KM News Bureau - Content Editor R S Priya
CIA fed Soviets faulty technology
WASHINGTON - In January 1982, President Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official. A report by DAVID E. HOFFMAN; The Washington Post Thomas C. Reed, a former Air Force secretary who was serving in the National Security Council at the time, describes the episode in "At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War," to be published next month by Ballantine Books.Reed writes that the pipeline explosion was just one example of "cold-eyed economic warfare" against the Soviet Union that the CIA carried out under Director William J. Casey during the final years of the Cold War.At the time, the United States was attempting to block Western Europe from importing Soviet natural gas. There were also signs that the Soviets were trying to steal a wide variety of Western technology. Then, a KGB insider revealed the specific shopping list and the CIA slipped the flawed software to the Soviets in a way they would not detect it. More
Design of 'Swantantraya Jyot' at Port Blair Cellular Jail finalised
Feb 27: IndianOil Foundation, a non profit-Trust, fully funded by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has finalized the model & design of the 'Swatantrya Jyot' which would be installed in the precincts of historic Cellular Jail at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The 'Swatantrya Jyot' would be a befitting tribute to thousands of brave Indians who suffered incarceration in this Jail during the freedom struggle of India. The eternal flame of the Jyot would mark the sacrifices of those freedom fighters who went through dark phase of their lives at the Jail to provide light of freedom to their countrymen.
Swatantraya Jyot has been designed by Shri Uttam Pacharne, a leading sculptor of Mumbai and a receipient of Lalit Kala Academy Award. Being set up at a cost of Rs.35 lakh, the Jyot is part of the initiatives of IndianOil Foundation to protect, preserve and promote national heritage and culture in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India and National Culture Fund of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. The concept to install the Jyot at Cellular Jail was floated by Shri Ram Naik, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas during visit to Andaman & Nicobar Islands last year.
Layout and design
The 5-feet tall Jyot, will be surrounded by approximately 14 feet high structure of bronze cast metal. The Jyot will adore the entrance of the magnificent Cellular Jail occupying the pride of place near the Martyrs Platform. IOC, which will also maintain the Swatantrya Jyot, will supply approximately six LPG cylinders a week to keep the eternal flame lit continuously.
The Cellular Jail, entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement of prisoner, has been preserved as a national memorial and attracts visitors round the year. The Swatantrya Jyot will blend with the light-and-sound show screened everyday in the backdrop of the Jail, recapitulating the saga of the struggle for India's independence.
Indian Oil has already installed an Amar Jyoti (eternal flame) in the premises of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, another national memorial which pays homage to the hundreds of unarmed, defenseless freedom fighters who were massacred in its premises in a single incident. Similarly, another oil PSU, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has established an "eternal flame' at Hutatma Chowk in Mumbai to pay homage to martyrs. -Keralamonitor.com
RS. 55 crore auto testing project near Nagpur cleared
Feb 27: The Ministry of Heavy Industries has cleared a Rs. 55 crore Auto Testing Project to be set up near Nagpur. Based on representations received from Vidarbha Jan Kalyan Sanstha and the Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA), Shri Subodh Mohite, Minister of Heavy Industries, has approved the project estimated to cost Rs. 55 crore for the testing of tractors and other automobile sector related vehicles.
Giving details of the project, Shri Mohite said that the cost of the project will be borne by the Central Government. However, the land required for the project would have to be provided by the State Government.
Keeping in view that India is fast emerging as a global hub for manufacture of passenger cars, the Ministry of Heavy Industries is also proposing to initiate a special Rs. 1700 crore project to provide world-class facilities so as to accelerate the development of the auto sector in the country. Under this project, it is proposed to establish one centre in southern India; one in the northern region (near Gurgaon) and another in Madhya Pradesh. Simultaneously, it is proposed to upgrade the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), which is already recognised as an institution of international standards. The auto-testing project near Nagpur, which has just been cleared, will come up under the aegis of the ARAI.
The Minister also said that the project near Nagar would be developed as a hub for IT-based design and development in the auto sector and thus would benefit not only India but the entire South East Asian region. Besides, establishment of this project near Nagpur is expected to generate substantial employment for both technical and non-technical staff, he said. -Keralamonitor.com
Centre clears proposals worth over 500 crore rupees under PMGSY for construction of over 2300 kms of new roads in Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal
Feb 27: The Ministry of Rural Development today cleared projects worth Rs. 504.12 crores under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for the construction of 2354.22 kms of roads in the states of Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. All these proposals are for new connectivity.
In West Bengal the value of the projects proposed is Rs. 325.97 crores with which 159 road works will be taken up covering a total length of 1073.94 kms. 807 habitations will be benefited. Similarly in Himachal Pradesh the value of the projects proposed is Rs. 183.15 crores which will cover 219 road works covering a length of 1280.78 kms. 538 habitations will be benefited.
The PMGSY was launched on December 5, 2000 with the objective of providing road connectivity through good all weather roads to all unconnected habitations having a population of more than 1000 persons by the year 2003 and those with a population of more than 500 persons by the end of the 10th Plan period in 2007. -Keralamonitor.com
Programme of Mobilising Local Support to Primary Schools (P L U S) launched
Dr. Joshi writes to MPs and chief ministers
Feb 27: The Government has launched a Programme of Mobilising Local Support to Primary Schools (PLUS) to seek voluntary support from the community for the elementary education sector.
Efforts will be made to have at least 1% of the country's government/semi-government Primary Schools covered under PLUS every year, reaching upto 10% of the total Primary Schools by 2010.
Individuals and organizations can contribute under PLUS for improvement of government/semi-government primary schools, especially those for the weaker sections of the society.
Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi has written to all Chief Ministers to widely publicise the programme, appeal to public bodies/representatives to support it and ask State Ministers to consider adopting Primary Schools.
Dr. Joshi has also written to Members of the Rajya Sabha to consider sanctioning at least 10 percent of their MPLADs allocation for improvement of schools and adopting a couple of schools especially in which they have themselves studied.
The individuals or organisations supporting schools under PLUS will have the right to check the utilisation of his contribution.
The details of PLUS are as follows:-
Bulk of the primary education system in the country is in the Government/semi Government (local body) sector, and has suffered from deprivation and degradation due to inadequate allocation of resources over several decades. It also suffers from what might be called "social attention deficit" i.e. sheer lack of attention and concern, bordering on neglect, by the community.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Strategy comprises community mobilisation for - and ownership of - primary education. An essential component of this element is contribution by the community, and its leaders, for improvement of primary education.
Programme of Mobilising Local Support to Primary Schools (PLUS) is envisaged as a systematic effort at mobilisation of local support for improvement of primary education. It is premised on the belief that, apart from the massive vertical - but impersonal - flow of resources from the central and state levels to the primary school, it is necessary to also harness and mobilise local resources and commitment for its re-vitalisation - in other words, to promote a horizontal flow of resources and attention to the primary school. Its underlying approach is that "as many people and organisations as possible should be motivated to contribute whatever resources they can - time/knowledge/money/materials - to needy primary Schools."
PLUS caters to government and semi-government schools imparting primary education (i.e. including upper primary schools with primary sections), especially girls' primary schools, co-educational primary schools, or a primary/upper primary school where the person supporting may himself/herself have studied, or which is located in his/her area of work (constituency, district, block etc.)
PLUS would aim to have as many government/semi-government primary schools supported by socially-committed individuals and bodies in its vicinity as possible, with a view to improving their performance by way of enrolment, retention and achievement levels of children, and improving their physical facilities
Many PLUS schools will also, over time, be expected to assume a pace-setting role for the schools.
Anyone with the interest, desire and commitment to improve education in a Primary School can contribute under PLUS. Broadly, the following categories of persons/organizations can support PLUS - elected representatives, academic institutions, academicians, educationists, teacher-educators, eminent retired teachers, teachers' and other professional associations, voluntary agencies, socially-committed bodies/organization and individuals, Industrial establishments, public sector undertakings, banks & financial institutions; associations of trade & industry, newspapers/media groups and administrators
Support given may be of one time/non-recurring nature, or of recurring nature, or both. The non-recurring items could include money/material for construction/repairs/improvement/expansion of school building; books for school library/book bank; equipment/material for teaching-learning, sports and extra-curricular activities; school furniture/equipment/utensils for mid-day meals; awards/incentives/assistance to disadvantaged children in terms of money and materials; or aids and appliances for children with special needs.
The recurring items could be - annual maintenance of building and other school facilities; money/material for cooking mid-day meal; academic support to teachers; contribution of time and attention for improvement of enrolment, retention and achievement of children in the school; or scholarships and academic help to needy children.
In cases where the nature of support is substantial and extended over a period of two years or more, it may be described as 'adoption' of the school.
Every Member of Parliament and State Legislature, every Mayor, and every President of a Distt./Block Panchayat and Municipality be requested to support/'adopt' at least one primary school. MPs have funds at their disposal under MPLADs, as do MLAs/MLCs, etc. in several states under similar schemes. They will be requested to set apart at least 10% of their LAD allocation each year, starting from 2003-04, for PLUS and for UEE efforts generally, in their respective constituencies. Besides, support will be sought through media and by approaching the likely contributors/opinion leaders from national to local levels.
Any individual or body wanting to extend support to one or more primary schools may do so through a written offer to any of the following, as may be convenient to him/it - Head Master of the school, Chairman, CEO or Education Officer of the local body running the school, Block or District SSA Coordinator, or the District Collector.
All such offers will be routed to and placed before the School Management Committee/PTA/VEC which handles schools grants under SSA. The SMC/PTA/VEC will, after due consideration, convey acceptance of the offer, after which support will commence. Name of the person/body extending support, and nature and type of support given will be prominently displayed in the school. Financial contributions from the person/body supporting or adopting a school may flow either into the SMC/VEC account, or a separate, dedicated account jointly operated by the SMC/VEC and the contributing person/body or his/its nominee.
A person/body extending material support will have the right to visit the school, and check on the utilisation of his contribution. A person 'adopting' a school will, in addition, have the right to attend meetings of its SMC/VEC as an observer and to speak therein, but not to vote. A person or body extending support to or 'adopting a school will have no right to interfere with school curriculum or administration.
Efforts will be made to have at least 1% of the country's government/semi-government primary schools covered under PLUS every year, reaching upto 10% of the total primary schools by 2010.
By its very nature, PLUS has no additional financial implications for the Central or State Government. Money for its publicity will be found from the general media funds under SSA, and its monitoring will be undertaken as part of larger SSA monitoring. -Keralamonitor.com
CAG'S Audit's Advisory Board meeting
Feb 27: The Audit Advisory Board, constituted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to advise him on important matter relating to public audit in India, discussed the nature and scope of Performance Audit and the role of Audit, if any, in detecting Fraud and Corruption in its last meeting. The Board deliberated upon the need and modalities for making Audit an instrument of reconstruction rather than an agent of criticism.
The members were unanimous in their view that Public Accountability is the key to Good Governance and audit by the CAG of India should transcend the Government Rupee and include findings on how public and national wealth has been used for public good.
The exchange of views underscored the need to have excellence in audit with fairness to the auditees and the need to have operational excellence in putting through programmes and projects along with compliance with law. The Board also deliberated upon the role of Regulators and the role for the CAG. The Board was unanimous that response to audit, compliance with rules and follow up of audit conclusions should be scaled up.
The meeting was chaired by Shri VN Kaul, CAG of India. The members of the Board include several experts and eminent persons from different fields. The meeting was attended by Shri Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Shri Abid Hussain, Prof. UR Rao, former Chairman of Space Commission, Prof. YK Alag, former Minister, N Rangachari, former Chairman of Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, Shri IIMS Rana, former Chairman of Railway Board, Lt. Gen. (Retd) DV Kalra, RK Pachauri, Energy Expert, P. Shankar, Chief Vigilance Commissioner and Sunil Goyal, President, ICAI. -Keralamonitor.com
Miscreant activities on East Central Railway
Feb 27: A widespread miscreant activities have taken place on East Central Railway in Dhanbad, Mughalsarai and Samastipur Divisions last night and in early hours today resulting in disruption of rail services in this part of the country. About 60 persons gathered at Danea station in Dhanbad Division at 9.10 PM yesterday and kidnapped Station Master on duty, resulting in disruption of rail services on Gomia-Barkakhana section. There was a bomb blast at about 2.00 AM today at Dasarah station on Gomoh-Manpur section resulting in closure of trains movement. In Mughalsarai Division, at Ankura Station on Sonnagar-Garhwa Road section at 11.00 PM last night, 100 persons gathered and prevented train movements. Further at 03.25 hrs. today, on Ankura Station down main line track, overhead equipment line, down line bridge, both cabins and station's building were blasted by miscreants. Added to this, Gateman of Gate no. 1B of Guraru Station was threatened by miscreants not to allow any train movement on Gaya-Mughalsarai section. The communication line at Phesar station on Gaya-Mughalsarai section with other stations broke down from 00.20 hrs. this morning. On sections Kastha-Paraiya and Mughalsarai-Gaya track was blasted at KM 83/0 at 03.20 hrs. today.
In Samastipur, on block section Khagaria-Olapur (Metre gauge), about 12 persons advised the gangman that a bomb was placed on track near gate no. 1B between Khagaria-Olapur.
As a result of the wide-ranging miscreant activities on East central Railways, 14 trains were detained after midnight in the Dhanbad Division, 11 trains in the Mughalsarai Division. Besides, 2398 New Delhi-Gaya Express was detained at Chunar station on North Central Railway at 03.05 hrs. today. 2307 Howrah-Jodhpur Express was detained at Mugma station on Eastern Railway at 03.23 hrs. The East Central Railway, Hajipur, has informed the movement of trains in Dhanbad Division has been restored from 8.00 AM after certification of track. The restoration of downline and upline in Mughalsarai Division is under way. -Keralamonitor.com
UK NewsDrive to extend competition in the water industry
Feb 27: Plans to extend competition in the water industry in England and
Wales have taken an important step forward today.Ofwat, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and
the Welsh Assembly Government, have jointly published a consultation
document on the framework that will enable new companies to compete
in the supply of water to large businesses.The consultation seeks views on suggested changes to the appointment
conditions of the existing water companies, and on proposals for
conditions to be included in licences granted to new water suppliers.Business customers who are likely to use at least 50 million litres
of water a year will be able to choose their water supplier because
of the extension to competition as a result of the Water Act 2003.
This will affect about 2,300 customers who collectively spend around
£200 million each year on water.Prospective suppliers will be able to apply for a water supply
licence in summer 2005, in advance of the new competition rules
coming into operation in autumn 2005.
Tony Smith, Ofwat's director of competition and consumer affairs,
said:"Competition has the potential to benefit both the water industry and
customers. It can spur water companies to greater efficiency and
improved performance, and provide customers with lower prices and new
and improved services."In order to help competition develop, whilst protecting water
quality, there need to be rules and procedures in place to govern how
the existing water companies will provide access to their networks.
Our approach is designed to provide regulatory certainty whilst
ensuring that the new regulations do not become so burdensome that
they deter prospective suppliers." -Keralamonitor.comNew guidance offers clarity over unauthorised camping
Feb 27: New guidance to help councils and police manage unauthorised camping
in England has been launched today.The guidance, produced jointly by the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister and the Home Office, provides best practice advice on
managing cases where people have camped on land without the
landowner's permission.Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said:
"This guidance will bring clarity and consistency to local
decision-making and ensure Gypsies and Travellers are clearer about
their own responsibilities and rights. It is one of many positive
steps we are taking to ensure the needs of both the travelling and
settled communities are met."Home Office Minister Hazel Blears added:
"The Government has also today introduced a new power in the
Anti-Social Behaviour Act which allows the police to take action
against unauthorised encampments."By providing robust powers and comprehensive guidance, the
Government is ensuring that police and local authorities are able to
deal swiftly, sensitively and effectively with situations where
members of the travelling community have camped illegally."The Guidance is based on the following principals:
* Unauthorised camping is unlawful. However, it is recognised that
while demand for authorised sites exceeds supply, it will still take
place. In this respect local policies should ensure encampments
minimise disruption for all concerned and that basic needs of Gypsies
and Travellers are met.* There are occasions where action should be taken to remove
unauthorised encampments as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, there
are sometimes good reasons for such encampments, for example where
medical attention is needed. Effective joint working between police
and local authorities is crucial in these cases. -Keralamonitor.com
Free packet service to Iraq to endFeb 27: As of 8th April the free packet service to the Iraq theatre of
operations will end. Individuals will, however, be able to send
parcels from any UK Post Office, weighing up to 2 kg, at a special
concessionary rate equivalent to the UK Inland First Class Postage
Rate.The free packet service was introduced as a temporary measure and the
decision to end it was based on the reduction in personnel deployed,
the availability of consumables locally and the consequent reduction
in demand. Iraq is the only theatre of operation that receives the
free packet concession. To extend the concession to other theatres
could not be justified on cost grounds.Military personnel in Iraq will continue to benefit from an excellent
welfare package. This includes free letters ('blueys' and
'e-blueys'), free Internet access, free phone calls (20 minutes per
week to anywhere in the world), free books and newspapers, free
radios and televisions (with associated DVDs, Videos, computer games
and software) and BFPS radio and television.Adam Ingram MP, Minister for the Armed Forces said:
"The MOD accepts that the withdrawal of the free packet service will
be unpopular. It should, however, be seen in the context of the good
welfare package enjoyed by all service personnel and the availability
of consumable goods in the Iraq theatre. I would also like to stress
that packets up to 2 kg can be sent at a concessionary rate." -Keralamonitor.com
MOD gifts armoured truck fleet for mine clearance operations in Afghanistan and KosovoFeb 27: Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram today presented a fleet of 12
armoured trucks to the HALO Trust, bringing to more than 100 the
number of military vehicles gifted to the mine-clearance charity in
the past four years.The trucks, DAF-45s, are surplus to army requirements, but are ideal
for HALO operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan, their proposed areas
of deployment, because of their armour, size and mobility.The package is part of a wider MoD programme of support for
non-government organisations committed to humanitarian missions in
former war zones.The vehicles were formally presented to HALO director and founder Guy
Willoughby when Mr Ingram visited the charity's global Headquarters
in Scotland this morning.Mr Ingram said:
"The HALO Trust is a world leader in the clearing of unexploded
ordnance, and as such is worthy of MoD's continued support."The MoD is a major contributor to the clearance of unexploded
ordnance in post-conflict zones, through direct military involvement
and our gifting of surplus equipment to humanitarian organisations."Mr Willoughby said:
"We are very grateful for the donation. These vehicles are perfectly
suited to HALO's bomb disposal teams involved in the removal of ERW -
the explosive remnants of war. The vehicles will allow additional
teams to be set up overseas." -Keralamonitor.com
Dangerous drivers to face tougher sentencesFeb 27: The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving will
increase from 10 to 14 years ensuring that those who kill can be
properly punished, Home Secretary David Blunkett announced today.The increase will target drivers who kill, be it through driving
dangerously, driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs or
joyriding.The increase comes into effect through the Criminal Justice Act 2003
- the most significant overhaul of the criminal justice system in a
generation.Home Secretary David Blunkett said:
"Dangerous drivers who kill should be properly punished. The
devastation they can cause is immeasurable, not only for victims'
families, but for whole communities."This increase sends out a very strong signal about how seriously the
Government regards the crime. I hope that people take heed and that
we lose fewer lives on the roads as a result."This is just one of the many reforms we are delivering under the
Criminal Justice Act 2003 which will modernise and rebalance the
criminal justice system in favour of victims, witnesses and
communities. It will provide the right punishment to fit the crime -
one that the public can both understand and trust to protect them and
deliver justice."A review of offences for bad driving is also currently underway,
which will look at making proposals for changes to the law on serious
driving offences, particularly where death or injury results.Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said:
"A very small minority of drivers commit this most serious offence,
and bring misery to the families of those people killed in road
accidents, as well as causing danger and major inconvenience to the
vast majority of law-abiding motorists."I fully welcome this change in the penalty which recognises the
gravity of the offence, and I look forward to the Review of Road
Traffic Offences which is examining the whole issue of poor and
irresponsible driving." -Keralamonitor.comHome Secretary announces £700,000 for targeted policing
Feb 27: A £700,000 Government cash boost will help fourteen police forces
build community partnerships to tackle crime, the Home Secretary,
David Blunkett, announced today.The funding will support the creation of fourteen new Policing
Priority Areas (PPAs) to help forces promote effective partnership
working in neighbourhoods. Co-ordinated and targeted action by the
police and other agencies has been shown to reduce crime and
anti-social behaviour and help turn round communities experiencing
difficulties.Today's announcement brings the national total of PPAs up to
twenty-seven since the scheme was launched by the Home Secretary in
March 2002.Mr Blunkett said:
"We want communities to break free from crime and anti-social
behaviour and this requires effective partnership working between the
police, local residents, the local authority, drug action teams and
crime and disorder reduction partnerships."As part of our police reform programme, we have seen communities
becoming more involved in how their police service operates. Crime
overall has fallen and there are more police officers than ever
before. But I want to see deeper, stronger connections developing
between police and communities across the country."By providing £700,000 to fund a further fourteen Policing Priority
Areas, I hope that the good practice which has made existing and
completed projects across the country such a success can be repeated
in other areas where crime and anti-social behaviour have taken
hold." -Keralamonitor.com
Renewables: We can't rely on wind aloneFeb 27: Windpower is likely to be the dominant renewable technology until
2020, a report out today concludes.Both on-and off-shore wind can deliver almost all of the required
growth to meet the 2010 renewable energy target and wind is likely to
be the dominant technology as far as 2020.The Renewables Innovation Review says that windpower alone will not
have enough resource to achieve the estimated contribution that
renewable energy will need to make in order to meet the Government's
2050 carbon reduction aspirations."We cannot afford to rest on our laurels," Energy Minister Stephen
Timms said."This report demonstrates the impact wind energy is set to have and
confirms our view that the 2010 renewable energy target is
achievable."But we must think strategically both about long-term policy and
funding if we are going to exploit the full economic and
environmental potential of our renewables industry."The review - conducted jointly by the DTI and the Carbon Trust -
identifies the way ahead for the industry if the UK's renewable
targets, carbon reduction aspirations and desired economic benefits
are to be met.
The report's summary concludes that all renewable energy technologies
have the potential to make a material contribution to the
Government's long-term carbon reduction aspirations - as set out in
the Energy White Paper. The report also highlights the important role
that fuel cells may be able to play in delivering large carbon
savings through improved efficiency.But long-term policy measures and incentives will be important if a
wide range of renewable and other low carbon technologies are to be
deployed on a large-scale basis."This report clearly highlights the tremendous potential for
renewables to both deliver carbon emissions reductions and
significant economic development to the UK," said Tom Delay Chief
Executive of the Carbon Trust."The challenge for the renewables industry and for government is to
ensure that we capture this opportunity by overcoming the barriers to
wind development and by supporting high potential renewable
technologies."The report raises a number of key issues for the long term
development of individual renewables technologies, including:* the need to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of
wave and tidal projects;* a focus on fuel supply development of biomass through clusters of
regional level projects and* developing a more coherent approach to building integrated
renewables such as solar PV. -Keralamonitor.com
New funding to boost radiography workforce
John Reid announces £3 million funding to increase numbers
Feb 27: John Reid today announced £3 million government funding to boost the
number of radiographers working in the NHS. The Department of Health
has developed a recruitment and retention strategy to increase the
workforce, encourage returners to the profession and develop better
career pathways for radiographers.John Reid said:
"Radiographers are at the centre of modern healthcare. They work with
sophisticated equipment at the cutting edge of technology, and use a
variety of techniques to diagnose, treat and cure."Although the radiography headcount has increased by over 10% since
1997, we need to do much more to boost numbers. The £3.4 million
funding that I am announcing today will fund a recruitment and
retention strategy aimed at increasing the radiography workforce."For the next two years, this will focus on increasing the workforce,
encouraging back returners and developing an attractive career
pathway for all radiography staff."In the spirit of transferring decision making to the NHS and
empowering local radiography managers to implement changes they know
will make a difference, I have asked South West London Strategic
Health Authority to manage the strategy for England. This is in
recognition of their previous experience establishing a radiography
workforce strategy across London."John Reid was speaking at the inaugural Radiographer of the Year
award ceremony, held at the House of Commons last week by the
Department of Health in association with the Society and College of
Radiographers (SCoR).The awards named Margaret Waltier of Halton Hospital, Runcorn (North
Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust), as the UK Radiographer of the Year.
