White House: Medical evacuations of Haitians to resume

January 31, 2010
CNN news

The flights will resume "in the next 12 hours," a White House spokesman said Sunday afternoon.

Washington (CNN) -- Flights transporting critically injured Haitians into the United States will resume within a few hours, the White House announced Sunday afternoon.
The flights were temporarily suspended because of logistical issues including space to care for the injured, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said Saturday.
"Having received assurances that additional capacity exists both here and among our international partners, we determined that we can resume these critical flights," he said in a statement Sunday.
Full coverage
The statement, released Sunday afternoon, said flights would resume "in the next 12 hours."
The evacuated patients are those whose medical needs could not be met by doctors working in Haiti. Nearly 23,000 people have been seen by U.S. personnel since the January 12 earthquake, Vietor said.
Airlifts stopped after there were "concerns about the strain on domestic health capacity," Vietor said. But officials have increased the ability to care for patients through a network of nonprofits and U.S. hospitals, he said.
But earlier reports also cited questions over who would pay for patients' care.

Man charged with abusing Haitian boys faces more counts

January 31, 2010
CNN news

Project Pierre Toussaint operated on this street in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

CNN) -- An American accused of sexually abusing boys he was supposed to help in Haiti now faces additional charges, federal court records show. Douglas Perlitz, 39, was arrested in September after a federal grand jury indicted him on 10 counts related to the abuse of nine boys over a period of 10 years. Last week, a superseding indictment brought an additional nine counts against Perlitz, and alleges he abused a total of 18 boys.

Perlitz founded and operated a home and school for needy children in Haiti, known as Project Pierre Toussaint, which has since closed. He is accused of enticing the boys with promises of food and shelter and with gifts such as cell phones and cash, in exchange for sexual acts.

According to the new indictment in federal district court in Connecticut, Perlitz provided money and told one of the boys that he would not be kicked out of the school even if he failed his classes. He allegedly offered another boy and his family money and other benefits, and in another case, gave a television, shoes, clothes and meals to another boy, all in exchange for sexual acts and their silence.

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Painful plight of Haiti's 'restavec' children

By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent
January 29, 2010

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- For more than a week, Sende Sencil had gone without bathing, until two young American doctors at the hospital where she was being treated took the 9-year-old girl for a short walk outside to a shower to wash off the filth and grime.
Beaming, and in clean clothes for the first time since the earthquake, Sende, who was thought to be an orphan, returned to the hospital's tents with the doctors.
As they walked, a man approached them on the street and reached out to grab Sende.
"I'm looking for her. She's my family," the doctors remember the man saying in broken English. "I'm taking her home."
Pediatricians Tina Rezaiyan and Liz Hines, had been looking forward to the day when Sende's parents might come to claim her, but this was not what they'd anticipated.
"She was trembling and hiding behind us. She was so scared of him," said Hines, a second-year pediatric resident at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
"She was terrified. She'd been holding Liz's hand, and she clung to it and wouldn't let go," said Rezaiyan, also a second-year pediatric resident at Hopkins. "He kept trying to grab her, and I had to put myself between him and Sende."
The two doctors whisked Sende back to the hospital tent, where the doctors found an interpreter.
The man they'd met on the street wasn't her father, she told the interpreter, but he wasn't a stranger, either. She called him her "godfather," and she lived with him and his wife in Port-au-Prince. Her parents, who live in Gonaives, a rural area several hours north of the capital city, had sent her to live with them.

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Obama takes tough questions from House GOP

January 29, 2010

CNN News

Baltimore, Maryland (CNN) -- President Obama and House GOP leaders promised greater efforts to step back from the partisan brink Friday, acknowledging that Washington's toxic political climate has made it increasingly tough to tackle major problems.

The pledge was immediately called into question, however, as the two parties repeatedly expressed sharply differing viewpoints during a rare meeting at a House Republican retreat in Baltimore.

Obama accepted an invitation from House GOP leaders to address their caucus. His speech Friday was followed by an often pointed question-and-answer session.

"House Republican leaders are grateful for [Obama's] willingness to come ... and have a frank and honest conversation," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana. "We welcome the dialogue with the president."

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Foxx slams Obama, gets autograph

January 29, 2010
From CNN Political Producer Kristi Ramsay

(CNN) - North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx criticized President Obama after his address to House Republicans but had no qualms about walking away with a souvenir.
"Pres gave us another lecture. Our guys asked great questions. Need independent fact checker for his comments. Got autograph," the Republican congresswoman tweeted Friday afternoon at the House Republican retreat.
A follow up tweet she sent shortly after read, "Am concerned that Pres thinks health care bill is centrist. He did not accept the scalpel and it is a great tool."
Her remarks followed a rare question-and-answer session with the president and the GOP caucus.
About 300 lawmakers, family members and aides attended the meeting, which was broadcast live. The event was for the most part civil, with a few moments of heated discussion.
Obama accused Republicans of frequently mischaracterizing his policy proposals, particularly in the health care debate. Republicans, in turn, complained that the White House and congressional Democrats had ignored their ideas, locked them out of the policy-making process, and unfairly labeled them as obstructionists.
"Both sides can take some blame for a sour climate on Capitol Hill," Obama sai, adding that Democrats and Republicans "need to be careful" in choosing their rhetoric. "A tone of civility instead of slash and burn would be helpful".

UDD rally continues in Chiang Mai

29/01/2010
Bangkok Post

The red shirts of the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group continued their rally in front of the Region 5 Police headquarters in Chiang Mai on Friday, demanding the suspension of regional police chief Pol Lt-Gen Somkid Boonthanom.

Security measures have been stepped up to prevent the red shirts breaking into the office. Gates of the regional police head office have been closed.
Petcharawat Wattanapongsirikul, leader of the group, said a petiton has been sent to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and acting police chief Pateep Tanprasert as that Pol Lt-Gen Somkid to suspended because he has been indicted in the Criminal Court in connection with the disappearance of a Saudi businessman in 1990.
He said the red-shirts would seize the police office if there was no response to the petition today.
Mr Petcharawat said former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would phone in to talk to the protesters on Friday night about 9pm.
Police made an announcement on a local radio station today telling the people to avoid using the road leading past the police headquarters,and expected the protest to continue over the weekend.

