Why, whatever do you mean, Mamadearest?
(kidding)
Iraqi forces take over full control of southern province
Snip: Iraq took full control of a province from foreign troops for the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion on Thursday, but clashes in Baghdad underlined the security challenges facing the new government. Addressing a ceremony to mark the handover of southern Muthanna province from British-led troops to Iraqis, Iraq's prime minister warned that insurgents would try to stage attacks to mar a day "written with golden letters in Iraq's history."
"Terrorists who want to disrupt the handover of security and the success of the national unity government will not spare any effort to sabotage this step," Nuri al-Maliki said in the provincial capital, Samawah, 270 kilometers south of Baghdad.
Snip: I doubt it. But early tomorrow morning, Middle Eastern time, the Syrian government pledged its assistance to the terrorists who have attacked Israel...
UAE and Syria agree to start removing trade barriers
Snip: Officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Syria have voiced their firm determination to remove obstacles hindering the easy flow of bilateral trade exchange to maintain close trade co-operation.
UN fails to agree on Middle East action
Snip: In New York, the United Nations Security Council has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis, but it was unable to agree on concrete action.
Snip: CAIRO: A UN delegation led by Vijay Nambiar, political advisor to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his envoy to Lebanon, arrived here yesterday from New York, starting a shuttle in the region to stop the current deterioration in Lebanon. The UN delegation includes Annan's envoy for implementation of UN resolution 1559 Terje Roed-Larsen and peace envoy Alpha Rodi Soto. UN Media center Manager here Maher Naser told newsmen that Annan decided to dispatch the delegation with the aim of containing the escalation in the region and maintaining tranquillity. He said the delegation will have talks with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abulgheit and the Arab Foreign Ministers who are holding an emergency meeting here. He cleared out that the UN delegation will later visit Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and return to Cairo before flying back to New York to report to the UN Secretary General.
Snip: The Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, FY2006, signed by the President as P.L. 109-102, on November 14, 2005, repeats previous bans on U.S. aid to Syria but contains a provision authorizing at least $6,550,000 for programs to support democracy in Syria and Iran. The aid ban appears again in the House version of the Foreign Operations Appropriation Act, FY2007 (H.R. 5522).