President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger in Afghanistan's presidential election, new results showed Wednesday, but he remains short of the 50 percent threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff.
The latest returns boost Karzai's standing to 44.8 percent. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, has 35.1 percent. The count is based on returns from 17 percent of polling stations nationwide, meaning the results could still change dramatically. Tuesday's returns had Abdullah trailing by two percentage points.
Afghan election officials are slowly releasing results from last Thursday's election, but final certified results will not be ready until at least mid-September, after fraud complaints have been investigated.
Posted by: ed ||
08/27/2009 06:49 ||
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The Muttawa are bullies. Their ROE have been tightened for everyday interactions with the citizenry, so the impulse had to burst out elsewhere.
[Dawn] Saudi Arabia's religious police is cracking down on summer festivals that the government hopes will promote domestic tourism, in the latest battle between liberals and conservatives in the world's biggest oil exporter.
The Saudi government is trying to promote internal tourism but restrictions on singing, dancing and mixing of unrelated men and women by the powerful religious establishment has complicated the effort.
Conservative clerics backed by some powerful members of the Saudi royal family oppose efforts to liberalise the country of 25 million, where women are also forbidden from driving.
'These acts contradict the faith and must not be done, taught, spread or encouraged,' religious police spokesman Abdullah al-Mashiti told al-Watan daily this week, referring to circus acts such as fire-eating and lying on beds of glass that he believes is a form of magic outlawed by Islamic Sharia law.
'They must be fought and those performing them must be reported and punished so as to be deterred and their evil restricted,' he said.
The religious police is one of the key instruments of clerical control in society, with powers to enforce gender segregation in most government and commercial buildings and search for drugs, alcohol or other items seen as immoral.
Jeddah's summer film festival was cancelled this year despite the support of local governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.
King Abdullah, who ascended the throne in 2005, is seen as backing the reformers but he must balance the opposing forces.
'Unfortunately such actions carried on by religious police do not adhere to the official political will and they sabotage the government efforts to improve and maintain the internal tourism industry,' said Mahmoud Sabbagh, a newspaper columnist.
This month music concerts were also banned from the Abha tourism festival, in the mountainous southwest of the kingdom.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's entertainment firm Rotana managed to stage screenings of a Saudi comedy movie last December, but religious police disrupted shows in Riyadh.
'There are no activities here, and when they do have activities they are not accessible to women,' said Samar Edrees, who travels abroad regularly to escape the restrictions.
'Here they have festivals that only target children and men, there is nothing for us to do and there are no cinemas.'
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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At what point will Prime Minister Brown no longer be able to continue avoiding calling that election?
A Cabinet minister also held talks with his Libyan counterpart in Geneva.
The disclosures will add to the pressure on Gordon Brown to explain exactly what trade or other deals have been negotiated with Libya. It is certain to lead to calls for an inquiry into the circumstances around the release.
Last night the Cabinet Office released papers which showed that Lord Jones, a trade minister, visited Tripoli in May last year to talk to business representatives.
In November last year Dawn Primarolo, then a health minister, held bilateral talks with the Libyan prime minister and the Secretary of the General People's Committee. Her boss, Alan Johnson also met Libyan health ministers at the World Health Assembly held in Geneva last year.
In addition, Bill Rammell, the Foreign Office Minister, held bi-lateral talks with foreign ministers in the Libyan capital in February 2009.
The row over the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al Megrahi has led to questions about whether the Government had done a deal with Colonel Gaddafi's regime involving lucrative trade contracts in exchange for Megrahi's release.
Posted by: ed ||
08/27/2009 07:19 ||
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#1
the notion that the Scotty Nats released Megrahi as a way to help Labour trade policy, strikes me as unlikely, to put it politely. And a fortiori, when the Scotty Nats are in hot water over it, that they have failed to leak the details that would implicate Labour, if there are any.
Instead we get a Tory paper reciting what appear to be routine contacts, as if that proves anything.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/27/2009 10:23 Comments ||
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#2
Lord mandleson of Foy (ex EUSSR trade commioner) had tea on a yacht with Ghadaffis son.
#3
The Scotty Nats are trying to get permission to openly distribute the relevant documents. Remember, Brown's government has a rather ... rigorous ... use of law enforcement against anyone who leaks embarassing information when that can be traced.
