Maldini

Taliban issues another hostage deadline By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer GHAZNI, Afghanistan - Police at daybreak Tuesday discovered the body of a second South Korean hostage slain by the Taliban, officials said. A purported spokesman for the group said the man was killed because the Afghan government failed to release imprisoned insurgents. The Taliban threatened to kill more hostages if their demands were not met by the latest of several deadlines — noon on Wednesday. The South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed that 29-year-old Shim Sung-min's body had been found. The former information technology worker was volunteering with a South Korean church group on an aid mission to Afghanistan; 21 others remain captive. "The government expresses deep condolences to his family," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Hee-yong said. "We cannot contain our anger at this merciless killing and strongly condemn this." The body was found on the side of the road in the village of Arizo Kalley in Andar District, some 6 miles west of Ghazni city, said Abdul Rahim Deciwal, the chief administrator in the area. A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said senior Taliban leaders decided to kill the male captive Monday evening because the government had not met Taliban demands to trade prisoners for the Christian volunteers, who were in their 13th day of captivity Tuesday. "The Kabul and Korean governments are lying and cheating. They did not meet their promise of releasing Taliban prisoners," Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said by phone from an undisclosed location. The Taliban commanders set a new deadline of noon on Wednesday. "If the Kabul government does not release the Taliban prisoners, then we will kill after 12 o'clock — we are going to kill Korean hostages," Ahmadi said. "It might be a man or a woman... It might be one. It might be two, four. It might be all of them." The Al-Jazeera television network, meanwhile, showed shaky footage of what it said were several South Korean hostages. It did not say how it obtained the video, whose authenticity could not immediately be verified. Some seven female hostages, heads veiled in accordance with the Islamic law enforced by the Taliban, were seen crouching in the dark, eyes closed or staring at the ground, expressionless. The hostages did not speak as they were filmed by the hand-held camera. The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans riding on a bus through Ghazni province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway on July 19, the largest group of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The Taliban has set several deadlines for the Koreans' lives. Last Wednesday the insurgents killed their first hostage, a male leader of the group. The body of pastor Bae Hyung-kyu arrived back in South Korea on Monday, where the families of the remaining hostages pleaded for their loved ones' release. Relatives have gathered at Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, just outside Seoul. They waited anxiously for developments — sharing prayers, meals and sleepless nights as they followed 24-hour television newscasts. Seo Jung-bae, 59, whose daughter and son were among the hostages, appealed to the Taliban. "Please, please send my children back so I can hold them in my arms," he told The Associated Press, fighting back tears in a plea to the captors. "Our families are the same. Your family is precious, so is mine." Speaking from an emergency center set up by the church, he said his children had traveled to the country to assist Afghans in need. "They went there to help, thinking they (Afghans) are their friends." It's not clear if the Afghan government would consider releasing any militant prisoners. In March, President Hamid Karzai approved a deal that saw five captive Taliban fighters freed for the release of Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. Karzai, who was criticized by the United States and European capitals over the exchange, called the trade a one-time deal. On Sunday, Karzai and other Afghan officials tried to shame the Taliban into releasing the female captives by appealing to a tradition of cultural hospitality and chivalry. They called the kidnapping of women "unIslamic." On Monday, South Korean officials changed their estimate of the number of women captives to 16, down from earlier reports of 18.

What a crazy people, shot him just because he asked them to stop smoking:stunned: What if he asked them to get out the nightclub?:thinking:

Iraqis bask in rare joy after soccer win By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands of Iraqis from the Shiite south to the Kurdish-dominated north poured into the usually treacherous streets Sunday to celebrate a rare moment of joy and unity when the national team won Asia's most prestigious soccer tournament. The revelers spanning the country's sectarian and ethnic divisions danced, sang and waved flags and posters of the team after Iraq beat three-time champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 to take the Asian Cup. Chants of "Long live Iraq" and "Baghdad is victorious" rang out across the country as Iraqis basked in national pride. Some of the revelers — mostly men — took their shirts off to display the red, white and black colors of the Iraqi flag painted on their chests. Reporters of the state Iraqiya television wrapped themselves with the national flag as they interviewed people celebrating in the streets. Some joined in the chanting. Within seconds of the final whistle, celebratory gunfire echoed across Baghdad and elsewhere despite a government ban and the threat of arrest by authorities. At least four people were killed and scores wounded by the gunfire. But as night fell on the country, there were no reports of bombings such as those that killed at least 50 and wounded dozens in Baghdad during celebrations of Iraq's semifinal win over South Korea on Wednesday. Authorities said they foiled a potential car bomber in southwestern Baghdad after he refused to stop at a checkpoint and appeared headed toward a crowd of revelers. Iraqi authorities had banned vehicles in and around the capital from shortly before the game began until early Monday to prevent a repeat of last week's violence. "The victory of our Iraqi soccer team is a wonderful gift to Iraqis who have been suffering from the killing, car bombs, abductions and other violent acts," said Falah Ibrahim, a 44-year-old resident of Baghdad's predominantly Shiite Sadr City district. Sunday's dramatic win capped a three-week campaign by Iraqi team, nicknamed "The Lions of the Two Rivers." Iraqis were captivated and spoke of hope, even as years of violence and sectarian strife have many asking if ethnically and religiously divided Iraq can survive as one nation. The team's players do not live in Iraq and earn their wages playing for teams across the Middle East. Because of tenuous security at home, wars and U.N. sanctions, the team had not played a home game in 17 years and must train and practice abroad. "We are celebrating because this team represents all Iraqi sects," said Awas Khalid, one of the thousands of Kurds who celebrated the win in the city of Sulaimaniyah in the Kurdish north, where secessionist sentiment has been on the rise. "This team is for everyone," Khalid said, as revelers around him waved Iraqi and Kurdish flags and chanted "Baghdad is victorious" in Arabic instead of their native Kurdish language. The mixed makeup of the winning national team was interpreted by many Iraqis as proof that politicians are more concerned with their narrow sectarian agendas than national interest, thus preventing reconciliation among rival factions. "The politicians have divided us and these athletes united us," said 24-year-old Shiite Tareq Yassin, taking a break from dancing with hundreds of people in the streets of Amin, a southeastern Baghdad neighborhood. "I am usually very shy. Today, I forgot my shyness and everything else and I could only think of Iraq." Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tried to use the team's success to shore up support for his embattled government. During Sunday's final, state television reported that he would reward every player with a $10,000 bonus. Soon after the final whistle, the station reported that al-Maliki was congratulating team members on the telephone. But live coverage showed the entire squad celebrating on the pitch. Al-Maliki later issued a statement on the team's win in flowery Arabic. "There is a big difference between The Lions of the Two Rivers who struggle to put a smile on the faces of their people and those who work in dark corners strewing death and sorrow in the paths of innocent people. We are proud of you. You deserve all our love and respect," it said. President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, ordered an additional $10,000 reward for the players and twice that for Sunday's goal scorer Younis Mahmoud, a Sunni Arab, who scored on a pass from Mulla Mohammed, the team's only Kurdish player. Even Iraq's squabbling political factions set aside their disputes, if only temporarily. The largest Sunni Arab bloc said it would delay a planned response in its war of words with the Shiite-dominated government to avoid poisoning the joyous atmosphere. The Accordance Front has suspended its membership in al-Maliki's government and threatened to quit altogether this week if the prime minister does not meet certain demands. The government said the move amounted to blackmail and that the Sunni bloc had helped create some of the very policies it now criticized. Accordance Front spokesman Salim Abdullah said his group would issue a reply on Monday "because we don't want anything to spoil the day's joy for the people of Iraq." Its demands include a pardon for security detainees not charged with specific crimes, a firm commitment by the government to uphold human rights, the disbanding of militias and the inclusion of all parties as the government deals with Iraq's chaotic security environment. Most of the team's other players are Shiites, and Shiites back home had lightheartedly dubbed Sunday's game against the Sunni-dominated Saudis an "Ali vs Omar" encounter. That played on the belief among some Shiites that Omar Ibn al-Khatab, the second Muslim caliphate, usurped power from Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb, a cousin of the 7th century Prophet Muhammad and Shiism's most revered saint. But any links between the soccer game and Iraq's sectarian violence Sunday remained largely tenuous, with national pride, joy and hope the overwhelming sentiments. In northern Iraq, gunmen opened fire on shoppers in a Shiite Turkomen village near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, killing seven people and wounding six, police said. Two U.S. soldiers also were killed — one by small-arms fire north of Baghdad and another in fighting in an eastern section of the capital, the military said. In Najaf, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad, 31-year-old teacher Mohammed Hussein said that Sunday's joy would be short-lived. "The Iraqi team has brought joy and victory," he said. "We are happy, but this will not last long because the politicians will bring us back to disputes and sadness tomorrow."

Talks stalled over S. Korean hostages Talks stalled over S. Korean hostages KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan officials on Sunday reported no progress in talks with tribal elders to secure the release of 22 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban. A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the militant group had given a list of 23 insurgent prisoners it wants released in exchange for the hostages and was now waiting for the government to act. "The government had told us they need time to negotiate and soon they will release the prisoners," Ahmadi said. He said the Taliban has stated their demands and no longer needs to negotiate but still has open channels with the government. Two days of meetings between elders of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, where the South Korean hostages were kidnapped on July 19, and a delegation of senior officials from Kabul, yielded no results so far, said Shirin Mangal, spokesman for the Ghazni provincial governor. "So far there is no progress from the meetings," Mangal said. The meeting is being held behind closed doors, and Mangal did not divulge any details. Two Afghan lawmakers, including a former Taliban commander, Abdul Salaam Rocketi, joined the negotiations Saturday. Ahmadi complained Saturday that the Afghan delegation "doesn't have the power to release prisoners" — the key Taliban demand from the outset of the hostage crisis. He said the Taliban wanted the hostages "to go home safe," but they first wanted 23 Taliban militants released from Afghan prisons. A leader of the South Korean group, which was kidnapped while traveling by bus on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Afghanistan's main thoroughfare, was shot and killed last week. The 22 other hostages, including 18 women, remain captive. Afghan officials have said they are optimistic the hostages will be freed without further bloodshed, although the kidnappers have threatened to kill their captives if their demands are not met. A South Korean presidential envoy, Baek Jong-chun, met Afghan's President Hamid Karzai on Sunday to discuss the hostage situation. No details of the talks were immediately available. Ahmadi said the militants hoped the South Korean envoy can "persuade the Afghan government" to swap imprisoned militants for the captives. "If they don't release the Taliban prisoners, then the Taliban does not have any option other than to kill the Korean hostages," he said, reiterating an earlier threat. Local tribal elders and clerics from Qarabagh have been conducting negotiations by telephone with the captors for several days. Ahmadi said the hostages were being held in small groups in different locations and that some of them were in poor health.

