Iraq’s prime minister-designate was yesterday gaining widespread support from countries hoping political reconciliation will undercut jihadists who have overrun large swathes of Iraq.
Washington urged Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s successor, Heidar al-Abadi, to rapidly form a broad-based government able to unite Iraqis in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, while Tehran urged all Iraqi factions to unite behind al-Abadi.
Iraqi President Fouad Massoum named al-Abadi on Monday to replace al-Maliki, who had been strongly backed by regional Shiite power broker Tehran since coming to power in 2006. Yet al-Maliki refused to go and deployed militias and special forces in Baghdad, creating a dangerous standoff.
Photo: AFP
Iranian officials recently said Tehran believes al-Maliki is no longer able to hold Iraq together.
Al-Abadi has 30 days to build a team which will face the daunting task of defusing sectarian tensions and, in the words of US President Barack Obama, convincing the Sunni minority that the Islamic State “is not the only game in town.”
He also reiterated Washington’s stance that US airstrikes launched last week were not a prelude to the reintroduction of US forces.
Obama had made it clear he thought no effective and coordinated counteroffensive could take place while al-Maliki is still in charge, but the Shiite leader appears determined to pull every stop to stay in power for a third term.
Iraqi lawyer Zaid al-Ali said al-Maliki had some reason to worry about his future if he relinquishes power: “There’s been so much blood, so much suffering over the past few years, he’s going to be a marked man.”
Surrounded by 30-odd loyalists Maliki gave a speech denouncing al-Abadi’s nomination as a violation of the constitution and accused the US of working to undermine him.
UN rights monitors yesterday urged the global community to take urgent action to avoid a potential genocide of the Yazidi sect in Iraq.
Thousands of Yazidis are trapped on Mount Sinjar with little food or water after Islamic State jihadists overran the region.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique