Clinton urges Northern Ireland to finish peace push

By Jeff Mason and Anne Cadwallader

BELFAST (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Northern Ireland on Monday to push forward with the final steps in its peace process, lending diplomatic muscle to a cause long supported by Washington and her own family.

Clinton, whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, helped broker a deal that ended decades of violence here, said President Barack Obama's administration would do all it could to support the process going forward.

"I'm here today to send a strong message that the Obama administration and the United States are committed to supporting you as you continue your journey," Clinton said after meeting with the top two leaders in Belfast.

Clinton's trip comes just one week after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown flew into the province to try to inject fresh momentum into the peace process.

While Northern Ireland enjoys relative peace since a 1998 deal ended the Irish Republican Army's military campaign against British rule, tricky political problems remain.

Relations between the two governing parties in Belfast are brittle amid disagreement over when the administration should be given power over policing and justice.

Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister of the Stormont Assembly of the pro-Ireland Sinn Fein party, wanted the authority in Belfast's hands months ago but First Minister Peter Robinson of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party is holding out for a deal on funding.

Clinton met with McGuinness and Robinson prior to a planned speech before the Stormont Assembly -- a rare address by a foreign dignitary.

Relations between McGuinness, a former IRA commander, and Robinson have deteriorated sharply, with Sinn Fein suspicious that Robinson is stalling to placate hardliners within his

Some factions in the DUP still oppose sharing power with their former enemies.

Dissident republican groups have been tapping into a sense of disillusionment in some nationalist areas with the Real IRA killing two British soldiers in March and increasing attacks on police officers.

Last month, police made safe a bomb containing 600 lb (270 kg) of homemade explosives, bigger than the device which killed 29 people in Omagh in 1998, the deadliest single incident of Northern Ireland's "Troubles." Dissident republicans were suspected of building the bomb uncovered last month.

More than 3.600 people were killed in violence between the late 1960s and the 1998 Good Friday peace deal.

As First Lady, Hillary Clinton gave a lot of support to pro-peace women's groups in Northern Ireland and visited patients injured in the Omagh bombing.

(additional reporting by Carmel Crimmins; editing by Michael Roddy)

Source : www.reuters.com

Blast Near Pakistan's Swat Valley Kills 29, Wounds 40

Pakistani police say a suspected suicide bombing has killed at least 29 people, including security personnel, in the Shangla district, near the troubled Swat Valley. Authorities say some 40 people were wounded in the attack.

Police say the attacker struck a military convoy and set off a huge blast - part of a growing string of explosions and attacks in the country.

The deadly incident came hours after Pakistan officials said military fighter jets bombed militant outposts in a lawless northwestern tribal belt, killing nearly a dozen suspected militants and wounding several others.

In another development Monday, the Taliban have claimed responsibility for Saturday's assault on the heavily guarded army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The attack and long militant siege of a nearby building that followed left 19 people dead, including eight militants, eight soldiers and three hostages.

Gunmen killed six soldiers in the initial assault on the army headquarters. Pakistani troops killed four of the attackers and captured two more, but other militants took hostages and holed up in an office building.

Pakistani commandos stormed the building early Sunday, freeing 39 hostages, killing four militants and capturing another. Officials said three hostages and two soldiers also were killed during the rescue.

The attack in Rawalpindi came at the end of a violent week. Last Monday, a suicide bomber attacked a U.N. office in Islamabad, killing five staff members, and on Friday another suicide bombing killed at least 50 people in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Pakistani leaders have vowed to press forward with a long-awaited offensive against terrorist bases in south Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Source : www.voanews.com

McCanns' agony as new search begins

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

By Claire McNeilly

Kate and Gerry McCann today face further agony after Portuguese police announced a new set of searches for their missing daughter.

The move comes after reports emerged that a full DNA match to little Madeleine had been found in the hire car used by the McCanns, in addition to the partial match in traces of blood found in the boot of the vehicle.

Portuguese police are understood to be preparing to hand their file on the case to the public prosecutor later today for him to consider whether to bring charges against her parents.

The prosecutor is expected to consider the 40 questions which the McCanns allegedly refused to answer, as well as emails and tapped phone calls made between them and their friends.

Reacting to the news, Gerry McCann described the past week as a " unending nightmare".

"Kate and I are totally 100% confident in each other's innocence, and our family and friends have rallied round unflinchingly to support us," he told his website.

"We have absolute confidence that, when all of the facts are presented together, we will be able to demonstrate that we played absolutely no part in Madeleine's abduction. Our primary concern has always been the search for Madeleine and this aspect, that our daughter is still missing, must remain a priority for the investigation."

In light of the claims, Kate and Gerry (both 39) are also to be questioned by social workers about the welfare of their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, at a meeting later this week.

Tests returned from the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham on a specimen taken from the McCanns' Renault Scenic showed it was a full match of Madeleine's DNA, sources told Sky News.

The results prove that the girl's body was in the boot of the car, which was not hired until 25 days after she went missing. But Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the police investigation, denied the report to Portuguese journalists last night.

Alipio Ribeiro, head of the investigative Policia Judiciaria (PJ), also suggested that the forensic tests had not been conclusive.

He told Portuguese state broadcaster RTP: "We can't say with certainty whether it was the blood of person 'A' or person 'B'.

"They help guide us in our investigation but not with the mathematical precision some people are saying," he said.

Police will submit their detailed file to Algarve-based public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses today.

He will carry out a review of the findings before deciding whether the police evidence is strong enough to warrant charges against the couple.

This could mean months of agonising waiting for Mr and Mrs McCann, who returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire, on Sunday having been named as suspects in their daughter's disappearance.

The prosecutor has three main options - he could bring charges, rule that no action should be taken, or send the papers back to police requesting more evidence.

Senior officers decided to submit the file despite not having all the FSS results. But a source close to the investigation said all results of substance had already been handed to Leicestershire Police and the Portuguese authorities.

Although the Policia Judiciara called off the search for the four-year-old months ago, it revealed fresh plans for another hunt in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing 131 days ago.

These will take place at "specific locations" to the south of the Ocean Club resort, from which Madeleine disappeared, according to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha. Mr Sousa refused to confirm or deny the report.

Source : www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Press disgust at Sharif expulsion

Pakistan's press is unanimous in condemning the deportation of former PM Nawaz Sharif, hours after he returned from a seven-year exile to challenge President Pervez Musharraf in elections.

Sharif was deported within hours of his arrival in Islamabad

Newspaper editorials accuse the government of defying a Supreme Court ruling allowing Mr Sharif to return home, branding the move "disgusting" and "shameful".

