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Iraq holds first provincial elections in a decade
Deutsche Welle
18 Dec 2023, 18:26
The council elections are expected to strengthen pro-Iran Shiite Muslim groups as their main rival, populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, boycotts the vote.
People in Iraq headed to the polls on Monday in the first provincial council elections since 2013.The elections are being held under beefed-up security.
The Shiite Muslim alliance is likely to strengthen its power amid an ongoing boycott by populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is the alliance's main political rival.
Polling is taking place in 15 provinces of Iraq, leaving out three that are autonomous Kurdistan regions.
Some 17 million people are eligible to cast their votes at a total of 7,166 polling stations set up across Iraq.
Polling began in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Basra at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), as was broadcast by Iraqi state television. The polling will continue until 6:00 p.m. local time.
Why are the elections important for Iraq's future?
More than 6,000 candidates are running in the elections for just 285 seats in the provincial councils.
The elections are seen as an opportunity to redeem democracy in Iraq and pave the way for parliamentary elections scheduled for 2025. They also present a test for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government, which was established over a year ago.
The elections are likely to cement the hold of the ruling Coordination Framework coalition, an Iran-aligned bloc that includes Shiite Islamist parties with factions of Hashed al-Shaabi.
Who are the main contenders in Iraq's elections?
The influential Shiite cleric al-Sadr has joined the opposition against the Shiite alliance and is boycotting the local elections.
A vocal critic of the United States and Iran, he said the elections will only help establish the dominance of a corrupt political class.
Many members of the Shiite alliance are running on several lists, with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki forming his own list.
The top Sunni Muslim leaders in the country, ousted parliament speaker Mohammed Halbousi and business mogul Khamees Khanjar, are running together.
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Three Tanzanian soldiers killed by mortar fire in DR Congo
The soldiers were part of a southern African peacekeeping mission sent to help government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo fight M23 rebels.
Mortar fire in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) killed three Tanzanian soldiers who were part of a Southern African peacekeeping mission sent to help government forces fight M23 rebels, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Monday.
"This unfortunate incident happened after a hostile mortar round had fallen near the camp they were staying at," the 16-member bloc said in a statement. Three other Tanzanian soldiers were wounded, it added.
The statement added that another South African soldier on the SADC mission had died while receiving treatment for unspecified health problems at a hospital in the provincial capital, Goma. It was not clear if that death was related to the mortar round.
The force includes soldiers from regional military heavyweights South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi.
The SADC mission suffered its first losses in mid-February, when two South African soldiers were killed and three wounded by a mortar bomb.
What is the SADC mission doing in DRC?
After several years of dormancy, the predominantly Tutsi M23 (March 23 Movement) group took up arms again in late 2021.
It has seized large swaths of DR Congo's North Kivu province, which has been wracked by violence in the decades since regional wars in the 1990s.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting the rebels in a bid to control the region's vast mineral wealth, a charge Rwanda denies.
The regional bloc SADC sent soldiers to North Kivu province in December to help the government tackle instability and armed groups in the restive eastern region.
The SADC mission was to take over from an East African peacekeeping force, whose mandate was ended by the DRC, which accused it of colluding with the rebels instead of fighting them.
Meanwhile, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) is also winding down. The 15,000 UN troops began leaving in February at the request of the DRC government, which considers them ineffective.
Ireland: Simon Harris elected new prime minister
Ireland's parliament has voted in Simon Harris as the country's youngest ever prime minister. Harris, 37, replaces Leo Varadkar after he abruptly quit last month citing personal and political reasons.
Simon Harris has become the Republic of Ireland's youngest ever prime minister, or taoiseach, after being elected to succeed party colleague Leo Varadkar.
The 37-year-old former health and higher education minister, best known for coordinating Ireland's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, received 88 votes from lawmakers, with 69 against.
Fine Gael party leader Harris will now travel to the official residence of the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, where his appointment will be confirmed.
Harris' predecessor both as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach, Varadkar, abruptly stepped down last month citing personal and political reasons. Varadkar formally resigned at an audience with President Higgins on Monday evening, paving the way for Harris' election on Tuesday.
Who is Ireland's new prime minister, Simon Harris?
Born in Greystones, County Wicklow, on Ireland's east coast, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Dublin, Harris quit university aged 20 to work as a political aide, was elected to parliament at just 24 and was handed a cabinet post before he turned 30.
At Fine Gael's annual party conference on Saturday, the father-of-two outlined his focus on law and order, supporting small businesses and reconnecting with rural voters.
What are Simon Harris' political challenges?
But Harris takes charge of a coalition government which has less than a year until an election which could see the opposition left-wing, Irish Republican Sinn Fein take power for the first time.
Recent polling data shows Fine Gael on just 21% of the vote, ahead of coalition partners Fianna Fail (16%) but behind Sinn Fein (26%).