Jatuporn outlines plan for 'last battle'

29/01/2010
Bangkok Post

The red shirts will rally at the city hall in every province in their final battle against dictatorship, Jatuporn Promphan announced on Friday at the rally in front of the army headquarters.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader said that in provinces where there is a military camp, the red shirts would lay siege to it to prevent soldiers coming out to stage a coup.
On the day when the final do-or-die rally was to be held, the red shirts would gather in front of city halls and use ten-wheeled trucks to block military camps. In Bangkok, the rally would be held at Sanam Luang, Mr Jatuporn said.
Mr Jatuporn did not say when would be the day for the "final battle."
He dared deputy army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha to announce the day for a coup - to eradicate the red shirts and Thaksin Shinawatra. On that day, he said, the red shirts would come out in force to fight against soldiers.
He also called for soldiers who disagreed with the coup to come out, using a piece of red cloth for identification, to join the "people's war."

GT200 doubts irk southerners

False readings 'could lead to intimidation'
Bangkok Post
Writer: King-oua Laohong and Wassana Nanuam

Scepticism about the effectiveness of GT200 bomb detectors has left residents in the restive deep South on edge as an erratic reading could lead to their being arrested by authorities.Nimu Makaje, Yala's advisory council for peace-building chairman, said villagers are worried they might end up being detained, interrogated or mistreated because of the device.

"What if they need to carry medicine with them? They are not afraid of being searched. They are afraid of being marked as insurgent suspects by the device."They would be detained, interrogated. That can lead to mistreatment and torture," he said.

After overseas media raised doubts about similar bomb detectors, residents had started to wonder whether the device is behind the controversial detention of 384 people suspected of taking part in the insurgency in 2007.Without being charged, the detainees remained in custody for 37 days under martial and emergency law.

They said faulty devices could lead to incorrect readings that people had been in contact with explosive substances when they had not."Despite the doubts and criticisms, no action is being taken," he said.

About 535 GT200 bomb detectors are in use to help tackle the insurgency in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat.A hand-held bomb detector of a similar kind was exposed as a hoax in a recent BBC inquiry.

Mr Nimu called on authorities to clarify what the various devices cost.The police force procured the GT200 device for 400,000 baht per unit while the army's batch cost at least 900,000 baht apiece, he said.

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No mere game of musical chairs

Bangkok Post

29/01/2010

Suchart: Seasoned

Suchart Chokechaiwattanakorn, the newly appointed Deputy Transport Minister from the Bhumjaithai Party, is a seasoned politician. In an interview with Amornrat Mahitthirook, he says giving out cabinet seats is not a game of political musical chairs.

How do you respond to criticisms that you only joined the cabinet because it was your turn to sit in the minister's chair? That is not true. The time is ripe. Politically, it is a matter of time and suitability. I am capable of being a minister. In fact, I am one of the most senior politicians right now. I have been an MP seven times. I entered politics in 1986.

You have been shortlisted for a cabinet post a number of times, but your name was always dropped at the last minute. What was going on then? I don't know. From the government of the Thai Rak Thai Party to that of the People Power Party, many senior politicians were suspended from politics and it should have been my turn to become a minister. But I did not make it, even though I was on the shortlist.

Even when I was a key figure pushing for Bhumjaithai to join forces with the Democrat Party to form the present coalition government, I was viewed as a potential minister. But again, I didn't make the cut.

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UDD rally at army HQ ends peacefully

29/01/2010

Writer: Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

The UDD demonstrated in the rain at army headquarters, against deputy army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha, whom they claim is plotting another military coup d'etat.

The red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) ended its rally at Royal Thai Army headquarters peacefully last night.The UDD was rallying in protest against deputy army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha, whom they accuse of planning to stage a coup.

They started the rally at noon in rainy conditions amid tight security on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue where the army headquarters is located.The road was closed for the protest until 6pm, when the red shirts dispersed.
Gen Prayuth and army chief Anupong Paojinda were not at the headquarters yesterday. The pair travelled to Yala province in the deep South on Thursday.UDD leaders announced that the objective of their rally at army headquarters was to ask Gen Prayuth whether he would stage a coup.

However, Gen Prayuth told reporters on Wednesday that "there won't be any coup for sure".
An army source said Gen Prayuth had assigned one of his classmates in Class 12 at the pre-cadet school, Lt Gen Daophong Rattanasuwan, deputy army chief of staff, to monitor the situation and 1st Army commander Lt Gen Khanit Sapithak to ensure peace and order at army headquarters.

The UDD yesterday gave their rally the following theme: "Befriending brave soldiers, but protesting against aristocrat-serving soldiers." UDD leader Jatuporn Prompan claimed Gen Prayuth had discussed with air force chief ACM Itthiporn Supawong on Jan 16 a plan to stage a coup to resolve unrest in the country.

Mr Jatuporn said the military was divided. Those on one side wanted to stage a coup, but another side agreed with the red shirts and wanted to protest against the coup.

Mr Jatuporn said the UDD's next rally targets would be the air force, the Defence Ministry, the Election Commission and the Royal Golf Lanna golf course in Chiang Mai, which they claim is linked to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda.

They then plan to hold a mass rally in Bangkok to oust the government.

Group Captain Monthon Satchukorn, deputy spokesman of the air force, denied that the military's top brass met at the air force to discuss a coup.

Meanwhile, Col Sirijan Ngathong, deputy army spokeswoman, said the army would conduct military training in Bangkok and other provinces throughout February.

The training sessions were regular annual training sessions and were not linked to any coup.
Army troopers and military supplies would be transported from army camps to training sites in different areas this month, she added.

Politics not a factor in Thai trade drop: govt

Friday, 29 January 2010
May Kunmakara
The Phnom Penh Post

POLITICAL conflict was not behind a 22.15 percent annualised drop in bilateral trade last year between Cambodia and Thailand, the government’s director general for international trade said Thursday.According to Thai customs statistics from the Thai Embassy’s Foreign Trade Promotion Office (FTPO), bilateral trade between the two countries plummeted from US$2.13 billion in 2008 to just $1.658 billion in 2009.

Cambodia’s exports to Thailand went down by 13.84 percent to $77.73 million, in 2009, from $90.22 million in 2008. The Kingdom’s imports from Thailand fell by 22.52 percent – to $1.580 billion from $2.040 billion.Sok Sopheak, director general of international trade for the Ministry of Commerce, said the decline in trade was because of the global economic crisis, which has stymied world demand for goods. “This downturn did [not] only apply to trade with Thailand but it also affected our trade with other countries,” he said.

The director added that he does not believe the diplomatic conflict between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over the presence in Cambodia of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra – who was appointed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s economic advisor – was the key factor in the drop.

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Civil party reforms at KRT

Friday, 29 January 2010

James O'Toole

Photo by: Heng Chivoan Chum Mey, a survivor of Tuol Sleng prison and a civil party during the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s first case, testifies in June.

THE Khmer Rouge tribunal will convene a plenary session next week to discuss reforms to civil party participation, including the consolidation of their courtroom representation under a single set of co-lawyers.

“Due to the high numbers of Civil Party applications received in relation to Case 002 and the complexity of the case, there is a need to streamline and consolidate Civil Party participation,” the court said in a statement on Thursday.

Case 002, described in the Thursday statement as the tribunal’s “core case”, features senior regime leaders Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan, as well as Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, the Tuol Sleng prison chief who was the sole accused in the court’s first case.

Ninety civil parties participated for the entirety of the Duch trial, represented by four groups of lawyers.Under the amendments up for consideration at the plenary, which begins Tuesday, civil party groups would be represented collectively by a pair of lead co-lawyers, though the court added that civil party testimony “is likely to remain a significant feature of the trial in Case 002”.

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PM points finger at corrupt army chiefs

Friday, 29 January 2010

Vong Sokheng and Sam Rith

Photo by: Pha Lina Hun Sen speaks during the closing ceremony of a conference at the Ministry of Defence on Thursday.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Thursday warned of harsh sanctions for soldiers and military commanders involved in illegal businesses, identifying several officials by name who he said were guilty of corruption.

Speaking at the conclusion of a conference on military reform, held at the Ministry of Defence, Hun Sen said even high-ranking officers were not immune from the government’s effort to expose unlawful activity, calling this effort essential to plans discussed at the conference for military reform over the next five years.

“It is time to stop every activity involving illegal business or the support of illegal business. [I] don’t care how many stars or moons you have – I will fire you, and nobody will keep corrupt commanders in their seats,” Hun Sen said. “In Cambodia, the prime minister directly controls the troops.”

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Sam Rainsy unveils border ‘proof’

Friday, 29 January 2010

Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio

Photo by: Heng Chivoan Sam Rainsy, who is currently in France, addresses his party at its headquarters on Sothearos Boulevard on Thursday via videoconference.

OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy has revealed additional evidence that he says substantiates his allegations of Vietnamese border incursions, a day after Svay Rieng provincial court handed him a two-year jail term for his involvement in the uprooting of border markers.

Speaking by live video feed from France, the Sam Rainsy Party president accused the court of convicting him at the request of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

“We have enough evidence of the planting of border markers,” he said during the video press conference. “These posts are not border posts because they are 200 or 300 metres from the border.

Such posts are counterfeit posts, illegal posts, invasion posts planted in Khmer farmers’ ricefields.”The new evidence released by Sam Rainsy consisted of a detailed methodology for the creation of the maps released by the SRP on Sunday, which showed Vietnamese border markers 184, 185, 186 and 187 sitting well inside Cambodia’s legal territory as defined by French and American maps.

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Chinese linked to filling of lake

Friday, 29 January 2010

Sebastian Strangio and May Titthara
Rights groups raise fresh concerns about transparency of Boeung Kak project

Boeung Kak lake seen from a resident’s home on Thursday.

CHINESE companies have been closely involved in the controversial development of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak since its inception, according to news reports and local rights groups, who said they became aware of the companies’ role after a research group from China visited the site last week.

Pen Raingsey, manager of the land and livelihoods program at the NGO Forum, said the group, which included Chinese academics and journalists, revealed Chinese news reports confirming the deals. “We weren’t aware that the investment in Boeung Kak was Chinese. We were surprised because our researchers tried to find the source of the funding, but weren’t aware of this,” he said.

It has long been unclear whether Shukaku Inc, the obscure local developer in charge of the 133-hectare commercial and housing project, has been backed by foreign investors. But a series of Chinese-language news articles available online reveals a long history of Chinese involvement in the controversial project, following the signing of a US$79 million lease agreement between City Hall and Shukaku in February 2007.

In April of that year, the Kunming-based Yunnan International Economic and Technical Cooperation Corporation signed an agreement with CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin, the chairman of Shukaku, to develop Boeung Kak as a “multi-purpose living and recreation centre” called New East City, as well as a tourism “eco-garden” in Sihanoukville. Present at the signing, according to state media, were Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Qin Guangrong, the governor of China’s Yunnan province.

Additional Chinese news reports described the project as Yunnan’s “largest foreign investment”, putting the total cost of the project at around $1.5 billion. One said $680 million would be spent on the first construction phase, to run from 2007 to 2010, with the project to be completed in 2013.

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PM confident government will survive

28/01/2010
Bangkok Post

There is no reason to dissolve parliament now and the Democrat Party and its coalition partners will continue working together to move the country forward, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

Asked if he thought the Democrat-let administration would last beyond March because of the split over constitutional amendment, Democrat leader Abhisit said he was confident it would survive that long and that it could last a lot longer than that.Mr Abhisit insisted that his party had not defaulted on the agreement made with its coalition partners and had never promised it would support changes to the charter.Finance Minister and Democrat key member Korn Chatikavanij said the government was still stable, even though the Democrats decided not to join their coalition partners in a parliamentary motion to amend the charter.Mr Korn said the government will not call a snap general election, as some people speculate, because it has several important tasks to complete, especially the injection of money into the system to stimulate the country’s economy.

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Reds to rally at army HQ

28/01/2010
Bangkok Post

Red-shirt protesters are free to rally in front of army headquarters on Friday, but they must abide by the law, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.

Members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) say they will gather tomorrow to demand the army to publicly clarify the rumours of a pending coup.Mr Suthep said security forces had made preparations to handle the coming anti-government rallies. Police would be in charge of maintaining peace and order, but soldiers would be deployed if the situation gets out of control.