Several papers believe the incident smacks of desperation on the government's part, and suggest Gen Musharraf's grasp on power is slipping.

THE FRONTIER POST

The ugly spectacle that the government made of Mian Nawaz Sharif's arrival at the Islamabad airport was intolerably disgusting.

THE POST

The goings on at Islamabad airport can only be described as a shameful episode in our sorry history. It is a clear violation of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Nawaz Sharif return case.

THE NEWS

The forced exile of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is an act of pure and utter desperation by a government that seems to be now operating very much in panic mode. It leaves the government open to severe criticism for acting in a most ham-fisted manner. The treatment of the former prime minister as virtually a convicted felon is only going to add to the growing popularity of Mr Sharif.

DAWN

Monday's events seem to be part of the chain of events occurring in rapid succession, as if with an inexorable force, to rock Pakistan. At stake is not just the survival of a military regime that has been shaken to the core, but the very fate of the ongoing movement for freedom and democracy. Nawaz Sharif's return would have served to strengthen the political process, encouraged other personalities in exile to return and paved the way for hotly contested general elections. This opportunity has been lost.

THE NATION

The government might have heaved a sigh of relief by sending Mian Nawaz back into exile. But then Gen Musharraf and his self-seeking supporters should not forget that this practice of handling political matters through the coercive arm of police and administration will further push the country towards chaos. By overreacting to Mian Nawaz's homecoming, they have only strengthened the perception that the present regime's edifice is too fragile to bear the pressure of one individual.

NAWA-I-WAQT (PRO-MUSLIM LEAGUE)

By re-deporting Nawaz Sharif instead of facing him in the political arena, the government has opened a new Pandora's box which will have serious consequences for the future of the country's politics and democracy. However, the government decided to do this out of sheer desperation. Now [Nawaz Sharif's wife] Kalsoom Nawaz has announced her return to Pakistan. We shall see what strategy our commando president and his valiant comrades adopt to combat this brave lady.

JANG

It would be better for the government to allow Nawaz Sharif to come home, take part in the next election and play a role in the country's politics. Then, the people would be able to make a clear decision about Pakistan's future leadership. This would have improved the country's image.

AUSAF

The humiliating way in which Nawaz Sharif was deported again has negative repercussions for the country's politics. The two factions of Muslim league - PML-Q and PML-N - are like two disgruntled brothers. Their dispute should not be translated into personal enmity. Both sides should beware of the sensitivity of situation, to improve the country's political culture.

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

Legal options in Madeleine case

The McCanns could be interviewed by UK police

Police papers from the inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are due to be passed to the public prosecutor in Portugal. But what are his options?

With Kate and Gerry McCann back home in the UK, the Portuguese authorities are weighing up what action to take next in relation to them and Robert Murat - the other formal suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of the McCanns' four-year-old daughter Madeleine.

Detectives in Portimao have been preparing the case files to hand them over to Jose Magalhaes e Meneses, the prosecutor overseeing their work, for him to review progress and redirect the investigation if necessary.

"The public prosecutor wants to see the case files," said Chief Inspector Olegario de Sousa, the police spokesman for the investigation.

"Normally we keep him up to date verbally, but when he wants to look at them, we hand them over."

Police said they expected to hand over the files on Tuesday. Once they have done so, the prosecutor will draw together the evidence they contain and decide the next step.

He could conclude there is enough evidence to draw up a charge sheet against one or more of the arguidos, or formal suspects, in the case - Robert Murat and Kate and Gerry McCann - thus bringing the investigation to a close, or that one or more of them should have that status removed, for lack of evidence.

More likely is he will direct police to gather more evidence - for example by carrying out further searches or witness interviews - and to cross-check this with existing information.

'More bureaucracy'

If police want to interrogate Kate or Gerry McCann further, then they must formally notify them of that fact.

Mr and Mrs McCann would then have five working days from when they, or their Portuguese lawyer, receives the letter before having to appear.

If the McCanns refused to return for questioning, the Portuguese could formally request that UK police interrogate them instead, putting to them a list of questions sent from Portimao, perhaps with a Portuguese detective observing.

But all this would mean more bureaucracy, slowing down proceedings.

"As soon as suspects leave the country, another jurisdiction enters the picture," said Rogerio Alves, the head of Portugal's Order of Lawyers.

Robert Murat is the only other formal suspect

"All formal requests will have to be scrutinised by the court system there unless they come voluntarily."

In any case, now the McCanns are arguidos, they are no longer obliged to answer questions during interrogation.

So from the point of view of police, obtaining further evidence becomes still more crucial.

That evidence could come in the form of further results from DNA and other tests done on samples sent some six weeks ago to a forensic laboratory in Birmingham.

These were taken at the apartment from which Madeleine disappeared on 3 May and from a car used by the McCanns more than three weeks afterwards, as well as from other vehicles and sites deemed relevant to the investigation.

It was what police described as "partial results" from those tests which seem to have triggered last week's questioning of the McCanns, during which they became arguidos.

Police say they do not know when the full results will be in, while the Birmingham laboratory said that tests on the samples would continue.

Arrest warrants

Police could force Kate or Gerry McCann to return to Portugal by issuing arrest warrants, which under European Union accords should be executed by the British authorities within 40 days.

Such a move would, however, be worthwhile only if police had sufficient evidence of a serious enough crime to convince a Portuguese judge they should be held in some form of custody.

As to how long the McCanns could remain formal suspects without being charged, in principle it is for eight months.

That could be extended by four months, for example on grounds that the need to shuttle correspondence between Portugal and the UK results in delays.

Once the first eight months are up, one of two things could happen: an arguido may formally request that the investigation be accelerated. This move is, however, in itself not binding.

The investigation could take several more months... it could be up to one year Chief Inspector Olegario de Sousa

"The deadlines are recommended only," said Portuguese lawyer Nelson Lourenco. "If they're not kept to, there's no real comeback."

Alternatively, Portugal's attorney general could step in, on the grounds that one or another deadline for the investigation has been exceeded, and take charge of the case.

In fact, he can intervene earlier if he takes the view that police were treating an individual as a suspect before formally declaring them an arguido.

In any case, police have indicated the McCanns are unlikely to remain in their current situation for more than eight months without being charged or cleared, given that the prosecutor has asked for the case files so soon after they were declared arguidos.

Chief Insp de Sousa said: "The investigation could take several more months. It could be up to one year. But in this case that's unlikely, since the prosecutor is analysing the files now. It shouldn't take long."