Harris he will face the same deep-rooted problems, including unease at record numbers of asylum seekers but most notably a severe shortage of affordable housing.
Data on Monday showed asking prices for Irish homes rose by 6.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, the fastest rate of growth since 2022.
An opinion poll on Sunday showed housing remained Irish voters' top concern, and Harris has pledged to fix the crisis "once and for all."
Harris is due to announce a reshuffle of the Fine Gael members of the cabinet, which therefore won't include the foreign or finance ministries, but a coalition agreement leaves little room for major new policy initiatives.
China’s real estate crisis: Shanghai-based property giant Shimao Group faces liquidation suit
Amid the real estate crisis in China, another Shanghai-based property giant Shimao Group said on Monday that it had received a liquidation petition from a Chinese state-owned bank in yet another instance of creditors taking legal action to reclaim money from troubled developers in the world’s second-largest economy, CNN reported on Monday.
A “winding-up petition” was filed against the company by China Construction Bank (Asia) on April 5 in Hong Kong, according to a stock exchange filing by Shimao. The petition is in “connection with a financial obligation of the company for approximately HK 1,579.5 million dollars (USD 204 million),” the filing said.
Shimao said it will “oppose the petition vigorously” and will continue to work toward an offshore restructuring that maximizes value for its stakeholders.
“The company is of the view that the petition does not represent collective interests of the company’s offshore creditors and other stakeholders,” it said.
Shimao’s debt troubles date back to July 2022, when it failed to pay the interest and principal on a USD 1 billion bond. The company’s shares were down over 14 per cent in Hong Kong on Monday, having fallen nearly 40 per cent this year.
China’s massive real estate sector fell into trouble after the government clamped down on excessive borrowing by developers in 2020 in an attempt to cool the property bubble. Since then, dozens of Chinese developers have defaulted on their debts, CNN reported.
The industry has since become a drag on the broader economy, which is grappling with a slow recovery from three years of pandemic lockdowns and a series of headwinds, from record-high youth unemployment to mounting financial stress at local governments.
In January, Evergrande, the world’s most-indebted property developer and the poster child of China’s property crisis, was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court.
The liquidation order, made by the city’s High Court, came after the embattled Chinese real estate giant and its overseas creditors failed to agree on how to restructure the company’s massive debt during talks that went on for 19 months.
There are still questions about how the collapse of Evergrande will affect investors, thousands of workers and homebuyers waiting for their apartments.
Country Garden, another major developer that defaulted on its debt last year, received a liquidation petition in February from a creditor after not repaying a loan.
Source: The Print
Myanmar: Junta troops withdraw from border town, rebels say
Anti-junta rebels say they have driven government troops from a key border hub near Thailand. If the news is verified, it signals another setback for Myanmar's military as it battles a number of ethnic rebel groups.
Troops loyal to Myanmar's military junta have pulled out from the town of Myawaddy at the Thai border after a dayslong assault by an ethnic armed group, a rebel spokesman said on Thursday.
The fighting has caused large numbers of people to try to flee to neighboring Thailand from the border town, which is a major trading hub.
Myanmar's military junta, which took power in a 2021 coup, has suffered a number of recent defeats at the hands of ethnic rebel groups and a civilian militia movement, with some saying it could soon be toppled.
What do we know so far?
Padoh Saw Taw Nee, a spokesman for the Karen National Union (KNU), told AFP news agency that around 200 junta soldiers stationed in the town had withdrawn to a bridge linking it to the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
"We took [Myanmar military battalion] 275 at 10 p.m. last night," he said.
The KNU said last week that its troops had attacked a junta camp near Myawaddy, forcing some 600 security personnel and their families to surrender.
Thai immigration officials said some 4,000 people were entering Thailand daily from Myanmar, compared with the some 1,900 that usually crossed the border.
Thailand has said it is prepared to accept up to 100,000 people displaced by the clashes. The kingdom has stepped up security on its side of the border and is preparing to send more immigration officials to the region in anticipation of an increased flow of people fleeing the fighting.
Myawaddy is a vital trading hub for Myanmar's junta and saw about $1.1 billion (€1 billion) in goods pass through in the past 12 months, according to the country's commerce ministry.
US: Gunfire at Philadelphia Eid al-Fitr event injures three
A shooting between two rival groups at an Eid al-Fitr event injured three, including a 15-year-old suspect. Police have taken five people into custody.
Gunfire was exchanged at an Eid al-Fitr event outside a mosque in Philadelphia between two rival groups, injuring at least three people.
Around 30 shots were fired at the Muslim celebration marking the end of the month of Ramadan around 2:30 p.m. local time, police said. Around 1,000 people were present at the event, including many children.
The event occurred at Clara Muhammad Square. Many people ran to tents near the park, hid behind trees or dropped to the ground and shielded children.