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea agreed Wednesday in rare talks with South Korea to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War, with the first reunions in nearly two years likely to be held in late September or early October, Yonhap News Agency reported. The tentative agreement was reached as Red Cross officials from the two Koreas began a three-day meeting at the North"s scenic Mt. Kumgang resort to arrange a new round of reunions of families separated by the Korean War. Reunions were stopped in late 2007 amid deteriorating political relations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Thereby ensuring a supply of hostages in the future.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/27/2009 20:52 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] German prosecutors said on Tuesday they would push for a life sentence against a man charged with the brutal Islamophobic murder of a pregnant Egyptian woman, dubbed the "veil martyr."
Prosecutors in the eastern city of Dresden said Alex W., a 28-year-old Russian-born German, was motivated by "a pronounced hatred of non-Europeans and Muslims."
As psychiatric experts had found no evidence of diminished responsibility, prosecutors said they would seek a life sentence.
Further information on when a trial might take place would be published later in the week, they said.
On July 1, Alex W. set upon Marwa al-Sherbini as she gave evidence against him in a court in Dresden, stabbing her 16 times in the chest and back with an 18-cm-long (seven-inch) knife in front of her young son, the prosecution said.
The death of the 31-year-old fuelled anti-German sentiment in some Muslim countries including in her home country and Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the German government for the killing, while demonstrations were staged outside the German embassies in Tehran and Cairo.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How long is a life sentence in Germany? If he'd have done this crime in Texas, or Florida, etc. he'd be looking at the pointy end of the last needle, even with a veiled Muslim victim.
[Al-Arabiya] Pakistan's new Taliban leader vowed to avenge a United States missile strike that killed his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud, but analysts said Wednesday the extremist outfit has been greatly weakened. Baitullah was a good commander in that he held the reins tightly and brooked no opposition. Hakimullah doesn't appear to have the same talents at this stage, though that's not to say he won't have things under control in six months or a year.
Pakistani and U.S. officials have been saying for weeks that Mehsud was killed when a missile from a U.S. drone aircraft hit his father-in-law's home on Aug. 5, but Taliban officials insisted the feared warlord was simply ill. "He's fine. He's just pinin' for the fjords!"
According to media reports Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, both Taliban commanders, called news agencies Tuesday evening on the same phone to make the announcement.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
They're threatenin' revenge agz the good ole' USA = USSA or USRoA.
The PK, RUSS, + INDIAN mil forums are mostly describing HAKEEMULLAH as young, intense, and defin ambitious - read, VERY LIKELY TO ATTEMPT TO CARRY OUT HIS THREATS TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITIES???
[Dawn] India singled out Hafiz Saeed as the 'brain' behind the 26/11 attacks and told Pakistan that it has given enough evidence to convict the man known for his anti-Indian terror activities. "Enough, already! Quit niggling and do something!"
"'Niggling' is something!"
India, however, stressed that it was keen to resolve its differences with its neighbours through 'peaceful means and negotiations.'
Putting Pakistan to the Hafiz Saeed test, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna stressed that only action against such persons would convince New Delhi of Islamabad's seriousness in tackling cross-border terror.
'We want that such elements should be tackled by Pakistan so that India can be convinced of the seriousness of the government of Pakistan in going after these terrorists,' Krishna told CNN-IBN in an interview.
He stressed that Pakistan has been told of Saeed's 'track record for directing terrorist activities against India' and the need for action against the man who 'heads a terror organisation that is basically inimical to India's interest.'
Critical of Pakistan's tokenism, Krishna said that although Pakistan has charge sheeted 'five-six' of those suspected of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, 'the more important ones are left out', like Hafiz Saeed, who is the brain behind the attack on Mumbai.
'...well there is no word from Pakistan about him,' he said.
Krishna's remarks came after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Indian ambassadors, who had gathered for a five-day conclave, that India has been a victim of terrorism but will strive to engage neighbours constructively to resolve differences through dialogue.
Conveying mounting exasperation in India over Pakistan's inaction despite receiving a fresh dossier against Saeed last week, Krishna said that the evidence given by New Delhi was enough to convict the man.
'Whatever evidence that we have gathered - in our opinion - is enough to get a conviction to a person, if it is presented through proper advocacy before a court of law,' said Krishna.
'I would not go into the details as to what exactly the dossier contains, but once Pakistan mentions the names in the dossier - it will come out,' he said.
Krishna, who is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next month, reiterated India's position that no 'meaningful dialogue' was possible with Pakistan unless it acted on the terror leadership, including Hafiz Saeed.
