Tag Archives: prime-minister

Taliban Commander Baitullah Mehsud

Baitullah Mehsud is a natural leader: cagey, dogged and charismatic, with an apparent knack for uniting disparate factions around a common cause. But instead of channeling those talents toward building an empire, Mehsud is trying to bring one to its knees. The shadowy Pakistani Taliban commander, whose vertiginous rise to infamy landed him on 2008’s TIME 100 List, has transformed the badlands of South Waziristan into al-Qaeda’s most important redoubt.

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Baghdad to remove blast walls around neighborhoods

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered his government to take down concrete blast walls that line Baghdad’s streets and surround whole neighborhoods, the Iraqi military announced Thursday. “The concrete walls will be taken off from the main roads and side streets in all Baghdad areas, with no exceptions and within 40 days,” a statement from Iraqi military’s Baghdad Operations Command read.

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Will a Police Probe Take Down Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman?

So accustomed is Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to being under police investigation that he is known to constantly switch phone numbers and to remove the battery from his cell phone during private meetings. After 13 years of on-and-off probes into his private and political affairs, Lieberman has had good reason to believe that Israel’s police were bugging his calls

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Blair to be called before UK inquiry to Iraq war

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called before an inquiry into the country’s role in the Iraq war, its chairman said during the opening Thursday. John Chilcot told media he would not “offer a list of witnesses” but that “key decision-makers in the key phases of the Iraq affair” would be called. “You can work out for yourself who some of them will be, but apart from the former prime minister [Tony Blair] — who it’s obvious we must see — I don’t want to give a longer list today.” Blair’s appearance before the inquiry, whenever it happens, will be of huge interest to the British public and media

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‘No Saint’? Berlusconi’s New Ploy to Win Over Italy’s Catholics, and the Vatican

“I’m no saint.” Pronounced with a grin at a Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony, Silvio Berlusconi’s one-liner-of-the-week was a masterstroke of political damage control, all’italiano. At least for now

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Iraq: 5 killed in attack on Iranian pilgrims

At least five Iranian pilgrims were killed and dozens more wounded Wednesday in an attack northeast of Baghdad, security officials said. Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown, who is resigning from the government later this week, said: “We definitely don’t have enough helicopters,” adding that “mobility” was vital for operations in southern Afghanistan, where British troops are battling a resurgent Taliban.

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UK minister: Helmand troops need more helicopters

A UK government minister on Wednesday reopened the dispute over support for troops in Afghanistan by insisting they had insufficient helicopters. Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown, who is resigning from the government later this week, said: “We definitely don’t have enough helicopters,” adding that “mobility” was vital for operations in southern Afghanistan, where British troops are battling a resurgent Taliban. Malloch-Brown also questioned Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s claim that the war was being fought to prevent Afghan terrorists carrying out attacks on Britain

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