Ten years, ten times the culture. In art, literature, film, music and theatre the Herald looks back at the decade that was. 2000 to 2010 is a long time, but a couple of overall trends clearly defined these years. Military dictatorship, corruption, inflation, flawed democracy — these are issues that Pakistan’s creative community has addressed before and continues to reflect. But it was the country’s exposure to global geopolitics in the 2000s – whether its difficult relationship with the United States or its internal struggle with Islamist violence – that became the main inspiration for creative activity this decade. It was also obvious that what growth there was resulted from the patronage of a world suddenly fascinated by all things Pakistan, the individual efforts of ambitious and entrepreneurial artists and writers, and the support of domestic private sponsors and non-governmental organisations. The Pakistani state continued to be largely absent as a source of support.
Within this bigger picture the story varied for each field. In art and literature Pakistanis went global, winning international critical acclaim and awards and experimenting with exciting new styles influenced by global movements. In music it was a decade of experimentation and entrepreneurship, whether Sufi music going mainstream, the emergence of an underground music scene or Pakistani musicians crossing the border into India in droves. In film and theatre, sadly, the picture was much less upbeat. While Bollywood achieved some high points amidst the thousands of movies it churned out and foreign films used formal expertise to address the world’s most pressing issues, Lollywood’s demise continued unabated apart from occasional independent efforts. As for theatre, the institutionalisation of training resulted in an increase in the number of productions in the last few years of the decade, but overall the field remains severely underdeveloped. Most notable plays in the last decade were put together by activist theatre groups that are in the process of transforming themselves from issue-focused political performers into cultural revivalists.
And much of whatever creative activity there was occurred in the first seven years of the decade, economic boom time at home and abroad when it was raining sponsorship and donor money. Post recession there is still healthy activity in some fields, but not at the heady levels that persisted until early 2008. What remains to be seen is how things will change now that the world is no longer swimming in cash. – by Madiha Sattar
Monday, January 31, 2011
Pakistani scholar completes double doctorates from France in Record Time
ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commision (HEC) scholar Kashif Mehmood has made the nation proud by successfully completing two PhD degrees from France within a period of four years.
He is among those few fortunate researchers in the world who have secured double doctorates in two different disciplines (Business Administration and Computer Science) from two leading universities, says a press release issued here.
Dr. Kashif Mehmood completed four postgraduate degrees (PhD in Computer Science, PhD in Business Administration, M.Phil in Business Administration, MS in Computer Science) within the last five years.
He was awarded HEC scholarship under Overseas Scholarship Scheme for PhD in Selected Fields (Phase-1) in 2004.
Based on his education and experience, he secured admission in MS programme at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) that is ranked among the best universities in the world.
During his research internship, Dr. Kashif impressed his supervisor with his technical, analytical and managerial skills for which he was offered a PhD thesis in Computer Science.
After starting PhD in Computer Science, Dr. Kashif applied for an M.Phil (Business Administration) in a leading French business school, ESSEC Business School. Getting into ESSEC was a difficult task and securing full fees waiver (worth 10,000 Euros/Year) was almost impossible.
But Dr. Kashif secured an admission along with a full fees waiver for the first year (renewable each year). He completed his MPhil (Business Administration) within two years along with working on his Computer Science thesis. After MPhil, he was offered to continue towards PhD in Business Administration from ESSEC.
Dr. Kashif defended both of his PhDs in front of a jury consisting of eight senior and eminent professors/researchers. Dr. Kashif received exceptionally good reviews for his dissertation and was highly praised during his defense presentation.
He was offered a full-time tenure track position in a leading university in Canada that he turned down to return to Pakistan and serve his country.
Selfless intellectuals like Dr. Kashif Mehmood are a true inspiration to our youth and a pride to our nation.
He is among those few fortunate researchers in the world who have secured double doctorates in two different disciplines (Business Administration and Computer Science) from two leading universities, says a press release issued here.
Dr. Kashif Mehmood completed four postgraduate degrees (PhD in Computer Science, PhD in Business Administration, M.Phil in Business Administration, MS in Computer Science) within the last five years.
He was awarded HEC scholarship under Overseas Scholarship Scheme for PhD in Selected Fields (Phase-1) in 2004.
Based on his education and experience, he secured admission in MS programme at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) that is ranked among the best universities in the world.
During his research internship, Dr. Kashif impressed his supervisor with his technical, analytical and managerial skills for which he was offered a PhD thesis in Computer Science.
After starting PhD in Computer Science, Dr. Kashif applied for an M.Phil (Business Administration) in a leading French business school, ESSEC Business School. Getting into ESSEC was a difficult task and securing full fees waiver (worth 10,000 Euros/Year) was almost impossible.
But Dr. Kashif secured an admission along with a full fees waiver for the first year (renewable each year). He completed his MPhil (Business Administration) within two years along with working on his Computer Science thesis. After MPhil, he was offered to continue towards PhD in Business Administration from ESSEC.
Dr. Kashif defended both of his PhDs in front of a jury consisting of eight senior and eminent professors/researchers. Dr. Kashif received exceptionally good reviews for his dissertation and was highly praised during his defense presentation.
He was offered a full-time tenure track position in a leading university in Canada that he turned down to return to Pakistan and serve his country.
Selfless intellectuals like Dr. Kashif Mehmood are a true inspiration to our youth and a pride to our nation.
US Egyptians call on Obama to act
A Egyptian-American businessman in the state of Virginia explains how events in his home country are affecting him
Continue reading the main story
Egypt Unrest
Egyptians around the world are watching events in their home country with interest and concern. In the United States there are 200,000 Egyptians, many of whom live in Northern Virginia and the Washington DC area.
The Khan El Khalili superstore in Falls Church, on the outskirts of Washington DC looks, sounds and even smells like a slice of Egypt in America.
Just like its namesake - the famous Khan El Khalili market in Cairo - it stocks an eclectic and vast array of gifts and artefacts.
The choice is immense - here you can buy everything from spices to stuffed camels, hookah pipes to hand mixed perfumes, incense sticks to instruments of all kinds.
Its owner Mohammed Khattab moved to America from Egypt twenty years ago.
American action
"As an Egyptian, I'm disappointed, and as an American, I'm disappointed and ashamed," he says.
Mr Khattab speaks with a heavy heart as he reflects on the current happenings in Egypt, and the response from the American administration.
He says the sentiments in Mr Obama's landmark speech in Cairo in 2009 - which called for greater democracy in the Middle East - haven't been matched by his actions.
"I was hoping, like everybody else, that he'd become strong about this.
"People believed him and were inspired by him because he is African-American," he says.
Khan El Khalili The Khan El Khalili superstore is a taste of Egypt in America
Mr Khattab is also concerned for his friends and family back in Cairo, and wishes he could be with them at this time.
His colleague Ehab Ahmed, who works as the store manager, has also been in regular contact with his loved ones back in the city.
"Everybody is afraid because of the lack of security in dowtown Cairo, there's no police presence. It's chaos, everybody is protecting themselves," he says.
Like Mr Khattab, Ehab believes it is time for President Mubarak to step down. In his place, he says he would like to see a coalition of young people, drawn from all the opposition parties to decide Egypt's future.
In the instrument section of the shop, the sound of Mahmood Hasanin playing the flute draws us over.
In between musical bursts, Mr Hasanin shares his story. He came to America in 1981 - the same year Hosni Mubarak assumed power in Egypt.
Safety concerns
He believes the US holds the key to resolving the situation there.
"America needs to make the decision well for these people," he tells me, but when pressed on what that might be, he's unsure.
"He's had a nice history for the world, he's a military man, he's had 30 years. But now he should ask the people what they want," he adds.
The Egyptian community in Virginia also includes many Coptic Christians who are worried for their relatives back home.
Adel and Ghada Bassali Adel and Ghada Bassali believe President Mubarek should go, but not until September's elections
Akram Joseph runs the Old Cairo Grill in the town of Burke which aims to recreate the real taste of Egypt. He is intensely proud to live in America, a country he believes has the freedoms and democracy his family back in Alexandria in Egypt aren't afforded.
Over freshly made hummus, falafel, baklava and hot Egyptian tea, he shares his fears for his country.
"I'm concerned for the safety of my friends and relatives. Even though we see a lot through the news, we don't get the full picture, and communicaton can be disrupted at any minute," he explains.
Mr Joseph says he is particulary worried because his friends and family back in Egypt only recently had to deal with the tragedy of a suicide bomber blowing up a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria on New Years Eve.
He believes both Christians and Muslims from Egypt share the same vision for a new government - "we are one community and we live together," he says.
Uncertain future
Enjoying a chicken shawarma at one of the tables at the restaurant are Adel and Ghada Bassali who are also originally from Alexandria. They both believe Mr Mubarak's time is up, but don't think he should go immediately.
"I definitely don't feel like it is a good time for him to go now," says Mr Bassali, "Somebody else would have to fill the space right now and that would be chaotic," says Mr Bassali.
He believes the best solution would be to wait until September - when elections are already scheduled - to choose a new government.
He says he fears "fanatic Islamists who could change the constitution," could take over from Mr Mubarak, and singles out his concern about the Muslim Brotherhood - Egypt's largest opposition group - which supports sharia law.
His wife Ghada chips in to say that her family in Egypt think Omar Suleiman, the current Vice-President, would be a good choice.
It's impossible to guess the country's long term future - but the outcome will matter as much to those inside Egypt - as it will to the thousands who left the country for America.
Continue reading the main story
Egypt Unrest
Egyptians around the world are watching events in their home country with interest and concern. In the United States there are 200,000 Egyptians, many of whom live in Northern Virginia and the Washington DC area.
The Khan El Khalili superstore in Falls Church, on the outskirts of Washington DC looks, sounds and even smells like a slice of Egypt in America.
Just like its namesake - the famous Khan El Khalili market in Cairo - it stocks an eclectic and vast array of gifts and artefacts.
The choice is immense - here you can buy everything from spices to stuffed camels, hookah pipes to hand mixed perfumes, incense sticks to instruments of all kinds.
Its owner Mohammed Khattab moved to America from Egypt twenty years ago.
American action
"As an Egyptian, I'm disappointed, and as an American, I'm disappointed and ashamed," he says.
Mr Khattab speaks with a heavy heart as he reflects on the current happenings in Egypt, and the response from the American administration.
He says the sentiments in Mr Obama's landmark speech in Cairo in 2009 - which called for greater democracy in the Middle East - haven't been matched by his actions.
"I was hoping, like everybody else, that he'd become strong about this.
"People believed him and were inspired by him because he is African-American," he says.
Khan El Khalili The Khan El Khalili superstore is a taste of Egypt in America
Mr Khattab is also concerned for his friends and family back in Cairo, and wishes he could be with them at this time.
His colleague Ehab Ahmed, who works as the store manager, has also been in regular contact with his loved ones back in the city.
"Everybody is afraid because of the lack of security in dowtown Cairo, there's no police presence. It's chaos, everybody is protecting themselves," he says.
Like Mr Khattab, Ehab believes it is time for President Mubarak to step down. In his place, he says he would like to see a coalition of young people, drawn from all the opposition parties to decide Egypt's future.
In the instrument section of the shop, the sound of Mahmood Hasanin playing the flute draws us over.
In between musical bursts, Mr Hasanin shares his story. He came to America in 1981 - the same year Hosni Mubarak assumed power in Egypt.
Safety concerns
He believes the US holds the key to resolving the situation there.
"America needs to make the decision well for these people," he tells me, but when pressed on what that might be, he's unsure.
"He's had a nice history for the world, he's a military man, he's had 30 years. But now he should ask the people what they want," he adds.
The Egyptian community in Virginia also includes many Coptic Christians who are worried for their relatives back home.
Adel and Ghada Bassali Adel and Ghada Bassali believe President Mubarek should go, but not until September's elections
Akram Joseph runs the Old Cairo Grill in the town of Burke which aims to recreate the real taste of Egypt. He is intensely proud to live in America, a country he believes has the freedoms and democracy his family back in Alexandria in Egypt aren't afforded.
Over freshly made hummus, falafel, baklava and hot Egyptian tea, he shares his fears for his country.
"I'm concerned for the safety of my friends and relatives. Even though we see a lot through the news, we don't get the full picture, and communicaton can be disrupted at any minute," he explains.
Mr Joseph says he is particulary worried because his friends and family back in Egypt only recently had to deal with the tragedy of a suicide bomber blowing up a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria on New Years Eve.
He believes both Christians and Muslims from Egypt share the same vision for a new government - "we are one community and we live together," he says.
Uncertain future
Enjoying a chicken shawarma at one of the tables at the restaurant are Adel and Ghada Bassali who are also originally from Alexandria. They both believe Mr Mubarak's time is up, but don't think he should go immediately.
"I definitely don't feel like it is a good time for him to go now," says Mr Bassali, "Somebody else would have to fill the space right now and that would be chaotic," says Mr Bassali.
He believes the best solution would be to wait until September - when elections are already scheduled - to choose a new government.
He says he fears "fanatic Islamists who could change the constitution," could take over from Mr Mubarak, and singles out his concern about the Muslim Brotherhood - Egypt's largest opposition group - which supports sharia law.
His wife Ghada chips in to say that her family in Egypt think Omar Suleiman, the current Vice-President, would be a good choice.
It's impossible to guess the country's long term future - but the outcome will matter as much to those inside Egypt - as it will to the thousands who left the country for America.
Early bowel cancer detected by dogs in Japan
A Labrador retriever has sniffed out bowel cancer in breath and stool samples during a study in Japan.
The research, in the journal journal Gut, showed the dog was able to identify early stages of the disease.
It has already been suggested that dogs can use their noses to detect skin, bladder, lung, ovarian and breast cancers.
Cancer Research UK said it would be extremely difficult to use dogs for routine cancer testing.
The biology of a tumour is thought to include a distinct smell and a series of studies have used dogs to try to detect it.
Early cancers found
The researchers at Kyushu University used Marine, an eight-year-old black Labrador.
She was asked to pick from five samples, one of which was from a cancer patient and four from healthy people.
In the breath tests she picked out the cancer sample 33 out of 36 times.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The specific cancer scent indeed exists, but the chemical compounds are not clear. Only the dog knows the true answer”
End Quote Dr Hideto Sonoda Kyushu University
She was even more successful with the stool samples, finding 37 out of 38 cancers.
Even early bowel cancers were detected, which is notoriously difficult.
The NHS screening programme tests for small amounts of blood in faeces, but the researchers believe it picks up only one in 10 early cases.
One in 20 people in the UK develop bowel cancer during their lifetime and more than 16,000 die each year.
Dr Hideto Sonoda, from Kyushu University, said: "It may be difficult to introduce canine scent judgement into clinical practice owing to the expense and time required for the dog trainer and dog education.
"Scent ability and concentration vary between dogs and also within the same dog on different days.
Electronic nose
Some early research on developing an "electronic dog's nose" has taken place, which shows the potential for a cancer breath test.
Dr Sonoda told the BBC: "The specific cancer scent indeed exists, but the chemical compounds are not clear. Only the dog knows the true answer."
"It is therefore necessary to identify the cancer specific volatile organic compounds [smells] detected by dogs and to develop an early cancer detection sensor that can be substituted for canine scent judgement."
"To complete the sensor useful in clinical practice as a new diagnostic method is still expected to take some time."
Nell Barrie, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Although some dogs seem to be able to smell cancer in certain situations, we're still a long way from understanding exactly what they are detecting and this small study in one dog doesn't give us any new clues.
"It would be extremely difficult to use dogs as part of routine testing for cancer, and that's why further research in this area is concentrating on finding out more about the molecules given out by tumours, to see if they could be detected in other ways."
Mark Flannagan, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer, said: "This study looks interesting but it is for the scientists to verify whether these findings could lead to future developments for screening.
"The clear message is that screening saves lives and we encourage everyone eligible to take part in the existing NHS bowel cancer screening programme."
The research, in the journal journal Gut, showed the dog was able to identify early stages of the disease.
It has already been suggested that dogs can use their noses to detect skin, bladder, lung, ovarian and breast cancers.
Cancer Research UK said it would be extremely difficult to use dogs for routine cancer testing.
The biology of a tumour is thought to include a distinct smell and a series of studies have used dogs to try to detect it.
Early cancers found
The researchers at Kyushu University used Marine, an eight-year-old black Labrador.
She was asked to pick from five samples, one of which was from a cancer patient and four from healthy people.
In the breath tests she picked out the cancer sample 33 out of 36 times.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The specific cancer scent indeed exists, but the chemical compounds are not clear. Only the dog knows the true answer”
End Quote Dr Hideto Sonoda Kyushu University
She was even more successful with the stool samples, finding 37 out of 38 cancers.
Even early bowel cancers were detected, which is notoriously difficult.
The NHS screening programme tests for small amounts of blood in faeces, but the researchers believe it picks up only one in 10 early cases.
One in 20 people in the UK develop bowel cancer during their lifetime and more than 16,000 die each year.
Dr Hideto Sonoda, from Kyushu University, said: "It may be difficult to introduce canine scent judgement into clinical practice owing to the expense and time required for the dog trainer and dog education.
"Scent ability and concentration vary between dogs and also within the same dog on different days.
Electronic nose
Some early research on developing an "electronic dog's nose" has taken place, which shows the potential for a cancer breath test.
Dr Sonoda told the BBC: "The specific cancer scent indeed exists, but the chemical compounds are not clear. Only the dog knows the true answer."
"It is therefore necessary to identify the cancer specific volatile organic compounds [smells] detected by dogs and to develop an early cancer detection sensor that can be substituted for canine scent judgement."
"To complete the sensor useful in clinical practice as a new diagnostic method is still expected to take some time."
Nell Barrie, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Although some dogs seem to be able to smell cancer in certain situations, we're still a long way from understanding exactly what they are detecting and this small study in one dog doesn't give us any new clues.
"It would be extremely difficult to use dogs as part of routine testing for cancer, and that's why further research in this area is concentrating on finding out more about the molecules given out by tumours, to see if they could be detected in other ways."
Mark Flannagan, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer, said: "This study looks interesting but it is for the scientists to verify whether these findings could lead to future developments for screening.
"The clear message is that screening saves lives and we encourage everyone eligible to take part in the existing NHS bowel cancer screening programme."
USS Abraham Lincoln provides air support to Afghanistan
When British troops in Helmand need air support, it doesn't only come from airfields within Afghanistan itself - it may come from a floating runway 500 miles away.
Map of Arabian Sea
That runway is a US Navy aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, currently the massive USS Abraham Lincoln.
Over the last few months its 65 aircraft have undertaken up to 30 missions a day.
"Over 75% of the close air support missions we have flown from the carrier in the past three months have been in direct support of the UK Marines and forces in Helmand province," says Rear Adm Mark Guadagnini, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, the small armada of US warships operating in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is the centrepiece of the fleet.
"We are the mobile artillery for the coalition forces," says Adm Guadagnini.
Spotting roadside bombs
Lt Sarah Abbott, an F-18 pilot, described one air strike, with a laser-guided bomb.
Continue reading the main story
USS Abraham Lincoln
USS Abraham Lincoln file picture
* Weight: 97,000 tons
* Length: 333 metres (more than three soccer pitches)
* Speed: 30+ knots (34+mph, 56+kmph)
* Crew: 5,680 (3,200 ship's company, 2,480 air wing)
* Engines: 2 nuclear reactors
* Aircraft: approx. 65 (F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, E-2 Hawkeyes, EA-6B Prowlers, SH-60 helicopters)
"I was engaged with the J-TAC, the guy on the ground who is the air controller. And we were in support of a troop in contact situation," she recalls.
"They were taking fire from an insurgent position, and we were called in to take out that insurgent position."
This is a classic case of air support for ground troops. But a surprising number of people on the USS Abraham Lincoln emphasise the care with which destructive force is now used.
This follows devastating mistakes by US and other Nato forces, in which Afghan civilians died, with deeply damaging consequences for the Western effort.
"We've got very specific sets of rules of engagement procedures and we spent months prior to getting here studying these," Lt Abbott says.
"Dropping bombs is not our measure of success," says another F-18 pilot, Lt Cdr Eric Taylor. The mission, he says, is to support the ground troops, to let them know the air power is available, and to use weapons only when called upon.
Other tactics include loud, low "show-of-force" passes over enemy positions to encourage them to keep their heads down.
The F-18s also use their sensors to try to locate possible improvised explosive device (IED) or roadside bomb positions.
Prowlers
The USS Abraham Lincoln does not only carry fighter aircraft. It is an entire air force at sea.
Its E-2 Hawkeye radar warning and control planes help co-ordinate the air campaign, including other coalition aircraft and drones.
And then there is the ship's detachment of EA-6B Prowlers - electronic jamming aircraft. They also have a role in countering the IED threat, but just how remains murky.
"I must be a bit careful with this one, because it gets classified fairly quickly," says Lt Cdr Thomas Huerter, the commander of the Lincoln's Prowler detachment.
The planes have the ability "to influence the electromagnetic spectrum", he says rather elusively.
"That gets into a lot of operational capabilities that I can't really get into. But the counter-IED threat is an enormous effort across the force, and just about everyone has a piece of it, and - sure - we have a piece of it."
Fortress at sea
Aboard the Lincoln, Afghanistan feels very remote. And it is.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We bring the logistics capability to be able to surge for a long time”
End Quote Mark Guadagnini Rear Admiral, US Navy
The pilots endure seven-hour missions to and from the operating areas, with air-to-air refuelling to extend their planes' ranges.
The UK may have given up on aircraft carriers for the rest of this decade as a result of the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review, but it is clear that the US Navy sees the carrier as adding a critical element to the coalition effort - including flexibility.
"We can operate day, night, in bad weather, 24-hours-a-day if necessary. We bring the logistics capability to be able to surge for a long time," says Adm Guadagnini.
"Something can happen to any of the runways anywhere in theatre, so they might be prevented from operating, but we can still operate in international waters wherever we want to go."
That flexibility means the USS Abraham Lincoln has also operated in the Gulf, supporting US forces in Iraq. And does the commanding officer of the ship itself, Captain John Alexander, worry about Iran?
"We're always cognisant of what's going on on the coast of Iran, what's going on on the coast of Oman, and we try to keep track of where everybody is at all times," Captain Alexander says. "It would be imprudent of us not to do that. But I wouldn't say I worry about it."
And despite talk of China, for example, developing new missiles that could threaten US carriers, Captain Alexander says he believes the carrier will remain a potent symbol of the US ability to project influence. "I see it fulfilling that role far into the future," he says.
Certainly the impression aboard is that the USS Abraham Lincoln really is like a fortress at sea. And by the end of its deployment, which is approaching, its planes will have completed some 2,000 missions over Afghanistan.
Russia's Medvedev to unveil Boris Yeltsin statue
For the first time since the Soviet era, a statue has been erected to a Russian political leader. The monument in Yekaterinburg, Boris Yeltsin's home city, is the centrepiece of the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of his birth.
Until recently, state-owned channels had been emphasising the out-of-control criminality associated with the Yeltsin years, but this week his official reputation appears to have been re-evaluated with the broadcast of stirring TV documentaries.
The extent of the rehabilitation is best illustrated by the appearance of President Dmitry Medvedev himself at the unveiling of the statue. It is an intriguing development given the Russian political tradition of denouncing one's predecessors.
Naina Yeltsina says she is glad that her husband's memory is being treated with more respect.
"Looking back now, it might seem as if all the problems should have been easier to solve," she told the BBC.
"But you have to remember that at that time there were two camps - those who wanted democracy and freedom, and those who wanted to keep the totalitarian communist regime - and there were a lot of them.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
As with other political leaders not everything he did was successful. That's why my obelisk is not static - it is a block of stone moving forward and leaving debris behind it”
End Quote Georgy Frangulyan Sculptor
"Imagine what it was like for him trying to force through all these reforms against the will of these people who had a majority in parliament and a lot of influence on the government," she said.
'Defiant speech'
Boris Yeltsin is best remembered for the moment in August 1991 when, in the middle of the coup by Communist hardliners, he climbed up onto a tank outside the Russian parliament to make a speech in defiance of the plotters.
There were millions of protesters on the streets of Moscow at the time, but it was also his charisma and sheer force of will that won the day for the democrats.
When the Soviet Union dissolved, Boris Yeltsin, as Russian president, became the leader of what was still a vast land.
He accelerated the reforms that had been started by Mikhail Gorbachev, rushing in a free market and privatising state industries.
But many Russians remember the 1990s as years in which pensioners became impoverished, while a few men became billionaires through acquiring huge chunks of the country's natural resources.
Gangsters and mafia bosses rose to prominence in many cities. Russia fought two bloody wars trying to suppress separatists in Chechnya.
Several times the president appeared to be drunk in public.
'Not static'
Testing public opinion in Yekaterinburg in an unscientific manner, we met Vladimir, a former submariner from the Soviet navy who blamed the corruption of those years on the people around Yeltsin.
Honor guards stand by the coffin of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin inside Christ the Savior Cathedral, during a farewell ceremony, Moscow, Wednesday, April 25, 2007, with Yeltsin's family members behind the coffin. Yeltsin died of a heart attack in 2007 aged 76
"Boris Yeltsin was just the front man. Behind him there were people involved in all sorts of dealings. They got what they wanted, but he had very little to do with all that stuff."
At his Moscow studio, Georgy Frangulyan - the sculptor and architect commissioned to build the Yeltsin monument - told me: "He came to power in a difficult period and he did a lot of good, but just as with other political leaders not everything he did was successful. That's why my obelisk is not static - it is a block of stone moving forward and leaving debris behind it."
I also went to see Alexander Lebedev, a man who typifies the changes in Russia in the last two decades. A former KGB officer, he is now a banker and owns several newspapers, including the Independent and the Evening Standard in Britain.
But recently he has complained of being harassed by the Russian police.
"I think Yeltsin took us forward to the democratic society, probably 30 or 40 percent," he said.
"Then Putin took us another 10 percent in his first term. Since 2004 I think we moved back another 25 percent - no governors' elections; the electronic media is fully controlled."
"We have all these pictures of Putin and Medvedev taking care of us on a daily basis," he added sarcastically.
One of Boris Yeltsin's legacies is that he was the man who plucked Vladimir Putin from relative obscurity and made him prime minister.
Since then his protege has served two terms as president and is now prime minister once more, and Mr Putin has not ruled out standing for president again next year.
Listen
China TV 'substitutes Top Gun for air force footage'
China's state broadcaster used footage that appears to have been taken from a Hollywood film in one of its news reports - but not for the first time.
A China Central Television story about the country's air force showed an explosion that was identical to a scene from the 1986 film Top Gun.
The broadcaster often uses film clips in its news reports.
A person familiar with the company said it was currently trying to set up a system to contain this situation.
The disputed scene was aired on CCTV's main news bulletin on 23 January.
It was in a report about a training exercise undertaken by the People's Liberation Army's air force.
There were interviews with senior military figures.
Over pictures of fighter jets in action, the reporter told viewers that this was a live-fire exercise and all targets had been hit.
One scene showed a pilot firing a missile. A plane was then hit before exploding into flames.
But some keen-eyed observers posted comments on the internet claiming that the scene was identical to one in Top Gun, starring Hollywood actor Tom Cruise.
One person familiar with the way CCTV works said this would not be the first time movie footage was used in a news report.
"There are other cases of the deliberate use of inappropriate footage," he said.
Sometimes it happened because picture editors and reporters were being lazy, or the footage was simply too good not to use, said the source.
It occurs mostly in stories about the military, or science and technology. This is because it can be difficult to spot inconsistencies.
CCTV does not always tell viewers the footage is not genuine or pay royalties for the film and TV clips it uses.
A few years ago the European Union's then-trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, complained that CCTV had never paid any royalties to EU copyright holders.
An editor on the CCTV news programme that broadcast the "Top Gun" footage declined to comment.
US gunman’s fate to be decided by court: Zardari
New Zealand bat first against Pakistan Military calls Egyptian people’s demands ‘legitimate’ Petroleum prices kept unchanged US gunman’s fate to be decided by court: Zardari More than 300 industries shut in KP, Balochistan US gunman’s fate to be decided by court: Zardari From the Newspaper By Syed Irfan Raza (5 hours ago) Today Zardari President Asif Ali Zardari meeting with US congressional delegation at Aiwan-e-Sadr. - APP Photo ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has turned down a demand by US congressmen to hand over Raymond Davis, the American national who killed two people in Lahore on Thursday. According to sources, President Zardari came under immense pressure on Monday when a six-member delegation of US congressmen called on him and sought diplomatic immunity for the arrested US national and said he should be handed over to the US government forthwith. The president reiterated the stance expressed earlier by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif that the matter would be decided by court. The 45-minute meeting revolved around Raymond Davis, whose visa status is yet to be ascertained. The US embassy insists that he is its official or a member of its technical staff, thus enjoying diplomatic immunity, but details of his passport revealed by the media say otherwise. According to the president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Mr Zardari told the US delegation that he appreciated their concern, but the matter was already before the courts. “It will be prudent to wait for the legal course to be completed.” The sources said the issue was raised at the start of the meeting and then the president touched other matters. However, the US delegation again came to the issue and the meeting continued to discuss it for a long time. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said: “The federal government is not putting any pressure to hand over Raymond Davis to America.” Some observers are of the view that the Pakistan Muslim League-N, which heads the coalition government in Punjab, has taken a stiffer stand on the issue to get political mileage. This has made it difficult for the federal government to act leniently. They say the situation could become more complex for the president and the federal government if the courts reject diplomatic status of the US national and treat him like an ordinary foreigner. Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a TV channel: “Once the status of Raymond Davis is confirmed the government will take action accordingly.” “Matters relating to Pakistan-US relations, mutual cooperation, the fight against militancy, reconstruction opportunity zones and the security situation in the region, among other related issues, were discussed during the meeting,” the president’s spokesman said. President Zardari highlighted the economic situation of the country and focused upon the need for US support to Pakistan in pleading its case for assistance and market access before the international community. “Ours is a war-ravaged and flood-stricken economy and our people need priority attention and assistance to overcome financial difficulties. “Our priority is trade, and not aid. We need preferential market access to support our economy against the dire impact of the ongoing struggle against militancy on one hand, and to rehabilitate and reconstruct infrastructure damaged by devastating floods on the other,” he said. The president said a long-term and stable equation marked by close collaboration and multidimensional cooperation between the two countries guaranteed not only development of the country but also peace and stability of the region. The members of the delegation praised the country’s struggle against militancy and promised continued US support in this regard to the people and government of Pakistan. President Asif Zardari reiterated his call for expediting the ROZs legislation to create economic opportunities in areas ravaged by militancy. He said Pakistan had an abiding interest in a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan and it firmly believed in neutrality and non-interference in the internal affairs of the country. Pakistan, the president said, would continue to support all efforts for sustainable peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.
Hillary Clinton: Haiti aid will not be suspended
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told reporters the US would not be suspending aid to Haiti.
She rejected suggestions that the US would cut off aid to pressure Haiti into accepting the recommendations made by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to settle the electoral crisis.
Mrs Clinton was speaking after meeting the three leading candidates and the outgoing President Rene Preval.
Final results of the first round of the election are expected on Wednesday.
Mrs Clinton stressed she wanted to see the recommendations made by the OAS enacted.
"We want to see the voices and votes of the Haitian people acknowledged and recognised," she said shortly after landing at Port-au-Prince airport.
Electoral crisis
The OAS has called for the government-backed candidate, Jude Celestin, to pull out of the race after monitors accused his supporters of rigging the first round of the election in his favour.
His party has withdrawn its backing, but Mr Celestin has refused to confirm that he is pulling out.
Asked if the Obama Administration was considering an embargo or a suspension of aid, Mrs Clinton answered that they were "not talking about any of that".
"We have a deep commitment to the Haitian people," she added.
Last month, US Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who oversees foreign aid for Haiti, called for a halt to funds until the crisis was resolved.
At the time, Mrs Clinton said that Haitian officials should heed Senator Leahy's warning and ensure a fair outcome to the election.
Preliminary results of the first round put former first lady Mirlande Manigat in first place and Jude Celestin in second, edging out the third-placed candidate, Michel Martelly.
Mr Martelly's supporters said the poll had been rigged in Mr Celestin's favour, an allegation which was later backed up by international monitors.
Under pressure from the United Nations, the OAS and the US, Mr Celestin's party withdrew its backing, but Mr Celestin has not yet confirmed whether he will bow out.
On Friday, the electoral commission said it would announce the results of the disputed first round on Wednesday, and set the date for the second and final round for 20 March 2011.
She rejected suggestions that the US would cut off aid to pressure Haiti into accepting the recommendations made by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to settle the electoral crisis.
Mrs Clinton was speaking after meeting the three leading candidates and the outgoing President Rene Preval.
Final results of the first round of the election are expected on Wednesday.
Mrs Clinton stressed she wanted to see the recommendations made by the OAS enacted.
"We want to see the voices and votes of the Haitian people acknowledged and recognised," she said shortly after landing at Port-au-Prince airport.
Electoral crisis
The OAS has called for the government-backed candidate, Jude Celestin, to pull out of the race after monitors accused his supporters of rigging the first round of the election in his favour.
His party has withdrawn its backing, but Mr Celestin has refused to confirm that he is pulling out.
Asked if the Obama Administration was considering an embargo or a suspension of aid, Mrs Clinton answered that they were "not talking about any of that".
"We have a deep commitment to the Haitian people," she added.
Last month, US Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who oversees foreign aid for Haiti, called for a halt to funds until the crisis was resolved.
At the time, Mrs Clinton said that Haitian officials should heed Senator Leahy's warning and ensure a fair outcome to the election.
Preliminary results of the first round put former first lady Mirlande Manigat in first place and Jude Celestin in second, edging out the third-placed candidate, Michel Martelly.
Mr Martelly's supporters said the poll had been rigged in Mr Celestin's favour, an allegation which was later backed up by international monitors.
Under pressure from the United Nations, the OAS and the US, Mr Celestin's party withdrew its backing, but Mr Celestin has not yet confirmed whether he will bow out.
On Friday, the electoral commission said it would announce the results of the disputed first round on Wednesday, and set the date for the second and final round for 20 March 2011.
Higher tax rate to hit 750,000 more people, says IFS
Three-quarters of a million more people are set to become higher-rate taxpayers in April, according to a leading economic research body. About 750,000 people will start paying the higher 40% income tax rate on their earnings from 5 April, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The threshold at which the higher rate kicks in is to be £35,001, down from £37,400 this financial year. Chancellor George Osborne told the BBC he had to make hard economic decisions. Speaking to the Politics Show on Sunday Mr Osborne said no politician liked cutting spending and increasing taxes, but he was trying to clear up the "mess" Labour had left. He added: "I feel every day a huge responsibility to get these decisions right for Britain." The IFS estimates the average household will be £200 a year worse off as a result of tax increases and benefit cuts. From the start of the next tax year, the government is also increasing the main rate at which National Insurance is charged. However, the IFS also says half a million people will no longer pay income tax, following the £1,000 increase in the amount people can earn tax-free being raised to £7,475.
Tracking down the Ben Ali and Trabelsi fortune
While Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's regime fell, Tunisians expressed their view of him by attacking property he and his extended family left behind.
No-one can say exactly how much Mr Ben Ali, his second wife Leila Trabelsi, and a sprawling network of relatives, had to their names.
But it was a financial empire that reached far and wide, and is now the subject of a multi-pronged international investigation.
"Our Tunisian lawyer friends tell us that the Ben Ali and Trabelsi families controlled between 30% and 40% of the Tunisian economy," said Daniel Lebegue, head of the French branch of Transparency International.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
When people from the clan required Tunisians to give up their houses or land, they normally obeyed”
End Quote Nicolas Beau Author and journalist
"So a simple calculation allows us to say we're looking at about $10bn (£6bn)."
"The number of assets held by relatives within these clans was significant in all sectors of the economy: banks, insurance, distribution, transport, tourism, property."
The families built this vast network, activists allege, by wielding the power of an authoritarian state.
Leila Trabelsi, a former hairdresser who married Mr Ben Ali five years after he came to power (but still commonly known by her maiden name), was seen as particularly effective at enriching relatives with lucrative holdings.
"They bled the country systematically," says Nicolas Beau, co-author of the Regent of Carthage, a book about Leila Trabelsi that has only appeared in Tunisian shops since she and her husband fled the country on 14 January.
"There was a climate of fear and terror, so when people from the clan required Tunisians to give up their houses or land, they normally obeyed."
Frozen yoghurt
Popular loathing had a lot to do with the fact that their names were synonymous with intimidation and corruption.
In one of the diplomatic cables published late last year by Wikileaks, a former US ambassador detailed how Mr Ben Ali's family was widely viewed as a "quasi-mafia", and the "nexus of Tunisian corruption".
The way they flaunted their fortunes - another source of resentment - is described in colourful terms in another cable.
Continue reading the main story
KEY FIGURES
The ambassador describes going to a dinner at the seafront home of one of the president's daughters, Nesrine, and her husband, Sakhr el-Materi, where frozen yoghurt was flown in from Saint Tropez, and a caged pet tiger was fed four chickens a day.
The wealth and ostentation at the top of the regime became particularly galling in the context of the financial and economic crisis of the last two years, analysts say.
Though Tunisia generally enjoyed steady economic growth under Mr Ben Ali, many - including the young men who launched the protests in December - remained poor.
During those protests, businesses and shops linked to the family were singled out.
Once Mr Ben Ali was toppled, cars imported by his son-in-law were smashed and demonstrators ransacked the family's opulent villas.
The former opposition - some of whom have been included in Tunisia's interim government - now want to recover ill-gotten gains.
Thirty-three Ben Ali or Trabelsi family members have been arrested and Tunisian authorities have requested the arrest of Mr Ben Ali and six other fugitives through the international police agency, Interpol.
The suspects are accused of illegally acquiring assets and transferring funds abroad during Mr Ben Ali's 23 years in power.
Mr Ben Ali himself is in Saudi Arabia, after reportedly being refused entry to France in mid-air as he fled Tunisia.
Leila Trabelsi's eldest brother Belhassen, believed to have been worth billions in his own right, is reported to be in Canada.
'Racehorses and cars'
Tunisian officials have said they intend to recover all of the ousted ruling family's assets within reach, while trying to protect employees working at affected companies.
File photo of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Leila Trabelsi (right), 2007 Tunisians accuse Leila Trabelsi of enriching her family at the expense of the country
But an unknown quantity of their wealth has been deposited or invested outside Tunisia, in countries including France, Switzerland, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Lebegue of Transparency International said investigations by lawyers' associations, non-governmental organisations and journalists indicate that the families own a "significant amount of property" in Paris, on the Cote d'Azur and in the Alps, as well as other possessions held in France including racehorses and luxury cars.
There were even reports in the French media that Leila Trabelsi withdrew bars of gold from the central bank not long before leaving Tunisia.
Activists want international authorities to act fast to freeze the family's assets, though they are optimistic that there is now enough scrutiny in Europe to prevent funds being moved.
Swiss officials have frozen tens of millions of francs, and grounded a Falcon 9000 jet in Geneva.
French officials have been looking at similar measures.
Within Tunisia, Mr Beau said he did not think it would be hard to prove that holdings had been illegally acquired, due to a paper trail and to the sheer number of people involved in the family's business dealings.
"Despite the nature of the regime in Tunisia, a very strong tradition of regulation survived," he said. "Everything was legislated for, everything was written down.
"Everyone had to deal with it, there are an innumerable number of witnesses."
Composer John Barry dies aged 77
Composer John Barry, famous for his work on Born Free, Midnight Cowboy and the James Bond films, has died aged 77 of a heart attack. Born John Barry Prendergast in 1933, the York-born musician first found fame as leader of the John Barry Seven. His arrangement of Monty Norman's James Bond theme led to him composing scores for 11 films in the series, among them Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. His work saw him win five Oscars, while he received a Bafta fellowship in 2005. His most recent film score featured in the 2001 war thriller Enigma, while a musical version of Brighton Rock, created with lyricist Don Black, had its London premiere in 2004. Awarded an OBE in 1999 for his services to music, Barry was renowned for his lush strings, orchestral swells and elegant melodies. His music found a new audience when Robbie Williams featured music from You Only Live Twice on his 1998 hit single Millennium.
National Trust enters English forest sell-off row
The National Trust is promising to "play its part" in protecting England's ancient woodlands if a planned sell-off of publicly-owned forests goes ahead.
Up to 2,500 sq km could enter private hands, but critics say that would damage nature and restrict access.
The National Trust says it is looking at various options, including buying the most sensitive areas, such as the New Forest, itself.
The government said it welcomed ideas from all interested parties.
A consultation has been launched on the future of about 1,500 pieces of land in England - the 18% of English forests owned by the Forestry Commission.
Under the government's proposals, commercially valuable forests, such as Kielder, could be sold to timber companies on long leases, while communities, charities and even local authorities would have the opportunity to buy or lease other areas.
Ministers say ancient woodlands, such as the New Forest and the Forest of Dean, would be kept out of commercial hands and instead be managed by charities, with access rights preserved.
'Special places'
The National Trust, which protects buildings, countryside and coastlines in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the plans were "a watershed moment in the history of the nation".
"If the government is determined to pursue the course of action it has outlined and the public wish us to, we are ready to play our part in giving them a secure future," the charity said in a statement.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We're interested to hear ideas from all interested parties”
End Quote Spokesman Defra
"It is therefore essential and urgent that everyone who cares for these special places now make their voices heard over what should happen to them.
"The secretary of state has given assurances that access, conservation and the amenity value of these forests will be guaranteed in perpetuity, but there is, as yet, no explanation as to how this will be ensured."
The Trust is said to be considering a number of options, including taking over forests itself, but because of the large costs involved, it is hoping to enter into discussions with potential partner organisations.
It is now asking conservationists, charities and ordinary forest users to come forward with their suggestions on how it should proceed.
Responding to the Trust's statement, a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was "interested to hear ideas from all interested parties as part of this consultation process".
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has said it is "time for the government to step back" for forest management, while ensuring "that public access is maintained and biodiversity protected".
But high-profile opponents, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Judi Dench and author Bill Bryson, have described the privatisation as "unconscionable".
And the campaign group 38 Degrees says more than 250,000 people have signed its online Save Our Forests petition.
The consultation runs until mid-April. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected by the plans.
Up to 2,500 sq km could enter private hands, but critics say that would damage nature and restrict access.
The National Trust says it is looking at various options, including buying the most sensitive areas, such as the New Forest, itself.
The government said it welcomed ideas from all interested parties.
A consultation has been launched on the future of about 1,500 pieces of land in England - the 18% of English forests owned by the Forestry Commission.
Under the government's proposals, commercially valuable forests, such as Kielder, could be sold to timber companies on long leases, while communities, charities and even local authorities would have the opportunity to buy or lease other areas.
Ministers say ancient woodlands, such as the New Forest and the Forest of Dean, would be kept out of commercial hands and instead be managed by charities, with access rights preserved.
'Special places'
The National Trust, which protects buildings, countryside and coastlines in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the plans were "a watershed moment in the history of the nation".
"If the government is determined to pursue the course of action it has outlined and the public wish us to, we are ready to play our part in giving them a secure future," the charity said in a statement.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We're interested to hear ideas from all interested parties”
End Quote Spokesman Defra
"It is therefore essential and urgent that everyone who cares for these special places now make their voices heard over what should happen to them.
"The secretary of state has given assurances that access, conservation and the amenity value of these forests will be guaranteed in perpetuity, but there is, as yet, no explanation as to how this will be ensured."
The Trust is said to be considering a number of options, including taking over forests itself, but because of the large costs involved, it is hoping to enter into discussions with potential partner organisations.
It is now asking conservationists, charities and ordinary forest users to come forward with their suggestions on how it should proceed.
Responding to the Trust's statement, a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was "interested to hear ideas from all interested parties as part of this consultation process".
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has said it is "time for the government to step back" for forest management, while ensuring "that public access is maintained and biodiversity protected".
But high-profile opponents, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Judi Dench and author Bill Bryson, have described the privatisation as "unconscionable".
And the campaign group 38 Degrees says more than 250,000 people have signed its online Save Our Forests petition.
The consultation runs until mid-April. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected by the plans.
Could 3D television be dangerous to watch?
People in the cinema watching a 3D film 3D screens give the illusion of depth by flicking between two separate images Recent safety advice has said 3D TV is not suitable for children, but does that mean the technology is a health risk? When Peterborough mayor Keith Sharp wanted to rent Piranha 3D on DVD a few weeks ago, he was not expecting to have his request turned down on health and safety grounds. A shop employee, misinterpreting head office advice not to rent out 3D glasses, did exactly that - prompting the story to first be picked up by the national newspapers and then spread around the world. But is there any truth to the idea that 3D TV, which gives the illusion of depth by flicking between two separate images, could be dangerous? Man plays with the new Nintendo 3DS console Nintendo said its new 3D device was not suitable for children under six The Nintendo 3DS portable console, to be unveiled in Japan on 26 February, is the first major release to allow 3D images to be seen without the need for glasses. But last year, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president and chief operating officer, said he would "recommend that very young children not look at 3D images" and that was "standard protocol" within the industry. When this advice was formally released this month, many articles appeared about "the dangers of 3D" and how viewers, particularly children, could be affected. It was a reaction that Mr Fils-Aime has described as "a bit over the top". Mark Pesce, an early pioneer in virtual reality, said last year that children "could potentially suffer permanent damage from regular and extensive exposure [to 3D images on a screen]". His main critique was that he believed "none of the television manufacturers have done any health and safety testing". Sony, Samsung, LG and other manufacturers have now released health and safety guidance with their products. Most echo Nintendo's advice about young children but advice also extends as far to those who have been drinking alcohol, pregnant women, senior citizens, people with heart problems, those who experience frequent drowsiness or are in need of sleep. Perhaps above anything else, this seems to clash with the big effort to get 3D TVs into pubs - over 1,000 establishments have signed up in the UK alone. Samsung declined to comment, as "it is more of an industry issue than a Samsung one" but Sony, according to a spokesperson, has conducted research and evaluation concerning the effects on health by watching 3D under the influence of alcohol. There is not anybody legitimate in the medical profession who has suggested that we're jeopardising the health of our children Jeffery Katzenberg, CEO DreamWorks Animation Its report indicated that "while some people may experience discomfort - such as eye strain, fatigue, or nausea - no evidence was found which may cause health problems for normal use of 3D contents". An LG spokesperson said that there has been no issue with people drinking and watching 3D TV in pubs. All stressed that anyone worried or experiencing symptoms should seek professional advice. "Companies are just erring on the side of caution and covering all the bases," said Karen Sparrow, education adviser at the Association of Optometrists. "The patients that we see [who would need treatment for this] would be a very, very tiny percentage and is a very low risk. "It very much depends on the individual but, because 3D technology only really burst on to the high street in the last two or three years, the research hasn't really been done yet. "Especially with children, you need lots of years of data before you can know for sure whether it's a problem or not." Screen seen partially through 3D glasses Around 4m 3D televisions were shipped worldwide in 2010 Jeffery Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, has more reason than most to hope that the technology really takes off - his company now produces all its films in 3D. He said he did not believe that it was harmful whatsoever. "It does not seem to be based on any meaningful research or medical advice," he said. "We are in the kid business and we have talked to many people, experts in the fields of eye and eye care and so we've asked 'is there something we need to be concerned about?', and it's a hypothetical. "What people have said is that for very, very early eye development - which we were told is three years and younger by the way, not six years - there is some concern that there might be some issue of... straining the eyes." But this is not an evaluation that Ms Sparrow agrees with. She said: "When I was trained, we were always taught that eyesight was flexible up to seven or eight but new research suggested that it could be longer. "When a child's eye is growing, their eyes are forming a balance, and so for that natural progression to occur you have to have a perfectly clear image in both the right eye and the left eye. "Anything that disrupts that could cause that child to develop a lazy eye. However, it will probably take a lot of hours before any damage would be done." I can't imagine seeing EastEnders in 3D anytime soon Geoff Slaughter, editor 3DTV Watcher So could these reports mean that 3D could be finished before it has really begun? Mr Katzenberg does not think so. "For a five or six-year-old child to go in and see an 82-minute movie once every month, I have to say there is not anybody legitimate in the medical profession who has suggested that we're jeopardising the health of our children," he said. "No-one, not a single solitary person, so I don't understand it." And some people have argued that 3D could be a benefit as an early warning system to catch sight problems in children that might otherwise go undetected. "Watching 3D programming can unmask issues such as lazy eye, convergence insufficiency, poor focusing skills and other visual problems consumers might not have previously known existed," said Dr Dominick Maino, of the Illinois College of Optometry's Illinois Eye Institute. And perhaps the one thing that could mute any further health warnings is that, at least currently, 3D is not being used as the "normal" way to consume everyday viewing. "Not all programmes work in 3D," said Geoff Slaughter, editor of 3DTV Watcher. "Even in the medium term, it is not going to be everyday viewing. It's good for movies and for some sports events or documentaries but I can't imagine seeing EastEnders in 3D anytime soon."
Egypt protests enter seventh day
Jeremy Bowen reports on Sunday's stand-off in Cairo's Tahrir Square Continue reading the main story Egypt Unrest Police have been ordered back on to the streets of Cairo, as tens of thousands of people gather in central Cairo for a seventh day of protest. The demonstrators have called for a general strike on Monday, and are holding prayers in honour of those killed in the unrest. Protesters want President Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power. The president has ordered his new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to push through political reforms. Egyptian state television read out a letter he had sent to Mr Shafiq, in which the president speaks of the need to make progress towards constitutional and legislative reform through a dialogue with political parties. He also calls for economic policies that give the highest concern to people's suffering and bring down unemployment by creating new jobs. Correspondents say all the signs continue to suggest that the only change the protesters will settle for is Mr Mubarak's removal from office. 'Protest of millions' An Egyptian demonstrator sits on top of a set of traffic lights in Tahrir Square in central in Cairo, 30 January 2011 Protesters in Tahrir Square say they will stay there until President Mubarak leaves As demonstrations enter their seventh day, correspondents say there are at least 50,000 people on Tahrir Square in the centre of the city. Elsewhere the streets are busy and things appear to be returning to normal, says the BBC's Tim Wilcox in Cairo. There are plans for a "protest of the millions" march on Tuesday. On Sunday, most of the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square were unfazed by low-flying visits from air force jets and a helicopter. "Change is coming" promised the leading Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei when he addressed the crowds. Continue reading the main story Analysis image of Wyre Davies Wyre Davies BBC News, Cairo The octogenarian leader is coming under increasing international pressure to allow a smooth transition, diplomatic speak for asking him to resign and give way for democratic reforms. Mr Mubarak's regime shows no sign of movement yet. Indeed by ordering tanks into Cairo's main square and sending fighter jets to fly low over the protesters, he may be flexing his considerable military might, sending out a clear warning to his critics. But the demonstrators still feel they have the upper hand, and the numbers to overthrow Mr Mubarak's deeply unpopular government. Thousands rallied in Alexandria and there were also sizeable demonstrations in Mansoura, Damanhour and Suez. Police were noticeable by their absence so the protests were not marked by the sort of clashes which have left at least 100 people dead since rallies began on Tuesday. But with continued reports of looting, the Interior Minister Habib al-Adly announced on Sunday that police would be back on the streets to restore order. Economic impact The unrest is having an impact on the Egyptian economy, beyond the closure of shops and businesses and the call for a general strike. Continue reading the main story Egypt's crisis On Monday, New Zealand joined a growing list of countries warning their nationals not to travel to Egypt if they can avoid it and the US, Japan and China are among states preparing to evacuate their citizens. Meanwhile, Japanese car maker Nissan has announced that it is halting production at its Egypt plant for a week, and it has urged non-Egyptian employees to leave the country. Global markets are also likely to react. The Nikkei fell in early trading in Tokyo as the Egyptian unrest prompted investors to shun riskier assets. 'Orderly transition' Anti-government protesters walk past wall graffiti reading "Antique dictator 4 sale", Cairo, Egypt, 30 January 2011 A slogan on a Cairo wall shows a humorous side to the protest movement International pressure is growing for some kind of resolution. In the strongest language yet, both US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about the need for an "orderly transition" to a democratic future for Egypt. The White House says US President Barack Obama made a number of calls about the situation over the weekend to foreign leaders including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The protests in Egypt are top of the agenda of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. China, meanwhile, has called for a return to order. "Egypt is a friend of China's, and we hope social stability and order will return to Egypt as soon as possible," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday. The unrest in Egypt follows the uprising in Tunisia which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago after 23 years in power.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
India Maoist rebels 'killed in gunbattle'
The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of the poor
Police in the Indian state of Jharkhand say they have killed nine Maoist rebels in a gunbattle.
Police officers and rebels exchanged fire for five hours overnight at the Betla national park in Latehar district, police said.
No police were injured in the firefight. A large amount of arms and ammunition has been recovered.
Indian forces are battling Maoists in several states. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.
A government offensive against the rebels - widely referred to as Operation Green Hunt - began last October.
It involves 50,000 troops and is taking place across five states - West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh
US official kills two Pakistanis in Lahore
Most of the windows of the official's car were broken
They say that the consular employee fired his pistol in self-defence. US embassy officials confirmed that an American was involved.
The men were pursuing the American in his car when the incident happened.
A pedestrian was also killed by a speeding car from the US consulate which came to help, police say.
Bullet holes
They are investigating whether the two men on the motorcycle were robbers.
Onlookers surrounded the motor bike of the commuter who was killed Weapons were recovered from the bodies of the dead men.
Lahore police chief Aslam Tareen told the AP news agency that the American was being questioned by the police and might be charged with both murder and illegally carrying a weapon: a Beretta pistol.
"Diplomatic staff usually enjoy a certain type of immunity, but I am not sure about murder," he said. "We will consult the Foreign Office and legal advisers in this regard."
Local TV showed footage of what it said was the American official's car. It had several bullet holes in the windscreen.
The American had stopped at a traffic light when two men riding a motorcycle stopped near his car.
"The man told us he pulled out his pistol in self-defence," Mr Tarin said.
The American is now being held in custody.
Anti-American sentiment
In Washington, US state department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters the man was a US citizen working for the consulate but did not confirm whether he had diplomatic status.
He also declined to answer whether the official was authorised to carry a firearm.
Mr Crowley said the US would co-operate with the Pakistani investigation that was under way.
Police say the American used a radio to call colleagues for help immediately after the shooting - and a second consular car turned up to rescue him.
Dozens of people gathered after the incident and stopped both drivers from fleeing the scene.
More than 100 people blocked the road after the incident by setting tyres on fire to protest against the killing.
The protest later moved to picket the police station where the car involved in the incident was impounded.
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Pakistan says that the incident may add to anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.
Our correspondent says questions are certain to be asked as to why the American was carrying arms and why, if he was a diplomat, he was not provided with armed protection.
Uganda gay rights activist David Kato killed
Police have confirmed the death of David Kato but say they are investigating the circumstances. Uganda's Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay next to a headline reading "Hang them". Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, with punishments of 14 years in prison. An MP recently tried to increase the penalties to include the death sentence in some cases. Human Rights Watch (HRW) quotes witnesses as saying that a man entered Mr Kato's home near Kampala and shot him twice in the head before leaving. Mr Kato died on his way to hospital, they say. HRW called for a swift investigation into Mr Kato's death. "David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community," said HRW's Maria Burnett. The activist with the Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) group had campaigned against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which appears to have been quietly dropped after provoking a storm of international criticism when it was mooted in 2009. Following a complaint by Mr Kato and others, a judge in November ordered Rolling Stone to stop publishing the photographs of people it said were homosexual, saying it contravened their right to privacy. Several activists said they had been attacked after their photographs were published.
General Assembly opens historic session with big task ahead
RALEIGH – The historic 2011 General Assembly commenced on Wednesday with Republicans in charge of both chambers for the first time since 1870.
Senators elected Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, to be their leader over the next two years. He’ll be the Senate’s president pro-tempore. The vote was unanimous by acclamation.
The House elected Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, as its speaker. House Democrats nominated their minority leader, Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, for speaker. However, Tillis was elected generally along a party-line vote. Six Democrats joined 67 Republicans and one unaffiliated representative in voting for Tillis. The vote was 74-46. There are 52 Democrats in the House.
In remarks to the Senate, Berger reminded the body about the daunting task members face when it comes to bridging the budget gap.
“Policy choices made over the last 20 years deepened the recession in North Carolina,” Berger said. “The result is that our principal order of business this session is to eliminate a $3.7 billion budget deficit.”
Berger said that the body needs to change the business climate to allow for more job creation.
“First and foremost, improving North Carolina’s business climate — the costs associated with the set of regulations that must be followed, the fees and taxes that must be paid, and the government red tape that must be cut in order for private business to turn a profit,” Berger said.
Berger said the Senate would reduce spending, balance the budget and remove the cap on charter schools.
Tillis, in prepared remarks, also discussed the state’s budget crunch.
“We are confronted with a budget deficit that threatens our ability to fund critical services and we are spending beyond our means,” Tillis said. “We must lower the heightened expectations as to what government should do for us and we must raise the expectations for what we must do for ourselves.”
He said lawmakers must be smarter and more efficient in the delivery of health care and to provide funding to detain violent offenders.
THE SENATE ELECTED Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, as its deputy president pro-tem. The House elected Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, as its speaker pro-tem.
Before the session got under way, Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, said that Democrats would be vocal about dealing in issues that mean more to people, such as public schools and health care.
“We will not win, but perhaps we will be able to move the needle a little bit closer to the center,” Nesbitt said. “The people I represent didn’t send me down here to throw in the towel on this state.”
In the Senate, Republicans outnumber Democrats 31 to 19, a figure that Nesbitt acknowledged put his party in a difficult position.
“If we vote as a block, we’re going to lose, and if we don’t we’re going to lose,” Nesbitt said.
Hackney said on the floor that the Democratic caucus would be civil in its debate.
Both chamber leaders spent time during after-session press gatherings to discuss rules and procedural moves. Berger said a change in Senate rules establishing a parliamentarian’s position wasn’t intended as a partisan move against Lt.Gov. Walter Dalton, a Democrat. He said he intended to have more senators presiding over Senate sessions in the past and that it would be a good idea to have a parliamentarian to consistently interpret the chamber’s rules.
Tillis said the House was doing away with a procedural move that Republicans had complained about when they were in the minority. That rule allowed committees to restrict floor amendments to bills.
Both Tillis and Berger say they expect lawmakers to hit the ground running. Tillis said that a bill to exempt North Carolina citizens from the federal mandate to purchase health insurance, which was filed on Wednesday, is expected to be heard in a House committee on Thursday.
Berger said that this year’s General Assembly has set “a historic pace” for the beginning of a session.
Other bills expected to come up early in the session include one giving Gov. Bev Perdue more budget management authority, a bill lifting the cap on the number of charter schools and a bill providing for a photo ID requirement to vote.
Senators elected Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, to be their leader over the next two years. He’ll be the Senate’s president pro-tempore. The vote was unanimous by acclamation.
The House elected Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, as its speaker. House Democrats nominated their minority leader, Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, for speaker. However, Tillis was elected generally along a party-line vote. Six Democrats joined 67 Republicans and one unaffiliated representative in voting for Tillis. The vote was 74-46. There are 52 Democrats in the House.
In remarks to the Senate, Berger reminded the body about the daunting task members face when it comes to bridging the budget gap.
“Policy choices made over the last 20 years deepened the recession in North Carolina,” Berger said. “The result is that our principal order of business this session is to eliminate a $3.7 billion budget deficit.”
Berger said that the body needs to change the business climate to allow for more job creation.
“First and foremost, improving North Carolina’s business climate — the costs associated with the set of regulations that must be followed, the fees and taxes that must be paid, and the government red tape that must be cut in order for private business to turn a profit,” Berger said.
Berger said the Senate would reduce spending, balance the budget and remove the cap on charter schools.
Tillis, in prepared remarks, also discussed the state’s budget crunch.
“We are confronted with a budget deficit that threatens our ability to fund critical services and we are spending beyond our means,” Tillis said. “We must lower the heightened expectations as to what government should do for us and we must raise the expectations for what we must do for ourselves.”
He said lawmakers must be smarter and more efficient in the delivery of health care and to provide funding to detain violent offenders.
THE SENATE ELECTED Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, as its deputy president pro-tem. The House elected Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, as its speaker pro-tem.
Before the session got under way, Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, said that Democrats would be vocal about dealing in issues that mean more to people, such as public schools and health care.
“We will not win, but perhaps we will be able to move the needle a little bit closer to the center,” Nesbitt said. “The people I represent didn’t send me down here to throw in the towel on this state.”
In the Senate, Republicans outnumber Democrats 31 to 19, a figure that Nesbitt acknowledged put his party in a difficult position.
“If we vote as a block, we’re going to lose, and if we don’t we’re going to lose,” Nesbitt said.
Hackney said on the floor that the Democratic caucus would be civil in its debate.
Both chamber leaders spent time during after-session press gatherings to discuss rules and procedural moves. Berger said a change in Senate rules establishing a parliamentarian’s position wasn’t intended as a partisan move against Lt.Gov. Walter Dalton, a Democrat. He said he intended to have more senators presiding over Senate sessions in the past and that it would be a good idea to have a parliamentarian to consistently interpret the chamber’s rules.
Tillis said the House was doing away with a procedural move that Republicans had complained about when they were in the minority. That rule allowed committees to restrict floor amendments to bills.
Both Tillis and Berger say they expect lawmakers to hit the ground running. Tillis said that a bill to exempt North Carolina citizens from the federal mandate to purchase health insurance, which was filed on Wednesday, is expected to be heard in a House committee on Thursday.
Berger said that this year’s General Assembly has set “a historic pace” for the beginning of a session.
Other bills expected to come up early in the session include one giving Gov. Bev Perdue more budget management authority, a bill lifting the cap on the number of charter schools and a bill providing for a photo ID requirement to vote.
Forest sale plans anger campaigners
The plan has been greeted with anger by campaigners, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Judi Dench and Bill Bryson among signatories of a letter calling the sale "unconscionable".
But the government says nature and rights of access will be protected.
The plan could lead to the sale of all land in England owned by the Forestry Commission, totalling 2,500 sq km.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
I tend to believe our woodlands would be better managed in the private sector anyway”
End Quote Joe Fielding Chartered forester
Forests in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected.
The Archbishop and nearly 100 other people in public life wrote to the Sunday Telegraph this past weekend expressing their horror at the idea.
"We, who love and use the English forests, believe that such a sale would be misjudged and shortsighted," they wrote.
"It is our national heritage. We are an island nation, yet more people escape to the forest than to the seaside."
An opinion poll at the weekend found 75% of respondents were opposed to the sell-off.
'No compromise'
The government is playing down fears that rights of access and biodiversity would be damaged by the sale.
"We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and biodiverse forests," said a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
"The Forestry Commission has and will play an important role in protecting and expanding the trees, woods and forests in England."
Red squirrel The government insists biodiversity dependent on forests will be safeguarded
Defra also points out that the Forestry Commission owns only about 18% of England's forests, with 69% already in private hands and regulated by a number of laws covering nature protection, logging, access and development.
The details have yet to be announced; but in broad terms, the government has said such safeguards will apply to any forests sold, with extra protection for ancient woodlands such as the Forest of Dean, the New Forest and Sherwood Forest.
Fifteen percent of the commission's land is already being sold off, with the aim of raising £100m; the consultation covers procedures for selling off the remaining 85%.
BBC News understands people and organisations will be invited to comment on a range of options, including straight commercial sales, creation of non-profit or mutual bodies to manage forests, and mixed models of ownership under public-private partnerships.
The Woodland Trust, a charity dedicated to conservation of traditional forests, said it had concerns about safeguards being eroded.
"Virtually all Forestry Commission lands are protected in terms of pedestrian access; but at the moment you can ride your mountain bike or horse through most of their land, and those rights aren't protected by law," said a spokesman.
The charity is particularly concerned about forests that were modified 50-60 years ago, when conifers were planted into traditional woodland areas.
"If all of that is harvested in one go, it'll destroy the sites; but if it's harvested sensibly over 20 years or so we could recreate the ancient woodland that is our most important habitat," said the spokesman.
In addition, selling all the commission's commercial timber forests will remove the source of its income - which is used to fund conservation work, he said.
Balance of interest
One growth area in recent years has been "hobby woods" - patches of forest, sometimes just a few hectares, bought and maintained by private individuals.
They can be bought through websites such as Woods 4 Sale, whose managing director Joe Fielding said many people regarded woodland as a more reliable investment than putting money in banks or financial instruments.
"A huge variety of people are buying them, from pension funds to commercial investors who are buying the timber lands, to individuals and companies," he said.
"Forestry Commission lands are very different, and different woodlands will suit different people."
A chartered forester with over 20 years experience in the field, Mr Fielding suggested the sale could actually be positive for the country.
"The Forestry Commission has done a pretty poor job of managing some of its land, and I tend to believe our woodlands would be better managed in the private sector anyway," he said.
But the government says nature and rights of access will be protected.
The plan could lead to the sale of all land in England owned by the Forestry Commission, totalling 2,500 sq km.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
I tend to believe our woodlands would be better managed in the private sector anyway”
End Quote Joe Fielding Chartered forester
Forests in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected.
The Archbishop and nearly 100 other people in public life wrote to the Sunday Telegraph this past weekend expressing their horror at the idea.
"We, who love and use the English forests, believe that such a sale would be misjudged and shortsighted," they wrote.
"It is our national heritage. We are an island nation, yet more people escape to the forest than to the seaside."
An opinion poll at the weekend found 75% of respondents were opposed to the sell-off.
'No compromise'
The government is playing down fears that rights of access and biodiversity would be damaged by the sale.
"We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and biodiverse forests," said a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
"The Forestry Commission has and will play an important role in protecting and expanding the trees, woods and forests in England."
Red squirrel The government insists biodiversity dependent on forests will be safeguarded
Defra also points out that the Forestry Commission owns only about 18% of England's forests, with 69% already in private hands and regulated by a number of laws covering nature protection, logging, access and development.
The details have yet to be announced; but in broad terms, the government has said such safeguards will apply to any forests sold, with extra protection for ancient woodlands such as the Forest of Dean, the New Forest and Sherwood Forest.
Fifteen percent of the commission's land is already being sold off, with the aim of raising £100m; the consultation covers procedures for selling off the remaining 85%.
BBC News understands people and organisations will be invited to comment on a range of options, including straight commercial sales, creation of non-profit or mutual bodies to manage forests, and mixed models of ownership under public-private partnerships.
The Woodland Trust, a charity dedicated to conservation of traditional forests, said it had concerns about safeguards being eroded.
"Virtually all Forestry Commission lands are protected in terms of pedestrian access; but at the moment you can ride your mountain bike or horse through most of their land, and those rights aren't protected by law," said a spokesman.
The charity is particularly concerned about forests that were modified 50-60 years ago, when conifers were planted into traditional woodland areas.
"If all of that is harvested in one go, it'll destroy the sites; but if it's harvested sensibly over 20 years or so we could recreate the ancient woodland that is our most important habitat," said the spokesman.
In addition, selling all the commission's commercial timber forests will remove the source of its income - which is used to fund conservation work, he said.
Balance of interest
One growth area in recent years has been "hobby woods" - patches of forest, sometimes just a few hectares, bought and maintained by private individuals.
They can be bought through websites such as Woods 4 Sale, whose managing director Joe Fielding said many people regarded woodland as a more reliable investment than putting money in banks or financial instruments.
"A huge variety of people are buying them, from pension funds to commercial investors who are buying the timber lands, to individuals and companies," he said.
"Forestry Commission lands are very different, and different woodlands will suit different people."
A chartered forester with over 20 years experience in the field, Mr Fielding suggested the sale could actually be positive for the country.
"The Forestry Commission has done a pretty poor job of managing some of its land, and I tend to believe our woodlands would be better managed in the private sector anyway," he said.
Australia floods: PM Julia Gillard unveils new tax
Ms Gillard said the 12-month tax, starting from 1 July, would be levied on those earning A$50,000 or more, and those affected by floods would not pay.
"We should not put off to tomorrow what we are able to do today," she said.
More than 30 people have been killed since flooding began last month.
"The Treasury's preliminary estimates are that GDP growth in this financial year will be about half a percentage point less due to the floods," Ms Gillard said.
"The best preliminary estimate of the direct cost to the federal budget of the summer's flood disaster is A$5.6bn."
As well as the tax, cuts to government spending will help meet the reconstruction bill.
The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney says Ms Gillard has faced criticism for her handling of the floods and has been overshadowed by Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Ms Gillard is essentially arguing that every Australian should lend a helping hand, that the sums involved are affordable and modest - it's already been dubbed a 'light-touch levy' ”
End Quote Nick Bryant
* Bryant: Gillard's tax plan
Ms Gillard will be hoping this reconstruction programme will also help rehabilitate her image, he says.
Cost-cutting
The new tax will charge an extra 0.5% on those earning A$50,000-A$100,000 and 1% more on those earning more than A$100,000.
It is expected to raise about A$1.8bn.
Ms Gillard said that ''in a growing economy, we pay as we go" and said deferring the costs was a "soft option" she was not prepared to take.
Large parts of Queensland, the eastern seaboard and Victoria have been inundated by flooding.
Agriculture, mining and transport infrastructure have been badly hit, along with the massive damage to private homes.
In Victoria, a swathe of floodwater described as an inland sea is still creeping slowly across the south-east of the state, with several communities braced for flooding.
Horsham, Australia, 18 January The floods will cost A$5.6bn in reconstruction, the PM says
''The great floods of this summer have been a national tragedy, not just a natural disaster because of the awful loss of human life," Ms Gillard said.
She said there would be an immediate payment from the federal government of A$2bn to Queensland, the worst-hit state.
Unemployed Australians who wanted to relocate to reconstruction jobs there would also receive financial support, she said.
Ms Gillard is also delaying or cutting infrastructure projects to save about A$675m and cutting back on spending programmes to save further costs.
These include a number of environmental programmes, including green car and energy initiatives.
The prime minister must get the tax through parliament and as she relies on minor parties and independents in both houses, she faces a tough task given that the main opposition is opposed to the levy.
The Greens said they supported the new tax but added that it "beggars belief that the government would choose to cut climate change" measures.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott, meanwhile, said he opposed the tax and warned that victims of the floods would end up paying.
"This is another government spending programme for which no-one is going to be held accountable if things go wrong," he said.
"We should not put off to tomorrow what we are able to do today," she said.
More than 30 people have been killed since flooding began last month.
"The Treasury's preliminary estimates are that GDP growth in this financial year will be about half a percentage point less due to the floods," Ms Gillard said.
"The best preliminary estimate of the direct cost to the federal budget of the summer's flood disaster is A$5.6bn."
As well as the tax, cuts to government spending will help meet the reconstruction bill.
The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney says Ms Gillard has faced criticism for her handling of the floods and has been overshadowed by Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Ms Gillard is essentially arguing that every Australian should lend a helping hand, that the sums involved are affordable and modest - it's already been dubbed a 'light-touch levy' ”
End Quote Nick Bryant
* Bryant: Gillard's tax plan
Ms Gillard will be hoping this reconstruction programme will also help rehabilitate her image, he says.
Cost-cutting
The new tax will charge an extra 0.5% on those earning A$50,000-A$100,000 and 1% more on those earning more than A$100,000.
It is expected to raise about A$1.8bn.
Ms Gillard said that ''in a growing economy, we pay as we go" and said deferring the costs was a "soft option" she was not prepared to take.
Large parts of Queensland, the eastern seaboard and Victoria have been inundated by flooding.
Agriculture, mining and transport infrastructure have been badly hit, along with the massive damage to private homes.
In Victoria, a swathe of floodwater described as an inland sea is still creeping slowly across the south-east of the state, with several communities braced for flooding.
Horsham, Australia, 18 January The floods will cost A$5.6bn in reconstruction, the PM says
''The great floods of this summer have been a national tragedy, not just a natural disaster because of the awful loss of human life," Ms Gillard said.
She said there would be an immediate payment from the federal government of A$2bn to Queensland, the worst-hit state.
Unemployed Australians who wanted to relocate to reconstruction jobs there would also receive financial support, she said.
Ms Gillard is also delaying or cutting infrastructure projects to save about A$675m and cutting back on spending programmes to save further costs.
These include a number of environmental programmes, including green car and energy initiatives.
The prime minister must get the tax through parliament and as she relies on minor parties and independents in both houses, she faces a tough task given that the main opposition is opposed to the levy.
The Greens said they supported the new tax but added that it "beggars belief that the government would choose to cut climate change" measures.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott, meanwhile, said he opposed the tax and warned that victims of the floods would end up paying.
"This is another government spending programme for which no-one is going to be held accountable if things go wrong," he said.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Shaun Marsh ton inspires Australia to victory in ODI
Recalled Shaun Marsh struck a superb century as Australia won the second one-day international against England by 46 runs to go 2-0 up in the series.
The hosts recovered from 33-4 and then 142-8 as Marsh, who was last man out for 110, helped them reach 230 all out.
He shared an Australian ninth-wicket record of 92 with Doug Bollinger (32), who then dismissed Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in successive balls.
Jonathan Trott (32) and Ian Bell (32) got starts, but England made only 184.
Their highest partnership was a paltry 47 between Trott and Bell and they lost wickets at regular intervals as Australia cruised to victory in the first ODI day-nighter to be played in Hobart.
After winning their third game in a row against England (two ODIs and one Twenty20 match), Michael Clarke's team have now taken control of the seven-match series ahead of the third meeting in Sydney on Sunday.
Having won the toss and put Australia in, dominating early on and then blowing away their middle order, England will wonder how they ended up on the receiving end of such an ignominious defeat.
For much of the home side's innings England would have been expecting to chase far less than 231, but they simply never got going under the lights and never looked like getting close to their target, a worrying indictment of their top order with a World Cup looming next month.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior, recalled in place of Steven Davies, found his berth at the top of the order too much to handle as he edged to Shane Watson off Brett Lee for a duck as the Australians made the perfect start.
Buoyed by his batting heroics, Bollinger (4-28) then had a decisive say with the ball as he trapped Strauss plumb lbw for 19 and then forced Pietersen to play on first ball as England stumbled to 36-3.
Trott and Bell dug in and gave a glimmer of hope, but when Trott pulled a woeful long-hop from Steve Smith straight to David Hussey at midwicket and then Bell cut Lee to Smith in the gully, that hope was extinguished.
Bollinger celebrates the crucial golden ball wicket of Pietersen
Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan all tried to salvage England's innings, but they had been left with too much to do and Ajmal Shahzad was last man out as England were dismissed in the 45th over.
That Australia even had a reasonable target to defend was largely down to the herculean effort of Marsh, the 27-year-old winning a recall to the side thanks to Michael Hussey's hamstring problems.
Marsh, who is not in the Aussies' 15-man World Cup squad, came to the crease with his side in all kinds of trouble at 33-4, England's pace attack having done the early damage.
Shahzad (3-43) found a beautiful line and length outside off stump from the first ball of the innings and he soon accounted for the hero of Melbourne as Watson, who struck a stunning unbeaten 161 at the MCG, played on for five in the third over.
Shahzad, Chris Tremlett and Bresnan were not giving anything away and the former's impressive consistency brought another wicket when Brad Haddin also got an inside edge on to his stumps for five.