The protests would be allowed, provided they remained within the law.Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the anti-government movement's plans to protest at the army headquarters, and later at air force headquarters, and demand clarification of coup rumours was unnecessary. The army had already made it clear there would be no coup at this time and people should not be disturbed by the rumours.

Gen Prawit said people spreading the coup rumours were not helping the country's image.The defence minister said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had not given the army any special special orders for the period he would be visiting Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum from Jan 29 to 31.Police at Mae Fag station in Chiang Mai’s Sansai district said they had set up an operations centre at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club to maintain peace and order during the planned demonstration at the club by the red-shirts on Friday.

The UDD and the red-shirt people group in Chiang Mai, Rak Chiang Mai 51, plan to rally against the government’s "double standards" at the golf course.

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Pressure mounts for Afghan solution at London meet

28/01/2010

Writer: AFP News agency

Bangkok Post

Taliban fighters display their weapons during a patrol in Ghazni province on January 23. Afghanistan will seek to drum up support for its plan to buy off Taliban militants at a meeting Thursday with its allies, who are expected to press Kabul to move more quickly to take over security.

Afghanistan will seek to drum up support for its plan to buy off Taliban militants at a meeting Thursday with its allies, who are expected to press Kabul to move more quickly to take over security.

President Hamid Karzai will address about 70 countries and organisations that give vital support to his government in talks that some partners have said will be crucial but the Taliban has dismissed as a waste of time.

The London meeting comes amid disquiet about the situation in Afghanistan more than eight years into a gruelling fight against the Taliban that has cost thousands of lives and is losing public support in several nations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the conference was vital to determining the success or failure of the mission in Afghanistan.
"

In London we are talking about nothing less than setting the future course, a course that I am convinced will determine the success or failure of our mission," Merkel said Wednesday.

She has announced 500 more German troops for Afghanistan, a doubling of development aid and

plans to offer 50 million euros (70 million dollars) over five years to a new fund to draw militants back into mainstream society.

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Drug busters say they have better detector

Alpha 6 is cheaper than GT200 with more uses

28/01/2010
About the author
Writer: King-Oua Laohong and Sunan Srinuanjan

A television news reporter uses a GT200 bomb detector to locate a bomb hidden in a football field at the Army Ordnance Department in Ratchaburi. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

The GT200 bomb and drug detetector is not the only model in use in Thailand, and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board says it is more than happy with its cheaper and more effective Alpha 6 device.

The GT200 is used widely in the South for bomb detection.

ONCB secretary-general Krisna Polananta yesterday said his agency had been using the Alpha 6 device since 2007 to combat drug smuggling along the northern border.

It works well and the board is looking to buy 16 more from the British manufacturer ComsTrac. The Alpha 6 can also be used as a bomb detector.

Pol Lt Gen Krisna said the Alpha 6 device was 70% effective in detecting drugs, including speed pills, hidden in cars and PVC pipes.

He said the ONCB could not afford to buy the GT200 as they were not suited to the office's work and were too expensive.

The Alpha 6 is priced at 400,000 baht while a GT200 costs between 900,000 and 1.2 million baht.

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United in self-interest

ANALYSIS: Seemingly fractured, the government coalition is not yet ready to split up,

28/01/2010

Writer: Manop Thip-osod and Aekarach Sattaburuth

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, looks out over the House yesterday,

A conflict over charter amendments between the Democrat Party and the smaller coalition partners is far from bringing down the coalition alliance.

The constitution review is merely part of wheeling and dealing among coalition parties to maintain political leverage. Even if the coalition partners fail to amend two points in the charter there are other issues to negotiate and reciprocal deals to make.

The most enticing issues are said to be 1.18 trillion baht in the 2010 budget fund and the 400 billion baht Thai Khem Khaeng economic stimulus package. Only fragments of these funds have been spent so far.

It is widely believed these billions of baht are enough to keep the smaller coalition partners from straying from the Democrat fold and joining the opposition Puea Thai Party.

A source in the Bhumjaithai Party said yesterday de facto leader Newin Chidchob is displeased with the Democrats' resolution not to support amendments, but is not yet willing to break away.

"He is adopting a wait-and-see attitude. In fact there are other conditions," the source said.
The junior coalition parties have more than just constitutional amendments with which to keep pressure on the Democrats, especially with the no-confidence debate that is being planned.

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Pawns on a political battlefield

ANALYSIS: Soldiers backing Anupong Paojinda have put a new slant on a volatile scenario,

28/01/2010
Writer: Wassana Nanuam

Old school Thais

Army specialist Khattiya Sawasdipol, left, shakes hands with 4th Army commander Pichet Wisaijorn, a former classmate at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Class 11. Lt Gen Pichet yesterday received the ‘‘Chakra Dao’’ outstanding alumnus award on the occasion of the institute’s 50th anniversary. WASSANANANUAM

A show of support for army chief Anupong Paojinda by soldiers around the country can be interpreted as a warning to the junior coalition parties, which are locked in conflict with the Democrat Party over amendments to the constitution.

More than 1,000 troops at the 2nd Infantry Division based in Prachin Buri yesterday gathered at the central province camp to pledge their support for Gen Anupong. They were led by Maj Gen Walit Rojanapakdi.

Soldiers at the 11th Infantry Regiment in Bangkok are today expected to repeat the performance by publicly backing Gen Anupong. They are to be led by Col Apirat Kongsompong.
More units will follow their lead, as an army source said troops in other camps, mainly in the capital, were also planning to answer the call.

The green light for the move came from deputy army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha and 1st Army chief Kanit Sapitak, another source said.

Soldiers wanted to tell Gen Anupong they were behind him in his conflict with army specialist Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng.

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Mulayam urges socialist leaders to unite to tackle key issues

Thu 28 Jan 2010

World News Asia

New Delhi: Close on the heels of effecting organisational changes within Samajwadi Party, Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday called upon all socialist leaders to come together in tackling issues of poverty, unemployment and price rise. Addressing the condolence meeting of SP Rajya Sabha MP Janeshewar Mishra (who passed away last week) here, Yadav said, "let us take a vow on this occasion to take forward our agitation against all the ills against which...

