World News 22-11-2004 Date Set For Iraq Election who: Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Michael Jackson what: Says British troops may be in Iraq for years as date is set for first democratic election when: Yesterday snippet: "Iraq will hold its first democratic elections on 30 January, its electoral commission announced yesterday," says The Scotsman. "The elections will select a transitional parliament that will choose a new government and oversee the writing of a constitution." "The vote has the potential to fuel conflict among Iraq’s disparate groups," says a Reuters report published online by The Financial Times. "Violence has surged in Sunni Muslim areas of Iraq this month, with insurgents attacking U.S. and Iraqi security forces in several cities while the American military was preoccupied with driving insurgents out of Falluja." "The announcement coincided with a decision yesterday by the Paris Club of creditor nations to cancel 80% of the debt it is owed by Iraq," says The Guardian. "The agreement, worth about $33bn (£17.7bn), may encourage other creditors to negotiate away Iraq`s foreign debt." Meanwhile, in the Independent, General Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, warns that British troops could be fighting insurgents in the most dangerous parts of Iraq for years to come. But in cheerier news, The Sun reports that 21 year-old James Belton `phoned his wife from the front-line and was told "I`m having a baby - right now!" [... more]

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