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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Pakistani Govt drops petrol bomb, piles up miseries


As announced earlier, the prices of petroleum products have been increased with effect from Feb 01. OGRS notification reads that the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.37 taking the per litre price to a whopping Rs 94.91. The hike in petrol prices would have a domino effect on the prices of all other commodities, making the life of a common man even miserable. Hi-Octane price has been raised by Rs 6.29, kerosene Rs 2.78 and light diesel price has been increased by Rs 3.43 per litre According to OGRA notification, after the hike petrol would be sold for Rs 94.91 per litre, Hi-Octane Rs 118 per litre, kerosene Rs 92.2 per litre and light diesel Rs 90.21 per litre. The PML-N has decided to protest in the National Assembly against the increase in petroleum prices.

Hajj 2011

Somalia: Islamist rebels ban ICRC


Somalia's Islamist Shebab rebels on Monday banned the ICRC, ordering it to close all emergency relief operations in war-torn regions struggling from famine. The Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab said in a statement it had "decided to fully terminate the contract" of the ICRC, claiming it had handed out expired food and because it had "falsely accused the mujahideen of hindering food distribution."

French judge to probe killings in Afghanistan


A magistrate will investigate whether France s military is to blame for not ensuring the safety of 10 French troops killed in a Taliban ambush on an Afghan mountaintop in 2008, officials said Monday. The probe, the first of its kind in France, could raise uncomfortable questions about whether a government can be held to account for the death of its soldiers at war a prospect France s top military man rejects. The Paris appeals court on Monday gave its go-ahead to a probe of the killing of the French soldiers in the Uzbin Valley, judicial officials said. The officials were not authorized to be publicly named because of judicial policy. It was the bloodiest single day for French forces since they joined the U.S.-led international coalition in Afghanistan a decade ago. The soldiers  families have sought an investigation for years, and faced repeated delays. They filed a legal complaint saying the French military didn t ensure the soldiers  safety, and their lives were unnecessarily put in danger. The authorization for a probe comes as President Nicolas Sarkozy is speeding up the timetable for France s pullout from the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan, after a French-trained Afghan soldier killed four French troops on Jan. 20. Just two days before those killings, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, the head of the French armed forces, warned against allowing courts to get involved in adjudicating on matters of war and the military. "When it is excessive or poorly understood, it can imperil our operational effectiveness," Guillaud said, adding that military chiefs must not be hindered in their decision-making when it comes to "risk inherent to the military career." "A soldier who dies in combat is not a victim: He or she is first a man or woman who takes his or her commitment to the fullest," he added. A change in the judicial status of France s military opened the door to the investigation. Such complaints were once heard by a military court; now, under a legal change authorized by President Nicolas Sarkozy s government, the Paris court has been granted jurisdiction since Jan. 1.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Amir Khan celebrates engagement to Fayal


The ceremony was held at the weekend with a £150,000 bash at the Rebook Stadium in his hometown of Bolton. Amir presented his fiancée with a stunning three diamond ring, believed to have cost £100,000, during the special ceremony, with the New York born beauty presenting her husband-to-be with an equally impressive platinum band. 25-year-old Amir announced his plans to marry 20-year-old Faryal earlier this month, with the couple officially marking their engagement with a lavish celebration over the weekend. 1,000 guests joined the couple to celebrate their happy news, amongst them were many famous faces from the world of sport including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ricky Hatton. Faryal flew over from New York especially for the engagement party, with her family also travelling with her. The student will spend the next week with her fiancé in Bolton as he plans to show Faryal around what will become her new home as the couple have decided to start married life in the north of England. The newly engaged couple were given a BMW 750 Li as an engagement present from the bride-to-be’s parents who have reportedly taken to the lightweight boxer in a big way, with student Faryal saying her family already treat Amir like a son. For Amir and his new fiancée Faryal, their romance got off to quite a rocky start as the bride-to-be revealed she had difficulty understanding Amir’s strong northern accent and vocabulary, with the boxer using unfamiliar words such as “daft” and “innit”, when they first started dating. However the pair managed to overcome early stumbling blocks and are now looking forward to their wedding which is likely to take place at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, the same venue which hosted their engagement party.

Shah Rukh Khan attacked


Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was embroiled in an ugly row on Monday after a female director accused him of assaulting her husband at a late-night party. Farah Khan, who directed Shah Rukh in blockbusters “Main Hoon Na” (I am there for you) and “Om Shanti Om”, claimed the actor had attacked her husband Shirish Kunder on Sunday night. “Shah Rukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem and that it means the person who’s hitting has either a personal or professional crisis going on,” Farah Khan said in a statement. “And it saddens me to see him doing the same,” added Farah Khan, who is not related to the actor. The reported bust-up occurred at a party thrown by veteran Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to celebrate his latest flick “Agneepath” (Line of Fire). “SRK (Shah Rukh) pulled Shirish down to the ground by his long hair. We were all shocked. We had never seen SRK behave this way before,” a witness told the Times of India newspaper.The paper said Shah Rukh was upset with Kunder over jibes on Twitter. The NDTV news channel said the actor admitted that there had been a disagreement but denied any assault.

Haqqani flies out tonight as SC cuts strings


Pakistan’s former ambassador to US, Husain Haqqani is likely to travel to Abu Dhabi on Monday night, it is learnt.  Earlier, the larger bench of Supreme Court allowed Husain Haqqani to travel abroad. The bench ordered that Haqqani can travel but this travel will be subjected to providing details to the Registrar Office and will come back on a four-day notice. Counsel for Husain Haqqani, Asma Jahangir, pleaded before the court to allow her client to travel abroad. The nine-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, took up this application alongside an application of Akram Sheikh, counsel for Mansoor Ijaz, who has been seeking from the court to direct the commission to record the statement of Mansoor Ijaz outside Pakistan due to security threats to him. Moreover, the CJ rejected the plea of Akram Sheikh to record the statement of his client in London and suggested that application can be forwarded in the memo commission in this regard. SC had constituted a commission comprising 3 senior most judges to ascertain facts in memogate case and directed it to present its report within 4 weeks. Important witness Mansoor Ejaz in memogate scandal was summoned on previous hearing to record his statement but he failed to appear before the commission, citing security reasons. The memo Commission said in its order that there was no such reason that it should move to foreign country to record Mansoor Ejaz statement. Commission approached SC for extension of period.

Police open fire at Bangladesh protesters


The clashes killed at least three people and injuring more than 100, a news report and doctors at two hospitals said. The opposition party said 1,200 of its activists were arrested, but the figure could not immediately be confirmed. The main Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its key Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami are demanding an independent caretaker government oversee elections. The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina scrapped the 15-year-old system last year, saying it contradicted the constitution. The opposition, led by Hasina s archrival former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, says elections will be rigged if held under the current government and without a caretaker system in place. Clashes during Sunday s nationwide protests were reported in about a dozen towns, Desh television station said. Two men died from bullet wounds at a government hospital in the eastern town of Chandpur, physician Mahmudunnabi told The Associated Press by phone. They were shot by police who fired at a procession of protesters trying to march forward by breaking a police barricade, the United News of Bangladesh agency said. Separately, a youth died and four people with bullet wounds were being treated at a government hospital in Laxmipur, another eastern town, said doctor Mohammad Nizam Uddin. The identities of the dead were not immediately clear. Zia s party claimed one was a party activist while media reports said two others were rickshawpullers. Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, the country s police chief, said authorities would investigate the violence to determine what actually happened. Police arrested about 1,200 activists, opposition spokesman Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said. The figure could not be confirmed immediately. The South Asian nation s politics became tense recently as the opposition has geared up its anti-government protests targeting the next general election due in 2014. Hasina s government is also at loggerheads with Zia and the largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami over its effort to try suspected war criminals involving the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. Five top officials and a former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami facing charges of war crimes are currently behind bars for their alleged role in the nine-month war in which the government said at least 3 million people were killed by the Pakistani army in collaboration with the suspects. Two others of Zia s party also face similar charges of crimes against humanity that include killing, rape and arson. Zia and Jamaat-e-Islami party have rejected the trial and said it is politically motivated to eliminate the opposition. The opposition parties also held several general strikes in recent months. Violent protests are common opposition tactics to embarrass the government in Bangladesh, a fragile parliamentary democracy that has a history of two successful and 19 failed military coups since 1971 when the country broke from Pakistan. On Jan. 19, the Bangladesh military said it foiled a plot by a group of hardline officers, their retired colleagues and Bangladeshi conspirators living abroad to overthrow Hasina.

About 66 killed across Syria on Sunday


According to London-based rights group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 26 soldiers, five other members of the security forces, nine army deserters were also among those killed as the regime cracked down on protesters and rebels.Security forces killed eight people, including a nine-year-old child, in the restive Homs region of central Syria, and shot dead another five in the northwestern region of Idlib, the Observatory said. Also among those killed were six civilians caught up in military operations and clashes in the Damascus area, the activists said in statements received in Nicosia, and one person was shot dead in the Juber district of the capital itself. The watchdog said the regime soldiers were killed in three separate attacks in the Idlib and Damascus regions. Earlier, it reported fierce clashes between regime troops and deserters in the Ghuta area near the capital. Three civilians were killed, it said, adding that government forces were backed by 32 tanks and 50 armoured cars. Firefights between regime forces and deserters in Ghuta, 10 kilometres (six miles) from Damascus, on Saturday killed 17 people -- 11 soldiers and six civilians, the Observatory said.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Australian Open 2012 title


Novak Djokovic won his third Australian Open title when he beat Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 in an epic encounter on Sunday in Melbourne that lasted almost six hours. After trading breaks early in the final set, Djokovic got the decisive break of serve in the 11th game and came out at 6-5 to serve for the match. He finally closed out the match at 1:40am Melbourne time, after the longest grand slam final in history. Djokovic took control of the contest in the third set, demolishing Nadal 6-2, and never looked back.

The G Show (Day 15)

Dutch Cabinet moves toward burqa ban


The Dutch minority government plans to ban Muslim face veils such as burqas and other forms of clothing that cover the face from next year. The ban would make the Netherlands, where 1 million out of 17 million people are Muslim, the second European Union country to ban the burqa after France, and would apply to face-covering veils if they were worn in public. "People should be able to look at each other s faces and recognize each other when they meet," the interior affairs ministry said in a statement Friday. The ban will also apply to balaclavas and motorcycle helmets when worn in inappropriate places, such as inside a store, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen told reporters, denying that this was a ban on religious clothing. Geert Wilders  anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV), which helps give the Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition a majority in parliament, has set considerable political store on getting the so-called burqa ban passed into law. Few Muslim women in the Netherlands wear the Arabic-style niqabs which leave the eyes uncovered and Afghan-style burqas that cover the face with a cloth grid. Academics estimate the numbers at between 100 and 400, whereas Muslim headscarves which leave the face exposed are far more common. The coalition has agreed to submit a new law to parliament next week stipulating that offenders would be fined up to 390 euros ($510), the ministry said. Verhagen said the ban was intended to ensure that a tradition of open communication cherished in Dutch society was upheld, and to prevent people from concealing their identity in order to do harm. Wilders, who condemned Dutch Queen Beatrix for covering her hair with a scarf on a recent royal visit to the Middle East, said on Twitter: "Great news: burqa ban will finally come to the Netherlands! Proposal approved by ministers  council. Excellent!" Maurits Berger, professor of Islam in the contemporary West at Leiden University, said only a few hundred women wear the full face veil in the Netherlands. "This is highly symbolic, it s part of the deal made with PVV," Berger said. "We are in the middle of a crisis. There are worse things to tackle." The minority coalition is at odds with the Freedom Party over where to make further budget cuts, and the scale of the cuts needed. The face-veil law, which still needs to win approval in both houses of parliament, excludes clothing worn for security reasons such as that worn by firemen and hockey players, as well as party clothing such as Santa Claus or Halloween costumes. The ban does not apply to religious places, such as churches and mosques, nor to passengers on airplanes or en route via a Dutch airport, the interior ministry said. ($1 = 0.7615 euros)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Cricket: Pakistan turn table on England


