RAMALLAH, August 15, 2013 (WAFA) – Head of Fatah team to the reconciliation talks with Hamas, Azzam Ahmad, said Thursday that Hamas was not ready for reconciliation and that it has not abided by the agreed date to form a unity government and to set a date for presidential and legislative elections.

Fatah and Hamas have agreed on May 14 to conclude their reconciliation talks with the formation of a unity government of independent technocrats headed by President Mahmoud Abbas by August 14 along with setting a date for national elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Commenting on the consensus reached over “equality” issue in constitution drafting, KA.DER Chairwoman Çiğdem Aydın told bianet that they welcomed the decision with great satisfaction even though they found flaws regarding the measures against quota practice.

The ailing Democratic Party continued to reach out to non-party members this week, naming a 2014 presidential candidate selection committee of mostly outsiders in an effort to bolster popularity and distance itself from a series of high-profile graft cases that have tainted the party’s once clean image.

The committee consists of seventeen people — seven party members and ten independents — who are tasked with selecting the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. The group met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at his residence in Cikeas to begin the process on Monday.

Malians await the outcome of a presidential election run-off they hope will usher in a new era of peace in the West African nation - with international montiors reporting satisfaction with voting conditions.

The process of ballot-counting began on Sunday, as polling stations around the country closed shortly after 6pm local time (1800 GMT) as scheduled.

An electorate of nearly seven million had been asked to choose between former premier Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse to lead Mali's recovery, following last year's coup.

The Libyan authorities should urgently put into place legislative and judicial measures to protect the rights of journalists and guarantee freedom of press, said Reporters Without Borders (RWB).

Ambos proceden del mismo partido político (Adema), ambos fueron ministros y compartieron gabinete en la década de los noventa y los dos ya intentaron ser presidente en pasados comicios sin haber tenido éxito. Hasta aquí las similitudes. Porque Ibrahim Boubacar Keita y Soumaïla Cissé, los dos candidatos en la segunda vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales que se celebran este domingo en Malí, ofrecen dos discursos y dos modelos diferentes para intentar sacar a este país de la grave crisis que vive desde hace 18 meses.

Former Indonesian vice president Jusuf Kalla said he would run in the 2014 presidential election if “the people push for it,” on Friday.

“To move as a presidential candidate, there are requirements that must be met,” Kalla said. “If the people push for it, then I think I will be in solidarity with the nation.”

Kalla, who served as vice president from 2004 to 2009, was speaking to reporters during an Idul Fitri open house on Friday. The former Golkar Party chairman said Indonesia’s next president must be understand the issues facing the nation.

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Kota Kinabalu Umno Youth has proposed that the post of Umno Youth chief remain uncontested in the party elections later this year.

Its head, Bahrul Razha Chuprat, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had done a good job as the chief and he should be given more time to complete his mission.

He spoke to reporters at his Aidilfitri open house here.