Top judge attacks Musharraf rule

Pakistan's sacked chief justice has called for the people to "rise up" and restore the constitution.
In a telephone address to lawyers in Islamabad, Iftikhar Chaudhry criticised President Pervez Musharraf, who imposed a state of emergency on Saturday.
He said the constitution had been "ripped to shreds" by Gen Musharraf and added it was now "time for sacrifices".
US President George W Bush has called on Gen Musharraf to end the emergency and restore democratic civilian rule.
The government crackdown against pro-democracy activists continued on Tuesday with reports of dozens more arrests.
Struggle
There have been clashes in Peshawar, and in parts of the Punjab, with several lawyers seriously injured in the city of Gujranwala.
There were reports of further arrests in the cities of Lahore, Quetta and Multan.
I am under arrest now, but soon I will also join you in your struggle
Iftikhar Chaudhry
Crisis tests US policy
West faces new dilemma
But protests did not appear to be on the same scale as those suppressed by the security forces on Monday.
The president, who is also head of the army, has said he declared the state of emergency because of a crisis caused by militant violence and an unruly judiciary.
Mr Chaudhry was sacked and replaced after he and eight other judges refused to endorse the order, declaring it unconstitutional.
Critics have said Gen Musharraf acted to pre-empt a judgment by the Supreme Court on whether his re-election last month was legal.
Mr Chaudhry told around 500 lawyers on Tuesday: "The constitution has been ripped to shreds. The lawyers should convey my message to the people to rise up and restore the constitution.
"This is a time for sacrifices. I am under arrest now, but soon I will also join you in your struggle."
Mr Chaudhry is under house arrest but his comments were broadcast on the internet by a private television channel.
There were reports that as he made the address by phone, the authorities blocked all mobile phone services in Islamabad.
EMERGENCY RESTRICTIONS
Constitutional safeguards on life and liberty curtailed
Police get wide powers of arrest
Suspects can be denied access to lawyers
Freedom of movement restricted
Private TV stations taken off air
New rules curtail media coverage of suicide bombings or militant activity
Chief justice replaced, others made to swear oath of loyalty
Supreme Court banned from rescinding emergency order
People 'anxious and angry'
Balance of power in Pakistan
Media oppose emergency
The lawyers chanted slogans such as "There will be war till the constitution is restored" and "Chaudhry we are ready to die for you".
Mr Chaudhry, who defied attempts by the president to oust him in March and was later reinstated by the Supreme Court, has become a symbol of resistance to Gen Musharraf's rule, say analysts.
The former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, echoed his calls for the constitution to be restored in a press conference at her Karachi home on Tuesday.
"We want elections to be held on schedule. The government refrain from violence... it is the duty of the government to protect the people," she said.
The Pakistani cabinet is expected to meet later to discuss the parliamentary elections, which are supposed to take place by January.
On Monday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the vote would go ahead on schedule, but his deputy information minister later told the BBC the elections could be delayed by as much as a year.
International outcry
Lawyers have called for three days of protests and strikes against the suspension of the constitution.
They have boycotted courts and refused to appear before the new judges.
Hundreds of lawyers and political opponents have been detained.
HAVE YOUR SAY
I think Musharraf has about the most difficult job on the planet
David Bradshaw, Ashford, UK
Your views on emergency
Eyewitness: Karachi protest
In pictures: Protests
Pakistan has come under heavy international pressure since Gen Musharraf imposed emergency rule.
Mr Bush urged Gen Musharraf to quit his post as head of the army and hold elections as soon as possible.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the release of all those detained since the state of emergency was declared.
The UK has also reiterated demands for a return to civilian rule in Pakistan.
The Netherlands became the first country to suspend aid, and the EU said its members were considering "possible further steps".
But Gen Musharraf said confidence in his government would soon return and insisted he still planned to give up his military post, as he had been scheduled to do this month.

The amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world's oceans has reduced, scientists have said.
University of East Anglia researchers gauged CO2 absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments.
Results of their 10-year study in the North Atlantic show CO2 uptake halved between the mid-90s and 2000 to 2005.
Scientists believe global warming might get worse if the oceans soak up less of the greenhouse gas.
Researchers said the findings, published in a paper for the Journal of Geophysical Research, were surprising and worrying because there were grounds for believing that, in time, the ocean might become saturated with our emissions.
'Saturated' ocean
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said: "The researchers don't know if the change is due to climate change or to natural variations.
"But they say it is a tremendous surprise and very worrying because there were grounds for believing that in time the ocean might become 'saturated' with our emissions - unable to soak up any more."
He said that would "leave all our emissions to warm the atmosphere".
Of all the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, only half of it stays there; the rest goes into carbon sinks.
There are two major natural carbon sinks: the oceans and the land "biosphere". They are equivalent in size, each absorbing a quarter of all CO2 emissions.

Airmen punished for nuclear error (bbc)

The US Air Force has relieved several officers of their commands after a B-52 bomber was mistakenly flown across the US loaded with nuclear-armed missiles.
Three colonels, a lieutenant colonel and 66 other personnel were punished following the incident at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, on 29 August.

Maj Gen Richard Newton said ground crews had failed to follow procedures.

The incident has been described as one of the worst known breaches of nuclear weapons procedures in decades.

Six cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads were mounted on the bomber's wings before it was flown to Louisiana.

The missiles were supposed to have been taken to Barksdale Air Force Base, but the warheads should have been removed beforehand.

'Procedural errors'

Announcing the results of his six-week investigation, Gen Newton said there had been an "erosion of adherence to weapons-handing standards".

They did not follow the formal scheduling processes that would have allowed them to do the proper maintenance and handling of those weapons

Maj Gen Richard Newton
Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff


US embarrassed at blunder

"In the countless times our dedicated airmen have transferred weapons in our nation's arsenal, nothing like this has ever occurred," the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations said.

Gen Newton said the "unprecedented string of procedural errors" had begun with a failure by airmen to conduct a required inspection of the missiles before they were loaded onto the wing of the B-52 at Minot.

The crew flying the plane were unaware it was carrying nuclear warheads, he said.

Experts have said that if the B-52 had crashed, there would not have been a nuclear explosion. However, there could have been a threat from plutonium leakage from the W80-1 warheads, which have a yield of five to 150 kilotons.



"This was an unacceptable mistake and a clear deviation from our exacting standards," Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said.

"We hold ourselves accountable to the American people and want to ensure proper corrective action has been taken."

Both Mr Wynne and Gen Newton insisted the case was an isolated incident and that the current procedures for handling nuclear weapons were sound.

Flood misery hits arc of Africa (bbc)

An estimated one million people across Africa have been hit by prolonged rains which have destroyed crops, burst dams and left dozens dead, officials say.
Parts of Ghana have been declared a disaster zone, while on the other side of the continent, many thousands are now homeless in Ethiopia and Uganda.
The UN said the floods could lead to locust infestations and outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera.
The flooding and torrential rain have brought chaos to at least 14 countries.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said 500,000 people had been affected in West Africa and a further 500,000 in Sudan, and the numbers were rising.

See map of the worst-affected nations
Health charities have warned that many areas are in urgent need of food, shelter and medicine.
The BBC's Adam Mynott says not a single country in West, Central and East Africa has been unaffected by the torrential rain.
'Dire' situation
In Uganda, where at least nine people are reported to have died, government minister Musa Ecweru said the situation "borders a crisis".
"Several communities have been cut off and we cannot access them," he said.
Some villages and communities have now been totally wiped off the map of Ghana
George Azi AmooGhana's national disaster management co-ordinator
In Ethiopia, one of the worst-hit east African nations, deaths have been reported and a massive food aid programme has been set up after flooding hit almost 200,000 people.
In West Africa, Ghana has been hit particularly hard, with at least 20 people killed and about 400,000 people made homeless.
The floods have submerged land which produces food for the entire country.
President John Kufuor has declared the north of his country a disaster zone.

Sudan has seen some of its worst floods in living memory
Benonita Bismarck, from Ghana's Red Cross Society, said the situation was dire and cases of cholera have already been reported.
George Azi Amoo, co-ordinator of Ghana's disaster management body, said the floods had destroyed farmland, livestock and infrastructure.
"Some villages and communities have now been totally wiped off the map of Ghana," he told the BBC's Newshour.
In neighbouring Togo some 34,000 people have been displaced, at least 20 killed and the infrastructure has suffered major damage.
Officials in northern Rwanda said 15 people had died there and 500 homes had been destroyed since Wednesday.
Dozens are also reported dead in Sudan, which has been suffering some of the worst floods in living memory.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told the AFP news agency: "We have activated our disaster response and the government and aid groups are providing food, shelter and medicine to those affected by the floods."
Niger, Nigeria, Liberia, Mali and Burkino Faso are among other countries affected.
The BBC's Mary Harper says there is growing concern that unless emergency assistance reaches people quickly, they will become increasingly vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs also warned that conditions were "ripe for an infestation" of locusts.

