The EU has agreed to open an office in Baghdad to coordinate the training of Iraqi judges, prosecutors and prison guards in a step hailed as a sign of unprecedented unity over Iraq within the 25-nation bloc.
For now, the training of some 700 Iraqis will be conducted in EU nations or elsewhere in the Middle East but could eventually take place inside Iraq if the security situation improves there, EU foreign ministers announced on Monday.
EU officials said the Baghdad office -- the first EU representation in Iraq since the war -- should open within months and that it reflected Europe's willingness to take on a more active rebuilding role following major divisions over the US-led war.
"We are for the first time really united on Iraq," said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. "That without any doubt is going to be very important to the meetings we are going to have ... with [US] President [George W.] Bush."
Bush said in a foreign policy speech in Brussels on Monday that it was time for the transatlantic alliance to move beyond disputes over Iraq. He was to meet with EU leaders at a summit here yesterday.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said both the US and Europe were actively seeking to repair the rift over Iraq.
"It's been very clear since President Bush's re-election in early November of his determination greatly to improve relations with the whole of the European Union," Straw said. "I would like to say that all the indications are that European Union countries are reciprocating."
The EU will make available 2.34 million euros (US$3 million) to provide security for the Baghdad office that will recruit Iraqis. The office itself will be provided by Britain and have a staff of about five.
"We are prepared to provide training for police staff ... to provide training in management and judicial investigations," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who chaired the meeting. "The EU is committed to working closely with the transitional government."
Prime Minister
Meanwhile, interim Iraqi vice president Ibrahim Jaafari was officially chosen by the Shiite religious list that won the elections as its candidate for prime minister, list leader Abdelaziz Hakim told reporters yesterday.
"The issue was decided unanimously by members of the United Iraqi Alliance list and Mr Jaafari is its only candidate," said Jawad Maliki, spokesman of the Dawa religious party.
"The idea of a vote had been considered but it was no longer necessary when Ahmed Chalabi withdrew his candidacy at the last minute," he added.
Jaafari, currently one of two largely ceremonial vice presidents, has been picked by the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance list, of which Dawa is one of the two main parties.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image