Watches Curfew as hardline Kashmir separatist calls protest

Curfew as hardline Kashmir separatist calls protest


Syed Ali Shah Geelani (arms raised) has long been a thorn in the side of the Indian Kashmir authoritie
A day-long curfew has been imposed by the authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir to foil a protest march called by a hardline separatist group.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is under house arrest, has urged demonstrators to march to his residence in Srinagar.

More than 100 civilians have been killed since June in protests, but it has been nearly a month since the security forces fired on protesters.

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KASHMIR FLASHPOINT

Voices of fury
Autumn of woe
Desperate housewives
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This is the first curfew in Kashmir for more than a week.

Mr Geelani's calls for shutdowns have frequently brought life in the valley to a standstill, says the BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar.

The authorities say Tuesday's curfew has been imposed to avoid a situation in which police would have to open fire.

Last month, the federal government announced measures to address surging violence in the valley.

They included compensation for families of those killed during recent clashes between pro-separatists and Indian security forces.
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11520451

Watch Water inquiry calls for community impact statements

Water inquiry calls for community impact statements

ELIZABETH JACKSON: The long-awaited guide to the draft report into the management of the Murray Darling Basin will be released later today.

But ahead of that a senate inquiry has handed down its own report on water rights, calling on the Federal Government to make a community impact statement each time it buys water licences in the Murray Darling Basin.

The inquiry has also recommended the Government publish an annual report on infrastructure upgrades across the basin, detailing the costs of the programs, whether they're meeting their timeliness and how much water they're saving.

But one committee member says regardless of the inquiry's findings or this afternoon's report there'll never be a satisfactory management of the basin until there's a federal takeover.

From Canberra, Sabra Lane reports.

SABRA LANE: In August last year the Senate's Environment and Communications Committee started investigating the vexed issue of sustainable water management by the Federal Government.

It morphed into an inquiry about water management and water licences across the entire Murray Darling Basin.

The committee handed down its report late yesterday on the eve of the Murray Darling Basin Authority's draft guide to managing the basin. That report be released later today.

Coppied by http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s3032880.htm

watch UN draft report calls DR Congo crimes genocide

UN draft report calls DR Congo crimes genocide


Thousands of Rwandan Hutus fled to then-Zaire, now DR Congo, after the Rwanda genocide
The BBC has seen a draft UN report that says crimes by the Rwandan army and allied rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo could be classified as genocide.

The report details how they targeted Rwandan Hutu refugees and Congolese Hutus in DR Congo, from 1993-2003.

It lists human rights violations committed by security forces from all countries involved in what has been called an "African world war".

The final report should be made public in the next few days.

The draft sheds light on 10 years of atrocities committed against civilians on the Congolese territory. The country was known as Zaire until 1997.

But more importantly, it brings details to the unresolved debate over the question of alleged genocide of ethnic Hutus between 1996 and 1998.

'Rwandan pressure'
About 20 human right officers have documented, through hundreds of pages, what they call widespread and systematic attacks by the Rwandan army and the Congolese AFDL rebel movement.

Those targeted were Rwandan Hutus who had fled into Congo after the genocide against ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda.

But the report says that attacks against Hutus who were not refugees seem to confirm that all Hutus were targeted.

In some regions, it says, checkpoints were used to identify people of Hutu origin and eliminate them - estimating that tens of thousands had been killed.

According to the report, such acts suggest a premeditated and precise methodology. Moreover, many of the victims were children, women, elderly people and the sick.

The UN investigators have also gathered information on alleged crimes committed by the security forces of many of the countries and armed groups involved in what had become a regional war.

However, Congo expert Jason Stearns says this report will greatly tarnish the reputation of the current Rwandan government that prides itself on having brought to an end the genocide against Tutsis in 1994.

Sources close to the investigation say that the Rwandan authorities have put pressure on the UN to tone down the report.

But the UN High Commission for Human Rights has refused to comment until the final report is published.

coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11105289

Enjoy Google offers free voice calls via Gmail

Google offers free voice calls via Gmail

Google's Craig Walker said the product promotes "cheap easy communication"
Google is taking on internet telephone companies like Skype by allowing users to call from its free web-based email service.

The service allows users to make calls to landlines and mobiles from inside their Gmail account.

Phoning anywhere in the US and Canada will be free until the end of the year, while calls to the UK, France, China and Germany will cost 2 cents a minute.

Until now Google offered computer-to-computer voice and video chat services.

"This is a real big deal because now hundreds of millions of Gmail users can make phone calls right from their Gmail page," Craig Walker, product manager for real-time communications told BBC News.

"They don't need to download an additional application or anything to start making really high-quality low-cost calls. For the user it means much more efficient and low-cost communications."

The product will initially be rolled out in the US, the firm said, although some users in other countries have already reported that they can use the feature.

The product link will appear on the left hand of the Gmail page within the "chat" window. A "call phone" option will pop up along with a number pad to let you dial the number of the person you want to talk to.

Google said money raised from international calls will pay for the free US and Canadian calls.

"What surprised me was that they actually said they hope to make money off the calls," said Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of technology blog SearchEngineLand.

"Normally Google is like 'We don't know how we are going to make the money' or 'We will make money down the way, don't worry about it' and this stands out as a big benefit that they get actual revenue early on."
coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11092212