Asian Express Yorkshire - October 3rd Edition 2013 by Asian Expres

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October 2013 - 3rd Edition

International

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS • INTERNATIONAL NEWS • INTERNATIONAL NEWS • INTERNATIONAL NEWS OPEN: The US Government finally reopened after 16 days

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America reopens after two weeks of negotiations 16 days after the US government all but shutdown, and just hours before the country risked running out of money to pay its bills, the government has been reopened. The partial closure began on the 2nd October after Congress failed to agree on a budget leaving more than 800,000 employees of the federal workforce off work with no pay. Now, following a revised debt limit, Barack Obama has signed a law which

will fund the government up until the 15th January, whilst extending the Treasury's borrowing authority until 7th February. Congress voted through the deal less than a day before a deadline to raise the $16.7tn (£10.5tn) debt limit. However, despite resolving the issue, the law will only be a temporary solution. The deal threatens to only further divide Republicans and Democrats by establishing a cross-party committee of

legislators tasked with crafting a longterm budget deal over the coming months. According to estimates from leading economists, the US economy is believed to have lost in excess of several billion dollars. The shutdown affected Americans and visitors to the US in countless ways: most national parks were closed, medical research ground to a halt, and ordinary paperwork went unfinished, delaying visa applications, business permits and safety inspections. Speaking after the Senate had passed the bill on Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama stressed the importance of lawmakers ‘[earning] back the trust of the American people’. “We’ve got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis,” he added. Despite the bill being approved late on Wednesday (17th October), there was still a majority of Republicans who voted against the limit extension. Among those who opposed the decision was chairman of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan, labelling the law a ‘missed opportunity’. “Today's legislation won’t help us reduce our fast-growing debt,” he said. “In my judgement, this isn’t a breakthrough. We’re just kicking the can down the road.” Speaking to the BBC, Republican Senator John McCain said he was “very relieved” that ‘standoff’ had finally ended. “I'm guardedly optimistic and confident that we won't revisit it this way again,” he said. “The reaction of the American people is very, very negative, and understandably so.”

Microphone bomb kills Afghan governor A bomb hidden in a microphone killed an Afghan provincial governor on Tuesday as he made a speech at a mosque after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul. Arsala Jamal was appointed by President Hamid Karzai, like all 34 provincial governors, and he was seen as a close ally of the president, acting as one of his campaign managers in the 2009 election. “This morning, Governor Jamal was delivering a speech after Eid prayers when he was killed by a bomb planted in the microphone,” Logar provincial governor spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish said. “The governor wanted to speak and congratulate everyone on the occasion of Eid. At least 18 other people have been wounded, including civilians and government employees.” Jamal only took up the Logar job in April after serving as governor of Khost, on the border with Pakistan. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, though Taliban militants often target provincial government officials as well as Afghan soldiers and police. Karzai condemned Jamal’s killing, saying the attack inside the mosque showed the Taliban had no respect for Islam.

Earlier in his presidential Eid address on Tuesday, he again appealed for peace. “Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban to work for the development of their country, and to spare Afghan security forces who are working to protect their soil, national dignity, and to stop carrying out attacks,” his office said. “(The president) once again called on the Taliban and their leaders not to throw the youth of this country into destruction.” Mohammad Jan Abid, head of the criminal investigative department in Logar, confirmed the mosque bombing and said a probe would be launched. Volatile Logar, which lies to the south of the Afghan capital, is seen as a key strategic region, often described as a “gateway to Kabul” for Taliban militants based in strongholds across the south and east. Security in the province has deteriorated in recent years, with the Taliban holding sway in some areas despite sustained Afghan and US military pressure. Village-based Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces have also been active trying to wrestle back control of Taliban-held territory. The Taliban have vowed to step up attacks as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in April and the withdrawal of 87,000 Nato troops by the end of next year.

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