sunnis largely boycotted iraq inaugural post saddam parliamentary election in
the decision cleared the way for dominant shiite government to take
power which exacerbated sunni disenfranchisement and deepened the insurgency
that later took the country to the brink of civil war
baath party membership was key condition for obtaining job and later gaining
promotion in public sector employment during saddam regime
controversial process of de baathication was adopted by washington diplomat
paul bremer head of the coalition provisional authority following the invasion
which saw thousands of saddam era employees lose their jobs
the decision to ban hundreds of election hopefuls almost seven years later shows
fissures are still raw according to joost hiltermann an iraq specialist and
conflict studies analyst with the international crisis group think tank
it might well torpedo iraq hopes to have relatively free fair and inclusive
elections he said
it shows that political groups are far from accommodating one another let
alone reconciling if this decision is not reversed we might well be facing
new and dangerous escalation of violence he added
according to election organisers around candidates from parties
comprising coalitions as well as independents have registered to compete in
the march poll the election is seen as crucial to consolidating iraq
democracy and smoothing the path for complete us military exit by the end of
as planned
michael hanlon national security and defence policy expert and senior
author of the iraq afghanistan and pakistan index projects at the brookings
institute in washington said the candidates ban was setback
very very worried about this the lack of transparency the quality of the
decisions the huge number of people affected all bode quite badly he said
khalaf al alayane sunni mp meanwhile insisted the ban was illegal because
the committee itself is not professionally approved and mps refused to vote
positively for anyone on the committee
those decisions will affect the national reconciliation process and the
national interest especially after all this time and being able to pass many
obstacles he said alluding to past sectarian violence between sunnis and
shiites
syria reconciliation nearly complete lebanon jumblatt
el mukhtara lebanon jan afp
lebanese druze leader walid jumblatt said at the weekend he was close to
reconciling with former arch foe syria and dismissed criticism of his latest
political about turn
believe that three quarters of the road to syria has opened up and what
remains is the final gesture which depends on the right moment said jumblatt
in an interview with afp at his ancestral home in lebanon shouf mountains
southeast of beirut
the year old hereditary chieftain of lebanon druze minority has come under
fire since defecting in august from the us backed march ruling coalition he
helped create in order to move closer to the hezbollah led opposition camp
supported by syria and iran
the move came as syria emerges from its international isolation and amid
rapprochement between damascus and riyadh two key regional players
jumblatt justified his turn saying it was necessary step to preserve the
peace and avoid sectarian bloodshed
am willing to sacrifice everything for the civil peace even if my decisions
are not popular he said
one must at times swim against the current
he said the sectarian unrest that brought lebanon close to civil war in may
when members of his druze clan fought bitter battles with the shiite
hezbollah in the shouf region had been rude awakening
it was miracle at the time that we avoided war between the druze and
shiites he said the events of may were like an electroshock
we were not aware then that the sectarian hatred between the lebanese had
reached that point
lebanon druze community secretive offshoot of shiite islam makes up about
six percent of the country four million population
jumblatt head of the progressive socialist party psp has earned both
admiration and scorn through the years for his knack at manoeuvring through the
topsy turvy world of lebanese politics and always emerging on the winning side
by mending fences with hezbollah as well as syria whose relationship with the
united states has been improving observers say jumblatt is staking out
position in between lebanon two main rival camps in order to ensure his own
survival and that of his community
don understand why many in the march camp look like they re attending
funeral he told afp we accomplished lot and one must not ask for the
impossible
this is what politics is all about there are phases cycles
he admitted however that major obstacle on his road to reconciliation with
damascus were some harsh words he used against the syrian regime in
if go to damascus need to clarify beforehand some of the things
uttered he said
at the time jumblatt launched virulent attack on syrian president bashar al
assad branding him the dictator of damascus savage an israeli product
liar and criminal
he also called for the us to meddle in syrian politics just as it had in iraq
which was interpreted by damascus as an invitation for us troops to invade the
country
asked whether he planned to apologise for his comments jumblatt remained
enigmatic
everything in its time he said will answer this question when the time is
right
he said he had asked hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah to plead his case before
the syrians and was awaiting the opportune time for the final handshake with
assad
jumblatt also criticised us policy in the middle east saying it was all about
words and no action
told us senator john mccain when he visited me last week that we needed
weapons for the lebanese army he said we don need antiquated tanks that
cost fortune to repair
we received gazelle helicopter from the emirates but it came without
missiles what do you want us to do with it go fishing
jumblatt also confirmed that he was grooming his eldest son taymour to take
over the leadership of the psp saying the year old had no other choice
am not dictator but it would be difficult for him to refuse he said
he said once out of politics he hoped to purchase home in france normandy
region or at fjord in norway and write his memoirs
would also like to see once am in normandy that mukhtara his ancestral
home is in safe hands with my son he said
obama to go to massachusetts to shore up struggling democrat
new york jan afp
president barack obama flies to boston sunday to try to avert defeat for the
democrats in senate by election that threatens to end up killing his biggest
domestic initiative
victory for democrat martha coakley seemed foregone conclusion in state
where her party outnumbers republicans three to one the seat she seeks was
occupied by liberal grandee edward kennedy for almost five decades until his
death in august
but in breathtaking reversal republican candidate scott brown is now shown by
some polls to be running even or even ahead
the decision by obama to campaign for coakley breaking from dealing with the
haitian earthquake and overwhelming national issues underlines the democrats
desperation
it really is just remarkable said columbia university political science
professor robert shapiro it reflects the demobilizing almost demoralizing
state of democratic voters
the fallout of brown win would be huge
first democrats would lose their th vote in the senate stripping them of
their current power to override republican delaying tactics on contentious
legislation particularly health care reform
obama allies are racing to push through the health care package and on friday
claimed to be close to final deal
brown says he will vote against the reform package although in another twist
to the cliffhanger he would not be immediately able to vote if elected tuesday
since the special election would first have to be certified
the broader aftershock of republican upset would be the energizing effect for
the opposition as it campaigns to regain control of congress in nationwide mid
term elections in november
the fact that much of brown success appears to be based on the support of
independent voters is an ominous sign for democratic strategists
big guns from both sides have joined the fray in the final days
friday saw vice president joe biden emailing supporters to rally around coakley
former president and democratic heavyweight bill clinton visited massachusetts
while the republicans rolled out former new york mayor rudy giuliani
obama who took office year ago amid surging personal popularity will put his
increasingly tattered prestige on the line with sunday appearance
the stakes are so high he told supporters in video message earlier this
week everything from health care to wall street regulation and clean energy
initiatives probably rest on one vote in the united states senate
polling is mixed some put coakley well ahead but suffolk university poll
released late thursday had brown ahead with
leading pollster scott rasmussen called brown victory long shot low
turnout scenario adding that the dynamics of the race still make it likely
that massachusetts voters on january will send another democrat to
washington
obama also referred to the turnout issue saying in his taped message lot of
people don even realize there is an election on tuesday to fill the unexpired
term of ted kennedy so please come out and vote
coakley is widely seen as having run lackluster campaign and shown little sign
of urgency
meanwhile brown state legislator has become republican pin up
an advocate of waterboarding terrorist suspects practice banned by the
obama white house as form of torture brown has also garnered fame as
winner of cosmopolitan magazine sexiest man competition
brown then student posed naked in the glossy magazine centerfold with
only carefully placed hand protecting his modesty
anger at us builds at port au prince airport
port au prince jan afp
anger built sunday at haiti us controlled main airport where aid flights were
still being turned away and poor coordination continued to hamper the relief
effort four days on
let take over the runway shouted one voice we need to send message to
obama cried another referring to us president barack obama
control remained in the hands of us forces who face criticism for the continued
disarray at the overwhelmed airfield
dozens of french citizens and dual haitian french nationals crowded the airport
saturday seeking to be evacuated after tuesday massive earthquake which
leveled much of the capital port au prince
but at the last minute plane due to take them to the french island of
guadeloupe was prevented from landing leaving them to sleep on the tarmac
waiting for way out
they re repatriating the americans and not anyone else said charles misteder
the american monopoly has to end they are dominating us and not allowing
us to return home
the crowd accused american forces who were handed control of the airport by
haitian authorities of monopolizing the airfield single runway to evacuate
their own citizens
the us embassy denied it was putting the evacuation of the approximately
to american citizens in the country first
others waiting for way out were taken aback by the chaotic scenes that
confronted them when they arrived at the toussaint ouverture airport
haven been able to tell my family that alive the coordination is
joke said wilfried brevil year old housekeeper
was at the christopher hotel said daniele saada referring to the
