DNA profiles of almost a million innocent people are to be destroyed as part of a major overhaul of the police national database. They include people who have been arrested and never charged, and those taken to court but found not guilty.
Civil rights groups gave a cautious welcome to the proposals - which will be announced by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, this week - but said more needed to be done.
An estimated 800,000 of the 5.1m DNA profiles on the database belong to people in England and Wales who have no criminal conviction.
A Home Office consultation paper will also outline plans to delete all physical DNA samples on the database, including mouth swabs, hair and blood. The move follows widespread concerns that the samples could be shared with third parties.
The campaign group Genewatch, which opposes the DNA database, has warned that health and drug companies want access to the samples to create profiles to predict who is genetically susceptible to different illnesses and diseases. There have also been fears the samples could one day be used for racial profiling or even to predict criminal behaviour.
The proposal to scale back the database and destroy the samples comes after a landmark judgment by the European court of human rights last December that ruled the government was wrong to hold the DNA profiles - the genetic codes that identify individuals - of innocent people indefinitely.
Yesterday Smith told the Observer that there were genuine concerns over the size and scope of the DNA database. "It is crucial that we do everything we can to keep the public safe from crime and bring offenders to justice," she said.
"The DNA database plays a vital role in helping us do that. However, there has to be a balance between the need to protect the public and respecting their rights. Based on risks versus benefits, our view is that we can now destroy all samples."
Legal experts said the government had little choice but to comply with the human rights court ruling.
"This is not a privacy-friendly Home Office," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty. "Any developments in this area are because the Home Office has been dragged here by the European court of human rights."
But the Home Office insists that in deciding to destroy all samples on the database it has gone much further than it was compelled to by the court's ruling.
Last night privacy campaigners said the consultation must answer the crucial question of how long the police would be allowed to retain the DNA data of innocent people before being forced to delete them. There were also claims the proposals did not go far enough.
"The DNA database is already too big," said Simon Davies, director of the campaign group Privacy International. "We would argue that the samples of anyone convicted of even minor offences should be removed."
Despite mounting outrage over the use of the DNA database, the government insists that DNA can play an essential role in fighting crime. The Home Office says that between April 1998 and September 2008 there were more than 390,000 crimes with DNA matches.
DNA has played an essential part in solving thousands of cases, including finding Mark Dixie guilty of the murder of Sally Ann Bowman, the 18-year-old model murdered close to her home in Croydon, south London, in 2005, and the conviction of Steve Wright for the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich.
It has also played a crucial role in proving innocence and overturning miscarriages of justice. Earlier this year DNA was a vital factor in proving the innocence of Sean Hodgson, who spent nearly 30 years in prison for the death of a young woman in 1979.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Hazel Blears savages Gordon Brown over 'lamentable' failures
The first cracks in Gordon Brown's cabinet appear today as a senior minister attacks his government's "lamentable" failure to communicate and warns of "dire" consequences if it continues to blunder on policy and misread the mood of the British people.
After a disastrous week in which the prime minister suffered his first Commons defeat and was forced into a humiliating retreat over MPs' expenses, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, openly criticises the government's handling of the Gurkhas issue and says that voters no longer believe many of its big policy announcements.
In a clear reference to the prime minister, who has been ridiculed for his appearance on YouTube, the strongly Blairite cabinet minister says such use of "new media" by politicians is far less effective than old-fashioned campaigning. "YouTube if you want to," she says in an article in today's Observer. "But it is no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre."
However, it is her savage criticism of the government's failure to connect with the instincts of the British people that is most devastating. On the issue of the Gurkhas' rights to settle in this country, she says the government put itself "on the wrong side of the British sense of fair play, and no party can stay there for long without dire consequences".
While she says Brown will lead the party into the next election and that Labour has the "right policies", she argues that the government has to appear more "human". "Labour ministers have a collective responsibility for the government's lamentable failure to get our message across," she says.
"All too often we announce new strategies, five-year plans, or launch new documents, often with colossal price tags attached, which are received by the public with incredulity at best and at worst hostility. Whatever the problems of the recession, the answer is not more government documents or big speeches."
Most ministers, and a majority of Labour MPs, are playing down suggestions that Brown could face a leadership challenge, or be asked by a cabinet delegation to step down, if Labour suffers a mauling in local and European elections on 4 June. Blears's remarks nonetheless reflect growing disquiet at all levels of the party.
Up to now, cabinet ministers have remained studiously loyal to Brown, despite a terrible month that saw the sacking of his political adviser Damian McBride for trying to smear leading Tories, widespread criticism of the budget and chaos over Gurkhas' rights and MPs' expenses.
Now the Blears intervention suggests that discipline is breaking down. A senior party figure said Blears was "making her move" and believed she could lead the party. "She thinks she is the one. She is part of a very active rightwing faction within the party which has a lot support among women MPs and in the student wing. She knows precisely what she is doing. You have to say she is brave."
The former education secretary, Ruth Kelly, writing for the Observer's website, joins Blears in demanding a greater focus on domestic reform, in a further sign of anxiety and unrest among Blairites.
Kelly stood down from the cabinet last year amid rumours that was she was unhappy with Brown's leadership, but has done nothing to criticise the prime minister since. Now she says: "Somehow in the immediacy of the economic crisis, New Labour's strong message on public service reform, on devolution and on climate change has got lost in the fog."
Last night Blears, whose comments will infuriate No 10, hastily put out a statement that she had not intended them as a criticism of Brown.
"I want to make it clear that the Prime Minster enjoys my 100% support. Any suggestion that I intended what I wrote as criticism of him or his leadership is completely wrong," she said.
With Brown's problems piling up, pressure is also growing on ministers to drop controversial plans to part-privatise Royal Mail, which are opposed by more than 120 Labour MPs. The legislation is due to return the Commons days after the European and council polls.
Government sources denied that ministers were about to pull the plug on the reforms, which they insisted were essential. But Labour MP John Grogan, a leading member of the leftwing Compass Group, said: "It would be a kamikaze move for Brown to reintroduce it to the Commons in June."
After a disastrous week in which the prime minister suffered his first Commons defeat and was forced into a humiliating retreat over MPs' expenses, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, openly criticises the government's handling of the Gurkhas issue and says that voters no longer believe many of its big policy announcements.
In a clear reference to the prime minister, who has been ridiculed for his appearance on YouTube, the strongly Blairite cabinet minister says such use of "new media" by politicians is far less effective than old-fashioned campaigning. "YouTube if you want to," she says in an article in today's Observer. "But it is no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre."
However, it is her savage criticism of the government's failure to connect with the instincts of the British people that is most devastating. On the issue of the Gurkhas' rights to settle in this country, she says the government put itself "on the wrong side of the British sense of fair play, and no party can stay there for long without dire consequences".
While she says Brown will lead the party into the next election and that Labour has the "right policies", she argues that the government has to appear more "human". "Labour ministers have a collective responsibility for the government's lamentable failure to get our message across," she says.
"All too often we announce new strategies, five-year plans, or launch new documents, often with colossal price tags attached, which are received by the public with incredulity at best and at worst hostility. Whatever the problems of the recession, the answer is not more government documents or big speeches."
Most ministers, and a majority of Labour MPs, are playing down suggestions that Brown could face a leadership challenge, or be asked by a cabinet delegation to step down, if Labour suffers a mauling in local and European elections on 4 June. Blears's remarks nonetheless reflect growing disquiet at all levels of the party.
Up to now, cabinet ministers have remained studiously loyal to Brown, despite a terrible month that saw the sacking of his political adviser Damian McBride for trying to smear leading Tories, widespread criticism of the budget and chaos over Gurkhas' rights and MPs' expenses.
Now the Blears intervention suggests that discipline is breaking down. A senior party figure said Blears was "making her move" and believed she could lead the party. "She thinks she is the one. She is part of a very active rightwing faction within the party which has a lot support among women MPs and in the student wing. She knows precisely what she is doing. You have to say she is brave."
The former education secretary, Ruth Kelly, writing for the Observer's website, joins Blears in demanding a greater focus on domestic reform, in a further sign of anxiety and unrest among Blairites.
Kelly stood down from the cabinet last year amid rumours that was she was unhappy with Brown's leadership, but has done nothing to criticise the prime minister since. Now she says: "Somehow in the immediacy of the economic crisis, New Labour's strong message on public service reform, on devolution and on climate change has got lost in the fog."
Last night Blears, whose comments will infuriate No 10, hastily put out a statement that she had not intended them as a criticism of Brown.
"I want to make it clear that the Prime Minster enjoys my 100% support. Any suggestion that I intended what I wrote as criticism of him or his leadership is completely wrong," she said.
With Brown's problems piling up, pressure is also growing on ministers to drop controversial plans to part-privatise Royal Mail, which are opposed by more than 120 Labour MPs. The legislation is due to return the Commons days after the European and council polls.
Government sources denied that ministers were about to pull the plug on the reforms, which they insisted were essential. But Labour MP John Grogan, a leading member of the leftwing Compass Group, said: "It would be a kamikaze move for Brown to reintroduce it to the Commons in June."
Hospital 'hit by Sri Lankan army'
The Sri Lankan army has killed 91 people at a makeshift hospital inside a civilian safe zone in the last two days, two doctors have told the BBC.
The doctors said bombardments from the army had killed 64 people on Saturday, including patients, their relatives and bystanders in Mullivaikal.
About 87 people were injured. Another 27 people reportedly died on Friday.
The army has denied bombing the hospital, saying that Tamil Tiger rebels carried out suicide attacks.
A doctor in Mullivaikal has sent images he says show shelling at the hospital
A spokesman for the Sri Lankan army said that although soldiers had heard explosions in the area, they had not fired any shells.
The army had not used heavy weapons for some days, he said, since the government announced on Monday that it was halting its use of heavy weapons in the conflict zone.
The army spokesman said Tamil Tiger rebels had launched eight suicide attacks in the space of two days.
A doctor working within the zone has e-mailed the BBC a number of photographs which, he says, show the aftermath of recent shelling at the hospital in Mullivaikal.
One image appears to show a father and son killed as they slept.
The hospital lies within a government-designated safe zone set up to protect civilians.
In contrast, the defence ministry has put on its website video clips which, it says, show the rebels moving an artillery piece through the zone they control, our correspondent says.
Journalists are not allowed near the conflict zone, so the conflicting accounts cannot be independently verified.
Trapped civilians
The images sent by a doctor appear to show bodies and damage to structures
The reports centre on a tiny strip of land on the north-east coast, where Tamil Tiger rebels are still holding out against government forces.
The Sri Lankan military has restricted the rebels to a 12 sq km (5 sq miles) area and believes it is close to defeating them.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped in the area, and the EU and the UN have urged Sri Lanka to observe a pause in its campaign to let them out.
The government says a halt would serve no purpose. Diplomatic efforts to bring more help for the civilians in the war zone have so far made little progress.
The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war, but that figure could now be far higher
The doctors said bombardments from the army had killed 64 people on Saturday, including patients, their relatives and bystanders in Mullivaikal.
About 87 people were injured. Another 27 people reportedly died on Friday.
The army has denied bombing the hospital, saying that Tamil Tiger rebels carried out suicide attacks.
A doctor in Mullivaikal has sent images he says show shelling at the hospital
A spokesman for the Sri Lankan army said that although soldiers had heard explosions in the area, they had not fired any shells.
The army had not used heavy weapons for some days, he said, since the government announced on Monday that it was halting its use of heavy weapons in the conflict zone.
The army spokesman said Tamil Tiger rebels had launched eight suicide attacks in the space of two days.
A doctor working within the zone has e-mailed the BBC a number of photographs which, he says, show the aftermath of recent shelling at the hospital in Mullivaikal.
One image appears to show a father and son killed as they slept.
The hospital lies within a government-designated safe zone set up to protect civilians.
In contrast, the defence ministry has put on its website video clips which, it says, show the rebels moving an artillery piece through the zone they control, our correspondent says.
Journalists are not allowed near the conflict zone, so the conflicting accounts cannot be independently verified.
Trapped civilians
The images sent by a doctor appear to show bodies and damage to structures
The reports centre on a tiny strip of land on the north-east coast, where Tamil Tiger rebels are still holding out against government forces.
The Sri Lankan military has restricted the rebels to a 12 sq km (5 sq miles) area and believes it is close to defeating them.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped in the area, and the EU and the UN have urged Sri Lanka to observe a pause in its campaign to let them out.
The government says a halt would serve no purpose. Diplomatic efforts to bring more help for the civilians in the war zone have so far made little progress.
The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war, but that figure could now be far higher
Swine flu spread 'not sustained'
There is no evidence of the swine flu virus spreading in a sustained way outside North America, a top World Health Organization official says.
Dr Michael Ryan, WHO Director of Global Alert and Response, praised European nations' handling of cases and said events did not seem out of control.
Mexico has cut its suspected death toll by 75 to 101, indicating the outbreak may not be as bad as initially feared.
The country has ordered a five-day shutdown in a bid to contain the virus.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the BBC that, based on samples tested, the mortality rate was comparable with that of seasonal flu.
Dr Ryan, meanwhile, said that there was "no evidence of sustained community spread outside of North America".
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 101 suspected deaths - 16 confirmed
US: One death, 160 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases
Canada: 35 confirmed cases
UK, Spain: 15 confirmed cases
Germany: 4 confirmed cases
France, Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases
Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, Irish Republic: 1 confirmed case
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission:
Mexico
US
Canada
Spain
Germany
UK
Mapping the outbreak
Price hikes in Mexico amid flu panic
Did Mexico over-react to flu?
"I think it would be, at this stage, unwise to suggest that, in any way, those events are out of control or spreading in an uncontrolled fashion," he said. "I think the next few days will tell as this develops."
"At the present time I would still propose that a pandemic is imminent because we see the disease spread," Dr Ryan added.
The WHO is sending 2.4m courses of antiviral treatment to 72 nations around the world, Dr Ryan said, among them many developing countries.
But in cases of the virus outside Mexico, the effects do not appear to be severe.
Italy and the Irish Republic reported their first cases on Saturday, bringing the number of countries affected to 18.
Canada has announced that a herd of pigs has tested positive for swine flu.
A senior agriculture official told a news conference that the pigs may have been infected by a farm worker who fell ill after returning from Mexico last month.
In Egypt, authorities have begun in earnest the slaughter of more than 300,000 pigs, in what was originally described as a precaution against swine flu.
Officials now say the move is a general health measure aimed at restoring order to Egypt's pig-rearing industry.
International experts say there is no scientific rationale for Egypt's pig cull
Experts say the virus cannot be caught from eating pork and there is no scientific rationale for the cull.
Five countries outside Mexico have confirmed person-to-person transmission.
China is trying to stop the spread of the virus, after getting its first case on Friday.
It says it will quarantine all those who travelled on a flight from Mexico with a man suffering from swine flu.
Flights from Mexico have been suspended, and fellow guests and staff at the Hong Kong hotel where he was staying have been quarantined.
On Saturday, Mexico's foreign minister advised citizens not to travel to China to avoid the health measures being taken there against Mexicans.
Risk remains
The US has now confirmed 160 cases of swine flu across 21 states but has seen only one death, of a Mexican toddler in Texas.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice
If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Q&A: What is swine flu?
Mexican economy squeezed by flu
In pictures: Flu concern grows
The quest for a swine flu vaccine
President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio address that the US was taking "all necessary precautions" to ensure it was prepared if the virus developed into "something worse".
Dr Anne Schuchat, acting deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that although experts were concerned about the possibility of severe cases, the majority so far had been "mild, self-limited illness".
The new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly, another CDC official said.
Mr Cordova appeared to agree, saying that the Mexican authorities may, on reflection, have overestimated the danger.
He said 43.7% of samples from suspected cases so far tested had come back positive, a total of 397. Sixteen in this group had died.