But Krishna clarified that there would be no backtracking from the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement that de-linked Pakistan's actions on terror from the composite dialogue process, calling it an 'expression of faith' for India.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday his government was making progress towards reopening talks with the Palestinians and hoped to be able to do so shortly.
Israel has so far resisted U.S. President Barack Obama's calls to freeze settlement building so that peace talks may resume, and the dispute has led to a rare rift in the Jewish state's relations with Washington.
Speaking in London ahead of a meeting with the United States envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell, Netanyahu said: "We are making headway. My government has taken steps both in words and deeds to move forward."
Mitchell is pressing the hawkish Netanyahu to freeze Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want to build their future state and capital along with Gaza. Mitchell is also trying to get Arab states to make some gestures towards Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
haaretz says a deal is close to done (a Bibi US deal, that is)
It would look like this
1. A freeze on building in settlements the west bank for nine months
2. 2000 units currently under construction could be completed
3. No freeze in east Jerusalem
4. Where its necessary to build a kindergarden or other public building for normal life in a settlement, that is okay
5. At the end of nine months, if the arabs have not responded with diplo and trade goodies for israel, the freeze ends, and the US agrees not to push for another one.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/27/2009 10:18 Comments ||
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#2
and at the 10 month mark, 0bams renegs on the US promises and demands the Jews march quietly to the ovens.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
08/27/2009 15:16 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened on Wednesday to press for tougher sanctions on Iran while developping nations agreed to back Iran's push to debate a ban on military attacks targeting nuclear facilities.
In his annual address to France's ambassadors, Sarkozy lambasted the leadership of Iran and said tougher sanctions would have to be discussed if Tehran does not change its position on the contentious nuclear program that the West believes is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb.
Because Tehran has demonstrated the effectiveness of Western threats of sanctions... and the effectiveness of actual sanctions as well. Petty posturing by those who refuse to do more.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Frances Sarkozy is Nicolas' sister I suppose...
AFAICT, it was the sanctions imposed so far, limited though they are, that impacted Irans economy enough to create opposition to Dinnerjacket beyond the intellectual class, and that thus led to the election stealing, and the street protests, whose full impact has not necessarily been fully played out. We may yet see regime change in Teheran.
And we have not yet seen the impact of much tougher sanctions.
Blame BHO for eagerness to engage. Blame Russia and China for threatening to veto tougher sanctions. Blame IAEA types and lefty pundits for minimizing the urgency.
But dont blame Sarko, who, afaict, is pushing for a harder line as much as can. No one in euroland is going to go for force before trying real sanctions first - this is hardline a position as will fly over there. Sarko should be commended for it.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/27/2009 10:14 Comments ||
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Would a new government in Tehran discontinue progress toward nuclear weapons, liberal hawk? As far as I've been able to gather, pretty much the entire population supports the effort, as a matter of national pride, so it isn't merely a matter of driving out President Ahmadenijad or the ruling mullahs. So long as Iran works toward the bomb, Israel remains threatened.
#4
It's a strange world where the President of France is the last conservative hope for the hawkish line on non-proliferation.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/27/2009 13:44 Comments ||
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Would a new government in Tehran discontinue progress toward nuclear weapons, liberal hawk? As far as I've been able to gather, pretty much the entire population supports the effort, as a matter of national pride, so it isn't merely a matter of driving out President Ahmadenijad or the ruling mullahs. So long as Iran works toward the bomb, Israel remains threatened.
Some folks say that the population supports on pride, but when you look at actual quotes, its always "We support Iranian nuclear energy" not we support a bomb, or even we support enrichment. The Iranian govt has deliberately elided the distinctions between a bomb program, an enrichment program, and an atomic energy program, in both its domestic and foreign propaganda. Until there is a free discussion in Iran, its not clear if the people (or a democractic govt) would be unwilling to strike a deal that lets them keep an atomic energy program, while giving up enrichment.
But lets assume the worst, that they want a bomb anyway and regime change doesnt impact that. Well, Pakistan has a bomb. Israel lives with that. The assumption being A. Pakistan is not obsessed with Israel and B. the govt of pakistan is rational (in at least the we dont want to get blown up, and we dont expect a hidden mahdi to save us sense of "rational") and so, deterrable. Is there any reason to think a new regime in Iran, with no more official role for mullahs, with the Rev Guard dissolved, with the khomeinists sidelined, would not be rational and deterrable?
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/27/2009 16:47 Comments ||
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#6
I just don't know, liberal hawk. The countries around Israel have spent two generations vilifying the Jewish state in the most horrible terms, and I just don't know how to calculate the odds that a non-mullah Iranian government would not continue to sing that song. Saddam Hussein's government was not religious, nor is the government of Syria, but both were open and active enemies of Israel. Iraq is not, at this time, but recently Kurdish politicians have been censured for travelling there and for dealing with Israelis.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's supreme leader said on Wednesday opposition protests that erupted after the country's June presidential vote were planned in advance, but he said he did not believe its leaders were agents of foreigners.
Iranian officials have previously portrayed the protests as a foreign-backed bid to topple the clerical establishment. They have accused Western powers, particularly the United States and Britain of fomenting the unrest, a charge denied by Washington and London.
"I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read out by a newsreader.
"This plot was defeated, since fortunately our enemies still do not understand the issue in Iran," added the statement, read out over pictures of Khamenei.
"Our enemies were given a slap in face by the Iranian nation, but they are still hopeful and they are pursuing the issue," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A member of a parliamentary committee looking into events after Iran's disputed election said on Tuesday the committee was investigating a rumored "mass burial" in a Tehran cemetery of protesters who had been killed.
The reformist website Norooz said last week that "tens" of people were buried in unnamed graves in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery on July 12 and 15 -- about a month after the election, which sparked widespread street protests. Norooz did not identify those who were buried or say how they died. "Parliament is investigating a rumor about a mass burial of post-vote detainees," the official IRNA news agency quoted MP Hamidreza Katouzian as saying.
"We cannot deny or confirm the case at the current time and if it is needed we will visit Behesht-e Zahra," Katouzian added, referring to Tehran's largest cemetery south of the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] With Iran roiled by allegations of mistreatment of post-vote prisoners, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution moves to defuse the controversy, promising that no detainee's rights will be trampled upon.
Accusations of prison rape and the violent treatment of detainees have caused uproar inside and outside Iran and have prompted parliament speaker Ali Larijani to assign a special parliamentary committee to investigate the matter.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei moved to address concerns over the issue, saying that the Islamic establishment will not fall short of expectations in dealing with such crimes and those who commit such acts.
The issue was brought to the fore in Iran after defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi wrote a letter to the influential Head of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, on July 29, claiming that jailers brutally "raped" post-vote protesters in Iran's detention centers.
Karroubi has even called for a meeting with the country's top officials -- including the president -- to present evidence of alleged sexual assault against some post-election detainees.
In reference to the allegations of jail rape and alleged evidence of the issue, Ayatollah Khamenei said that in dealing with issues of such "great sensitivity" the authorities should not act based on "speculations and rumors".
"In issues with such great sensitivity, the Judiciary should judge based on irrefutable evidence; even if there is evidence supporting certain rumors, such evidence cannot be a base for judgment," Ayatollah Khamenei added.
The issue of a night-time raid on a Tehran University dormitories was also raised during the meeting between the Leader and university students and scholars.
The raid on June 14 was among the controversial incidents of Iran's post-vote frenzy which drew fierce criticism from various political quarters.
Acknowledging that crimes have taken place in the university dormitory raid, Ayatollah Khamenei said "a special file has been opened on the matter so that the wrong-doers are punished regardless of their [governmental] posts."
The Leader, however, warned against publicizing the matter with political motivation, saying "an order has been imposed since the initial days for careful, determined action on the matter."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] After one of the defendants standing trial for Iran's post-vote unrest implicated the son of influential cleric Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in an embezzlement plot, the top official's son moves to deny the accusation.
During the fourth round of the mass trials held for post-election detainees on Tuesday, defendant Hamzeh Karami told the court that about $2 million of the assets of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization -- which was headed by Mehdi Hashemi-Rafsanjani at the time -- were used to finance his father's presidential campaign in 2005.
"Mehdi Hashemi believed that the elections in Iran were financed with government funds. He did not believe in spending private savings for the election. So they set up a system for forgery and falsification of documents," Karami claimed.
Mehdi Hashemi-Rafsanjani in a letter to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ezzatollah Zarghami categorically denied the allegation, saying it was an "outright lie."
The son of the former two-time president questioned the credibility of the court and the confessions made in the session by stressing the fact that Karami "stood trial on Tuesday without a defense attorney after having spent over 70 days in solitary."
He explained that the conditions under which the court session was held was against a law mentioned in clause 1 of the Article 188 of the Constitution of the Islamic Revolution.
Mehdi Hashemi went on to deny the allegations levelled against him by arguing that establishing a system for forgery and document falsification as mentioned by Karami in Iran's Fuel Conservation Organization is "impossible" as the body's financial activities are under strict supervision of senior authorities in the country.
"Over the past four years after I left the organization, Audit Commissions in Iran have made several formal assessments on the existing documents on the body's annual costs," said Hashemi, adding that publicizing a charge which is yet to be proven is a crime and the person responsible for the matter can be taken to court.
Hashemi went on to urge an investigation not only into claims made about the $2 million from the IFCO's assets but also into an alleged $340 million which went missing in the same year from the assets of Tehran's municipality.
Mehdi Hashemi linked the accusations made against him to a complaint lodged by the Hashemi family against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"It is worthy of note that this move has only taken place after the family of Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanajni sent a complaint against Mr. Ahmadinejad to the Judiciary," he wrote in his letter.
The son of the head of the Assembly of Experts went on to call on Iran's state broadcaster to provide him with sufficient airtime so that he can defend himself against the cited accusations publicized on the IRIB.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, has ruled out the possibility of any military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The international community knows very well that any attack on [Iran's] nuclear facilities would cause horrific catastrophes at the sites of the facilities, in the region, and in the world, ISNA quoted Soltaniyeh as telling Italy's AKI news agency on Tuesday.
"We've all seen the millions of radiation and cancer deaths that resulted from the Israeli destruction of Saddam Hussein's Osiraq facility," he added.
He stated that those country's that threaten Iran will eventually find themselves isolated. No one would dare to launch an attack on a nuclear facility anywhere in the world, Soltaniyeh said.
Suuuure they won't.
"Using the carrot and stick policy is not a civilized way for dialogue and will lead to the isolation of those who use this policy," he noted.
Actually, using the carrot and stick policy is the civilized method. Bouncing the rubble of the entire country, then salting the earth, and leading the survivors away in chains for a lifetime of slavery, that is the uncivilized method.
Israel is the only player in the Middle East that possesses a nuclear arsenal, but its officials have repeatedly voiced their determination to halt Iran's peaceful nuclear program, even through military means.
Iran says its nuclear program is meant to meet the civilian needs of its people and is being pursued within the framework of IAEA regulations.
Even the IAEA has noticed that lie, Envoy Soltaniyeh.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed on Tuesday Hezbollah will be part of the next cabinet "whether Israel likes it or not," as he called on the all parties to unite to form a coalition to face the country's challenges.
"The national unity government will include the (ruling) March 14 alliance, and I also want to assure the Israeli enemy that Hezbollah will be in this government whether it likes it or not because Lebanon's interests require all parties be involved in this cabinet," Hariri said at a Ramadan dinner at his residence.
That's nice. Israel said that if Hizb'allah is included in the government, then Israel will treat Hizb'allah attacks as acts of war by the government... and respond accordingly. PM-designate Hariri seems to have difficulty grasping this basic concept.
Hariri said, including the threat of Israel, his country faced numerous social and economic challenges, which "no party can handle on its own."
The prime minister-designate, however, added that national unity "should not marginalize the principles of democracy and freedom.
Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reported that Hariri held talks Monday night with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's political assistant Hussein Khalil, who told Hariri his party supported the demands of the Free Patriotic Movement's leader Michel Aoun.
Hariri, son of slain billionaire ex-premier Rafik Hariri, was named prime minister on June 27 after his alliance defeated a Hezbollah-led coalition.
Tough negotiations have led to a deal on the number of ministers each political camp will have in Lebanon's 30-seat cabinet, with 15 going to Hariri's ruling alliance, 10 to the Hezbollah-led opposition and the president appointing five.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Al Arabiya Latest] German prosecutors said on Tuesday they would push for a life sentence against a man charged with the brutal Islamophobic murder of a pregnant Egyptian woman, dubbed the "veil martyr."
[Al-Arabiya] Pakistan's new Taliban leader vowed to avenge a United States missile strike that killed his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud, but analysts said Wednesday the extremist outfit has been greatly weakened. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed on Tuesday Hezbollah will be part of the next cabinet "whether Israel likes it or not," as he called on the all parties to unite to form a coalition to face the country's challenges.