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Activists praise Obama's 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal pledge

By Ed Hornick, CNN
January 28, 2010

Repealing 'Don't ask, Don't tell'

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama's call in his State of the Union address to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy this year was met with praise from gay activists and questions by top Republicans as to why it should be changed.

"Tonight, President Obama stepped up to the plate and made a firm commitment to work to finally end 'don't ask, don't tell' in 2010," said Alexander Nicholson, founder and executive director of Servicemembers United. "Although brief, his language was plain, his message was clear, and the outline of his strategy was smart."

In his State of the Union speech, Obama said he would work with Congress and the military to repeal the 1993 law that bars openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military.

"[We must] repeal the law that denies gay and lesbian Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It's the right thing to do," Obama said.

Nicholson, a former Army human intelligence collector who was honorably discharged in 2002 under the policy, said Obama did something Wednesday night that will cool criticism he has faced from the gay rights community.

President calls for repeal
"He didn't pass the buck ... he seemed to take the bull by the horns and fully commit," said Nicholson. "I thought it was pretty clear that he intends to do it this year and take a leadership role."

Obama said he would work to repeal the policy during his 2008 campaign but was criticized by gay and lesbian groups when the issue didn't emerge as a priority over the first year of his presidency.

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Obama announces $8 billion investment in high-speed train system

January 28, 2010

CNN NewsThe Obama administration initially released an outline for a national high-speed rail network last April.

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama announced Thursday that the federal government will spend $8 billion developing a nationwide high-speed train system -- an investment the White House says is needed to help spur long-term economic growth.

The investment, to be made through a series of state grants, will be funded through the government's $862 billion economic stimulus package.

Overall, projects and planning involving the rail corridors will take place in 31 states, according to a White House statement.

The program "will help accelerate job growth in an economy that is already beginning to grow," Obama said at a town hall at the University of Tampa in Florida.

More than 30 rail manufacturers have agreed to establish or expand U.S. operations if they are hired to work on the high-speed rail network, the administration said.

The president first mentioned the program in his State of the Union speech Wednesday night. The administration initially released an outline for a national high-speed rail network last April.
Each of the corridors identified by the administration last year are between 100 and 600 miles long.

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Bernanke gets a second term

By Jennifer Liberto, senior writer
January 28, 2010: 4:27 PM ET

CNN News

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was confirmed for a second term Thursday by the U.S. Senate.

The final confirmation vote was 70-30. Minutes earlier, more than enough senators, 77, voted to end a filibuster on the nomination in a procedural move that required 60 votes.

The vote, which occurred just three days before Bernanke's first term was scheduled to end, came after heavy lobbying by Democratic leaders and the Obama administration. President Obama, himself, made calls last weekend. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., lobbied Republicans to make sure he had enough votes.

Despite the strong showing, Bernanke won his confirmation by one of the smallest margins of all time for a Fed chairman. Often the confirmation of a Fed chairman is so overwhelming and uncontroversial, it's done by a voice vote.

In 1983, then-chairman Paul Volcker was confirmed for a second term by a vote of 84-16, considered one of the more controversial confirmation votes at the time. Bernanke's second-term vote was far slimmer.

The controversy came through in the debate, which grew impassioned on both sides.

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Brown marginalised on Iraq decision, says Short

31/01/2010

BBC News

Gordon Brown was "marginalised" by Tony Blair in the build-up to the Iraq war, former International Development Secretary Clare Short has said.
The then chancellor neither opposed nor supported the invasion but was "preoccupied" by other concerns, she told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
Ms Short also described Mr Blair's evidence to the Iraq inquiry on Friday as "ludicrous".
Ms Short quit the cabinet shortly after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
She is due to appear before the inquiry - looking at the UK's role in the lead-up to the war, its conduct and aftermath - on Tuesday.
'Very powerful'
Ms Short told the Andrew Marr Show: "In most of the run-up to the war Gordon and Tony were in one of their fallen-out phases and Gordon was marginalised, not included and not in the inner group.

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P.Thai tells coalition partners to quit

31/01/2010
Bangkok post

The opposition Puea Thai Party called on the Democrats' coalition partners to show their stance on charter changes by withdrawing themselves from the government.
The ruling Democrat Party last week decided not to join the five other coaltion parties in their bid to amend two main points of the 2007 constitution. They want to change the voting system from multi-seat to single-seat constituencies, and want to overturn the requirement that all international agreements must receive parliamentary approval.

Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit on Sunday said core members of the coalition parties told their MPs and cabinet ministers to avoid criticising Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Democrat Party, as they did not want to be an opposition and were afraid that a house dissolution could occur.The opposition spokesman urged the coalition allies to make a clear decision

by taking the interests of the country and its people into consideration. "If the coalition parties are sincere with the people and stick to its charter amendment stance, they should quit the coalition because Mr Abhisit and the Democrats have broken the promise," Mr Prompong said.He said politicians must have their own ideology and show a clear stance without clinging to their own personal interests.

Dems: Thaksin comment 'contradictory'

31/01/2010
Bangkok Post

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's plan to take legal action against the ruling-Democrat Party at the World Court is too soon since his graft cases have yet to be resolved, Democrat spokesman Buranat Samutharak said on Sunday.
Mr Buranat said the Democrat Party had never intervened in the justice system, especially in the 258 million baht donation case. The party has been accused of taking a 258 million baht donation from TPI Polene, a listed company, through a third party which violates the constitution."Ousted premier Thaksin's message on Twitter saying that he would lead Thailand back to democracy without resorting to violence is contradictory," Democrat spokesman Buranat Samutharak said.Mr Buranat said the activities of Thaksin's supporters led by the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) were creating confusion in the country.Democrat spokesman Thepthai Senpong said the Election Commission (EC) had decided to postpone the ruling of the 258 million baht case because the information needed to be studied in detail.Mr Thepthai called on the EC to consider the case impartially without worrying about the pressure from the red-shirt UDD.

Dogs of war or players in a political game?

31/01/2010
Bangkok Post
Writer: Maxmilian Wechsler

If the pending decision to drop charges against the crew of a Russian cargo plane accused of smuggling weapons from North Korea has shocked observers, it comes as no surprise to many close to the mysterious case.

A three-week investigation by the Bangkok Post during which intelligence officers, senior Thai police and foreign diplomats were interviewed has revealed scepticism about the operation and the motives behind the seizure of the Ilyushin IL-76 plane at Don Mueang Airport in early December.
Questions were raised about why a plane carrying 35 tonnes of weapons allegedly from North Korea, in breach of UN sanctions, would stop to refuel in Bangkok when there are safer regional stopover destinations for arms smugglers such as Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
The circuitous 24,000km route, with the alleged final destination Iran, also did not make sense for several diplomats who said the weapons could be easily sourced from former Soviet countries.
During the course of the investigation, the Bangkok Post also learned that after the flight from Pyongyang the plane arrived a day earlier than originally reported by Thai authorities and that the five-man crew spent a night at a hotel near the airport accompanied by what appeared to be Thai security staff.

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UN to start major Haiti food distribution programme

The UN is to begin a major programme of food distribution in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, almost three weeks after the deadly earthquake.

Sunday, 31 January 2010

BBC News

The UN describes previous food aid efforts as "quick and dirty

Sixteen sites have been set up across the city with the aim of reaching two million people over two weeks. The move came as doctors voiced concern that the US had halted the evacuation of the critically injured to the US.

And ten Americans were held on suspicion of trying to take children out of the country unauthorised.
A Haiti government spokesman, Yves Christallin, said the Americans were caught with more than 30 children on the border with the Dominican Republic, where they said they had an orphanage.
The group from Idaho-based charity New Life Children's Refuge told the BBC they wanted to take quake orphans to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
Women only
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said it had established fixed sites for food distribution, to begin on Sunday.

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Detained Americans say they had good intentions in Haiti

January 31, 2010
CNN news

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Ten Americans charged with trafficking in Haiti defended their plan to bus 33 children into the Dominican Republic, saying their intention was to get them to a temporary shelter.
"We came into Haiti to help those that really had no other source of help," said Laura Silsby, a member of the group. "We are trusting the truth will be revealed, and we are praying for that."
The five men and five women are from New Life Children's Refuge, an Idaho-based charity. They said they were trying to move the children from Port-au-Prince into the Dominican Republic.
According to the group, the children did not have any passports. Government approval is needed for any Haitian children to leave the country.
A senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of the case said there was no indication of child trafficking.

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Massive food distribution to begin Sunday in Port-au-Prince

January 30, 2010

CNN News

Workers unload food in a German government distribution program to help those displaced in earthquake in Haiti.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Massive food distribution coordinated by the World Food Programme, international aid agencies and the Haitian government will begin Sunday in the quake-ravaged capital.
WFP will roll out food at 16 distribution points across Port-au-Prince, the United Nations agency said.
Each location will receive 42 metric tons of rice each for the next two weeks, and each family will receive a 25-kilogram ration of rice.
Only women will be allowed into the distributions sites to collect the food, WFP said. Women are receiving the food vouchers because they tend to be responsible for the household food supply, said WFP spokesman Marcus Prior.
"Our long experience in food distribution tells us that by delivering food into the hands of women, it is more likely to be redistributed equitably among the household -- including the men," Prior said.

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Sam Rainsy: “I agree to turn myself in, but the villagers must be released first and their lands returned back to them”

Thursday, January 28, 2010

KI MediaOpposition leader Sam Rainsy (Photo: Sovannara, RFI)

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HRP appreciates the survey report " Participation and Democratic Governance "

Thursday, January 28, 2010
LG Media

Please click on the statement in Khmer to zoom inTranslated from Khmer by Pang Sina

Phnom Penh, 27 January 2010
STATEMENT

Human Rights Party would like to show sincere admiration and congratulation to the Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (COMFREL) that has tirelessly observed and done research into the participation and democratic governance, and held a seminar on 26 January 2010 to promulgate this useful report, which clearly shows the lawmakers’ interest in their constituents who have always trusted them.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Party, which is supported by almost four hundred thousands votes and has three members of parliament, has always visited people throughout the country and so far this year attended 201 public forums held by national and international organizations.

Among this 201 times, H.E Kem Sokha, Human Rights Party’s president has approached the local people 126 times; H.E Yem Ponhearith has visited local people 34 times; and H.E Ou Chanrith has done 42 times.

Comparing to other parties in the National Assembly, Human Rights Party has visited voters many times contradicting to some people’s address. Human Rights Party cannot accept the speech that only the ruling party has visited the voters since it is not true.

Sereepisut to enter politics

27/01/2010

Pol Gen Sereepisut Taemeeyaves announced on Wednesday his intention to enter politics.

The former national police chief said it was now time for him to enter politics. He believed that with his experience gained during 40 years in government service he would be able to work for the country in the political arena.

Pol Gen Sereepisut, however, said he was still undecided which party to join although he had been approached by many parties including New Politics of Sondhi Limthongkul.

He said he was interested in running for a House seat representing Bangkok where he was popular among the people who admired him for his honesty.
He said he would open a website to communicate with the people.

Coalition warns Democrats their days are numbered

27/01/2010

Bangkok Post

The Chart Thai Pattana Party warns the Democrats on Wednesday that the government's days are numbered if they do not join the other coalition parties in amending the constitution.

Chart Thai Pattana prominent figure Somsak Prissanananthakul said on Wednesday that the Democrat Party's decision not to support the proposed charter amendments motion was not unexpected."I'm not disappointed.

I've never had any hopes [about the Democrats] because they've been trying to delay this issue for nearly a year now, even though agreements were made earlier," Mr Somsak said.

The Chart Thai Pattana Party will propose changes to the constitution to the parliament without asking for the Democrats' support again."He said Prime Minister and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva would be responsible for calling a house dissolution because of the problems concerning charter amendments, but the countdown for the government had already begun.He believed the Chart Thai Pattana Party and other parties were ready for a general election if the charter was not amended.

Chart Thai Pattana leader Chumpol Silpa-archa said the coalition partners were not fazed by the Democrat Party's decision and the amendent motion would not be changed.Bhumjaithai Party leader Boonjong Wongtrairat said the Democrat decision could lead to more problems within the coalition.