"That means that apparently, the rate of attack is not as wide as was thought," he said.
But he stressed that the risk of a rise in infection remains and said some elements of the five-day shutdown - in which many public buildings and businesses have been closed and people urged to stay at home - might be extended.
Dr Michael Ryan, WHO Director of Global Alert and Response, praised European nations' handling of cases and said events did not seem out of control.
Mexico has cut its suspected death toll by 75 to 101, indicating the outbreak may not be as bad as initially feared.
The country has ordered a five-day shutdown in a bid to contain the virus.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the BBC that, based on samples tested, the mortality rate was comparable with that of seasonal flu.
Dr Ryan, meanwhile, said that there was "no evidence of sustained community spread outside of North America".
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 101 suspected deaths - 16 confirmed
US: One death, 160 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases
Canada: 35 confirmed cases
UK, Spain: 15 confirmed cases
Germany: 4 confirmed cases
France, Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases
Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, Irish Republic: 1 confirmed case
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission:
Mexico
US
Canada
Spain
Germany
UK
Mapping the outbreak
Price hikes in Mexico amid flu panic
Did Mexico over-react to flu?
"I think it would be, at this stage, unwise to suggest that, in any way, those events are out of control or spreading in an uncontrolled fashion," he said. "I think the next few days will tell as this develops."
"At the present time I would still propose that a pandemic is imminent because we see the disease spread," Dr Ryan added.
The WHO is sending 2.4m courses of antiviral treatment to 72 nations around the world, Dr Ryan said, among them many developing countries.
But in cases of the virus outside Mexico, the effects do not appear to be severe.
Italy and the Irish Republic reported their first cases on Saturday, bringing the number of countries affected to 18.
Canada has announced that a herd of pigs has tested positive for swine flu.
A senior agriculture official told a news conference that the pigs may have been infected by a farm worker who fell ill after returning from Mexico last month.
In Egypt, authorities have begun in earnest the slaughter of more than 300,000 pigs, in what was originally described as a precaution against swine flu.
Officials now say the move is a general health measure aimed at restoring order to Egypt's pig-rearing industry.
International experts say there is no scientific rationale for Egypt's pig cull
Experts say the virus cannot be caught from eating pork and there is no scientific rationale for the cull.
Five countries outside Mexico have confirmed person-to-person transmission.
China is trying to stop the spread of the virus, after getting its first case on Friday.
It says it will quarantine all those who travelled on a flight from Mexico with a man suffering from swine flu.
Flights from Mexico have been suspended, and fellow guests and staff at the Hong Kong hotel where he was staying have been quarantined.
On Saturday, Mexico's foreign minister advised citizens not to travel to China to avoid the health measures being taken there against Mexicans.
Risk remains
The US has now confirmed 160 cases of swine flu across 21 states but has seen only one death, of a Mexican toddler in Texas.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice
If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Q&A: What is swine flu?
Mexican economy squeezed by flu
In pictures: Flu concern grows
The quest for a swine flu vaccine
President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio address that the US was taking "all necessary precautions" to ensure it was prepared if the virus developed into "something worse".
Dr Anne Schuchat, acting deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that although experts were concerned about the possibility of severe cases, the majority so far had been "mild, self-limited illness".
The new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly, another CDC official said.
Mr Cordova appeared to agree, saying that the Mexican authorities may, on reflection, have overestimated the danger.
He said 43.7% of samples from suspected cases so far tested had come back positive, a total of 397. Sixteen in this group had died.
"That means that apparently, the rate of attack is not as wide as was thought," he said.
But he stressed that the risk of a rise in infection remains and said some elements of the five-day shutdown - in which many public buildings and businesses have been closed and people urged to stay at home - might be extended.
Friday, May 1, 2009
BJP, Cong may stun SP, BSP; thanks to Gandhis
After three phases of polling, it appears the Congress and the BJP may well be doing better than expected in the key state of Uttar Pradesh with the potential losers being the SP and the BSP.