When the out-of-sorts Michael Clarke slapped Bresnan straight to Bell at cover for 10 and then Hussey was superbly caught in the gully by Strauss off Tremlett the hosts were staring down the barrel at 33-4.
But Marsh and Cameron White (45) dropped anchor and gradually hauled their team towards respectability in putting on exactly 100, though boundaries were at a premium as England's bowlers - with spinners Yardy and James Tredwell to the fore - continued to exert control.
Marsh survived a desperately tight appeal for a stumping by Prior off Tredwell on 23, but he made the most of his good fortune and brought up his fifty in the 32nd over, clipping Shahzad off his pads.
As Australia seemed to be setting themselves up for a flourishing finish to their innings England struck in devastating fashion, taking four wickets for nine runs in five overs as the game once more swung their way.
606: DEBATE
England have been made contenders to win the WC based only on their Ashes performance
PepperImp
After gloriously caressing Yardy over extra-cover for four, from the next ball White offered the bowler a return chance he snaffled away to his left, before Smith became Shahzad's third inside edge victim as his bat wafted suicidally miles away from his body.
Nathan Hauritz and Lee came and went but Bollinger, who had a previous highest ODI score of three, was determined to hang around and give Marsh a platform to try to get the Aussies to a decent total.
An Australian ninth-wicket record exceeded all expectations but there was nothing fortuitous about the stand, Bollinger more than playing his part as he rocked on to the back foot and drove the spinners sumptuously through the covers for four.
Marsh hit one seamless six to the midwicket boundary before teeing off in the 45th over, clubbing Yardy for two fours before drilling him over mid-on for a maximum to bring up his second ODI century.
Both men departed in successive balls in the 49th over as Tremlett struck, but by then Australia had enough runs in the bank to secure a second successive triumph.
The only blemish on the day for Australia was a nasty looking injury to the recalled Nathan Hauritz after he fell on his shoulder while fielding, the spinner being immediately sent to hospital for X-rays.
The hosts recovered from 33-4 and then 142-8 as Marsh, who was last man out for 110, helped them reach 230 all out.
He shared an Australian ninth-wicket record of 92 with Doug Bollinger (32), who then dismissed Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in successive balls.
Jonathan Trott (32) and Ian Bell (32) got starts, but England made only 184.
Their highest partnership was a paltry 47 between Trott and Bell and they lost wickets at regular intervals as Australia cruised to victory in the first ODI day-nighter to be played in Hobart.
After winning their third game in a row against England (two ODIs and one Twenty20 match), Michael Clarke's team have now taken control of the seven-match series ahead of the third meeting in Sydney on Sunday.
Having won the toss and put Australia in, dominating early on and then blowing away their middle order, England will wonder how they ended up on the receiving end of such an ignominious defeat.
For much of the home side's innings England would have been expecting to chase far less than 231, but they simply never got going under the lights and never looked like getting close to their target, a worrying indictment of their top order with a World Cup looming next month.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior, recalled in place of Steven Davies, found his berth at the top of the order too much to handle as he edged to Shane Watson off Brett Lee for a duck as the Australians made the perfect start.
Buoyed by his batting heroics, Bollinger (4-28) then had a decisive say with the ball as he trapped Strauss plumb lbw for 19 and then forced Pietersen to play on first ball as England stumbled to 36-3.
Trott and Bell dug in and gave a glimmer of hope, but when Trott pulled a woeful long-hop from Steve Smith straight to David Hussey at midwicket and then Bell cut Lee to Smith in the gully, that hope was extinguished.
Bollinger celebrates the crucial golden ball wicket of Pietersen
Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan all tried to salvage England's innings, but they had been left with too much to do and Ajmal Shahzad was last man out as England were dismissed in the 45th over.
That Australia even had a reasonable target to defend was largely down to the herculean effort of Marsh, the 27-year-old winning a recall to the side thanks to Michael Hussey's hamstring problems.
Marsh, who is not in the Aussies' 15-man World Cup squad, came to the crease with his side in all kinds of trouble at 33-4, England's pace attack having done the early damage.
Shahzad (3-43) found a beautiful line and length outside off stump from the first ball of the innings and he soon accounted for the hero of Melbourne as Watson, who struck a stunning unbeaten 161 at the MCG, played on for five in the third over.
Shahzad, Chris Tremlett and Bresnan were not giving anything away and the former's impressive consistency brought another wicket when Brad Haddin also got an inside edge on to his stumps for five.
When the out-of-sorts Michael Clarke slapped Bresnan straight to Bell at cover for 10 and then Hussey was superbly caught in the gully by Strauss off Tremlett the hosts were staring down the barrel at 33-4.
But Marsh and Cameron White (45) dropped anchor and gradually hauled their team towards respectability in putting on exactly 100, though boundaries were at a premium as England's bowlers - with spinners Yardy and James Tredwell to the fore - continued to exert control.
Marsh survived a desperately tight appeal for a stumping by Prior off Tredwell on 23, but he made the most of his good fortune and brought up his fifty in the 32nd over, clipping Shahzad off his pads.
As Australia seemed to be setting themselves up for a flourishing finish to their innings England struck in devastating fashion, taking four wickets for nine runs in five overs as the game once more swung their way.
606: DEBATE
England have been made contenders to win the WC based only on their Ashes performance
PepperImp
After gloriously caressing Yardy over extra-cover for four, from the next ball White offered the bowler a return chance he snaffled away to his left, before Smith became Shahzad's third inside edge victim as his bat wafted suicidally miles away from his body.
Nathan Hauritz and Lee came and went but Bollinger, who had a previous highest ODI score of three, was determined to hang around and give Marsh a platform to try to get the Aussies to a decent total.
An Australian ninth-wicket record exceeded all expectations but there was nothing fortuitous about the stand, Bollinger more than playing his part as he rocked on to the back foot and drove the spinners sumptuously through the covers for four.
Marsh hit one seamless six to the midwicket boundary before teeing off in the 45th over, clubbing Yardy for two fours before drilling him over mid-on for a maximum to bring up his second ODI century.
Both men departed in successive balls in the 49th over as Tremlett struck, but by then Australia had enough runs in the bank to secure a second successive triumph.
The only blemish on the day for Australia was a nasty looking injury to the recalled Nathan Hauritz after he fell on his shoulder while fielding, the spinner being immediately sent to hospital for X-rays.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
'Insanity' of Sundance set to begin
Big names from the world of cinema are en route to this year's Sundance Film Festival - one of the world's leading showcases for independent film.
More than 100 full-length features are being screened at the 11-day festival and among the stars appearing will be Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Spacey, Tobey Maguire, Paul Rudd, Demi Moore and Sigourney Weaver.
Sundance, which takes place in the relatively small winter ski-resort of Park City in Utah, has its own unique charms for stars accustomed to the international film festival circuit.
Paul Giamatti, who'll be starring in the Sundance film Win Win, says what sets the festival apart is "the insanity of it - the fact that everybody is crammed into a little street in the middle of Utah".
With some 20 British films in the line-up there's a strong UK presence at the festival this year - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Hugh Dancy, Felicity Jones, Alex Kingston and Freddie Highmore are among the British actors in Sundance films.
British directors are making an impact too. Kevin Macdonald, who directed The Last King of Scotland, has masterminded Life in a Day, one of the most ambitious and eagerly awaited Sundance films.
It's a global cinematic project, supported by YouTube, in which a feature film has been built from user-generated content drawn from 80,000 people. All the images seen in the film were shot on a single day, 24 July 2010.
Magical kingdom
Another British director, James Marsh, has also been the subject of pre-festival talk with his documentary, Project Nim.
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“Start Quote
I'm excited about our history of seeing a film-maker come with a short, five, 10 years ago, and then come back with a feature”
End Quote John Cooper Sundance programming director
Marsh, who won an Oscar in 2009 for his film Man On Wire, explores an experiment which aimed to prove that a chimpanzee - if raised like a human baby - could communicate through sign language.
There's also interest in Becoming Chaz, co-produced by British film-maker Fenton Bailey. The documentary chronicles Cher's daughter Chastity and her transition to becoming a man through gender reassignment.
Sundance is guided by director and actor Robert Redford - one of the festival's founding fathers.
To many independent film-makers he has created a magical kingdom in the snowy mountains of Utah.
More than 100 full-length features are being screened at the 11-day festival and among the stars appearing will be Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Spacey, Tobey Maguire, Paul Rudd, Demi Moore and Sigourney Weaver.
Sundance, which takes place in the relatively small winter ski-resort of Park City in Utah, has its own unique charms for stars accustomed to the international film festival circuit.
Paul Giamatti, who'll be starring in the Sundance film Win Win, says what sets the festival apart is "the insanity of it - the fact that everybody is crammed into a little street in the middle of Utah".
With some 20 British films in the line-up there's a strong UK presence at the festival this year - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Hugh Dancy, Felicity Jones, Alex Kingston and Freddie Highmore are among the British actors in Sundance films.
British directors are making an impact too. Kevin Macdonald, who directed The Last King of Scotland, has masterminded Life in a Day, one of the most ambitious and eagerly awaited Sundance films.
It's a global cinematic project, supported by YouTube, in which a feature film has been built from user-generated content drawn from 80,000 people. All the images seen in the film were shot on a single day, 24 July 2010.
Magical kingdom
Another British director, James Marsh, has also been the subject of pre-festival talk with his documentary, Project Nim.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
I'm excited about our history of seeing a film-maker come with a short, five, 10 years ago, and then come back with a feature”
End Quote John Cooper Sundance programming director
Marsh, who won an Oscar in 2009 for his film Man On Wire, explores an experiment which aimed to prove that a chimpanzee - if raised like a human baby - could communicate through sign language.
There's also interest in Becoming Chaz, co-produced by British film-maker Fenton Bailey. The documentary chronicles Cher's daughter Chastity and her transition to becoming a man through gender reassignment.
Sundance is guided by director and actor Robert Redford - one of the festival's founding fathers.
To many independent film-makers he has created a magical kingdom in the snowy mountains of Utah.
Why we should worry about Balochistan
Worsening violence in Balochistan is going largely unnoticed as Pakistan slides ever deeper into crisis. The province has become the epicentre for regional warfare - threatening stability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, reports guest columnist Ahmed Rashid.
It was a normal Sunday on 16 January in Pakistan's insurgency wracked province of Balochistan - five people were killed in targeted killings by unknown gunmen.
They included a lady health worker who was gunned down near the capital, Quetta; a taxi driver near the south-western town of Qila Saifullah shot dead in his cab; a teenage member of the Baloch Students' Organisation.
Also found was the body of Ghulam Hussain who had been kidnapped and was missing for the past eight months.
On the same day two tankers carrying fuel for Nato troops in Afghanistan were attacked near Quetta by the Taliban with rocket propelled grenades and torched.
The day before, 18 Nato tankers were burnt to cinders by gunmen operating further south.
Mayhem
As Pakistan slithers down the slope of Islamic extremism, economic meltdown and a continuing political crisis, there has been little concern for the long running insurgency in Balochistan that has picked up pace as Baloch separatists take advantage of the national chaos, while ever more ruthless retaliatory actions by the state go unchecked.
A paramilitary soldier in Quetta on 17 December 2010 The region is heavily militarised
Every day dead bodies turn up, many of them innocent victims of the mayhem in the province.
According to human rights groups, the suspected killers either belong to the intelligence services or Baloch militant groups.
Nobody claims responsibility for the spiralling death toll.
The government launched a so-called peace process 15 months ago but it is stalled.
Of the 61 steps envisaged in the package, only 15 have been implemented so far, according to Dawn newspaper.
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“Start Quote
Balochistan has also become the epicentre for growing regional rivalries and warfare ”
End Quote
The government package was introduced to reduce the alienation and growing poverty of the Baloch people.
But the lack of action by the government and army has led to a stepped up hatred for the Pakistan state by Baloch youth, a terrible climate of fear because of the targeted killings and the collapse of the local economy and jobs as business flees the province.
No organ of the state has fulfilled its promises to the Baloch people over the past two years.
Parts of eastern Balochistan suffered massively from the devastating summer floods, but aid workers say help to the Baloch farmers has been far less than in other parts of the country.
No remedies
If the government has failed, so have the courts and the army.
A year ago the Supreme Court promised to look into the cases of hundreds of Baloch who have gone missing over the years or made to disappear, but no remedies have been offered.
"Missing" usually means they have been kidnapped and then killed or kept in secret locations.
A Pakistani mourns the death of a relative at a blast site in Quetta on 27 October 2010 Blasts and ethnic violence have become a way of life in Balochistan province
Some of those missing are political figures, others victims of criminal syndicates looking for ransom, while others are just innocent bystanders.
The Baloch accuse the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of carrying out the kidnappings.
The ISI denies the charges and says government officials are being targeted by the Baloch.
The army has made little attempt to speed up political reconciliation.
As part of the government package, the army said it would not build any more cantonments in the province, nor extend its presence.
But it has handed over its powers to the much more loathed Frontier Corps (FC), which is officered by the army.
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“Start Quote
No organ of the state has fulfilled its promises to the Baloch people over the past two years. ”
End Quote
Baloch leaders say the FC is not accountable to the province's chief minister or governor and a new demand - to place it under civilian control - has come up.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says the situation in the province is close to civil war.
In a recent report it says security has further deteriorated and 45 decomposed bodies have been found since July 2010 while 298 persons have gone missing.
There were 117 incidents of targeted killings last year, while another 119 people died in explosions and 19 in sectarian attacks.
'Wrecking havoc'
Last October, Amnesty International called on the government to investigate the torture and killings of more than 40 Baloch political activists and leaders in what it termed ''a kill and dump policy", as the dead were usually found with a bullet wound to the head and torture marks on their bodies.
Pakistani children displaced by floods play at a makeshift camp in Quetta on 11 September 2010 Last year's floods displaced many in Balochistan
The military does not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor human rights abuses or take care of prisoners in the province.
The militants too have been wrecking havoc on non-Baloch who have been settled in the province for decades.
Human Rights Watch has documented the killings of nearly two dozen non-Baloch teachers and professors in the province over the past 12 months.
Hundreds of teachers are fleeing the province bringing the already dire educational system to a standstill.
Balochistan has seen five insurgencies since 1947, but never before have militants targeted non-Baloch residents and civilians in this manner.
On 7 December, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani survived a bomb blast on his motorcade that wounded nine people.
Nobody claimed responsibility but it is suspected that militants carried out the attack.
'Sanctuaries'
Balochistan has also become the epicentre for growing regional rivalries and warfare.
Leaders of the Afghan Taliban are based in Quetta, Chaman and Qila Saifullah - towns which border Afghanistan and are inhabited by Pashtun tribes.
Trucks carrying fuel for Nato forces in Afghanistan burn following an attack by militants in Balochistan in Oct 2009 Fuel tanks en route to Nato forces in Afghanistan are often set on fire in the province
The US and Nato command in Afghanistan say the Taliban use these sanctuaries to re-arm and rest their fighters, who then attack Nato forces in southern Afghanistan.
Gen David Petraeus, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, has threatened to bomb these sanctuaries if Pakistan does not deal with them.
Iran accuses Pakistan of allowing Jundullah, an anti-Iranian government terrorist group, to maintain bases in south-western Balochistan.
On 15 December, a suicide bomber killed 30 people at the Iranian port of Chabahar which borders Balochistan.
Jundullah claimed the bombing was a revenge for the execution of its leaders by Iran, some of whom had been handed over by Pakistan to Iran last year.
Pakistan says it has ousted all members of Jundullah from its soil.
Meanwhile, sectarian killings also have an international dimension.
Sunni extremist groups, some funded by supporters in the Arabian Gulf states, are actively killing Shias in Quetta, who largely belong to the Hazara ethnic group.
The Taliban are also involved in killing Hazaras, because they say they work for the Americans in Afghanistan.
Given the political chaos in the country it is unlikely that Balochistan will receive much attention in the months ahead.
But the collapse of law and order in the province could have serious repercussions on Pakistan's territorial integrity and heighten tensions between the largest province Punjab and the smaller provinces.
Ahmed Rashid's book, Taliban, was updated and reissued recently on the 10th anniversary of its publication. His latest book is Descent into Chaos - The US and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Alamance-Burlington students put science skills to the test at fair
Some of the projects at the Alamance-Burlington School System’s 2011 Science Fair were about traditional subjects – things like kinetic energy and oil spills. Others were on less technical-sounding topics, such as dirty diapers, chewing gum and nail polish. The event was Wednesday at Graham Middle School. Caleb Fitch and Kolin Moore, fifth-grade students at E.M. Holt Elementary School, took the air restrictors out of three Nerf guns to test the idea that it would make the guns shoot farther “We thought that taking it out would increase the range,” Fitch said, something that was reinforced when they asked for other opinions. “A lot of people on the Internet were saying it would increase the range,” Moore said. “We found that it actually decreased the range.” They fired each gun 10 times each with and without the air restrictor and averaged the results. With two of the three guns, removing the air restrictor decreased the range. Sarah Jeffries and Karra Richmond, fifth-grade students at Andrews Elementary, tested laundry detergents to see which one did best removing stains. They soaked white cloths in a blueberry juice-based drink and found that Tide was the most effective in removing the color. Grady Hildebrand, a fifth-grade student at Elon Elementary School, researched different types of bridges and constructed four models using balsa wood. He discovered the beam bridge – the kind commonly used as part of highway overpasses – was able to hold the most weight. His beam-bridge model held 55 pounds before breaking. The science fair is divided into two portions. Several dozen elementary school students were at the fair in the early morning to show their projects to judges. Later in the morning, middle and high school students arrived for their turns. Students qualified for the science fair by winning events at their schools. People with knowledge in different areas of science judge the projects. They include graduates students at schools such as Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, retired educators and employees of science-related companies such as Carolina Biological.
Ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali's family 'arrested'
Protesters confront police in Tunis. 19 Jan 2011 Protesters want the unity government to exclude members of Mr Ben Ali's RCD party
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Tunisia turmoil
Some 33 members of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's family have been held, state TV says.
It said that they were arrested as they tried to leave the country.
In a televised speech, interim leader Fouad Mebazaa vowed a "total break" with the past, an independent justice system and media freedoms.
In a separate development, the new government said it had freed all political prisoners. The reported move comes after weeks of mass protests.
More than 100 people have reportedly died in the unrest, the UN said, promising to carry out an investigation.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets again in the Tunisian capital Tunis, urging allies of the ousted president to stop clinging to power.
Waving banners and chanting, they called for all links to the old regime to be severed.
However, riot police did not respond with tear gas or water cannons, the BBC's Wyre Davies in Tunis reports.
While the situation remains tense, curfew hours have been reduced, traffic on the streets is increasing, political cartoons have appeared in the newly free press and some shops and businesses are reopening, our correspondent says.
Amnesty
"I guarantee that this transition government will ensure a total break with the past," Mr Mebazaa said on Wednesday.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
All the people who came to this unity government will resign if the elections are not free and fair or the measures we have decided on are not carried out immediately”
"Together we can write a new page in the history of our country."
In his first address to the nation since Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Mr Mebazaa also thanked the army for helping to maintain security, saying that the situation was returning to normal.
"We have discovered those responsible for the terror in our country. We have arrested these armed gangs."
He added that the priority for the new government would be to issue an amnesty for all political prisoners.
Najib Chebbi, an opposition leader who is now a member of the new cabinet, and Mustapha Ben Jafar, one of several new ministers who dropped out of the unity government, were both quoted by news agencies as saying that all the political prisoners were released on Wednesday.
They said these included members of a banned Islamist movement.
Separately, Tunisia's state news agency TAP said that the first of more than 1,800 prisoners who had been sentenced to less than six months were already being released.
Private jet
As the political turmoil continues, Tunisia's national unity cabinet is reported to have postponed its first meeting.
Continue reading the main story
TUNISIAN CABINET
* Mohammed Ghannouchi stays on as prime minister; a Ben Ali ally, he has been in the job since 1999, keeping his post throughout the unrest
* Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa, appointed by Mr Ben Ali to mollify demonstrators, retains post
* Foreign Minister Kamal Morjane retains post
* Najib Chebbi, founder of opposition Progressive Democratic Party, named as development minister
* Ahmed Ibrahim, leader of opposition Ettajdid party, named minister of higher education
* Mustafa ben Jaafar, leader of opposition Union of Freedom and Labour, named health minister but refused to take office
* Slim Amamou, prominent blogger who was arrested during protests, becomes secretary of state for youth and sport
Ministers in the new interim government are currently discussing how to resolve deep divisions over the inclusion in key posts of members of the former government.
Mr Chebbi told the BBC's Hardtalk programme he would resign if a free election failed to materialise within seven months.
"All the people who came to this unity government will resign if the elections are not free and fair or the measures we have decided on are not carried out immediately."
Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday following a spate of violent protests across Tunisia over unemployment, poverty and corruption.
Four opponents of Mr Ben Ali resigned from the new unity government within a day of being appointed, in protest at the number of ministers from the old regime who were still included.
In Geneva, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey announced a decision to freeze any funds of Mr Ben Ali held there.
Ms Calmy-Rey said Bern acted to prevent assets being withdrawn and also to ensure that a new Tunisian administration would be able to retrieve assets taken illicitly.
The ban also applies to any assets held by "his entourage", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
A Swiss judicial source told Reuters news agency that an association of Tunisians living in Switzerland had sought the freezing of assets including a building on Geneva's exclusive Rue du Rhone and a Falcon 9000 jet said to be at Geneva airport.
In other developments on Wednesday, the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, linked the upheaval in Tunisia to deteriorating economic conditions throughout the Arab world.
"The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession," he said at the opening of an Arab League summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Continue reading the main story
Tunisia turmoil
Some 33 members of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's family have been held, state TV says.
It said that they were arrested as they tried to leave the country.
In a televised speech, interim leader Fouad Mebazaa vowed a "total break" with the past, an independent justice system and media freedoms.
In a separate development, the new government said it had freed all political prisoners. The reported move comes after weeks of mass protests.
More than 100 people have reportedly died in the unrest, the UN said, promising to carry out an investigation.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets again in the Tunisian capital Tunis, urging allies of the ousted president to stop clinging to power.
Waving banners and chanting, they called for all links to the old regime to be severed.
However, riot police did not respond with tear gas or water cannons, the BBC's Wyre Davies in Tunis reports.
While the situation remains tense, curfew hours have been reduced, traffic on the streets is increasing, political cartoons have appeared in the newly free press and some shops and businesses are reopening, our correspondent says.
Amnesty
"I guarantee that this transition government will ensure a total break with the past," Mr Mebazaa said on Wednesday.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
All the people who came to this unity government will resign if the elections are not free and fair or the measures we have decided on are not carried out immediately”
"Together we can write a new page in the history of our country."
In his first address to the nation since Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Mr Mebazaa also thanked the army for helping to maintain security, saying that the situation was returning to normal.
"We have discovered those responsible for the terror in our country. We have arrested these armed gangs."
He added that the priority for the new government would be to issue an amnesty for all political prisoners.
Najib Chebbi, an opposition leader who is now a member of the new cabinet, and Mustapha Ben Jafar, one of several new ministers who dropped out of the unity government, were both quoted by news agencies as saying that all the political prisoners were released on Wednesday.
They said these included members of a banned Islamist movement.
Separately, Tunisia's state news agency TAP said that the first of more than 1,800 prisoners who had been sentenced to less than six months were already being released.
Private jet
As the political turmoil continues, Tunisia's national unity cabinet is reported to have postponed its first meeting.
Continue reading the main story
TUNISIAN CABINET
* Mohammed Ghannouchi stays on as prime minister; a Ben Ali ally, he has been in the job since 1999, keeping his post throughout the unrest
* Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa, appointed by Mr Ben Ali to mollify demonstrators, retains post
* Foreign Minister Kamal Morjane retains post
* Najib Chebbi, founder of opposition Progressive Democratic Party, named as development minister
* Ahmed Ibrahim, leader of opposition Ettajdid party, named minister of higher education
* Mustafa ben Jaafar, leader of opposition Union of Freedom and Labour, named health minister but refused to take office
* Slim Amamou, prominent blogger who was arrested during protests, becomes secretary of state for youth and sport
Ministers in the new interim government are currently discussing how to resolve deep divisions over the inclusion in key posts of members of the former government.
Mr Chebbi told the BBC's Hardtalk programme he would resign if a free election failed to materialise within seven months.
"All the people who came to this unity government will resign if the elections are not free and fair or the measures we have decided on are not carried out immediately."
Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday following a spate of violent protests across Tunisia over unemployment, poverty and corruption.
Four opponents of Mr Ben Ali resigned from the new unity government within a day of being appointed, in protest at the number of ministers from the old regime who were still included.
In Geneva, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey announced a decision to freeze any funds of Mr Ben Ali held there.
Ms Calmy-Rey said Bern acted to prevent assets being withdrawn and also to ensure that a new Tunisian administration would be able to retrieve assets taken illicitly.
The ban also applies to any assets held by "his entourage", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
A Swiss judicial source told Reuters news agency that an association of Tunisians living in Switzerland had sought the freezing of assets including a building on Geneva's exclusive Rue du Rhone and a Falcon 9000 jet said to be at Geneva airport.
In other developments on Wednesday, the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, linked the upheaval in Tunisia to deteriorating economic conditions throughout the Arab world.
"The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession," he said at the opening of an Arab League summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
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