Police, he added, will continue their efforts to discover what happened on 3 May, even as the prosecutor pores over the case files.

"In an investigation of this kind there are always things to do," he said.



Source : news.bbc.co.uk

Anita Roddick, 64; founder of Body Shop

Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop chain of stores featuring natural-ingredient cosmetics, died Monday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, according to British news media. She was 64.

A social activist and author as well as an expert on natural-ingredient skin care, hair care and cosmetics, Roddick died after being admitted to St. Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, according to British media reports.

Roddick opened the first of her innovative shops in Brighton, England, in 1976. She promoted low-priced cosmetics that she packaged in refillable containers and offered a discount for refill purchases.

She also made a point of avoiding ingredients that had been tested on animals. Instead, she featured products made with banana, strawberry, pineapple, seaweed, jojoba, elder flower and the like. One of the more unusual items she made was a carrot moisturizing cream.

Roddick's passion for the natural and unpretentious in cosmetics fit easily with her commitment to the environment. Over the years she became as well known for her efforts to protect whales and restore rain forests as for her henna hair-coloring products.

Her success as a businesswoman allowed her to aid orphans in Romania, sponsor food and shelter programs for the homeless in London and battle laws she opposed, including the death penalty.

"Our reason for being is to dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change," Roddick noted in her company's statement of principles.

In 2004, Roddick donated $1.8 million to Amnesty International, the human rights organization.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, called Roddick an "incredible woman" and noted that she was living "green" decades before it was fashionable to do so.

"She was so ahead of her time when it came to issues of how business could be done in different ways, not just profit-motivated but taking into account environmental issues," Sauven said in a statement carried by the Associated Press.

Born Anita Perella on Oct. 23, 1942, in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England, Roddick was the daughter of Italian immigrants.

She graduated from Bath College of Education but often said her best teacher was world travel.

She married Thomas Gordon Roddick, a poet, in 1970. He soon joined her as co-chairperson of her business.

After expanding to include nearly 200 shops in England and Europe, most of them franchise stores, the Body Shop entered the U.S. market in 1988.

Her emphasis on small boutiques that stocked natural ingredients inspired a number of imitators, but she remained the most prominent name in the business for two decades.

Before Roddick and her husband stepped down as co-chairs in 2002, the business had grown to include more than 1,900 stores in 50 countries, according to a company history.

The Body Shop became part of L'Oreal, the French cosmetics industry giant, in July 2006.

Along with building her cosmetics business, Roddick wrote a number of books, including "The Body Shop: Skin, Hair and Body Care" (1994) and an autobiography titled "Business as Usual: The Triumph of Anita Roddick" (2000). She edited "Take it Personally: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World" (2001).

She was awarded the title of dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for services to retailing, the environment and charity.

Earlier this year, Roddick announced that she had contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in 1971. She discovered her condition as the result of her latest blood test.

"It means that I live with a sharp sense of my own mortality," Roddick said of her condition, "which in many ways makes life more vivid and immediate."

Roddick's survivors include her husband and her daughters, Sam and Justine.

mary.rourke@latimes.com


Source : www.chicagotribune.com

Pakistan's ex-premier back in exile

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Pervez Musharraf's government quickly deported a former prime minister who tried to return home from exile Monday, eliminating a potential challenge to Musharraf but risking heightened political protests and setting up a clash with a newly emboldened Supreme Court.

Two-time Premier Nawaz Sharif, exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000, flew into Islamabad's airport from London early Monday, a few weeks after the Supreme Court said he had an inalienable right to return home.

But Sharif, who had hoped for a warm welcome from supporters, never got further than the airport lounge.

He was detained by security agents who boarded his plane, threatened him with arrest on corruption allegations and, hours later, put him on a plane to Saudi Arabia.

"They stormed in like bees," said Amjad Malik, a British lawyer for Sharif who accompanied him on the plane. "There was a big hoo-ha. Mr. Sharif may have been hurt, I'm not sure. I'm very worried about his well-being."

On the road to the airport, Sharif supporters carrying "Long live Nawaz" posters were met by hundreds of police officers holding sticks and riot shields and blocking the way. Many of them, including the leaders of his political party, were arrested in chaotic scenes.

Analysts predict ripple effect

While Sharif's deportation marginalized one of Musharraf's biggest foes, analysts said it likely will create other problems for the U.S. ally in the war on terror and deepen resentment of his military rule, which began when he seized power from Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and later exiled him.

Critics said the government's reaction to Sharif's return showed just how much the opposition worries Musharraf. Opposition leaders vowed to continue fighting him, both in court and on the streets, and Western officials criticized his government for the way it handled Sharif.

"The decision to deport him runs contrary to the Supreme Court's decision," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

Musharraf, also the country's army chief, faces mounting challenges to winning another 5-year term in an upcoming presidential election.

His popularity has plummeted since an attempt to oust the country's chief justice in March, while Sharif's popularity had skyrocketed, largely because of his anti-Musharraf stance.

Sharif had hoped to rally opposition to the president, possibly mounting his own campaign for the presidency.

On Monday, several legal experts and analysts questioned whether Musharraf could hold onto power for much longer, despite his support from the U.S.

"He can't survive any more as a political entity," said Iftikhar Gilani, a senior lawyer with the Supreme Court and former law minister. "It's the end of him."

Sharif was exiled in 2000 after being sentenced to life in prison, primarily on charges of corruption. As part of the deal, Sharif allegedly agreed to make his home in Saudi Arabia for 10 years. On Monday, Sharif was given a choice to be arrested or deported, the country's official news agency said. He chose to go to Saudi Arabia, officials told Pakistani media, although that could not be independently confirmed.

Government defends action

"Sharif's deportation is in accordance with law and ethics," Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told Dawn TV. Aryone World TV showed footage of an official from the government's anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau, reading out the recently resurrected corruption charges to Sharif in the airport lounge.

Musharraf's future will likely be decided by the Pakistani court whose ruling he disregarded Monday.

Since the Supreme Court decided in July to challenge the president and reinstate the country's popular chief justice, it has issued several other major court decisions that have gone against the government.

Until Monday, the government had respected every decision, releasing from prison an opposition leader and alleged Islamic militants who had never been charged with crimes.

Other pending cases could hurt Musharraf directly, including one that challenges his dual role as president and army chief.

On Monday, though, Musharraf showed that he was still very much in charge.

Cell phone coverage was blocked around the airport after the government jammed the networks. Thousands of police, commandos and other security forces set up blockades, using barbed wire, trucks and tractors.

Rows of police blocked some roads, holding batons and riot shields. Officers fired tear gas at pro-Sharif crowds in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

Ahsan Iqbal, the spokesman for Sharif's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said Monday that 4,000 opposition members had been detained in the run-up to Sharif's return.

Iqbal was arrested a short time later, and the party's secretary general, Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra, was among those arrested on the road to the airport. After Jhagra got out of his vehicle, he joined Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, president of Pakistan from 1998 until 2001. Police and commandos surrounded them.

"This is the former president of the country," shouted Jhagra, his voice shaking. "Please let us go. …Why are we being stopped? I don't know why this is happening. Why are you stopping us, for God's sake?"


Source : www.chicagotribune.com

Mexican Rebels Claim Pipeline Attacks

VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) — A shadowy leftist guerrilla group took credit for a string of explosions that ripped apart at least six Mexican oil and gas pipelines Monday, rattling financial markets and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production.

The six explosions could be seen miles away, and set off fires that sent flames and black smoke shooting high above the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

At least a dozen pipelines, most carrying natural gas, were affected, said Jesus Reyes Heroles, the head of Mexico's oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, without providing specifics. The explosions occurred in valve stations where different pipelines intersect.

He said there would be hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production and about nine states and the capital, Mexico City, would be affected.

"It is a big blow," he said. "You can't store natural gas or transport it by truck."

The blasts caused brief jitters in international markets, with natural gas futures up as much as 20.2 cents on news of the explosions, although prices dropped in later trading. One oil pipeline was hit in Monday's attack but Pemex said the damage wouldn't affect crude exports.

Some local factories were forced to shut after natural gas supplies were cut. Residential supplies were not expected to be affected.

There were no immediate reports of injuries directly caused by the explosions and fires, although Fernando Leon Yepez, a civil defense official in Omealca, reported that two elderly women died of heart attacks shortly after the explosions.

It was the second time in three months that the so-called People's Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for a pipeline attack as part of what it has labeled its "prolonged people's war" against "the anti-people government."

The group, known as the EPR, is a secretive, tiny rebel group that staged several armed attacks on government and police installations in southern Mexico in the 1990s. It was later weakened by internal divisions, leaving it unclear which splinter group may have carried out Monday's attacks.

The EPR claimed responsibility for a July attack on a major gas pipeline from Mexico City to Guadalajara in western Mexico that forced at least a dozen major companies, including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co., to suspend or scale back operations.

That attack sent the Mexican government scrambling to increase security at "strategic installations" across Mexico. It was not clear what security measures were in place at the pipelines that exploded Monday.

The government did not immediately confirm the EPR's claim of responsibility. Interior Secretary Francisco Ramirez said the federal Attorney General's Office was trying to determine who was responsible.

"Pemex's fundamental installations are adequately protected by our armed forces, and we will do our utmost to find those responsible," Ramirez said.

At least 21,000 people were evacuated as a precaution. Some of them were later allowed to return home.

Flames could be seen up to six miles away, said Pedro Jimenez, a resident who was packing his family into a truck to leave. "You could see the fields of crops lit up."

At least one undetonated explosive device was later found beside a pipeline in a swampy area about 500 yards from a highway toll booth just north of the port of Veracruz, state civil defense coordinator Ismael Reyes said.

President Felipe Calderon condemned the attacks in a statement from India, where he was on a state visit.

"I want to say that my government severely condemns this and all other acts of violence and those who promote it in our country and anywhere in the world," he said. "There is no room for such criminal acts in a democratic Mexico."

Mexico is a major oil producer and exporter, with oil and related taxes accounting for over a third of the federal government's revenue. The U.S. imported 12.7 million cubic feet of natural gas from Mexico in 2006, only about 0.3 percent of total imports that year.

Source : ap.google.com

The bottom line: A drawdown is coming

WASHINGTON—For all the drama surrounding the testimony that military and diplomatic leaders will deliver to Congress this week about the war in Iraq, the real show will play out afterward, as the White House and Democratic congressional leaders vie for control over when the U.S. will start scaling back its forces there.

President Bush has repeatedly hinted that once Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker make their cases in congressional hearings Monday and Tuesday—they are expected to say the current troop "surge" is making Iraq safer—the president may be able to discuss bringing some troops home.

Planning a national address this week, Bush has promised to "lay out a vision for future involvement in Iraq" that the public "and their elected leaders of both parties can support."

Democratic leaders, supported by some military experts, insist that because of the strains on the military from the escalation of forces and the extended deployments of soldiers and Marines, some scale-back is inevitable by spring. Democrats also say that, for all the resistance that Republican leaders are showing to a timeline for withdrawal at this stage, the closer they get to the elections of November 2008, the happier they will be to see a reduced U.S. presence in Iraq.

Some GOP converts

With Congress facing a rush of reports this month reflecting mixed progress in Iraq's bid to gain control over its security—and even less movement toward political reconciliation — Democratic leaders plan to push for a firm withdrawal timeline.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said some Republicans already are moving in that direction and suggested that the negotiations will be mostly over the speed of the de-escalation.

"They may say 5,000, we may say 25,000; they may say X date, we may say Y date," Emanuel said. "But those are details."

He added, "I won't be surprised if [the withdrawal] doesn't start in 2007, but I think it is going to start to happen in short order."

Bush and his supporters have long resisted a withdrawal timeline, saying that would set a "surrender date" and embolden the insurgents.

But last week the president, citing recent meetings with Petraeus and Crocker in Iraq, told reporters with him in Iraq's Anbar province that he can envision a smaller force there.

"They told me that if ... security conditions still improve the way they have been improving ... we may be able to provide the same security with fewer troops," Bush said.

Congress set a deadline of Sept. 15 to receive Petraeus' report, prompting a spate of other evaluations on progress in Iraq, some official and some not. But the judgment of Petraeus and Crocker is attracting the most attention.

In the end, Congress is likely to produce a compromise that marries the political and military realities in Iraq with the politics of an unpopular war at home.

Some lawmakers are promoting a bill to implement the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which said U.S. combat forces should start to withdraw early next year and serve primarily as training and support for Iraqi forces. Others suggest linking any continued war funding to a 15-month cap on individual troop deployments, effectively forcing the military to scale back in the spring.

Artificial deadline

Some analysts note that the Sept. 15 deadline is artificial.

"The truth is that Sept. 15 is going to come and go," said Anthony Cordesman, senior fellow and military expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "And it's going to be Sept. 20 and beyond, and a lot of the problems in the surge are going to become more apparent, and the lack of political reconciliation."

The other key date, perhaps, is Nov. 4, 2008—Election Day in the United States. As that date approaches, many Democrats believe Republicans will face growing pressure to support a significant troop withdrawal.

The security gains since the U.S. boosted its presence in Iraq by nearly 30,000 troops to 160,000 this year vary by region, experts say. But even the administration, which insists the military improvement has been significant, acknowledges little progress in restoring political stability in Iraq. Iraqi leaders have failed to reconcile warring religious factions inside police forces, as well as on the streets.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported recently that Iraq had failed to reach most of the 18 milestones set by Congress.

By Mark Silva | Washington Bureau

1:45 AM CDT, September 10, 2007

Source : www.chicagotribune.com

Nawaz Sharif arrested at Islamabad airport

Islamabad, Sept 10: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested on Monday as soon as he disembarked from the plane in which he came from London after 7 years in exile. He is in the protective custody of Punjab Police. Reports coming in from Islamabad say that he could be taken to his native village for detention.

High drama marked his arrival with Sharif refusing to hand over the passport to immigration authorities and continued his defiance on the tarmac



As soon as the PIA aircraft landed, commandos surrounded the plane. A senior army officer along with a group of officials was seen entering the plane for discussing various "options" with the PML-N leader.

The 57-year-old leader was not allowed to disembark while all other passengers were allowed to do so.

Immigration authorities asked Sharif to hand them over his passport but he refused to do so, journalists travelling with Sharif from London, said.

Cabinet Ministers say that Sharif will be given an option of being deported to Jeddah or being jailed.

Journalists on board the plane said Sharif prefers remaining in Pakistan instead of being deported. PML-N leader and Nawaz`s son, Hasan Sharif said, "The government is in total chaos in respect of what to do with him. Of course we are hearing conflicting reports that he will be arrested or he will deported or he will be allowed to go to Lahore. I think it is important time for everybody.

"He is the leader of a big party, he has got support from lot of Pakistanis waiting for him to come out of the Islamabad Airport," he said.

There was undeclared curfew at the Islamabad airport and outside areas with security forces closing all roads to the airport and arresting top opposition leaders and hundreds of activists.

Sharif`s return is a serious challenge for Musharraf, who has lost much support since trying to dismiss the country`s top judge in March.

It comes as Musharraf is preparing to try to secure another term in a Presidential election by the national and provincial assemblies some time between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15.

A general election is due around the end of the year.

"This opportunity will not come again... it is rarely that such opportunities arise. The whole country should take advantage of this opportunity and 160 million people must get their rights back. I have no other agenda, this is my agenda. This is the vision in my mind and this is my mission," he said before leaving for Pakistan.

Uniformed British police escorted him through a crowd of supporters on his way to the flight at London`s Heathrow airport.

In Pakistan, authorities tightened security at Islamabad`s airport and detained more than 2,000 Sharif supporters, his party said on Sunday, the eve of his arrival.

A provincial police official said 250 "trouble makers" had been picked up.

A security high alert was declared at the airport which was largely sealed off.

His brother Shahbaz Sharif made a last minute change in the plan and stayed back.

Sharif plans to lead a procession the 300 km (200 miles) from Islamabad to Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, and is expected to draw huge crowds -- the last thing Musharraf wants as he prepares to try to secure another term in a Presidential election.

Musharraf sent Sharif to Saudi Arabia in 2000 as part of what the government says was an agreement that Sharif would stay in exile for 10 years. In return, he avoided a life sentence on hijacking and corruption charges. Sharif said he understood the agreement was for five years exile.

The Supreme Court last month said Sharif had the right to return and the government should not try to stop him. The government has not said what it will do when Sharif lands. He faces the possibility of arrest on graft charges as he steps off his aircraft in Islamabad, or even deportation. The former Prime Minister said he expected the government to respect the Supreme Court decision.


Source : www.zeenews.com

Gazans strike to protest violence

Scores of schools and shops and businesses in Gaza have closed their doors in protest against Hamas' takeover of the enclave and the ensuing violence, observing calls by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to unite in protest.

The PLO had called for a one-day general strike on Sunday to condemn the use of force by a Hamas-linked group in dispersing a protest two days earlier which the movement had dubbed "illegal".

At least 20 Palestinians were wounded as Executive Force members - armed with batons and stun grenades and firing into the air - dispersed hundreds of people across Gaza.

Sunday's general strike is the first since Hamas gained power three months ago.

The move marks the latest escalation between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader, and the leadership of Hamas, Fatah's rival.

Shops closed

Most shops were closed in the Rimal neighbourhood, a usually bustling marketplace, and noticeably fewer people were out on the streets.

In Gaza's largest market, all but a handful of fruit and vegetable shops and stalls were closed while Gaza City municipal employees stayed home in protest.

At least 20 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Hamas during Friday prayers [Reuters]

The Al-Azhar, Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa universities were also closed, as were the majority of state schools in the Gaza Strip.

However, schools operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) remained open.

At Shifa hospital, the territory's largest medical facility, only the emergency services were working.

One doctor at the hospital, a Fatah member, said he feared reprisals.

The hospital has witnessed several work slowdowns in recent months, as staff members protested against a move by Hamas to fire senior administrators who are members of Fatah.

"Doctors at hospitals, especially Shifa ... have stopped work and answered the call to strike," the medic, who preferred anonymity, said.

Hamas defiant

Hamas, which says it is imposing order in Gaza after months of chaos, shrugged off Sunday's strike.

"Businesses are functioning normally in the cities of the Gaza Strip, and the education system is functioning as usual except for some schools here and there which are preventing classes from taking place by illegally closing their doors," Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said.

"The strike did not succeed and shows the failure of the new methods used by the Palestinian Authority leadership to try and weaken Hamas."

On the other hand, Kayed al-Ghoul, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] leader, told Al Jazeera that the strike was an attempt to bring Hamas back to the Palestinian territories' democratic tradition.

"We have recently witnessed attempts to impose the ideology of a particular party that sees nothing right in any parties' opinions other than its own.

"Last Friday, democracy was attacked ... the acceptance of other was violated.

"We want to reinforce democracy, multiplicity, respect for other opinions, freedom of expression and the use of peaceful means to express one's positions."



Source : english.aljazeera.net

Iranian leaders say no intention to make atomic weapons

TEHRAN, Sept.9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian top leaders said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic had no nuclear bombs and would not produce it, but vowed to press on the disputed nuclear program.

In a meeting with the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told them "Iranian nation does not have atomic bomb and has no intention to gain access to such a weapon either."

"Dignity of the Iranian nation emanates from belief in religious commands and good deeds and clarified prospects," he added.

This is not Khamenei's first time to make such kind of statements. In the past years when Iran's relations with the West escalated due to the nuclear issue, the leaders reiterated it.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the nuclear program of his country would not be negotiable with anyone, according to a report by the official IRNA news agency.

"Iranian nation is logical and could have dialogue with, however, they will not negotiate about its rights with anyone," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

"One or two countries in the world do not recognize the reality and they believe they could force Iran to retreat, but enemies of these countries must understand Iran would never back off," he added.

The United States and some other Western countries have accused Iran of developing atomic weapons under a civilian cover, but Iran denied the allegations, saying it just wants to generate electricity.

Since last December, the UN Security Council has issued two sanction resolutions against Tehran's nuclear program, demanding it to halt the sensitive uranium enrichment work. However, Iran didn't comply with the requests.

The president also mentioned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which praised Iran over the cooperation between the two sides in the past months, saying it shows that European nations have a more positive approach to the situation than certain other countries, which clearly referred to the United States and Britain.

Since this July, Iran has showed its willingness for more cooperation with the agency, allowing nuclear inspectors to visit its sensitive Arak heavy water nuclear reactor.

In an IAEA report in August, the UN atomic watchdog applauded the progress with Tehran and the report was considered a brake on the U.S. push for new sanctions in the Security Council.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Tehran would continue the cooperation with IAEA, but warned that it "would reconsider the cooperation if another (Security Council) resolution was issued against Iran."

Source : news.xinhuanet.com

Arabs woo Israel over peace plan

The two Arab countries with ties to Israel have paid an historic visit to the Jewish state to "extend the hand of peace" on behalf of their fellow Arabs.

The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers' visit is the first on behalf of the 22-state Arab League, which has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

They urged serious consideration of an Arab proposal to recognise Israel if it leaves occupied Palestinian land.
Israel's prime minister has said the Arab plan contains positive elements.
"We are extending a hand of peace on behalf of the whole region to you, and we hope that we will be able to create the momentum needed to resume fruitful and productive negotiations," said Jordan's Abdullah Khatib.

Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have not seen progress for seven years, a period in which more than 5,000 people have died in violence, the large majority of them Palestinians.
Mr Khatib said Israel needed to agree on a precise timetable "not to waste this historic opportunity".

The visit comes a day after the maiden mission of new envoy Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, and is part of a flurry of diplomatic efforts.
Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel and have sent many delegations there, but never on behalf of the Arab League.

'Common ground'

Mr Khatib and Egypt's Ahmed Aboul Gheit are presenting a long-standing Arab League initiative that was readopted at a meeting in Saudi Arabia recently.

The initiative offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for a full Israeli withdrawal from territory it occupied in 1967, the creation of a Palestinian state and a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said there was "a chance in the near future for the process to ripen into talks that would, in effect, deal with the stages of establishing a Palestinian state".

Correspondents say his comments are the clearest statement yet of Israel's intention to try to relaunch final-status talks.
But Olmert said there were "no precise timetables or stages established yet".

Any progress needs to address recent developments in Gaza which last month fell under the control of Hamas - the militant Islamist movement boycotted by both Israel and the rival Palestinian movement Fatah which holds sway in the West Bank.

'Land swap'
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called the visit historic, saying: "In the past, the Arab League has opposed dialogue, normalisation and any contact with Israel and this is the first time the Arab League has authorised a delegation to visit Israel."

But Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stressed the ministers were not representing the organisation.
"They are not acting under the banner of the Arab League. They are not going on behalf of the Arab League nor have they been sent as delegates by the Arab League.
"They represent two Arab countries that for certain circumstances entered into peace accords and official diplomatic relations," he said.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper said Israel was considering an "an agreement of principles" with Palestinians that could establish a Palestinian state on 90% of occupied territory.

The paper said Israel would propose a tunnel linking the West Bank and Gaza, while there would also be a territorial exchange allowing Israel to keep its main Jewish settlements.
In other moves, King Abdullah of Jordan met President George W Bush at a private dinner in Washington.

Meanwhile, Mr Blair continued his tour of the region with visits scheduled for Bahrain and Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

Secret US plan to stay in Iraq

THE US military command in Baghdad has prepared a classified plan outlining a significant American role in Iraq until at least 2009, despite the growing chorus in Washington for a withdrawal.

The detailed plan represents the co-ordinated strategy of the top American commander and the US ambassador to Iraq and calls for restoring security in local areas, including Baghdad, by the northern summer of next year, reports said yesterday.

"Sustainable security" is to be established on a nationwide basis by the northern summer of 2009, American officials familiar with the document were quoted as saying by The New York Times.

The document, known as the Joint Campaign Plan, expands on the new strategy US President George W.Bush signalled in January when he sent five additional combat brigades and other units to Iraq, the report said.

The troop surge marked a shift from the previous strategy, which emphasised transferring to Iraqis the responsibility for safeguarding their security.

The new approach emphasises protecting the Iraqi population in Baghdad, on the theory that improved security would provide Iraq's leaders with breathing space to try political reconciliation, the report said.

The latest plan does not explicitly address troop levels or withdrawal schedules but it anticipates a decline in US forces as the surge in troops runs its course this year or early next year, the paper said.

But it assumes continued US involvement to train soldiers, act as partners with Iraqi forces and fight terrorist groups in Iraq, US officials said.

The plan, developed by General David Petraeus and US ambassador Ryan Crocker, has been briefed to US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral William J.Fallon, head of Central Command. The plan envisions two phases -- the "near-term" goal was to achieve "localised security" in Baghdad and other areas no later than June next year, the report said.

The "intermediate" goal was to stitch together such local arrangements to establish a broader sense of security on a nationwide basis no later than June 2009.

News of the plan came as a New York Times/CBS News poll found that Americans' support for the initial invasion of Iraq has risen as the White House has continued to ask the public to reserve judgment about the war until later this year.

Support for the invasion had been at an all-time low in May, when only 35per cent of Americans said the invasion of Iraq was right and 61per cent said the US should have stayed out.

The number of Americans who say the war is going "very badly" has fallen from 45per cent earlier this month to 35per cent, and of those who say it is going well, 29per cent now describe it as "somewhat well" compared with 23per cent just last week.

The US and Iran yesterday launched a second round of face-to-face talks in Baghdad to stem violence in Iraq. The talks were held at the office of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

As with a similar meeting held on May 28, officials said the talks would focus only on the security situation in Iraq, leaving aside a roster of other disputes between the US and the Islamic republic.

The US broke off relations with Iran in 1980, when Islamic revolutionaries seized the US embassy in Tehran and held its diplomats hostage for 444 days.

Source : www.theaustralian.news.com.au

Kosovo tells West to ignore Russia on independence

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Kosovo Albanians told the West on Friday to stop wasting time trying to win over Russia to the province's secession from Serbia and prepare for a unilateral declaration of independence.

In Belgrade, Serb parties countered the tough line, drafting a fresh parliamentary resolution that threatened an "energetic" response to any country thinking of recognising Kosovo as a state.

An air of crisis built up as NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer came to the Serb capital to call for calm. He spoke of "the last chance" and offered no way out of the diplomatic impasse at the United Nations.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leader Veton Surroi said the United Nations no longer offered a route to independence because of Russia's obstruction on behalf of its ally Serbia.

"Plan A has failed. Now we're on to Plan B," he told a news conference. "There's no point in consulting Russia anymore. We did not enter this process to meet the desires of other states."

Surroi sits on Kosovo's "unity team" with interim President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku, a pact meant to maintain stability as pressure for independence mounts.

His comments echoed those of Ceku, who urged the European Union this week to be "more courageous" and set a date by which Kosovo could declare independence unilaterally.

With one eye on possible elections in November, Kosovo's political leaders are nearly out of patience with Western powers who promised them independence by mid-year but are now proposing four months of further talks with no guarantee of the outcome.

"We don't work for various foreign offices, we work for the citizens of Kosovo," said Surroi.

In May Russia blocked adoption of a U.N. blueprint offering Kosovo independence under European Union supervision.

On Friday it shot down the fifth and latest Western draft, a watered-down resolution calling for 120 days of Serb-Albanian talks on top of 13 fruitless months of negotiations for a compromise that no one gas been able to describe.

Russia's Vladimir Titov, a deputy foreign minister, rejected "cosmetic" tinkering with a text, saying "fundamental" changes were needed.

Russia says Serbia must consent to any solution but Serbs reject independence for land cherished as their spiritual heartland. Political hardliners say Serbia should cut diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Kosovo.

NATO's de Hoop Scheffer urged flexibility.

"I have the impression that this resolution ... might provide the last chance for all the parties concerned," he told reporters in Belgrade. He said the status quo was untenable.

"There is a lot at stake for everybody in Kosovo, but certainly also for the 16,000 men and women in uniform in KFOR."

NATO has patrolled the territory since bombing Serbia in 1999 to expel its forces and halt the killing and expulsion of Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist guerrillas.

The West sees zero prospect of forcing 2 million hostile Albanians back into the arms of Belgrade. Some analysts see the territory's division as possibly the only way out of the deadlock, but NATO fears stirring regional conflict.

It also fears that Albanian hardliners could turn to violence against KFOR and U.N. officials in the province if the West is seen to have broken its word.

(Additional reporting by Christian Lowe in Moscow, Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade, and Fatos Bytyci in Pristina).

Source : www.reuters.com

Missile attack kills militants in Pakistan

A missile attack killed at least 17 pro-Taliban militants and wounded 10 in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, according to independent television news channels.

The blast occurred at a militant training camp near Datta Khel district, about 60km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

The Pakistani army did not carry out any operations in the area, army spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said, adding that initial reports suggested the explosion occurred while the militants were making a bomb.

Pakistani military spokespersons have offered such explanations in the past when United States forces in Afghanistan have launched strikes on militant targets in Pakistani territory in order to avoid admitting any violation of territorial sovereignty.

Aaj and Dawn television news channels both reported that the militants were killed in a missile attack.

Last September, the Pakistan government struck a controversial peace deal with militants in North Waziristan.

Under the terms of the treaty, foreign fighters were bound to either surrender or be expelled, but critics said the pact created a sanctuary for militants in North Waziristan.


Source : www.mg.co.za

Barroso tells Poland, others to be "constructive" at EU summit

Brussels - The European Union's new members from central and eastern Europe must be constructive at the bloc's summit this week by helping strike a deal on a new EU treaty, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday.

Barroso, speaking ahead of a make-or-break EU summit on June 21- 22, said failure in Brussels would damage Europe's international credibility as well as its standing among European citizens.

New member states had the chance to show that their membership was not making EU life more difficult, but giving new impetus to Europe, said Barroso.

In an implicit reference to Poland which is demanding a controversial revamp of EU voting rules - a move opposed by others - Barroso said he wanted 'active and constructive cooperation of new member states.'

Countries should not come to the summit with 'red lines and vetoes,' said Barroso, warning that failure at the meeting would create 'mistrust' among EU states and damage the bloc's 'mechanisms of solidarity' under which rich nations help others through financial transfers.

'It is not in the interest of any member states to be seen as a hardliner,' said the commission chief, adding: 'Please do not block' agreement.

Barroso insisted that there was a 'real opportunity for a deal' and urged countries to be 'decisive, constructive and not be guided by out-dated language of victory and defeat.'

Echoing appeals made by Germany which is current holder of the EU presidency, Barroso said failure to clinch a treaty deal would mean 'there will only be losers. If we succeed we can all be winners.'

EU leaders at the summit are hoping to launch negotiations on a so-called 'amended' or 'reformed' treaty which would be a simplified version of the document rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Officials say the new treaty - no longer called a 'constitution' - is needed to streamline EU decision-making following the bloc's 2004 'big bang' enlargement to include ten new members.

Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007.

However, preparations for the EU summit, to be chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been overshadowed by strident Polish demands for a revamp of the bloc's voting system, a move opposed by almost all other EU states.

Germany has warned that opening the hard-fought compromise on EU voting rights included in the current draft treaty would open a chaotic Pandora's box of equally difficult and contradictory demands from other EU states.

Warsaw is demanding fresh EU talks on voting procedures in a bid to increase its weight in the bloc;s decision-making, especially compared to larger countries such as Germany.

The 'double majority' system included in the current EU draft treaty says EU decisions require the support of 55 per cent of member states, representing 65 per cent of the population.

But Poland has proposed an alternative voting system based on the square root of each country's population.

Barroso insisted that a new treaty was needed to enable the EU to deal with key challenges, including immigration, terrorism and climate change.

While Polish demands are expected to dominate the Brussels meeting, other countries are also coming to the meeting with requests in hand.

The status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights remains controversial, with Britain opposing a document that is legally binding.

France and Spain are demanding the scrapping of a number of national vetoes including in justice and police matters, a move Britain opposes.

