Car bomb north of Iraqi capital kills 7 (AP)

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – An Iraqi spokesman says a car bomb north of Baghdad has killed seven people.

The spokesman for the Diyala province police, Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi, says Thursday's blast took place in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad. He says 24 people were wounded.

Diyala province was once one of the strongholds of al-Qaida, and insurgents there still stage frequent attacks despite improved security in much of the country.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Kurdish security guards opened fire on a crowd of protesters calling for political reforms in northern Iraq, killing at least two people, officials said, showing even war-weary Iraq cannot escape the unrest roiling the Middle East.

The protest in Sulaimaniyah was the most violent in a wave of demonstrations that extended to the southern cities of Kut, Nasir and Basra.

Iraq has seen small-scale demonstrations almost daily in recent weeks, mainly centered in the impoverished southern provinces and staged by Iraqis angry over a lack of basic services like electricity and clean drinking water.

The hundreds of Kurds demonstrating in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, Thursday, demanded political reforms from the regional government in the semiautonomous territory.

Although Kurds generally enjoy a higher standard of living than the rest of Iraq, many have grown tired of the tight grip with which the ruling parties control the region and the economy.

The protesters moved from the center of the city to the headquarters of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani's political party, where some protesters threw stones at the building.

Kurdish security guards on the roof then opened fire on the demonstrators, sending people fleeing for cover.

A local police and hospital official both said two people were killed in the incident, and the medical official said 47 people were injured. Both the officials said the deaths and injuries were the result of shootings. Neither wanted to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw one teenager shot in the head and being carried away by policemen on the street who were trying to help the protesters.

In the southern city of Basra, about 600 people gathered in front of the provincial headquarters, facing off against police protecting the building. With the exception of some pushing and shoving, witnesses said the protest was largely peaceful.

"We are demanding that the Basra governor be fired because he has not done anything good for Basra," said Mohammed Ali Jasim, a 50-year-old father of nine who came out to the protest in Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

Dozens of angry protesters also stormed the municipal building and set it on fire in the small town of Nasir, some 170 miles (270 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a police official in the nearby provincial capital of Nasiriyah said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Five policemen were wounded after protesters hurled stones at the building and five protesters were arrested before a curfew was imposed on the town, the officer said.

A day earlier in the city of Kut, about 2,000 stone-throwing demonstrators attacked local government offices, setting fire to some buildings, including the governor's house. Kut is 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

The spokeswoman for Wasit province, Sondos al-Dahabi, said Thursday that three demonstrators were shot and killed, while the top health official for the province, Diaa al-Aboudi, said he was only aware of one fatality, an Iraqi soldier.

Iraq is one of the few countries with a democratically elected government in the Middle East but leaders here have not been immune from the anger engulfing the region. Iraqis have a long list of grievances against their leaders, including electricity that sometimes works only a few hours a day, unemployment that runs as high as 30 percent and rampant corruption.

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Car bomb north of Iraqi capital kills 7 (AP)

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – An Iraqi spokesman says a car bomb north of Baghdad has killed seven people.

The spokesman for the Diyala province police, Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi, says Thursday's blast took place in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad. He says 24 people were wounded.

Diyala province was once one of the strongholds of al-Qaida, and insurgents there still stage frequent attacks despite improved security in much of the country.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Kurdish security guards opened fire on a crowd of protesters calling for political reforms in northern Iraq, killing at least two people, officials said, showing even war-weary Iraq cannot escape the unrest roiling the Middle East.

The protest in Sulaimaniyah was the most violent in a wave of demonstrations that extended to the southern cities of Kut, Nasir and Basra.

Iraq has seen small-scale demonstrations almost daily in recent weeks, mainly centered in the impoverished southern provinces and staged by Iraqis angry over a lack of basic services like electricity and clean drinking water.

The hundreds of Kurds demonstrating in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, Thursday, demanded political reforms from the regional government in the semiautonomous territory.

Although Kurds generally enjoy a higher standard of living than the rest of Iraq, many have grown tired of the tight grip with which the ruling parties control the region and the economy.

The protesters moved from the center of the city to the headquarters of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani's political party, where some protesters threw stones at the building.

Kurdish security guards on the roof then opened fire on the demonstrators, sending people fleeing for cover.

A local police and hospital official both said two people were killed in the incident, and the medical official said 47 people were injured. Both the officials said the deaths and injuries were the result of shootings. Neither wanted to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw one teenager shot in the head and being carried away by policemen on the street who were trying to help the protesters.

In the southern city of Basra, about 600 people gathered in front of the provincial headquarters, facing off against police protecting the building. With the exception of some pushing and shoving, witnesses said the protest was largely peaceful.

"We are demanding that the Basra governor be fired because he has not done anything good for Basra," said Mohammed Ali Jasim, a 50-year-old father of nine who came out to the protest in Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

Dozens of angry protesters also stormed the municipal building and set it on fire in the small town of Nasir, some 170 miles (270 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a police official in the nearby provincial capital of Nasiriyah said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Five policemen were wounded after protesters hurled stones at the building and five protesters were arrested before a curfew was imposed on the town, the officer said.

A day earlier in the city of Kut, about 2,000 stone-throwing demonstrators attacked local government offices, setting fire to some buildings, including the governor's house. Kut is 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

The spokeswoman for Wasit province, Sondos al-Dahabi, said Thursday that three demonstrators were shot and killed, while the top health official for the province, Diaa al-Aboudi, said he was only aware of one fatality, an Iraqi soldier.

Iraq is one of the few countries with a democratically elected government in the Middle East but leaders here have not been immune from the anger engulfing the region. Iraqis have a long list of grievances against their leaders, including electricity that sometimes works only a few hours a day, unemployment that runs as high as 30 percent and rampant corruption.

View the original article here

Car bomb north of Iraqi capital kills 7 (AP)

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – An Iraqi spokesman says a car bomb north of Baghdad has killed seven people.

The spokesman for the Diyala province police, Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi, says Thursday's blast took place in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad. He says 24 people were wounded.

Diyala province was once one of the strongholds of al-Qaida, and insurgents there still stage frequent attacks despite improved security in much of the country.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Kurdish security guards opened fire on a crowd of protesters calling for political reforms in northern Iraq, killing at least two people, officials said, showing even war-weary Iraq cannot escape the unrest roiling the Middle East.

The protest in Sulaimaniyah was the most violent in a wave of demonstrations that extended to the southern cities of Kut, Nasir and Basra.

Iraq has seen small-scale demonstrations almost daily in recent weeks, mainly centered in the impoverished southern provinces and staged by Iraqis angry over a lack of basic services like electricity and clean drinking water.

The hundreds of Kurds demonstrating in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, Thursday, demanded political reforms from the regional government in the semiautonomous territory.

Although Kurds generally enjoy a higher standard of living than the rest of Iraq, many have grown tired of the tight grip with which the ruling parties control the region and the economy.

The protesters moved from the center of the city to the headquarters of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani's political party, where some protesters threw stones at the building.

Kurdish security guards on the roof then opened fire on the demonstrators, sending people fleeing for cover.

A local police and hospital official both said two people were killed in the incident, and the medical official said 47 people were injured. Both the officials said the deaths and injuries were the result of shootings. Neither wanted to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw one teenager shot in the head and being carried away by policemen on the street who were trying to help the protesters.

In the southern city of Basra, about 600 people gathered in front of the provincial headquarters, facing off against police protecting the building. With the exception of some pushing and shoving, witnesses said the protest was largely peaceful.

"We are demanding that the Basra governor be fired because he has not done anything good for Basra," said Mohammed Ali Jasim, a 50-year-old father of nine who came out to the protest in Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

Dozens of angry protesters also stormed the municipal building and set it on fire in the small town of Nasir, some 170 miles (270 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a police official in the nearby provincial capital of Nasiriyah said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Five policemen were wounded after protesters hurled stones at the building and five protesters were arrested before a curfew was imposed on the town, the officer said.

A day earlier in the city of Kut, about 2,000 stone-throwing demonstrators attacked local government offices, setting fire to some buildings, including the governor's house. Kut is 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

The spokeswoman for Wasit province, Sondos al-Dahabi, said Thursday that three demonstrators were shot and killed, while the top health official for the province, Diaa al-Aboudi, said he was only aware of one fatality, an Iraqi soldier.

Iraq is one of the few countries with a democratically elected government in the Middle East but leaders here have not been immune from the anger engulfing the region. Iraqis have a long list of grievances against their leaders, including electricity that sometimes works only a few hours a day, unemployment that runs as high as 30 percent and rampant corruption.

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China openly backs North Korea succession plan: KCNA (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) – A top Chinese official has backed ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's plans to hand power to his son, the North's state media said on Tuesday, hailing the "successful solution" to allow continued socialist rule.

Meng Jianzhu, China's public security minister, congratulated Kim's youngest son Jong-un on his appointment as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission last year, "hailing the successful solution of the issue of succession to the Korean revolution," KCNA news agency reported.

Experts said the term "succession" did not refer directly to family rule, but was a commonly used expression referring to a continuation of the North's current political system.

"(But) we can interpret that as a sign of acceptance on the part of China's political and power elite with regards to North Korea's succession," said Park Young-ho, of the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

Meng gave gifts to both Kim Jong-il, who celebrates his 69th birthday on Wednesday, and his son, KCNA reported.

Kim Jong-un was last year named as a four-star general and given high ranking political positions, signaling the start of the third-generation power transition in the secretive state.

Until the younger Kim's appointments, state media had never even reported the existence of Kim's children. Little is known about Jong-un other than that he is in his late twenties, and was educated in Switzerland.

China is the North's main ally and benefactor, and has stood by Pyongyang despite international criticism over the North's revelations last year of big advances in its nuclear programme, as well as two deadly attacks on the peninsula.

China provides more than 80 percent of the North's food and oil and has invested heavily in the isolated state in recent year, when Pyongyang has been under international sanctions for nuclear and missile tests.

The North's reclusive leader, suspected of having suffered a stroke in 2008, visited China twice last year, trips analysts and officials say were mainly aimed at winning Beijing's support for his hereditary succession process.

Beijing has nudged Pyongyang to change its ways and follow China's path of economic reform, but its paramount concern is stability and it sees a continuation of family rule as the best guarantee of this.

China worries that any regime change in the North could cause a flood of refugees to cross its border, precipitate reunification of the peninsula on the South's terms and bring American influence right up to its border.

Kim Jong-un was appointed in September as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party, which oversees the North's 1.2 million-strong military headed by his father.

Meng is in the North Korean capital on the first leg of a tour that will also take him to Laos, Singapore and Malaysia.

(Reporting by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Daniel Magnowski)

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Diplomacy stalemate over North Korea's nuclear programme (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) – China does not back efforts by Washington and Seoul to punish North Korea at the United Nations for its uranium enrichment programme and wants six-party talks to deal with the issue, a top South Korean envoy said on Saturday.
International disagreement over how to deal with the North's growing nuclear capability comes just days after inter-Korean talks collapsed, as diplomatic efforts to defuse simmering tensions on the divided peninsula faltered.
The six-party talks, which offer Pyongyang aid and diplomatic recognition in return for disabling its nuclear weapons programme, were last held two years ago. They collapsed when the North quit in protest against U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile tests.
The six-way talks started in 2003 and are chaired by China, and also involve the United States, Japan and Russia.
"Both sides were concerned about it (the North's uranium enrichment programme) and will work closely," the South's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac told Reuters after a two-day visit to Beijing to discuss the issue with his Chinese counterpart.
But Wi said China disagreed that the United Nations should be involved, and said the six-sided forum should deal with it.
The North and its main ally and benefactor China have called for the six-party talks to be restarted, but Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have questioned the North's sincerity about denuclearizing, pointing to its uranium enrichment as proof.
Tensions spiked on the peninsula last year after the sinking of South Korean warship and the North's shelling of a remote South Korean island. The North denies it was responsible for sinking the ship and says it was provoked into shelling the island.
In November, the North raised international security concerns when it revealed big advances in its uranium enrichment programme, giving it a second route to make an atomic bomb along with its plutonium progamme.
The North says the uranium programme is for peaceful energy means, but Washington and Seoul says it contravenes a 2005 agreement and Security Council resolutions, and that Pyongyang should be reprimanded by the United Nations.
Both Beijing and Washington have said that before the six-party nuclear talks can reconvene, the two Koreas, still technically at war after signing only a truce to end the 1950-53 Korean War, must iron out their differences at bilateral talks.
This week, military officers from the two Koreas met for the first time since last November's attack on Yeonpyeong island, but discussions collapsed when they failed to agree on an agenda and rank of participants for a higher-level meeting.
Analysts say the two Koreas will likely return to the negotiating table again, under pressure from Beijing and Washington. However, they say six-party talks are a long way off as both the South and the United States doubt the North's sincerity.
(Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Ron Popeski)
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Korea talks stall after North delegation walks out

The two sides fail to reach an agreement on securing high-level military talksThe talks were the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombingThe bombing killed four South Koreans last November
Seoul (CNN) -- Talks between North and South Korea collapsed Wednesday after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on securing high-level military discussions during preparatory meetings held in the border area of Panmunjom.
The resumption of talks, the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombing that killed four South Koreans last November, signaled a change in atmosphere between the two Koreas. It led many to speculate that a consensus on holding higher-level military would be reached.
However, the North Korean delegation walked away from the negotiating table less than five hours after the second round of talks had begun, a move that was called "unilateral" by the South Korean Defense Ministry.
One of the issues that stalled talks was North Korea's demand for a comprehensive agenda from both sides on possible military actions, while the South pushed to limit the talks to the sinking of the Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island attack, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
The South and North ran into a similar deadlock while discussing the agenda of the high-level talks on the first day Tuesday. Seoul has demanded that North Korea apologizes for its military provocations carried out last year that also include the sinking of a warship that killed 46 sailors in March.
Pyongyang has denied involvement in the case.
South Korea emphasized Tuesday that it wants the agenda of the high-level talks to specify the island bombing and warship attack. The North argued back, saying that restricting the talks to those issues is "the equivalent of refusing to hold higher-level military talks," according to Seoul's Defense Ministry.
The resumption of humanitarian talks may also be in jeopardy because of the collapse in military talks.
Seoul earlier in the day sent a message to the North saying that it agreed in principal to hold humanitarian talks, in response to two requests Pyongyang had made this year, according to the Unification Ministry.
The South said it would be willing to discuss the details of the time and venue of the humanitarian talks after the high-level military talks are over. The Unification Ministry has not yet indicated whether the collapse of the military talks will push back or affect the resumption of the so-called Red Cross talks.
The Red Cross talks are used to facilitate reunions for families separated by the Korean War and for the North to receive humanitarian aid such as rice and fertilizer from Seoul.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Jiyeon Lee contributed to this report.
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