Margaret has helped set up links with hospitals in Ghana, where she
visits every year to improve conditions and working practices, and
was praised for her tireless commitment to campaigning on behalf of
her patients and staff.A special award was made to Jane Tomlinson MBE, a Senior II
Paediatric Radiographer from Leeds General Infirmary, for her high
profile work on behalf of the profession. Since contracting terminal
cancer, Jane has raised more than £400,000 for cancer and other
charities and has attracted much positive publicity for the
radiography profession.Billy Rea, the President of the Society and College of Radiographers,
said:
"Margaret and Jane represent all that is best about the profession.
The Society is very proud of their achievements. The NHS desperately
needs radiographers and I hope these awards will inspire more people
to consider radiography as a career." -Keralamonitor.comIncreased nursing care funding for care home residents
Feb 27: Care home residents are set to benefit from a new increase in NHS
funded nursing care Health Minister Dr. Stephen Ladyman announced
today.Nursing care funding is divided into three bands - high, medium, low
- and is paid by Primary Care Trusts to care homes, based on the
level of an individual's need not their income. From 1 April, for
eligible care home residents:- the high band will increase from £120 to £125 per week;
- the medium band will increase from £75 to £77.50 per week; and
- the low band will remain at £40 per week but PCTs will have new
flexibility in deciding, on a case by case basis, to pay an amount
between the low and medium band.Commenting on the increase in funding for people receiving nursing
care in care homes, Dr Stephen Ladyman said:"Where people have less intensive care needs that fall below the
medium band we will leave the rate to PCTs. By giving PCTs this
flexibility, they can ensure the right care for the individual and
better value for money for the NHS."Residents of care homes with low nursing needs should be able to
receive the care they need in other settings if they wish. In some
circumstances, the district nursing service can meet this need
direct."Primary Care Trusts and their local authority partners are already
beginning to commission alternative services for people with this
level of need. However, they must ensure needs are met and so some
will still need or choose to receive care in a care home setting.
These arrangements will give the local NHS even more flexibility in
responding to people's needs."Increases to the medium and high band in future years will continue
to be broadly based on increases in the level of NHS nurses' pay. We
shall be consulting later in this year about how local health and
social care systems might have more local decision-making, lessening
the amount of central control. " -Keralamonitor.comCurbing discrimination in the council chamber
Feb 27: Councillors who are disabled are to be protected from discrimination
under Government proposals published today.A new clause in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill would extend the
Disability Discrimination Act to cover discrimination by local authorities
against their members. Councillors would be protected from disability
discrimination when carrying out the official business of their authority.
The duties on local authorities would also include a duty to make
reasonable adjustments to the working environment for councillors.Minister for Disabled People Maria Eagle said:
"Full participation by disabled people in public life is long overdue. By
ensuring proper protection from disability discrimination we hope to make
local authorities more representative of their local communities and to bring
more diverse experiences to council decision-making."We know of cases where councillors have been unable to carry out their
official business simply because of colleagues' attitudes or physical barriers."This new measure would extend the protection of the Disability Discrimination
Act to local councillors in a way which is similar to the protection that local
government officers already have, whilst recognising that councillors are not
employees of their local authority."It is part of a wider draft Bill that seeks to extend basic rights to areas of life in
which we know disabled people continue to face discrimination." -Keralamonitor.comDepartment for Transport launches respect for people driver management "Toolkit"
Feb 27: Transport Minister Tony McNulty today announced the completion of the
Respect for People "Drivers for Change" Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) and benchmarking toolkit. This initiative is designed to
address issues of importance to the haulage industry including driver
shortage and the perceived low status and working conditions of
people employed in the sector.For the first time operators will be able to measure their
performance against the industry/sector average in order to meet the
objective of Respect for People - to develop basic standards of good
employment practice for lorry drivers.Tony McNulty said:
"This initiative offers companies the chance to measure their
performance and identify where they can make improvements in looking
after their most valuable asset - their people. It will benefit the
industry as a whole by helping to improve driver recruitment,
retention and development. I hope that a large number of companies
will adopt Respect for People and turn it into an industry standard
of professionalism in the driver management area." -Keralamonitor.com
New guidance to help boost farm profits through better management
Feb 27: Farmers who want to boost profits and plan ahead better by improving
their business management skills can get help and advice from a new
government guide published today by Defra.The new two-part booklet 'Figures for a Farming Future - Getting
Started in Farm Management Accounting' aims to help farmers map out
a viable financial future, and sets out simple ways of making better
use of accounts.It also introduces basic farm business management techniques to help
farmers plan ahead and assess options for change.Accounts from a fictional 'Home Farm' are used to illustrate a
step-by-step approach to smarter, more effective accounting, to make
the guide as user- friendly as possible.Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty said;
"Managing a business effectively is more important than ever in the
current climate of CAP reform and changes in agriculture. More and
more, decisions will have to be made based on market signals rather
than subsidies.Our guide is designed to help farmers make sound business decisions,
but they should also get advice from other sources when assessing
their business performance. This could be from their own accountants
or consultants.Sir Don Curry said;
"These booklets form a key part of the Sustainable Farming and Food
Strategy. They are aimed at all farmers who wish to raise their
skills in business management, planning and budgeting."They cannot provide all the answers, but they do provide a starting
point. The Food Chain Centre has gathered evidence from farmers who
practice benchmarking techniques like these and shown that it can
produce beneficial results." -Keralamonitor.com
Impressive progress in expansion of childcare and early education highlighted by National Audit officeFeb 27: Children's Minister Margaret Hodge welcomed the "impressive progress"
in the creation of new childcare places and early education
highlighted today by the National Audit Office.
Setting out the Government's commitment to ensuring progress
continued and that the gap in levels of provision between the poorest
areas and other areas was further reduced, the Minister said:"We've come a long way since the introduction of the first ever
National Childcare Strategy. We need to do more, but it's important
to recognise the progress that has been made in a relatively short
space of time.
"Further progress has been achieved since the National Audit Office
report was compiled. The latest figures show that there are now
450,000 more childcare places than there were in 1997.
"Back in 1997, there was only 1 childcare place for every 9 children
and there is now 1 place for every 5 children. In 1997, there was no
universal entitlement to free early education. By April this year,
every 3 and 4 year old will be entitled to free, part-time early
education.
"There was no centrally supported childcare in this country before
1997 and it was diverse and uncoordinated. We have had to build the
infrastructure, bringing together the separate elements of a
disparate system for the benefit of children, families and
communities. We have brought together childcare and early education,
alongside a wider range of health and family support through extended
schools and children's centres.
"In 1997, there was far less out of school and holiday childcare. We
have created close to 365,000 places. More and more schools are
offering childcare, breakfast clubs and after schools clubs as part
of our extended schools policy.
"In 1997, there was great regional and local variation in childcare
provision. The differences still exist, but by targeting resources at
disadvantaged areas, the gap has started to narrow."We're taking action to ensure that the pace of progress continues
and are providing wide ranging support to help sustainability. This
includes a sustainability grant of £21 million 2004-06 to support
childcare business in disadvantaged areas. We are also providing
funding for each local authority to employ a business support officer
to advise local childcare providers."There will always be a high turn-over rate in some types of
childcare. For example, parents sometimes set up in business as
childminders until their children reach school age. We are creating
a climbing frame of qualifications so that childcarers can develop
their careers within the profession.
"Parents need to know that their children are supported with high
quality childcare and that they can entrust their children in the
safest hands. We have allocated almost £130m to Local Authorities for
workforce development for the two years 2004-06. This will supports
both qualifications and shorter training courses for continuous
professional development."
"Childminders can provide the flexible provision that many parents
want. That why it is good news that we are now seeing a rise in the
number of childminders. We are funding the National Childminding
Association to make more training available. Since 2001, each local
authority has been offered support to help set up new support
networks.
"We know that families need and want different types of childcare -
some want a childminder, some a local day nursery, and others after
school or holiday care. As well as running a successful recruitment
campaign, we are working very closely with local authorities, the
voluntary sector, public and private nurseries, parents and employers
to deliver quality and choice for families."
-Keralamonitor.comUN News
Claims Of Spying At U.N. Mount
Feb 27: Australian diplomat Richard Butler said today his phones were routinely bugged during his tenure as chief U.N. weapons inspector in the 1990s, following yesterday's allegations by a former British government minister that the United Kingdom spied on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Butler said he was forced to meet contacts in New York's Central Park because the telephones in his office at U.N. headquarters were insecure.
