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.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a