New law allows casinos TV adverts (bbc)

Bookies, casinos and betting websites will be able to advertise their services on TV and radio in the UK for the first time from this weekend.
Under new laws which come into force on 1 September, the ads will be subject to strict rules including a 9pm watershed.
The Gambling Act aims to tighten industry regulation and ensure the young and vulnerable are not exploited.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said councils would get "unprecedented powers" to control gambling.
The new laws will allow the creation of more regional casinos, bigger slot machine payouts and a new gambling watchdog.
Overhauling pieces of legislation dating back to 1845, the Act covers all forms of gambling from high-end casinos to arcades worth more than £9bn to the British economy.
But it will not regulate the National Lottery or spread betting.
GAMBLING ACT 2005: FAST FACTS
New codes governing TV and radio advertising in a socially responsible way
Internet gaming will be regulated for UK-based firms
Local authorities can impose sanctions on operators
The membership requirement on casinos will be lifted
Poker clubs will be limited to a stake of £10 per game
Betting firms will have to display gambling helpline information online and in shops
Betting shops will be able to open from 0700 to 2200 all year round
Source: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
"The government brought in the Gambling Act because most of our laws were nearly 40 years old and these developments were going unchecked and unregulated," said Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.
"That's why 1 September is so important. The Gambling Act will give the Gambling Commission and local authorities unprecedented powers to ensure gambling is conducted fairly, children and vulnerable people are protected and crime is kept out."
All gaming operators based in Britain will be required to show they can meet strict conditions to win a license from the new regulator - the Gambling Commission - to trade.
Failure to uphold the Commission's licensing conditions, which includes the prominent display of information about responsible gambling and anti-money laundering procedures, will result in steep fines and even prosecution.
£1m prize
The law removes 6,000 fruit machines from premises such as takeaway food shops and mini cab offices, where children could play with them unsupervised.
These will be phased out by 2009.
A bingo prize of at least £1m has been announced as a result of the new laws.
This will allow casinos to become part of the mainstream leisure business
Roy Ramm, director of London Clubs International
Bingo halls will no longer have to return all stakes as prize money. They will now be able to keep some money behind to offer as rollover prizes.
Meanwhile, for the first time online gaming sites will also be governed by the regulator if they are located in Britain.
But with betting duty set at 15% for gaming websites located in Britain, doubts have been cast as to how many firms will relocate.
For most gambling emporiums, the biggest change is the lifting of the ban on TV and radio adverts, which will allow them to reach a bigger audience.
'Misconceptions'
However, they will be subject to a code of practice policed by the Advertising Standards Authority and media regulator Ofcom.
One casino operator said the changes were a chance to clear up some of the "misconceptions about the industry" that have been allowed to fester.
"This will allow casinos to become part of the mainstream leisure business and do a great deal to dispel a lot of myths about casino gambling and level the playing field," Roy Ramm, director of casino operator London Clubs International told BBC Radio Five Live.
Mr Ramm added it was not in his firm's interest to target children or those that cannot gamble responsibly.
The new act has attracted criticism from charities and the Lib Dems.
While many of the gambling reforms are welcome, the government must recognise its failure to put adequate provisions in place for the problems the act may bring
Don FosterLib Dem culture spokesman
The Salvation Army said it feared the changes would "normalise" an addictive activity.
"Gambling is not a normal leisure activity. Whilst some people enjoy a flutter or bet from time to time, gambling can become addictive and cause many problems," a spokesman said.
"The results can be devastating on the individual, their friends, family, and on society."
The Liberal Democrats said the government had failed to put in place provisions for any problems arising from the act.
The party's culture spokesman Don Foster said: "While many of the gambling reforms are welcome, the government must recognise its failure to put adequate provisions in place for the problems the act may bring.
"There has been a huge surge in online gambling but ministers have failed at every opportunity to bring internet gambling companies onshore where they would pay tax and be properly regulated."