US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw made a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday to express impatience with months of delay in the formation of a new government.
The two flew in secretly under tight security in a pouring rain from Britain in an unprecedented joint effort to move forward Iraqi political talks that have dragged on for months while sectarian violence has raged.
"We're going to urge that the negotiations be wrapped up," Rice said en route to Iraq. "It should be very clear to everyone that the time has come for these negotiations to produce a government of national unity."
The weather forced the two top diplomats to take road transport under high security on the dangerous road between the airport and the heavily guarded Green Zone where they immediately plunged into talks with Iraqi officials.
They began with meeting President Jalal Talabani and later held talks with powerful Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
Rice smiled frostily and appeared awkward as she and Jaafari exchanged pleasantries before photographers at the start of their talks, chatting about the rare rain falling on Baghdad.
Media reports claim that US officials are dissatisfied with Jaafari's leadership and lobbied for his replacement -- claims the US denies. Abdel Mahdi was a rival of Jaafari for the nomination of the premier's position.
Officials acknowledged that it was a gamble to stage such a high-profile meeting at a critical time in the political process.
Gunmen, meanwhile, blew up a small Shiite mosque northeast of Baghdad yesterday, and the US military reported the death of three US soldiers.
The two crew members of an Apache helicopter that crashed southwest of Baghdad are presumed dead and efforts to recover their bodies are continuing,.
A US statement said the helicopter was believed to have been shot down about 5:30pm Saturday near Youssifiyah about 20km southwest of Baghdad.
"Two pilots are presumed dead, but recovery efforts continue following the crash," the statement said
Police reported the discovery of nearly 40 more bodies in several neighborhoods of Baghdad, apparent victims of revenge killings between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS