Child traffickers are targeting the UK because of the ease with which they can move victims through British ports and local authority care homes, the chairman of a parliamentary inquiry into human trafficking has warned.
Keith Vaz, head of the home affairs select committee, said he and colleagues were "very concerned" about low levels of funding for law enforcement agencies to fight trafficking, and he called on the government to hold an urgent review of the number of foreign children missing from local authority care.
Cautious estimates suggest five suspected victims of child trafficking go missing from care around ports and airports in the UK every week.
"Because we are failing to track down the victims of trafficking we are encouraging more to be sent," said Vaz, before the publication on Thursday of the committee's year-long inquiry into trafficking. "There is a duty of care to make sure young people are tracked down and safe, and to tackle the problem with the origin countries which we are not doing successfully."
Vaz also said there was "a growing connection" between local authority care facilities and trafficking, exemplified he said by the case exposed in the Guardian last week of 77 Chinese children missing from a single care home next to Heathrow airport since March 2006, only four of whom have been found. Two girls had been exploited as prostitutes in the Midlands, and others were suspected of having been forced to work in the drug trade and illegal labour.
The committee's report is likely to increase pressure on ministers to reform the national approach to tackling child trafficking, which Gordon Brown has described as "a truly appalling crime that deserves our urgent attention".
Downing Street said Brown had asked the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, and the children's secretary, Ed Balls, for an urgent update on the issue at the Heathrow home. He has told them to report back within six weeks. "It's not just the home near Heathrow airport, although that is the most obvious case," said Vaz. "The worry is that it is much more widespread.
"The best way to tackle this is for the government to ask local authorities how many children have gone missing. I'll be asking the secretary of state for communities and local government to list the authorities and the children."
Police sources believe the exploitation by traffickers of local authority care homes as collection points for victims has spread to areas around other airports, including Manchester and Stansted, in Essex.
The committee is expected to include a call for more police funding to find trafficked children and prosecute their traffickers. During evidence, senior officers from the Metropolitan police said a specialist anti-child trafficking operation faced having its budget halved to £400,000; a strategic threat assessment by the Home Office's child exploitation and online protection centre revealed that no trafficker in the exploitation of Chinese children has been successfully prosecuted; the same report called trafficking of Chinese children into the UK as "a significant and urgent issue".
"More effort is needed to reduce the attractiveness of the UK as a destination country, and more work is needed to safeguard those children who do make it to the UK and are exploited," said Vaz.
"We need a consistent approach across all local authority areas and police areas. There is a lack of co-ordination between all the agencies. It is something we heard in open evidence."
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said child trafficking was "a very difficult issue, as children can be coerced or misled".
"We're having real success targeting the routes used by the criminals who prey on these vulnerable youngsters – a joint operation has seen 12 traffickers arrested in the past 12 months alone," he said.
"We work with local authorities to ensure the best care for vulnerable children identified by UK Border Agency officers at ports. We have a welfare code of practice [for the agency] on keeping children safe from harm, and our latest bill will make the code law."
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Pakistani civilians flee Swat valley as major ground offensive draws closer
The Pakistani army ordered residents to flee the Swat Valley during a lull in fighting , triggering a further exodus of frightened people and raising expectations of a significant ground offensive against the Taliban.
Miles of traffic jams snaked out of the war-torn valley as tens of thousands of people fled using all available means, from donkey-drawn carts to rickshaws.
In the battlezone the army said it had killed another 200 militants, most of them in a strike on a training camp in Shangla district and 55 in Swat. The fight is being closely watched from the US.
General David Petraeus, head of the US central command, ,warned that the Taliban posed a threat "to the very existence of the Pakistani state".
Petraeus said al-Qaida's central leadership had moved to Pakistan but he denied that generous military aid was linked to a possible US deployment. "This is not about us putting combat boots on the ground," he told Fox News.
The exodus out of Swat added to a humanitarian crisis that is rapidly swelling beyond earlier fears. Officials in Mardan, on the lowland plains below Swat, said that 250,000 people had registered for help, more than double the total on Friday.
Including 550,000 people displaced by earlier fighting, officials said they feared as many as 1.3 million people could soon be homeless in North West Frontier province. The aid group World Vision said it had found "intolerable" conditions in some of the six hastily opened camps, pointing to high temperatures and a lack of toilets and electricity.
The army said that between 12,000 and 15,000 security forces – regular army and paramilitary frontier corps – are stationed in Swat, pitted against between 4,000 and 5,000 Taliban guerrillas, the bulk of whom are concentrated in Mingora.
The the militants used the nine-hour pause in fighting to deepen their defences against an expected army ground offensive. In Kanju, a strategically important village beside the river Swat, fighters surrounded a police checkpoint near the army-controlled city airfield.
Further along, fighters sheltered under overhangs and thickets of trees to avoid being detected by helicopter gunships buzzing overhead. They warned residents to leave the area immediately.
Absent was the militants' leader, the charismatic preacher Maulana Fazlullah, who villagers speculated was hiding in the Tharan Valley, 10 miles to the west bordering Upper Dir district. Fazlullah continues, however, to make use of the FM radio broadcasts that helped him rise from obscurity two years ago, employing them to issue coded instructions to battlefield commanders and threats to perceived enemies.
The army launched a full-scale operation on Thursday, following the collapse of a fragile peace deal that saw militants fanning out of their Swat stronghold into neighbouring districts such as Buner and Dir. It was a fight "for the survival of the country", the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, said on Saturday. The offensive came as President Asif Ali Zardari visited the United States to reassure a nervous Obama administration that Pakistan was committed to fighting militancy.
The operation has also enjoyed an unusual level of support at home, even from conservative forces previously reluctant to criticise the Taliban.
A conference of religious clerics in Rawalpindi endorsed the military campaign as a "jihad against the enemies of Islam".
Turning points in public opinion included the release of a video showing a Taliban fighter flogging a teenage woman, and a declaration by Sufi Muhammad, a senior pro-Taliban cleric, that democracy was an "infidel" concept.
The provincial government had released the 78-year-old jihadi cleric from prison last year in the hope he would persuade the Taliban to lay down arms.
One of the few voices publicly opposing the campaign is the former cricketer Imran Khan, who leads a small party and has aligned himself with rightwing forces in recent years.
Allegations of Talibanistan in Frontier province were "nonsense", he told the Guardian.
"This whole thing is very sinister," he said, accusing the government of "setting up this idea that Islamabad was being threatened and the Taliban were coming with their way of life and cutting of throats".
Khan's stance has antagonised left-leaning Pakistanis. "He is very foolish," said Talat Masood, a retired general and analyst. "He is just trying to build up his image by criticising a military operation. But he is doing a great disservice to himself."
Miles of traffic jams snaked out of the war-torn valley as tens of thousands of people fled using all available means, from donkey-drawn carts to rickshaws.
In the battlezone the army said it had killed another 200 militants, most of them in a strike on a training camp in Shangla district and 55 in Swat. The fight is being closely watched from the US.
General David Petraeus, head of the US central command, ,warned that the Taliban posed a threat "to the very existence of the Pakistani state".
Petraeus said al-Qaida's central leadership had moved to Pakistan but he denied that generous military aid was linked to a possible US deployment. "This is not about us putting combat boots on the ground," he told Fox News.
The exodus out of Swat added to a humanitarian crisis that is rapidly swelling beyond earlier fears. Officials in Mardan, on the lowland plains below Swat, said that 250,000 people had registered for help, more than double the total on Friday.
Including 550,000 people displaced by earlier fighting, officials said they feared as many as 1.3 million people could soon be homeless in North West Frontier province. The aid group World Vision said it had found "intolerable" conditions in some of the six hastily opened camps, pointing to high temperatures and a lack of toilets and electricity.
The army said that between 12,000 and 15,000 security forces – regular army and paramilitary frontier corps – are stationed in Swat, pitted against between 4,000 and 5,000 Taliban guerrillas, the bulk of whom are concentrated in Mingora.
The the militants used the nine-hour pause in fighting to deepen their defences against an expected army ground offensive. In Kanju, a strategically important village beside the river Swat, fighters surrounded a police checkpoint near the army-controlled city airfield.
Further along, fighters sheltered under overhangs and thickets of trees to avoid being detected by helicopter gunships buzzing overhead. They warned residents to leave the area immediately.
Absent was the militants' leader, the charismatic preacher Maulana Fazlullah, who villagers speculated was hiding in the Tharan Valley, 10 miles to the west bordering Upper Dir district. Fazlullah continues, however, to make use of the FM radio broadcasts that helped him rise from obscurity two years ago, employing them to issue coded instructions to battlefield commanders and threats to perceived enemies.
The army launched a full-scale operation on Thursday, following the collapse of a fragile peace deal that saw militants fanning out of their Swat stronghold into neighbouring districts such as Buner and Dir. It was a fight "for the survival of the country", the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, said on Saturday. The offensive came as President Asif Ali Zardari visited the United States to reassure a nervous Obama administration that Pakistan was committed to fighting militancy.
The operation has also enjoyed an unusual level of support at home, even from conservative forces previously reluctant to criticise the Taliban.
A conference of religious clerics in Rawalpindi endorsed the military campaign as a "jihad against the enemies of Islam".
Turning points in public opinion included the release of a video showing a Taliban fighter flogging a teenage woman, and a declaration by Sufi Muhammad, a senior pro-Taliban cleric, that democracy was an "infidel" concept.
The provincial government had released the 78-year-old jihadi cleric from prison last year in the hope he would persuade the Taliban to lay down arms.
One of the few voices publicly opposing the campaign is the former cricketer Imran Khan, who leads a small party and has aligned himself with rightwing forces in recent years.
Allegations of Talibanistan in Frontier province were "nonsense", he told the Guardian.
"This whole thing is very sinister," he said, accusing the government of "setting up this idea that Islamabad was being threatened and the Taliban were coming with their way of life and cutting of throats".
Khan's stance has antagonised left-leaning Pakistanis. "He is very foolish," said Talat Masood, a retired general and analyst. "He is just trying to build up his image by criticising a military operation. But he is doing a great disservice to himself."
Conservative party faces spotlight as expenses crisis engulfs MPs
David Cameron today finds the Conservative party in the firing line over the highly charged issue of MPs' expenses and allowances, as embarrassing details about the claims of a series of shadow cabinet ministers are leaked.
As a former deputy speaker of the Commons warned that a general election may have to be held to resolve the expenses crisis, shadow ministers tonight defended claims which appear to show that Tory MPs have followed Labour in maximising their benefits.
The Daily Telegraph, which has faced criticism for focusing on Labour MPs in the three days since it started publishing leaked details about parliamentary expenses, today shifts its attention to the shadow cabinet. The paper claims that:
• One shadow minister had piping repaired that stretches under the tennis court at his country house. The Tories said the piping happened to pass under the court, but had nothing to do with it.
• A senior member of the shadow cabinet claimed for 25 light bulbs at his west London home.
• A shadow minister used the £24,006 additional costs allowance, used to subsidise MPs' second homes, to upgrade a property just before selling it.
• A Tory frontbencher claimed thousands of pounds for the upkeep of his garden.
Tory sources said last night that the party would be embarrassed by some of the disclosures, but no resignations were expected because the rules had not been broken. "We have a perception problem," one source said.
The focus on the Tories is likely to turn the expenses leaks into a wider crisis for the political classes. Downing Street is angry that the Telegraph has focused on Labour in the first three days of its series.
The wider impact was highlighted by Lord Naseby, a former Commons deputy speaker, who said that the leaks were so damaging that parliament may have to be dissolved. "It's dreadful. It is quite awful," the Tory peer told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. "I think frankly, if this runs and runs, then parliament should be dissolved, I think they have to start again. The Great British public has lost their confidence and I think that it is extremely serious. And if it is that serious then there is only one way of dealing with it, that is to dissolve parliament."
His remarks came as Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, faced a fight for her political life after apparently making contradictory declarations about a publicly subsidised flat to avoid a £18,000 tax bill. Gordon Brown, who gave Blears a dressing down after she accused the government last week of a "lamentable" failure to communicate, is planning to reshuffle his cabinet after what is expected to be a poor performance by Labour in the European elections next month. Senior Labour figures are now privately saying that Blears's position is vulnerable.
Blears appeared to have avoided paying capital gains tax when she sold a flat in Kennington, south London, in August 2004 for £200,000, making a profit of £45,000. To avoid paying tax of about £18,000 on the profit, she would have had to declare the flat to the Inland Revenue as her main residence. But in April 2004 she designated the Kennington flat as her second home to the Commons authorities. This allowed her to claim mortgage interest payments on it of £850 a month.
Blears insisted yesterday she had done nothing wrong. Standing outside her home in Salford, as she prepared to drive off with her husband on his motorbike, she said: "I have complied with the rules of the house, the rules of the Inland Revenue, and that's the situation as it is. But I understand how strongly the public feel about it and they hate all of this and that means we have got to get it sorted out as quickly as possible."
Her performance, seen in Labour circles as a low in the expenses saga, illustrated a wider problem of how politicians are struggling to defend themselves.
Blears changed the status of her home in 2004 when rules which meant that ministers had to declare their London homes as their main residence were changed. Until then rent and mortgage payments on these properties had to be paid from ministers' own pockets. Had Blears not declared her Kennington flat to the Inland Revenue as her main property she would have paid tax on a flat funded from her own pocket for three years from her appointment as a minister in 2001 until just four months before she sold it. MPs will make clear the need for change when they tomorrow agree to a tougher system to audit their expenses. Sir Stuart Bell, the veteran Labour member of the Commons Commission, said: "In all probability the commission will approve a special specific audit unit, hived off from the fees office, independent of the fees office, which will verify in future every claim that's made by any MP."
Under the new system, officials who approve MPs' claims will be overseen by senior officials who will be formally charged with advising on whether claims are valid. A separate audit office in the Commons will conduct statistical analysis to identify MPs who over-claim. Since 1 April this year the National Audit Office has been auditing MPs after they were placed on the same level as the rest of the public sector.
The internal and external auditing marks a major change. Until now MPs' expenses have only been examined individually, with no overall oversight. By conducting a statistical analysis, the auditors are meant to identify MPs who claim above average amounts.
As a former deputy speaker of the Commons warned that a general election may have to be held to resolve the expenses crisis, shadow ministers tonight defended claims which appear to show that Tory MPs have followed Labour in maximising their benefits.
The Daily Telegraph, which has faced criticism for focusing on Labour MPs in the three days since it started publishing leaked details about parliamentary expenses, today shifts its attention to the shadow cabinet. The paper claims that:
• One shadow minister had piping repaired that stretches under the tennis court at his country house. The Tories said the piping happened to pass under the court, but had nothing to do with it.
• A senior member of the shadow cabinet claimed for 25 light bulbs at his west London home.
• A shadow minister used the £24,006 additional costs allowance, used to subsidise MPs' second homes, to upgrade a property just before selling it.
• A Tory frontbencher claimed thousands of pounds for the upkeep of his garden.
Tory sources said last night that the party would be embarrassed by some of the disclosures, but no resignations were expected because the rules had not been broken. "We have a perception problem," one source said.
The focus on the Tories is likely to turn the expenses leaks into a wider crisis for the political classes. Downing Street is angry that the Telegraph has focused on Labour in the first three days of its series.
The wider impact was highlighted by Lord Naseby, a former Commons deputy speaker, who said that the leaks were so damaging that parliament may have to be dissolved. "It's dreadful. It is quite awful," the Tory peer told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. "I think frankly, if this runs and runs, then parliament should be dissolved, I think they have to start again. The Great British public has lost their confidence and I think that it is extremely serious. And if it is that serious then there is only one way of dealing with it, that is to dissolve parliament."
His remarks came as Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, faced a fight for her political life after apparently making contradictory declarations about a publicly subsidised flat to avoid a £18,000 tax bill. Gordon Brown, who gave Blears a dressing down after she accused the government last week of a "lamentable" failure to communicate, is planning to reshuffle his cabinet after what is expected to be a poor performance by Labour in the European elections next month. Senior Labour figures are now privately saying that Blears's position is vulnerable.
Blears appeared to have avoided paying capital gains tax when she sold a flat in Kennington, south London, in August 2004 for £200,000, making a profit of £45,000. To avoid paying tax of about £18,000 on the profit, she would have had to declare the flat to the Inland Revenue as her main residence. But in April 2004 she designated the Kennington flat as her second home to the Commons authorities. This allowed her to claim mortgage interest payments on it of £850 a month.
Blears insisted yesterday she had done nothing wrong. Standing outside her home in Salford, as she prepared to drive off with her husband on his motorbike, she said: "I have complied with the rules of the house, the rules of the Inland Revenue, and that's the situation as it is. But I understand how strongly the public feel about it and they hate all of this and that means we have got to get it sorted out as quickly as possible."
Her performance, seen in Labour circles as a low in the expenses saga, illustrated a wider problem of how politicians are struggling to defend themselves.
Blears changed the status of her home in 2004 when rules which meant that ministers had to declare their London homes as their main residence were changed. Until then rent and mortgage payments on these properties had to be paid from ministers' own pockets. Had Blears not declared her Kennington flat to the Inland Revenue as her main property she would have paid tax on a flat funded from her own pocket for three years from her appointment as a minister in 2001 until just four months before she sold it. MPs will make clear the need for change when they tomorrow agree to a tougher system to audit their expenses. Sir Stuart Bell, the veteran Labour member of the Commons Commission, said: "In all probability the commission will approve a special specific audit unit, hived off from the fees office, independent of the fees office, which will verify in future every claim that's made by any MP."
Under the new system, officials who approve MPs' claims will be overseen by senior officials who will be formally charged with advising on whether claims are valid. A separate audit office in the Commons will conduct statistical analysis to identify MPs who over-claim. Since 1 April this year the National Audit Office has been auditing MPs after they were placed on the same level as the rest of the public sector.
The internal and external auditing marks a major change. Until now MPs' expenses have only been examined individually, with no overall oversight. By conducting a statistical analysis, the auditors are meant to identify MPs who claim above average amounts.
Burma's Suu Kyi 'in poor health'
Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration and is barely eating, her party spokesman says.
Nyan Win said they were extremely worried about the 63-year-old Nobel Laureate's health.
A medical assistant has placed Ms Suu Kyi on an intravenous drip. Her own doctor was reportedly detained after visiting her earlier this week.
Ms Suu Kyi She has been under almost permanent house arrest since 1990.
It followed the victory of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in a general election in 1990. The junta has refused to allow the party to assume power.
Ms Suu Kyi's latest period of detention is due to expire at the end of May but the authorities have not yet said if it will be extended.
Break-in
"We are very concerned about her health and security conditions," Nyan Win of the NLD told the BBC.
He said Ms Suu Kyi had suffered a loss of appetite and had gone three to four days without eating.
As a result, her blood pressure had dropped and she was showing symptoms of dehydration
Nyan Win said the party was closely monitoring the situation, and would decide next week whether to press for greater medical treatment for Ms Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win said it was not clear why physician Tin Myo Win had been arrested last Thursday.
He speculated that it could be linked to the arrest on Tuesday of a man carrying a US passport who swam across a lake to the property.
About 20 police are reported to have entered Ms Suu Kyi's house on Thursday morning.
It followed reports that an American, identified as John William Yeattaw, had managed to breach tight security to swim across Inya Lake and enter Ms Suu Kyi's house secretly on Sunday.
He was arrested after swimming back across the lake late on Tuesday.
Such an incident would be the first time someone has broken into Ms Suu Kyi's compound
Nyan Win said they were extremely worried about the 63-year-old Nobel Laureate's health.
A medical assistant has placed Ms Suu Kyi on an intravenous drip. Her own doctor was reportedly detained after visiting her earlier this week.
Ms Suu Kyi She has been under almost permanent house arrest since 1990.
It followed the victory of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in a general election in 1990. The junta has refused to allow the party to assume power.
Ms Suu Kyi's latest period of detention is due to expire at the end of May but the authorities have not yet said if it will be extended.
Break-in
"We are very concerned about her health and security conditions," Nyan Win of the NLD told the BBC.
He said Ms Suu Kyi had suffered a loss of appetite and had gone three to four days without eating.
As a result, her blood pressure had dropped and she was showing symptoms of dehydration
Nyan Win said the party was closely monitoring the situation, and would decide next week whether to press for greater medical treatment for Ms Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win said it was not clear why physician Tin Myo Win had been arrested last Thursday.
He speculated that it could be linked to the arrest on Tuesday of a man carrying a US passport who swam across a lake to the property.
About 20 police are reported to have entered Ms Suu Kyi's house on Thursday morning.
It followed reports that an American, identified as John William Yeattaw, had managed to breach tight security to swim across Inya Lake and enter Ms Suu Kyi's house secretly on Sunday.
