Iraq to end Turkish presence in north
Iraq’s government on Tuesday called for the abrogation of treaties permitting foreign forces in Iraq. The move is aimed at ending Turkey’s military presence in the north of the country. “The cabinet decided to reject the presence of any foreign bases or forces on Iraqi land and to reject the entry of any foreign military forces into Iraqi land,” government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said, as cited by AFP. The former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein signed a treaty in 1995 allowing Turkish forces to have a presence in Iraq’s northern regions to pursue the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)..
Vatican orders probe of police over abuse of butler
A Vatican judge on Tuesday ordered an investigation of the Holy See’s police force over an alleged abuse of Pope Benedict’s former butler. Paolo Gabriele said on the second day of his trial he was held in a tiny room with the light on constantly for the first few weeks of his detention, Reuters reported. He is accused of aggravated theft of secret papal documents. Gabriele said he did not have any direct accomplices. The former butler, however, noted that he was influenced by others and by “widespread malaise” in the Vatican.
