Iraq's interim government reinstated the death penalty yesterday for a range of crimes including murder, kidnapping and drug offences, officials said.
Capital punishment was suspended after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in April last year. Officials, speaking at a news conference, said the death penalty would go into effect once it had been published in a government gazette.
"This has to do with the security situation in Iraq," Minister of State Adnan al-Janabi said, speaking a day after the government announced an amnesty for insurgents who have committed minor crimes.
Also yesterday, Iraq's interim prime minister ordered Shiite fighters to lay down their weapons and leave the holy city of Najaf, but the militiamen fortified their positions around an ancient cemetery with mines.
Witnesses said clashes erupted again yesterday in Najaf and also the squalid Baghdad district of Sadr City, as the death toll from four days of fighting in several regions mounted.
The clashes between US troops and men loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have killed hundreds of people and challenged the authority of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
The Health Ministry said at least 43 people had been killed in Najaf and Baghdad during the 24 hours to yesterday morning.
Allawi held talks with the governor of Najaf, the holiest Shiite city in Iraq. He was accompanied by his interior and defense ministers and other top officials.
Despite Allawi's order, fighters roamed the streets and laid mines around the crypts and mausoleums of Najaf's ancient cemetery, one of the oldest in the Middle East and scene of the worst fighting.
A senior US military official in Baghdad said marines had put a wide circle around the area to cut off supplies. He said the marines and Iraqi security forces numbered 5,500 men.
In Baghdad, an American OH-58 Delta helicopter made a "precautionary landing" northwest of Sadr City, but US military officials said initial reports indicated it had mechanical trouble.
Major General Peter Chiarelli of the 1st Cavalry Division said both pilots were safe. Militiamen from Sadr's Mehdi Army said the aircraft was shot down and celebrated as they displayed a pilot's helmet.
The Health Ministry said 22 people had died in clashes in Sadr City and other parts of the capital from 9am Saturday to 9am yesterday.
At least 21 people were killed in similar clashes in Najaf during the same period. "The figure from Najaf is initial because there are still bodies that could not be collected due to the ongoing fighting," an official said.
The US marines said on Friday they had killed 300 of the militiamen in Najaf, unleashing war planes and helicopter gunships against fighters armed mainly with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
A militia spokesman put losses at 36 dead. Four American marines and one soldier have been killed.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
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