He was arrested after swimming back across the lake late on Tuesday.
Such an incident would be the first time someone has broken into Ms Suu Kyi's compound
US to review Afghan air strikes
A top US military commander has announced a review into the American use of air strikes in Afghanistan.
Gen David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, said "tactical actions" should not undermine strategic goals.
His comments came after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said US air strikes that kill civilians were damaging the fight against terrorism.
Washington again expressed regret over recent civilian deaths, but refused to rule out such strikes in the future.
On Sunday, hundreds of university students in the Afghan capital, Kabul, protested against air strikes last week targeting Taleban fighters in the western Farah province.
Afghan sources said nearly 150 had been killed, but that figure has been disputed by the US.
Gen Petraeus, who is responsible for US operations in the region, told Fox News television that he had named a brigadier general "with extensive experience in conventional and special operations" to go to Afghanistan and look at the issue "more broadly".
He said the unnamed military officer would serve to ensure that "our tactical actions don't undermine our strategic goals and objectives".
"That's essentially the conversation that President Karzai and I had yesterday on this particular topic," he added.
Gen Petraeus also said the Taleban bore "enormous blame" for firing on US troops from the protection of civilian houses.
'Fed up'
Speaking after talks with the German chancellor in Berlin, Mr Karzai said civilian deaths had to be avoided.
"Civilian casualties, of course, is a very serious matter for the Afghan people, (it) also is a serious matter for our allies," Mr Karzai said at the news conference.
"It's something that the Afghan people want to be addressed effectively and sooner."
In the protest in Kabul, students held up banners including one that called America "the biggest terrorist in the world".
Students in Kabul called for those responsible to be put on trial
The protesters also called for those responsible for the deaths to be put on trial.
"Our people are fed up with Taleban beheadings and suicide bombings. On the other hand, the massacre of civilians by the American forces is a crime that our people will never forget," a statement quoted by AFP news agency said.
President Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen James Jones, said the US would "redouble" efforts to limit civilian deaths, but added that it could not hamper its forces in Afghanistan by banning air strikes.
"We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back," General he told ABC television.
Last week, Mr Karzai urged the US to stop the use of such strikes
The air strike in Farah province overshadowed a summit on Wednesday between the President Barack Obama, Mr Karzai, and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.
Gen David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, said "tactical actions" should not undermine strategic goals.
His comments came after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said US air strikes that kill civilians were damaging the fight against terrorism.
Washington again expressed regret over recent civilian deaths, but refused to rule out such strikes in the future.
On Sunday, hundreds of university students in the Afghan capital, Kabul, protested against air strikes last week targeting Taleban fighters in the western Farah province.
Afghan sources said nearly 150 had been killed, but that figure has been disputed by the US.
Gen Petraeus, who is responsible for US operations in the region, told Fox News television that he had named a brigadier general "with extensive experience in conventional and special operations" to go to Afghanistan and look at the issue "more broadly".
He said the unnamed military officer would serve to ensure that "our tactical actions don't undermine our strategic goals and objectives".
"That's essentially the conversation that President Karzai and I had yesterday on this particular topic," he added.
Gen Petraeus also said the Taleban bore "enormous blame" for firing on US troops from the protection of civilian houses.
'Fed up'
Speaking after talks with the German chancellor in Berlin, Mr Karzai said civilian deaths had to be avoided.
"Civilian casualties, of course, is a very serious matter for the Afghan people, (it) also is a serious matter for our allies," Mr Karzai said at the news conference.
"It's something that the Afghan people want to be addressed effectively and sooner."
In the protest in Kabul, students held up banners including one that called America "the biggest terrorist in the world".
Students in Kabul called for those responsible to be put on trial
The protesters also called for those responsible for the deaths to be put on trial.
"Our people are fed up with Taleban beheadings and suicide bombings. On the other hand, the massacre of civilians by the American forces is a crime that our people will never forget," a statement quoted by AFP news agency said.
President Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen James Jones, said the US would "redouble" efforts to limit civilian deaths, but added that it could not hamper its forces in Afghanistan by banning air strikes.
"We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back," General he told ABC television.
Last week, Mr Karzai urged the US to stop the use of such strikes
The air strike in Farah province overshadowed a summit on Wednesday between the President Barack Obama, Mr Karzai, and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Manmohan soothes DMK's ruffled feathers
With just one phase in these elections remaining, the focus of all the major political formations has shifted to the process of cobbling together post-poll allies.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
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With just one phase in these elections remaining, the focus of all the major political formations has shifted to the process of cobbling together post-poll allies.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
Comments Post your comments
Post Your Comments Fields marked with * are mandatory
*Name:
E-mail:
*Comments:
Limit 4000 characters - 4000 characters remaining
*Secure Code:
Problem viewing this image. Click to refresh
Kindly do not post any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful material or information. NDTV Convergence Ltd reserves the right to remove without notice any content received from users.
With just one phase in these elections remaining, the focus of all the major political formations has shifted to the process of cobbling together post-poll allies.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
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With just one phase in these elections remaining, the focus of all the major political formations has shifted to the process of cobbling together post-poll allies.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
Comments Post your comments
Post Your Comments Fields marked with * are mandatory
*Name:
E-mail:
*Comments:
Limit 4000 characters - 4000 characters remaining
*Secure Code:
Problem viewing this image. Click to refresh
Kindly do not post any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful material or information. NDTV Convergence Ltd reserves the right to remove without notice any content received from users.
With just one phase in these elections remaining, the focus of all the major political formations has shifted to the process of cobbling together post-poll allies.
On Saturday, Manmohan Singh was giving bedside assurance that the Congress will not dump the DMK for the AIADMK after the polls was necessitated by what was seen as overtures by Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to Jayalalithaa.
At a press conference in Chennai before his hospital visit to see the DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Prime Minister tried to reach out to his only Tamil Nadu ally.
When asked if he is categorically ruling out any alliance with the AIADMK after the polls, Singh said, "As of now, we are fighting this election in the company of the DMK. It is our fervent hope that this alliance which has stood the test of time for the last five years and has delivered solid results, we will maintain this alliance as we form the government."
While reiterating the Centre's concern for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Singh chose to side step a reference to Karunanidhi's recent pro-LTTE comments.
"I may not agree with them but it is a free country, a democracy and everyone has a right to express their views," he said.
But many believe that the Prime Minister is hedging his bets because he has refused to rule out a post-poll pact with the AIADMK.
fast forward
Perhaps it’s the heat or maybe it’s excess of politics, but I’m going to make one of those reckless prognostications that make wise men weep and journalists howl with laughter. Worse, I have little more than my gut instinct to back up my prediction. It could seem rational, even logical, possibly analytical but I readily accept it’s also questionable, disputable and controversial.
Well, so much for the explanation. Or the apologia! What is it that’s prompted this self-effacing preface? Simply this: Priyanka Gandhi will be Prime Minister of India one day.
But let me quickly add it won’t happen immediately and possibly not for several years. And it’s what happens in the interregnum that will be critical to her candidature and its success. So now, lured no doubt by my own impetuosity, let me elaborate.
My hunch is we are going to see a messy outcome of the present elections. Whether it’s a third or fourth front government, or one that includes or is even led by the Congress or the BJP, it will be weak, short-lived and unable to tackle the economic, political or national security challenges we face.
However, the term khichdi falls short of fully describing this experience. Khichdi is usually light and easy to digest. This government will prove hard to accept and difficult to swallow. And the pain of endurance will determine the outcome of the next election. That could be as early as 2011.
My guess is at that point India will vote for a strong alternative led by a personality who has a national appeal and can command attention. And if at that stage the Congress is fronted by Rahul Gandhi and the BJP by Narendra Modi, then the latter fits the bill.
Secondly, the process that brings Modi to power will fracture or shatter the NDA. This means Modi will either have an outright BJP majority or, at most, depend on the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal. And I’d say his government will probably serve its full term.
So it’s seven years down the road that Priyanka Gandhi will step on to the political stage. It will be the shock of the Modi victory — and, perhaps, revulsion against the man, his policies and their outcome — that will overcome both her philosophical distaste for politics as well as her emotional reluctance to replace her brother.
Convincing Priyanka won’t be easy and it won’t happen quickly. In fact, she’ll have to convince herself — by living through Modi’s India, by wrestling with her doubts and inhibitions and by accepting, but perhaps never admitting, that Rahul, the brother she adores, cannot restore the Congress fortunes or India’s self-image and self-respect. She’ll have to convince herself that her party and her country need her.
And now, why do I believe if Priyanka steps into politics she could end up as PM? Because she has a magical spark that makes her compelling. It’s a combination of charm, charisma, presence, appearance and intelligence. You see it on tv, you sense it in her interviews and, if my colleagues are correct, it captivates the audiences she speaks to.
She has one further quality which is particularly rare. She understands herself and is comfortable with who she is. It’s a sort of Buddhist self-awareness and it’s reassuring to encounter. It makes you want to believe in her. Yet this is why she will struggle and agonise over becoming a politician but, when she does, this is also why she will rise to the top.
Pause now and ask how many ‘ifs’ have to happen for my prophecy to be fulfilled? I’d say three: an unpalatable khichdi at this elections, a Modi ‘majority’ at the next and a widespread acceptance of the Priyanka phenomenon in the interim.
The third of these three factors is already under-way. The first is likely to happen by next weekend. Thereafter, it all depends on Modi’s fortunes. The irony is that it could turn out like the disputed Modi comment of 2002 — Priyanka Gandhi will be the equal and opposite ‘reaction’ to his own coming to power!
excerpts taken from the hindusthan times as published :Karan Thapar( Sunday Edition)
Well, so much for the explanation. Or the apologia! What is it that’s prompted this self-effacing preface? Simply this: Priyanka Gandhi will be Prime Minister of India one day.
But let me quickly add it won’t happen immediately and possibly not for several years. And it’s what happens in the interregnum that will be critical to her candidature and its success. So now, lured no doubt by my own impetuosity, let me elaborate.
My hunch is we are going to see a messy outcome of the present elections. Whether it’s a third or fourth front government, or one that includes or is even led by the Congress or the BJP, it will be weak, short-lived and unable to tackle the economic, political or national security challenges we face.
However, the term khichdi falls short of fully describing this experience. Khichdi is usually light and easy to digest. This government will prove hard to accept and difficult to swallow. And the pain of endurance will determine the outcome of the next election. That could be as early as 2011.
My guess is at that point India will vote for a strong alternative led by a personality who has a national appeal and can command attention. And if at that stage the Congress is fronted by Rahul Gandhi and the BJP by Narendra Modi, then the latter fits the bill.
Secondly, the process that brings Modi to power will fracture or shatter the NDA. This means Modi will either have an outright BJP majority or, at most, depend on the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal. And I’d say his government will probably serve its full term.
So it’s seven years down the road that Priyanka Gandhi will step on to the political stage. It will be the shock of the Modi victory — and, perhaps, revulsion against the man, his policies and their outcome — that will overcome both her philosophical distaste for politics as well as her emotional reluctance to replace her brother.
Convincing Priyanka won’t be easy and it won’t happen quickly. In fact, she’ll have to convince herself — by living through Modi’s India, by wrestling with her doubts and inhibitions and by accepting, but perhaps never admitting, that Rahul, the brother she adores, cannot restore the Congress fortunes or India’s self-image and self-respect. She’ll have to convince herself that her party and her country need her.
And now, why do I believe if Priyanka steps into politics she could end up as PM? Because she has a magical spark that makes her compelling. It’s a combination of charm, charisma, presence, appearance and intelligence. You see it on tv, you sense it in her interviews and, if my colleagues are correct, it captivates the audiences she speaks to.
She has one further quality which is particularly rare. She understands herself and is comfortable with who she is. It’s a sort of Buddhist self-awareness and it’s reassuring to encounter. It makes you want to believe in her. Yet this is why she will struggle and agonise over becoming a politician but, when she does, this is also why she will rise to the top.
Pause now and ask how many ‘ifs’ have to happen for my prophecy to be fulfilled? I’d say three: an unpalatable khichdi at this elections, a Modi ‘majority’ at the next and a widespread acceptance of the Priyanka phenomenon in the interim.
The third of these three factors is already under-way. The first is likely to happen by next weekend. Thereafter, it all depends on Modi’s fortunes. The irony is that it could turn out like the disputed Modi comment of 2002 — Priyanka Gandhi will be the equal and opposite ‘reaction’ to his own coming to power!
excerpts taken from the hindusthan times as published :Karan Thapar( Sunday Edition)
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