Taliban negotiate over Korean hostages By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan clerics and tribal elders are negotiating for the release of 22 South Korean hostages, who a Taliban spokesman said Thursday have been split into small groups and are being fed bread, yogurt and rice a week after their capture. A local police chief said the talks have been difficult because the Taliban's demands were unclear. "One says, 'Let's exchange them for my relative,' the others say, 'Let's release the women,' and yet another wants a deal for money," said Khwaja Mohammad Sidiqi, police chief in Qarabagh. "They have got problems among themselves." The Taliban reiterated their demand that jailed militants be freed in exchange for the captives, and set the latest of several deadlines — midday Friday — for the condition to be met or more hostages would be killed. One of the original group of 23 abducted Koreans, a 42-year-old pastor, was found slain with multiple gunshots Wednesday. Authorities recovered the body of Bae Hyung-kyu in Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, where the South Koreans were seized on July 19. Bae, a founder of the Saemmul Presbyterian Church, led its volunteer work in Afghanistan and was killed on his birthday, South Korean church officials said. An official at the South Korean Embassy in Kabul said authorities were arranging to repatriate the body. His mother, 68-year-old Lee Chang-suk, broke into tears as she watched the televised government announcement of his death. "I never thought it possible," she said from the southern island of Jeju, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. At the church, about 1,000 people gathered Thursday evening to mourn Bae and pray for the other captives, many crying and consoling each other. Relatives of other abductees, meanwhile, appealed anew for their relatives' release. "We hope the negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban go well," said Kim Kyung-ja, mother of hostage Lee Sun-young. "Please send our lovely children home." Cha Sung-min, 31, whose 32-year-old sister Cha Hye-jin was being held, said the families were struggling. "After hearing the sad news, yesterday was a very difficult day," Cha said. "We believe the best way right now is to trust our government." South Korean presidential spokesman Chun Ho-sun said the 22 South Koreans still believed held were not suffering health problems. He said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had spoken with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the situation. But one of the hostages, who identified herself as Yo Syun Ju, told an Afghan journalist by telephone that all the hostages were sick, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. She pleaded for help to secure their release. "Tell them to do something to get us released," she said in an interview in the presence of the Taliban militants holding her captive. Yo, who said she was from Seoul, described her situation as "dangerous." "Day by day it is getting very difficult," she said in the interview obtained by the BBC. "We are all sick and we have a lot of problems." Local tribal elders and religious clerics who have respect among the people of Qarabagh district, where the Taliban kidnapped the South Koreans, have been conducting negotiations with the captors for several days. The negotiations have been held over the telephone, said Ghazni police chief Ali Shah Ahmadzai. "We will not use force against the militants to free the hostages," Ahmadzai said. "The best way in this case is dialogue." Waheedullah Mujadidi, who heads the delegation, complained that the Taliban were not being consistent during the negotiations. The Taliban at one point demanded that 23 jailed militants be freed in exchange for the Koreans. It is not clear how many militants the Taliban want freed or which ones. Afghanistan's government brokered a much-criticized prisoner swap in March in which five captive Taliban fighters were freed for the release of Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. The militants killed Mastrogiacomo's translator and driver. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the hard-line Islamist Taliban, said they had been contacted by Afghanistan's deputy interior minister, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Munir Mangal, who said the government would make a decision regarding the militants' demands by noon Friday. "If Kabul administration does not solve our problem ... then we do not have any option but to kill Korean hostages," Ahmadi said. "The Taliban are not asking for money. We just want to exchange our prisoners for Korean hostages. ... When they release the Taliban, we will release the hostages," Ahmadi said by phone from an undisclosed location. Ahmadi said the 22 hostages were being held in small groups in different locations and were being fed "no burgers ... but the same food that our villagers have — bread, yogurt, rice." The South Koreans, including 18 women, were kidnapped while on a bus trip through Ghazni province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Afghanistan's main thoroughfare. Their church said the abductees were not involved in any Christian missionary work in Afghanistan, and that they provided only medical and other volunteer aid to distressed people in the war-ravaged country. It said it will suspend some of its volunteer work in Afghanistan. Two Germans were also kidnapped last week. One was found dead and the other apparently remains captive. In new violence, U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan troops fought two separate battles with militants in southern Afghanistan, killing more than 60 suspected Taliban insurgents. A NATO soldier was killed in another incident, officials said.

Arab ministers in Israel for land-for-peace talks By Adam Entous JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Arab envoys on a landmark visit to Israel presented its leaders with a regional land-for-peace plan on Wednesday and called for a rapid timetable for talks with the Palestinians over statehood. Israel described the one-day visit by the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers as a "historic" move on the part of the 22-nation Arab League. But it stopped short of embracing their initiative, which offers a comprehensive Arab peace if the Jewish state cedes all occupied land and meets other demands. Reaching out to the Palestinians and fellow Arabs,Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent the clearest signal yet that he would try to restart talks on the final status of a Palestinian state with President Mahmoud Abbas, whose secular Fatah faction lost control of the Gaza Strip last month to Hamas Islamists. "We need a precise timetable, a quick timetable and we urge Israel not to waste this historic opportunity. Time is not on our side," Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah al-Khatib told a news conference at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said it was not sufficient for Israel to limit talk to what diplomats call a "political horizon" -- defined by Olmert's aides as the legal, economic and governmental structures of a future Palestinian state. "I don't see (that) as enough because the horizon, often if not frequently, is never reached," he said. Olmert said there was "a chance in the near future for the process to ripen into talks that would, in effect, deal with the stages of establishing a Palestinian state." But Olmert, weakened domestically by last year's inconclusive war in Lebanon, said there were "no precise timetables or stages established yet" for getting to discussions about permanent borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, all divisive issues in the Jewish state. SCHISM Speaking in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas said he hoped Olmert would become a "partner to a final settlement that will lead to an independent viable Palestinian state." Neither Israel nor the visiting Arab envoys spelled out how significant progress could be made towards statehood with the Palestinian territories divided between Hamas-run Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Fatah holds sway. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Olmert's comments were a diversion meant to "throw dust in the eyes" of the world. Wednesday's visit was the first by Arab League representatives to promote their peace plan, which offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for a full withdrawal from the lands it seized in the 1967 Middle East war, creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for refugees. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the envoys she saw "an opportunity" to use the Arab plan to advance bilateral talks with Abbas but she was non-committal about the plan itself. "We want to hear your ideas and want to express our ideas, so that we'll be able to carry on," Olmert told the envoys. Olmert has said the Arab plan has positive elements. But citing demographic and security concerns, he made clear Israel opposed the return of Palestinian refugees to their former homes in what is now the Jewish state and wanted to hold on to major settlement blocs in the West Bank. Israel sought to cast the envoys' visit as a potential turning point in relations with the Arab League. But Arab diplomats played down the gesture, and the head of the Arab League told the BBC that the Egyptian and Jordanian diplomats were not acting on behalf of the organization. Egypt and Jordan already have full relations with Israel, and despite U.S. and Israeli appeals to expand the number of Arab participants in the talks, Saudi Arabia and other Arab League members have refused to take part.

