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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Google Delays Mobile Phone Launch in China Amid Censorship Dispute



Google on Tuesday postponed the planned launch of its mobile phone in China amid a dispute with the government over Internet censorship and e-mail hacking that the search giant says may force it to leave the country. "It is postponed," Google Inc. spokeswoman Marsha Wang said. She said a launch ceremony planned for Wednesday was canceled but declined to give a reason for the decision or to say when the launch might be rescheduled. Also Tuesday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said the search giant must obey China's laws and traditions, suggesting the government was giving no ground in talks over Internet censorship and Google's threat to pull out of the country. It was the government's first direct comment on Google since the U.S. company said Jan. 12 it would no longer censor search results in China and might shut down its China-based site Google.cn. The announcement prompted an outpouring of support from Chinese Web surfers, who left flowers at Google offices and pleaded with the company to stay.

Britain and US consider asking India to train Afghan National Police



The United States and Britain are exploring ways to boost India’s role in Afghanistan, including a controversial proposal for it to train the Afghan National Police (ANP).  Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, was expected to discuss that and other ideas when he began a visit to India yesterday, his first in almost a year. Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, also arrives in Delhi today to discuss issues including expanding co-operation in Afghanistan and boosting US arms sales to India. The two visits follow a low-profile trip to Delhi last week by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British “Afpak” envoy, who discussed the ANP training proposal with officials. The diplomatic activity reflects a growing desire on all three sides to boost co-operation on regional security, despite differences over Pakistan, a close US ally that is India’s arch enemy. India fiercely resisted being included in Mr Holbrooke’s formal brief last year, and rejected his attempts to raise the issue of Kashmir, which is claimed by India and Pakistan and seen by some as a root cause of regional instability. Now, however, India appears to want to play a more active role in Afghanistan largely because it fears that Pakistan will engineer a Taleban takeover when foreign troops leave.

Kabul on alert after attacks



Afghanistan's capital has been put on high alert following one of the most co-ordinated offensives on Kabul since the Taliban were removed from power by a US-led invasion in 2001. Security was tight in Kabul on Tuesday, a day after Taliban fighters successfully penetrated the highly-fortified heart of the city, targeting key government buildings. Mohammad Khalil Dastyar, the deputy police chief, said troops were searching vehicles entering the capital and had increased the number of checkpoints in the city, as well as foot and vehicle patrols. Farouq Bashar, from Kabul university, "normal business" had resumed on the streets of Kabul. "People are still a little bit panicked. They are trying to stay away from fortified areas, afraid of another attack," he said. "The Taliban spokesman said they dispatched 20 suicide bombers to Kabul and only seven of them were killed. We don't know if the other 13 are alive, or where they are." US and Nato officials hailed local security forces for their defence of the capital. Anne Macdonald, a US brigadier general who works closely with the Afghan interior ministry, the Afghan national security forces "responded very well" to the attacks."They [security forces] were able to contain the situation within five hours," she said. "The damage could have been much worse - to individuals and to property. They have a long way to go but they are interested and motivated. They want to serve the people of Afghanistan."

Haiti aid starts getting through


International relief efforts are gaining momentum in Haiti, a week after an earthquake killed tens of thousands of people and left three million in need of help, but relief workers are facing fresh problems from severe shortages of fuel. After criticism that military and rescue flights had been given priority over humanitarian aid at the tiny Port-au-Prince airport, the US and UN have now agreed to prioritise aid, paving the way for critical supplies to get out to survivors. But fuel shortages, as well as security concerns, bureaucratic confusion and the sheer scale of the need, continue to pose severe challenges to the distribution of aid. "Fuel has become a critical issue," said Emilia Casella, a spokesperson for the UN's World Food Programme. The UN food agency said it was planning to move close to 38,000 litres of diesel fuel a day from the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Sebastian Walker, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Port-au-Prince, said the diminishing fuel supplies threatened to stall relief efforts. "The danger here is that those fuel supplies that the UN says it is simply running out of are also fuel supplies for all of the UN agencies who are meant to be spearheading this relief effort," he said. "The problem is distribution - it's getting the aid that is already at the airport out to the places that need it most, and if the fuel is running dry that means that won't be able to happen." The UN said more than 73,000 people had received a week's rations, but relief groups estimate that as many as one third of the nine million population is in need of assistance, and some 300,000 survivors in the capital alone are still living in sprawling tent cities.