headquarters of the un peacekeeping force in haiti minustah
was extremely shaken up was pulled out the others weren added saada
minustah employee
decided to return to france have nothing and now am stuck she said
caught between fury at the chaos and sheer exhaustion
the disorder even appeared to cause diplomatic ripples with french secretary of
state for cooperation alain joyandet telling reporters he had lodged complaint
with the united states over its handling of the port au prince airport
have made an official protest to the americans through the us embassy he
said at the haitian airport after french plane carrying field hospital was
turned away
spokesman for the french foreign ministry later denied france had registered
protest saying franco us coordination in emergency aid for haiti is being
handled in the best way possible given the serious difficulties
the us ambassador to haiti defended american efforts at the small airport which
was up and running hours after the massive quake even though the air traffic
control tower was damaged
we re working in coordination with the united nations and the haitians said
ambassador kenneth merten though he acknowledged some difficulties
clearly it necessary to prioritize the planes it clear that there
problem
us secretary of state hillary clinton who spent several hours at port au
prince airport during lightning visit saturday sought to reassure haitians
that help would come
we are here at the invitation of your government to help you she said after
meeting haitian president rene preval
as president obama has said we will be here today tomorrow and for the time
ahead she pledged
despite the chaos at the small airport group of french citizens was
eventually able to take off on saturday and the french plane carrying field
hospital landed safely around noon
due to logistical problems port au prince airport officials continued to divert
some flights carrying emergency relief supplies to the dominican republic and
turks and caicos islands according to us and un officials
still with aid continuing to flood into the quake stricken country concern
remains about the lack of coordination at the airport and across devastated
port au prince
the un security council was to meet monday to discuss coordination of the aid
effort mexico foreign ministry said as haitians complained they were being
kept in the dark
the haitians haven been notified about the arrival of planes and when they
do land there no one to take charge and large amount of goods are arriving
without coordination said haitian government official michel chancy
political battle over new eu commission team
brussels jan afp
eu commission chief jose manuel barroso proposed new team has come under some
wounding fire during tough questioning at job interviews at the european
parliament which are set to end tuesday
while much of the meps objections may come down to political point scoring or
profile raising there is worrying precedent for barroso as he begins second
five year term at the helm of the european union executive arm
in when his first team of policy commissioners was being vetted the
parliament forced the withdrawal of italian candidate rocco buttiglione over his
views on gay rights
now as barroso new member team are quizzed the politicising of the
process has gone up another notch since then one senior eu official observed
while the euro mps cannot veto individual commissioners they can oppose the
whole team in vote scheduled for january
so far there have been mixed performances from the would be commissioners
first eu foreign policy supremo catherine ashton failed to impress with her
grasp of the broad external portfolio
austrian greens deputy ulrike lunacek lamented that ashton has shown herself to
be true diplomat rich on words poor on specifics her hearing has revealed
no clear sense of vision no initiatives and no plans of her own
however it is bulgaria aid and crisis commissioner designate rumiana jeleva
who is in the parliament cross hairs
the meps questioned the bulgarian foreign minister on alleged discrepancies in
her declaration of financial interests arguing that her involvement in one
particular company global consult was notable by its absence
she has also had to fend off allegations that her husband has mafia links
the image of the eu is already bad enough as it is so having someone whose
name has been tainted by allegations of financial misconduct may become
unsustainable argued marco incerti analyst with the brussels based centre for
european policy studies think tank
jeleva conservative also scored badly on her grasp of her brief
her candidature ruined tacit non aggression pact between the parliament
political forces
the head of the socialist meps martin schulz wrote to barroso to inform him of
the very serious doubts the group has regarding the bulgarian candidate
as battle lines were drawn the conservative european people party vice
chairman jozsef szajer sniffed witch hunt denouncing the unfounded
allegations against her
the centre right meps began targeting slovak commission candidate maros sefcovic
over controversial comments on the roma people in tit for tat response
on friday barroso backed jeleva though not effusively
jeleva has the necessary general competence international experience and shows
the necessary levels of european commitment he said in letter to the
parliament
the assembly has reserved its formal opinion on her until monday
meanwhile bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov appeared to distance himself
from his foreign minister eu candidacy
while insisting she was competent for the post he said he was not in position
to judge the allegations against her