"I was utterly confident that in my attempts to have private diplomatic conversations trying to solve the problem of the disarmament of Iraq [in the 1990s] that I was being listened to by the Americans, the British, the French and the Russians," he said.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also reported that sources said the United States monitored former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix's mobile phone during his trips to Iraq.
Yesterday, former British government minister Clare Short said the United Kingdom had wiretapped Annan's phones before the war, just a day after charges were dropped against a former British government translator accused of leaking a secret memo from the U.S. National Security Agency asking for British help in spying at the United Nations (CNN.com, Feb. 27).
"We would be disappointed if this were true," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said yesterday of Short's allegations. "Such activities would undermine the integrity and confidential nature of diplomatic exchanges."
He also said the practice of bugging the secretary general was illegal under three treaties, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, the 1947 Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The treaties ensure the inviolability of U.N. headquarters.
He said the United Nations would step up its routine activities aimed at guarding against invasions of privacy, and confirmed that Annan had received a call from the British U.N. ambassador on behalf of Prime Minister Tony Blair (U.N. release, Feb. 26).
Despite the escalating controversy, many U.N. diplomats and experts believe the tapping of phones and the planting of microphones at U.N. headquarters are relatively common practices, the Washington Post reports today.
"In my opinion, everybody spies on everybody, and when there's a crisis, big countries spy a lot," said Inocencio F. Arias, Spain's U.N. ambassador. "I wouldn't be surprised if this secretary general and other secretary generals have been listened to by a handful of big powers, and not only the ones you are thinking of."
An ambassador from a Security Council member nation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the amount of attention a country received from foreign intelligence agencies often reflected its importance. "It used to be a shame; now it's a matter of status. If your mission is not bugged, then you are really worth nothing," the official said (Priest/Lynch, Washington Post, Feb. 27).
Human Bird Flu Vaccine Could Be Weeks Away, WHO SaysFeb 27:A human vaccine against the bird flu that has killed 22 people in Asia could be designed within weeks, although it could take another six months before a commercial version of the vaccine is widely available, experts said yesterday.
"A vaccine could be available shortly for vaccine manufacturers to begin small-scale production, so that safety and efficiency studies can be conducted," Bjorn Melgaard, World Health Organization representative in Thailand, told Reuters in Bangkok where officials from 23 Asia-Pacific countries, U.N. agencies and donors met for an emergency meeting to look for ways to strengthen the fight against the disease.
The World Organization for Animal Health called for a national network of trained farmers supervised by veterinarians to play a bigger role in detecting and reporting the disease.
"The cost of this investment is insignificant compared to the enormous losses linked with" the disease, according to regional representative Teruhide Fujita.
Foreign donors will be pushed to help such poor countries as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to pay for culling operations and restocking small farms. After the emergency, Asian nations will also need help overhauling farming techniques (Darren Schuettler, Reuters/Planet Ark, Feb. 27).
Meanwhile, 10,000 chickens were found dead near Kyoto, Japan earlier this week, in the country's third bird flu outbreak, although officials at Kyoto Prefecture and the farm ministry said they were unable to confirm local news reports that some of the dead birds at a poultry farm tested positive (Agence France-Presse/Straits Times, Feb. 27).
Study Finds Protein In Monkey Cells Protects Against HIVFeb 27:Scientists have discovered a protein in the cells of monkeys that protects them from HIV and could, the New York Times reports, eventually lead researchers to new antiviral therapies for humans.
A study reported in yesterday's issue of the journal Nature found a protein called TRIM5-alpha that roams monkey cells, apparently searching for HIV. As soon as the virus slips inside the cell, the protein attacks it and prevents it from shedding the hard casing around its genetic material. The protein is less efficient, however, at blocking the primate version of the virus (SIV), suppressing it only about half the time.
"This is really telling us about a system of natural immunity to viruses," said lead author Joseph Sodroski, of Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Humans make a nearly identical version of TRIM5-alpha, but, just as the monkey version fails to consistently block SIV, the human variant is only half effective at blocking HIV. Scientists say variations in TRIM5-alpha could possibly explain the difference in people's responses to HIV.
Scientists told the Times said the findings would not immediately lead to new AIDS drugs, but any light shed on the viral life cycle could generate ideas on new retroviral therapies.
"Once you know there is something for a virus to do, you can figure out a way to stop it," said John Coffin, a molecular biology professor at Tufts University (Gina Kolata, New York Times, Feb. 26).
New Initiative Encourages Women's Role In African Development
Feb 27: Meeting in Johannesburg last week as part of a U.N. Development Program conference, representatives from 26 sub-Saharan African countries launched a four-year strategy to promote the advancement of women and boost female participation in development.Despite some progress toward gender equality, countries had a long way to go before women were equal partners in development, according to the conference.
Five of the 10 commissioners of the African Union are women, and females hold a significant percentage of government posts in Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Verde, Gambia, Mali and Zimbabwe. But less than 15 percent of economic managers in Africa are women, the UNDP says, while just 10 percent of parliamentarians and 8 percent of government ministers on the continent are female.
The HIV/AIDS crisis, which disproportionately affects women, has further aggravated inequality and meant that women are more likely to live in poverty.
Under the new strategy, governments are encouraged to make gender an integral part of policy discussions, and to initiative legislative reforms enabling women to own and operate businesses and participate in international trade. The initiative also calls for HIV/AIDS prevention to be part of humanitarian assistance, and the creation of new partnerships to link gender, poverty and HIV/AIDS prevention.
"We also need to do 'gender marketing' to make women's issues central to the Millennium Development Goals," said Biebie Songo Milete, secretary general of the Women NGOs Platform, which is based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The initiative builds on the UNDP's regional gender program, which supports women's economic empowerment, their role in government and peace-building, and efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS (UNDP release, Feb. 26).
UNICEF Seeks $516 Million In Emergency Relief For Children
Feb 27: UNICEF appealed on Tuesday to donors to provide $516 million for emergency relief for children in 30 countries - half of them in Africa - who are struggling to survive in crisis situations."All over the world, children and women are suffering the brunt of wars and natural disasters," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said, launching the organization's 2004 Humanitarian Action Report, which provides an overview of UNICEF's emergency assistance programs. "Helping them is our greatest challenge," she added.
UNICEF says armed conflict has killed more than 2 million children worldwide in the last 10 years and has injured more than three times that number.
To help children trapped in humanitarian crises, UNICEF provides basic health services, safe drinking water and school-in-a-box kits (UNICEF release, Feb. 24).
GM Maize In Philippines Seen As Possible Cause Of Illness
Feb 27: Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology Scientific Director Terje Traavik yesterday released a summary of research saying genetically modified maize crops have triggered fevers, respiratory illness and skin reactions among people living close to GM crop fields in the Philippines.In a village in northern Mindanao, 39 people living near a field of Bt maize - which contains a pesticide in the gene - started reacting to pollen produced by the crop. Four families reportedly left the village and recovered, but showed the same symptoms when they returned.
According to Traavik, tests on the affected people showed they have developed antibodies to the maize's built-in pesticide.
Monsanto, the world's leading GM company, challenged the findings, saying "There have been no documented cases of allergic reactions to Bt maize after seven years of broad commercial use on millions of hectares in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Spain and South Africa, starting in 1996."
The Philippine government, which approved GM cultivation last year, also questioned the findings.
Traavik is scheduled to return this week to the Philippines to continue the research, which will be published fully in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
According to the London Guardian, if his findings are confirmed, it would be one of the first recorded cases of serious health problems linked with GM crops (John Vidal, Feb. 27).
Bangladesh To Count Tigers In Sunderbans
Feb 27: A team of 50 scientists will spend the next week in the Bangladeshi part of the Sundarbans mangrove forest conducting a census of Royal Bengal Tigers as part of an initiative to preserve the biodiversity of the forest, BBC Online reported yesterday.
A similar study in the Indian part of the Sundarbans indicates that tigers, previously thought to be dying out, might actually be increasing in number, scientists say.
The results of the census are expected by July (Roland Buerk, BBC Online, Feb. 26).
UNDP Urges Expanding Credit Ratings For African Countries
Feb 27: A U.N. Development Program initiative expanding sovereign risk ratings to more African nations will help put the continent on the investor map and enable it to better tackle development goals, a senior UNDP Program official said yesterday.
"The investment potential in Africa is huge," UNDP Associate Administrator Zephirin Diabre told a conference in New York hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA). "Through our credit rating initiative, we intend to support countries in their efforts to mobilize resources from private capital markets."
Diabre said better access to international capital markets through the initiative could help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Ghana, Cameroon and Benin received ratings in 2003 under the UNDP initiative, in coordination with Standard and Poor's. More sub-Saharan African countries, including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali and Mozambique, are scheduled to receive ratings this year.
The CCA conference seeks to encourage investment by highlighting financing opportunities and providing a platform for financiers to meet with sponsors of projects in Africa. Participants include representatives from U.S. and African financial institutions, businesses and government (U.N. release, Feb. 26).
Cairns Group Calls On Rich Nations To Set Date To End Subsidies
Feb 27: The Cairns Group of 17 agriculture-exporting nations wrapped up a ministerial meeting Wednesday in San Jose, Costa Rica, urging developed countries to set a final date for ending all agricultural export subsidies.
World Trade Organization ministers adopted an agenda during the Doha round in 2001 calling for free-trade negotiations to conclude at the end of this year. However, the collapse of the WTO ministerial meeting last year in Cancun, Mexico created fears that the deadline would not be met (BBC Brasil, Feb. 26, U.N. Wire translation).
"Ministers called on Europe, the United States and Japan, which have a special responsibility to show leadership, to translate into action their commitment to implement faithfully the mandate," the Cairns Group said in a statement.
"There is no need to identify a list of products on which export subsidies should be eliminated. What is needed now is a commitment to negotiate a final date for the elimination of export subsidies on all products," it said.
The World Bank has estimated that agricultural subsidies in rich countries cost developing nations $350 billion per year. The European Union spends around $100 billion yearly in subsidies for their farmers, while the United States spends $50 billion.
Cairns Group countries are Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, Feb. 25).
Tuesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the country is willing to eliminate subsidies as long as other developed countries are willing to do the same (BBC Brasil).
Supachai Urges U.S. To Lead WTO Trade Negotiations
Washington Feb 27:World Trade Organization Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi yesterday urged the United States to lead multilateral free-trade negotiations frozen during WTO's ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, last year, saying that without U.S. efforts, talks will not move forward.
"The reality is this: When the U.S. leads, the system can move forward; when it withdraws, the system drifts," Supachai said during an address to the National Press Club.
He said the United States also should be interested in restoring trade negotiations with the rest of the world because of its growing dependence on international trade, saying that 25 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product is now tied to trade, up from 10 percent in 1970.
In addition, he said, "strengthening the world trading system is essential to America's wider global objectives."
"Fighting terrorism, reducing poverty, improving health, integrating China and other countries into the global economy: all of these issues are linked in one way or another to world trade," he said.
Supachai also challenged claims that trade liberalization would hurt U.S. jobs and the U.S. farm sector if export subsidies were cut.
"In America's current debate about trade, jobs and globalization, we have heard a lot about the costs of liberalization," he said. "We need to hear more about the opportunities. We need to be reminded of the advantages of America's openness and its trade with the world; about the economic growth tied to export, the inflation-fighting role on imports, the innovative stimulus of global competition. We need to explain that freer trade works precisely because it involves positive change, better products, better job opportunities, better ways of doing things, better standards of living."
For every U.S. job threatened by imports, he said, more jobs will be created by exports. The export market employs 12 million people in the country, up from 7 million a decade ago, he said. In addition, jobs related to exports, usually in aerospace, finance and information technology, pay 10 percent more than the average U.S. wage.
Supachai also said the United States will create an average of 2 million new service jobs a year during the next decade "compared to roughly 200,000 service jobs that will be outsourced."
In his address, Supachai, in Washington to discuss efforts to restart trade talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, also urged WTO members to focus on the multilateral negotiations instead of bilateral and regional free-trade agreements.
He estimated that there are 270 agreements registered with the WTO, 60 to 90 that are ongoing and more that have not been registered.
"The problem is that there is no one, no authority, who can monitor" the agreements, Supachai said. "Another concern is that while we are intensively involving ourselves with the endgame of this negotiation in the Doha Round, we need all hands on deck. We need all resources we can mobilize, so that we can concentrate fully on the solution-seeking exercise of key areas in agriculture and manufacturing and other areas that would be very hard to crack."
By Patricia Kowsmann
U.N. WireUNHCR Head To Tour Refugee Sites In Chad
Feb 27: The UNHCR on Sunday is scheduled to make a first-hand assessment of U.N. humanitarian efforts in Chad in order to help an estimated 110,000 refugees who have crossed the border from war-ravaged Sudan, according to a U.N. release.UNHCR head Ruud Lubbers is set to arrive in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena on Sunday to visit the UNHCR field office in the town of Abeche in eastern Chad before inspecting a newly constructed refugee camp at Farchana, along with other area refugee sites. Lubbers is also expected to meet with Chadian President Idriss Deby, government ministers, local heads of U.N. agencies and staff from nongovernmental organizations.
The United Nations has been constructing refugee camps along the volatile border of eastern Chad, where Sudanese refugees began pouring in since fighting erupted a year ago in western Sudan's Darfur region between rebel movements, the Sudanese government and militia groups. Apart from the 110,000 people who have already entered Chad, another 1 million people are thought to be internally displaced within Darfur.
According to the UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville, UNHCR teams are continuously assessing and registering thousands of refugees before relocation to camps in Farchana, Touloum and Kounoungo. In addition, he said, three teams of emergency personnel and supplies consisting of European technical experts, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and communication and office equipment are being dispatched by the United Nations to support humanitarian staff in Darfur (U.N. release, Feb. 24).
UNHCR Boosts Help For Returning Liberian Refugees
Feb 27: In an effort to help thousands of Liberian refugees who have returned on their own in recent weeks, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has started a daily transport from Liberia's border with Sierra Leone to Monrovia, where returnees can receive assistance.
The UNHCR has so far registered 3,000 refugees in Monrovia, and the World Food Program has provided them with relief items and food.
"We are concerned about these spontaneous returnees because they are coming back to a state of continued displacement," said the UNHCR's representative in Liberia, Moses Okello. "While the return of Liberians to their country is a good sign of confidence in the peace process, they are doing so prematurely and are ending up in camps for the displaced."
Despite continuing sporadic skirmishes in some areas, the agency is anticipating many more refugees to return this year and next year as the country prepares for presidential elections.
The agency, which is completing a refugee transit center in central Liberia, plans to facilitate the return of 320,000 refugees and 500,000 internally displaced persons (UNHCR release, Feb. 26).
Uganda Declares Northern, Eastern Districts Disaster Areas
Feb 27: Uganda's parliament declared the northern and eastern districts of the country humanitarian disaster areas Wednesday, hoping to facilitate humanitarian access after last week's massacre of about 200 internally displaced persons by Lord's Resistance Army rebels.
District officials in Lira town, north of the capital Kampala, denied "inciting ethnic violence" after five more people were killed Wednesday, when thousands of demonstrators protesting the LRA massacre attacked ethnic Acholis - a tribe to which many of the LRA's top members belong - and demanded the resignation of President Yoweri Museveni.
"It was not the district leaders encouraging violence. We were quite clear this was to be a peaceful protest," the mayor of Lira, Peter Oweni, told Integrated Regional Information Networks.
Local radio stations were also accused of inciting animosity between the Acholi and the neighboring Lang'i tribe after a district councilor reportedly went on Radio Wa to urge Lang'i tribe members to be on the lookout for anyone of Acholi descent who could be a rebel collaborator.
Joe Wancha, Radio Wa's news editor, denied the charge. "Tension was not fuelled by this radio station," he said. "What happened yesterday was just a reflection of the anger we feel. The LRA are an Acholi group, and the [Lang'i] feel that the Acholis are leading an attack against us" (IRIN, Feb. 26).
Guatemalan President Apologizes For Civil WarFeb 27: The new president of Guatemala yesterday apologized for the role of the state during the country's decades-long civil war, but stopped short of classifying the killing of native Mayans as genocide.
Oscar Berger, who assumed the presidency last month, said he was asking forgiveness for "each one of the relatives of the victims for the suffering that resulted from this fratricidal conflict."
According to a Reuters report, 200,000 people died during the 36-year civil war, which pitted Marxist guerrillas against the rightist government. Most of the victims were Mayan landholders killed by the army or government-backed paramilitaries, which were looking to expand plantation holdings in rural areas. The war ended in 1996.
Berger, a conservative businessman, promised $9 million in compensation for those who lost relatives or property in the conflict - a sum he labeled "important, however insufficient."
Berger made the remarks at a ceremony at the National Palace on the fifth anniversary of the establishment of a U.N.-supported truth commission in the Central American country.
Otto Perez Molina, the former general who negotiated the peace deal that ended the civil war, said that the killing of Mayans could not be classified as genocide because the war was actually a proxy fight between the United States and Russia. "We entered [the battleground] with the dead," he said, "while they entered with their ideologies" (Frank Jack Daniel, Reuters/Yahoo! Noticias, U.N. Wire translation, Feb. 26).
U.N. Gives Special Statutus To Nigeria Anti-Slavery GroupFeb 27: The U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has granted special status to the recently established Women Trafficking and Child Labor Eradication Foundation of Nigeria. A foundation official, Titi Atiku Abubakar, said the foundation would enforce anti-trafficking laws and carry out investigations of people suspected of human trafficking.
Abubakar said that with U.N. support, the foundation will be able to expand its scope.
"By this development, we have widened our horizon in this crusade to monitor progress within Africa and Nigeria on the implementation of the U.N. conventions on the rights of child ... and numerous ECOSOC resolutions."
Emphasizing the need to protect women and children from being victims of the international sex trade, Abubakar said social development must include the support and empowerment of women, as well as the nurturing of children.
The majority of women and children, Abubakar said, "are forced into exploitative labor in sweatshops, construction sites, agricultural plantations, mining, street hawking and street begging. As a mother and housewife, I view the situation as criminally callous, morally disgusting and manifestly absurd" (Emmanuel Edukugho, Vanguard/allAfrica.com, Feb. 26).
Aristide Vows To Stay In Power As Haitian Showdown LoomsFeb 27: A showdown between rebel forces and supporters loyal to Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide loomed in the capital today, with the country's third-largest city, Les Cayes, falling to a group allied with the opposition Democratic Platform but not tied to the rebels, Associated Press reports.
A rebel leader, Guy Philippe, said forces under his control were converging on Port-au-Prince and would wait to see if Aristide resigns. "We're just going to take our positions and wait for the right time (to attack)," Philippe said.
Rebel forces also overran Mireblais, a city 25 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, and freed 67 prisoners there.
Aristide vowed he would not quit, despite international pressure to do so. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Aristide should "examine carefully" whether "he is able to effectively continue as president," while French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who yesterday implied that France no longer supported Aristide, was holding talks in Paris today with Haitian government leaders, led by Foreign Minister Joseph Antonio.
But Aristide told CNN a swift resolution to the crisis could be achieved through international intervention.
"From my point of view, if we have a couple of dozen international soldiers, police, together right now, it could be enough to send a positive signal to those terrorists," he said. "Once they realize the international community refuses (to allow) the terrorists to keep killing people, we can prevent them to kill more people."
The AP report said an exodus by the international community was under way in Port-au-Prince, with U.S. soldiers guarding a convoy of U.N. workers and their families on their way to the airport, leaving behind a city of deserted streets and shuttered businesses.
Hundreds of Aristide supporters were on guard at the National Palace, which Philippe said yesterday would be his first target in Port-au-Prince, while barricades of wrecked cars, telephone poles, burning tires and garbage were strewn throughout the city (Michael Norton, AP/Yahoo! News, Feb. 27).
CARICOM Asks Security Council For "Urgent" Intervention
Leaders of Caribbean governments yesterday asked the Security Council to urgently intervene in Haiti to help impose the Caribbean Community's plan of action, but the council statement issued after the debate suggested any deployment would have to follow a political settlement.
Jamaican Foreign Minister Keith D. Knight, speaking on behalf of CARICOM, said the regional group "seeks the direct and immediate intervention of the United Nations. … The need for decisive action is paramount."
"The immediate need now is for the Security Council to authorize the urgent deployment of a multinational force to assist in the restoration of law and order, to facilitate a return to stability and to create an environment in which the continuing efforts to find a solution to the political crisis can be pursued," Knight said.
Frederick Mitchell, the foreign minister of the Bahamas, told the council, "We urge quick and decisive United Nations action so that countries who can help, including our own, can move with legal authority to provide the immediate assistance for security and then to contribute to the longer peacekeeping and humanitarian effort."
Haitian Ambassador Jean Alexandre said a force was necessary to signal the council's "refusal to accept any form of government resulting from an antidemocratic and anticonstitutional process and to demand that the opposition accept a political compromise to resolve the crisis." Aristide has accepted the CARICOM plan, but opposition leaders have rejected it, saying any settlement must include Aristide's removal from office.
Council members, however, implied that the political settlement had to precede any force deployment.
French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said council members "are ready to support a civilian force in support of a political solution." Speaking to reporters after the council meeting, he said, "It is for the international community to find a solution to the Haitian crisis, it is for the authority in Haiti and the opposition to find a solution and for the international community to support what CARICOM is doing."
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, "If a sustainable political agreement in Haiti is reached, the United States would support efforts to deploy an international force to support implementation."
The council statement it "will consider urgently options for international engagement, including that of an international force in support of a political settlement" and repeated its support for the CARICOM plan of action, calling it "an important basis for a solution to the crisis."
While the delegates placed most of the blame for the violence on the opposition, they framed their support as more for the constitutional order rather than for Aristide himself. "CARICOM's stand on this issue is not driven by any desire to promote the political interests of any particular personality," said Knight, "It is based on the need to remain faithful to democratic principles." Asked after the council meeting if he thought Aristide should resign, de la Sabliere said, "It is up to President Aristide to take a decision, it is up to him to show responsibility."
Annan Appoints Dumas As Haitian Envoy
Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday named John Reginald Dumas of Trinidad and Tobago as his special adviser on Haiti. According to a statement from Annan's office, Dumas will "liaise with all relevant actors, in particular the regional organizations that have been undertaking vital efforts to find a solution to the country's persistent political impasse." Dumas has served as Trinidad and Tobago's ambassador to the United States and ambassador to the Organization of American States (Jim Wurst, U.N. Wire, Feb. 27).
Afghanistan's Karzai Says Taliban Beaten
Feb 27: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday that the Taliban had been defeated and that exiled leaders of the former regime were making frequent appeals to be allowed to return to Afghanistan, the New York Times reports.
Karzai's comments came during a press conference following a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was in Afghanistan for a half-day visit.
"As far as terrorism is concerned, as far as the Taliban is concerned, we strongly believe, with evidence, that they are defeated," Karzai said. "They are gone."
"You would be surprised if I disclosed to you how many approaches from the Taliban we have on a daily basis," he continued, in reference to contacts from former regime supporters. "Individuals, groups, coming to talk to us to let them back into the country."
He said all former Taliban supporters not involved in terrorism were free to return to Afghanistan.
Neither Karzai nor Rumsfeld would comment on reports that the United States is planning a spring offensive to track down Osama bin Laden as well as Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders near the Afghan-Pakistani border (Carlotta Gall, New York Times, Feb. 27).
Rumsfeld was expected to discuss long-term security plans for Afghanistan during his trip, according to U.S. officials (Charles Aldinger, Reuters, Feb. 26).
On Wednesday, five Afghan aid workers were killed about 40 miles east of the Afghan capital of Kabul during an ambush by suspected terrorists.
Two more workers were injured and another is still missing, Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said yesterday.
"We've made no arrests, and we don't know how many attackers there were, but there were some reports of terrorists moving back and forward in this area," Jalali told reporters.
The victims were from the Afghan aid group FBF and were working on government projects to rebuild the devastated rural economy, he said (Associated Press/CNN.com, Feb. 26).
U.S. Refuses To Sign Land-Mine TreatyFeb 27: Although the U.S. plans to stop using non-self-destructing land mines, the Bush adminstration will not sign an anti-land mine treaty, an administration official said yesterday.
One hundred fifty countries have already signed the Mine Ban Treaty, which outlaws the stockpile of mines and requires each country to destroy its remaining mines within four years. Land mines buried in civilian areas maim and kill people in Cambodia, Afghanistan, and other countries.
