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To his supporters, General Wiranto is a national hero capable of returning the country to the prosperous days of the Suharto era. To his critics, he is a war criminal who should be behind bars rather than competing for the country's presidency as the candidate of the Golkar party. Gen Wiranto has been persistently dogged by allegations of human rights abuses in East Timor. Prosecutors say he is ultimately responsible for the killings of more than 1,000 people there when the former Indonesian province voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. But against the odds, and despite the outrage of human rights groups, he won the race for the Golkar party's nomination for the 2004 presidential elections, edging out the party head Akbar Tanjung. Military heritage Born the son of an impoverished teacher in Central Java, Wiranto graduated as a second lieutenant from the national military academy in 1968. Twenty years later, he became a key aide to Suharto, the former dicta

Issue will be investigated if formal report is lodged Agencies Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 05:38:00 DATUK NAZRI: No one is above the law THE Malaysian government has denied any cover-up in the case of Manohara Odelia Pinot, the 17-year-old Indonesian model who claimed to have been abused and forcibly kept away from her family by her Kelantanese royal husband. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz will investigate if a formal report is lodged as he said no one is above the law, Channel News Asia (CNA) reports. Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Nazri had said the authorities were in the dark as there has been no formal report lodged so far. "He just happens to be the son of the Sultan... no one is above the law.” CNA further reported Nazri as saying “This report is criminal act against the

23/06/2009 CAIRO (AP) - Political uncertainty and unrest in the wake of Iran's disputed presidential election are casting a deeper pall on the country's prospects of a near-term economic recovery, with the vital oil sector likely to witness a stasis it can ill afford amid faltering production and investments. Under the best of circumstances, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been able to seize upon President Barack Obama's overtures to Iran and gradually bring about an end to the U.S.-led international isolation the country's oil sector has endured. But the mass protests and cries of foul by opposition rival Mir Hossein Mousavi and his followers over alleged election fraud could prove to be a further impediment to bringing in foreign oil firms, many of whom have avoided Iran because of U.S. sanctions and Western concerns about the country's disputed nuclear program. source: http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=6&id=17179 "Seeing how the aftermath

22/06/2009 By Abdullah Mustapha Brussels, Asharq Al-Awsat- When I met Mahinur Ozdimer in one of the biggest shopping malls in Brussels just one day before the Belgium elections that took place on June 7, I noticed that she was the only female candidate wearing Hijab as the candidates handed out leaflets and met and spoke with voters. I asked Mahinur “Aren’t you worried about the reaction you’ll get from Belgian voters because you wear Hijab?” Ozdemir, a Belgium citizen of a Turkish descent, answered, “I will not take off my Hijab for the elections or for parliament. I wore the Hijab when I was working for Schaerbeek Municipal Council and I will carry on wearing it even in parliament.” Despite the pressure she is subjected to because she continues to wear the Hijab, Mahinur always says that “efficiency alone is what matters, not the Hijab.” Mahinur is the first parliamentarian to wear Hijab, but there is a problem; Belgian law does not allow MPs to wear headscarves in parliament. The i

By Manal Lutfi and Raghida Bahnam London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Sources close to reformist candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi and former Iranian President Mohamed Khatami have stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that Moussavi's team do not accept the election results or the statement issued on Monday by the Guardian Council and will therefore continue to address the election results and the "theft of the Iranian vote." The sources added that the leadership of the Reformist movement, Moussavi, [Mohamed] Khatami, and [Mehdi] Karrubi, along with Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Hashemi Rafsanjani, are moving closer to the option of "open civil protests and the continuation of demonstrations" until "the removal of the illegitimate government." source: http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=17177 Live news reports from Iran have decreased in light of the media blackout and media agencies have therefore become dependant upon eye-witness accounts. The Iranian R

Iran remained tense on Wednesday as US President Barack Obama expressed outrage over a crackdown on protests and said significant questions remained about the legitimacy of the country's elections. Tehran has refused to overturn the result of the disputed poll but supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed to extend by five days a Wednesday deadline to examine vote complaints, ISNA news agency said. As international alarm mounted over the crisis, the most serious challenge to the Islamic regime in its 30-year history, Britain said it was expelling two Iranian diplomats after a similar move by Tehran. At the same time, other European nations hauled in envoys to protest at the election and the repression of protests. Iran's top election watchdog, the Guardians Council, insisted the vote would stand. "We witnessed no major fraud or breach," spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said on English-language state television Press TV. "Therefore, there is no possib

Associated Press Last update: June 23, 2009 - 4:34 AM WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will hold his first Rose Garden news conference Tuesday. A White House spokesman says Obama will open the afternoon event with remarks on health care reform, energy legislation and Iran's disputed elections. Later the president will meet in the Oval Office with Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet (bah-cheh-LET'). The White House will also mark the 37th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that requires schools to offer equal athletic opportunities to men and women. All of Obama's previous news conferences have been during prime-time television hours and on international trips. source: http://www.startribune.com/politics/48849977.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU