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| May 02, 2008 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 25, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Constitutional package in offing: Nawaz Sharif Lahore, Pakistan, May 2 (Reuters)- Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif unveiling the plan for the restoration of the deposed judges in a televised news conference Friday stressed that the anti-Musharraf alliance, whose election victory in February destroyed the president's parliamentary support, intended to stick together. “We are in strong favour of keeping this coalition for the sake of country and we understand we should keep it at all costs. It's break-up would rejuvenate dictatorship.” A constitutional package was being drafted, and the PML-N was in favour of clipping the president's powers, Sharif said. The most important measure under consideration is removing the president's right to dismiss a government. He said a six-member committee headed by Law Minister Farooq Naek will prepare a draft of the resolution and address other legal issues regarding the restoration of the judges. The committee will include lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, the President of Supreme Court Bar Association and a former minister in Bhutto's party. If there is any deadlock in the committee the matter will be referred back to the coalition's leadership, Sharif said. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
70-feet breach in canal near Kotdiji Kotdiji, Pakistan, May 02 (PPI): A 70-feet wide breach in Muhabbat Canal at RD No 42, in Sindh province has damaged standing crops and many houses of village Sadoro, besides inundating a vast area on Friday. Irrigation officials confirmed the breach saying that relief teams were being rushed. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)
PM Gilani’s policy decisions on Balochistan QUETTA, Pakistan, May 2 (PPI): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani Friday announced that work on reconciliation policy was underway to bring Balochistan in the national mainstream and resolving its issues. On his orders, military action in Balochistan has been stopped and further steps would be taken for improving situation in the province, he said while addressing the provincial cabinet during his first and brief visit to Quetta. Gilani said that on the directives ofPPP Co- Chairman Asif Zardari an All Parties Conference on Balochistan's issues was being summoned. We are fully cognizant of the excesses done with people of Balochistan and steps have been started for their redress. He said he has also directed Interior Ministry to seek cooperation of all government functionaries for the recovery of missing persons and efforts should be made to stop such actions in future. He also said he has issued directives to all the provincial governments to immediately withdraw all cases against former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal and ensure his release through courts. Gillani said the government believed in provincial autonomy and under the 1973 constitution Concurrent List would be abolished within a year. People of Balochistna and concerned departments would be taken into confidence about all mega projects in the province and uninterrupted provision of funds would continue, he said adding Balochistan quota of 6 percent share in federal services would be ensured. The prime minister said that supremacy of constitution and parliament, stability of democracy and judiciary and balance among state organs is our priority and if all the institutions work within constitutional orbit, lots of problems can be resolved. He said a multidimensional strategy was also underway about peace and order because for economic development peace is prerequisite. He said government was constituting a new National Finance Commission and provinces have been asked to make nominations.. He said that federal government would provide funds for law enforcement agencies requirements in Balochistan and expenditures for converting B areas into A areas would be borne by the Federation. Besides National Disaster Management Authority , Federal Ministry of Finance and PM Secretariat would also take measures for the rehabilitate of flood stricken people of the province. PM Gillani said that Iran has promised to supply 1100 megawatts of electricity to Pakistan. It would be supplied to Balochistna first and agriculture sector would also get its share. He said Rs 905 million have been earmarked for alternative means of energy for Mekran Coast. PASSCO has been directed to supply 100, 000 tonnes of wheat to Balochistan immediately, Punjab would also provide 50 thousand tonnes of wheat while 200, 000 tonnes of wheat would be provided to Balochistna from imported wheat. He said 100 houses would be built for shelterless people in Quetta under Government's programme. (First Posted @ 16:50 PST Updated @ 20:40 PST)
Zimbabwe election announcement 'scandalous': opposition HARARE, May 2 (AFP) -Zimbabwe's opposition on Friday denounced the official results from a March 29 presidential poll as “scandalous,” claiming its candidate had won an outright majority over Robert Mugabe. “Without doubt, ZEC (Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission) has jumped the gun. This is scandalous. How do you announce a result without verification.... What is clear is that we won this election and there is no budget for a run-off,” opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Olympic torch arrives in Macau MACAU, May 2 (AFP) - The Olympic torch arrived in Macau late Friday, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Indian troops martyr two more Kashmiri youth Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, May 02 (PPI)- In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops martyred two more Kashmiri youth at Tesoornar in Handwara, last night. Earlier, an Indian trooper was killed in an attack in the same area. According to kms, thousands of people attended funeral prayers at various places on Friday for the four Kashmiri youth who were killed in custody by the troops in Pattan, Sopore and Handwara during the last two days. Senior Kashmir Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani and Shabbir Ahmed Shah addressing mourners reaffirmed that Kashmiris unparalleled sacrifices would never be allowed to go waste. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Sindh cabinet: 13 MQM ministers take oath Karachi, Pakistan, May 02 (PPI): The size of Sindh provincial cabinet swelled to 41 with the induction of 20 new ministers on Friday that includes seven of PPP and 13 of MQM under the power-sharing agreement between the two parties. The new ministers are: Makhdoom Jamil-u-Zaman, Zahid Hussain Bhurgri, Rafique Engineer, Ali Mardan Shah, Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi, Agha Taimoor and Dr. Mohan Lal, all of PPP; and Dr. Saghir Ahmed, Dr. Mohammad Ali Shah, Syed Faisal Sabzwari, Sheikh Mohammad Afzal, Khlaid Bin Wilayat, Zubair Ahmed Khan, Nadia Gabol, Raza Haroon, Rauf Siddiqui, Askari Taqi, Syed Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari, Adil Siddiqui and Abdul Haseeb of the MQM. With the induction of new ministers, the number of female ministers in the provincial cabinet rose to five while that of the minority community to three. The 21-member first batch of ministers included four women ministers, two ministers from minority members and one from the Awami National Party (ANP). The MQM has also been given one office of Advisor and a special assistant for which the notification of Khawaja Azharul Hassan and Ghulam Haider Rahu would be issued separately. (Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Over US$3 billion committed to Pakistan agriculture, dairy sector Dubai, May 2 (PPI):- Investors, institutions and entrepreneurs at first Middle East- Pakistan Agriculture and Dairy Investment Forum pledged over US$3 billion in new investments in Pakistan's agriculture and dairy sectors. The meeting was held with the support of major international names like Nestl Pakistan Ltd, Tetra Pak, DeLaval, Millac Foods, Habib Bank Ltd., Al Rabie Saudi Arabia & Shakargunj Ltd. Talking to group of more than 100 delegates, Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Group, said, “Pakistan's economy has seen extra-ordinary progress. A wide range of reforms were enacted in taxation, trade, tariffs, banking, finance, industry, agriculture, deregulation, privatization, fiscal transparency, governance. We see results of these bold measures in high levels of economic growth. Private sector's confidence is high and international investments increasing.” (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Pakistan judges to be reinstated May 12: Nawaz Sharif LAHORE, May 2 (AFP) - Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif announced at a televised Press conference on Friday that the ruling coalition will reinstate judges sacked by Pervez Musharraf on May 12. The chief of the Pakistn Muslim League (Nawaz) said the government will introduce a parliamentary resolution to restore some 60 judges, including the country's chief justice, whom Musharraf deposed under a state of emergency in November. The two-time ex-premier made the announcement a day after holding talks in Dubai with coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari to resolve a deadlock over the issue that threatened their fragile alliance. “God willing, all the deposed judges will be restored on May 12,” Sharif said after meeting with senior party members. “The national assembly will approve a resolution the same day followed by the issuance of notification of the restoration of judges sacked unconstitutionally on November 3,” he said. Zardari, the co-chairman of the PPP, and Sharif had agreed at a summit in the hill resort of Murree in March to restore the judges, but a 30-day deadline that they also gave at the time expired on Wednesday. The PPP had insisted that judicial reforms also be part of the package that brings back the judges. But Sharif, the head of the PML-N party, wanted them to be reinstated without conditions. (First Posted @ 18:38 PST Updated @ 19:12 PST)
South Sudan defence minister, 23 others killed in air crash KHARTOUM, May 2 (AFP) - South Sudan's defence minister was killed on Friday in a plane crash along with 23 other people, most of them army officers, the south's Deputy Prime Minister Riek Mashar said. The minister's plane crashed some 375 kilometres west of the southern capital Juba, Mashar told AFP. Mashar gave no reason for the crash, but ruled out an attack. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Pakistan judges to be reinstated May 12: Sharif LAHORE, Pakistan, May 2 (AFP) - Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif announced at a Press conference on Friday that judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf will be reinstated on May 12. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)
China has secret nuclear submarine base: Jane's LONDON, May 2 (AFP) - China is building a major underground nuclear submarine base on the southern tip of Hainan Island, defence group Jane's said Friday. “Jane's can confirm that the satellite pictures show that China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, on Hainan Island off its southern coast,” the group said. The Daily Telegraph, which reported the satellite images, called the base a “vast, James Bond-style edifice capable of concealing up to 20 nuclear-powered submarines. Janes said that Asian military sources had told it about the base in 2002, but the photographs provided independent verification. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)
US ambassador launches Apple Computers store in Lahore LAHORE, May 02-(PPI): U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson termed the launch of Apple Computers in Lahore today “a landmark of American investors' confidence” in Pakistan. “Information technology, especially in the personal computer sector, has grown phenomenally in Pakistan,” she said at a function. “The combination of internationally competitive costs and high-speed connectivity make Pakistan an attractive destination for IT investment.” (Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Iraq: Female suicide bomber kills 30, injures 65 Baghdad, May 2(Reuters) The U.S. military said a Predator aerial drone crashed in southern Iraq on Thursday. Mechanical failure was suspected. Meanwhile, Turkish warplanes launched a series of air strikes overnight on Kurdish rebel bases near Iraq's northern Qandil mountains, Turkish and rebel officials said. A rebel spokesmansaid there were no reports of any casualties. Meanwhile, the U.S. military said two suicide bombings in the town of Balad Ruz northeast of Baghdad on Thursday were carried out by a woman pretending to be pregnant and a male accomplice. The military said 29 people were killed and 52 wounded. Iraqi security sources put the death toll at 30, with 65 wounded.Separately, U.S. forces said they killed two gunmen in two separate air strikes in Sadr City as clashes overnight between U.S. forces and Mehdi army militants in al-Amil district in southwestern Baghdad left four fighters killed and 12 wounded. Seven people were also killed and nine wounded in clashes overnight in Sadr City. Police also found five bodies in different areas of Baghdad on Thursday. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
Eight killed, 45 wounded in Yemen mosque blast SANAA, May 2 (AFP) - At least eight people were killed and 45 wounded in Yemen on Friday when a blast went off at the entrance of Bin Salman mosque in Saada town, site of a Shiite rebellion, police and witnesses said. Some witnesses said a minibus parked outside the mosque exploded, while others said the blast was caused by a booby-trapped motorcycle. The blast came as hundreds of faithfuls were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers, witnesses said. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
PM Gilani’s policy decisions on Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan, May 02 (PPI)- Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday said the government was committed to ensure protection of rights of all federating units and reiterated that the Concurrent List of the constitution would be eliminated within one year. He also directed authorities to trace out the missing persons of Balochistan on priority basis. Addressing the provincial cabinet the prime minister said the government has decided to convene an All Parties Conference to promote reconciliation in the province and bring it back on board. He said the government will ensure implementation of six percent quota of jobs in federal government services for Balochistan. About the wheat situation Gilani said orders had been issued to immediately supply one hundred thousand tons of wheat to Balochistan. Besides, Punjab Government has been asked to provide fifty thousand tons of wheat and flour to Balochistan on emergency basis, and also to procure three hundred thousand tons of wheat especially for Balochistan. He said the province would also be provided two hundred thousand tons of wheat from the imported consignment. Mr. Gilani assured that the federal government would provide adequate funds to Balochistan to complete its development projects besides necessary funds to convert the 'B' area into 'A' of the province as well as financial assistance to the law enforcing agencies of the province to improve their performance. The Prime Minister appreciated Balochistan Government’s efforts for taking on board all political forces of the province to create political harmony and reconciliation. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Middle East talks in London call on Israel to cease settlement activity LONDON, May 2 (AP) - The Middle East peace Quartet held talks in London on Friday and called on Israel to cease all settlement activity to prevent the collapse of the peace process. Senior diplomats from the U.S., Russia, the EU and the United Nations, which make up the Quartet, issued a statement calling for more Israel-Palestinian negotiations and an end to attacks from both sides. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reading the statement after the Friday morning meeting, said the Quartet “expressed its deep concern” at Israel's continued settlement building on the West Bank and called for all outposts built since March 2001 to be dismantled. He also expressed concern over worsening humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. The diplomats did not report any substantial progress during the Quartet meeting, but special envoy Tony Blair and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said intense efforts are ongoing behind the scenes _ and may bear fruit later this year. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Nine killed as cargo freighter sinks off Zanzibar NAIROBI, May 2 (AFP) - At least nine people drowned when a ship carrying coal from South Africa sank off the coast of the Tanzanian semi-autonomous isle of Zanzibar, an official said Friday. The ship sank early Thursday, but its name, destination and the number of people on board had not yet been ascertained. “So far, we have reports that nine people -- four Singaporeans, four Filipinos and one Kenyan -- drowned,” the official said. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Nawaz Sharif to unveil details of judges' reinstatement ISLAMABAD, May 2 (AFP) - Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is to hold a news conference Friday evening to reveal the details of an agreement to reinstate judges who were sacked last year by President Pervez Musharraf. “The judges will be restored through a resolution in parliament. No one can stop the reinstatement of the judges,” Sharif told reporters on his arrival in Lahore on Friday. Sharif would take senior party members “into confidence” on his talks with PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari at a meeting and would then speak to the media, Siddiqul Farooq, a spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, told AFP. Zardari and Sharif agreed at a summit in the hill resort of Murree in March to restore the judges, but a 30-day deadline that they also gave at the time expired on Wednesday. “A lot of ground was covered and there is a clear understanding that in accordance with the Murree declaration all sacked judges will have to be restored,” PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP. “The talks centered around the modalities of implementation,” Babar said. The PPP has insisted that judicial reforms also be part of the package that brings back the judges. But Sharif wanted them to be reinstated without conditions. Sources in both parties said the parliamentary resolution would be followed later by a constitutional package. The package could include a time limit on the tenure of the chief justice and making the judiciary answerable to parliament, they said, although they would not give full details before Sharif's press conference. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Dozens of casualties in Yemen mosque blast SANAA, May 2 (AFP) - Dozens of people were killed or wounded in Yemen on Friday by an explosion in a mosque in the Saada region, site of a Shiite rebellion, witnesses said. It was not immediately known what caused the blast. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Olympic torch makes trouble-free Hong Kong stop HONG KONG, May 2 (AFP) -The Olympic torch made a trouble-free journey Friday through the streets of Hong Kong, kicking off the final Chinese leg of a worldwide journey. Friday's eight-hour relay came to a close at Hong Kong's Golden Bauhinia Square, site of the 1997 ceremony where colonial power Britain formally handed Hong Kong back to China. Earlier, it criss-crossed the city -- carried by 120 different people, rowed on traditional dragon boats and even ferried across the city's famed Victoria Harbour, escorted by a fireboat shooting jets of water into the sky. The eight-hour tour through Hong became a show of Chinese solidarity and patriotism. Tens of thousands of spectators lined streets, piers and riverbanks across the city, most dressed in the red of China and many visiting from the mainland. On Saturday, the torch will be paraded through Macau before being flown to mainland China for the rest of its journey -- including through Tibet -- before the August 8 Games opening ceremony. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Britain's Brown suffers major defeats in local polls LONDON, May 2 (AFP) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party suffered its worst results since the 1960s in local elections, forecasts said Friday, while a high-profile contest for London mayor hung in the balance. As results poured in, Labour - with Brown leading them into elections for the first time since taking office last year - was set to finish in third place behind the opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the BBC said. Voting in the capital took place Thursday, the same day as in the nationwide local polls, but counting starts at 0730 GMT and the results are expected to be announced sometime after 1600 GMT. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
US military says unmanned drone crashes in southern Iraq BAGHDAD, May 2 (AP) An unmanned drone crashed in southern Iraq Friday, the U.S. military said. The Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned drone crashed after being launched from an air base near Balad, 80 kms north of Baghdad, at about 4 a.m. The military said mechanical failure is suspected in the crash. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Zimbabwe opposition says disputes electoral figure HARARE, May 2 (Reuters) Zimbabwe's opposition Friday disputed results of a March 29 presidential election released to them by electoral officials Thursday. “We don't agree with their figures. They will have to prove us wrong. We are now going into the verification of those figures,” said Chris Mbanga, a representative of Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Senior government sources say Tsvangirai has beaten President Robert Mugabe but not by the majority needed to avoid a run-off ballot with the veteran leader, who has led Zimbabwe since 1980. The MDC insists Tsvangirai won outright. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Fighting kills 35 in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, May 2 (AFP) At least 34 Tamil Tiger rebels and a soldier died in the latest battles in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Friday. Security forces smashed rebel bunkers and engaged in artillery fire with Tamil separatists in the regions of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Weli Oya Thursday killing 34 guerrillas, the ministry said in a statement. The military said they also captured the town of Karuppukulam in the Mannar district Thursday and placed their own losses at one soldier dead and six injured. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Israelis and Palestinians must agree on final borders: Rice LONDON, May 2 (AP) Israeli and Palestinian negotiators should decide once and for all where to draw the line between Israeli and Palestinian territory, ending the argument over Jewish housing expansion on disputed ground, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. Rice also warned Thursday that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank does not equal a ''fait accompli'' that the houses or towns would remain in Israeli hands under a final settlement of the six-decade conflict. ''Ultimately the best answer is to determine what's going to be in Israel and what's going to be in Palestine,'' Rice said before meetings with negotiators and leaders on both sides in London and the Mideast. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Bush orders Myanmar state companies' assets frozen WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday he has ordered the U.S. Treasury to freeze the assets of Myanmar state-owned companies to further pressure the leadership there over human rights abuses. “Today I've issued a new executive order that instructs the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta,” Bush said at a celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Iran complains to UN over Clinton's attack threat UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (AFP) Iran's UN mission has complained to the Security Council over US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's threat to “totally obliterate” the Islamic Republic if it were to launch a nuclear attack on Israel. “The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its deep concern over, and strong condemnation of such a provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible statement against the Iranian nation and civilization,” Iran's deputy ambassador to the UN Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi said in a letter to the council released here Thursday. He said Senator Clinton “unwarrantedly and under erroneous and false pretexts threatened to use force” against Iran. In an April 22 interview with ABC television, Clinton was asked what she would do as president if Iran were to launch a nuclear strike on Israel. “I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran…totally obliterate them,” she added. “Such a statement is a flagrant violation of the most fundamental provisions of the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law,” Danesh-Yazdi retorted. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Bush proposes $770 million for world food crisis WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) President George W. Bush called for $770 million in new U.S. food aid donations and other measures Thursday as Washington seeks to stave off a food crisis threatening to envelop the developing world. Bush promised the United States would take a lead in fighting the hunger now gripping a greater swath of the developing world. “With the new international funding I'm announcing today, we're sending a clear message to the world that America will lead the fight against hunger for years to come,” Bush said. Administration officials said the $770 million would include $395 million in emergency food aid, $225 million for food vouchers, seeds, or aid purchases in the developing world, and $150 million for development work aimed at food security. If approved by Congress, the funds would become available on October 1, and would bring overall support for global food security to $2.66 billion for 2009. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
French aid worker killed in Chad PARIS, May 2 (AP) A French aid worker travelling in a humanitarian convoy was shot to death in eastern Chad, a Foreign Ministry official said. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Thursday denounced the killing of Pascal Marlinge as an ''ignoble act of barbarity.'' (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Turkish planes bomb Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq ANKARA, May 2 (AFP) Turkish planes bombed Kurdish rebel hide-outs in northern Iraq late Thursday in the latest in a series of cross-border strikes, the Anatolia news agency reported. The agency, citing an unnamed official from the autonomous Kurdish administration of northern Iraq, said many planes took part in the raid, which began shortly before midnight and continued into Friday. The strike targeted the Qandil area, a stronghold of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), it added. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Three killed in attacks in Thai south BANGKOK, May 2 (Reuters) Three people were killed in southern Thailand in two separate incidents. Four suspected militants armed with automatic rifles attacked the district office of a Buddhist volunteer militia in Pattani province late Thursday, killing one Buddhist and wounding another, police said. Less than an hour later, a hand grenade was thrown into a small mosque in a nearby district where about a dozen Muslims were praying. Two people were killed and eight wounded, police said. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Strong quake hits Alaska islands WASHINGTON, May 2 (AFP) A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Thursday near the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake's epicentre was located at a depth of 10 kilometres, 65 kilometres west of Adak, Alaska, the westernmost municipality in the United States. The quake occurred at 0133 GMT in the Andreanof Islands, the survey said. The reading was based on the open-ended moment magnitude scale. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Al-Jazeera cameraman held without charge for six years at Guantanamo returns home KHARTOUM, May 2 (AFP) A Sudanese cameraman with the Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera arrived home early Friday after being detained without charge for six years at the Guantanamo US military prison in Cuba. A US air force plane carrying Sami al-Haj landed at a state security terminal in Khartoum, an AFP photographer witnessed. He was greeted by his family before being whisked away to hospital for medical checks, the photographer said. Haj was flown in along with two other Sudanese nationals also detained at Guantanamo, Al-Jazeera said. Haj was arrested by the Pakistani army on the Afghan border in December 2001 and had been held without charge since June 2002 at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Haj had been tortured and subjected to some 200 interrogation sessions. According to his lawyer, Clive Stafford-Smith, Haj has lost some 18 kilograms, was suffering from intestinal problems and was subject to bouts of paranoia, the organization added. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Olympic torch relay underway in Hong Kong HONG KONG, May 2 (AFP) The troubled Olympic torch began its Chinese leg Friday in Hong Kong. Windsurfer Lee Lai-shan, Hong Kong's only Olympic gold medallist, began the relay through the city's rainy streets, carrying the flame on the homestretch to Beijing which is hosting the Games for the first time from August 8. She waved to the crowds packing the streets in Hong Kong's Kowloon district, surrounded by a team of bodyguards. Minor scuffles between China supporters and pro-Tibet demonstrators broke out before police intervened and scattered demonstrations were held before the relay began. (Posted @ 08:45 PST)
Media’s obsession with trust By Adrian Monck
WHY do media organisations want to wallow in trust like hippos in mud? They want to roll in it until they’re covered from head to toe. When it dries up, thanks to dodgy editing or phoney phone competitions, the mud cracks and it’s a “crisis”.
Trust has become a key concern in our media-obsessed age. Journalist still cling to the notion they are purveyors of the “truth”, guardians of public standards, the fourth estate.
Journalists are storytellers. The best of these stories may be parables with implications beyond the mere facts of who, what, where and when. But they are stories nonetheless, real stories about real people, to use the TV slogan, and the media are losing their monopoly on telling them.
The elevated professional ideal of the media’s public role held up pretty well through most of the 20th century. Courts, councils and parliamentary proceedings were all reported, along with racing results and sex scandals.
The modern obsession with trust really started in the late 1950s, with the advertising showdown between newspapers and television across the US. As Americans abandoned evening papers for the TV news, the newspaper industry looked for ways to reassure advertisers about its relationship with readers. The networks met the challenge by making the same claim about viewers. The quality that both decided made the relationship special was trust – which would reflect well on the advertiser’s products or services.
But how would you put a number on something as ephemeral as trust? Enter the pollsters. Newspaper industry groups and TV research departments were competing with each other to commission polls to prove their medium was more trusted than the next. But polls reflect the poll makers. They ask particular questions to elicit particular answers. The polls showed, funnily enough, that people trust the media they use. In the 1960s, TV news grew in trust as more people tuned in. In the 2000s, Google has become the most trusted source of news, even though it gathers no news. And therein lies part of the problem. Asking people what or whom they trust doesn’t make the media trustworthy.
On the back of a lengthy stint anchoring America’s favourite newscast, Walter Cronkite became the most trusted man in America. Trust stuck to Cronkite even after he stood down from the role at the start of the 1980s. He was the benchmark against which presidents were judged. It took several years for public trust in Cronkite to wane. He lost it simply because he wasn’t sitting behind a desk every night.
As the critic Neil Postman recognised at the time, trust “does not refer to the past record of the teller for making statements that have survived the rigours of reality testing. It refers only to the impression of sincerity, authenticity, vulnerability or attractiveness.”
But by the 1990s, polling on trust had generated such a history and so much data that the sniping of critics like Postman could be ignored. Ironically, both critics of the media, and the media themselves, rushed to embrace it. Critics saw declining trust as the result of moral lapses by broadcasters or journalists. Corporations with good poll numbers wore high levels of trust as a badge of public probity.
Trust was particularly appealing as a benchmark for an organisation such as the BBC. In the 20th century the BBC had sold itself as authoritative, but authority was old-fashioned and hard to express in percentages when its budget came up for renegotiation.
So at the start of the 21st century the BBC too put its faith in trust, to the extent that at the beginning of this year the BBC’s director general, Mark Thompson, devoted a lengthy public lecture to just this topic, following last year’s dissertation on trust and the media by Tony Blair.
It’s time the public saw the obsession with trust for what it is – a desire by the media to have the pulpit to themselves. It’s not a malicious desire, but it lies behind most of what professional journalism wants to do – moralise, chastise, improve.
I believe the answer in part is in restoring access to the areas of public life that the “elevated” media were supposed to shine a light on. Make court transcripts available electronically. Make government and corporate data easy to search and free.
—The Guardian, London
The writer is the professor of journalism at City University, London.
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