some of the commissioners designate like spain joaquin almunia competition
portfolio and france michel barnier internal market made excellent
presentations said socialist vice chair hannes swoboda
however there are other problem candidates meps from both left and right were
disappointed with finnish would be economic affairs commissioner olli rehn
liberal fearing lack of vision
the euro deputies have also postponed their decision till this week on neelie
kroes heavyweight in the outgoing commission after an unimpressive audition
for the new technology portfolio
barroso must ask himself if he really has good team said british liberal mep
andrew duff
other meps will be content to answer the question themselves
football league results
sydney jan afp
results of australian league matches played on sunday
sydney fc gold coast united porter
saturday
melbourne victory thompson kruse muscat pen hernandez
perth glory vargas og sterjovski
brisbane roar newcastle jets thompson bridges pen
friday
new zealand phoenix dadi ifill mckain north queensland fury
adelaide united dodd central coast mariners mrdja pen
standings played won drawn lost goals for goals against goal difference
points
gold coast united
sydney fc
melbourne victory
newcastle jets
wellington phoenix
perth glory
central coast mariners
brisbane roar
north queensland fury
adelaide united
juncker set for re election as eurogroup chief
brussels jan afp
it clearly consolation prize after failed bid to secure the european
union first full time presidency but europe longest serving leader will
almost certainly win new mandate to lead the eurogroup on monday
barring last minute shock luxembourg prime minister jean claude juncker is
the only candidate for the job of co ordinating policy for the countries that
use the euro currency and therefore set to win month mandate when finance
ministers vote on his candidacy in brussels
already in charge of the grouping in its semi informal guise since
years after juncker took power in luxembourg the eurogroup has acquired
formal recognition under the lisbon treaty that entered into force in december
it is also facing some of the most difficult economic and political challenges
imagined since the currency came into being decade ago with seemingly
impenetrable greek debt crisis and fears over wider foreign exchange
fluctuations driven by washington and beijing
the principal obstacle to juncker re election vanished last week when italy
finance minister giulio tremonti long cited as potential runner ruled
himself out of the running for the job
juncker has also obtained the support of the eu current six month spanish
presidency whereas at one stage france christine lagarde had expressed
interest were juncker to leave the post
without doubt the job lacks sheen compared to the top brussels post which went
to belgium herman van rompuy in late november
according to juncker entourage french president nicolas sarkozy blocked the
inveterate chain smoker bid for the job of glad handling list foreign
leaders while presenting united european image
sarkozy blamed juncker for not acting quickly enough when the global financial
crisis first hit home in as well as his reluctance to change luxembourg
banking secrecy laws
juncker has said that certain leaders didn want to give me their trust
admitting certain disappointment
but he met sarkozy face to face last week for the first time since those
tensions surfaced and said that after everything that has happened the
atmosphere was good
the atmosphere on the ground of course looks anything but good with most of
the euro countries like their broader eu partners carrying large public
deficits well beyond proscribed limits
france and other european nations including spain want to promote the idea of
stronger economic governance across the bloc without anyone as yet being
willing to talk specifically about sanctions for fiscally wayward members
germany on the other hand is opposed to such policy direction fearing for
the independence of the european central bank in frankfurt
juncker spelled out to sarkozy in detail his ideas on this subject with the
french president declaring himself in agreement with the grand lines for the
coming years
one idea being actively pursued by many including the incoming eu economic and
monetary affairs commissioner olli rehn is for the eurogroup to seek its own
seat at and international monetary fund meetings
juncker spoke of sarkozy desire for the body to be more pro active in
external matters which notably revolves around currency concerns
he may need to move quicker this time around with his initiatives if those
seeking to impose more sharply political agenda are not to leave him standing
in their wake
cycling britain sky storm to victory in debut race
adelaide australia jan afp
britain all new team sky stormed to one two win in the cancer council
helpline classic on sunday their debut race and prelude to next week
season opening tour down under
new zealand greg henderson took the victory narrowly ahead of australian team
mate chris sutton and htc columbia german rider andre greipel after tour de
france legend lance armstrong mid race challenge faded
the sky riders obliterated late attack by htc columbia to take the race
honours and send out an ominous warning to their rival teams on the uci protour
it doesn get any better henderson said we were joking about it in the
room we said the best way that team sky could put themselves on the map is the
very very first race we get together we end up winning the bike race
that happened tonight it was just unbelievable the lead out was so fast
don think ve been on the back of anything faster in the end my job was
