Venezuelan president accused of trying to rewrite history after dismissing scientists’ conclusions that liberation hero died of TB It was approaching 3am when a cluster of masked forensic doctors appeared on national television clad in white, astronaut-like suits. Few Venezuelans were tuned in for the pre-dawn exhumation of Simon Bolívar, the South American liberation hero, on 16 July last year. But for the country’s president, Hugo Chávez, it was an event of monumental importance. “My God. Bolívar lives,” he tweeted, as a tiny skeleton was hauled from its tomb in Caracas’ National Pantheon. “It’s not a skeleton. It’s the Great Bolívar, who has returned.” Chávez had hoped Bolívar’s exhumation would help solve what he has called “the great farce” surrounding his death. While most historians believe the inspiration for Chávez’s “Bolívarian revolution” died of tuberculosis in 1830, Venezuela’s outspoken president thinks otherwise. He claimed Bolívar was the victim of a murderous conspiracy and had been poisoned by Colombian oligarchs. He wanted forensic scientists to prove it. But was Chávez right? One year on and the answer is almost certainly, no. “We could not establish the death was by non-natural means or by intentional poisoning,” the country’s vice-president, Elías Jaua, admitted on Monday. DNA samples failed to provide the smoking gun sought by the Venezuelan leader. Scientists found traces of toxins, including arsenic, in Bolívar’s bones, leaving the door open to the idea that he had been accidentally poisoned, possibly by medicines, but no proof of deliberate assassination. Despite the findings, Chávez was unmoved. “They killed Simon Bolívar. They murdered him and, even though I don’t have proof, the circumstances in which he died point to that,” he insisted in an interview with state-controlled television. “The Venezuelan bourgeoisie continue to say that we are trying to change history. No. They changed it,” he said. By most accounts, Bolívar died of TB on 17 December 1830 at the age of 47. But a series of alternative theories have surfaced over the years, among them the Colombian conspiracy. In 2010, Dr Paul Auwaerter, from Baltimore’s John Hopkins University, provided Chávez with ammunition, casting doubt on claims that Bolívar had died from TB. “There were features that were incompatible with TB, like for example that he never coughed up blood,” he pointed out. Auwaerter, however, has distanced himself from the idea that Bolívar was intentionally poisoned. “Although President Chávez took my comments about arsenic to mean that he was assassinated, I thought Bolívar’s physicians were giving him arsenic medicines, which was quite popular at this time, to improve his health,.” he told the Guardian. “To me it was unintentional, but I think President Chávez took some of our discussions to make it fit into his own hypothesis.” Critics have dismissed the hullabaloo over Bolívar’s death as a handy distraction from more pressing domestic issues. With a tricky presidential election coming up next year, some opponents see the exhumation as a media spectacle designed to distract from economic and security problems. Others see the exhumation as a reflection of Chávez’s obsession with highlighting his image as a modern-day “liberator”. “You cannot force history’s arm to fit your whims,” said Inés Quintero, a historian and the biographer of Simon Bolívar’s sister, María Antonia Bolívar. “We know that Bolívar was not assassinated. There is no historical evidence or any documents pointing to an assassination,” she added, describing the exhumation as “irrelevant and unnecessary”. “It does not modify our understanding of who Bolívar was as a historical figure. Regardless of the actual reason for his death, the moment, the condition, the complexity of his human condition all combined for a fatal ending.” Still Chávez remains undeterred. On Monday he ordered forensic scientists to continue their hunt for the truth. “We must continue investigating and seeking new information about how Bolívar died. I invite you to carry on studying this mystery. I have no doubt that they killed Bolívar.” Venezuela Hugo Chávez Tom Phillips guardian.co.uk
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Hundreds of singer’s family and close friends – including Mark Ronson and Kelly Osbourne – attend service in north London To some she was a troubled rock star struggling with her demons, to others an astonishing voice with an excess of talent, but to her parents Amy Winehouse was their “angel”, and at a private funeral they have said goodbye. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, ended a 40-minute eulogy during which he talked about his daughter’s childhood and her talent, with the words: “Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much.” Hundreds of the singer’s family and close friends, including Mark Ronson, the producer of her hugely successful album Back To Black, and long-standing friend Kelly Osbourne, flew from around the world to pay their respects to the singer who died, aged 27, at her home in Camden, north London on Saturday. Winehouse told the mourners that his daughter had been off drugs for three years, and was working hard to combat her alcoholism, had found love again and “was the happiest she has been for years”. A service was held at the Edgwarebury cemetery in north London, before Winehouse’s body was taken to the Golders Green crematorium, where her grandmother was cremated. The family then headed to Schindler Hall in Southgate for the beginning of a shiva – a traditional period of mourning in the Jewish faith. In a statement Winehouse said his daughter had “conquered her drug dependency” and was “trying hard” to deal with her drinking. “Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have,” he said. “Recently Amy found love with Reg. He helped her with her problems and Amy was looking forward to their future together. She was the happiest she has been for years. We all remember that great night at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, her voice was good, her wit and timing were perfect.” He added his daughter had seen his mother, Janis, on Friday as well as her boyfriend, film director Reg Traviss. On the night before she was found dead she was in her room singing and playing drums, he added. A security guard had checked on her in the morning and thought she was asleep, he checked again a few hours later and then raised the alarm,. “But knowing she wasn’t depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better.” The first service, which included prayers in English and Hebrew, ended with a rendition of Carole King’s So Far Away, Winehouse’s favourite song. Earlier King, whose song Will You Love Me Tomorrow was covered by Winehouse, said she was “very grateful” the star had “put her wonderful talent” into recording the track. Alfie Ezekiel, a friend of her father’s, said: “Mitch gave a very good eulogy and he managed to get through it very well, considering.” Mitch Winehouse had been the only family member to speak during the service, attended by around 300-400 people. “It was very moving,” he said. Speaking outside the crematorium at Golders Green, another family friend who gave his name only as “Ginger” said that as guests had left the service each had kissed the coffin goodbye . “He [Mitch] seemed very brave, very proud of her.” His wife added that as a teenager Winehouse would sit at the kitchen table scribbling lyrics. “Nobody will forget her. Everyone is proud of her, what she became was so temporary.” Fans gathered to pay tribute to the singer. A woman who had brought a single red rose said she wanted to pay tribute to Winehouse and her “wonderful” voice, but she was sparing a thought for her troubled former husband Blake Fielder-Civil, currently serving time at Armley prison in Leeds for burglary and a firearms offence. “He can’t be here, but I’m sure he is thinking about her,” said Suzanne Marshall, 53. “We played Back to Black this morning – there were a lot of tears, and we will be raising a drink to her tonight in the Hawley Arms.” Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Winehouse’s image, 18-year-old Joshua Burke Murphy said he wanted to mark the event and pay his respects. “She is a legend, a very important person of our times, so I didn’t want to miss her funeral.” A postmortem examination carried out on Monday failed to establish the cause of the singer’s death. Further toxicology tests will take two to four weeks. Winehouse, who fought a well-documented battle with drugs and alcohol, was found dead at her home in Camden by her bodyguard at about 4pm on Saturday. Her father said on Tuesday he wants to create the Amy Winehouse Foundation, to help those struggling with substance abuse. Father’s tribute “Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have. “I will talk a lot about her fantastic recovery. Recently Amy found love with Reg. He helped her with her problems and Amy was looking forward to their future together. “She was the happiest she has been for years. We all remember that great night at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, her voice was good, her wit and timing were perfect. “She told me that she had ‘thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed herself’. “The last time she called me she had found a box of old family photos and called me to go over to look. We spoke three times a day at least, she was very excited. “Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency, the doctors said it was impossible but she really did it. She was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence. “She said, ‘Dad I’ve had enough of drinking, I can’t stand the look on your and the family’s faces anymore’. “She was not depressed. She saw Janis and Reg on Friday and was in good spirits. “That night, she was in her room, playing drums and singing. As it was late, her security guard said to keep it quiet and she did. He heard her walking around for a while and when he went to check on her in the morning he thought she was asleep. He went back a few hours later, that was when he realised she was not breathing and called for help. “But knowing she wasn’t depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better. “I was in New York with my cousin Michael when I heard and straight away I said I wanted an Amy Winehouse Foundation, something to help the things she loved – children, horses, but also to help those struggling with substance abuse. “In this country, if you cannot afford a private rehabilitation clinic, there is a two-year waiting list for help. With the help of Keith Vaz MP, we are trying to change that.” Amy Winehouse Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
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ICC contradicts William Hague’s suggestion that Muammar Gaddafi could be allowed to remain in Libya under peace plan The international criminal court has dismissed suggestions by Britain and France that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could be allowed to remain in Libya as part of negotiated deal to remove him from power, insisting that a new government would be obliged to arrest the dictator under warrants issued by the court. The ICC, which Britain and France have signed up to, said that Gaddafi could not be allowed to escape justice. “He has to be arrested,” said Florence Olara, spokeswoman for the court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo. On Monday the foreign secretary, William Hague, said Britain was prepared to agree to a political settlement in Libya that would see Gaddafi remain in the country after relinquishing his hold on power. “What happens to Gaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans,” Hague said. “It is for the Libyan people to determine their own future. Whatever happens, Gaddafi must leave power. “He must never again be able to threaten the lives of Libyan civilians, nor to destabilise Libya once he has left power.” But Olara said the decision to seek justice had been made in the UN, adding that the ICC’s arrest warrants were “legal facts” which “cannot go away”. “Any negotiation or deal has to respect (UN Security Council resolution) 1970 and the ICC’s decision,” Olara said. Hague’s comments on Monday chime with those of Mustafa Abdul Jalil, president of the rebel national transitional council, who told Reuters earlier this month that Gaddafi could remain in Libya if he agreed to step down. Jalil said the deal would require Gaddafi to live in a designated part of the country. “We will determine the place under international supervision.” However, giving Gaddafi what amounts to immunity would be a complex process. The only legal immunity for an ICC warrant is a UN security council resolution which can suspend a warrant from The Hague, but such a move would be highly controversial politically, not least because the ICC statue mandates that the resolution would need to be revisited every 12 months. Politically, immunity would go down badly in rebel-held parts of Libya, where the torture, killings and destruction have caused deep wounds. “It’s too late for such a thing,” said Yunis Al-Haq, an 18-year-old art student in the besieged city of Misrata. “Maybe if this deal [suggested by Hague] was made at the beginning, when Gaddafi had killed only 10 people, maybe we could forgive him. But now, after this war, he killed a lot of people, it can’t be forgiven that easy.” On 27 June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam over crimes against humanity allegedly committed during anti-regime protests. It also issued a warrant for the Libyan intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, at the request of the ICC’s chief prosecutor. In his submission Moreno-Ocampo said Gaddafi had a personal hand in planning and implementing “a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents”. There were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the three men were “criminally responsible” for the murder and persecution of civilians, said a statement read out by the ICC’s presiding judge, Sanji Monageng. Gaddafi had absolute and unquestioned control over Libya as its undisputed leader, and had introduced a policy to suppress civilian demonstrations by any means, including by the use of force, the court said. Though Saif al-Islam Gaddafi held no official position in Libya, he was “the most influential person” in Gaddafi’s inner circle, it added. The court said Sanussi had “directly instructed the troops to attack civilians demonstrating” in Benghazi, now the rebels’ city stronghold. The warrants were requested by Moreno-Ocampo in May, to protect Libyan civilians. UN security council resolution 1970 states: “The Libyan authorities shall co-operate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the (international criminal) court and the prosecutor.” The “primary responsibility” for respecting the UN and ICC decisions and arresting Gaddafi lay with the national transitional council, Olara said. It is believed Britain hopes to tempt Gaddafi out of Libya by suggesting he could go to a country that does not recognise the ICC. Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday: “This isn’t about the British position or the Nato position – it’s about what the Libyans themselves want and can live with”. He told BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “It is their country and it is their future. If they can live with a situation where Gaddafi remains in the country but is deprived of power then it is none of our business to say that is unacceptable.” Muammar Gaddafi Libya International criminal court William Hague United Nations War crimes Richard Norton-Taylor Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk
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Former business secretary attacks proposed dialogue with EDL and ‘misplaced, romantic ideas about turning back the clock’ Lord Mandelson has dealt the troubled Blue Labour movement another blow when the architect of New Labour said it beggared belief that the movement proposed a dialogue with the English Defence League (EDL) as a way of connecting with the concerns of young people in Britain. In a remarkably strong intervention, Mandelson, the former business secretary, said Blue Labour was attempting to fill a vacuum created by the killing off of his creation. Speaking to the Guardian, he said Labour needed a vision for the future but that it “is not going to come from the sort of populist, anti–immigrant, Europhobic, anti–globalisation language used by Blue Labour”. In an implicit criticism of Ed Miliband, he said: “The problem with killing off New Labour and putting nothing in its place is that it leads us to clutch at straws and grab at any passing sentiment. This is what has happened with Blue Labour which seeks to reconnect the party with its old, postwar, apparently white and male, industrial working-class base. These people have moved on, to other jobs, to other aspirations and, in the main, to an entirely different identity.” Miliband has been interested in the ideas of Blue Labour, at least as a discussion opening up new terrain, and ennobled Maurice Glasman, its chief thinker, in recognition of his work last year. Blue Labour puts forward a collection of controversial ideas focusing on community organisaton, conservatism, worker co-determination and nationalism. Mandelson has been careful in recent days to praise Miliband for earning a hearing over his bravery in taking on Rupert Murdoch, but said he had not yet replaced New Labour with anything coherent. He does not reject Blue Labour outright but appears to fear that Miliband might be willing to make its thinking central to his own policies. “Blue Labour’s platform of ‘faith, family and the flag’ lacks economic content – by far the biggest challenge facing the country – and its romantic ideas about working class people turning back the clock is misplaced,” he said. “Labour’s people live in the real world and, above all, want secure, well-paid employment and a safe future for their children which is why more activist growth and industrial policies are needed. And however important it is to address the economic concerns of young people attracted to the English Defence League, the idea that we should reconnect by entering a dialogue with this organisation beggars belief.” Lord Glasman became embroiled in controversy in April when he said Labour should have a dialogue with EDL supporters, later admitting it was a mistake because it was interpreted as showing sympathy for their views. The EDL is currently under the spotlight because of alleged contacts between members of the organisation and Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian mass killer. Lord Mandelson, who has admitted New Labour did not do enough to nurture an active industrial policy in government, is leading a review of globalisation on behalf of the left-of-centre thinktank, the IPPR. In a speech marking out current Labour thinking on industrial policy, the shadow business secretary, John Denham, said his party will back the concept of nurturing the “good company”, defined as a business that is committed to long-term investment, nurturing supply chains and good working practices. He said: “There is too little policy certainty to encourage long-term investment, and no vision of a better balanced and resilient economy. The emphasis is on making work less secure and less well rewarded. Investment in skills is being reduced. Consumer rights and protection are being eroded.” Peter Mandelson Labour Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The Wall Street Journal did a lousy job of initially covering Rupert Murdoch’s phone hacking scandal, admits the paper’s special editorial committee. The paper was “slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story” and failed to ask tough questions when it interviewed Rupert…
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Nearly one million Pakistanis are still homeless, but charities hampered by fallout from Osama bin Laden killing Last summer aid workers in Pakistan battled with epic floods that affected 20 million people, destroyed crops and inundated one-fifth of the country. A year later they find themselves in a very different imbroglio: the escalating spy war between the US and Pakistan. With millions of flood victims still in urgent need of aid, western charities say their efforts are being hit by the fallout from Osama bin Laden’s death as the government hunts for CIA spies. Stringent visa regulations and restrictions on movement by the military are causing long delays, increasing costs and affecting the delivery of aid to areas hit by floods and the conflict with the Taliban. Last month a young American aid worker with Catholic Relief Services was brought to court for visa irregularities, imprisoned for nine days, then deported. British agencies say their staff have fallen under the microscope of Pakistan’s spy service, the ISI, with officials visiting field offices and introducing restrictions on travel. “We’ve seen gradual restrictions on movement and longer processing time for visas,” said a spokesman for the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which represents 40 aid groups. The crackdown started after CIA agent Raymond Davis shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore last January, and intensified after the killing of Bin Laden in Abbottabad on 2 May. Aid workers in Sukkur, a southern city at the heart of flood relief efforts, started to complain of regular visits from intelligence officers and police. In Jacobabad, location of a sensitive airbase, agencies were told that visiting certain areas now required a “no objection certificate” – an official letter of permission. “The authorities have started paying more attention to who is in the country and what they are doing,” said Michael O’Brien of the Red Cross. Pakistani embassies abroad have also started to restrict access. “It’s making things extremely difficult,” said Paul Healy of Trocaire, an Irish aid agency. “Before, we could get a visa for a technical expert in one week; now it takes 10.” The greatest impact is in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the source of last year’s floods, and where 850,000 civilians have been made homeless by fighting between the army and the Taliban. Aid workers now require permission to visit previously open areas, such as Kohistan and Shangla near the Swat valley. Applications are vetted by the army’s 11th Corps, which runs local military operations; the UN says 43 no-objection certificates are outstanding there. One European aid manager said he had been unable to send staff to his rural project for more than a month because of the restrictions. “We’re being bundled in with diplomats and other foreign-service nationals. They need to be educated about who we are – and that is not CIA agents,” he said. “Quite a lot of the population are affected by both floods and conflict,” said a British aid worker. “The irony is that they’re getting half the help, even though the needs may be twice as great.” The aid worker, like several others, spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing discrimination from the authorities. The National Disaster Management Authority, which oversees disaster relief, said it was issuing travel permits on a priority basis. “We are committed to facilitate aid workers in their pursuit of assisting affected communities,” said spokesman Brigadier Sajid Naeem. Tensions were exacerbated by news that the CIA ran a fake vaccination programme in Abbottabad to identify the occupants of Bin Laden’s house. “It’s adding fuel to the fire in terms of mistrust,” said a senior UN official. “Now the Pakistanis can say ‘We were right all along – these NGOs are only doing spy work.’ ” Médecins Sans Frontières said the CIA operation was “a dangerous abuse of medical care” that would compromise humanitarian work. The bureaucracy and spy intrigues coincide with a serious crisis. Some 800,000 families still lack permanent shelter and more than 1 million people require food aid, according to Oxfam. In places the price of bricks has quadrupled, making it impossible for survivors to rebuild their homes. A UN appeal to help families get back on their feet has a $600m (£366m) shortfall. Then there is the psychological toll. “People are still afraid of the sound of running water,” said Suzanna Akasha, a psycho-social expert from the Danish Red Cross. “They have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep.” The monsoons started last week in northern Punjab and, although rainfall is normal so far, last year’s devastation left vast numbers vulnerable to hunger and illness. The US says 2 million people will be affected this year, though contingency plans are based on 7 million being affected should the weather deteriorate. Tensions between US and Pakistani spies continue to bubble. Last week an American convoy entering Peshawar was sent back to Islamabad because, officials said, it lacked the correct paperwork. Peshawar has been largely open to foreigners but the ISI is keen to rein in the activities of a CIA station presumed to operate from the American consulate there. In Washington, the FBI recently arrested the director of a lobby group focused on Kashmir that they allege is a ISI front; if convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. As the ISI scours Pakistan for undeclared CIA agents, aid workers worry about getting caught in the dragnet. Some accuse the United Nations of not doing enough to push their case with the government. “They’re asleep, as in Rip Van Winkle,” said one. A UN official said that some aid workers were “over-reacting”. “Certainly the situation has resulted in mistrust,” she said. “But they come into the country for a short period, they don’t know the system, and they overreact.” Pakistan Osama bin Laden US foreign policy Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Nearly one million Pakistanis are still homeless, but charities hampered by fallout from Osama bin Laden killing Last summer aid workers in Pakistan battled with epic floods that affected 20 million people, destroyed crops and inundated one-fifth of the country. A year later they find themselves in a very different imbroglio: the escalating spy war between the US and Pakistan. With millions of flood victims still in urgent need of aid, western charities say their efforts are being hit by the fallout from Osama bin Laden’s death as the government hunts for CIA spies. Stringent visa regulations and restrictions on movement by the military are causing long delays, increasing costs and affecting the delivery of aid to areas hit by floods and the conflict with the Taliban. Last month a young American aid worker with Catholic Relief Services was brought to court for visa irregularities, imprisoned for nine days, then deported. British agencies say their staff have fallen under the microscope of Pakistan’s spy service, the ISI, with officials visiting field offices and introducing restrictions on travel. “We’ve seen gradual restrictions on movement and longer processing time for visas,” said a spokesman for the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which represents 40 aid groups. The crackdown started after CIA agent Raymond Davis shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore last January, and intensified after the killing of Bin Laden in Abbottabad on 2 May. Aid workers in Sukkur, a southern city at the heart of flood relief efforts, started to complain of regular visits from intelligence officers and police. In Jacobabad, location of a sensitive airbase, agencies were told that visiting certain areas now required a “no objection certificate” – an official letter of permission. “The authorities have started paying more attention to who is in the country and what they are doing,” said Michael O’Brien of the Red Cross. Pakistani embassies abroad have also started to restrict access. “It’s making things extremely difficult,” said Paul Healy of Trocaire, an Irish aid agency. “Before, we could get a visa for a technical expert in one week; now it takes 10.” The greatest impact is in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the source of last year’s floods, and where 850,000 civilians have been made homeless by fighting between the army and the Taliban. Aid workers now require permission to visit previously open areas, such as Kohistan and Shangla near the Swat valley. Applications are vetted by the army’s 11th Corps, which runs local military operations; the UN says 43 no-objection certificates are outstanding there. One European aid manager said he had been unable to send staff to his rural project for more than a month because of the restrictions. “We’re being bundled in with diplomats and other foreign-service nationals. They need to be educated about who we are – and that is not CIA agents,” he said. “Quite a lot of the population are affected by both floods and conflict,” said a British aid worker. “The irony is that they’re getting half the help, even though the needs may be twice as great.” The aid worker, like several others, spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing discrimination from the authorities. The National Disaster Management Authority, which oversees disaster relief, said it was issuing travel permits on a priority basis. “We are committed to facilitate aid workers in their pursuit of assisting affected communities,” said spokesman Brigadier Sajid Naeem. Tensions were exacerbated by news that the CIA ran a fake vaccination programme in Abbottabad to identify the occupants of Bin Laden’s house. “It’s adding fuel to the fire in terms of mistrust,” said a senior UN official. “Now the Pakistanis can say ‘We were right all along – these NGOs are only doing spy work.’ ” Médecins Sans Frontières said the CIA operation was “a dangerous abuse of medical care” that would compromise humanitarian work. The bureaucracy and spy intrigues coincide with a serious crisis. Some 800,000 families still lack permanent shelter and more than 1 million people require food aid, according to Oxfam. In places the price of bricks has quadrupled, making it impossible for survivors to rebuild their homes. A UN appeal to help families get back on their feet has a $600m (£366m) shortfall. Then there is the psychological toll. “People are still afraid of the sound of running water,” said Suzanna Akasha, a psycho-social expert from the Danish Red Cross. “They have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep.” The monsoons started last week in northern Punjab and, although rainfall is normal so far, last year’s devastation left vast numbers vulnerable to hunger and illness. The US says 2 million people will be affected this year, though contingency plans are based on 7 million being affected should the weather deteriorate. Tensions between US and Pakistani spies continue to bubble. Last week an American convoy entering Peshawar was sent back to Islamabad because, officials said, it lacked the correct paperwork. Peshawar has been largely open to foreigners but the ISI is keen to rein in the activities of a CIA station presumed to operate from the American consulate there. In Washington, the FBI recently arrested the director of a lobby group focused on Kashmir that they allege is a ISI front; if convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. As the ISI scours Pakistan for undeclared CIA agents, aid workers worry about getting caught in the dragnet. Some accuse the United Nations of not doing enough to push their case with the government. “They’re asleep, as in Rip Van Winkle,” said one. A UN official said that some aid workers were “over-reacting”. “Certainly the situation has resulted in mistrust,” she said. “But they come into the country for a short period, they don’t know the system, and they overreact.” Pakistan Osama bin Laden US foreign policy Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Controversy surrounds new testing system which union says is discriminatory towards disabled people David Cameron on Tuesday hailed official figures showing more than two thirds of those seeking to claim employment support allowance, the chief out-of-work benefit for the disabled, are found to be fit for work, or drop their claim before taking the government’s fitness-for-work test. Cameron stopped short of calling the claimants work-shy, but said those capable of work, should work. The figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions are the latest set of statistics released by ministers on the impact of the new work-capability assessment (WCA), designed to find out whether those tested are fit for work, capable of some work with help, or entirely unfit for work. The figures are, however, generating controversy as some claim the company overseeing the tests, ATOS, is driving people into work. on Tuesday Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, attacked the policy saying the government was making the tests harder to save money “by excluding more people”. The latest data shows only one in 14 people assessed for the new incapacity benefit (7%) are deemed too ill to do any work, and so are entitled to claim the full benefit in the long term. A total of 39% of claimants are deemed entirely fit to work, while a further 17% can do some work with help and support. More than a third drop their application before the test, sometimes because they have found work. The figures cover potential new claimants between October 2008 and November 2010 and the results are broadly in line with an earlier set of numbers published by the DWP in April. The numbers are, however, totally out of line with government predictions, which had predicted 65% would be deemed capable of some work and only 15% fit for work. Ministers admit they are concerned by the numbers dropping out before taking a test. The figures cover new claimants, and not the stock of existing claimants that have mainly been switched from Incapacity Benefit to ESA. In total there are 2.5 million IB or ESA claimants, and ministers have only just started requiring 1.5 million long-standing IB claimants to take the work-capability test. Trials began in Burnley and Aberdeen of existing claimants from October 2010 prior to turning the scheme nationwide in April. Initial figures from the pilots suggested 29.6% were fit for work and 39% were capable of some work with help. In a visit designed to coincide with the figures, and the growth statistics, Cameron said: “For too long in this country we have left people on welfare for year after year when those people, with help and with assistance, could work, and so we’re producing a much better system where we really put people through their paces and say that if you can work, you should work. “We’ll be there to help you with the training and the skills, but what we are finding, and the figures show today, is that only one in four of the people who apply for the new benefit are actually found to be unable to work. “The rest are able to work and we’re going to help them to get jobs. That will be good for them, good for their families and good for our economy.” The figures are published quarterly and have been published only for a year. Ministers have already accepted that the WCA has been flawed. The work and pensions minister, Steve Webb, said: “These figures show that many people are able to work with the right help. We have strengthened the support now available, tailoring it to individual needs so they can overcome whatever barriers they face.” Compared to the general population, people claiming ESA are disproportionately male. Almost two-thirds (65%) of those claiming are men; older (with an average age of 43); more likely to live in social housing – 35% are owner-occupiers, compared with 68% for the UK as a whole; and more likely to be single or a lone parent. The TUC’s Barber attacked the figures saying: “The new incapacity benefit assessment is a much tougher test than previously and is designed to save the government money by excluding more
