News in Brief
Iraq votes in first post-Isil election
Polls closed across Iraq last night in the first national election since the country declared victory over Isil. The vote — the fourth since the 2003 US-led toppling of Saddam Hussein — was marked by reports of low turnout and irregularities.
Results are expected within 48 hours, says the body that oversees Iraq’s election — but negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for months.
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s stiffest competition came from political parties with closer ties to Iran. Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric spoke out on the issue of voter participation yesterday, encouraging Iraqis to vote “to prevent the arrival of a corrupt parliament”.
Turnout appeared to be just over 40pc.
Paris knife attacker shot dead by police
French authorities say a knife-wielding assailant last night killed one person and injured four in the center of Paris before being killed by police.
The attack occurred in the 2nd arrondissement of the French capital. Police said the person armed with the knife targeted five people, killing one and seriously injuring two and lightly injuring the other two. Paris police shot and killed the attacker. One witness said the assailant was shouting “Allahu akbar” and trying to get into restaurants as diners barricaded the doors. The identity of the attack suspect and reason for the attack are unconfirmed.
Ruling paves way for Berlusconi’s return
A court in Italy has ruled that former three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi is eligible to run for office again — nearly five years after a tax fraud conviction forced him to surrender his Senate seat and prevented him from being a candidate in national elections.
Milan’s Surveillance Tribunal made the decision after reviewing a request from the 81-year-old media mogul who founded a centre-right political party 25 years ago.
The ban on his seeking or holding public office was due to expire in 2019 but the tribunal ruled last Friday that Berlusconi already had been “rehabilitated”.
Italy’s political leaders have been unable to form a government since their elections earlier this year and the Italian president has threatened to appoint a nonpolitical premier to govern until the end of the year.
That would mean a fresh election years before the 2023 due date, with the Milan ruling offering an opportunity for Berlusconi to run again.
North Korea will ‘destroy nuclear site’
North Korea yesterday said it will dismantle its nuclear test site in less than two weeks, in a dramatic event that would set up leader Kim Jong-un’s summit with US president Donald Trump next month.
North Korea said all of the tunnels at the country’s northeastern testing ground will be destroyed by explosion, and that observation and research facilities and guard units will also be removed. Representatives of world media will be invited to attend as observers.
Kim Jong-un had already revealed plans to shut down the test site by the end of May during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month.
Analysts say that while the closure of the site is important, it doesn’t represent a material step toward full denuclearisation.