Al jazeera
Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has issued a public call for political change in Egypt ahead of presidential elections planned for next year.
Elbaradei, who is seen as a potential candidate for the polls, made the call at a meeting in northeast Egypt, defying an emergency law that bans gatherings critical of the government of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president.
"The state may be a centralised power but the people are stronger," he said on Friday.
ElBaradei, who has said he might stand in the election, urged the crowd of about 700 people to add their names to a petition seeking constitutional change to allow independents to run for president.
"Once we gather as many names as possible we will put it forward and bring about real change," he said.
The petition also calls for the emergency law that allows detention without charge and bans anti-government political activity like ElBaradei's public speech to be revoked.
"We seek peaceful reform by rallying large numbers of supporters for change. We seek constitutional amendments and free and fair elections," ElBaradei said.
"The Egyptian citizen has the right to choose his president."
Rare political gathering
Egyptian police often break up gatherings of more than five people but Friday's events went ahead without interruption.
"We received instructions from the interior ministry to allow the rally and gathering to go smoothly," a security officer at the speech said.
The gathering in Mansura, a university town between Cairo and the Mediterranean Sea, drew students dressed in shirts bearing his image, as well as doctors, taxi drivers, engineers and housewives.
"Oh, ElBaradei, Egypt wants democracy!" supporters chanted.
"There are thousands of alternatives in Egypt, ElBaradei is proof."
The crowd sang the national anthem and also chanted, "ElBaradei, say it strongly, Egypt wants democracy".
ElBaradei said his aim was to bring as many people as possible to the streets.
"What we saw today is the writing on the wall," ElBaradei told the Reuters news agency.
"The average Egyptian is out on the street calling for change, and this destroys the myth that this movement is by the elite or is just a virtual one on the internet."
Political analysts say the chances of securing constitutional change by next year are remote, with Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party dominating political life in the most populous Arab nation.
"The regime is clever this time because it knows that with ElBaradei the rules of the game are different," Yahya Al Gamal, a professor of law professor, told Reuters.
"International public opinion is following ElBaradei's every move so the Egyptian government is being smart and behaving in an intelligent way."
Western policy
Mubarak, 81, who has ruled since 1981, has not said if he plans to run for a sixth six-year term in 2011, but many Egyptians speculate that he will seek to hand power to his son Gamal.
Speaking about Western governments support of Mubarak, Elbaradei told Britain's Guardian newspaper on Thursday that their policies towards Arab governments risked encouraging Islamic extremism.
"The idea that Bin Laden and company are the only alternative to authoritarian regimes is a fake one," he said.
"People feel repressed by their own governments, they feel unfairly treated by the outside world, they wake up in the morning and they see Muslims from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Darfur being shot and killed."
"It has not been based on dialogue, understanding, supporting civil society and empowering people, but rather it's been based on supporting authoritarian systems as long as the oil keeps pumping."
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Pakistan tables awaited constitutional reforms
Al arabiya
ISLAMABAD (Reuters)
The Pakistani government introduced a constitutional bill in parliament Friday to transfer President Asif Ali Zardari's sweeping powers to the prime minister, possibly ending months of political wrangling.
The set of reforms, known as the "18th Amendment Bill", is expected to be passed by the two-chambered parliament, effectively turning Zardari into a titular head of state.
The development may help calm political opposition to Zardari, but the government faces mounting pressure from an assertive Supreme Court to reopen corruption cases against the president after it threw out a controversial amnesty law in December.
"I suspect that after the signing of the 18th amendment, it (the political environment) is going to change," said Samina Ahmed, South Asia director for the International Crisis Group.
"Part of the problem is structural. Nobody knows where the locus of authority lies."
Because of that uncertainty, she said all branches of government are trying to expand their powers at the expense of the others.
"There's a little bit of muscle flexing all around."
18th amendment
But if the 18th Amendment goes through smoothly, the center of authority goes to the parliament, "with the judiciary interpreting" -- possibly leading to a less assertive bench.
"It will settle down," Ahmed predicted.
