THE UN: UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan, speaking on a visit to Japan, said yesterday he would release a report on Iraq's political future today.
Mr Annan, who sent a fact-finding mission to Iraq this month, has backed the US position that it would not be feasible to hold elections before the June 30th date that Washington set for handing back power to Iraqis.
"I have studied the team's report and recommendations and I think the team has laid the groundwork for further progress, but there are a number of important issues and questions to be addressed," he said. "I will release a report of the team's work on Iraq tomorrow in New York."
The US has asked the UN to come up with proposals for Iraq's political future before and after the June 30th transfer of power. The UN report is expected to set a timeframe for future elections in Iraq. Some US and British diplomats also hope it will give options for an interim government, although no decision has been made on whether to include them.
The report has been expected to suggest that elections for a permanent government be held late this year or early in 2005. US civilian administrator Mr Paul Bremer said it would not be possible to hold elections for a year to 15 months for technical reasons.
Mr Annan arrived in Japan on Saturday for a five-day visit that will include talks with the Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, who hopes Mr Annan's presence will boost domestic support for his dispatch of troops to Iraq.
Meanwhile, a Sunni Muslim cleric was shot dead yesterday after he left a mosque in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars said. Sheikh Dhamer al-Dhari was walking near his mosque when gunmen opened fire from a car. Sheikh Al-Dhari was not a prominent member of the association but his half brother, Hareth al-Dhari, is its secretary general. - (Reuters/AP)