Results seen as protest vote against Spain’s José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s handling of economy since 2008 The PSOE socialist party of Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is licking its wounds after defeat by the conservative opposition People’s party (PP) in municipal and regional elections. In what was widely seen as a protest vote against Zapatero himself and his handling of Spain’s economy, his party lost control of key city halls in places such as Barcelona and Seville while the PP took control of most of the country’s powerful regional governments. The central Castilla La Mancha region, Aragon and the Balearic islands all ejected socialist administrations. “We are aware of the situation that had distanced people from our party and caused them to criticise us with their vote or abstention,” party spokesman José Blanco said. The socialist drubbing came just 10 months before a general election and appeared to clear the way for PP leader Mariano Rajoy to take possession of the prime minister’s Moncloa Palace residence on his third attempt. The voting coincided with the eruption of numerous popular protests against established politics across Spain, with demonstrators camping out in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and in dozens of other cities. A backdrop of 21% unemployment and sluggish growth has spread pessimism throughout Spain as the country struggles to find its feet after the global 2008 financial crash. The socialists lost one in five voters on Sunday, compared with the municipal elections of 2007. Not all those votes were picked up by other mainstream parties, however, and the number of spoilt ballots doubled. But overall turnout was a high 66%. Zapatero is blamed by some for mismanaging a debt crisis that saw Spain on the edge of disaster last year. Others dislike the austerity measures he has since imposed in order to avoid a Portuguese- or Greek-style debacle in Spain. His popularity has plunged since a U-turn last year saw him bring in a strict deficit-cutting plan, which he has pledged to stick to, along with labour and pensions reforms. Markets reacted nervously to the poll result on Monday, pushing up the price of Spanish bonds and pushing down Spanish share prices. The PP urged Zapatero to call a snap general election. “Zapatero and the whole socialist party must reflect on what has happened. Spain cannot waste another year like this,” said the party’s general secretary María Dolores de Cospedal. The one socialist leader to have survived Sunday’s debacle, the head of the Extramadura regional government Guillermo Fernández, also suggested that an early general election might be considered. Zapatero is not standing for re-election so the socialists must first choose a new leader to take them into the 2012 poll, with deputy prime minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and defence minister Carme Chacón regarded as favourites. Party officials said that a timetable for electing the new leader would be set on Saturday. With a general election due in Portugal on 5 June, and with opinion polls showing that socialist prime minister José Sócrates will struggle to hang on to power, the rolling back of leftwing politics that has already taken place in northern Europe now appears to have moved south. Spain José Luis Zapatero Europe Global recession Protest Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Results seen as protest vote against Spain’s José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s handling of economy since 2008 The PSOE socialist party of Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is licking its wounds after defeat by the conservative opposition People’s party (PP) in municipal and regional elections. In what was widely seen as a protest vote against Zapatero himself and his handling of Spain’s economy, his party lost control of key city halls in places such as Barcelona and Seville while the PP took control of most of the country’s powerful regional governments. The central Castilla La Mancha region, Aragon and the Balearic islands all ejected socialist administrations. “We are aware of the situation that had distanced people from our party and caused them to criticise us with their vote or abstention,” party spokesman José Blanco said. The socialist drubbing came just 10 months before a general election and appeared to clear the way for PP leader Mariano Rajoy to take possession of the prime minister’s Moncloa Palace residence on his third attempt. The voting coincided with the eruption of numerous popular protests against established politics across Spain, with demonstrators camping out in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and in dozens of other cities. A backdrop of 21% unemployment and sluggish growth has spread pessimism throughout Spain as the country struggles to find its feet after the global 2008 financial crash. The socialists lost one in five voters on Sunday, compared with the municipal elections of 2007. Not all those votes were picked up by other mainstream parties, however, and the number of spoilt ballots doubled. But overall turnout was a high 66%. Zapatero is blamed by some for mismanaging a debt crisis that saw Spain on the edge of disaster last year. Others dislike the austerity measures he has since imposed in order to avoid a Portuguese- or Greek-style debacle in Spain. His popularity has plunged since a U-turn last year saw him bring in a strict deficit-cutting plan, which he has pledged to stick to, along with labour and pensions reforms. Markets reacted nervously to the poll result on Monday, pushing up the price of Spanish bonds and pushing down Spanish share prices. The PP urged Zapatero to call a snap general election. “Zapatero and the whole socialist party must reflect on what has happened. Spain cannot waste another year like this,” said the party’s general secretary María Dolores de Cospedal. The one socialist leader to have survived Sunday’s debacle, the head of the Extramadura regional government Guillermo Fernández, also suggested that an early general election might be considered. Zapatero is not standing for re-election so the socialists must first choose a new leader to take them into the 2012 poll, with deputy prime minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and defence minister Carme Chacón regarded as favourites. Party officials said that a timetable for electing the new leader would be set on Saturday. With a general election due in Portugal on 5 June, and with opinion polls showing that socialist prime minister José Sócrates will struggle to hang on to power, the rolling back of leftwing politics that has already taken place in northern Europe now appears to have moved south. Spain José Luis Zapatero Europe Global recession Protest Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Some 200 inmates rioted at San Quentin prison last night, leaving at least four hospitalized with stab and slash wounds. Others suffered minor injuries. Guards, who fired non-lethal bullets and pepper spray to halt the violence, found at least 10 inmate-made weapons afterward. The cause of the fight, which occurred…
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Use of helicopters, which can attack small targets, represents significant escalation of conflict Britain is to use Apache attack helicopters in an attempt to break the military stalemate in Libya, security sources have told the Guardian. In a highly significant escalation of the conflict, the Apaches – based on HMS Ocean – will join French helicopters in the operation. They will be deployed to stop Gaddafi forces who are continuing to attack civilians in the port city of Misrata, according to well-placed Whitehall officials. Apaches are being used in counter–insurgency operations in Afghanistan and can manoeuvre and attack small targets in relatively built-up areas. The decision to deploy the helicopters is a clear recognition that high-level bombing cannot protect civilians who continue to be attacked by rocket and mortar shells. British officials revealed the plans to deploy the Apaches after France announced it was sending attack helicopters to Libya. Britain and France clearly hope their use, and revealing the intention to use them, will deter pro-Gaddafi forces. Britain and other Nato countries have insisted they will not deploy troops “on the ground” in Libya – a move that would be strongly opposed by most Nato countries, including the US and by those Arab countries in favour of the air campaign against Gaddafi’s forces. “We are very much behind the intensification of the military campaign and … so is France,” said foreign secretary William Hague who was attending an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels. “We certainly agree with France, and indeed with all our partners, including all our partners at the EU meeting , that it is necessary to intensify the military, economic and diplomatic pressure on the Gaddafi regime.” France’s foreign minister confirmed Paris had dispatched a dozen helicopters to add greater strike force to the campaign against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Speaking in Brussels at the meeting of EU foreign ministers, Alain Juppe said that the 12 Tigre and Gazelle helicopters sent from Toulon on 17 May would enable “us to better adapt our ground attack capacity with more precise means of striking.” “Our strategy is to step up the military pressure in the weeks ahead while pushing at the same time for a political solution,” said Juppe. According to French sources the battleship Tonnerre carrying the helicopters left Toulon last week. The vessel combines the roles of helicopter-carrier, hospital ship, and troops transporter. Juppe said the helicopters would not be used to disgorge ground forces in Libya and that the decision to send them was fully in line with the UN security council resolution mandating ground attacks. Libya Military France Muammar Gaddafi Nato Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Sarah Teather says the supply of speech therapy and basic equipment for children with special needs has become a ‘postcode lottery’ The children and families minister has attacked the health service for failing some of the country’s most vulnerable young people. Sarah Teather said the chance of a child receiving much-needed speech and language therapy was “between low and nil”, while the wait for a wheelchair could be “really long”. Teather, who spent most of her own secondary school days in a wheelchair after suffering from a viral infection, said the health service “has not always been good at doing its fair share for children in this position”. Families were often left as the “piggy in the middle”, she said in an interview with the Guardian. Health workers often agreed with parents that a child needed a wheelchair, incontinence pads or a form of therapy, but “nobody pays for it” and it fails to arrive, she said. This could severely impair a child’s chances in the future, she warned: “A six-month wait for speech and language therapy can be critical; an 18-month wait can be really critical.” In some cases, by the time a wheelchair arrives, a child has grown too big for it, she said, adding that it was a “postcode lottery” to get basic equipment. Government proposals, published in a green paper in March, would improve life for children with special needs and disabilities and their families, she said. At the moment, children with severe or multiple health and learning disabilities receive a statement from their local authority. This covers only the services that schools are expected to give children, rather than those they need from the health service or social services. The green paper proposes to replace the existing statement of special educational needs with a single care plan covering schooling, health and social services from birth to the age of 25. This would mean a child’s educational, social and health needs would be dealt with together. The plan would reflect a family’s needs and ambitions for the child’s future and would be continually reviewed. The green paper also set out plans to give parents a personal budget to spend on services such as one-to-one tuition, laptops and wheelchairs. “Rather than a family having to go to the council trying to bang down their door to get something, [the council] are coming to you saying, this is what we normally provide. The family then has a conversation about whether it is appropriate,” Teather said. The government also plans to introduce into all schools a programme to help children with special needs improve at a faster rate. Researchers found the Achievement for All programme helped nine- and 10-year-olds with special needs to learn reading, writing and maths three times faster than they were expected to under the national curriculum. Under the same programme, 14- and 15-year-olds with special needs made progress in maths and English that was equivalent to having an extra term of lessons in a year. The programme, which has been piloted in 454 schools in 10 local authorities since 2009, works by setting pupils regular targets. Teachers and parents discuss progress three times a year for a minimum of 45 minutes. Children with special needs and disabilities are strongly encouraged to join school clubs and activities outside lessons. Sonia Blandford, director of the programme, said it could reduce by 10% the proportion of children registered as having special needs. Special educational needs Learning disability NHS Health Children Social policy and administration Health policy Schools Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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John Hemming MP unmasked Giggs as the married star whose injunction over an alleged affair caused a storm on Twitter Ryan Giggs has been named as the footballer at the centre of a media gagging order after a Liberal Democrat MP used parliamentary privilege to flout an injunction. John Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, was rebuked by Commons speaker John Bercow after using a question to attorney general Dominic Grieve to name the Manchester United midfielder. Hemming made the intervention after Grieve announced that David Cameron had asked for a joint committee of peers and MPs to investigate the use of gagging orders. This came amid warnings from one influential Conservative MP that the actions of thousands of people posting details on Twitter of individuals involved in superinjunctions risked making the law “look an ass”. To the condemnation of some of his colleagues, Hemming, who has been campaigning on the issue, exercised parliamentary privilege to identify the star at the centre of the injunction just minutes after the high court refused to lift a ban on naming the sportsman, who is said to have had a relationship with Imogen Thomas, the former Big Brother contestant. “With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it’s obviously impractical to imprison them all,” Hemming said. He also went on to declare that Giles Coren, the Times columnist, was the journalist supposedly threatened with contempt of court proceedings in relation to another privacy injunction – although Grieve had previously told MPs that he was not planning legal proceedings against a journalist in relation to this case. Bercow told Hemming over his comments: “Let me just say to the honourable gentleman, I know he’s already done it, but occasions such as this are occasions for raising the issues of principle involved, not seeking to flout for whatever purpose. If the honourable gentleman wants to finish his question in an orderly way, he can do so.” Hemming responded: “The question is what the government’s view is on an enforceability of a law that clearly doesn’t have public consent.” Grieve, who would be responsible for any prosecution for contempt, told MPs that it was their duty “as parliamentarians” to uphold the rule of law. The attorney general announced the prime minister’s decision to have a joint committee to examine the issues raised by the events of the past few months and especially the past weekend relating to the superinjunction. Grieve told MPs that the committee would examine whether the current system was working following Cameron’s letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture committee, recommending the setting up of a new body. Setting out Cameron’s recommendation of a new committee, Grieve said: “Such a committee would be able to use representation of both houses and the considerable expertise that select committees have to examine whether the current arrangements are working and to consider whether we might make any changes that might make things work better.” Grieve announced the move in response to an urgent question in the Commons from Whittingdale on the use of injunctions. Earlier, the high court refused to allow journalists to name Giggs as the married footballer at the centre of the alleged affair with Thomas. Lawyers for the Sun asked for the controversial privacy ruling to be lifted after a Scottish newspaper identified the star at the weekend and the prime minister said he knew his identity “like everybody else”. David Cameron signalled on Monday morning that the government would look at the matter of injunctions as he suggested that the UK’s current law on privacy is “unsustainable”. Cameron said the situation whereby newspapers “can’t print something that everyone else is clearly talking about” was unfair. The prime minister said the government had “to take some time out” to look at the matter, but said there was no “simple answer”. He suggested one option could be to beef up the press watchdog. “It’s not fair on the newspapers if all the social media can report this and the newspapers can’t, and so the law and the practice has got to catch up with how people consume media today,” he said. Later, Grieve told MPs that a balance needed to be struck. He said: “The government believes freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy and it is of the greatest importance that people should be able to discuss and debate issues as freely and openly as possible. This includes those occasions when freedom of speech is exercised provocatively, as it’s supposed to be in a free country. “Plainly, however, there are also occasions when an individual is entitled to have their privacy protected. There is a balance to be struck and this is reflected in our existing legal framework.” There were “widely differing views” on what that balance should be, he acknowledged. Grieve welcomed the report produced last week by a panel of senior judges on the operation of injunctions and super-injunctions. “It reaffirms that open justice is a fundamental constitutional principle and that exceptions to this are only permissible to the extent that they are strictly necessary in the interests of justice,” he said. Grieve, speaking before Hemmings made his contribution, said: “Legal mechanisms exist to review individual decisions which may be mistaken. If we believe in the rule of law, it is our duty as parliamentarians to uphold those principles.” Whittingdale said the use of social media such as Twitter to breach injunctions was in danger of making “the law look an ass”. He told Grieve: “You would virtually have to be living in an igloo not to know the identity of at least one Premier League footballer who has obtained an injunction. The actions by thousands of people of posting details of this on Twitter are in danger of making the law look an ass.” Grieve warned: “The courts do have power to punish those who breach injunctions and those who decide flagrantly to do so should bear that in mind when they embark on that course of action.” Ryan Giggs Superinjunctions Twitter Internet Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …John Hemming MP unmasked Giggs as the married star whose injunction over an alleged affair caused a storm on Twitter Ryan Giggs has been named as the footballer at the centre of a media gagging order after a Liberal Democrat MP used parliamentary privilege to flout an injunction. John Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, was rebuked by Commons speaker John Bercow after using a question to attorney general Dominic Grieve to name the Manchester United midfielder. Hemming made the intervention after Grieve announced that David Cameron had asked for a joint committee of peers and MPs to investigate the use of gagging orders. This came amid warnings from one influential Conservative MP that the actions of thousands of people posting details on Twitter of individuals involved in superinjunctions risked making the law “look an ass”. To the condemnation of some of his colleagues, Hemming, who has been campaigning on the issue, exercised parliamentary privilege to identify the star at the centre of the injunction just minutes after the high court refused to lift a ban on naming the sportsman, who is said to have had a relationship with Imogen Thomas, the former Big Brother contestant. “With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it’s obviously impractical to imprison them all,” Hemming said. He also went on to declare that Giles Coren, the Times columnist, was the journalist supposedly threatened with contempt of court proceedings in relation to another privacy injunction – although Grieve had previously told MPs that he was not planning legal proceedings against a journalist in relation to this case. Bercow told Hemming over his comments: “Let me just say to the honourable gentleman, I know he’s already done it, but occasions such as this are occasions for raising the issues of principle involved, not seeking to flout for whatever purpose. If the honourable gentleman wants to finish his question in an orderly way, he can do so.” Hemming responded: “The question is what the government’s view is on an enforceability of a law that clearly doesn’t have public consent.” Grieve, who would be responsible for any prosecution for contempt, told MPs that it was their duty “as parliamentarians” to uphold the rule of law. The attorney general announced the prime minister’s decision to have a joint committee to examine the issues raised by the events of the past few months and especially the past weekend relating to the superinjunction. Grieve told MPs that the committee would examine whether the current system was working following Cameron’s letter to John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture committee, recommending the setting up of a new body. Setting out Cameron’s recommendation of a new committee, Grieve said: “Such a committee would be able to use representation of both houses and the considerable expertise that select committees have to examine whether the current arrangements are working and to consider whether we might make any changes that might make things work better.” Grieve announced the move in response to an urgent question in the Commons from Whittingdale on the use of injunctions. Earlier, the high court refused to allow journalists to name Giggs as the married footballer at the centre of the alleged affair with Thomas. Lawyers for the Sun asked for the controversial privacy ruling to be lifted after a Scottish newspaper identified the star at the weekend and the prime minister said he knew his identity “like everybody else”. David Cameron signalled on Monday morning that the government would look at the matter of injunctions as he suggested that the UK’s current law on privacy is “unsustainable”. Cameron said the situation whereby newspapers “can’t print something that everyone else is clearly talking about” was unfair. The prime minister said the government had “to take some time out” to look at the matter, but said there was no “simple answer”. He suggested one option could be to beef up the press watchdog. “It’s not fair on the newspapers if all the social media can report this and the newspapers can’t, and so the law and the practice has got to catch up with how people consume media today,” he said. Later, Grieve told MPs that a balance needed to be struck. He said: “The government believes freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy and it is of the greatest importance that people should be able to discuss and debate issues as freely and openly as possible. This includes those occasions when freedom of speech is exercised provocatively, as it’s supposed to be in a free country. “Plainly, however, there are also occasions when an individual is entitled to have their privacy protected. There is a balance to be struck and this is reflected in our existing legal framework.” There were “widely differing views” on what that balance should be, he acknowledged. Grieve welcomed the report produced last week by a panel of senior judges on the operation of injunctions and super-injunctions. “It reaffirms that open justice is a fundamental constitutional principle and that exceptions to this are only permissible to the extent that they are strictly necessary in the interests of justice,” he said. Grieve, speaking before Hemmings made his contribution, said: “Legal mechanisms exist to review individual decisions which may be mistaken. If we believe in the rule of law, it is our duty as parliamentarians to uphold those principles.” Whittingdale said the use of social media such as Twitter to breach injunctions was in danger of making “the law look an ass”. He told Grieve: “You would virtually have to be living in an igloo not to know the identity of at least one Premier League footballer who has obtained an injunction. The actions by thousands of people of posting details of this on Twitter are in danger of making the law look an ass.” Grieve warned: “The courts do have power to punish those who breach injunctions and those who decide flagrantly to do so should bear that in mind when they embark on that course of action.” Ryan Giggs Superinjunctions Twitter Internet Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Sarah Palin couldn’t wait to ditch her job as Alaska governor for a more lucrative future, failed to make commitments and broke campaign laws. That’s a taste of the revelations in a new book penned by former Palin insider Frank Bailey. Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of Our…
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• Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for ‘revenge’ raid • Ten military personnel killed in long gunfight Pakistani commandos regained control of a military base in central Karachi on Monday, ending an audacious 18-hour militant assault that killed 10 soldiers, destroyed two sensitive aircraft and dealt a humiliating blow to the army three weeks after the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Flames glowed over Pakistan’s largest city amid a cacophony of gunfire and explosions as up to six heavily-armed militants wreaked havoc until Monday lunchtime inside the Mehran base, just off a major thoroughfare. Six American military contractors and 11 Chinese nationals were present but escaped unharmed, officials said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, describing the attack as “revenge for the martyrdom of Osama bin Laden”. But analysts said a smaller jihadi group could also have been involved. Displaying pictures of the dead attackers on his mobile phone, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, called on Pakistanis to unite against the Taliban and al-Qaida. “I regret that some of us believe they are our friends and are praying for them. I appeal to the nation to consider who is the real enemy,” he said. The sophistication of the assault, the duration of the siege and the attackers’ apparent knowledge of the base raised fears about the weaknesses in Pakistan’s military defences and stoked worries that the attackers had received inside information. The military is still reeling from the 2 May US raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad, fending off uncomfortable questions from Pakistanis about its defensive capabilities, as well as intense public anger towards the US incursion. Malik said the militants, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, approached the base from the Malir river, which runs behind it. Using wire cutters and a ladder, they scaled the perimeter fence and continued to the main base by exploiting a blind spot in surveillance camera coverage, suggesting detailed knowledge of the base layout. They headed straight for the aircraft hangars, where they fired rockets that destroyed a helicopter and two of the navy’s four Orion P-3C surveillance planes, valued at $36m (£22m) each. The Orions are a key part of Pakistan’s maritime defence and carry anti-submarine missiles that could be used against any Indian sea incursion. The US embassy, which initially denied any Americans were on the base, later confirmed that six contractors were present to service the Orions, two of which had been delivered last June . Dozens of navy commandos and army rangers responded to the incursion, triggering a gunfight that continued through Sunday night until Monday lunchtime. Commuters grew alarmed as they travelled to work amid bursts of gunfire from the bases and screaming ambulances that rushed in and out the main gate. Malik said 10 military personnel died in the operation – the army earlier said 13 were killed – including one sailor, two rangers, three firemen and three naval commandos. He paid special tribute to Lieutenant Syed Yaser Abbas who led the response force. “He sacrificed his life to save the assets of the Pakistan army,” he said. A Facebook memorial page has already been set up as a tribute to the dead lieutenant. Pictures of other slain soldiers – fresh-faced men in their early 20s, mostly – quickly surfaced through Twitter and on television channels. The security forces eventually cornered the assailants in one building, where at least three died, one in a suicide explosion. The navy said two other attackers were thought to have escaped. Malik claimed the assault had been planned in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan but did not specify how he knew this. He said the militants were in their early- to mid-20s, with trim beards, fair skin and “sharp features”. Oddly, he compared them to “characters out of a Star Wars movie”. It was the third major attack since Bin Laden’s death, following suicide bombings that killed 90 military recruits and targeted an American convoy in Peshawar. The fact that such a small team could hold commandos at bay for 18 hours caused widespread shock, raising fresh questions about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, believed to be scattered at secret bases across the country. Pakistan’s prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of terror”. But in a further sign of the confused debate on terrorism, several television commentators, many of them retired generals, claimed the raid was sponsored by a “foreign hand” – a euphemism for India, Israel or the US. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban denied media reports that its leader Mullah Omar had been killed in Pakistan. “The esteemed Amir ul Momineen [leader of the faithful] is alive and well and is leading the mujahideen in all aspects,” said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. An Afghan intelligence official later told reporters that Omar had been arrested in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Pakistani intelligence said they had no information about Omar’s whereabouts. In Pakistan’s tribal belt, a US drone struck a vehicle near the Afghan border, killing four people, the latest in a surge of drone strikes since Bin Laden’s death. Pakistan Taliban Afghanistan Global terrorism Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for ‘revenge’ raid • Ten military personnel killed in long gunfight Pakistani commandos regained control of a military base in central