Pakistan beat England by 72 runs in the second Test on Saturday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series. England were shot out for their lowest Test score of 72 against Pakistan in all Tests. Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman took six wickets. Pakistan won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai. The third Test will be played in Dubai from February 3. Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman took a career best 6-25 to help Pakistan humble England by 72 runs in the second Test here on Saturday, to give them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The 31-year-old twice took two wickets in successive overs to dent England’s chase after they were set a 145-run target on a weary fourth day Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch, bowling them out for 72 – their lowest against Pakistan in all Tests. Rehman’s effort overshadowed Monty Panesar’s 6-62, in his first Test for 30 months, which finished Pakistan’s second innings at 214 in the morning. This is England’s first series defeat after being unbeaten in their previous nine since their loss to the West Indies in early 2009 — a sequence which saw them rise to world number one in the Test rankings in August last year. Pakistan won the first Test in Dubai by ten wickets. The third Test will also be played in Dubai from February 3. Skipper Misbah-ul Haq said Pakistan wanted to make a match out of it after setting a tricky target. “We knew that it would be difficult so we wanted to make a match out of it,” said Misbah, who has now won eight Tests with one defeat since taking over in October 2010. “Our bowlers led by Rehman responded well and this is a great win.”Strauss showed his disappointment at the woeful effort. “It’s pretty disappointing,” said Strauss, whose side last lost two Tests in a row against South Africa in July 2008. “We must acknowledge how well Pakistan bowled and they thoroughly deserved the series win.”Rehman was ably assisted by off-spinners Saeed Ajmal (3-22) and Mohammad Hafeez (1-11) in a match which saw spinners dominate from the first day. England lost their top four batsmen in the space of just 37 balls after an extra cautious start on a difficult pitch. England captain Andrew Strauss topscored with 32 before he became one of Rehman’s victims during his maiden five-wicket haul. In the penultimate over before tea, Rehman trapped Kevin Pietersen (one) and two balls later bowled Eoin Morgan (nought) to raise hopes of an unlikely win for Pakistan. Sensing they could only upset their rivals through early wickets, Pakistan opened the bowling with off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez who responded well by catching Alastair Cook (seven) off his own bowling after England had edged cautiously to 21 by the 15th over. Bell, promoted to number three after Jonathan Trott was unwell, was all at sea against master spinner Ajmal and his tentative push went through his legs to hit the stumps. He made only three. Pietersen, who has been woefully out of form making just 16 runs in the series, managed one before Rehman trapped him and in the same over had the equally out of form Morgan bowled to dent England’s hopes of a victory. Rehman then accounted for Trott (one) and Stuart Broad (nought) in the same over to leave England 7-68. Ajmal dismissed Graeme Swann (nought) and Matt Prior (18) to complete his 100 Test wickets in his 19th match before Anderson was caught off Rehman to give Pakistan a sensational win. England’s previous lowest against Pakistan was 130 — made on two occasions at The Oval in 1954 and Lahore in 1987. Earlier, Pakistan lost their last six wickets with the addition of 89 runs after resuming at 125-4, with all hopes pinned on Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. Panesar took three of those wickets to finish with his eighth five-wicket haul in Tests. Azhar Ali (68) and Asad Shafiq (43) added 88 for the fifth wicket before Panesar struck. But England’s decision to take the second new ball as soon as it was due paid rich dividends as Anderson removed the dangerman Ali with a sharp rising delivery which caught the edge and was caught behind by Prior. Broad then had Adnan Akmal (13) caught by Strauss in the slips off an ambitious drive in the next over as Pakistan wilted. Rehman (10) and Ajmal (17) added an invaluable 36 for the eighth wicket before Panesar wrapped up the innings by taking the last two wickets.

Musharraf delays return without setting new date


Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf has delayed his return home, the head of his party announced Friday, due to political developments, and no date was set for his return. "He finally decided today that he would accept the recommendations" of the executive committee of the All Pakistan Muslim League party to delay his return, party secretary general Mohammed Ali Saif told reporters. "This decision (of returning) will be deliberated by the core committee of the party," he said. Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf has delayed his return home, the head of his party announced Friday after repeated threats by the country’s leadership that the ex-strongman would be arrested upon arrival. Speaking to CNN in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Musharraf would “certainly” be arrested if he set foot back in Pakistan. Musharraf had promised to fly home to contest general elections as Pakistan’s government sinks deeper into a major crisis, squeezed by the military and the judiciary. But he faces two Pakistani court warrants for his arrest in connection with the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a rebel leader in the southwest, and the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto after her own homecoming. In an interview broadcast on BBC radio earlier this month, Musharraf acknowledged he would be in danger in Pakistan. “I do feel endangered. There is a danger certainly, but you take your own protection and then leave things to destiny. Nobody can ensure you 100 per cent protection,” he said. He admitted that his arrest in Pakistan was possible but said he would “like to remain out” of the crisis engulfing the government, army and judiciary.

