W O R L D

Last US troops leave Iraq
Khabari Crossing (Kuwait), Dec 18
The last US soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border to neighbouring Kuwait at daybreak today, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

A soldier gestures from the turret of the last vehicle in a convoy of the US Army’s 3rd Brigade as it crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait on Sunday. — AP/PTI

Over 200 feared dead as boat sinks in Indonesia 
Watulimo, December 18
More than 200 persons were feared dead after an overcrowded boat packed with illegal immigrants heading for Australia sank in heavy seas off the coast of east Java in Indonesia, authorities said today.

Troops, protesters battle in Cairo
Cairo, December 18
Protesters and troops fought in Cairo today, the third day of clashes that have killed 10 people and exposed rifts over the army’s role as it manages Egypt’s promised transition from military to civilian rule.


An Egyptian protester wears a bucket on his head for protection as fellow demonstrators take cover during clashes with the police in Cairo on Sunday. — AFP

Former Czech President Havel dead
Prague, December 18
Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright who was jailed by Communists and then went on to lead the bloodless "Velvet Revolution" and become Czech president, died at 75 on Sunday.

Philippine storm toll crosses 650
Manila, December 18
The death toll from mammoth floods unleashed in the southern Philippines by tropical storm Washi has climbed to 652 with 808 others missing, the Red Cross said today.

Last US troops leave Iraq
Mission cost nearly 4,500 American and over 100,000 Iraqi lives & $800 billion from US Treasury

Khabari Crossing (Kuwait), Dec 18
The last US soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border to neighbouring Kuwait at daybreak today, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Their exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast US ally. The mission cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the US Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all is yet unanswered.

Capt. Mark Askew, a 28-year-old from Tampa, Florida who was among the last soldiers to leave, said the answer to that question will depend on what type of country and government Iraq ends up with years from now, whether they are democratic, respect human rights and are considered an American ally.

“It depends on what Iraq does after we leave,” he said, speaking ahead of the exit. “I don’t expect them to turn into South Korea or Japan overnight.” The war that began in a blaze of aerial bombardment meant to shock and awe the dictator Saddam Hussein and his loyalists ended quietly and with minimal fanfare.

US officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high, but tried to paint a picture of victory for both the troops and the Iraqi people now freed of a dictator and on a path to democracy.

But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes. And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats.

Many Iraqis, however, are nervous and uncertain about the future. Their relief at the end of Saddam, who was hanged on the last day of 2006, was tempered by a long and vicious war that was launched to find nonexistent weapons of mass destruction and nearly plunged the nation into full-scale sectarian civil war.

Some criticised the Americans for leaving behind a destroyed country with thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and without rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.

Some Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, neither invited nor welcome in a proud country. Others said that while grateful for US help ousting Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls.

The low-key exit stood in sharp contrast to the high octane start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike in southern Baghdad where Saddam was believed to be hiding. US and allied ground forces then stormed across the featureless Kuwaiti desert, accompanied by reporters, photographers and television crews embedded with the troops. — AP

Over 200 feared dead as boat sinks in Indonesia

Watulimo, December 18
More than 200 persons were feared dead after an overcrowded boat packed with illegal immigrants heading for Australia sank in heavy seas off the coast of east Java in Indonesia, authorities said today.

Many of the passengers on the wooden vessel are believed to be economic migrants from countries including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Indonesia is a transit point for illegal immigrants from the Middle East who cross the Indian Ocean in search of a better life in Australia.

Australia’s government called the sinking “a terrible tragedy”, but came under pressure from campaign groups which said its tough approach to refugees was partly responsible for such disasters.

The boat had a capacity of 100 but was carrying about 250 people when it sank yesterday, 40 nautical miles off eastern Java, in heavy rain and high waves, Indonesian officials said.

Thirty-three survivors were plucked from the shark-infested waters, officials said, after the vessel sank along a well-worn-and occasionally lethal-route from Java to Australia’s remote Christmas Island.

Officials said there was little hope of finding any other passengers alive, which would make the sinking Indonesia’s deadliest migrant boat accident.

“We sent out five boats and three helicopters but no survivor or body was sighted. It’s unlikely they were washed up on islands as the closest shore is 40 miles away,” district search and rescue official Kelik Purwanto told AFP.

Purwanto said the accident was the “worst disaster involving migrant boats” to date. “If we find no survivor, then this is by far the largest loss of life,” he added.

National Search and Rescue Agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso earlier said “it’s very likely they have all drowned.” Bad weather, strong winds and waves of up to five metres hampered rescue efforts today, with 300 rescuers including navy and police officers deployed to comb the sea for bodies. — AFP 

Troops, protesters battle in Cairo
Prime Minister says unrest an ‘assault on revolution’

Cairo, December 18
Protesters and troops fought in Cairo today, the third day of clashes that have killed 10 people and exposed rifts over the army’s role as it manages Egypt’s promised transition from military to civilian rule.

Troops have set up barriers on streets around Tahrir Square, the hub of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and now again convulsed by violence as protesters demand that the generals who took charge in February quit power.

Soldiers in riot gear were filmed on Saturday beating protesters with long sticks even after they had fallen to the ground. A Reuters picture showed two soldiers dragging a woman lying on the ground by her shirt, exposing her underwear.

The violence has overshadowed a staggered parliamentary election, the first free vote most Egyptians can remember, that is set to give Islamists the biggest bloc. Some Egyptians are enraged by the army’s behaviour.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri blamed violence on youths among the protesters. “What is happening in the streets today is not a revolution, rather it is an attack on the revolution,” the army-appointed premier said. — Reuters

Former Czech President Havel dead

Prague, December 18
Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright who was jailed by Communists and then went on to lead the bloodless "Velvet Revolution" and become Czech president, died at 75 on Sunday.

The former chain smoker, who survived several operations for lung cancer and a burst intestine in the late 1990s that nearly killed him and left him frail for the rest of his life, died after a long illness. He was with his wife Dagmara and a nun who had been caring for him.

"Today Vaclav Havel has left us," his secretary, Sabina Tancevova, said in a statement.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Twitter, "Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free."

The diminutive playwright, who once took Bill Clinton to a Prague jazz club and was a friend of the Dalai Lama and celebrities such as Mick Jagger, rose to fame by facing down Prague's communist regime when he demanded they respect at least their own human rights pledges.

Just half a year after completing his last jail sentence, he led the peaceful uprising that ended Soviet-backed rule in Prague and emerged in charge at the Prague castle. — Reuters

Philippine storm toll crosses 650

Manila, December 18
The death toll from mammoth floods unleashed in the southern Philippines by tropical storm Washi has climbed to 652 with 808 others missing, the Red Cross said today.

The devastated port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Mindanao island accounted for most of the deaths, the agency said. The head of the government's disaster response agency, Benito Ramos, said their own count stood at 516 deaths and 274 missing. But he conceded that the death toll would likely go higher. — AFP