The United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Afghanistan are among treaty signatories.
As of October 2003, the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, Iran, Russia and Pakistan were among the 44 nations that had not signed the treaty (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Yahoo! News, Feb. 27).
The Bush administration will anounce today that after 2010 it will only use land mines that become inert after combat operations. Until then, the president must authorize any use of "persistent" mines. Within a year, the United States plans to stop using mines undetectable by conventional metal detectors. The United States also says it will give a 50 percent increase to the State Department's humanitarian mine action budget, bringing the budget to $70 million (Thomas Catan, Financial Times, Feb. 27).
Human Rights Watch official Stephen Goose said that the United States was taking progressive steps but was missing a great opportunity to make the world safer by outlawing land mines.
"This is a goal that has been embraced by the entire world," Goose said. "But it's a goal that the United States has now given up on."
A vocal anti-land mine advocate, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, said U.S. policy on the issue is "a deeply disappointing step backward."
Even worse, Leahy said, was the United States' break with past policy in saying it would "continue to use land mines indefinitely" (Schweid, AP/Yahoo! News).
Burundi Peacekeepers Should Become U.N. Force, Team SaysFeb 27: At the end of its two-week assessment mission, a U.N. evaluation team in Burundi yesterday recommended that the United Nations take over the African peacekeeping mission in Burundi (AMIB).
If the Security Council agrees to this change, U.N. evaluation team leader Behrooz Sadry said, there would "simply be the change of helmets" of the 2,870 AMIB troops, who come from South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
"With the investigations we made on their efforts, means, experience and capability, the United Nations will feel happy to keep them as blue helmets," Sadry said.
The AMIB was mandated to help implement cease-fire agreements, disarm and demobilize opposing forces, reintegrate combatants and contribute to political and economic stability in Burundi. Budget issues, however, have restricted its operations (IRIN, Feb. 26).
Georgia President Ready To Negotiate Abkhazia AutonomyFeb 27: New Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said yesterday he is ready to end 10 years of conflict by negotiating full autonomy for the separatist Abkhazia region, a province in northwestern Georgia that has had de facto independence since 1993, when two years of fighting with Georgian troops ended, but is not recognized by Georgia or by foreign governments.
Saakashvili told the U.N. Security Council that he was "ready to guarantee the highest possible degree of autonomy to Abhkazia within the Georgian state" or to discuss other options, such as a federal system, during U.N.-led talks known as the Geneva process, stressing that any solution would have to keep Georgia intact.
Some 16,000 people were killed in the war over Abkhazia and 300,000, mostly ethnic Georgians, were forced to flee their homes (Barbara Borst, Associated Press/Yahoo! News, Feb. 26).
A U.N. observer mission has been active in Georgia since 1994, after the two sides reached an agreement in Moscow.Saakashvili said the deployment of a civilian U.N. police unit in the Gali region, on the Abkhaz side of the cease-fire lines, was a real and positive step forward that should be fully implemented, especially to facilitate the return of refugees (U.N. release, Feb. 26).
FBI NewsFBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III responds to study of the FBI'S Disciplinary process by Former Attorney General Griffin Bell and Former FBI Associate Director Dr. Lee Colwell
Washington, D.C. Feb 27: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, responded today to the submission of the report of former Attorney General Griffin Bell and Dr. Lee Colwell regarding the FBI's disciplinary procedures and process. A study of the disciplinary system was commissioned at the request of Director Mueller on May 23, 2003 and was directed by Judge Bell and Dr. Colwell. Judge Bell, Dr. Colwell, and their staff conducted a number of interviews of on-board employees, former employees and individuals from other government agencies, and reviewed thousands of documents associated with the FBI's policies, procedures, investigations, and adjudications in the disciplinary process. The purpose of the project was to develop practical recommendations for improvements to the FBI's internal disciplinary process.
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) in the FBI was established in 1976 to ensure that FBI employees conduct themselves with the highest level of integrity and professionalism, and to address any allegations of employee misconduct or criminality. OPR plays a crucial role in ensuring that allegations of wrongdoing are thoroughly investigated and that discipline is appropriate and fair regardless of the assignment or seniority of the employee involved. Over the years, OPR and the disciplinary process have been modified in order to promote efficiency and effectiveness. Most recently the disciplinary process came under review by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, following allegations of double standards.
The following is a statement issued by FBI Director Mueller:
"Today I am announcing the completion of the study of the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility by former Attorney General Griffin Bell and former FBI Associate Director Dr. Lee Colwell. I asked Judge Bell and Dr. Colwell to undertake a review of OPR policies and process, and to provide me practical recommendations for improving OPR and strengthening institutional and public confidence in our process for investigating and adjudicating allegations of employee misconduct. I announced the commissioning of this project to all employees in an e-mail on May 23, 2003. The final report was delivered to me today.
"I am extremely grateful to Judge Bell, Dr. Colwell, and the law firm of King & Spalding who worked on this project. The report is very thorough and sets forth a number of solid practical recommendations. The FBI fully cooperated with Judge Bell, Dr. Colwell, and their staff, providing all the input they requested. To help provide a full range of unvarnished information to the study team, I sent an e-mail to all FBI employees on September 25, 2003, urging anyone with relevant information to provide input for the study and instructing them that they could do so by directly contacting the study team. I was grateful to see in the final report that over 50 in-person interviews were conducted and more than 100 people accepted my invitation and provided information directly to the study team, thus ensuring that Judge Bell and Dr. Colwell had the benefit of the full range of employee concerns. The study team also had access to a full range of relevant documents and statistical information to aid them in their review."I am impressed with the thoughtfulness and care with which the recommendations were developed. Based upon my initial review of the report, I intend to adopt most of the recommendations and have directed the Inspection Division to implement specific changes in an expedited manner. Some of these recommendations will require the establishment of working groups to develop the specific products or changes called for in the recommendations. These groups will have representatives from all relevant divisions of the FBI, as well as from the various employee ranks, and will begin their work in the very near future. I will assign an Inspector in Charge to oversee the implementation of each major recommendation to ensure that we make swift progress towards implementing the improvements suggested by the study."
Director Mueller received the report from Judge Bell and Dr. Colwell with a transmittal letter which may be reviewed on the FBI's website www.fbi.gov. The report contains 32 major recommendations, some of which can be quickly implemented and others for which working groups will be formed to review and address the recommendations. The Report identifies a number of deficiencies in the current OPR process. In addition to problems with the structure of OPR, the Report found that cases move far too slowly through the system, that offenses were vague and often ill-defined, and that the precedent base used to determine the level of punishment was seriously flawed and provided little guidance to the adjudicative process. The Report also found that technical automation within OPR was seriously lacking, which contributed to an overall lack of efficiency.
Key Recommendations Presented by Judge Bell and Dr. Colwell
· Recommendation: The report recommends that incentives be created for high-caliber employees to want assignments in the OPR field.
Action: Assignments to work on OPR matters will be made career enhancing and will be included as a means to complete certain requirements in the FBI's management development process required for promotion to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC). The Director also supports the recommendation of term limits which would rotate employees through these positions at regular intervals to bring OPR experience into the field and management structures and to prevent employee burn-out from this demanding work.
· Recommendation: The report recommends that working groups be created to develop model offense and guidelines for punishment.
Action: A working group will be tasked to develop model offenses and guidelines for punishments that will be published to all employees and will provide greater clarity and transparency to the disciplinary process.
· Recommendation: The report recommends the separation of the investigative and adjudicative functions in OPR.
Action: As noted in the Bell/Colwell report, this recommendation would address the perception that investigators and adjudicators in the current system act in an agent-prosecutor relationship. To be credible to employees, the adjudicator positions must be professionalized and be structured in a way that ensures they can be fair and impartial in all instances.
To implement this recommendation, the investigative function will be moved to the Inspection Division. Adjudications, however, will be retained in OPR, which will continue to be led by an Assistant Director who reports to the Deputy Director and Director. We intend to retain the OPR to reflect the importance of the OPR function. We will need the leadership of an Assistant Director to manage the adjudication process, to maintain the model offense and punishment guidelines, to conduct outreach and education to the field, and to constantly reinforce the importance of maintaining the highest standards of conduct and ethics. -Keralamonitor.com
