chief Ali Mohsen Al Alaq on Monday to replace him in an attempt to assuage public anger over the currency crisis.
Mr Al Alaq previously led the Central Bank from 2014 to 2020.
The US has been complaining that the dollar is being funnelled to Iran, Syria and Lebanon through a foreign currency auction run by the Central Bank of Iraq. Iran and Syria are under US sanctions.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Renan%20Ferreira%20v%20Ryan%20Bader%20%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%3A%20Impa%20Kasanganay%20v%20Johnny%20Eblen%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Jesus%20Pinedo%20v%20Patricio%20Pitbull%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%3A%20Ray%20Cooper%20III%20v%20Jason%20Jackson%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShowcase%20Bouts%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Bruno%20Cappelozza%20(former%20PFL%20World%20champ)%20v%20Vadim%20Nemkov%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3A%20Thiago%20Santos%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Yoel%20Romero%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Clay%20Collard%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20AJ%20McKee%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Gabriel%20Braga%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Aaron%20Pico%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Biaggio%20Ali%20Walsh%20(pro%20debut)%20v%20Emmanuel%20Palacios%20(pro%20debut)%3Cbr%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20Lightweight%3A%20Claressa%20Shields%20v%20Kelsey%20DeSantis%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Edukondal%20Rao%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Flyweight%3A%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Vinicius%20Pereira%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
![A man holds a sign reading in Arabic: 'Depreciate the rate of the [US] dollar, or else!' AFP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RP6EKISD46G7UU2THVKMGONYZI.jpg?smart=true&auth=7303407b105f32a1a72777f9693808f49d393c514ba1e8be30af5d1a7a117a77&width=800&height=450)