One man was shot in the stomach, and a juvenile victim had a wound to the hand, police said.
Five taken into custody
Five people have been taken into custody, including a 15-year-old who was shot by the police in the leg and shoulder and taken to the hospital. The suspects include four males and a female. Five guns were also confiscated. Possible motives for the shooting have not yet been determined.
"We are very, very fortunate today that we did not have more individuals shot and anyone killed. Ninety-nine percent of the people attending this event were good people who wanted to have a good time," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said in a press conference.
"This is just a celebration of life for God to forgive us for our sins. There's one month that God chains the devil down, so whoever did this can't even blame the devil," Zania Weatherford, who was present near the venue, told AP news agency.
"All my years of living in Philadelphia, I've never seen nothing like this, especially at the masjid. Just as much crime as it may be in Philadelphia. It was always separated from the masjid," said Thomas Allen, who was at the Philadelphia Masjid.
Castaways rescued after writing 'HELP' in palm fronds
Three men in their 40s washed up on a desert island found an ingenious way to be noticed by rescue teams — they spelled out "HELP" in palm fronds. The US Navy spotted the message and rescued the trio in good health.
Three men stranded on a Pacific island for a week were rescued after a US Navy aircraft found their "HELP" sign written out in palm fronds.
"In a remarkable testament to their will to be found, the mariners spelled out 'HELP' on the beach using palm leaves, a crucial factor in their discovery. This act of ingenuity was pivotal in guiding rescue efforts directly to their location," said search and rescue mission coordinator Lieutenant Chelsea Garcia.
In a statement, the US Coast Guard said the men and their equipment were rescued on Tuesday and brought to Polowat Atoll. They were all in good health. No information was shared regarding their nationalities or identities.
Where were they going
The three were found on the deserted 32-acre Pikelot island, a part of the Federated States of Micronesia, 415 miles (667 kilometers) southeast of Guam, about 100 miles from where they had started their journey.
The trio, all in their forties and experienced mariners, had started a journey on March 31 on a 20-foot open skiff with an outboard motor from Polowat atoll.
Their niece informed authorities after they failed to return for six days, after which the Coast Guard and Navy began a search in an area of more than 78,000 square nautical miles.
Within a day, the Navy's P-8 Poseidon aircraft spotted their "H-E-L-P" sign. A photograph taken by the Coast Guard showed they had made two makeshift shelters near the sign.
In August 2020, three other sailors were rescued from the same island after they wrote "SOS" on the beach sand and were spotted by Australian and US warplanes.
Argentina's Milei meets Elon Musk at Tesla factory
The two like-minded men bonded over free markets and the need to defend liberty. Argentina, which is undergoing economic reforms, is home to lithium deposits required for rechargeable batteries like those in Teslas.
Argentine President Javier Milei met tech billionaire Elon Musk on Friday at a Tesla plant in Austin, Texas, where they agreed on the "need to free markets."
Musk shared an image of the two on his microblogging platform X, formerly Twitter, with the pair giving a thumbs up. Under the image was written: "To an exciting and inspiring future!"
Milei shared a picture of them shaking hands in a conference room with a caption saying, long live freedom.
One of the richest men in the world, Musk has previously shown his admiration for Milei's full-throated embrace of private enterprise and his disdain for what he sees as socialist excesses.
What did Musk and Milei talk about?
A spokesperson for the president said Milei and Musk "agreed on the need to free markets and defend the ideas of freedom" as well as the importance of eliminating bureaucratic obstacles to business.
The populist leader also offered his alliance to Musk in the legal battle in Brazil, the spokesperson said in a statement. Tesla's founder is currently under investigation in Brazil after he accused a Supreme Court judge of censoring social media networks. Musk called the judge a "dictator" and vowed to disobey rulings to block users spreading disinformation.
In his meeting with Milei, Musk agreed to take part in an event in Argentina in the near future to promote the value of freedom.
What is at stake for Argentina?
Smiley photo ops, a video of Milei riding a futuristic cybertruck and bonding over free markets aside, much was at stake for Milei.
Argentina is home to massive lithium deposits, which are used for rechargeable batteries, like those that power Tesla electric cars.
Argentina's incoming ambassador to the US, Gerardo Werthein, noted that Musk and Milei also discussed lithium.
"We talked about the investment opportunities in Argentina in lithium... We're very committed not only to exporting raw materials but also to adding value," Werthein said in comments published by Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
"[Musk] said he wants to help Argentina," he added.
The newly appointed president is facing severe backlash for his market-oriented economic reforms, with thousands of Argentinians protesting on the streets. He has even received pushback from some of his conservative allies.
It is now key for Argentina to maintain support from the United Statesand the International Monetary Fund — to which it owes $42 billion (€39.36 billion) — to boost investor confidence in the South American nation.
