Thursday, 12 April 2012

New titles for North Korea leader

 

Kim Jong-un at the Workers' Party conference in Pyongyang on 11 April 2012 (Image via KCNA) Kim Jong-un inherited the North Korean leadership in December 2011

North Korea tensions

North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un has been given two posts previously occupied by his late father.
State media said the younger Kim had been named chairman of the party's Central Military Commission and a standing member of the Politburo.
The announcement came after North Korea held a rare party conference widely expected to see more power formally transferred to Kim Jong-un.
The country is due to launch a rocket, set to go between Thursday and Monday.
North Korea says the rocket will put a satellite into orbit but the US says the launch is a disguised test of long-range missile technology.
The launch path will take the rocket south between the Philippines and Japan. Both South Korea and Japan have said that they will shoot it down if it threatens their territory.

“Start Quote

North Korea often looks like a place marooned, a survivor from an age when Soviet republics, with their strongmen rulers, were common”
End Quote
image of Damian Grammaticas Damian Grammaticas BBC News, Pyongyang
Commemorating Kim
The news of Kim Jong-un's new titles came after the ruling Korean Workers' Party held a conference on Wednesday.
At the meeting, the party also promoted the younger Mr Kim to "first secretary" and named his late father as its "general secretary for eternity", state media said.
The country's rubber-stamp parliament is also meeting on Friday and the two meetings have been seen as forums for advancing the transition of power to Kim Jong-un following the death of his father in December 2011.

Leadership titles: Who has what?

  • Supreme Leader: Kim Jong-il, July 1994 to December 2011; Kim Jong-un, from December 2011
  • Workers' Party: Kim Jong-il, General Secretary, October 1997 to December 2011 and Eternal General Secretary, from April 2012; Kim Jong-un, First Secretary, from April 2012
  • Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army: Kim Jong-il, December 1991 to December 2011; Kim Jong-un, from December 2011
  • Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party: Kim Jong-il October 1997 to December 2011; Kim Jong-un, from April 2012
  • Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea: Kim Jong-il, from April 1993 to December 2011; (Kim Jong-un has yet to be given this title/position)
Then on Sunday North Korea will mark the 100th anniversary of the birthday of national founder Kim Il-sung - the younger Kim's grandfather - with mass celebrations.
North Korea says that the rocket launch is to commemorate Kim Il-sung. It says that the satellite will send back weather and other data.
But critics say that the launch constitutes a test of long-range missile technology banned under UN resolutions.
The rocket is due to launch any day between 12 and 16 April from the Tongchang-ri site on the country's north-west coast.
A number of airlines have altered flight paths and the US has sent a ship-mounted radar to monitor the launch.
Japan said it was on alert ahead of the launch. "We want to be fully prepared for any possible contingency," Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.
Pyongyang agreed in February to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid. But that deal was put on hold last month after the North announced its rocket launch plans.
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Algeria's first president Ahmed Ben Bella dies

 

Ahmed Ben Bella, file pic Mr Ben Bella led the struggle against colonial power France

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The first president of independent Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, has died at his home in Algiers following an illness, official media say.
Mr Ben Bella, who was 95, had recently been treated in hospital for respiratory problems.
Mr Ben Bella led Algeria to independence from France before becoming president in 1963.
He ruled Algeria as head of a one-party state but three years later was overthrown by the head of the army.
The BBC's Chloe Arnold, in Algiers, says that while Mr Ben Bella's policies were controversial, he was widely respected for his struggle against French rule.
In later years, our correspondent says, he became an advocate for democracy, rejecting the growing Islamist elements in Algerian society amid the bloody conflict between militants and security forces in the 1990s.
Revolutionary leader
Mr Ben Bella was born in a rural area near the Moroccan border in 1916, and fought with distinction with the Free French Forces in Italy during World War II and won five gallantry medals.
But he became disillusioned with French rule on his return to Algeria after the war, and was elected municipal councillor for the anti-colonialist "Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties."
When the movement was declared illegal, Mr Ben Bella went underground.
Arrested in May 1951, he was interned but staged a dramatic escape two years later.
Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella in 2010: his death coincides with 50 years of Algerian independence
He fled to Cairo where he planned the 1954 uprising which began Algeria's war of independence.
He was imprisoned by the French, but was the acknowledged head of the independence movement throughout the revolution.
After he was deposed he spent many years in prison, then under house arrest, and went into exile in Switzerland in 1980.
He was officially pardoned in 1990.
His death coincides with the 50th anniversary of Algerian independence.
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Footballers Ched Evans and Clayton McDonald raped woman, court hears

