December, 2006

• 23 December

  Suicide bomber kills Iraq police cadets

  A SUICIDE BOMBER killed 15 police officers and recruits in central Baghdad on Thursday as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates met Iraqi leaders in an bid to draw up a new plan to end the war. The latest brutal attack on Iraq’s beleaguered security forces came as Gates met Prime …

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• 23 December

  Bush’s optimism wounded

  WASHINGTON — Twelve months ago, President George W. Bush warned Americans there would be new sacrifices in Iraq, but called for optimism. On the eve of 2007, Bush seems to have sacrificed that hope. Gone is the talk of Iraq becoming a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Bush …

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• 23 December

  Musa says Syria supports Arab initiative on Lebanon

  DAMASCUS  (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday gave his full support to Arab League mediation to end the long-running political crisis in neighbouring Lebanon, the head of the Arab League said. “We are moving toward reaching a Lebanese reconciliation,” said Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa after meeting …

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• 23 December

  Explosives seized from pro-Damascus group

  BEIRUT (AP) — Police on Thursday arrested four people and seized large quantities of weapons, explosives and fuses in raids on members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The party leader, Ali Kanso, condemned the police action, telling a press conference hours afterward that it was unjustified and that the …

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• 23 December

  Fierce fighting convulses southern Somalia

  MOGADISHU (AFP) — Somalia’s Ethiopia-backed forces and Islamic fighters clashed Thursday near the seat of government in Baidoa for a second day with both sides claiming inflicting massive casualties, officials and witnesses said. A day after European Commission humanitarian chief Louis Michel said he had secured both sides’ commitment to …

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• 23 December

  Iran says UN resolution won’t stop nuclear work

  TEHRAN (Reuters) — A planned UN sanctions resolution will force Iran to review cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog but will not make Tehran abandon its atomic programme, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday. After weeks of haggling between major world powers, diplomats expect a resolution imposing limited …

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• 23 December

  Iraqi refugees flee to Europe, Sweden in focus

  STOCKHOLM — The increasingly volatile situation in Iraq is prompting a growing number of Iraqis to seek a safe haven in Europe, where Sweden is one of the most common destinations for refugees. Of some 40 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe, Iraqis top the list with more than 8,100 applications …

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• 23 December

  Baghdad cooperated with Ankara during Kurd genocide, Saddam trial told

  BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi forces were told to cooperate with their Turkish counterparts during a 1980s campaign against Kurdish civilians, according to evidence presented Thursday to a court trying Saddam Hussein. Prosecutors seeking to prove that the ousted Iraqi leader ordered the slaughter of 182,000 Kurdish civilians in the 1988 …

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• 23 December

  200 Darfur rebels killed in fresh attack — Sudan army

  KHARTOUM (AFP) — The Sudanese army said it killed 200 rebels while repelling an attack in Darfur, the deadliest single military operation reported in the war-torn region since fighting started there four years ago. The bloodshed came amid intensified efforts to reach an agreement on the deployment of UN peacekeepers …

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• 22 December

  Abbas calls for further restraint as shaky Gaza truce holds

  GAZA CITY (AFP) — President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday called on rival Palestinian factions to show further restraint to firm up a shaky Gaza truce aimed at halting a surge of fighting and avoiding a slide into civil war. “I call on Palestinians from all political factions to show responsibility and …

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