The IRA 'no longer poses terror threat'THE Provisional IRA no longer poses a terrorist threat to security forces in Northern Ireland, but the risk of sudden outbreaks of sectarian violence remains, a report said yesterday.
The International Monitoring Commission, set up in January 2004 to keep watch on the activities of paramilitary groups and to oversee the progress towards “normalisation” in the Province, said that the IRA had not gone back on its strategic decision “to follow a political path”
The normalisation programme, announced in August last year, envisages troop levels being cut to no more than 5,000 by August 2007 and military sites reduced to 14. The Ministry of Defence is due to disclose the next phase in troop withdrawals at the end of this month. Troop numbers are down to about 9,200 from nearly 14,000 in June 2004.
The commission said that no loyalist paramilitary groups had given up violence, “but we believe there are signs of a possible readiness to turn away from some of their present criminality”, the report said. The ninth report by the commission was published on the day that Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, met in London to review their plan for revising devolution in Northern Ireland.
Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said in a letter published in the report that the normalisation programme remained “appropriate and manageable”. However, he said that if the Government concluded that security had deteriorated, “it will not hesitate to halt the programme and, if necessary, reinstate particular (security) measures”.
US to close Abu Ghraib 'torture prison'
The United States military will close Abu Ghraib prison within three months, a military spokesman said today. "We will transfer operations from Abu Ghraib to the new Camp Cropper once construction is completed there," Lieutenant Colonel Keir-Kevin Curry told the Reuters news agency.
"No precise dates have been set, but the plan is to accomplish this within the next two to three months," said Lt-Col Curry, the spokesman for American detention operations in Iraq.
Camp Cropper is a detention facility in the US military headqua
rters base at Baghdad airport, not far from Abu Ghraib. It currently houses around 4,500 prisoners including 127 "high-value" detainees, among them Saddam Hussein.
American military officials say a purpose-built prison at Camp Cropper will provide better conditions for Iraqis detained on suspicion of insurgent activity. The buildings at Abu Ghraib, including the original brick-built jail and surrounding tented camp that has sprung up under US control, will be handed over to the Iraqi government. American forces are holding 14,589 people in four jails in Iraq. More than half are at Camp Bucca, in the south.
Abu Ghraib, in western Baghdad, was a torture centre under Saddam Hussein where up to 4,000
prisoners are thought to have been executed in 1984 alone. It earned fresh notoriety following the publication of shocking photographs of American soldiers abusing Iraqis there in 2003. In a report leaked in April, 2004, Major General Antonia Taguba of the US Army concluded that soldiers had committed "egregrious acts and grave breaches of law". He reported "sadistic, blatant and wanton ciminal abuses" of prisoners.
Labour rebels make schools U-turn
Three of the most high-profile Labour critics of the government's education bill today switched sides, saying they would back Tony Blair's controversial reforms at the crunch Commons vote next week. MPs Martin Salter and Angela Eagle, along with former education secretary Estelle Morris - now a peer - today indicated they would not oppose the bill, despite all being original signatories to the alternative white paper. The rebel MPs have now said they will not oppose the second reading of the education bill, but would seek to change it during its passage through parliament instead.
With anywhere between 40 and 100 Labour MPs thought likely to vote against the bill next Wednesday, that will offer Downing Street hope they can persuade other rebels to change their minds. However, with a rebellion of only around 35 Labour backbenchers necessary to overturn the government's majority, it is still likely Mr Blair will have to rely on the votes of David Cameron's conservatives to get the legislation through - a highly embarrassing political manoeuvre.
Mr Salter, who quit as Commons aide to schools minister Jacqui Smith over the issue, said many of their demands had been met by a series of concessions. "Many of us now feel reluctant to throw away what has been achieved over the last three months, particularly on the new admissions criteria which is a marked improvement on the current situation," he added.
Former minister Ms Eagle, vice-chairman of the parliamentary Labour party, said the legislation remained "far from perfect".
"There remain three key areas of concern. However, now that the government has agreed to address these matters in committee it makes sense to at least to allow the bill to begin its parliamentary process." Baroness Morris, elevated to the House of Lords after stepping down as an MP at the last general election, will not have a vote, but as a leading member of the campaign to change the proposals, her change of heart will be welcomed by ministers.
The PM has made it clear the priority for him is getting the bill passed, even if that means relying on Tory votes. He has described it as a "Labour bill" despite backbench concerns about opening up secondary schools, as trusts, to businesses, charities and faith groups. Although under one recent concession local authorities would still be able to open new schools themselves, this is subject to a veto from the education secretary.
The current holder of that post, Ruth Kelly, has been engaged in a series of meetings with backbench critics of the plans in a bid to win support. When Mr Blair addressed a meeting of backbenchers on the issue last month, he urged them to make sure it was a "Labour" measure.
And yesterday, he said again that he would "prefer" to get the reforms through parliament with the support of all his backbenchers.
But he stressed it was more important to do the right thing for the country, regardless of "dogma or doctrine". "It is a Labour measure because it is about raising standards on the basis of equity and fairness but making sure we don't tolerate failure," he said at Downing Street.
The reforms propose a new generation of independent "trust schools" - state schools free from local authority control and backed by businesses, faith groups or other organisations.
Ministers argued that the reforms would help good schools collaborate with weaker schools to raise standards. But critics - at one time including the deputy prime minister, John Prescott - raised fears that children from poorer families would lose out.
N
da lurking love-story finally revealed: by da person herself !!
Siti Nurhaliza is TAKEN !!!
Siti is taken !!! I repeat, she's no longer available!!
Well dis mite perish all desired hearts of young~eccentric~single man and also most of mothers to a son who wishes her to be part of their family. N their long-term reveries remains dreams..,shatteredly.Huhu ...
Finally, she subtly speaks up !!! Although its not really confirmly clear, but one can ritely presume her speech in "Most Popular Celebrity Award" very recently implies dat the time which has been agesly waited for has come. -She got to let da whole world know about her relationship-.
Assumming Dato K is tacitly unobjected, dere must sumting "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" happened between da two parties. But I wish not to believe it!! huhu. How I wish its so untrue !!! {psyche-ache} Honestly, I wud prefer she marries a single-young- talented-professional-good looking man, rather than an elderly- senior- business man wif a "Dato".. D' owh ... My point is ->Why it has to be a Dato?!!
My personal comment(s):
Artist n celebs in Mesia got dis tendency of marrying 'A-Class' of people in our country -Dato',Dato' Seri,Tan Sri and worth mentioned da Royal Blooded figures.. Dorrrr -g.r.u.m.p.y-
N
I hate dis!! Why such privileges (marrying celebs) only owned by da elite clans in da country. Izzit da middle-class of peeps (like me) dun deserve to marry celebs? -Sigh- Izzit we cant give happiness, sumting like dat?? {Ellooooooooooo, see the leg laaaaa}
Contrastingly, I truly respect Wardina n Juliana Banos who married da non-elite peeps. Ordinary man leading wif an ordinary life.
After all, I definitely dun have da rite to question her choice. Peeps will back her up and sed "Dah jodohnye kat situ...kite doakanlah kebahagiaanya".
Ya Ya Ya (nodding reluctantly)
OK fine. Its ur own tranquil. So long U'll live blissfully wif dat Dato'. Dats more than enough to me. I think most fans will only wish happiness for their favourite celebs. Whoever they married with, it doesnt matter them much.
Go my gal,my blessings and supports are always be with you!!!
{Pasrah mode}