 

Ched Evans (left) and Clayton McDonald at Caernarfon Crown Court Ched Evans (left) and Clayton McDonald at Caernarfon Crown Court
Two footballers raped a drunk woman as a third man tried to film them through a hotel window on a mobile phone, a court has heard.
Wales and Sheffield United striker Ched Evans, and Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald, both 23, deny the attack at a Premier Inn near Rhyl, Denbighshire.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard that both admitted having sex with the 19-year-old, described as too drunk to consent.
The trial is expected to continue into next week.

“Start Quote

Ched Evans had booked that room with the main or sole purpose of procuring a girl or girls that night”
End Quote John Philpotts Prosecuting
John Philpotts, prosecuting, said Mr McDonald, of Crewe, Cheshire, and Mr Evans, of Penistone, South Yorkshire, had told police they had sex with the complainant, who cannot legally be identified.
Mr Philpotts said that while the alleged attack happened Jack Higgins, an "associate" of the footballers, and Ryan Roberts, Mr Evans's brother, watched through a window.
Video recordings found on Mr Higgins' phone showed he had been filming or trying to film the incident, he said.
The court heard that the pair had spent the night of Sunday, 29 May, 2011 socialising with friends in Rhyl.
Ched Evans Ched Evans joined Sheffield United for £3m in 2009
In the early hours of Monday, 30 May, Mr McDonald got into a taxi which the complainant had flagged down.
He then took the woman, whom he had seen fall over in a kebab shop, to the Premier Inn hotel as he called someone on his phone to say he had "got a girl".
The complainant had been drinking wine, vodka with lemonade and had also had a Sambuca shot, the jury was told.
A hotel receptionist described the woman, who was 19 at the time and worked in a restaurant, as "extremely drunk" and said she was stumbling and slurring and occasionally grabbing hold of Mr McDonald to steady herself.
Shortly after, Mr Evans, originally from St Asaph, Denbighshire, arrived at reception and asked for the keys to a room, while two other men waited outside.
'Suitable target'
Mr Philpotts said: "Ched Evans had booked that room with the main or sole purpose of procuring a girl or girls that night.
Clayton McDonald Defender Clayton McDonald signed for Port Vale last season
"He and Clayton McDonald were on the lookout for any girl who was a suitable target and the claimant had literally stumbled across their path."
After Mr Evans went into the hotel, the receptionist decided to check what was happening in the room, the court heard.
"It was not difficult to guess," said Mr Philpotts.
The court was told the receptionist saw the two men who were waiting outside watching what was happening in the room through the window.
Mr Evans and Mr McDonald later told police they "separately" had sex with the claimant in the room.
Mr Philpotts said: "The prosecution say that she did not truly consent to that activity.
"She was in no fit state to consent.
"And we say that neither man reasonably believed she was consenting."
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Syria UN-backed ceasefire holding amid tensions

 

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The BBC's Jim Muir, in Beirut, says there are many issues that must be overcome in order for the ceasefire to hold

Syria Crisis

A ceasefire has come into force in Syria amid doubts expressed by Western countries about the government's willingness to stick to it.
Correspondents say the truce appears to be largely holding, with no reports of casualties or deaths so far.
However there were some reports of shelling and firing in the early hours.
The Syrian government and the armed opposition have both said they will abide by the ceasefire, but reserved the right to respond if attacked
Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told the BBC the government was "fully committed" to the cessation of all military operations "as long as we have no armed violence against the state".

