PERSIAN GULF

FIRST DEMOCRATIC IRAQI GOVERNMENT IS SWORN IN

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The first democratically elected government in the history of Iraq was sworn in yesterday against a backdrop of surging violence, and the new Shiite prime minister pledged before a half-empty parliament that he would unite the country’s rival ethnic factions and fight terrorism.

Despite months of tortuous negotiations, there was no final decision on seven positions in the 37-member Cabinet – including the key oil and defense ministries. More critical still, the partial Cabinet fails to give the country’s disaffected Sunni Arab minority, believed to be driving the insurgency, a meaningful governing stake. Many lawmakers skipped the ceremony, which took place in a conference hall deep within Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. Among those absent was the government’s most senior Sunni member, Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer. The Cabinet that took office yesterday includes 16 Shiite Arabs, nine Kurds, four Sunnis, and one Christian. Two deputy prime minister slots – including one that Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari hopes to offer to a woman – were left vacant, and five ministerial portfolios are in temporary hands.

Mr. al-Jaafari played down the disputes still roiling his government more than three months after millions of Iraqis risked their lives to vote in landmark parliamentary elections on January 30.

– Associated Press

U.S. FORCES RECOVER LETTER DETAILING AL QAEDA’S LOW MORALE

American-led forces have recovered a letter they believe was addressed to a Jordanian born militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, complaining about low morale among his followers and the incompetence of leaders in his terror network, the military said yesterday.

The Pentagon said it may be an indication of growing weakness and dissension among members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the terrorist organization that Mr. al-Zarqawi leads, but warned that the network remained capable of carrying out significant attacks. The letter was seized during a raid Thursday in Baghdad, which also yielded an undated document listing targeting information and sketch maps for kidnappings and bombings, the American military said in a statement. The military said it was written by Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al-Yemeni, whom they identified as a member of Al Qaeda in the Land Between the Two Rivers, a name once used by Al Qaeda in Iraq. The letter, dated Wednesday, is addressed to “the sheik,” a title used by Mr. al-Zarqawi’s followers to refer to their leader, the military said.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

LABOR PARTY’S SUCCESS TO FORETELL BLAIR’S LONGEVITY

LONDON – Tony Blair is favored to win a third term in tomorrow’s elections – but his ability to survive for long as prime minister will rest on the margin of victory by the Labor Party, which includes strong opponents of his Iraq war policy.

If Mr. Blair’s now solid lead in the House of Commons slips, he could face a struggle to control those in his party who are disillusioned with him, not only over the war but over economic policies they consider too conservative. Senior members might then challenge him for leadership.

“The election has become a referendum on Blair, and a small margin will be viewed as a negative, showing him the door,” a political analyst at Manchester University, Bill Jones, said. The unhappiness showed yesterday when families of some British soldiers killed in Iraq marched on Mr. Blair’s office to demand a public inquiry into the legality of the war.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

CHINA COOL TO TAIWAN INVITATION BUT OFFERS PANDAS

BEIJING – China reacted coolly to an invitation yesterday by Taiwan’s leader for President Hu to visit the island, rejecting any official contact until the Taiwanese ruling party drops a clause in its constitution calling for formal independence.

The lukewarm response came hours after Beijing offered a pair of giant pandas to the people of Taiwan plus concessions on fruit imports and tourism as Taiwan’s opposition leader capped a groundbreaking visit to the mainland.” We have no exchanges with the Democratic Progressive Party because its party constitution advocates the separation of Taiwan from the motherland,” a spokesman for the ruling Communist Party’s Taiwan Work Office, Wang Zaixi, told reporters.

– Associated Press