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Controversy surrounds new testing system which union says is discriminatory towards disabled people David Cameron on Tuesday hailed official figures showing more than two thirds of those seeking to claim employment support allowance, the chief out-of-work benefit for the disabled, are found to be fit for work, or drop their claim before taking the government’s fitness-for-work test. Cameron stopped short of calling the claimants work-shy, but said those capable of work, should work. The figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions are the latest set of statistics released by ministers on the impact of the new work-capability assessment (WCA), designed to find out whether those tested are fit for work, capable of some work with help, or entirely unfit for work. The figures are, however, generating controversy as some claim the company overseeing the tests, ATOS, is driving people into work. on Tuesday Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, attacked the policy saying the government was making the tests harder to save money “by excluding more people”. The latest data shows only one in 14 people assessed for the new incapacity benefit (7%) are deemed too ill to do any work, and so are entitled to claim the full benefit in the long term. A total of 39% of claimants are deemed entirely fit to work, while a further 17% can do some work with help and support. More than a third drop their application before the test, sometimes because they have found work. The figures cover potential new claimants between October 2008 and November 2010 and the results are broadly in line with an earlier set of numbers published by the DWP in April. The numbers are, however, totally out of line with government predictions, which had predicted 65% would be deemed capable of some work and only 15% fit for work. Ministers admit they are concerned by the numbers dropping out before taking a test. The figures cover new claimants, and not the stock of existing claimants that have mainly been switched from Incapacity Benefit to ESA. In total there are 2.5 million IB or ESA claimants, and ministers have only just started requiring 1.5 million long-standing IB claimants to take the work-capability test. Trials began in Burnley and Aberdeen of existing claimants from October 2010 prior to turning the scheme nationwide in April. Initial figures from the pilots suggested 29.6% were fit for work and 39% were capable of some work with help. In a visit designed to coincide with the figures, and the growth statistics, Cameron said: “For too long in this country we have left people on welfare for year after year when those people, with help and with assistance, could work, and so we’re producing a much better system where we really put people through their paces and say that if you can work, you should work. “We’ll be there to help you with the training and the skills, but what we are finding, and the figures show today, is that only one in four of the people who apply for the new benefit are actually found to be unable to work. “The rest are able to work and we’re going to help them to get jobs. That will be good for them, good for their families and good for our economy.” The figures are published quarterly and have been published only for a year. Ministers have already accepted that the WCA has been flawed. The work and pensions minister, Steve Webb, said: “These figures show that many people are able to work with the right help. We have strengthened the support now available, tailoring it to individual needs so they can overcome whatever barriers they face.” Compared to the general population, people claiming ESA are disproportionately male. Almost two-thirds (65%) of those claiming are men; older (with an average age of 43); more likely to live in social housing – 35% are owner-occupiers, compared with 68% for the UK as a whole; and more likely to be single or a lone parent. The TUC’s Barber attacked the figures saying: “The new incapacity benefit assessment is a much tougher test than previously and is designed to save the government money by excluding more
Continue reading …The US blew past a seventh (and final? ) deadline for coming up with a debt ceiling extension plan yesterday, but new reports indicate the country may not actually default a week from today. According to economic analysts at UBS, Aug. 8 is the earliest date the government might run…
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