In a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday morning Gordon Brown announced the withdrawal of British troops in a joint statement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Military operations in Iraq will end in May 2009, with the last of the 4,100 troops out by July 2009, aside from several hundred military personnel who will remain as advisors to the Iraqi army. The British Prime Minister flew into the ‘green zone' and also ventured into the dangerous ‘red zone' on his visit to Iraq. Brown now faces calls for an inquiry into the origins and conduct of the war from opposition parties but he has said there will be no inquiry until UK troops have left Iraq.
A car bomb in Baghdad on the day the statement was made killed 18 and left 52 injured, a sign of the continued violence and a stark reminder that stability in Iraq is still some way off.
Obama plans for Guantanamo closure
President-elect Barack Obama has committed to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within two years of coming into office. The decision has faced opposition from Dick Cheney, the outgoing Vice President, who claims the detention centre should remain open until the "war on terror" is over. Cheney also defended the use of so-called "robust interrogation" techniques such as waterboarding as appropriate means of extracting information from suspected terrorists.
Rwanda genocide mastermind jailed for life
Theoneste Bagosara, previously Rwanda defence ministry's chief of staff, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, a verdict hailed by prosecutors as highly important. The UN trial, which spanned five years found Bagosara guilty of orchestrating genocide, including arming the Interahamwe rebels over several years and leading to the extermination of 800,000 Tutsis over 100 days. Bagosara also commanded the murder of politicians and UN peacekeepers prior to the mass killings. Two other officials were also sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the genocide.
Iraqi officials arrested
Several officials belonging to the Iraqi interior ministry have been accused of attempting to re-establish the banned Ba'ath party under new incarnation ‘al-Awda' and are currently undergoing interrogation. It is not clear whether a coup was indeed being planned, and there is speculation that the arrests may have been politically motivated. Other sources say the accused planned to burn down the ministry.
China joins international naval forces to battle piracy
China is to send warships to the Somali coast to address the growing threat of piracy. Until China made the decision to deploy ships earlier today, it was the only UN Security Council member not to contribute to the international fleet. Three Chinese ships have been among those hit by pirates off Somalia. At present, 19 ships and over 400 people are being held hostage along the coast.
Former NHS doctor faces life sentence for bomb plot
Bilal Abdullah, a 29 year old former NHS doctor has been found guilty of conspiring to commit atrocities in London and Glasgow. Abdullah faces a sentence of at least 32 years after failed car bomb attacks in London in 2007, one in a West End street and another outside a nightclub. Abduallah's accomplice Kafeel Ahmed died from injuries sustained when the pair mounted an attack on Glasgow airport, setting fire to a jeep filled with gas canisters and driving it into the airport.
