Word: latested
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...timing of the latest probe into Olmert's finances could not have been worse for the politically beleaguered prime minister. Just as celebratory fireworks cascaded over Jerusalem's ancient domes and spires, prosecutors were readying a case over allegations that he has, over the years, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash stuffed into envelopes from New York financier Morris Talansky. Olmert does not deny receiving the envelopes, but he insists they were campaign contributions that he never used personally. Talansky has denied that he tried to bribe Olmert...
...Still, long-time observers of Israeli politics won't write off Olmert. Four previous investigations into suspected bribery and influence peddling produced no charges, which could well be the outcome of the latest probe. Olmert has vowed that if he is indicted he will resign, which would trigger off a messy war of succession within his own centrist Kadima party - a scenario nobody wants. Should Olmert be ousted, Israel would face early elections, which polls currently show would be won by the conservative Likud party, led by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch critic of Olmert's peace efforts...
...long this new cease-fire will last is uncertain. Al-Sadr declared a cease-fire unilaterally last year only to see al-Maliki ignore it with the initial strike in Basra. But one thing is clear: the latest pause in the running fight between al-Sadr and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government offers no visible solutions to the problems at the root of the conflict. Al-Maliki wants to disband the Mahdi Army, or at least de-fang it, before provincial elections in the fall. The bloody nose the Mahdi Army gave al-Maliki in the latest crisis shows...
...Although narrow and in places rutted, the road to Bogalay is passable. So where is the aid? The junta wants foreign supplies, but not more aid workers. The junta has delayed issuing visas to foreign aid officials. Latest reports suggest the junta will start rejecting them outright...
...This latest crisis started when the Lebanese government, which has been holding onto power despite a 17-month campaign of Hizballah street protests, announced its intention to move against a private telecommunications network that Hizballah uses to coordinate military activity against Israel. On Wednesday, the opposition co-opted a planned general strike and turned it into a show of force complete with burning tire and rubble barricades that blocked many major highways, including the airport road. Then yesterday, Hizballah leader Nasrallah called the government's telecom crackdown an act of war, accused it of doing Israel's dirty work...