So has Rahul Gandhi's “go it alone” policy and BJP’s Hindutva slant clicked? Ground reports suggest so. Muslims, having turned their back on the Congress after the Babri demolition, are doing a rethink after Mulayam embraced Kalyan Singh.
The good news for BJP is that Brahmins are tiring of Mayawati's social engineering which has now begun targeting the Muslims.
It was Rahul's idea to walk it alone in the crucial state despite having taken the Samajwadi support during the trust vote. But a bitter SP thinks Rahul's romance with this idea will be shortlived.
There are smiles on BJP faces, having once boasted of big names from the state, the party was groping for a foothold. Now, after three phases of polling, the Hindutva strategy, which was not overplayed except in Pilibhit, may have clicked.
And as the Congress and the BJP prepare for the last two phases, it will be Gandhi versus Gandhi as Rahul and Varun take each other on. The national parties are relying on the same family tree to reap a harvest in Uttar Pradesh.
So has Rahul Gandhi's “go it alone” policy and BJP’s Hindutva slant clicked? Ground reports suggest so. Muslims, having turned their back on the Congress after the Babri demolition, are doing a rethink after Mulayam embraced Kalyan Singh.
The good news for BJP is that Brahmins are tiring of Mayawati's social engineering which has now begun targeting the Muslims.
It was Rahul's idea to walk it alone in the crucial state despite having taken the Samajwadi support during the trust vote. But a bitter SP thinks Rahul's romance with this idea will be shortlived.
There are smiles on BJP faces, having once boasted of big names from the state, the party was groping for a foothold. Now, after three phases of polling, the Hindutva strategy, which was not overplayed except in Pilibhit, may have clicked.
And as the Congress and the BJP prepare for the last two phases, it will be Gandhi versus Gandhi as Rahul and Varun take each other on. The national parties are relying on the same family tree to reap a harvest in Uttar Pradesh.
PM assures Altaf of notice against police
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has called Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Quaid Altaf Hussain by phone assuring him of strong note against Karachi police in connection with the negative reporting conducted by police against MQM.
The telephonic talk between Prime Minister Gilani and MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain lasted for over thirty minutes.
Premier said the violence, erupted on recent days in Karachi, was brought under control by the efforts of MQM and lauded his party’s endeavors for establishment and maintenance of peace in the metropolis.
“The positive role, played by MQM to overpower recent social turmoil in Karachi, is utterly commendable”, PM Gilani remarked adding, “MQM’s reservations will be abolished thoroughly”.
MQM Quaid, on the occasion, apprised PM of it’s party’s reservations and negative reporting conducted by some police officials against MQM.
“Land and drug mafia have afflicted terror activities in Karachi”, Altaf Hussain made clear adding, “Police is holding MQM responsible for it.”
The telephonic talk between Prime Minister Gilani and MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain lasted for over thirty minutes.
Premier said the violence, erupted on recent days in Karachi, was brought under control by the efforts of MQM and lauded his party’s endeavors for establishment and maintenance of peace in the metropolis.
“The positive role, played by MQM to overpower recent social turmoil in Karachi, is utterly commendable”, PM Gilani remarked adding, “MQM’s reservations will be abolished thoroughly”.
MQM Quaid, on the occasion, apprised PM of it’s party’s reservations and negative reporting conducted by some police officials against MQM.
“Land and drug mafia have afflicted terror activities in Karachi”, Altaf Hussain made clear adding, “Police is holding MQM responsible for it.”
Obama, Zardari, Karzai to meet on Wednesday
The White House said the President Barack Obama will meet Wednesday with President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to discuss their troubled region.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday that Obama would meet jointly and separately with the two presidents at the White House. He said Obama looks forward to discussing with them "how we can work together to enhance our cooperation in this important part of the world."
The Karzai and Zardari governments are dealing with Taliban insurgencies in regions of their countries, which share a mountainous border.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday that Obama would meet jointly and separately with the two presidents at the White House. He said Obama looks forward to discussing with them "how we can work together to enhance our cooperation in this important part of the world."
The Karzai and Zardari governments are dealing with Taliban insurgencies in regions of their countries, which share a mountainous border.
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