Analysis

image of Jim Muir Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut
So far, the ceasefire has held as well as anyone could have expected. But there are many ways in which it could come unstuck, and a huge task remains to be accomplished if it is to be converted into a stable peace.
Government troops, tanks and heavy weapons remain in and around populations centres. Their withdrawal was to have been the first step in the Annan peace process, to be completed last Tuesday.
Rebel fighters have said they will resume their attacks if the military is not withdrawn. That would provide justification for the regime to resume its crackdown.
The deployment of UN observers might help stabilise the truce. But negotiations over their frame of reference seem to have hit snags.
Under the Annan plan, protestors should have the right to demonstrate freely. But security forces are unlikely to allow them to gather in city centres, especially in Damascus, so friction may ensue.
Behind all this lies the massive question of what kind of a Syria will emerge, an issue fiercely contested not just within the country, but by regional powers.
"If those people at the external opposition want the full benefit of their own country, they have to come to the table of negotiation and table of dialogue."
The ministry had also written to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan - who brokered the plan - pledging to observe the truce while reserving the right to "respond proportionately" to rebel attacks.
US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice described the caveats as "worrying" and added that the onus was on the regime to halt the violence.
Col Kassem Saadeddine, of the main armed rebel group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said that if the regime "does not stop shelling and not withdraw tanks, we will intensify our military operations and launch attacks.
'New protests'
The BBC's correspondent in Beirut, Jim Muir, says there were some reports of shooting and shellfire early on Thursday in cities including Idlib and suburbs of the capital, Damascus, but that the truce appeared to be largely holding.
If it continues, the focus is expected to fall on the withdrawal of government troops, tanks and heavy weaponry, says our correspondent. That step was supposed to have been completed on Tuesday.
However, there is a long way to go before the situation can be considered stable, he adds.
The main political opposition group, the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), said a new wave of protests against President Bashar al-Assad would begin as soon as a ceasefire began, which would test the government's pledges.
"We call on the people to demonstrate and express themselves," SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun told AFP news agency in Beirut.
"The right to demonstrate is a principle point of the plan," he said.
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Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari insisted that the Syrian regime wanted to see "drastic" reforms - clip courtesy of Charlie Rose/PBS
Mr Annan is due to brief the UN Security Council later on Thursday.
If his peace plan fails, some members of the Security Council have said they will push for tougher action. Correspondents say this may not necessarily mean military intervention, but perhaps sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK was ready to work at the UN to send monitors to Syria once a ceasefire was in place, "to make sure they can't slide back to renewed conflict".
But if the ceasefire collapsed, the UK "will want to return to Security Council in a new attempt to obtain a resolution on Syria, we'll intensify our support for the opposition and we will seek stronger sanctions".
Weapons debate
Following a phone call between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama, the two leaders said they "shared the concern that the Assad government was not complying with the terms of the agreement negotiated by Kofi Annan".
Russia and China, who have blocked previous UN Security Council action against Syria, both welcomed the ceasefire but said the rebels must respond in kind.

Annan's six-point peace plan

1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people
2. UN-supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians
3. All parties to ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause
4. Authorities to intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons
5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists
6. Authorities to respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Washington DC on Thursday during a G8 foreign ministers summit.
Some influential voices in the US Congress have also been calling for the Syrian opposition to be armed.
President Obama has opposed that course of action, but on Wednesday he met the defence minister of Saudi Arabia, which supports arming the opposition.
Any further action would need the agreement of Russia and China.
The violence had continued on Wednesday, with activists reporting at least 30 people killed in offensives around the country.
The UN estimates about 9,000 people have died since anti-government protests began in March 2011. In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.
Map of Syria
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Syria UN-backed ceasefire holding amid tensions

 

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version
The BBC's Jim Muir, in Beirut, says there are many issues that must be overcome in order for the ceasefire to hold

Syria Crisis

A ceasefire has come into force in Syria amid doubts expressed by Western countries about the government's willingness to stick to it.
Correspondents say the truce appears to be largely holding, with no reports of casualties or deaths so far.
However there were some reports of shelling and firing in the early hours.
The Syrian government and the armed opposition have both said they will abide by the ceasefire, but reserved the right to respond if attacked
Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told the BBC the government was "fully committed" to the cessation of all military operations "as long as we have no armed violence against the state".

Analysis

image of Jim Muir Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut
So far, the ceasefire has held as well as anyone could have expected. But there are many ways in which it could come unstuck, and a huge task remains to be accomplished if it is to be converted into a stable peace.
Government troops, tanks and heavy weapons remain in and around populations centres. Their withdrawal was to have been the first step in the Annan peace process, to be completed last Tuesday.
Rebel fighters have said they will resume their attacks if the military is not withdrawn. That would provide justification for the regime to resume its crackdown.
The deployment of UN observers might help stabilise the truce. But negotiations over their frame of reference seem to have hit snags.
Under the Annan plan, protestors should have the right to demonstrate freely. But security forces are unlikely to allow them to gather in city centres, especially in Damascus, so friction may ensue.
Behind all this lies the massive question of what kind of a Syria will emerge, an issue fiercely contested not just within the country, but by regional powers.
"If those people at the external opposition want the full benefit of their own country, they have to come to the table of negotiation and table of dialogue."
The ministry had also written to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan - who brokered the plan - pledging to observe the truce while reserving the right to "respond proportionately" to rebel attacks.
US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice described the caveats as "worrying" and added that the onus was on the regime to halt the violence.
Col Kassem Saadeddine, of the main armed rebel group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said that if the regime "does not stop shelling and not withdraw tanks, we will intensify our military operations and launch attacks.
'New protests'
The BBC's correspondent in Beirut, Jim Muir, says there were some reports of shooting and shellfire early on Thursday in cities including Idlib and suburbs of the capital, Damascus, but that the truce appeared to be largely holding.
If it continues, the focus is expected to fall on the withdrawal of government troops, tanks and heavy weaponry, says our correspondent. That step was supposed to have been completed on Tuesday.
However, there is a long way to go before the situation can be considered stable, he adds.
The main political opposition group, the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), said a new wave of protests against President Bashar al-Assad would begin as soon as a ceasefire began, which would test the government's pledges.
"We call on the people to demonstrate and express themselves," SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun told AFP news agency in Beirut.
"The right to demonstrate is a principle point of the plan," he said.
Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version
Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari insisted that the Syrian regime wanted to see "drastic" reforms - clip courtesy of Charlie Rose/PBS
Mr Annan is due to brief the UN Security Council later on Thursday.
If his peace plan fails, some members of the Security Council have said they will push for tougher action. Correspondents say this may not necessarily mean military intervention, but perhaps sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK was ready to work at the UN to send monitors to Syria once a ceasefire was in place, "to make sure they can't slide back to renewed conflict".
But if the ceasefire collapsed, the UK "will want to return to Security Council in a new attempt to obtain a resolution on Syria, we'll intensify our support for the opposition and we will seek stronger sanctions".
Weapons debate
Following a phone call between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama, the two leaders said they "shared the concern that the Assad government was not complying with the terms of the agreement negotiated by Kofi Annan".
Russia and China, who have blocked previous UN Security Council action against Syria, both welcomed the ceasefire but said the rebels must respond in kind.

Annan's six-point peace plan

1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people
2. UN-supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians
3. All parties to ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause
4. Authorities to intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons
5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists
6. Authorities to respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Washington DC on Thursday during a G8 foreign ministers summit.
Some influential voices in the US Congress have also been calling for the Syrian opposition to be armed.
President Obama has opposed that course of action, but on Wednesday he met the defence minister of Saudi Arabia, which supports arming the opposition.
Any further action would need the agreement of Russia and China.
The violence had continued on Wednesday, with activists reporting at least 30 people killed in offensives around the country.
The UN estimates about 9,000 people have died since anti-government protests began in March 2011. In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.
Map of Syria
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The memory stick that self-destructs

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Technology has now created the ultimate USB stick - used by the secret service. If you lose it you can track its location and if it falls into the wrong hands you can even remotely scramble its content.
Spencer Kelly became James Bond for the day to put the new device through its paces.
Follow the Click team on Twitter @BBCClick. And join the conversation on Google+ or Facebook
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Ra’iisal Wasaare Gaas : Al: Shabaab Waxa Ay U Carrareyn Buuraga Galgala