That hasn't happened yet. On Friday, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned, just one day after he told the Supreme Court that the law minister and his ministry were not providing him documents relating to corruption cases against thousands of people, including Zardari.
"It had become impossible for me to work in such a situation," Khan told Reuters.
Analysts say that even as a ceremonial president, Zardari would still yield considerable influence from his position as head of the Pakistan People's Party, the country's largest political party.
The PPP was once led by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari's wife, who was assassinated in December 2007.
Under the proposed constitutional amendments, the president will lose his key powers, including the authority to dissolve the national assembly and appoint powerful military chiefs and the chief election commissioner.
The bill gives the prime minister final say on dissolving the national assembly and appointing the heads of the armed forces. The bill also shifts Zardari's powers to appoint judges to a commission comprised of senior judges and government figures.
Farah Ispahani, a senior PPP leader, said it was wrong to say the bill "stripped" Zardari of his powers, "as he himself sought to restore the constitution to its original form without the amendments imposed by dictators."
Reforms
" You think that the prime minister will become stronger after these amendments but I think now I will be the focus of all storms "
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza GilaniMost analysts, however, say Zardari only agreed to the reforms reluctantly after intense political pressure.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, a staunch Bhutto loyalist, will emerge as the powerful head of the government after these constitutional reforms are adopted. Analysts say his role will come under increased scrutiny in the future.
"You think that the prime minister will become stronger after these amendments but I think now I will be the focus of all storms," Gilani told parliament before the introduction of the bill.
"These proposals will strengthen democratic institutions."
The reforms would also abolish the two-term limit on prime ministers, allowing Nawaz Sharif, a two-time former prime minister and now opposition leader, to contest for a third term after general elections due in 2013.
Under the bill, provinces will get greater autonomy, while the mainly ethnic Pashtun North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan gets a new name as "Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa" in a bid to represent its dominant population.
The legislation is likely to be passed by far more than the two-thirds super-majority needed in parliament because it has been drafted by a parliamentary committee made up of all political groups.
No date has been fixed for its adoption.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters)
The Pakistani government introduced a constitutional bill in parliament Friday to transfer President Asif Ali Zardari's sweeping powers to the prime minister, possibly ending months of political wrangling.
The set of reforms, known as the "18th Amendment Bill", is expected to be passed by the two-chambered parliament, effectively turning Zardari into a titular head of state.
The development may help calm political opposition to Zardari, but the government faces mounting pressure from an assertive Supreme Court to reopen corruption cases against the president after it threw out a controversial amnesty law in December.
"I suspect that after the signing of the 18th amendment, it (the political environment) is going to change," said Samina Ahmed, South Asia director for the International Crisis Group.
"Part of the problem is structural. Nobody knows where the locus of authority lies."
Because of that uncertainty, she said all branches of government are trying to expand their powers at the expense of the others.
"There's a little bit of muscle flexing all around."
18th amendment
But if the 18th Amendment goes through smoothly, the center of authority goes to the parliament, "with the judiciary interpreting" -- possibly leading to a less assertive bench.
"It will settle down," Ahmed predicted.
That hasn't happened yet. On Friday, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned, just one day after he told the Supreme Court that the law minister and his ministry were not providing him documents relating to corruption cases against thousands of people, including Zardari.
"It had become impossible for me to work in such a situation," Khan told Reuters.
Analysts say that even as a ceremonial president, Zardari would still yield considerable influence from his position as head of the Pakistan People's Party, the country's largest political party.
The PPP was once led by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Zardari's wife, who was assassinated in December 2007.
Under the proposed constitutional amendments, the president will lose his key powers, including the authority to dissolve the national assembly and appoint powerful military chiefs and the chief election commissioner.
The bill gives the prime minister final say on dissolving the national assembly and appointing the heads of the armed forces. The bill also shifts Zardari's powers to appoint judges to a commission comprised of senior judges and government figures.
Farah Ispahani, a senior PPP leader, said it was wrong to say the bill "stripped" Zardari of his powers, "as he himself sought to restore the constitution to its original form without the amendments imposed by dictators."
Reforms
" You think that the prime minister will become stronger after these amendments but I think now I will be the focus of all storms "
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza GilaniMost analysts, however, say Zardari only agreed to the reforms reluctantly after intense political pressure.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, a staunch Bhutto loyalist, will emerge as the powerful head of the government after these constitutional reforms are adopted. Analysts say his role will come under increased scrutiny in the future.
"You think that the prime minister will become stronger after these amendments but I think now I will be the focus of all storms," Gilani told parliament before the introduction of the bill.
"These proposals will strengthen democratic institutions."
The reforms would also abolish the two-term limit on prime ministers, allowing Nawaz Sharif, a two-time former prime minister and now opposition leader, to contest for a third term after general elections due in 2013.
Under the bill, provinces will get greater autonomy, while the mainly ethnic Pashtun North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan gets a new name as "Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa" in a bid to represent its dominant population.
The legislation is likely to be passed by far more than the two-thirds super-majority needed in parliament because it has been drafted by a parliamentary committee made up of all political groups.
No date has been fixed for its adoption.
Gitmo inmates give food to Haiti quake victims
Al arabiya
WASHINGTON (AFP)
A group of inmates at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are setting aside some of their food as a donation to Haiti's earthquake victims, one of their lawyers told AFP.
Allison Lefrak said Ravil Mingazov, the last Russian held in Guantanamo, told him by telephone a week ago that fellow inmates from "camp 4" -- where the most cooperative prisoners are kept -- "had thought that a lot of food was going to be wasted."
"They thought it was common sense to ask if they can give it to the Haiti relief mission," the lawyer added.
Camp 4 prisoners are allowed to watch television and have been following the tragedy unfolding in nearby Haiti from the January 12 earthquake that killed about 220,000 people and left 1.3 million homeless, Lefrak said.
Despite their good intentions, he added, the prisoners of camp 4 were "doubtful" the food they have been gathering for around two weeks was actually being sent to Haiti by prison authorities.
WASHINGTON (AFP)
A group of inmates at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are setting aside some of their food as a donation to Haiti's earthquake victims, one of their lawyers told AFP.
Allison Lefrak said Ravil Mingazov, the last Russian held in Guantanamo, told him by telephone a week ago that fellow inmates from "camp 4" -- where the most cooperative prisoners are kept -- "had thought that a lot of food was going to be wasted."
"They thought it was common sense to ask if they can give it to the Haiti relief mission," the lawyer added.
Camp 4 prisoners are allowed to watch television and have been following the tragedy unfolding in nearby Haiti from the January 12 earthquake that killed about 220,000 people and left 1.3 million homeless, Lefrak said.
Despite their good intentions, he added, the prisoners of camp 4 were "doubtful" the food they have been gathering for around two weeks was actually being sent to Haiti by prison authorities.
Dozens dead in Baghdad shooting
Al jazeera
Up to 25 people have been killed after a group of men dressed in Iraqi army uniforms stormed three houses in southern Baghdad, Iraqi authorities have said.
The attack took place in a village in the capital's Rasheed district in the early hours of Saturday.
"Men wearing uniforms and driving vehicles similar to those used by the army stormed three houses in the village of Sufiya ... and killed 25 people, including five women," an interior ministry official said.
The victims were handcuffed and shot in the head, police said.
Awakening Councils
Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, a Baghdad security spokesman, said some of the victims were members of the Iraqi security forces and others of the Awakening Councils, Sunni militias who have allied with US forces to fight al-Qaeda.
He said authorities had arrested 25 people and sealed off the area to conduct a search for other suspects.
Seven people were left alive with their hands tied behind their backs after the attack, he said.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Baghdad, said the Rasheed district used to be an an al-Qaeda stronghold until the Awakening Council clamped down on the fighters.
"[Awakening Council members] are targets, just like security officials government officials."
She said the attack came in a time of political uncertainty with no clear winner emerged from the March 7 national elections and the political parties still negotiating to form alliances.
"A lot of discussion has taken place but still no progress. So, a lot of tension and speculation that the post-election period might see an upsurge in violence.
"It could be the Iraqi style of negotiating. This is what you hear when you talk to people here. They are expecting violence, maybe to step up pressure."
Up to 25 people have been killed after a group of men dressed in Iraqi army uniforms stormed three houses in southern Baghdad, Iraqi authorities have said.
The attack took place in a village in the capital's Rasheed district in the early hours of Saturday.
"Men wearing uniforms and driving vehicles similar to those used by the army stormed three houses in the village of Sufiya ... and killed 25 people, including five women," an interior ministry official said.
The victims were handcuffed and shot in the head, police said.
Awakening Councils
Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, a Baghdad security spokesman, said some of the victims were members of the Iraqi security forces and others of the Awakening Councils, Sunni militias who have allied with US forces to fight al-Qaeda.
He said authorities had arrested 25 people and sealed off the area to conduct a search for other suspects.
Seven people were left alive with their hands tied behind their backs after the attack, he said.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Baghdad, said the Rasheed district used to be an an al-Qaeda stronghold until the Awakening Council clamped down on the fighters.
"[Awakening Council members] are targets, just like security officials government officials."
She said the attack came in a time of political uncertainty with no clear winner emerged from the March 7 national elections and the political parties still negotiating to form alliances.
"A lot of discussion has taken place but still no progress. So, a lot of tension and speculation that the post-election period might see an upsurge in violence.
"It could be the Iraqi style of negotiating. This is what you hear when you talk to people here. They are expecting violence, maybe to step up pressure."
Israel threatens fresh military offensive in Gaza
Telegraph
Israel has threatened to launch a fresh military offensive in Gaza following a wave of airstrikes that marks the most serious escalation of violence in the costal enclave for more than a year. The Israeli military said aircraft bombed four targets yesterday used by Hamas to store and produce weapons in retaliation for 20 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory over the past month.
Reinforcing the message delivered by Israel's warplanes, the country's deputy prime minister, Silvan Shalom warned Hamas that patience in the Jewish state was wearing thin.
"If this rocket fire against Israel does not stop, it seems we will have to raise the level of our activity and step up our actions against Hamas," he told Israel radio.
"We won't allow frightened children to again be raised in bomb shelters and so, in the end, it will force us to launch another military operation," he said.
Amid fears that the situation could deteriorate and uncertainty as to how Hamas might respond, the Foreign Office called on both Israel and the movement to show restraint.
"We are concerned by today's strikes and the escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel over the past week," a spokesman said. "We encourage Israelis and Palestinians to focus efforts on negotiation and to engage urgently in US-backed proximity talks."
Three of the Israeli strikes hit an area near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Two missiles hit a guard post of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
A fourth raid destroyed a workshop in the refugee camp of Nusseirat, in central Gaza, according to Hamas. Other witnesses said a small dairy factory was destroyed in western Gaza City.
Moawiya Hassanein, the head of the Palestinian emergency services in Gaza, said three Palestinian children, aged two, four and 11, had been hit by flying glass.
The air strikes are the fiercest since Israel's military invasion of Gaza. Operation Cast Lead, 15 months ago. From a military perspective military invasion of Gaza last year, was a success: Hamas stopped its almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities near Gaza after the Holy Land's most volatile corner was pounded into submission.
But the operation came at a significant human cost that scarred Israel's international reputation. According to Israeli human rights groups, hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed, including 252 children.
Even as it has held its fire, Hamas is believed to have been busy restocking its arsenals. Responsibility for the occasional rocket attacks since the end of the invasion have been claimed mostly by other radical Islamist groups operating in Gaza.
The escalation in rocket attacks over recent weeks coincided with an Israeli decision to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day war but regarded by Palestinians as their future capital. The announcement of plans to build 1,600 settler homes came during a visit to Israel by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, to broker proximity peace talks. The move put a strain on US relations with Israel and on the Barack Obama's most senior aides described it as an "affront" to the US.
The Hamas movement's prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh yesterday called on the international community to stop "Israeli escalation". Mr Haniyeh insisted that Hamas was exerting pressure on smaller factions to cease their rocket attacks.
While indicating its commitment to maintaining an uneasy status quo with Israel, Hamas has acknowledged that its fighters were involved in an attack last week that killed two Israeli soldiers near the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
At the time, Hamas suggested that it would use the justification of "self-defence" to resume attacks on Israeli troops who entered Gaza, a significant alteration of its recent rules of engagement that will have alarmed Israel's military commanders.
Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but retains control of the territory's borders. Its troops make regular incursions into the enclave in order to protect a buffer zone and enforce a controversial blockade that the United Nations says has caused a humanitarian crisis.
Few ordinary people in Gaza want Hamas to resume hostilities with Israel, although that may change should Israeli air strikes kill civilians.
Yesterday's Israeli attacks mainly struck Hamas military targets, although some witnesses in Gaza said that a dairy factory and a police station unconnected to the movement were also bombed.
Three children were slightly injured by flying glass, but there were no fatalities.
Israel has threatened to launch a fresh military offensive in Gaza following a wave of airstrikes that marks the most serious escalation of violence in the costal enclave for more than a year. The Israeli military said aircraft bombed four targets yesterday used by Hamas to store and produce weapons in retaliation for 20 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory over the past month.
Reinforcing the message delivered by Israel's warplanes, the country's deputy prime minister, Silvan Shalom warned Hamas that patience in the Jewish state was wearing thin.
"If this rocket fire against Israel does not stop, it seems we will have to raise the level of our activity and step up our actions against Hamas," he told Israel radio.
"We won't allow frightened children to again be raised in bomb shelters and so, in the end, it will force us to launch another military operation," he said.
Amid fears that the situation could deteriorate and uncertainty as to how Hamas might respond, the Foreign Office called on both Israel and the movement to show restraint.
"We are concerned by today's strikes and the escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel over the past week," a spokesman said. "We encourage Israelis and Palestinians to focus efforts on negotiation and to engage urgently in US-backed proximity talks."
Three of the Israeli strikes hit an area near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Two missiles hit a guard post of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
A fourth raid destroyed a workshop in the refugee camp of Nusseirat, in central Gaza, according to Hamas. Other witnesses said a small dairy factory was destroyed in western Gaza City.
Moawiya Hassanein, the head of the Palestinian emergency services in Gaza, said three Palestinian children, aged two, four and 11, had been hit by flying glass.
The air strikes are the fiercest since Israel's military invasion of Gaza. Operation Cast Lead, 15 months ago. From a military perspective military invasion of Gaza last year, was a success: Hamas stopped its almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities near Gaza after the Holy Land's most volatile corner was pounded into submission.
But the operation came at a significant human cost that scarred Israel's international reputation. According to Israeli human rights groups, hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed, including 252 children.
Even as it has held its fire, Hamas is believed to have been busy restocking its arsenals. Responsibility for the occasional rocket attacks since the end of the invasion have been claimed mostly by other radical Islamist groups operating in Gaza.
The escalation in rocket attacks over recent weeks coincided with an Israeli decision to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day war but regarded by Palestinians as their future capital. The announcement of plans to build 1,600 settler homes came during a visit to Israel by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, to broker proximity peace talks. The move put a strain on US relations with Israel and on the Barack Obama's most senior aides described it as an "affront" to the US.
The Hamas movement's prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh yesterday called on the international community to stop "Israeli escalation". Mr Haniyeh insisted that Hamas was exerting pressure on smaller factions to cease their rocket attacks.
While indicating its commitment to maintaining an uneasy status quo with Israel, Hamas has acknowledged that its fighters were involved in an attack last week that killed two Israeli soldiers near the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
At the time, Hamas suggested that it would use the justification of "self-defence" to resume attacks on Israeli troops who entered Gaza, a significant alteration of its recent rules of engagement that will have alarmed Israel's military commanders.
Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but retains control of the territory's borders. Its troops make regular incursions into the enclave in order to protect a buffer zone and enforce a controversial blockade that the United Nations says has caused a humanitarian crisis.
Few ordinary people in Gaza want Hamas to resume hostilities with Israel, although that may change should Israeli air strikes kill civilians.
Yesterday's Israeli attacks mainly struck Hamas military targets, although some witnesses in Gaza said that a dairy factory and a police station unconnected to the movement were also bombed.
Three children were slightly injured by flying glass, but there were no fatalities.
'Friendly fire' kills Afghan troops
Al jazeera
Six Afghan soldiers have been killed by German troops who opened fire on them after mistaking them for Taliban fighters, an Afghan government official has said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told Al Jazeera on Friday that the Afghan soldiers were fired on after arriving on the scene of a Taliban attack in Kunduz province that left three Germans dead.
Mohammed Omar, the governor of Kunduz, confirmed that a so-called friendly-fire incident had taken place, but was unable to verify the number of Afghan army casualties.
The government official also said five Afghans were wounded in the shooting.
The three German soldiers were killed earlier on Friday while battling Taliban fighters in the restive northern province.
Under attack
The Germans had been on a bridge-building and mine-clearing mission when they were ambushed by Taliban fighters who had laid bombs along the roadside.
A correspondent for the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel said that around 200 Taliban fighters had staged the ambush, adding that he had seen a vehicle blown up by a mine.
Fighting continued into the evening, and the Afghan army were deployed to offer assistance to the German troops. As they approached in the dark, the Germans opened fire on their vehicle.
German troops control much of northern Afghanistan, which is relatively peaceful.
But security in the area the attacks took place is volatile, and last month a German general said that the Nato force in Afghanistan was planning an offensive against the Taliban in the area later this year.
Bruno Kasdorf, the chief of staff at the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), refused to give further details of the planned offensive, but said it would be on a "similar" scale to the ongoing operation in Helmand province, where 15,000 troops have been deployed.
Thirty-nine German troops have now been killed in Afghanistan since troops arrived in 2002.
The German contingent in Isaf is currently 4000-strong, and 850 extra troops are set to be sent to Afghanistan after German politicians voted in favour of extending the mission there by another year.
Six Afghan soldiers have been killed by German troops who opened fire on them after mistaking them for Taliban fighters, an Afghan government official has said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told Al Jazeera on Friday that the Afghan soldiers were fired on after arriving on the scene of a Taliban attack in Kunduz province that left three Germans dead.
Mohammed Omar, the governor of Kunduz, confirmed that a so-called friendly-fire incident had taken place, but was unable to verify the number of Afghan army casualties.
The government official also said five Afghans were wounded in the shooting.
The three German soldiers were killed earlier on Friday while battling Taliban fighters in the restive northern province.
Under attack
The Germans had been on a bridge-building and mine-clearing mission when they were ambushed by Taliban fighters who had laid bombs along the roadside.
A correspondent for the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel said that around 200 Taliban fighters had staged the ambush, adding that he had seen a vehicle blown up by a mine.
Fighting continued into the evening, and the Afghan army were deployed to offer assistance to the German troops. As they approached in the dark, the Germans opened fire on their vehicle.
German troops control much of northern Afghanistan, which is relatively peaceful.
But security in the area the attacks took place is volatile, and last month a German general said that the Nato force in Afghanistan was planning an offensive against the Taliban in the area later this year.
Bruno Kasdorf, the chief of staff at the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), refused to give further details of the planned offensive, but said it would be on a "similar" scale to the ongoing operation in Helmand province, where 15,000 troops have been deployed.
Thirty-nine German troops have now been killed in Afghanistan since troops arrived in 2002.
The German contingent in Isaf is currently 4000-strong, and 850 extra troops are set to be sent to Afghanistan after German politicians voted in favour of extending the mission there by another year.