Turkish PM pledges reform after election triumph by Sibel Utku Bila ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey's Islamic-rooted ruling party headed Monday towards a second term pledging deep reforms aimed at EU membership after weekend elections gave it a firmer grip on power. It was a moment of vindication for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called the snap election after the secularist opposition blocked his Justice and Development (AK) Party from electing one of its own as president. The crisis in April and May was exacerbated by a menacing military statement and mass anti-government demonstrations accusing the AK party of seeking to erode Turkey's fiercely-guarded secular system. But on election day, Erdogan's party, which harked back to a now-banned Islamist movement, won 46.4 percent of the vote -- more than double that of its nearest rival, according to unofficial results after all the votes had been counted. "Our democracy has successfully passed a test.... Our unity, democracy and the republic have emerged stronger from the ballot box," Erdogan told cheering supporters outside party headquarters under a shower of fireworks. "We will never make concessions from the basic principles of the republic," he said. "We will pursue economic and democracy reforms with determination." That reform programme was also stressed by the EU, with officials holding out the carrot of membership if it was pursued. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the vote came "at an important moment for the people of Turkey as the country moves forward with political and economic reforms." But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has vocally opposed Turkey joining the EU, showed no indication of changing position, even as he telephoned Erdogan to welcome "his remarkable victory". He hoped "our relations of trust will continue despite the divergences France and Turkey may have," according to a spokesman. With the turnout above 80 percent, the AK party's share of the vote was the largest for any single party since 1969 and should translate into 340 seats in Turkey's 550-member parliament. The official results of the election are expected in a week and the newly elected lawmakers could be sworn in in early August. The prospect of a new government with a strong mandate for its business- and EU-friendly policies sent Turkish shares to a record high, closing five percent up. Sunday's polls were largely seen as a litmus test for the future of democracy in the country after botched presidential elections pitted the AK party against the powerful army, which had toppled four governments since 1960. Turkish newspapers were nearly unanimous in ascribing the AKP's success in large part to a public rejection of military meddling in democratic politics. Erdogan faced the worst crisis of his career in April when an opposition boycott prevented his closest aide, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, from almost certain election to the presidency. The crisis climaxed as the powerful army warned in a stiff statement that it stood ready to step in to protect the secular system and millions of Turks took to the streets to demonstrate against the prospect of an AK party president. "The people do not like governments that quarrel with the soldiers, but the people also do not like military intervention," the mass-circulation Hurriyet said. The AK party has disowned its Islamist roots, pledged commitment to secularism and carried out far-reaching economic and democratic reforms that ensured the start in 2005 of Turkey's membership talks with the EU. Erdogan's campaign focused on his party's impressive economic achievements since it swept to power five years ago, such as slashing chronic inflation, sustaining high growth and attracting record investment. It has also eased access to medical care, provided free textbooks for schoolchildren and built cheap homes for the poor. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) finished second Sunday with 20.8 percent of vote and 111 seats, according to unofficial results.

In Pieces- Linkin Park

Blair tipped to be World Bank president as disgraced Wolfowitz resigns By JAMES CHAPMAN - Daily Mail Tony Blair, above, is tipped to take over the World Bank presidency as Paul Wolfowitz, below, resigns in disgrace Tony Blair may be asked to head the World Bank after its president quit in a sleaze row. One of America’s top economists today revealed that the retiring prime minister is being considered as a replacement for disgraced Paul Wolfowitz. Nobel prize-winner Joe Stiglitz, a former senior vice president at the World Bank, said: "He is one of the people that is clearly being discussed." Mr Blair is expected to cash in on his international contacts after quitting Downing Street on 27 June and his agent said he would quit as an MP if "a big international job" came up. Mr Stiglitz said the World Bank would probably prefer an economist with experience in development - which some pundits argue effectively rules out the prime minister, who has often admitted to being shaky at maths. Nevertheless, Prof Stiglitz said: "He is one of the people that is clearly being discussed. "I think it would be good for the institution at this juncture if they had somebody who was an economist who really understood what development was entailed and could work closely with the staff that has been very alienated by Paul Wolfowitz over the last two years and bring together the institution. "It wouldn't rule (Blair) out but I would say that if I were going through a first priority list of priorities it would probably begin with somebody with real experience in development. "But Blair has clearly been a political leader that has the kinds of connections that one needs, that would be useful as head of the institution." Embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz agreed to quit last night over a favouritism row involving his girlfriend. The move ended weeks of intense pressure on the former U.S. deputy defence secretary, a close ally of President Bush and an architect of the Iraq war. He had faced furious criticism after details emerged of his role in securing a promotion and pay rise for his partner, Oxford-educated Shaha Riza, when he joined the bank in 2005. Bank sources said Mr Wolfowitz will leave on June 30 with a £200,000 pay-off and a face-saving compromise in which the bank takes part of the blame for the scandal. They said the bank accepted it should have sorted out the details of a deal which moved Miss Riza to the State Department before Mr Wolfowitz actually took over. The terms of her pay rise and promotion should have been set by the personnel department and not left to the bank president. Mr Wolfowitz’s depsaidarture was announced as a key ally of Gordon Brown, Tom Scholar, faced similar claims of using his World Bank post to secure promotion for his girlfriend. Mr Scholar, who was the Chancellor’s private secretary, is tipped for a top job in Downing Street when Mr Brown becomes premier. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an email it said was sent to bank bosses last year by an unnamed colleague. It said: "Please know that UK ED (executive director) Tom Scholar is continuing an affair with (a bank employee). "This woman has been given preferential treatment in (the department) because of her relationship with this powerful ED, this affair is well-known, and is in violation of the bank staff rules and the board’s standards of conduct." The newspaper, which has supported Mr Wolfowitz throughout the controversy, another complaint, possibly-from the same person, was filed this week. It claimed: "Mr Scholar has used his privileged position as an executive director to influence bank staff to manipulate Ms –’s job description in a way to suit her limited professional qualification. "Without Mr Scholar’s intervention she would clearly not occupy her present position. Several staff members have reported these facts ... these complaints have been ignored." Mr Scholar, 37, is a member of the board that oversees the work of the bank and had been deliberating Mr Wolfowitz’s fate. He firmly denied any wrongdoing. He insisted: "There is no conflict of interest. As an executive director, representing my government at the World Bank, rather than a member of staff or management, I do not have any supervisory responsibility for bank staff beyond the five in my immediate office. "I am not the supervisor of my partner, either directly or indirectly. We have never come into professional contact and I have made arrangements to avoid any possibility of professional contact. "Since I am not a member of staff or management, I could never be involved in any individual personnel decision affecting her. And I have never discussed or made reference to any such issue with anyone who could possibly be involved." There were suspicions that he may be the victim of a smear campaign by supporters of Mr Wolfowitz, who believed he was forced out unfairly by European governments.

27 killed in Pakistan political violence By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer KARACHI, Pakistan - Government supporters and opponents turned neighborhoods of Pakistan's largest city into battlegrounds Saturday, leaving at least 27 people dead in the worst political violence since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended the chief justice. The justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, flew to Karachi to attend a rally organized by his supporters but never made it out of the airport. He abandoned his plans in the face of street battles across the sprawling city. Gunmen with assault rifles traded fire in a residential area of bungalows and concrete apartment blocks just a half-mile from the international airport, where nearby streets were blocked by shipping containers and immobilized trucks and gunfire left several activists lying in pools of their own blood. A private TV network came under attack as well, but stayed on the air as rioters torched vehicles outside. Chaudhry took an evening flight back to the capital and it was unclear whether the rally at Karachi's high court would proceed. The fighting broke out as Chaudhry arrived for what organizers hoped would be the largest in two months of rallies by lawyers and opposition parties calling for his reinstatement and for Musharraf to step down. Pro-government parties responded with their own show of strength. Musharraf, speaking ahead of his own rally late Saturday in the capital, Islamabad, urged the nation to stand united and remain peaceful. He ruled out calling a state of emergency to contain the escalating unrest. In Karachi, opposition activists accused a pro-government party, the Mutahida Qami Movement (MQM), of attacking them with batons and gunfire as they attempted to greet the judge at the airport. An AP reporter saw MQM supporters calling for ammunition and firing from buildings, reportedly at opposition supporters, who fired back. Doctors at the city's four main hospitals said 27 people were dead and more than 100 injured, many of them from gunshot wounds. The number of dead was confirmed by a senior security official in Karachi, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. Men brandishing rifles and handguns marauded against a backdrop of burning cars and buses on the streets of the city, which has 15 million inhabitants and a history of political and ethnic violence. In an afternoon speech by phone to a rally of thousands of his supporters in a Karachi square, MQM leader Altaf Hussain — who lives in exile in London — indirectly blamed Chaudhry for the violence, saying he should have heeded warnings from provincial officials to stay away. Hussain urged the crowd to "control your emotions and demonstrate peace, as we are peace-loving people." Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and is still army chief, was due to address a gathering in the capital, Islamabad, later Saturday that organizers forecast would draw over 300,000 ruling party supporters. Critics accuse Musharraf of trying to sideline the independent-minded Chaudhry to head off legal challenges to his plan to seek a new five-year term later this year. The government maintains Chaudhry's March 9 ouster was not politically motivated and that he had abused his office. Speaking earlier, Musharraf did not mention the Karachi violence, but ruled out declaring a state of emergency — which some analysts have suggested would let him keep power if his efforts to seek a new term while still army chief flounder. "There is absolutely no requirement and absolutely no environment for taking such drastic measure," Musharraf was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency. But the government's failure to contain the unrest in Karachi, despite the presence of 15,000 security forces, will deepen the political turmoil gripping Pakistan. In the 1990s, scores of MQM activists were arrested for allegedly kidnapping dozens of their rivals and attacking security forces. Party activists are still heavily armed, but critics say they enjoy impunity as part of Musharraf's government. ____ Associated Press writer Afzal Nadeem, AP photographer Shakil Adil and AP Television cameraman Abdur Rehman in Karachi contributed to this report.

Brown preparing to announce bid to replace Blair: spokesman LONDON (AFP) - Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is putting the final touches to his bid to succeed Tony Blair as Labour Party leader, his spokesman said Thursday amid reports Blair will soon endorse him. "There are a few plans in place," Brown's campaign spokesman told AFP, confirming details were being finalised for an announcement. Blair opened the way for Brown, his former ally turned rival, to succeed him when he announced Thursday that he was resigning as Labour leader and would step down as prime minister on June 27 after just over a decade in power. The announcement means the governing party will hold an internal leadership campaign. Brown, as the likely winner, will automatically become prime minister as head of the largest party without a general election having to be called. Though their relationship has often been tense, Blair could for the first time publicly endorse Brown on Friday as his successor, according to The Sun and other newspapers. Blair was forced to agree to retire mid-term after a political coup last year widely blamed on Brown, who was said to be angry that Blair had not handed over power earlier. Having won plaudits for his management of the economy, Brown appears to have the widest support of anyone within the Labour Party, though some have openly criticised him of lacking the open and cool temperament needed for leadership. Under Labour Party rules, the election process begins when its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) first meets about 72 hours after the leader's announcement of a resignation and sets a timetable for a campaign. The meeting is scheduled for Sunday. Prospective candidates each have to secure the signatures of at least 44 (12.5 percent) of the 353 Labour Party members of parliament in the lower House of Commons to have their name on the ballot paper. After nominations closes, hustings -- election meetings in which candidates stake their claim for the post -- take place across the country. All "validly nominated candidates" -- even if unchallenged -- are expected to attend. At the moment Brown is the most likely winner, after other potentially strong candidates like Environment Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary John Reid ruled themselves out in recent weeks. Other minor candidates could stand. Voting begins after campaigning ends.

I don't drink soda but not because I'm weird, I don't drink soda because it's junk food

I heard that yesterday:(

Sarkozy has the edge as France votes in election By Anna Willard PARIS (Reuters) - France voted in an election run-off on Sunday with opinion polls suggesting conservative Nicolas Sarkozy will defeat Socialist Segolene Royal in her bid to become France's first woman president. Sarkozy, 52, is a combative former interior minister who has promised tough reforms to make France work more, crack down on crime and cut unemployment. Royal, 53, has pledged to create jobs but has also vowed to keep cherished social protections. Final opinion polls gave Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant who has dreamt of being president for all his adult life, a commanding 10-point lead over Royal. Turnout among the 44.5 million electorate was expected to be high after 84.5 percent voted in the first round on April 22, when Sarkozy and Royal eliminated 10 candidates in the race to succeed conservative Jacques Chirac after 12 years in office. The winner will inherit a fractured, fragile society in need of economic reform and a dose of self belief even though France is a nuclear power, has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and is the euro zone's second largest economy. "An election that will turn France upside down," said a headline in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. "Presidential D-day," declared Le Parisien newspaper. The election marks a generational shift as Chirac, 74, bows out but just how far France is ready for change remains open to question. Polling stations in mainland France opened at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) but about 1 million citizens in France's overseas territories and French residents in the Americas were able to vote on Saturday. Opinion polls giving an initial indication of the result were expected immediately after voting ends at 8:00 p.m. and official results were due to start coming in soon afterwards. DANGEROUS CHOICE Sarkozy won almost 31.2 percent of votes in the first round and Royal secured nearly 25.9 percent. Much of the second round of campaigning focused on trying to woo supporters of centrist Francois Bayrou, who was third with more than 18 percent. Royal has proposed combining left-wing economic policies and a consensual approach to social affairs in a "change without brutality" reform package. Sarkozy vows to shake up the hide-bound economy to boost annual growth from around two percent, reduce unemployment estimated at least 8.3 percent and boost spending power. Royal cautioned on Friday that her rival was a "dangerous choice" whose election could spark new violence in suburbs where Sarkozy is unpopular and alienated youths rioted in late 2005. Sarkozy's campaign team dismissed such accusations and denied charges that he is authoritarian. They portrayed Royal as a gaffe-prone lightweight who has not said how she will fund her social policies and will not be able to keep her cool. Royal, a regional leader, defied veteran leaders of her party to capture the presidential nomination but her party and traditional leftist voters appear divided over her candidacy. Sarkozy built his campaign around the ruling Union for a Popular Movement which he heads. He also eventually won Chirac's support in the presidential race although relations between them have often been strained. Neither is expected to drift far from Chirac's foreign policies but Sarkozy is considered closer to the United States and opposes Turkey's bid to join the EU.

Yesssssss, we made it:lol: Forza Milan

Happy birthday:)

Saudis arrest 172 militants in plot By ABDULLAH SHIHRI, Associated Press Writer RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Police arrested 172 Islamic militants, some of whom had trained abroad as pilots so they could fly aircraft in attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil fields, the Interior Ministry said Friday. A spokesman said all that remained in the plot "was to set the zero hour." The ministry issued a statement saying the detainees were planning to carry out suicide atttacks against "public figures, oil facilities, refineries ... and military zones" — some of which were outside the kingdom "They had reached an advance stage of readiness and what remained only was to set the zero hour for their attacks," Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki told the Associated Press in a phone call. "They had the personnel, the money, the arms. Almost all the elements for terror attacks were complete except for setting the zero hour for the attacks." The ministry did not say the militants would fly aircraft into oil refineries, as the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers flew planes into buildings in New York and Washington, but it said in a statement that some detainees had been "sent to other countries to study flying in preparation for using them to carry out terrorist attacks inside the kingdom." The militants also planned to storm Saudi prisons to free the inmates, the statement said. More than $32.4 million was seized in the operation, one of the largest sweeps against terror cells in the kingdoms. The militants plotted to carry out suicide attacks against "public figures, oil facilities, refineries ... and military zones." The statement said some of the military targets were outside the kingdom, but it did not elaborate. The Saudi state TV channel Al-Ekhbariah broadcast footage of large weapons cache discovered buried in the desert. The arms included bricks of plastic explosives, ammunition cartridges, handguns and rifles wrapped in plastic sheeting. The ministry referred to the militants only as a "deviant group" — the Saudi term for Islamic terrorist. Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki told the privately owned Al-Arabiya TV channel that the militants included non-Saudis. Al-Ekhbariah showed investigators breaking tiled floors with hammers to uncover pipes that contained weapons. In one scene, an official upends a plastic pipe and bullets and little packets of plastic explosives spill out. The channel also showed investigators digging up plastic sacks in the desert. The al-Qaida terror group, whose leader Osama ben Laden is a Saudi, has called for attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities as a means of crippling both the kingdom's economy and the hurting the West, which he accuses of paying too little for Arab oil.

Dems fault Bush over Iraq in 1st debate By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer ORANGEBURG, S.C. - Democratic presidential hopefuls flashed their anti-war credentials Thursday night, heaping criticism on President Bush's Iraq policy in the first debate of the 2008 campaign. "The first day I would get us out of Iraq by diplomacy," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, one of eight rivals on the debate stage. "If this president does not get us out of Iraq, when I am president, I will," pledged Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. But Clinton found herself on the receiving end of criticism moments later when former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said she or anyone else who voted to authorize the war should "search their conscience." Edwards, in the Senate at the time, also cast his vote for the invasion, but he has since apologized for it. Of the eight foes participating in the debate at South Carolina State University, four voted earlier in the day to support legislation that cleared Congress and requires the beginning of a troop withdrawal by Oct. 1. The legislation sets a goal of a complete withdrawal by April 1, 2008. "We are one signature away from ending this war," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. He said if Bush won't change his mind about vetoing the bill, Democrats need to work on rounding up enough Republican votes to override him. In addition to Obama and Clinton, Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut also cast votes in favor of the legislation. Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio also participated in the debate, lesser-funded contenders who seemed most eager to challenge their rivals. Bush is barred by the Constitution from running for re-election next fall, and the result is an extraordinarily early start to the campaign to succeed him. The debate — nine months before the kickoff Iowa caucuses — was 90 minutes long without opening or closing statements from the candidates. A similar format awaits GOP candidate next Thursday. A ground rule limiting answers to 60 seconds made for a rapid-fire debate but prevented follow-up questions when any of the eight sidestepped — as when Clinton and Biden avoided saying whether they agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's assessment that the Iraq war is lost. Republicans rebutted from a distance. "On every issue, from the war on terror to keeping our taxes low and our economy strong, Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, and others are out of touch with the values of the people of South Carolina and all of America," GOP chairman Robert Duncan said in a statement issued moments after the debate ended. While Iraq dominated the debate's early moments, Edwards was asked about having paid for a $400 haircut from campaign donations rather than from his own wallet. "That was a mistake, which we remedied," he said. A wealthy former trial lawyer, he recalled once having gone to dinner at a restaurant as a young child and having to leave because his father could not afford the prices. "I've not forgotten where I came from," he said. Five of the eight — Gravel, Biden, Dodd, Kucinich and Richardson — raised their hands when moderator Brian Williams of NBC News asked whether they had ever had a gun in their home. Asked about a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on so-called partial birth abortions, several of the contenders replied they would not impose a litmus test on their own nominees to the high court. At the same time, they stressed their support for abortion rights, and said their appointees to the bench would reflect that. "Any of my appointments to the high court would necessarily reflect my thinking," said Kucinich, who did not mention that he opposed abortion rights until switching positions before he ran for the White House in 2004. There were moments of levity, as when Williams referred to Biden's reputation for "verbosity" and asked whether he had the discipline to be a player on the world stage. "Yes," the Delaware lawmaker replied with uncharacteristic brevity. Perhaps because the campaign is still in its early stages, there was little cross-stage criticism. Kucinich challenged Obama at one point for once having said all options were on the table with respect to Iran. "You're setting the stage for another war," the Ohio lawmaker said. "I think it would be a profound mistake for us to initiate a war with Iran," Obama replied. "But have no doubt, Iran possessing nuclear weapons will be a major threat to us and to the region." The debate was about 40 minutes old when Clinton made the first mention of her husband, the former president. Responding to a question about the recent shooting spree at Virginia Tech, she began by saying, "I remember very well when I accompanied Bill to Columbine" — the Colorado high school that was the scene of another shooting spree a decade ago. On another issue, several of the contenders talked of the need to expand health care coverage, and Obama sketched a few details of a plan that critics have said is light on specifics. He said he would allow the uninsured to buy into a plan like federal employees have, improve technology to cut costs, and provide government-funded catastrophic insurance. Not surprisingly, Bush's Iraq war policy found no supporters on the debate stage. "I am proud that I opposed this war from the start," said Obama — a jab at those on the stage who voted to authorize the invasion. "The president has a fundamentally flawed policy," said Biden. "The president should start off by not vetoing the legislation he says he will veto." Dodd said Bush was pursuing a "failed policy." Kucinich jabbed at the senators on stage, saying it made no sense to oppose the war and then turn around and vote for more money as they did. The Ohio lawmaker voted against the legislation that cleared Congress earlier in the day.

Happy birthday Miro:thumbsup:

Don't be happy like this, there are another game at Italy

Latest US solution to Iraq's civil war: a three-mile wall Ewen MacAskill in Washington Saturday April 21, 2007 The Guardian The US military is building a three-mile concrete wall in the centre of Baghdad along the most murderous faultline between Sunni and Shia Muslims. The wall, which recognises the reality of the hardening sectarian divide in Baghdad, is a central part of George Bush's final push to pacify the capital. Work began on April 10 under cover of darkness and is due for completion by the end of the month. The highly symbolic wall has evoked comparisons to the barriers dividing Protestants and Catholics in Belfast and Israelis and Palestinians along the length of the West Bank. Captain Scott McLearn, who is based at Camp Victory, the US base on the outskirts of Baghdad, said Shias "are coming in and hitting Sunnis, and Sunnis are retaliating across the street". Although Baghdad is full of barriers and checkpoints, particularly round the Green Zone where the US and British are based along with the Iraq government, this is the first time a wall has been built along sectarian lines. Its construction comes as the security situation appears to be deteriorating despite the recent US troop "surge". This week a bombing at the Sadriya market in the city killed 140 people - the deadliest in the capital since the 2003 invasion. Walls are controversial. The Israeli government insists its wall is effective in reducing suicide bombers but Palestinians, many of whose lives it has seriously disrupted, as well as some Israelis argue that it consolidates divisions. The Baghdad wall, which will be 12ft (3,5 metres) high, is being built by US paratroopers who left Camp Taji, about 20 miles north of the city, on the first night in a dozen trucks carrying stacks of huge concrete barriers, each weighing 14,000 pounds (6,300kg). Cranes, protected by tanks, winched them into place. Building has continued every night since. News of the wall's construction came as the Democratic US Senate leader, Harry Reid, provoked a new row with the White House when he claimed the defence secretary, Robert Gates, and the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, know that "this war is lost". Mr Gates, on a visit to Baghdad yesterday, said: "On the war is lost, I respectfully disagree." The White House repeated that the new strategy, which involves sending more US troops to Baghdad, is showing tentative signs of working. Since the US-led invasion, "ethnic cleansing" has resulted in population shifts that have left Baghdad increasingly divided on sectarian grounds, separated by the Tigris which runs through the centre of the city. Sunnis are consolidating on the west side and Shias on the east. The wall is being built round the biggest remaining Sunni enclave on the east bank, at Adhamiya. Referred to by US troops as the Great Wall of Adhamiya, it is surrounded on three sides by Shia neighbourhoods and has been the scene of some of the city's worst violence. There was confusion about the wall at US HQ. Major-General William Caldwell, the usual US spokesman in Baghdad, said on Wednesday he was unaware of efforts to build a wall. "Our goal is to unify Baghdad, not subdivide it into separate [enclaves]," he said. But a US military press release from Camp Victory provided extensive details about the construction. It said: "The area the wall will protect is the largest predominately Sunni neighbourhood in east Baghdad. The wall is one of the centrepieces of a new strategy by coalition and Iraqi forces to break the cycle of sectarian violence." The strategy involves creating a series of gated communities, in which US and Iraqi troops control entry and exits. The aim is to try to prevent movement by insurgents, in particular suicide bombers. Residents of Adhamiya had mixed feelings. Ahmed Abdul-Sattar, a government worker, said: "I don't think this wall will solve the city's serious security problems. It will only increase the separation between our people, which has been made so much worse by the war."