Mogadishu (RBC) Ra’iisal Wasaaraha XKMG ah Soomaaliya Prof: Cabdi Wali Cali Gaas oo wareysi dheer ah siiyay wakaalada wararka The Associated Press ayaa waxa uu kaga hadlay arrimo badan oo ay ka mid yihiin Shabaab in ay u carrareyn buuraha waqootiga Soomaaliya, ka dib markii uu ku sii ballaartay cadaadiska ka immaanaya ciidamada dowladda KMG ah, kuwa AMSIOM iyo kuwa Ethiopia.
Ra’iisal wasaaraha, ayaa sheegay Shabaab in ay u baxsadeyn dhinaca iyo buuraha Galgala ee deeganada Puntland, ka dib markii ay awoodeyda ay yaraatay sida uu hadalka u dhigay.
Wuxuu sheegay Gaash, in saraakiisha sare ee Al-Shabaab ay hadda u wareegeyn deeganada Puntland halkaas oo uu sheegay in ay rabaan in ay xarun ka dhigtaan.
Buuraha Galgala, waxa horey ugu xooganaa kooxo dagaalyahano oo uu hoggaamiyo wadadaadka ku kacsan maamulka Puntland ee Maxamed Saciid Atam, kaa oo markii dambe sheegay in uu ka tirsan ururka Al-Shabaab ee ku kacsan dowladda KMG ah iyo kuwa AMISOM.
Madaxweynaha Maamulka Puntland Cabdiraxmaan Faroole ayaa sheegay in ciidamo Al Shabaab ah oo ay ku jiran saraakiil sare ay soo galayaan mudooyinkan danbe dhulka buuraleyda ee Galgala.
Madaxweynuhu waxa uu sheegay Shabaab dhulka iyo baddaba ay ka soo galeyn deeganada Punntland.
Al-Shabaab oo dhawaan sheegay in ay ka tirsan Al-Qaacida, ayaa waxa u dagaalamay dagaalyahano shisheeye, kuwaas badankood ku soo dagaalamay dalalka Ciraaq, Afghanistan iyo Pakistan.
Sidoo kale, Shabaab waxa ay qorteyn dhaliyaro Soomaali u badan oo ku soo barbaabay dalalka Maraykanka iyo Britain, waxana ra’iisal wasaaraha Soomaaliya uu sheegay in uu jiro cabshadaas ku aadan in marka ay dib ugu laabtaan dalalka ay ka yimaadaan ay qaraxyo ka geesan karaan.
Waxa uu sheegay ra’iisal wasaaraha Soomaalida qurbaha ku soo koray ee ku biiraya Al-Shabaab in ay ka yimaadeyn magaalooyinka Minnesota ama London, si ay tababar ugu qaataan Soomaaliya.
Ra’iisal wasaaraha ayaa sheegay in ay Shabaabka dhalinyarada ay adeesadaan ay tahay arrin dhibaato weyn ku ah dalka.
Dhawaan ayaa ninka ugu sareeya shisheeyaasha ka barbar dagaalama Shabaab ee Cumar Hammami. oo ka soo jeeda gobalka Alabama in uu dhawaan cajalad muuqaal ah oo uu soo galiyay Internetka uu ku sheegay in uu ka cabsi qabto in nafsadii ay ku go’do Shabaab.
Ra’iisal wasaaraha oo la weydiiyay sida u arko hadalkaas wuxuu yiri ” in dowladda ay dili doonto haddii ay fursad ku hesho Hammami, maxaa yeelay buu yiri waa dambiile gacmaha dhiig kuwata.
Hammami waxa uu ka mid ah raga liiska ugu jira hey’adda FBI ee la doondoonaayo.
RBC Radio
—————————–
Xafiiska Wararka Nairobi
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Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Border Agency still failing on basics, say MPs

Muqdisho (RBC Radio) Raysal wasaaraha dowlada KMG Soomaaliya C/wali Maxamed Cali ayaa wuxuu ka hadlay dagaalada dowlada ay kula jirto Al-Shabaab, wuxuuna sheegay in dowlada ay soo afjari doonto dagaaladaasi.
Wuxuu sheegay C/wali Cali Gaas in dowlada ay la wareegi doonto dhamaanba gobalada Soomaaliya isla markaana ay ka saari  doonto kooxda Al-Shabaab.
Raysal wasaaraha ayaa sheegay in uu qorshuhu yahay in dowlada ay la wareegto dhamaanba gobalada Soomaaliya ka hor inta aanan la gaarin bisha Augusto.
Sidoo kale raysal wasaaraha ayaa wuxuu sheegay in dowladu haatan ay ku guuleesatay in ay la wareegto meelo badan oo ay horay u joogeen kooxda Al-Shabaab waxaana meelahaasi ka mid ah magaalada Magaalada Muqdisho Xudur Baydhabo Beledweyne iyo meelo kale.
Raysal wasaaraha ayaa sidoo kale wuxuu soo hadal qaaday qaraxii ka dhacay golaha Murtida iyo Madadaalada wuxuuna sheegay in aanan loo baahnayn warka magaalada ku jira laakiin qaraaxi ay ka danbeeyeen kooxda Al-Shabaab.
Wuxuu tilmaamay in loo baahanyahay in la sugu baaritaanada socda isla markaana dowlada KMG Soomaaliya ay haatan wado baaritaano lana soo bandhigi doono wixii ka soo baxaa baaritaanadaasi.
Afartii bishaan ayaa qarax xoogan wuxuu ka dhacay Tiyaatarka Qaranka waxaana qaraxaasi uu geestay khasaaro isugu jira dhimasho iyo dhaawac oo soo gaaray masuuliyiin ka tirsan dowlada iyo dad shacab ah.
RBC Radio
Xafiiska Wararka Muqdisho
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Border Agency still failing on basics, say MPs

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Committee chair Keith Vaz says the UKBA is "not fit for purpose" and "has to do much better"

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The UK Border Agency is still failing in its "basic functions" in spite of efforts to overhaul it, MPs have said.
The home affairs committee said UKBA had provided "inconsistent" information about immigration and asylum cases dating back to 2006 and this backlog would take four more years to clear.
It also said it was "deeply concerned" about the number of foreign prisoners living in the UK awaiting deportation.
Immigration minister Damian Green said "past mistakes" were being dealt with.
The UK Border Agency - responsible for securing the UK border at air, rail and sea ports and migration controls - was set up in 2008, two years after then Labour Home Secretary John Reid said the Home Office's immigration directorate was "not fit for purpose".
His predecessor, Charles Clarke, was sacked after it emerged 1,013 foreign nationals had been released from prison, without being considered for deportation.

Analysis

image of Danny Shaw Danny Shaw Home affairs correspondent, BBC News
How much worse can it get for the beleaguered UK Border Agency?
After the row about the unauthorised relaxation of border checks, this report tears into virtually every aspect of the Agency's work.
Above all, there's a sense of confusion among senior officials - confusion over figures on the asylum backlog; confusion over why there aren't more deportations of foreign prisoners; confusion as to whether the so-called "Lille loophole" really is a loophole.
On the face of it not much appears to have changed since 2006 when the organisation, then known as the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, was branded "not fit for purpose" by the then Home Secretary, John Reid.
Yes, the asylum system is better managed now, yes there's more focus on removing foreign criminals and yes the Agency is undergoing a management shake-up at a time of budget cuts.
But the results just aren't there yet.
But the committee's report said, six years on, only 397 of them had been removed or deported - 57 have not been located at all.
The organisation is now being split in two in the wake of a row last year over revelations that hundreds of thousands of people were let into the country without complete checks.
The UK Border Force, the section of the agency that manages entry to the UK, is to become a separate law-enforcement body reporting directly to the Home Office while the UKBA will be solely responsible for immigration policy work.
In its latest report on the workings of the UKBA between August and November 2011, the cross-party committee suggested the agency was also still not getting a grip on the backlog of approximately 450,000 asylum and immigration cases which emerged in 2006.
Last year UKBA officials said of about 365,000 cases where the individuals could be traced, 18,000 remained unresolved.
But the committee said new evidence it had seen suggested the UKBA was dealing with 1,500 more "live cases" than previously indicated. It called on the agency to "clean up and clarify" the figures.
"The agency must rid itself of its bunker mentality and focus on ensuring that Parliament and the public understands its work," the MPs said.
"Confusion over figures only risks suspicion that the agency is attempting to mislead Parliament and the public over its performance and effectiveness."
Reputation 'tarnished'
There are currently 119,000 asylum and migration cases where individuals cannot be located. MPs said, at the current rate of progress, this would take four years to clear.
The committee said it was also taking too long to consider whether foreign criminals could be deported at the end of their prison sentences.
It welcomed the fact that fewer prisoners were being released without being referred for possible deportation, but said there were 3,940 former foreign inmates living in the community - 2,670 of whom were still awaiting deportation after two years.

“Start Quote

The asylum service is immeasurably much better than it was three or four years ago”
End Quote Damian Green Immigration Minister
Rob Whiteman, head of the UKBA, told the committee that the main problems were that some prisoners gave a false identify, so it was difficult to work out where they came from, while others did not have the travel documents needed to be readmitted to their country.
The committee's chairman Keith Vaz said more needed to be done to tackle those obstacles: "The reputation of the Home Office and, by extension, the UK government is being tarnished by the inability of the UK Border Agency to fulfil its basic functions."
Iris scanners
He said UKBA "appears unable to focus on its key task of tracking and removing illegal immigrants, overstayers or bogus students" and, having spent £9.1m on iris scanners at airports, had now decided to remove them.
"That £9.1m could have been spent on having immigration officers and case workers that would have cleared the backlog that this committee has been talking about for the last five years.
"If you look at the E-borders programme which is supposed to track every single person in and out of this country, this has still not been completed and, in our view, even with the millions of taxpayers money spent on IT, we will still not be in a position, at the time of the Olympics, for everyone to be checked in and checked out. That is not acceptable."
Immigration Minister Mr Green told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UKBA had improved from a state of "complete chaos" when the government took office two years ago and some areas were improving faster than others.
"The asylum service is immeasurably much better than it was three or four years ago," he said - with more than 60% of asylum applicants now getting an answer within 30 days, rather than waiting "many years".
"We start deportation action on foreign national prisoners now 18 months before the end of their sentence. As a result of that, last year we removed over 4,500 foreign criminals, and 45% of those were by the end of their sentence."
Mr Green said the government had to "clear up the mistakes of the past" in dealing with foreign criminals and ensure they were not repeated.
He said the system was still not "perfect" but more would be done to tackle delays to deportation in the coming months, by changing immigration laws to cut "abuse of the Human Rights Act".
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Aceh earthquake triggers Indian Ocean tsunami warning

 

11 April 2012 Last updated at 09:49 GMT Help
An Indian Ocean tsunami alert is in place after two huge quakes off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province.
A quake with a magnitude of 8.6 triggered the initial warning, which was renewed after another quake a few hours later measuring 8.3.
Indonesian TV showed pictures of people running from buildings in panic with the roads in Banda Aceh packed with people seeking higher ground.
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani, in Jakarta, reports.