pretty easy what an amazing feeling
sky left their attack until the race closing stages after breakaway led by
armstrong and fellow tour de france winner oscar pereiro was reeled in with
three laps of the adelaide streets to go
australia robbie mcewen finished fourth for katusha while reigning tour down
under champion allan davis of australia was seventh in the lap kilometre
miles event
armstrong finished eight seconds off the pace in th with australia world
road race champion cadel evans th and pereiro th
the classic is separate prelude to the six stage kilometre mile
tour down under which starts on tuesday
us soldier dies in afghanistan nato
kabul jan afp
an american soldier has died in afghanistan after being wounded while fighting
taliban led insurgents nato said sunday
in brief statement nato international security assistance force isaf said
the soldier had died on saturday in eastern afghanistan an increasingly
volatile theatre of the war against the anti government militants
an isaf service member from the united states died of wounds yesterday as
result of an engagement with insurgents in eastern afghanistan it said
it gave no other details
around international service men and women are deployed to afghanistan
under us and nato command for the fight against the islamist militants now in
its ninth year
another troops are being sent to the country and are due to arrive by
august military officials have said
the decision to send more foreign soldiers is part of renewed strategy for
bringing the fight to the taliban while backing up battlefield progress with aid
and development efforts to win over local populations
the increased forces however mean more engagements and inevitably higher
rate of deaths among foreign troops the officials say
this has become evident in recent months as the total death toll among
international soldiers in was compared with for the year before
according to an afp tally based on that kept by the independent website
icasualties org foreign soldiers have died in afghanistan so far in
civilian casualties have also become central issue in the hostilities with
the garmser district of southern helmand province focal point in recent weeks
as the taliban whips up hostility and isaf and afghan forces retaliate
isaf said civilian died after being shot by its troops in the early hours of
sunday morning when they fired on large vehicle travelling at high speed
without headlights towards one of its convoys
after firing three to five rounds into the grill of the vehicle it stopped
isaf said in statement
the initial assessment determined one civilian received gunshot wound to the
chest the man died of his wounds this morning none of the other five
passengers suffered any injuries it said
garmser has been the scene of violence for the better part of week after
demonstrations that government investigators said were whipped up by taliban
rumours that foreign troops had desecrated copy of the koran during an
operation
seven people were killed on tuesday during protest march that turned violent
when shoots were fired from among crowd of hundreds of people officials said
the following day another five afghan civilians were shot and wounded outside
military base during demonstration that appeared to be related to the tuesday
incident
the united nations said in report released last week that civilians killed in
the afghan war jumped last year to making the deadliest year for
ordinary afghans since the us led invasion in civilians were
killed
the majority or percent of the dead were killed in taliban attacks the un
said
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor sarah shard
tel
top stories
haitians desperate as scale of disaster grows
iraq chemical ali sentenced to death
disillusioned ukraine votes for new president
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
desperate haiti quake survivors plead for vital supplies amid anger over the
chaotic aid effort while the true extent of the disaster beyond the capital
begins to emerge
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri graphic picture video
iraq trial chemicalali kurds rdlead
baghdad
ali hassan al majid better known as saddam hussein notorious enforcer
chemical ali is sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of kurds in the
iraqi village of halabja which killed an estimated people
words gmt by arthur macmillan file picture
we will also move iraq trial chemicalali profile
ukraine vote ndlead wrap
kiev
disappointed with the orange revolution failure to bring change ukraine votes
in presidential polls set to be led by the pro russia viktor yanukovich at the
expense of his west leaning rivals
words gmt by stuart williams picture
haiti
haiti quake rescue scene ndlead
port au prince
hearing jules strained voice drives the adrenaline fueled team of israeli
rescue workers racing against the clock to pry him from the rubble as four days
after the haiti quake fears fade of finding survivors
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri picture
haiti quake us france airport focus newseries
port au prince
anger builds at haiti us controlled main airport where aid flights are still
being turned away and poor coordination continues to hamper the relief effort
four days on
words gmt by deborah pasmantier picture
haiti quake us diplomacy newseries
port au prince
the united states vows to stand by the devastated nation of haiti as secretary
of state hillary clinton seeks to overcome the hurdles bogging down vast aid
operation
words gmt by lachlan carmichael picture
we have also moved haiti quake un annabi profile
haiti quake un aid scene lead
haiti quake looters crime scene
haiti quake un ban
europe
vatican pope jews rome
