Morning Brief: Karzai promises to work with opponents

Tue, 11/03/2009 - 9:06am

Top story: After being declared the winner of an election marred by electoral fraud, Afghan President Hamid Karzai promised today to root out corruption and work with his opponents.  "Those who want to work with me are most welcome, regardless of whether they opposed me in the election or whether they supported me in the elections," he said. "We want our Taliban brothers and all others to come back and join with us." It was not clear from Karzai's statements whether he planned to make specific concessions to the opposition. 

Referring to his opponent Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai said it "would have been better for our country, for the democratic process and for us, if our brother Dr. Abdullah had participated" in a planned runoff.

The Taliban, meanwhile, was also claiming victory, saying that the cancelled runoff showed that they had succeeded in disrupting and discrediting the internationally-backed election. "The canceled runoff vote also showed that Afghans heeded their call not to participate in an election they said was the tool of foreigners," said a statement released today. 

U.S. Politics: Off-year elections in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia will test the mood of U.S. voters today. 

Asia

  • A suicide bomber killed at least 35 people outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. 
  • North Korea says it has reprocessed enough spent nuclear fuel rods to create another atomic bomb. 
  • The U.S. diplomats have arrived in Burma. They plan to meet with imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Middle East

  • According to Israeli intelligence, Gaza militants have test-fired a rocket capable of reaching Tel Aviv. 
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new aid initiative to boost U.S. ties in the Middle East. 
  • The Iranian police have warned the opposition not to use tomorrow's anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover as an opportunity to hold new protests. 

Europe

  • The Czech Constitutional Court struck down a complaint against the E.U.'s Lisbon Treaty, removing the last legal obstacle to the treaty's ratification. 
  • Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is seeking to delay the resumption of his trial for fraud. 
  • Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic made his first appearance at his trial to ask for more time to prepare his case. 

Africa

  • Equatorial Guinea has pardoned British mercenary Simon Mann for his role in a failed 2004 coup. 
  • African countries boycotted U.N. climate change talks in Barcelona. 
  • Rwanda is demanding that genocide convicts be returned home to seve the remainder of their sentences. 

Americas

  • Honduras's parliament is due to meet today to consider a motion that could bring ouster President Manuel Zelaya back to power, but a date for the vote has not been set. 
  • Venezuela says two of its national guard soldiers were shot near the border with Colombia. 
  • Argentina's last dictator and five former generals went on trial yesterday for their participation in human rights abuses. 

 

SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images
Joshua Keating | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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