News Timeline: January 2006

January 4 – Middle East: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, dies at the age of sixty-two. The leader also served as the vice president and prime minister of the federated United Arab Emirates, posts traditionally held by the Dubai emirate. His brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed, who has served as the UAE defense minister since 1971, succeeds him as ruler of Dubai.

January 5 – Middle East: ISRAEL

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffers a severe stroke after having been treated for a minor stroke last month. Sharon’s illness creates doubts not only about the success of his new centrist Kadima party in upcoming March elections, but also about the future of the Middle East peace process. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert becomes the acting prime minister.

January 6 – North America: UNITED STATES

U.S. terror suspect Jose Padilla makes his first appearance in civilian court after being held for more than three years in military custody as an “enemy combatant.” Civil rights groups have heavily criticized Padilla’s detention. The government has avoided a legal showdown over its right to hold U.S. citizens as enemy combatants by transferring the case to civilian court.

January 6 – South Asia: INDIA/PAKISTAN

India and Pakistan agree to reopen a rail link between Munabao in the Indian state of Rajasthan and Khokrapar in Pakistan. The line has been closed for more than forty years, since the two countries were at war in 1965. This agreement is the latest result of a peace process between India and Pakistan that began in 2004. The rivals, both with nuclear capabilities, hope that the new rail service will further help to ease tensions.

January 8 – South Asia: AFGHANISTAN

President Hamid Karzai extends an invitation for reconciliation to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who has been in hiding since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. Karzai says he would like all Afghans to return to their home country no matter what their political affiliation. However, Taliban spokesmen reject the invitation, labeling Karzai as a “mouthpiece of Americans.”

January 10 – Middle East: IRAN

Iran breaks international seals at its Natanz nuclear facility, sparking condemnation from western nations. The removal signals the end of Iran’s two-year suspension of nuclear research. The country maintains that its program is for peaceful purposes, while western countries believe Iran intends to make nuclear weapons. Iran could be referred to the United Nations Security Council for removing the seals in contravention of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

January 10 – Europe/Former Soviet Republics: UKRAINE/RUSSIA

Ukraine’s parliament issues a vote of no confidence in the government in response to a recent deal with Russia ending a gas dispute between the two countries. Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after Ukraine refused to accept a fourfold price increase. Ukraine accuses Russia that the move was a punishment for the “Orange Revolution” and the election of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko. In the January 4 deal, Ukraine accepted a doubled gas price, and Russia agreed to pay a higher fee to transport the gas through Ukraine.

January 12 – Africa: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Democratic Republic of Congo approves a new constitution in the December 2005 referendum. The new charter, which passed with 84 percent of the vote, allows for new elections later this year and gives greater autonomy to mineral-rich regions. It also lowers the minimum age for presidential candidates from 35 to 30, enabling the current president, 33-year-old Joseph Kabila, to run. Kabila has been president since his father’s death in 2001. The referendum is the first countrywide vote since 1970.

January 16 – Latin America: CHILE

Chile elects socialist Michelle Bachelet as its first female president. The former defense minister belongs to the center-left coalition Concertacion, which has run Chile since the end of military rule in 1990. Bachelet, who won the election runoff with over 53 percent of the vote, pledges to reduce income disparity and increase the voice of women and indigenous people.

January 16 – Africa: NIGERIA

An attack on the Benisede pumping station in Nigeria prompts oil company Shell to evacuate 330 workers from four sites in the Niger Delta. Recent string of violence by ethnic Ijaw militants has reduced Shell’s oil output by 220,000 barrels a day. The militants demand more local control over the region’s oil profits and the attacks have put pressure on rising oil prices.

January 17 – North America: UNITED STATES/CANADA/MEXICO

U.S. officials announce that they will start issuing a special identification card this year that will allow Americans to continue traveling to Mexico or Canada without a passport. Citing security concerns, the U.S. government had previously stated that it would require travelers to show passports when reentering the country from Mexico or Canada. Critics argued that this could snarl traffic, discourage casual travel, and affect trade. Some industry officials remain concerned about the effects of the new ID requirement.

