Iraqi forces were in control of towns and cities nationwide yesterday after the pullout of US troops six years after the invasion, but a bloody car bombing underscored the tough challenge ahead.
US President Barack Obama hailed the US withdrawal as an “important milestone” but warned of difficult days of bloodshed and violence ahead.
The landmark handover was marred on Tuesday by a car bomb attack on a popular market in Kirkuk.
Thirty-three people were killed and 92 wounded including women and children, according to local authorities.
Meanwhile, Iraq yesterday approved a contract for BP Plc and China’s CNPC to develop its massive Rumaila oilfield but rejected other bids for deals it had hoped would revive its struggling oil and gas sector.
The Cabinet refused offers for several further fields submitted by other foreign companies, some of which had been revised after a major tender on Tuesday. Two gas fields that were offered to foreign energy firms for development will instead be solely managed by state-owned companies, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said yesterday.
SHOW OF SUPPORT: As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan might collaborate with Manila against China’s aggressive actions, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday hinted that Taiwan might join forces with the Philippines to protect navigational freedoms, days after Beijing blocked Philippine supply ships in the South China Sea. The ministry made the comment when asked whether Taipei would be willing to join forces with the Philippines to protect the latter from increasingly aggressive activities by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard. Taiwan “is willing to cooperate with any other nation with shared values in areas of common concern, including maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacfic region,” it wrote in a statement. A Chinese
WORK TOGETHER: The US cannot assume it does not need friends, Haley said, calling isolationism unhealthy and echoing Pence’s calls to stand with Taiwan Taiwan and the US should jointly call on the UN to hold a hearing on UN Resolution 2758 and curbing China’s aggression, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday in Taipei. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the legitimate government of China, which led to it replacing the Republic of China in the UN. However, the resolution “never mentioned ‘Taiwan,’” and the UN should not “allow the Chinese Communist Party to hijack a resolution and claim it’s about Taiwan,” Haley told a news conference. Taiwan should
‘LIKE A BLACK HOLE’: The figure is about 7% of China’s reported military spending, although diplomats and experts say that number is often opaque or not fully inclusive China spent about US$15 billion, or 7 percent of its defense budget, on exercises in the western Pacific last year, according to a previously unpublished Taiwanese estimate, showing Beijing’s investment in military activity around Taiwan and its neighbors. The internal research by the military, reviewed by Reuters, offers a rare look into a slice of China’s defense spending as Beijing has ramped up its military presence amid rising tensions in the region. China claims Taiwan as its own and is also locked in disputes with several nations over sovereignty of large parts of the South China Sea and the East China Sea. “This
MAJOR JAM: The two tests are being conducted at sea because the system is powerful enough to disrupt civilian devices, a source familiar with the matter said Taiwan is next month to test a jamming device that might cause large-scale electromagnetic interference in the sea off Yilan County and along its coastline, a government notice to limit navigation in the test area said. Two radio jamming tests encompassing the coastal region between Toucheng (頭城) and Suao (蘇澳) townships and the nearby sea would be conducted from Sept. 2 to 6 and from Sept. 9 to 13, a Ministry of Transportation and Communications notice said. A source with knowledge of the matter said the tests are trials for a new mobile electronic warfare system developed for the armed forces