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Monday, 9 April 2012

DOOD FURAN: Madaxweyne Shariif + Wasiirka Gudaha Vs Wasiirka Warfaafinta

Muqdisho (RBC) Xilli uu weli socdo baaritaan ay wadaan guddi gaar ah oo raysul wasaaraha xukuumadda KMG Soomaaliya C/weli Gaas u saaray qaraxii Arbacadii la soo dhaafay [04-04-2012] ka dhacay Golaha Murtida iyo Madadaalada ee Muqdisho ayaa haddana dhinaca kale waxaa cirka isku shareeray eedeymo iyo ereyo kulul oo ay masuuliyiinta dawlada qaarkood hawada isu marinayaan.
In ka yar hal usbuuc ayaa hadda laga joogaa maalintii uu dhacay qaraxa ismiidaaminta ah ee ay Al Shabaab sheegatay, kaasoo sida masuuliyiin kala duwan sheegeen uu hareeyay tuhun badan oo la xiriira dhanka amaanka.
Khamiistii la soo dhaafay oo ahayd maalintii ku xigtay maalinta qaraxa uu dhacaywaxaa magaalada Muqdisho shir jaraa’id ku qabtay wasiirka arimaha gudaha C/samad Macalin Maxamuud isagoo ku nuuxnuuxsaday in wasaaradiisa oo masuuliyad ahaan amaanka ku shaqo leh aan lagu soo wargelin xaflada ka dhacaysay tiyaatarka qaranka.
“Anaga wax naloo soo ogeysiiyey ma jirin dhamaan hay’adaha amaanka lama socon xaflada.” ayuu yiri C/samad.
Wuxuu intaa ku daray in ilaalada raysul wasaaraha iyo tiro yar oo ka mid ah ciidamada AMISOM ay goobta tageen balse meesha aysan joogin wax ciidanka amaanka ee dawlada ka tirsan. “Ilaalada raysul wasaaraha iyo xoogaa AMISOM oo la socday ayaa isku koobay meesha.” ayuu sii raaciyey wasiirka arimaha gudaha oo Khaamiistii la hadlay wariyaasha.
Shirkii toddobaadlaha ee guddiga amaanka oo dhacay Khamiistii la soo dhaafay [05-04-2012] oo arinta qaraxa si weyn loogaga hadlay ayaa sidoo kale su’aalo kulul lagu weydiiyey agaasimayaasha hay’ada nabadsugida qaranka iyo booliska kuwaasoo ku dooday in iyaga aan lagu martiqaadin xaflada oo aysanba ogeyn waxa meesha ka socday.
Waxaa taa xigay markii madaxweyne Shariif oo habeenkii Axada xarunta madaxtooyada kula kulmay fanaaniin iyo suxifiyiin u badan kuwa wasaarada warfaafinta uu si hordhac ah u eedeeyey wasaarada warfaafinta oo uu sheegay in khalad ay sameysay darteed uu ku dhacay dayacaada amni ee maalintii Arbacada dhacday.
Madaxweyne Shariif wuxuu soo qaatay saddex arimood oo kala ah;
- In munaasabada dadka badani lagu casumay aan lagu wargelin hay’adaha amaanka, gaar ahaan booliska iyo nabadsugida.
- In waraaqaha casumaada ee loo diray martida aan loo qaabeyn si sharci ah isla markaana cid kasta ay heli kartay.
- Iyo in wasaarada warfafinta oo diyaarinta xafladaasi lahayd aysab wax qorshe ah u sameyn habka ay munaasabada u dhici lahayd taasoo keentay in qaabka aan xadidneyn ee munaasabada u dhacday lagu soo dhex dhuunto.
Madaxweynuhu wuxuu kaloo wariyaasha u sheegay in isaga uu ka mid ahaa dadkii lagu martiqaaday xaflada laakiin dano kale dartood uu uga baaqday.
Jawaabta wasiirka warfaafinta
Iyadoo intaasi dadweynaha dhagahooda ka guuxeyso ayaa maanta wasiirka warfaafinta xukuumadda KMG C/qaadir Xuseen Maxamed Jaahweyn oo ka soo laabtay socdaal uu ku tagay wadanka Jabuuti si kulul u naqdiyey hadalada isku raacida ah ee ay madaxweynaha iyo wasiirka arimaha gudaha sheegeen.  Jaahweyn wuxuu tilmaamay inuu ogeysiiyey hay’adaha amaanka oo uu xitaa isaga la kulmay.
“Way ogaayeen dhamaan hay’adaha ku shaqada leh amaanka. weliba waxaan rabaa inaan idinla wadaago in markay munaasabada soo dhowaatay oo maalmo ay ka harsan tahay ayaan aniga u tagay hay’adaha sida gaarka ah u daneeya amaanka oo aan ku martiqaaday una sheegay inaan ku faraxsanahay inay nagala soo qeybgalaan.” ayuu wasiirku u sheegay suxufiyiinta mar uu garoonka kula hadlay.
Dadka reer Muqdisho ayaa qaba su’aalo kale oo ay ka mid yihiin in munaasabada maalintaasi aysan ka soo qeybgalin wasiirka arimaha gudaha, gudoomiyaha gobolka Banaadir iyo xubnaha kale ee dawlada ee lagu tiriyo xulufada dhanka madaxweynaha (Aala Sheekh).   Halka ay munaasabada yimaadeen xulufada ama asxaabta raysul wasaare Gaas marka loo eego martidii xaflada timid iyadoo khasaaraha ugu badana uu gaaray shaqaalaha xafiiska raysul wasaaraha iyo suxifiyiintii tebineysay munaasabadda.
Arin kale oo muhim ah waxay tahay in hay’ada nabadsugida oo si gaar ah amaanka ugu xilsaaran dawlada aysan ka hawlgelin tiyaatarka maalintaasi oo sida sharciyan laga rabo ahayd inay hubiso amaanka goobaha muhimka ah.
Raysul wasaare Gaas isagu illaa hadda wuxuu ku gaabsaday inuu ka war sugayo baaris buuxda oo uu amray in lagu sameeyo dhacdada.
Haddaba sidee arintan kuula muuqataa akhsrite?…….. Waa Dood Furan
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