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Coalition warns Democrats their days are numbered

27/01/2010
Bangkok Post

The Chart Thai Pattana Party warns the Democrats on Wednesday that the government's days are numbered if they do not join the other coalition parties in amending the constitution.

Chart Thai Pattana prominent figure Somsak Prissanananthakul said on Wednesday that the Democrat Party's decision not to support the proposed charter amendments motion was not unexpected.

"I'm not disappointed. I've never had any hopes [about the Democrats] because they've been trying to delay this issue for nearly a year now, even though agreements were made earlier," Mr Somsak said.

The Chart Thai Pattana Party will propose changes to the constitution to the parliament without asking for the Democrats' support again."He said Prime Minister and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva would be responsible for calling a house dissolution because of the problems concerning charter amendments, but the countdown for the government had already begun.

He believed the Chart Thai Pattana Party and other parties were ready for a general election if the charter was not amended.Chart Thai Pattana leader Chumpol Silpa-archa said the coalition partners were not fazed by the Democrat Party's decision and the amendent motion would not be changed.Bhumjaithai Party leader Boonjong Wongtrairat said the Democrat decision could lead to more problems within the coalition.

He would like the Democrats to remember the deals made when they were forming the government coalition, and one of them was for constitutional amendment.

"The Bhumjaithai Party has kept its word, but the Democrats have not. Bhumjaithai members might have to meet to discuss how they can continue working with the coalition partners and the censure debate," he said.

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“The decision was prepared beforehand and everything was decided in advance. The court ‘acted’ very well”: SRP MP Long Ry on the Svay Rieng court

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Rainsy sentenced to two years' jail
Meas Sokchea and Sebastian StrangioThe Phnom Penh Post

SVAY RIENG PROVINCE & PHNOM PENH—SVAY RIENG provincial court has found opposition leader Sam Rainsy guilty of racial incitement and destroying demarcation posts on the border with Vietnam, lawyers said.

In a closed-door session on Wednesday, Judge Koam Chhean sentenced the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) president to two years prison in absentia and fined him 13 million (around US$3,132), said Sam Sokong, the defense attorney of two villagers accused on similar charges.

“I cannot accept the trial today, because it did not take evidence and proof into consideration to find justice,” Sam Sokong said. “The court did not base its decision on the evidence.”

He added that his clients – local villagers Meas Srey, 39, and Prom Chea, 41 – were also sentenced to one year in prison each on the charge of destroying public property and ordered to pay 5 million riels ($1,204) in compensation.

Rights activists also reported that the three were ordered to pay 50 million riels ($12,048) for the removal of the border markers.The charges stemmed from an October 25 incident in which Sam Rainsy joined villagers in uprooting six temporary border markers in Svay Rieng’s Chantrea district.

Locals claimed they were placed in their ricefields by Vietnamese authorities. Sam Rainsy is currently in France.Long Ry, an SRP lawmaker who attended the trial, also rejected the verdict, saying the proceedings were a farce.

“The decision was prepared beforehand and everything was decided in advance. The court ‘acted’ very well,” he said.

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The case highlights the ongoing controversy of Vietnamese influence over Prime Minister Hun Sen's government,

27,01,2010
KI Media
Jared Ferrie is a Phnom Penh-based journalist.

some 30 years after the government in Hanoi ordered troops to invade Cambodia. The two countries are now in the process of demarcating their 1,270-kilometer long border. They are also negotiating investment agreements that could see Vietnam pouring billions of dollars into Cambodia.

On December 26, during a conference in Ho Chi Minh City, officials signed a memorandum of understanding intended to pave the way for more Vietnamese investments in Cambodia.

No deals were finalized, but the economic agreements covered projects including electricity generation, fertilizer production and rubber plantations, as well as a proposal to explore for bauxite mining in Mondulkiri province.

A Vietnam official in Phnom Penh told the Phnom Penh Post that revenues from bauxite mining alone could amount to US$6 billion.Against the backdrop of a possible $12 billion worth of new Vietnamese investments, Rainsy implied that Cambodian officials were reluctant to criticize their larger neighbor about alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian lands."I am defending Cambodia's independence and territorial integrity regardless of these ongoing investment projects and financial deals," he said in an e-mail from Paris. "Maybe those in the Phnom Penh government take those material interests into consideration in their handling of border issues with Vietnam, but I don't."

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A thin line between Cambodia and Vietnam

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

KI Media
By Jared Ferrie Asia Times (Hong Kong)

"This is a public secret. Everyone knows that the court is under control of the government ... This issue of the border could have been downplayed.

They take any chance to silence the opposition" - Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human RightsPHNOM PENH - The leader of Cambodia's main opposition party, Sam Rainsy, skipped his court date on Wednesday, eluding an arrest warrant issued for allegedly uprooting border markers on the frontier with Vietnam.

Rainsy instead remained in France, where he had fled in advance of the hearing because he felt the case was politically motivated.The Svay Rieng province court convicted villagers Meas Srey and Prum Chea to one year in prison and ordered them each to pay 5 million riel (US$1,200) in compensation to district authorities for moving the border posts.

Rainsy was convicted in absentia to two years in prison, handed an 8 million riel fine and ordered to pay 5 million riels compensation to district authorities.

All three must pay an additional 50 million riel in compensation for destroying the border posts, according to the ruling.

Cambodian opposition leader gets 2-year jail term

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Associated Press
Posted by Soksan

SVAY RIENG, Cambodia — A Cambodian court has sentenced opposition chief Sam Rainsy in absentia to two years imprisonment for uprooting border markers on the frontier with Vietnam.

Human rights worker Chheng Sophas, who attended Wednesday's one-day trial, said the leader of the self-titled Sam Rainsy Party had been found guilty of destruction of public property and inciting people to commit a criminal act. Sam Rainsy did not attend the trial, and according to his party is in France.

Sam Rainsy led a group of villagers in pulling out the markers as a way to dramatize his claim that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian territory, an issue he often raises to garner political support. The incident occurred in October of last year.

Cambodia's Parliament stripped him of his immunity from prosecution in November.

Man rescued from Haiti quake rubble after 12 days

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
BBC News

A man has been pulled alive from the rubble in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, two weeks after the earthquake which destroyed the city.

He was rescued from the ruins of a building in the centre of the city, and taken to hospital by US troops.

Officials said it seemed he had become trapped by an aftershock two days after the quake and was severely dehydrated.

The rescue comes 14 days after the 7.0-magnitude quake, which killed as many as 200,000 people.

Haiti has been rattled by at least 50 tremors since the original quake.

The survivor, a man in his early 30s, was pulled from the ruins covered in dust.

"He was buried in the rubble for 12 days. The man had a broken leg and severe dehydration," a statement from the US military said.

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Iraq inquiry chief 'frustrated' by war advice secrecy

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
BBC News

Iraq inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot has said he shares ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's "frustration" at key documents not being declassified.

Lord Goldsmith, giving evidence on his advice about the war's legality, said he did not agree with the decision to ban some documents being published.

Sir John added: "Can I just say that the frustration is shared."

The documents, which the inquiry can see but not publish, are understood to relate to the legal basis for the war.

The legality, or otherwise, of the invasion is the focus of the six-hour hearing with Lord Goldsmith - who was the government's chief legal officer and a member of the cabinet between 2001 and 2007.

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In pictures: Sri Lanka president declares victory

BBC News
With nearly 85% of the vote counted, the Elections Commissioner gave Mr Rajapaksa 4.99m votes to 3.39m for his rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. Final results are still awaited.

Sri Lanka president wins re-election - state TV

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
BBC News

Soldiers have surrounded the hotel where Gen Sarath Fonseka is staying

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won Sri Lanka's first election since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated after 25 years of civil war, state TV reports.

Although the final results are yet to be declared, Mr Rajapaksa appears to have won more than half the votes cast.

But his election rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka, has rejected the reported result and said he will challenge it.

About 100 armed troops have surrounded the hotel in the capital, Colombo, where Gen Fonseka is staying.

A government spokesman told the BBC they did not intend to hold Gen Fonseka but were looking for army deserters.
The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan, who is in the same hotel as Gen Fonseka and other opposition leaders, says the troops' presence has created a very tense atmosphere.

A military spokesman said their deployment was a "protective measure".

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Border shootout a ‘misunderstanding’

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Cheang Sokha and James O’toole

PHnom Penh Post

A Cambodian soldier stands guard Sunday near the Preah Vihear temple complex.

CAMBODIAN and Thai officials say skirmishes that broke out along their contentious border on Sunday near Preah Vihear temple were the result of a “misunderstanding”, and have promised a return to peaceful relations.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told Bangkok’s The Nation newspaper that after meetings on Sunday, commanders from the respective armies had agreed that there “would be no escalation of the situation”.

Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said the commanders “agreed not to redeploy troops at that area to avoid further confusion”, adding that the hostilities occurred at a contested area along the border, which has yet to be fully demarcated.“The clash site is a complicated area and a location of illegal logging activities,” he said.

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Thaksin reportedly mulling govt in exile

Tuesday, 26 January 2010
James O’toole and Cheang Sokha

FUGITIVE Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is reportedly considering establishing a government in exile, following a series of high-profile visits to Cambodia in his capacity as government economics adviser.

Speaking to his Red Shirt supporters in Thailand by videoconference on Saturday, Thaksin said he planned to set up a government in exile soon, the Bangkok Post reported.

Thaksin said Monday, though, that he would act only in the event of a coup, according to Bangkok’s The Nation newspaper.

“If a coup is staged, we will form a government in exile together. Now, I have not set it up yet. I must wait for a coup to take place first,” Thaksin reportedly wrote on his Twitter feed.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said last month that he will wait for a new government to be set up in Thailand before normalising relations, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong declined to say whether Cambodia would play host to a Thaksin-led government in exile.

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Security tight as India marks national day

Tue Jan 26, 2010

By NIRMALA GEORGE, Associated Press Writer

AP – Indian soldiers form stand together on a motorcycle as they perform during the Republic Day parade in …

NEW DELHI – Paramilitary soldiers and police set up road blocks and snipers took positions atop government buildings as hundreds of thousands of people turned out to celebrate India's national day Tuesday.

India celebrates its Republic Day on Jan. 26 every year, but this year security measures were notched up following intelligence reports of a possible terrorist attack by Islamic militants.

Last week, the Indian government put its airports on high alert amid reports that al-Qaida-linked militants planned to hijack a plane. Security has also been tightened at all major government telecommunications and power installations, police said.

At least 15,000 paramilitary soldiers were deployed in and around the capital of New Delhi to ensure safety along the route of the annual parade — the highlight of India's Republic Day festivities, said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

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Karzai wins regional backing for Taliban peace plan

26,01,2010

by Nicolas Cheviron

AFP/File – Taliban fighters on a hillside at Maydan Shahr in Wardak province, Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid …

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai won regional support on Tuesday for his efforts to cajole Islamist insurgents to lay down their arms, as Germany offered more troops and cash for the ravaged nation.

After talks with his Turkish and Pakistani peers, as well as officials from countries such as China, Iran and Russia, Karzai described moderate Taliban fighters as "sons of the Afghan soil" who should be brought back into the fold.

And in a joint statement after the meeting in Istanbul, the participants declared that they "support the Afghan national process of reconciliation and reintegration ... in a way that is Afghan-led and -driven."

The Turkish-hosted talks form part of the build-up to a major conference in London on Thursday where Karzai hopes to secure Western support for his strategy of wooing Taliban fighters with the lure of jobs and money.

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Nine wounded in bombing outside US base in Kabul

26,01,2010

News
by Waheedullah Massoud Waheedullah MassoudKABUL

AFP – Soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ISAF stand guard at the site of a …

(AFP) – A suicide bomber struck near a US military base in Kabul on Tuesday injuring at least nine Afghans, police and the NATO force said, just days ahead of a global summit on tackling a Taliban-led insurgency.

The attacker detonated a car packed with explosives near the main gate of Camp Phoenix, a military base on the outskirts of Kabul on the main road to the eastern provinces. Other NATO member states also have a presence in the camp.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the bombing bore the hallmarks of the Taliban, who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency to topple the Afghan government and oust foreign troops.

"There was a suicide car bomb attack near Camp Phoenix. The suicide attacker detonated his car close to an international forces convoy," Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman told AFP.

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