Car bomb at Baghdad hospital kills 28


A car bomb near a funeral procession outside a hospital in east Baghdad killed at least 28 people and wounded 50 on Friday, a doctor at the hospital said. An interior ministry official confirmed the explosion in Zafraniyah, which struck at 11:00 am (0800 GMT), but said it was caused by a suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed car. The blast hit the funeral procession of Mohammed al-Maliki, a real estate agent who was killed along with his wife and son a day earlier in the west Baghdad neighbourhood of Yarmuk, the doctor and interior ministry official said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity. The procession had collected Maliki s body and was transporting it for the funeral when the explosion struck. Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. More than 200 people have been killed in attacks since American forces completed their pullout on December 18.

At least 37 civilians were killed on Friday by Syrian forces, including the first reported fatalities in the northern commercial city of Aleppo, bringing the toll for two days to nearly 100, activists said. Syrian forces killed at least 35 civilians across Syria, the watchdog said, including 12 in Nawa in the southern province of Daraa, five people in Aleppo, four in Homs, one person in nearby Hama and a child in Damascus province. Separately, two attacks killed 12 members of the security forces, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Six were killed in a car bomb targetting a security checkpoint in the northwestern city of Idlib, the Observatory s Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, without providing any details on the identity of the assailants. The other six were killed and five wounded in the southern province of Daraa by deserters who ambushed two buses transporting security personnel, the same source said.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Oscar nominations for Best film


The Artist
It may be 2012, but this homage to the era of silent movies by director Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo was a breath of fresh air in a climate of extravagant productions. With 10 nominations, this black and white movie has already made its mark this year. It takes place in the late 1920s where Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, a handsome silent movie star, who helps a talented young woman Peppy Miller, played by Bérénice Bejo, rise to success only to see his own career fade as she rises. It’s a touching ode to the pitfalls of love, fame and tragedy intertwined beautifully with the movie industry’s paradigm shift from silent movies to the “talkies” as a backdrop.
The Descendants
Easily one of George Clooney’s best performances, this comedic drama by Alexander Payne, of Sideways fame, is set in Hawaii. It’s a movie that incorporates humour and tragedy with equal dexterity. George Clooney plays Matt King, a husband and father of two girls, who tries to make sense of his life after his wife suffers a boating accident and goes into a coma. The film does a great job at showing that life isn’t black and white, it’s a spectrum and what Payne has done best, is given all the characters a sense of realism that is relatable.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
This was one of the surprises of the lot. A movie panned by critics and reviews for the most part — Rotten Tomatoes is currently rating it at 48 per cent. Director Stephen Daldry’s fourth film revolves around the performance of a 13-year-old Thomas Horn, with no previous acting experience, whose father played by Tom Hanks dies in the World Trade Centre attacks. Horn discovers a key hidden in a vase in an envelope labelled “Black,” and embarks on a journey to find out what the key leads to and perhaps receive one last message from his dad.
The Help
Based on a novel of the same name written by Kathryn Stocket, the film takes place during the Civil Rights Era. Emma Stone plays Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, an aspiring journalist, who decides to write about the daily trials and tribulations of two black women working for white families in the suburban south of America. The best part of The Help is that it refrains from caricaturing anything. Every character on screen is relatable and three-dimensional without over-doing anything. It’s a strong movie that has its weaknesses but is held together with a kind of saucy humour balanced by great storytelling.
Hugo
Probably the leader of the pack for taking the Oscar home, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo is a sublimely made love letter to the magic of cinema. The opening sequence of Hugo is probably the best use of 3D technology since James Cameron’s Avatar. Hugo played by Asa Butterfield, had an uncle who was in charge of the clocks at a Parisian train station. His father’s dream was to complete an automated man he found in a museum, but he dies before completing it. The boy grows up hiding himself in the maze of ladders, catwalks, passages and gears of the clockworks themselves, but then he encounters a cranky toy shop owner named Georges Méliès played by Ben Kingsley. In essence, the story becomes the story of filmmaking itself, and no one other than Scorsese could have made it.
Midnight in Paris
One of my favourite movies of 2011, Midnight in Paris is vintage Woody Allen. This charming comedy is about a couple on vacation in Paris. Gil played by Owen Wilson and Inez played by Rachel McAdams are officially in love, but Gil’s real love is Paris itself. A struggling screenwriter from Hollywood, Gil dreams of writing the great American novel in the hope of joining the likes of Hemmingway and Fitzgerald as a literary hero himself. At midnight Gil finds himself transported back in time to the legendary salon presided over by Gertrude Stein where he meets the Parisian cultural elite, such greats like Picasso to Dali. It’s a beautifully directed film, were the city of Paris plays a character in itself.
Moneyball
When you’ve got Aaron Sorkin writing your screenplay, it’s almost certainly going to be a spectacular script. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Beane is forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget and thus he partners with Ivy League grad Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, to recruit players on the cheap. Brand devises a system to find players all of whom have the ability to do the basics right i.e. get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s a revolution, and one that purists aren’t pleased with.
War Horse
It seems that Steven Spielberg is Oscar hunting again and with a Best Picture nomination, he seems to be on the right track. Based on both, a children’s novel set before and during World War I, by British author Michael Morpurgo as well as a 2007 stage production of the same name the movie is set in rural England and Europe during the First World War. While the jaded among us might assume this movie to be just another movie about the bond of a young man and his horse, it really is much more. It follows the journey of the horse, having been parted with his trainer, as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets — the British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter — before the story reaches its emotional apex.
The Tree of Life
Starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, it’s a story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. The film follows the journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). The story deals with life’s most profound questions of meaning and faith. It is Terrence Malick’s labour of love and it shows. Tree of Life is a movie that stays with you long after you see it. It is a film, which whether you like it or not, has a way of getting inside you and it’s not unlikely for parts of it to surface up to your mind at odd times of the day.

'Less troops, more drones is new US defense policy'


The plan, to be unveiled by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday and in budget documents next month, calls for a 30% increase in the U.S. fleet of armed unmanned aircraft in the coming years, the Wall Street Journal quoted defense officials as saying. It also foresees the deployment of more special-operations teams at a growing number of small "lily pad" bases across the globe where they can mentor local allies and launch missions. The utility of such tools was evident on Wednesday after an elite team—including members of Navy SEAL Team Six, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden—parachuted into Somalia and freed an American woman and Danish man held hostage for months. The strategy reflects the Obama administration s increasing focus on small, secret operations in place of larger wars. The shift follows the U.S. troop pullout from Iraq in December, and comes alongside the gradual U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where a troop-intensive strategy is giving way to an emphasis on training Afghan forces and on hunt-and-kill missions. Defense officials said the U.S. Army plans to eliminate at least eight brigades while reducing the size of the active duty Army from 570,000 to 490,000, cuts that are likely to hit armored and heavy infantry units the hardest. But drone and special-operations deployments would continue to grow as they have in recent years. At the same time, the Army aims to accentuate the importance of special operations by preserving light, rapidly deployable units such as the 82nd and the 101st Airborne divisions. "What we really want is to see the Army adopt the mentality of special forces," said a military officer who advises Pentagon leaders. The new strategy would assign specific U.S.-based Army brigades and Marine Expeditionary units to different regions of the world, where they would travel regularly for joint exercises and other missions, using permanent facilities and the forward-staging bases that some advisers call lily pads. Marines, for example, will use a new base in Darwin, Australia, as a launch pad for Southeast Asia, while the U.S. is in talks to expand the U.S. presence in the Philippines—potential signals to China that the U.S. has quick-response capability in its backyard, defense officials said. Yet many of the proposed bases will be secret and could temporarily house small commando teams, the officials said. There are going to be times when action is called upon, like Tuesday night, when it will be clearly advantageous to be forward deployed," a military official said, referring to the Somalia operation. "On the other hand, most of the time it will help you to be there to develop host nation or regional security." The Pentagon still will invest in some big-ticket items, including the F-35 stealth fighter, as a counterweight to rising powers, including China—although the department is poised to announce this week that it is going to slow procurement of the new plane, said defense officials.

Australian PM stumbles before rowdy protest crowd


Riot police helped her force a path through a crowd of rowdy protesters following a ceremony to mark Australia s national day Thursday. She appeared distressed as she was pulled away from the protesters but was unharmed. She later remarked that she was made of "pretty tough stuff" and commended police for their actions. Some 200 supporters of indigenous rights had surrounded a Canberra restaurant and banged its windows while Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were inside officiating at an award ceremony. Around 50 police escorted the political leaders from a side door to a car. Gillard stumbled, losing a shoe. Her personal security guard wrapped his arms around her and supported her to the waiting car, shielding her from the angry crowd. The protesters had been demonstrating for indigenous rights nearby at the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, a ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters in the national capital that is a center point of protests against Australia Day. Australia Day marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788. Many Aborigines call it Invasion Day because the land was settled without a treaty with traditional owners. Abbott appeared to be the target of protesters, who chanted "shame" and "racist" outside the restaurant. The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday. Abbott had earlier angered indigenous activists by saying it was time the embassy "moved on." Gillard was unharmed and later hosted another Australia Day function for foreign ambassadors at her official residence. "The only thing that angers me is that it distracted from such a wonderful event," Gillard told reporters. "I am made of pretty tough stuff and the police did a great job," she added. Reaction from protesters afterward was mixed, with some saying police assaulted them and that Gillard and Abbott were never in danger. They also made conflicting claims over who had Gillard s shoe a Midas high-heeled blue suede and if it would be returned.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria


Russian would rather push for talks between the Syrian government and the country s opposition, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would block any attempts to get the U.N. approval for sanctions against Syria that have been imposed by other nations, saying that such a move would be "unfair and counterproductive." The U.S., the European Union, the Arab League and Turkey all have introduced sanctions against Damascus in response to Syrian President Bashar Assad s violent crackdown on opponents. The uprising has left more than 5,400 people dead, according to the U.N. estimates. The U.N. Security Council has been unable to agree on a resolution since the violence began in March because of a strong opposition from Russia and China. Lavrov said Russia s own draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution on the violence in Syria, which circulated earlier this month, remains on the table, and that Moscow was open for any "constructive proposals." Western diplomats said the Russian proposal fell short of their demand for a strong condemnation of the Syrian regime s crackdown on civilians. But Lavrov reaffirmed that any U.N. resolution must say clearly it "couldn t be interpreted to justify any foreign military interference in the Syrian crisis." "We believe that our approach is fair and well-balanced, unlike the attempts to pass one-sided resolutions that would condemn only one party and, by doing so, encourage another one to build up confrontation and take an uncompromising stance," Lavrov said. "We have seen that in Libya, and we will not allow the repetition of the Libyan scenario." Russia abstained in the U.N. vote authorizing military intervention in Libya, but harshly criticized NATO for what it saw as an excessive use of force and civilian casualties during the NATO bombing campaign against strongman Moammar Gadhafi s regime. The NATO-backed rebels in Libya eventually succeeded in overthrowing Gadhafi. Russian officials have strongly warned the West against emulating the Libyan experience in Syria. Lavrov called for a quick start of talks between the Syrian government and the opposition, suggesting they could be hosted by Egypt, the Arab League, Turkey or Russia. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

YouTube hits 4 billion daily video views


YouTube, Google Inc’s video website, is streaming 4 billion online videos every day, a 25 per cent increase in the past eight months, according to the company. The jump in video views comes as Google pushes YouTube beyond the personal computer, with versions of the site that work on smartphones and televisions, and as the company steps up efforts to offer more professional-grade content on the site. According to the company, roughly 60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute, compared with the 48 hours of video uploaded per minute in May. YouTube, which Google acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006, represents one of Google’s key opportunities to generate new sources of revenue outside its traditional Internet search advertising business.  Last week, Google said that its business running graphical “display” ads – many of which are integrated alongside YouTube videos – was generating $5 billion in revenue on an annualized run rate basis. Still, most of the 4 billion videos that YouTube now streams worldwide every day do not make money. Three billion YouTube videos a week are monetized, according to the company. YouTube recently redesigned its website to more prominently showcase specialized “channels” organized around different types of content. In October, YouTube announced that it had struck 100 original video programming deals with media partners including Madonna and Jay-Z.

8 killed in twin car explosions in Baghdad


Iraqi officials say two separate car bombs have exploded in in eastern Baghdad, killing eight people and wounding 32 others. Police officials say the first attack targeted an early morning gathering of day laborers in Baghdad s Sadr City on Tuesday. Seven people were killed and 21 were wounded, according to police. Minutes later, an explosives-packed car blew up near a pastry shop in the same district, killing one civilian and wounding 11 others, police said. Hospital officials in Baghdad confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Attacks in Iraq have surged since the U.S. troops left. More than 160 people have been killed since the beginning of the year.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is Pakistan’s first Oscar nominee


Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy became the first Pakistani filmmaker to earn an Oscar nomination with her film Saving face, which was nominated in the “Documentary, short film” category as the Oscar nominations were released on Tuesday. Obaid, who has directed several documentary films, won an Emmy award in 2010 for her documentary Pakistan: Children of the TalibanSaving face, which the Karachi-based filmmaker has co-directed with Daniel Junge, depicts the life of a British Pakistani plastic surgeon who donates his time to heal acid victims in Pakistan. The film is set to be released in March this year, while the Oscars will be held on February 26.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Pak Army issues detailed report on NATO attack


The detailed Pakistani Perspective on the US Investigation Report approved by Defence Committee of the Cabinet was issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday. A press release issued by ISPR stated that Pakistan does not agree with several portions and findings of the Investigation Report as these are factually not correct. The fundamental cause of the incident of 26th November 2011 was the failure of US / ISAF to share its near-border operation with Pakistan at any level. This obviously was a major omission, as were several others, like the complicated chain of command, complex command and control structure and unimaginative / intricate Rules of Engagement as well as lack of unified military command in Afghanistan. In addition to the foregoing, US / ISAF violated all mutually agreed procedures with Pakistan for near-border operations put in place to avert such uncalled for actions. It also carried out unprovoked engagement of Pakistani Posts located inside Pakistan violating the US / ISAF mandate which is limited to Afghanistan alone. The US Investigation Report is structured around the argument of ‘self defence’ and ‘proportional use of force’, an argument which is contrary to facts. Continued engagement by US / ISAF despite being informed about the incident at multiple levels by Pakistan Military within minutes of initiation of US / ISAF fire, belies the ‘self defence’ and ‘proportional use of force’ contention. Affixing partial responsibility of the incident on Pakistan is therefore, unjustified and unacceptable.

Monday, January 23, 2012

ISI chief secretly meets Musharraf in Dubai


Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), held a secret meeting with former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf in Dubai advising him not to visit Pakistan, sources told DawnNews on Monday. “General Pasha, who has remained very close to the former president, held a meeting with him (Musharraf) in Dubai and advised him not to return to the country as the situation is not conducive for his return,” said an insider while requesting anonymity from this correspondent.The Senate on Monday also passed a resolution demanding the arrest of the former military ruler on his return. Interior Minister Rehman Malik also announced that Musharraf would be arrested the day he landed in Pakistan. The sources claim that Pasha strictly advised Musharraf to not to return. It is yet not clear whether the meeting was held on the directions of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party government or if it was a private meeting. However the sources insist that it was a private meeting between the two. The sources also claim that Pasha enjoys a long history of relations with the former dictator.In 2008, during the last year of Musharraf as president, Pasha was appointed to the key posting of Director General (DG) of Military Operations Directorate. Later General Kayani, after becoming the chief of Army Staff, promoted him as Lt Gen and appointed him the chief of the ISI.Currently two important cases against Pervez Musharraf have been registered in Pakistan. An Anti Terrorists Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has already declared Musharraf a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. Musharraf was also nominated in Akbar Bugti’s murder case in Balochistan. The sources also claim that Musharraf, after meeting with the ISI Chief, called a meeting of his party on January 25th for revisiting his decision to return to Pakistan.

Man hurls shoe at Rahul Gandhi


Police arrested a man who has thrown shoe at Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi while he was addressing a rally in Vikasnagar in Uttarakhand. The shoe fell 10 meters short of the Congress general secretary, Dehra Dun Senior Superintendent of Police GN Goswami told media. The man who threw the shoe, identified as Kuldip, was immediately taken into custody, Mr Goswami said, adding that he was being interrogated. As the security personnel and Congress supporters grabbed Kuldip, Mr Gandhi was heard saying "don`t hit him". In recent days, Sonia Gandhi has also campaigned in Uttarakhand.

Afghan soldier ‘killed French troops over US abuse video’


An Afghan soldier who shot dead four French troops has said he did it because of a recent video showing US Marines urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban insurgents. The attack on the soldiers, who were unarmed, came on Friday at a base in eastern Afghanistan and left 15 other French troops wounded, eight of them seriously. “During the initial interrogations by French soldiers, he told them he did it because of the video in which American soldiers were urinating on bodies,” an Afghan army officer said.The report was backed by an intelligence source and another with access to information from the Afghan ministry of defence, both of whom requested anonymity. “In his initial confessions, he said that he was strongly motivated to kill the soldiers when he saw the video of a foreign soldiers urinating on Afghan corpses,” the intelligence source said. The Afghan soldier had also referred to a video showing British soldiers allegedly abusing Afghan children, the source with access to ministry of defence information said. Less than a week after news of the US Marines video broke, British military police arrested two servicemen over allegations that they abused an Afghan boy and a girl, both aged about 10, and filmed the incidents. A spokesperson for the British embassy in Kabul said an investigation into the allegations was under way and therefore the embassy could not comment on reports of the soldier’s claim. French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said during a visit to Kabul at the weekend that he had been told the Afghan soldier who killed the four French troops was a Taliban infiltrator. But President Hamid Karzai did not make the same accusation in a statement Sunday, describing the attack as “an isolated and individual action”. The US video, posted online earlier this month, showed four US soldiers urinating on three bloodied corpses, and one of the men, apparently aware he was being filmed, saying: “Have a great day, buddy,” referring to one of the dead. The images conjured up previous abuses committed by US troops during the decade-long war against Taliban insurgents and top US officials scrambled to condemn the soldiers.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sri Lanka donates eyes to the world


At 10:25 a.m., a dark brown eye was removed from a man whose lids had closed for the last time. Five hours later, the orb was staring up at the ceiling from a stainless steel tray in an operating room with two blind patients —both waiting to give it a second life. S.P.D. Siriwardana, 63, remained still under a white sheet as the surgeon delicately replaced the cornea that had gone bad in his right eye following a cataract surgery. Across the room, patient A.K. Premathilake, 32, waited for the sclera, the white of the eye, to provide precious stem cells and restore some vision after acid scalded his sight away on the job. ”The eye from this dead person was transplanted to my son,” said A.K. Admon Singho, who guided Premathilake through the hall after the surgery. ”He’s dead, but he’s still alive. His eye can still see the world.” This gift of sight is so common here, it’s become an unwritten symbol of pride and culture for Sri Lanka, an island of about 20 million people located off the southern coast of India. Despite recently emerging from a quarter century of civil war, the country is among the world’s largest cornea providers. It donates about 3,000 corneas a year and has provided tissue to 57 countries over nearly a half century, with Pakistan receiving the biggest share, according to the nonprofit Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society. The organisation began promoting eye donation decades ago, but has since faced allegations of mismanagement and poor quality standards.The supply of corneas is so great in Sri Lanka that a new, state-of-the-art government eye bank opened last year, funded by Singapore donors. It has started collecting tissue from patients at one of the country’s largest hospitals, hoping to add an additional 2,000 corneas to those already shipped abroad annually. Nearly 900,000 people have also signed up to give their eyes in death through the Eye Donation Society’s longstanding eye bank. ”People ask me, ‘Can we donate our eyes while we are living? Because we have two eyes, can we donate one?”’ said Dr. Sisira Liyanage, director of Sri Lanka’s National Eye Hospital in the capital, Colombo, where the new eye bank is based. ”They are giving just because of the willingness to help others. They are not accepting anything.” The desire to help transcends social and economic barriers. Prime ministers pass on their corneas here along with the poorest tea farmers. Many Sri Lankans, about 67 per cent of whom are Buddhist, believe that surrendering their eyes at death completes an act of ”dana,” or giving, which helps them be reincarnated into a better life. It’s a concept that was first promoted a half century ago by the late Dr. Hudson Silva, who was frustrated by the massive shortage of corneas in his native Sri Lanka. Most eyes back then were harvested from the handful of prisoners hanged each year, leaving little hope for blind patients in need of transplants. Silva wrote a newspaper piece in the late 1950s pledging to donate his own corneas and appealing to readers to also give ”Life to a Dead Eye.” The response was overwhelming. With no lab facilities or high-tech equipment, he and wife Irangani de Silva began harvesting eyes and storing them in their home refrigerator. They started the Eye Donation Society, and in 1964, the first cornea sent abroad was hand-carried in an ice-packed tea thermos aboard a flight to Singapore. Since then, 60,000 corneas have been donated. While the Society’s eye bank was a pioneer, questions about quality emerged as international eye banking standards improved over the next 20 to 30 years. Concerns have recently been raised about less advanced screening for HIV and other diseases, and the eye bank has also faced allegations of mismanagement. Many of its corneas are harvested from the homes of the dead in rural areas across the country, making auditing and quality assurance levels harder to maintain, said Dr. Donald Tan, medical director of Singapore National Eye Center, who helped set up the new eye bank. Once, he said, a blade of grass was found packaged with tissue requested for research. Eye Donation Society manager Janath Matara Arachchi says the organization sends ”only the good and healthy eyes” and has not received a complaint in 20 years. Arachchi said the organisation checks for HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases by dipping a strip into blood samples and waiting to see if it changes color for a positive result. Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry also said it has received no complaints about the eye bank from other countries. Medical director Dr. M.H.S. Cassim denied that anyone from the organization is making money off donations sent abroad. He said they charge up to $450 per cornea to cover operational costs and the high price of preservatives needed to store the tissue.

Iraq falling back into authoritarianism: HRW


Iraq is falling back into authoritarianism and headed towards becoming a police state, despite US claims that it has helped establish democracy in the country, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday. The criticism from the New York-based HRW comes less than a year after thousands of Iraqis took to the streets nationwide to criticise the government for poor services. "Iraq cracked down harshly during 2011 on freedom of expression and assembly by intimidating, beating and detaining activists, demonstrators and journalists," HRW said in a statement accompanying its annual report. HRW noted that Iraq remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, that women s rights remain poor and civilians have paid a heavy toll in bomb attacks. The rights group pointed to the discovery of a secret prison last February run by forces controlled by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki s office, the same troops who ran Camp Honour, another facility where detainees were tortured. "Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism as its security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists and torture detainees," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW s Middle East director, said in the statement. "Despite US government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy, the reality is that it left behind a budding police state." US forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq on December 18, nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. As the pullout was winding up, a political crisis erupted in Iraq, pitting the Shiite-led government against the main Sunni-backed bloc which accuses Maliki of centralising power.

The G show (Day 14)


At least 143 killed in north Nigeria sect attacks


Soldiers and police officers swarmed over streets Saturday in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains an important political and religious hub in Nigeria s Muslim north. But their effectiveness remains in question, as the uniformed bodies of many of their colleagues lay in the overflowing mortuary of Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano s largest hospital. A hospital official there said at least 143 people died in the attacks Friday. The count included some bodies already claimed by families for immediate burial per Islamic law, the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to disclose the figure to journalists. Other bodies could be lying at other clinics and hospitals in the city. In a statement issued late Friday, federal police spokesman Olusola Amore said attackers targeted five police buildings, two immigration offices and the local headquarters of the State Security Service, Nigeria s secret police. Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross, said volunteers offered first aid to the wounded, and evacuated those seriously injured to local hospitals. He said officials continued to collect corpses scattered around sites of the attacks. A survey of two hospitals by the Red Cross showed at least 50 people were injured in Friday s attack, he said. State authorities declared a 24-hour curfew late Friday as residents hid inside their homes amid the fighting. A Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message to journalists. He said the attack came as the state government refused to release Boko Haram members held by the police. Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. 

Afghan asylum bids hit 10-year high


The 2011 figure is highest since the start of the decade-long war, suggesting that many are looking for their own exit strategy as international troops prepare to withdraw. From January to November, more than 30,000 Afghans applied for political asylum worldwide, a 25 percent increase over the same period the previous year and more than triple the level of just four years ago, U.N. statistics show. Many Afghans are turning to a thriving and increasingly sophisticated human smuggling industry to get themselves or in most cases, their sons out of the country. They pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to cross into Iran or Pakistan to more $25,000 for fake papers and flights to places like London or Stockholm. Thousands of refugees also return each year, but their numbers have been dwindling as the asylum applications rise. Both trends highlight worries among Afghans about what may happen after 2014, when American and other NATO troops turn security over to the Afghan army and police. The true numbers of people leaving is likely even higher since those who are successfully smuggled abroad often melt into an underground economy. Still, the jump in a rough indicator like asylum seekers suggests the total numbers are also on the rise. Smuggling people out of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan is a $1 billion-per-year criminal enterprise, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates. Those who pay to leave often face a risky journey and detention abroad because many developed countries now see many Afghans who flee as illegal economic migrants, not political refugees. Still, the business finds an eager clientele in Afghans such as Ahmad, an unemployed 20-year-old in Kabul. He has agreed to pay a smuggler $400 to take him over the Iranian border, where he hopes to find work and save up to move on to Europe in a few years. He has no money, but his smuggler is giving him credit he ll have a month to pay up once he s in Iran. "I don t think anything will improve in three or five years, so it s better to leave now," said Ahmad, who expects to leave for Iran within a few weeks. He asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of being arrested. Ahmad s family fled to Iran during the Taliban s late 1990s rule and returned full of hope after the regime fell. But now, he sees no future in his homeland. "If foreign troops leave, the situation will only get worse, not better," he said. That s a view shared by many. Tajma Kurt, who manages an International Organization for Migration program helping Afghans who have returned home, says she s noticed a marked change in ordinary Afghans  outlook since roughly 2007, when the Taliban insurgency began to gain strength and violent attacks increased. "Before, they were looking for a job, discussing buying a house or whatever," Kurt said. "Now, they are all thinking of leaving because the situation has deteriorated dramatically and they don t see that it s going to get much better." Devastated by decades of war, Afghanistan is already the world s biggest source of refugees, with more than 3 million of its total population of 30 million still outside the country, most in Iran and Pakistan, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees and the Afghan government. After the 2001 U.S.-led military intervention that toppled the Taliban, some 5.7 million Afghan refugees returned. The vast majority of those came back in the first five years. The numbers have since dwindled, with about 60,000 refugees returning last year, about half the number as the previous year. As the pace of returns slowed, the number of Afghans seeking asylum abroad rebounded. In 2011, 30,407 sought asylum through November, the latest available figures. Driving both trends is not only economic ambition but deep uncertainties about the country s future, says Abdul Samad Hami, deputy minister of Afghanistan s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. "Who knows what happens when foreign troops leave Afghanistan? Is it going to get better or worse? Who knows what happens with the foreign aid to Afghanistan going down or increasing?" he said. Some Afghans fear that once most foreign troops leave, the Taliban will take over more territory and civil war could erupt along ethnic lines, as it did in the 1990s. Others worry the Afghan economy will collapse if foreign aid dries up. The real number of Afghans leaving is unknown, but undoubtedly higher than the asylum figures. The country s foreign ministry recently said 50,000 Afghans illegally entered Greece in the past two years alone, many of them now stranded without passports or money to move farther into Europe. Most of those arranged their journey with smugglers. For their money, many endure a perilous journey. Esmat Adine nearly drowned after the overcrowded boat he was on sank off Indonesia late last year, killing at least 200 fellow asylum-seekers headed for Australia. He says he left his wife and infant son at home in Afghanistan and paid $5,000 to travel to Australia after the Taliban threatened to kill him for working with American aid workers. He flew from Kabul to Dubai, then boarded a plane to Jakarta, Indonesia. From there, he was taken to eastern Java and was packed onto the doomed boat. When the vessel capsized, Adine managed to survive by swimming to a nearby island. "I swam and swam until I reached the shore," Adine, 24, told The Associated Press in an Indonesian detention center, where he is awaiting a ruling on his legal status. "I thought of how my wife and children are counting on me, of how I must earn a good life in Australia, free from intimidation."  He says he still hopes to be able to enter Australia and send for his family. Australia has vowed to crack down on asylum-seekers but has been forced to relax a policy of mandatory detention because its detention camps are dangerously overcrowded. Hami, the Afghan refugee official, says the country has come a long way and if the transition goes smoothly, fewer people will want to leave. But he conceded that depends on whether the government can provide security and jobs. "If the situation gets worse, people will go out. If the situation gets better, people will return."