January 18 – Africa: COTE D’IVOIRE

Three hundred United Nations peacekeepers flee Guiglo, a town in western Ivory Coast, after clashes with supporters of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo. The president’s followers are angry over international mediators’ calls for the dissolution of the pro-Gbagbo parliament. The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) has withdrawn from the transitional government and UN-backed peace talks, and demands that peacekeeping troops leave the country. Ivory Coast remains divided since an unsuccessful coup attempt in 2002.

January 18 – Latin America: HAITI/BRAZIL

Brazilian General Jose Elito Carvalho de Siqueira is appointed the head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti after a suicide of the previous leader. About nine thousand troops have been stationed in Haiti since the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. The UN Stabilization Mission is trying to secure the violent country ahead of elections, already postponed four times, which are now scheduled for February.

January 18 – International Organizations: UNITED NATIONS

January 18 – Middle East: ISRAEL

Ehud Olmert, Israel’s acting prime minister, appoints Tzipi Livni foreign minister. Livni is only the second woman after Golda Meir to serve in the post since Israel’s founding in 1948. Livni, who is also the country’s justice minister, recently left the Likud party to join Ariel Sharon’s new centrist Kadima party.

January 19 – East Asia: CHINA

China’s Public Security Ministry announces a 6 percent rise in public disturbances in 2005. As economic growth widens the wealth gap in the Chinese society, it sets off social conflicts. China’s leaders see the social unrest as the biggest challenge to their power.

January 19 – East Asia: TAIWAN

Su Tseng-chang becomes Taiwan’s new prime minister after the resignation of Frank Hsieh, who gave his notice in response to his party’s defeat in December local elections. Prime minister in Taiwan does not have a lot of powers as most executive authority rests in the post of a president. Prime Minister Su is a popular politician and seen as a likely contender in the 2008 presidential elections.

January 19 — Europe: UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom cuts all aid to the Ethiopian government due to concerns over human rights violations since the country’s last elections in May. The elections were the closest in Ethiopia’s history, and have resulted in clashes between the government and the opposition party. UK Development Minister Hilary Benn cites growing concern over the crackdown on the opposition and the detention of political prisoners in Ethiopia.

January 20 – Middle East: IRAQ

Iraq’s Shia party, The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), wins parliamentary elections, taking 128 of the 275 seats. The Kurdistan Alliance has 53 seats, and the main Sunni bloc that had boycotted the January 2005 elections, increased their representation to 44. This is Iraq’s first full-term government and parliament since Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003.

January 20 – East Asia: EAST TIMOR/INDONESIA

The East Timorese Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation releases a report on Indonesia’s abuses during the twenty-four-year annexation of East Timor between 1975 and 1999. According to the report, in order to suppress independence movement, the Indonesian security forces used starvation, violence, rape, and execution-style killings against civilians, which resulted in as many as 183,000 deaths.

January 21 – East Asia: JAPAN

Japan bans all imports of U.S. beef due to fears of mad cow disease. A shipment of veal from a plant in New York contained some spinal material, which is banned by Japanese regulations. Restrictions against bone-in beef remain in most of Asia due to fear that bone tissue might be contaminated. The ban comes just six weeks after Japan lifted a previous two-year ban on American beef, and is a serious setback for the U.S. meat industry.

January 22 – South Asia: BANGLADESH

An antigovernment strike closes schools, shops, and public transport in more than sixty cities and towns across Bangladesh. The strike, led by the main opposition group Awami League, protests a suspected government plan that would compile new voter lists allegedly favoring the ruling coalition. Authorities deploy seven thousand troops in the capital city of Dhaka to deter violence.

January 23 — Europe

France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands launch a new military police squad, the European Gendarmerie. The force consists of 800 policemen deployable within a 30 day-notice, and 2,300 officers in reserve. The Gendarmerie will aid global peacekeeping missions in the transition period from military operations to the restoration of civil order. Other EU nations expect to be invited to supply troops for the force in the future.

