Main parties step up pre-election campaigning

The party leaders continue to set out their pre-election stalls The three main parties are stepping up their pre-election campaigning by issuing pledges on key policies. Gordon Brown is to urge councils to follow the government's lead and protect the police from spending cuts. Meanwhile, the Conservatives will announce plans to allow hundreds of schools in England to become academies, free from local authority control. The Liberal Democrats will also focus on schools, restating their commitment to cut class sizes for infants. The general election must be held by June, but it is widely expected to take place on 6 May. In a speech in Reading, the prime minister is expected to say that central government will protect funding for frontline staff because the "police are important to people". "But police funding in this country has always and rightly been part national, part local," he will say. We will immediately change the law so we can set hundreds of good schools free from political interference Michael Gove Shadow schools secretary "So my challenge to local authorities and police authorities around the country is to match our commitment to protecting front line policing - or else explain to their communities why they are not prepared to do so." He will also say it is not "acceptable" to miss the government target of putting neighbourhood PCs on patrol for at least 80% of the time. Mr Brown will argue crime is down by more than a third since 1997 and dispute the Conservatives' claims that Britain is "broken". 'Greater freedom' Fresh from their spring conference in Brighton, and mindful of their narrowing lead in the polls, the Conservatives will focus on one of their flagship policies - increasing the number of academies. They will allow schools to opt out of council control by September if they win the general election. Education is at the heart of the Liberal Democrats' vision for fairness Nick Clegg Liberal Democrat leader In a speech to head teachers, shadow schools' secretary Michael Gove, along with party leader David Cameron, will say a Tory government would, within days of taking office, introduce legislation to give schools greater freedom over the curriculum, staff and discipline. The process would be speeded up by removing the need to consult local authorities before a school converted to an academy. "We will immediately change the law so we can set hundreds of good schools free from political interference and enable them to help struggling schools," Mr Gove is expected to say. They will also reveal proposals for schools judged "outstanding" by the Ofsted to be exempt from inspection, allowing the watchdog to concentrate on problem schools. 'Vision for fairness' Schools will also be on the Liberal Democrat's agenda on Monday. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will stress the importance of early years education in the home and pledge £2.5bn to help cut school class sizes. In a speech to the Salvation Army in London, he will call on all parents to provide the support their children need to thrive as they grow up. "I want to live in a society where every child has a chance. Education is at the heart of the Liberal Democrats' vision for fairness," he will say. "But a good education doesn't end at the school gate. Governments can only make a difference if parents do their bit too."

Turkish military at uncomfortable crossroads

There has never been much love lost between the Turkish military and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002.

The generals believe the AKP has a hidden agenda to subvert the country's secular system.

The AKP, for its part, sees the military as standing in the way of democratic reforms essential to Turkey's attempt to join the European Union.

But a string of allegations about coup plots by the military - and this week's arrest and formal indictment of seven senior military officers, including four admirals, a general and two colonels - have brought these tensions to a new level.

They raise fundamental questions about whether peaceful cohabitation is possible between the staunchly secular military and a governing party with Islamist roots.

And for Turkey's Western allies, they raise troubling questions about where the country could be heading.

Ataturk's legacy

Opinion polls routinely confirm that in a country where politicians are widely seen as corrupt and self-serving, the armed forces are Turkey's most trusted institution.

The army has overthrown elected governments three times since 1960

But for the role of the army after World War I - when under the leadership of the republic's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it won the independence struggle - modern Turkey would not exist.

Moreover, the generals and their allies in the bureaucracy, the judiciary and the media, see the armed forces as the ultimate guardian of Ataturk's legacy.

The army has intervened to overthrow elected governments three times since 1960 - four, if one includes the so-called "post-modern coup" of 1997, in which it forced from office the country's first Islamist prime minister.

HOW 'COUP PLOTS' EMERGED June 2007: Cache of explosives discovered; ex-soldiers detained July 2008: 20 arrested, including two ex-generals and a senior journalist, for "planning political disturbances and trying to organise a coup" July 2008: Governing AK Party narrowly escapes court ban October 2008: 86 go on trial charged with "Ergenekon" coup plot July 2009: 56 in dock as second trial opens Jan 2010: Taraf newspaper reports 2003 "sledgehammer" plot to provoke coup Feb 2010: More than 40 officers arrested over "sledgehammer"; seven charged

But the election victory of Mr Erdogan and the AKP in 2002 presented the generals with a challenge of an altogether new kind.

For one thing, the AKP was able to govern alone, unlike the string of quarrelsome coalition governments that had preceded it.

For another, it won plaudits at home and abroad for a series of wide-ranging political and economic reforms designed to secure Turkish membership of the European Union.

Part of the reform process involved efforts to keep the military in their barracks - and out of politics.

If this gradual shift of power from the military to the civilians had taken place in a calmer atmosphere, the military might - just - have accepted their new role.

Instead, a series of crises have produced bitter recrimination and left relations between the government and the generals increasingly frayed.

Justice or vendetta?

Can further polarisation be avoided? Right now, the prospects seem dim.

The AKP and its supporters say the evidence of military-inspired plots to overthrow the government is overwhelming.

Dozens of members of the military have been arrested in recent years

The army and its allies retort that much of the evidence is flimsy or even fabricated and that what is under way is a politically motivated vendetta to discredit the country's leading patriotic institution.

Is either side prepared to blink?

If Mr Erdogan presses the issue even harder, this will strengthen the view of his critics that he is out to settle scores and is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

But, as they watch their power and credibility eroding, the generals find themselves in a bind.

To wage a war of attrition against the AKP, which has already won two convincing election victories, could simply ensure it wins a third.

There is no credible political rival on the horizon.

Besides, the current chief of the Turkish general staff, the widely respected Gen Ilker Basbug, says coups are a thing of the past.

Still clinging to its traditional role as guardian of the nation, but aware the tide of history is moving against it, the Turkish military finds itself at an uncomfortable crossroads.

At least 50 die in Europe storms

A helicopter rescue in Vendee, France

At least 50 people have been killed in storms that have lashed parts of Spain, Portugal and France, officials say.

Forty-five of the victims died in France, where many drowned or were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees.

Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) caused chaos as they moved from Portugal up through the Bay of Biscay.

The storm system is moving north-eastwards and areas of France bordering Belgium and Germany are on alert for heavy rain and high winds.

Power cuts

Worst affected have been the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions on the western coast of France.

In pictures: Storm batters Europe 'The worst storm I've encountered'

Huge waves and strong gusts battered many coastal towns, spreading floods inland and destroying buildings.

Residents took to their roofs in the Vendee region and police helicopters were in action attempting to locate and rescue them.

At least a dozen people are said to be missing in France and 59 others injured.

President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to relatives of victims, and said that he would visit the stricken area on Monday.

The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said France would formally declare the storm a natural disaster, freeing up funds to help communities rebuild.

He said that the priority now would be to make all the homeless people and those still threatened by rising waters safe.

He added that flood prevention defences would be strengthened.

"The government will, along with the local authorities, set up without delay a special plan to rebuild and strengthen the dykes, " he said.

The storm system, named Xynthia, has put five of the 95 French departments on red alert - only the second such warning since a new emergency system was introduced in 2001.

More than a million homes in France have lost electricity, from the Brittany peninsula in the west to the highlands of the Massif Central in the centre of the country.

According to the AFP news agency, the French national power company EDF said half a million customers were still without power at nightfall on Sunday, and Mr Fillon said it would take several days to restore power everywhere.

Transport hit

AFP reported that in Germany, a man was killed and his wife injured when a tree fell on their car in the Black Forest region.

A female jogger in the western town of Bergheim, and a man in Belgium, were also killed by falling trees.

Earlier on Sunday two Spanish men died when a tree crushed their car near Burgos. A Spanish woman was killed by a falling wall in Galicia, and a Portuguese boy was killed by a tree in Paredes.

Rail services were severely affected in northern Spain and a number of trains in western France were delayed because of flooded tracks.

Air France said 100 of its flights had been cancelled from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Wind speeds hit 175km/h at the top of the Eiffel Tower, French radio reported.

The French meteorological service said that shortly after 1700 local time (1600 GMT) the storm passed into Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and there were reports of high winds in the Swiss Alps.

Spain's Canary Islands, particularly La Palma, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, were also hit by the storm, although there was no great damage.

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Iraq gets its largest loan to date from IMF

Iraq is to be given a $3.6bn (£2.3bn) loan by the International Monetary Fund -the biggest to the country so far.

The money is aimed at helping Iraq rebuild its battered infrastructure.

The IMF has lent smaller amounts before, loans that came with the conditions of removing subsidies from manufacturers and farmers.

Iraq's revenue is suffering from a depressed oil price and it faces a financing gap of close to £5bn (£3.3bn) until the end of 2011.

Analysts say the conditions attached to previous IMF loans have caused resentment among Iraqis as they have struggled to compete with neighbouring countries in trade.

Iraq relies on oil revenues for as much as 90% of its income and desperately needs funds to rebuild after years of conflict and an insurgency triggered by the 2003 invasion.

Iraqi Christians protest over killings

Iraqi Christians say more needs to be done to protect them Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings. At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul. The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities. The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks. Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad. Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni. "The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul". I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities Pope Benedict XVI In Baghdad, a smaller number of protesters carried Iraqi flags and shouted "stop the killing of Christians", at the gathering in Ferdus Square. The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003. The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq. In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed. Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed. Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned. Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered. Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority. In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities." The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.

protest over killings

Iraqi Christians say more needs to be done to protect them Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings. At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul. The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities. The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks. Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad. Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni. "The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul". I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities Pope Benedict XVI In Baghdad, a smaller number of protesters carried Iraqi flags and shouted "stop the killing of Christians", at the gathering in Ferdus Square. The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003. The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq. In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed. Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed. Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned. Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered. Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority. In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities." The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.

Iraqi Christians protest over killings

Iraqi Christians say more needs to be done to protect them Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings. At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul. The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities. The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks. Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad. Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni. "The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul". I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities Pope Benedict XVI In Baghdad, a smaller number of protesters carried Iraqi flags and shouted "stop the killing of Christians", at the gathering in Ferdus Square. The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003. The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq. In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed. Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed. Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned. Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered. Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority. In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities." The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.

Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings.

At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul.

The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities.

The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks.

Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad.

Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni.

"The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul".

I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities Pope Benedict XVI

In Baghdad, a smaller number of protesters carried Iraqi flags and shouted "stop the killing of Christians", at the gathering in Ferdus Square.

The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003.

The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq.

In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed.

Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed.

Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned.

Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered.

Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority.

In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities."

The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.

Iraqi Kurds again likely to be kingmakers after polls this month

Iraqis walk past election campaign posters for candidates in Baghdad on Saturday. Iraq’s national election is due to take place on March 7. Tensions between Iraq’s Kurds and Arabs may one day lead to armed conflict but, after an election in March, Arab parties will be vying with each other to court Kurdish allies expected to emerge as powerful kingmakers.

Today's interactive toolbox Video Photo Audio Send to print Send to my friend Post your comments Read comments Brutally suppressed under dictator Saddam Hussein, Kurds became one of the nation’s most cohesive political forces after the 2003 US-led invasion, strengthened by US support and by having made their own peace after a civil war during the 1990s. Since the last national vote in 2005 and the years of sectarian carnage that followed, the central government in Baghdad has strengthened its hand, violence has fallen and political coalitions have become more cross-sectarian. Yet none of Iraq’s major Shiite or Sunni Arab parties is expected to win enough parliamentary seats on March 7 to be able to form a government on its own, making Kurdish support possibly the key for any coalition wanting to take power. ”No one can be a prime minister without the backing of the Kurds, because it will be either the Sunni Arabs or the Shiite Arabs, and they don’t support each other, so we will be the critical factor in this balance,” said Shoresh Haji of the Kurdish opposition party Change. The semi-autonomous Kurds are likely to exact a high price for their support, analysts say, ranging from a solution over the city of Kirkuk, which they claim as their ancestral home, to acceptance of oil contracts signed independently with oil firms. “The Kurds have serious demands which the Arab parties will have a hard time satisfying,” said Joost Hiltermann, deputy Middle East director at the International Crisis Group (ICG). “I think it will take some very hard bargaining, but I don’t think the Arab parties are ready to let the Kurds go into opposition ... that is too dangerous.” Spats between Arabs and Kurds over land, resources and power are seen as one the most fundamental threats to Iraq’s future stability as it tries to shake off years of stagnation and boost exports from its economic crown jewel, the oil sector. Little bloodshed The more ethnically homogenous Kurdistan has seen little of the bloodshed that has plagued the rest of Iraq since Saddam was ousted, although Kurds and Shiites bore the brunt of Saddam’s wrath during his decades in power. What the region has seen, however, is rising tensions with Baghdad as Shiite Arab Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sought to extend the central government’s authority across the country. While confrontations so far have been confined to angry rhetoric, Iraqi troops have come close to blows with Kurdish peshmerga fighters in several disputed areas. “The performance of the Iraqi government ... like disrespect for the constitution and for agreements between both sides, are all indications that Baghdad is moving back towards an individualist or one-party dictatorship,” Kurdistan Deputy Prime Minister Azad Barwari said in Kurdistan’s capital, Arbil. “If the situation goes like it is now, Iraq will go to an unknown fate.” Some political analysts say the Kurds may be more realistic in their demands from Arab parties, and the Kurdish bloc would most likely back Maliki’s main challenger for the Shiite vote, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI). Yet the Kurdish vote will not be as united as it has been in the past, potentially weakening their bargaining power. A coalition between the two main Kurdish parties will face an internal challenge from the Change, or Goran, party that won nearly a quarter of seats in a regional vote last year. IHS Global Insight Middle East analyst Gala Riani said that Kurds’ resolve to come together on issues affecting their enclave should not be discounted.

01 March 2010, Monday

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