Karachi on Monday, ending an audacious 18-hour militant assault that killed 10 soldiers, destroyed two sensitive aircraft and dealt a humiliating blow to the army three weeks after the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Flames glowed over Pakistan’s largest city amid a cacophony of gunfire and explosions as up to six heavily-armed militants wreaked havoc until Monday lunchtime inside the Mehran base, just off a major thoroughfare. Six American military contractors and 11 Chinese nationals were present but escaped unharmed, officials said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, describing the attack as “revenge for the martyrdom of Osama bin Laden”. But analysts said a smaller jihadi group could also have been involved. Displaying pictures of the dead attackers on his mobile phone, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, called on Pakistanis to unite against the Taliban and al-Qaida. “I regret that some of us believe they are our friends and are praying for them. I appeal to the nation to consider who is the real enemy,” he said. The sophistication of the assault, the duration of the siege and the attackers’ apparent knowledge of the base raised fears about the weaknesses in Pakistan’s military defences and stoked worries that the attackers had received inside information. The military is still reeling from the 2 May US raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad, fending off uncomfortable questions from Pakistanis about its defensive capabilities, as well as intense public anger towards the US incursion. Malik said the militants, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, approached the base from the Malir river, which runs behind it. Using wire cutters and a ladder, they scaled the perimeter fence and continued to the main base by exploiting a blind spot in surveillance camera coverage, suggesting detailed knowledge of the base layout. They headed straight for the aircraft hangars, where they fired rockets that destroyed a helicopter and two of the navy’s four Orion P-3C surveillance planes, valued at $36m (£22m) each. The Orions are a key part of Pakistan’s maritime defence and carry anti-submarine missiles that could be used against any Indian sea incursion. The US embassy, which initially denied any Americans were on the base, later confirmed that six contractors were present to service the Orions, two of which had been delivered last June . Dozens of navy commandos and army rangers responded to the incursion, triggering a gunfight that continued through Sunday night until Monday lunchtime. Commuters grew alarmed as they travelled to work amid bursts of gunfire from the bases and screaming ambulances that rushed in and out the main gate. Malik said 10 military personnel died in the operation – the army earlier said 13 were killed – including one sailor, two rangers, three firemen and three naval commandos. He paid special tribute to Lieutenant Syed Yaser Abbas who led the response force. “He sacrificed his life to save the assets of the Pakistan army,” he said. A Facebook memorial page has already been set up as a tribute to the dead lieutenant. Pictures of other slain soldiers – fresh-faced men in their early 20s, mostly – quickly surfaced through Twitter and on television channels. The security forces eventually cornered the assailants in one building, where at least three died, one in a suicide explosion. The navy said two other attackers were thought to have escaped. Malik claimed the assault had been planned in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan but did not specify how he knew this. He said the militants were in their early- to mid-20s, with trim beards, fair skin and “sharp features”. Oddly, he compared them to “characters out of a Star Wars movie”. It was the third major attack since Bin Laden’s death, following suicide bombings that killed 90 military recruits and targeted an American convoy in Peshawar. The fact that such a small team could hold commandos at bay for 18 hours caused widespread shock, raising fresh questions about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, believed to be scattered at secret bases across the country. Pakistan’s prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of terror”. But in a further sign of the confused debate on terrorism, several television commentators, many of them retired generals, claimed the raid was sponsored by a “foreign hand” – a euphemism for India, Israel or the US. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban denied media reports that its leader Mullah Omar had been killed in Pakistan. “The esteemed Amir ul Momineen [leader of the faithful] is alive and well and is leading the mujahideen in all aspects,” said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. An Afghan intelligence official later told reporters that Omar had been arrested in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Pakistani intelligence said they had no information about Omar’s whereabouts. In Pakistan’s tribal belt, a US drone struck a vehicle near the Afghan border, killing four people, the latest in a surge of drone strikes since Bin Laden’s death. Pakistan Taliban Afghanistan Global terrorism Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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