January 23 – Africa: CAPE VERDE

The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) wins the country’s parliamentary elections with 52 percent of the vote. The new parliament will serve for a term of five years. Separate presidential elections will be held in February.

January 23 – Europe/Former Soviet Republics: RUSSIA/GEORGIA/ARMENIA

Russia restores partial natural gas supplies to Georgia a day after two explosions near Georgia’s border destroyed the main gas pipeline to Georgia and Armenia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow of purposely sabotaging the pipeline, while Russia blamed the attack on pro-Chechen criminals. The incident has exacerbated already tensed relations between the neighboring countries.

January 23 – East Asia: INDONESIA

About two hundred protesters push their way into a provincial legislative building in Papua, Indonesia, calling for national troops’ withdrawal from their province. Papua became a part of Indonesia in 1963, and since then there have been sporadic calls for independence.

January 24 – Middle East: KUWAIT

Kuwait’s parliament votes to remove Emir Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah for health reasons, ten days after he succeeded the late ruler, Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad. Sheik Saad is the first Gulf leader to be removed by a constitutional process. Parliament unanimously endorses Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad the new emir, ending a succession debate between two rival branches of the ruling al-Sabah family.

January 24 – North America: CANADA

With 36 percent of the vote, Conservatives win Canadian elections for the first time in twelve years. They take 124 seats in parliament, which is more than any other party but short of the 155 seats needed for an outright majority. The Liberal party’s loss follows a public inquiry finding evidence of corruption among Liberal politicians.

January 25 – Middle East: SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah holds talks in India with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two leaders agree to work together on fighting terrorism and promoting investment. Saudi Arabia supplies a quarter of India’s oil, which India needs to support its booming economy. King Abdullah is the first Saudi king to travel to India in over fifty years.

January 25 – East Asia: MONGOLIA

The Mongolian Parliament selects the former mayor of Ulan Bator, Miyeegombo Enkhbold of the Mongolian People’s Revolution Party (MPRP), as the country’s new prime minister. The change of administration is a result of a parliamentary crisis earlier in the month in which the MPRP withdrew from the governing coalition due to slow economic growth, corruption, and inflation. For most part, the political situation in Mongolia has been peaceful since the move to democracy in 1991.

January 25 – East Asia: CHINA

Internet company Google came under attack after it agreed to censor its search engine in China in order to satisfy authorities in Beijing. Critics warn that this could restrict access to Web sites on sensitive topics like independence for Taiwan and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Google argues that it can play a more useful role in China by participating in the fast growing market.

January 25 – Russia and Other Former Soviet Republics: UZBEKISTAN/EURASIAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

Uzbekistan becomes the sixth member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Community (EES) at a summit in St. Petersburg. The participants discuss the possible merger of the EEC and the Central Asian Cooperation Organization in order to advance regional integration. Uzbekistan has been strengthening ties with Russia and distancing itself from the U.S. since it received strong criticism from the West after a violent crackdown on demonstrators in Andijon in May 2005.

January 25 – South Asia: INDIA

January 26 – Middle East: PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Hamas wins a surprise victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating the traditional ruling Fatah party. Voter turnout was high at 77 percent. The election results raise questions about the future of the Middle East peace process, as Hamas refuses to retract its call for the destruction of Israel. Many western countries that provide aid to the Palestinian Territory, such as the United States, consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

January 30 — Europe: FRANCE

France’s President, Jacques Chirac, announces a slavery memorial day to be held annually on May 10th, the day when France designated slavery as a crime against humanity in 2001. The move follows an upsurge in racial tension in France, which culminated in riots in the Paris suburbs late last year. Earlier this month, Chirac announced an end to a 2005 law that requires teachers to emphasize the positive aspects of French colonialism.

January 31 – East Asia: CAMBODIA

Cambodia’s National Election Committee officially announces that the ruling Cambodian Peoples’ Party (CPP) won an absolute majority in the country’s first Senate elections on January 23. However, the election observers say the vote was undemocratic because only members of parliament or local government whose political affiliations were already known were allowed to vote.

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