Sunni Arabs signaled readiness to end their boycott of the commission drafting Iraq's constitution while the US ambassador to Baghdad began his new job calling for broad participation in the process as a key deadline loomed.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former American ambassador to Afghanistan, said another priority will be improving US reconstruction aid, now widely viewed as lagging and leaving Iraqis demoralized.
"My approach will be to under-promise and over-deliver," Khalilzad said Saturday as he took up his new duties.
In a strange twist, al-Qaeda in Iraq posted a videotape showing a reportedly slain Egyptian diplomat discussing foreign access to tourist areas near Sharm el-Sheik in what appeared to be an attempt at justifying Saturday's deadly attacks in the Red Sea resort.
"If you seek evidence of how the Jews are desecrating the land of the Muslims, contemplate the words of the Egyptian ambassador about Jewish access and desecration of the land of Israel," said a statement accompanying the video.
The terror group also claimed responsibility for abducting two Algerian diplomats in Baghdad.
Iraqi police, meanwhile, announced the capture and purported confession of a suspected mastermind of the July 16 bombing in Musayyib that killed nearly 100 people in one of the deadliest attacks since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.
Work on the draft charter stalled after 12 remaining Sunni members announced a walkout following the Tuesday assassination of colleagues Mijbil Issa and Dhamim Hussein al-Obeidi.
The committee is working against an Aug. 15 deadline for completing the charter -- considered a key step in the establishment of a broad-based, constitutional government -- and the Sunni walkout raised doubts whether the document could be finished on time.
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Al-Qaeda takes credit for kidnapping of diplomat
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
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