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Iraqi Premier Leads Vote, Faces Stalemate

BAGHDAD—A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won the most seats in the country’s first parliamentary elections since U.S. troops left in 2011, setting the stage for a lengthy period of political wrangling amid the worst violence since the civil war. Mr. Maliki’s State of Law coalition won 92 out of 328 parliamentary seats in the elections held in late April, three more seats than it won in 2010, the Iraqi High Election Commission said Monday, putting the Iraqi leader in a strong position to secure a third term. The result left many Iraqis wondering whether another four years under Mr. Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, would deepen the sectarian rancor and extend a political stalemate that has left the government adrift. Western diplomats and analysts say that further instability would also add to the region’s political maelstrom; Syria’s civil war has spilled over into Iraq. To form […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraq's Maliki 'set to win elections'

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition won the most seats in Iraq’s parliamentary elections but fell short of a majority, leaving him in the driver’s seat to retain his post despite vocal opposition. Monday’s results from the election commission showed Maliki’s State of Law alliance garnered 92 out of 328 parliamentary seats, with the incumbent himself winning more than 721,000 personal votes. Both were by far the highest such figures from the April 30 election. But he still fell short of a majority, meaning he will have to win the support of rivals from across the communal spectrum, some of whom have sharply criticised Maliki and refused to countenance his bid for a third term in office. State of Law won 30 seats in Baghdad alone, and came first in 10 provinces overall, all of them in the bloc’s traditional heartland in the Shia-majority south of the country. Maliki’s main […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraq’s Maliki ‘set to win elections’

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition won the most seats in Iraq’s parliamentary elections but fell short of a majority, leaving him in the driver’s seat to retain his post despite vocal opposition. Monday’s results from the election commission showed Maliki’s State of Law alliance garnered 92 out of 328 parliamentary seats, with the incumbent himself winning more than 721,000 personal votes. Both were by far the highest such figures from the April 30 election. But he still fell short of a majority, meaning he will have to win the support of rivals from across the communal spectrum, some of whom have sharply criticised Maliki and refused to countenance his bid for a third term in office. State of Law won 30 seats in Baghdad alone, and came first in 10 provinces overall, all of them in the bloc’s traditional heartland in the Shia-majority south of the country. Maliki’s main […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Parliamentary Wins May Seal Third Term for Iraqi Premier

BAGHDAD — Beating expectations, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki secured the largest number of seats in last month’s parliamentary elections, the first since the withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2011, putting him in a strong position to secure a third term as Iraq’s leader as negotiations begin to form a new government. The elections were held on April 30 , during a time of heightened violence around the country, but initial results — still subject to challenges from various political parties — were not released until Monday, as extra security fanned out around the capital in advance of the announcement. Mr. Maliki and his Shiite Islamist political coalition were expected to win a plurality of votes, and they did, but the margin of victory was greater than most analysts and politicians here forecast. Even though he faces stiff opposition to a third term from Shiite rivals […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Baghdad-Basra railway line enters into service

Iraq’s Ministry of Transport on Monday (May 19th) announced the entry into service of a passenger and cargo railway line linking Baghdad and Basra. Construction on the high-speed rail line had finished in March. The new line links Basra’s sea ports to central Baghdad, passing through various cities en route, said Abdullah Sajet, director-general of the southern region of Iraq’s railways company. A modern, high-speed train featuring sleeping compartments and restaurants has been purchased, he said at a Monday press conference.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pipeline attack adds to Egyptian gas woes

Egyptian media said Tuesday militants in the Sinai Peninsula bombed a natural gas pipeline in a regional industrial zone, though no injuries were reported. Ahram Online reported unknown assailants blew up the pipeline that supplies regional industries in the city of Arish. The blast was described as powerful, though no other details were provided. Militants in the restive peninsula have targeted the region’s gas infrastructure repeatedly since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The latest attack follows a push by the Egyptian government to address a lingering gas shortage. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum expects domestic gas production will increase 1.7 percent this year, though consumption is expected to increase by 12.5 percent. More than a dozen new natural gas wells are expected to be tied into the national grid this year in an effort to increased gas production. A country report from […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Biggest Mideast Crisis You Probably Don’t Know Enough About

The Middle East’s seemingly endless conflicts are diverting attention and resources from a graver long-term threat that looms over the whole region: the growing scarcity of water. And the situation will get worse before it gets better — if it ever does get better. Years of war, careless water supply management, unchecked population growth, ill-advised agricultural policies, and subsidies that encourage consumption have turned a basically arid part of the world into a voracious consumer of water. The trajectory is not sustainable. Those were the gloomy if unsurprising conclusions of a three-day conference on the subject in Istanbul last week. From Libya to Iraq to Yemen, too many people and too many animals have stretched water resources beyond their limits. Some countries where the urgency is greatest, including Syria and Yemen, are the least equipped to stave off serious water crises. Jordan, always short of water, has been overwhelmed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Top Libyan air force official backs rebel general

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The top official in Libya’s air forces has announced he’ll back an offensive by a renegade general against Islamic extremists and militias blamed for wave of killings since the downfall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Col. Gomaa al-Abbani’s announcement late Tuesday is among a series of loyalty pledges made by military units and commanders to Gen. Khalifa Hifter. Militias allied to Hifter launched an attack Sunday against parliament after an offensive his forces led on Friday in the eastern city of Benghazi. Hours after al-Abbani’s announcement, witnesses said rockets targeted military camps in the capital, Tripoli. On Tuesday, Libya’s election commission announced parliamentary elections will be held June 25, a top demand among most Libyans.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Libya: Election set for June in bid to ease crisis

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s election commission set new parliamentary elections for next month, trying on Tuesday to find a peaceful resolution to a crisis triggered by a renegade general’s efforts to crush Islamist militias and his demand that the Islamist-led legislature disband for allegedly supporting extremism. The announcement of a nationwide June 25 vote came after the parliament met in what lawmakers had hoped would be a secret location. A missile was fired at the hotel where the session was taking place, causing panic but no injuries. The general, Khalifa Hifter, has launched an armed campaign he says is aimed at imposing stability after three years of chaos since the ouster and death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. He says he wants to break the power of Islamists, whom he accuses opening the door to Islamic radicals. Hifter denies seeking power but indicated Tuesday that he would […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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2 Explosions Kill Scores at Central Nigeria Market

Aftermath of Car Bombings in Nigeria People combed through the debris at the site of back-to-back explosions that killed at least 46 people in a crowded business district in the central city of Jos. ABUJA, Nigeria — Two powerful explosions killed scores of people, many of them female vendors, in the central Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday afternoon, officials and witnesses said. While no one claimed responsibility for the bombing, it occurred as international attention has focused on the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram following the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls last month and may have been a bloody act of defiance. The blasts shattered a bustling market area as working people were doing afternoon grocery shopping. With rescue operations still underway in a chaotic, smoky tangle of blasted stalls and body parts, the police commissioner confirmed that at least 46 were killed and 45 wounded in the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple