Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has warned that a political crisis engulfing his country over anti-graft reforms could hamper the war against Islamic State (IS) militants.
The crisis escalated this week with the cancelation of two voting sessions in parliament over a planned Cabinet reshuffle sought by Abadi as part of his anti-corruption drive.
Tussles between lawmakers broke out on Wednesday, a day after the first attempted vote. After a second cancelation of the vote on Thursday dozens of lawmakers held a mock session where they removed the speaker.
“The conflict has crippled parliament ... and could obstruct the work of the government, impacting the heroic operations to free our cities and villages [from Islamic State militants],” Abadi said in a statement issued late on Thursday.
Iraq, a major OPEC exporter that sits on one of the world’s largest oil reserves, ranks 161th out of 168 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
Corruption became a major issue after global oil prices collapsed two years ago, shrinking the state budget at a time when it needed additional income to wage war against Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that controls swathes of northern and western Iraq, including the city of Mosul.
Abadi announced a government overhaul in February under pressure from the clergy of Iraq’s Shiite majority.
He initially proposed independent technocrats as candidates to try to free the ministries from the grip of a political class that built its wealth and influence on a patronage system put in place after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Abadi then modified his list to include candidates nominated by the dominant political groups, prompting protests inside parliament by lawmakers who say it will again result in corruption.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in