I voted for Sarkosy

Jews for Le Pen By Daniel Ben-Simon AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France - Two small and vulnerable communities, one constituting about 1 percent of the population and the other about 10 percent, are the fulcrum of the 2007 French presidential elections. The Jews and Muslims in France have fulfilled a decisive role in determining the political agenda for some 60 million French people. First, the Jews were hit. In the fall of 2000, when the Muslims began to avenge the damage done to their Palestinian brethren in the territories, the lives of the Jews of France changed. Within months, hundreds of attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions were reported. Community leaders raised the alarm, but the French government dismissed the events as incidents perpetrated by criminals or delinquent youths. The socialist government headed by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin deciphered the new reality, but feared sparking a communal and ethnic conflagration that would set fire to the republic. Thus, only rarely did government spokesmen mention the ethnic origin of the perpetrators or their victims. Only when synagogues and schools were hit was their link to Judaism mentioned. Only when Jews took to the streets and demanded that their country protect them, waving the flag of Israel alongside the French flag, did France concede that this was a new wave of anti-Semitism. In the past it had taken a Christian form; this time, it was described as Muslim anti-Semitism. Seven years later, the all-clear can be sounded. Attacks do continue, but they are much less severe. Here and there curses, here and there shoving, here and there slogans on walls. The murder of Ilan Halimi a year ago was considered the height of the anti-Jewish campaign that began in the fall of 2000. These seven years have shaped the new politics of France's Jews. Real fears have grown strong sometimes to the point of exaggeration and have caused the Jews to prefer a right-wing to a left-wing candidate. It is almost certain the extreme right headed by Jean-Marie Le Pen will benefit from the terror that has settled in the hearts of the Jews. In the past, Jews did not vote for Le Pen because they saw him as a racist and a xenophobe. As long as they felt protected, they condemned him and his opinions. But in light of their feeling that the state has abandoned them, some see him as a worthy address. While the state has not admitted to the growth of extremist elements in the Muslim community, Le Pen more forcefully emphasizes his well-known opinions: Muslims, or most Muslims, should go back to their countries of origin. The enemy of my enemy has suddenly become a friend. A Jewish doctor in this picturesque town said a few days ago that many of his friends intended to vote for Le Pen. "Of course, because he is the best for the Jews of France," he said. A friend of his, an economics professor who took part in the conversation, conceded that although things had improved, most of the Jews of Aix-en-Provence would vote either for the right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy or Le Pen. "I have a feeling that Le Pen will do very well in the coming elections," he said. In the last elections, in 2002, Le Pen got most of the votes in the mixed cities, where veteran French people live alongside Muslim immigrants. Sarkozy, the leading candidate, is for this reason trying with all his might to pull votes that have already leaked into Le Pen's camp. Segolene Royal, the left-wing candidate, knows that hundreds of thousands of votes have gone to the margins, pursued by fears and insecurity. To a great extent it is the Jews of France who have marked out the new path the 2007 election is taking. True, in the election campaign everybody is talking about the economy, unemployment, education, allocations to the weak, the level of universities, the need for increased military power, France's place in Europe and its relationship with the United States; but floating above all these important issues is the question of France's identity. In what country do they want to live and how France will look in the future are two of the questions that the French voters are placing before their candidates. Who would have thought that France, too, would become entrapped by the politics of identities and would not be able to extricate itself from them. One hundred and two years after religion and state were separated and a way of life instituted that erases identities, France finds itself struggling over what is left of the republican revolution. On this level, not only the Jews have fulfilled a significant role since the fall of 2000, but so have the Muslims, since the riots of the fall of 2005.

Netherlands and Romania was :snore:

France's Chirac backs right-wing candidate Sarkozy by Emma Charlton PARIS (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac gave his official backing on Wednesday to the right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, frontrunner to succeed him in the April-May vote. Chirac also announced in a televised statement that Sarkozy, the 52-year-old interior minister and candidate for the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), will leave the government on Monday to focus full-time on the race. "Five years ago, I called for the creation of the UMP to allow France to pursue a rigorous policy of modernisation. In all its diversity, this political movement chose to support the candidacy of Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election, because of his qualities," Chirac said. "Naturally, I will therefore bring him my vote and my support," he said. Polls show Sarkozy currently leading the field in the April-May election, ahead of the Socialist Segolene Royal, 53, and the centrist Francois Bayrou, 55. Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, 78, comes fourth, well ahead of the eight remaining candidates. Sarkozy and Chirac have a stormy political relationship: once the president's protege, the interior minister is now campaigning on a pledge to break with his 12 years in power, insisting he is not Chirac's natural "heir". Chirac, who ruled out seeking a third term only 10 days ago, left it to the last possible moment to announce his backing for Sarkozy. He said he met with Sarkozy earlier on Wednesday and had taken "the opportunity to salute his work, his commitment, his results at the interior ministry". Sarkozy issued a statement saying he was "very touched by this decision. It is important to me on a political level, but also on a personal level." Meanwhile Royal rounded on Sarkozy, saying Chirac's support confirmed that he was offering continuity not change with the incumbent right-wing government, a charge echoed by Bayrou's centrist UDF party. Royal's party has accused Sarkozy of using his powers as interior minister to advance his campaign -- a charge he repeatedly denied. He is due to be succeeded by Overseas Minister Francois Baroin, a protege of Chirac. Sarkozy's five years at interior, from 2002 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2007, did more than anything in his 30-year career to shape his candidate's image as a tough-talking man of action. But his record as interior minister -- the number two position in the French government -- is hotly disputed. He claims major successes in driving down overall crime, which has dropped 9.4 percent since 2002, by setting new targets for police, and bringing in stiffer sentences for repeat young offenders and measures such as electronic tagging. But his critics accuse him of undermining community policing and fanning tensions in France's tense suburbs by referring to young troublemakers as "rabble" that should be "hosed down". They also point at conflicting figures suggesting that violent crime is actually on the rise. It was under Sarkozy's watch that riots broke out in late 2005 in hundreds of mainly-immigrant suburbs, where his tough line on law and order has made him deeply unpopular. Though his supporters credit him with ensuring no rioters were seriously injured in clashes with police. Bayrou, who received a triumphant welcome during a recent visit to a rough Paris suburb, rounded on Sarkozy's record this week, echoing claims that the minister has become a persona non grata in the suburbs. "Five years as interior minister, and he cannot even set foot in France's suburbs. He pledged there would be no more lawless neighbourhoods. Today there are entire districts where the police are under orders not to enter," he said.