No ‘arbitrary date’ for troops withdrawal from Iraq

The White House said that the US and Iraq have agreed to seek “a general time horizon”, for the withdrawal of American troops.
On Friday, Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said that the US president, George W. Bush, and Nuri al-Maliki (photo, from lefigaro.fr), the Iraqi prime minister, had agreed not to set an “arbitrary date [...]

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Sudan agrees to resume ties with Chad

One month after severing diplomatic ties with Chad, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, has agreed to resume them, following an unprecedented rebel attack near Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

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Pope apologises for clergy abuses

On Saturday, during a mass in Sydney for World Youth Day, the pope (photo) has apologised for the sexual abuses that have been committed by Roman Catholic clergy in Australia. The acts have been described by Benedict XVI as “evil”, a grave betrayal of trust and as bringing great shame on the Catholic church.

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Iran talks : ‘no clear answer’

“No clear answer” has been given by Iran, to a Western-backed proposal aiming at suspending its controversial nuclear activities, says Javier Solana (photo), EU foreign policy chief.
The two sides would resume talks in two weeks’ time, he added, when he hoped for a decision from Tehran.

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Naval escorts needed in Somalia

Foreign governments have been urged by the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide navale escorts, in order to protect its food ships from pirates off the Somali coast.
On Friday, the United Nations’ food agency warned that the lives of millions of starving people are threatened by disruptions to food shipments and attacks on aid workers [...]

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Tight security in Myanmar commemoration

On Saturday, as officials gathered to commemorate the shooting death, 61 years ago, of the father of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (photo, from bbc.co.uk), hundreds of riot police and soldiers ringed a monument in downtown Yangon, Myanmar (also known as Burma).

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Obama starts his foreign tour in Afghanistan

Barack Obama’s campaign aide said that the Democratic presidential candidate (photo, from rue89.com) has arrived in Afghanistan. The Illinois senator flew to Kabul as part of a US congressional team.

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