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World briefs |
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Russia elects Putin’s chosen successor Medvedev : Dimitry Medvedev, President Putin’s preferred candidate and the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, won a landslide victory in the Presidential elections, defeating his two rivals, ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirnovsky and political new comer Andrei Bogdanov. He almost swept the elections, polling over 70 per cent of the ballets cast. As per the understanding between the two, in a reversal of roles Putin will become the Prime Minister after Medvedev takes the Presidential oath. Putin’s huge popularity after eight highly successful years in office has been the main factor behind Medvedev’s victory. Under Putin’s guidance the economy has been growing at about 7 per cent , people’s incomes have doubled and Russia has reasserted itself as a global power.
Medvedev’s elevation as President is being interpreted as the continuation of Putin’s rule. The two had reached an agreement before the elections under which Putin would become the Prime Minister and he the president of the country. It goes without saying that under the scheme of things the two envisage, Putin will call the shots. The understanding the two had reached helped in pushing up Medvedev’s rating to an unassailable level. Most Russians want continuity in the policies of the Government. But Medvedev, has the reputation of being a moderate. This is contrary to the image of Putin, who has been ruthless in dealing with the opposition.
Ahmedinejad’s Iraq visit: For the first time since the 1979 Revolution, an Iranian President flew to neighbouring Iraq with which Teheran was engaged in an eight-year-long war in the 80s which killed a million people. The Iraqi President Talibani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have paid official visits to Iran since taking office and it was the turn of Iranian President Ahmedinejad to return the visit. Arriving on March 2, Ahmedinejad held talks with Talibani and Al-Maliki on political, economic and oil issues and signed several agreements covering the fields of industry, transportation , development of mining industries and customs. At a joint Press conference after talks, Ahmedinejad called for withdrawal of US-led foreign forces from the strife-torn nation without directly naming America. He said without the presence of foreign troops the region will live in peace and brotherhood. He said, the presence of foreign troops had embittered their relations with the countries of the regions.
The US said it will have no involvement with Ahmedinejad’s visit . It tries to down play his visit saying it welcomes Iran’s stated policy of promoting stability but that its actions have done just the opposite. President Bush denied that Ahmedinejad’s visit undermined US efforts to isolate Teheran.
Political observers say, Ahmedinejad’s Baghdad visit gives him a chance to highlight the relationship his country has with the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq – both led by Shiite Muslims – while also serving as an act of defiance towards the US which accuses Iran of training and giving weapons to Shiite extremists. Iran denies the charge.
Iran remains Iraq’s second largest non-oil export market, and is now pumping in funds fro infrastructure projects across Iraq. Joint ventures in banking and several industrial sectors, and a critical oil pipeline are possible talking points during this visit. Religious pilgrimages between the two countries also weave an enduring thread of connection, and Iraq’s Kurds and Shiites have cultural affinities with Iran. But it would be naïve to overlook the causes for Iran-Iraq rivalry that still exist.
Colombian air raid into Ecuador: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent 10 battalions of troops to the country’s border with Colombia and closed its embassy in Bogota to protest the killing of a high-ranking Leftist rebel by Colombian troops inside Ecuador. The Colombian Government said that Raul Reyes, the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had been killed along with 16 other rebels in an air raid into Ecuador. Chavez said that the action could be the “beginning of a war in South America” and ordered the military, including tanks and aircraft, to the border area. Colombia’s other neighbour, Venezuela, also reacted. It also expelled Colombia’s diplomats and ordered thousands of troops, tanks and fighter jets to the border.
Nomination race : Hillary ends string of defeats: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in Ohio and Texas ending a string of defeats and allowing her to soldier on in a Democratic presidential nomination race that now seems unlikely to end any time soon. Clinton also won Rhode Island, while Obama won in Vermont. But the results mean Clinton won the two States she most needed to keep her candidacy alive. On the Republican side, Senator John S. McCain of Arizona swept to victory in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island, capping a remarkable comeback in his second bid for Presidency. McCain’s lone remaining rival, Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, announced he was dropping out minutes after the polls closed and pledged his co-operation to McCain. Clinton’s twin victories gave her at the very least a psychic boost after a tough month in which she watched Obama roll up victory after victory and build a lead in delegates over her. The March 4 outcome has checked the Obama surge but the Senator from Illinois retains his lead in the delegate count, which strongly suggests that the contest will have to be settled at the party convention. While Clinton won by a 55 to 44 per cent margin in Ohio, the gain the delegates pledged from this State will not help her narrow the gap significantly. The victory in the Texas primary is likely to yield even less since only two-thirds of the delegates from the Lone Star State are selected through the primary system, the rest being picked in caucuses in which Clinton appeared to be trailing. Any gains made in Rhode Island will be offset by the delegates Obama picked up in Vermont where he scored a 60 to 38 per cent win.
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