Other outstanding issues for the summit include whether the EU should have a single legal personality, enabling it to sign international agreements and Dutch demands that national parliaments have a greater say in EU policy-making.

If EU leaders are successful in Brussels, another intergovernmental conference to negotiate details of the new treaty will start in autumn.

Negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing the new treaty to be ratified and enter into force by summer 2009 to coincide with elections to the EU parliament.

Source : news.monstersandcritics.com

Refugee numbers falling in Russia against global surge - UN

MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) - The number of refugees in Russia has been falling steadily in recent years, while global refugee figures have surged, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.

Dennis Blair, deputy head of the Moscow Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told a RIA Novosti news conference that displaced people in Russia totaled 382,000 as of the end of May 2007.

Specifically, the number of people displaced from the troubled Republic of Chechnya has plummeted to 15,000, down from 250,000 just two years ago, he said.

The official attributed the trend to a construction boom in the republic, making new housing available for those who lost their homes in Russia's two wars there.

Most refugees now in Russia came from Georgia, in particular the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Blair said, adding that many of them have already been granted Russian citizenship.

The fall in refugee numbers in the country comes amid a general increase in global refugee figures, which hit a five-year high of 10 million in 2006, 14% up on the previous year. The figures were released Tuesday in Geneva, where the UNHCR is based.

Russian authorities lack a regulatory framework that would make a clear distinction between genuine refugees and economic migrants calling themselves displaced. The top UNHCR official in Russia, Wolfgang Milzow, said his agency was willing to help the country forge such legislation so that it could reduce the inflow of illegal migrants while ensuring that people whose lives are in danger in their home regions or countries are accepted.

Source : en.rian.ru

British police break up pedophile ring, 31 children rescued

Yesterday, the British police with support from several other countries and help from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) arrested seven hundred men, and rescued thirty-one children when they thrashed an online pedophile ring that expanded across the globe. Yesterdays actions are the result of almost a year’s worth of investigations. The ring included exchanges of indecent images of minors and live exchanges of abuse, on and offline.

There are two-hundred suspects based in Britain, said the CEOP. Regarding the thirty-one children, some only a few months old, more than fifteen were in Britain, the center said. Detective Sgt. Kim Scanlan, of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, said to the AP that twenty-four Canadians were arrested and seven Canadian children rescued since late 2005. The US investigators declined to comment further as well as the UK officials because investigations are ongoing, and suspects are still being watched, and rounded up.

While all of the people arrested will get their fitting reward for their crimes, it is certain that Timothy David Martyn Cox will get his comeuppance for hosting the chat room ‘Kids the Light of Our Lives,’ the twenty-seven-year-old was arrested last September, on nine offences, relating to the Possession and Distribution of Indecent Images of Children. That means he will remain in prison until authorities determine he is no longer a threat to children, with luck that will be forever.

‘Kids the Light of Our Lives’ was an internet chat room dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children. Hundreds of members worldwide used it to trade a range of material, including photographs and videos of children being subjected to sexual abuse and serious sexual assault. Cox was identified after intelligence linking the chat room to the UK was passed to the CEOP by Canadian officials within the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) last August. The CEOP said that when Suffolk forensic teams examined Cox’s computer they found seventy-five thousand nine hundred sixty indecent and explicit images in addition to evidence that he had supplied eleven thousand four hundred ninety-one images to other site users.

Gordon Mackintosh, thirty-three, attempted to resurrect ‘Kids the Light of our Lives’ following Cox’s disappearance as host. The CEOP carried out extensive work to identify the person behind the usernames ‘silentblackheart and ‘lust4skoolgurls’. Alongside Hertfordshire Police, they arrested Mackintosh on January 9, 2007.

CEOP officers, the Australian Federal Police, ICE (US Department of Homeland Security) and Toronto Police undertook twenty-four hour online surveillance to infiltrate the room for a second time and collate details of all the offenders attempting to trade material, a CEOP statement said. McIntosh’s computer was found to contain five thousand one hundred sixty-seven indecent and explicit images of children, in addition to three hundred ninety-two indecent movie files. He pleaded guilty to twenty-seven charges of making, possessing and distributing indecent images and movies. He awaits sentence.

“Today’s verdict serves as a powerful warning to those using the Internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation of children. From the apparent ‘safety’ of his home, Cox spent hours each day planning, promoting and encouraging the abuse and exploitation of innocent young victims. In doing so he provided a service to hundreds of like minded individuals, enabling those with a sexual interest in children to share indecent images and discuss further plans for abuse. Any individual who thinks they carry out such horrific activities undetected is in for a very rude awakening. The belief that the Internet provides anonymity is unfounded and for Cox and Mackintosh it has already proved to be a costly misconception.” -- Jim Gamble, CEO at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Chairman of the Virtual Global Taskforce.

Source : tech.monstersandcritics.com

Vatican driving commandments pave highway to heaven

The Vatican instructed its followers to take the high road Tuesday, issuing 10 commandments calling for those behind the wheel to drive with as much moral purpose as they live their lives.

"Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road," released Tuesday by the Vatican's office for migrants and itinerant people, warns that cars can be "an occasion for sin" — whether it's a driver's pride in showing off, the wrath displayed in a road-rage incident, or the more literal and lustful transgression of the curbside prostitute pick-up.

The 10 commandments of driving
You shall not kill. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so. Support the families of accident victims. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party. Feel responsible toward others.
Source: The Vatican website and the Associated Press

The document calls for drivers to obey speed limits and to exercise a host of Christian virtues: charity to fellow drivers, prudence on the roads, hope of arriving safely and justice in the event of crashes.

It also praises the benefits of making the sign of the cross before turning the ignition key and reciting the rosary on the road, as its "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention."

The Vatican also warns motorists of the dangers to themselves and others of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as failing have their vehicles serviced regularly.

Bible full of travelling souls, long roads

Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the office behind the commandments, told reporters Tuesday that driving has become such a central part of contemporary life that the Vatican felt it had to provide some guidance.

He noted that the Bible is full of people on the move, including Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus — and that his office is responsible for dealing with all "itinerant" people — including refugees, prostitutes, truck drivers and the homeless.

"We know that as a consequence of transgressions and negligence, 1.2 million people die each year on the roads," Martino said. "That's a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church."

The document also celebrates the many virtues driving provides, such as family trips, allowing people to encounter other cultures through travel and transporting the sick to hospital.

The paper is intended for bishops conferences around the world, and as such offered recommendations for their pastoral workers, including setting up chapels along motorways and having "periodic celebration of liturgies" at major road hubs, truck stops and restaurants.

Source : www.cbc.ca