Recession causes surge in mental health problems
Guardian
Study reveals sharp rise in people suffering stress, anxiety and depression due to redundancies and job insecurity The number of people suffering stress, anxiety and depression because of redundancies, job insecurity and pay cuts owing to the recession is soaring, a study published today reveals.
Worries about the effects of the downturn have produced a sharp rise in people experiencing symptoms of common mental health conditions, according to the report, by academics from Roehampton University and the children's charity Elizabeth Finn Care.
The incidence of depression has jumped by between four and five-fold as unemployment, cuts in hours and concern about security of tenure have become common, the report found. Among people who have lost their jobs in the last year, 71% have suffered symptoms of depression, 55% said the same about stress and 52% experienced symptoms of anxiety.
Those ranked as of middle socio-economic status were more likely to experience depression (59.8%) than those from lower (44.9%) or higher groups (46.7%).
Among those who had experienced a drop in salary or cut in their hours or days, 51% said they had experienced symptoms of depression, 48% said the same for anxiety and 45% experienced stress symptoms.
Those aged 18-30 were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than any other age group.
Dr Joerg Huber, principal lecturer at Roehampton University, said: "What makes our findings worrying is the high percentage of people reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. This applies even more to those who have lost their job or experienced a major loss of income."
Left untreated, depression could turn into "a vicious cycle of related disability and an inability to work", he added.
Mental health problems cost the UK about £110bn a year, according to a recent report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the London School of Economics and the NHS Confederation's mental health network. They found that demand for mental health treatment had increased during 2009 because of rising levels of debt, home repossessions, unemployment and threat of redundancy.
Prof Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the increase in mental health problems identified by the researchers reflected the recent experience of family doctors. "GPs across the country have been seeing a definite increase in the last year in the number of patients coming to see them with mental health and physical issues. These appeared to be related to either losing their job or fearing their job and livelihood are threatened," said Field.
He added: "There's been an increase in people coming to see me with backache and tiredness, as a way of discussing the fact that they're actually stressed and depressed, because their job is under threat or they are no longer earning enough to feed their family."
Study reveals sharp rise in people suffering stress, anxiety and depression due to redundancies and job insecurity The number of people suffering stress, anxiety and depression because of redundancies, job insecurity and pay cuts owing to the recession is soaring, a study published today reveals.
Worries about the effects of the downturn have produced a sharp rise in people experiencing symptoms of common mental health conditions, according to the report, by academics from Roehampton University and the children's charity Elizabeth Finn Care.
The incidence of depression has jumped by between four and five-fold as unemployment, cuts in hours and concern about security of tenure have become common, the report found. Among people who have lost their jobs in the last year, 71% have suffered symptoms of depression, 55% said the same about stress and 52% experienced symptoms of anxiety.
Those ranked as of middle socio-economic status were more likely to experience depression (59.8%) than those from lower (44.9%) or higher groups (46.7%).
Among those who had experienced a drop in salary or cut in their hours or days, 51% said they had experienced symptoms of depression, 48% said the same for anxiety and 45% experienced stress symptoms.
Those aged 18-30 were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than any other age group.
Dr Joerg Huber, principal lecturer at Roehampton University, said: "What makes our findings worrying is the high percentage of people reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. This applies even more to those who have lost their job or experienced a major loss of income."
Left untreated, depression could turn into "a vicious cycle of related disability and an inability to work", he added.
Mental health problems cost the UK about £110bn a year, according to a recent report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the London School of Economics and the NHS Confederation's mental health network. They found that demand for mental health treatment had increased during 2009 because of rising levels of debt, home repossessions, unemployment and threat of redundancy.
Prof Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the increase in mental health problems identified by the researchers reflected the recent experience of family doctors. "GPs across the country have been seeing a definite increase in the last year in the number of patients coming to see them with mental health and physical issues. These appeared to be related to either losing their job or fearing their job and livelihood are threatened," said Field.
He added: "There's been an increase in people coming to see me with backache and tiredness, as a way of discussing the fact that they're actually stressed and depressed, because their job is under threat or they are no longer earning enough to feed their family."
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