BBC News - World warming to US under Obama, BBC poll suggests

Views of the US around the world have improved sharply over the past year, a BBC World Service poll suggests.

For the first time since the annual poll began in 2005, America's influence in the world is now seen as more positive than negative.

The improved scores for the US coincided with Barack Obama becoming president, a BBC correspondent notes.

As in 2009, Germany is viewed most favourably while Iran and Pakistan are seen as the most negative influences.

Nearly 30,000 people in 28 countries were interviewed for the poll, between November 2009 and February 2010.

Fifteen of the countries have been surveyed every year since 2005, allowing long-term trends to be discerned.

In these nations - or 14 of them, not including the US itself - positive views of the US fell to a low of 28% on average in 2007, from 38% in 2005, but recovered to 35% in 2009 and 40% in this year's poll.

After a year, it appears the 'Obama effect' is real Steven Kull, director of Pipa

Meanwhile, perceptions of China in the 14 other countries have been declining - falling from 49% on average in 2005, to 34% in 2009 and 2010.

"People around the world today view the United States more positively than at any time since the second Iraq war," said Doug Miller, chairman of international polling firm GlobeScan, which carried out the poll with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland.

"While still well below that of countries like Germany and the UK, the global standing of the US is clearly on the rise again."

China 'in neutral'

Pipa director Steven Kull noted: "After a year, it appears the 'Obama effect' is real.

"Its influence on people's views worldwide, though, is to soften the negative aspects of the United States' image, while positive aspects are not yet coming into strong focus."

He added: "While China's image is stuck in neutral, America has motored past it in the global soft-power competition."

Of the full list of 28 countries surveyed this year, the US is viewed positively in 19 (20 including the US itself), while six lean negative and two are divided.

Compared with 2009, positive views of the US jumped 21% in Germany, 18 in Russia, 14 in Portugal and 13 in Chile - though Russia and Germany continued to have a negative view of the US overall.

SEE THE FULL RESULTS Detailed poll findings [3MB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

Meanwhile, negative opinions of the US declined by 23% in Spain, 14 in France and 10 in the UK, with the result that all three lean towards a positive view of the country.

In only two of the 28 countries, Turkey and Pakistan, do more than 50% have a negative view of the US.

Germany is the most favourably viewed nation (an average of 59% positive), followed by Japan (53%), the United Kingdom (52%), Canada (51%), and France (49%). The European Union is viewed positively by 53%.

In contrast, Iran is the least favourably viewed nation (15%), followed by Pakistan (16%), North Korea (17%), Israel (19%) and Russia (30%).

The 15 countries included in the poll every year since 2005 are: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, the UK and the US.

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• America's improved global standing (washingtonmonthly.com)
• Poll: World Likes US Again (newser.com)

Internet access is 'a fundamental right'

Image via Wikipedia

Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.

The survey - of more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries - found strong support for net access on both sides of the digital divide.

Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that access is a human right for their citizens.

International bodies such as the UN are also pushing for universal net access.

INTERNET POLL The findings in detail [477 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

"The right to communicate cannot be ignored," Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), told BBC News.

"The internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created."

He said that governments must "regard the internet as basic infrastructure - just like roads, waste and water".

"We have entered the knowledge society and everyone must have access to participate."

The survey, conducted by GlobeScan for the BBC, also revealed divisions on the question of government oversight of some aspects of the net.

Web users questioned in South Korea and Nigeria felt strongly that governments should never be involved in regulation of the internet. However, a majority of those in China and the many European countries disagreed.

In the UK, for example, 55% believed that there was a case for some government regulation of the internet.

Rural retreat

The finding comes as the UK government tries to push through its controversial Digital Economy Bill.

As well as promising to deliver universal broadband in the UK by 2012, the bill could also see a so-called "three strikes rule" become law.

This rule would give regulators new powers to disconnect or slow down the net connections of persistent illegal file-sharers. Other countries, such as France, are also considering similar laws.

A season of reports from 8-19 March 2010 exploring the extraordinary power of the internet, including: Digital giants - top thinkers in the business on the future of the web Mapping the internet - a visual representation of the spread of the web over the last 20 years Global Voices - the BBC links up with an online community of bloggers around the world BBC SuperPower season Send us your comments

Recently, the EU adopted an internet freedom provision, stating that any measures taken by member states that may affect citizen's access to or use of the internet "must respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens".

In particular, it states that EU citizens are entitled to a "fair and impartial procedure" before any measures can be taken to limit their net access.

The EU is also committed to providing universal access to broadband. However, like many areas around the world the region is grappling with how to deliver high-speed net access to rural areas where the market is reluctant to go.

Analysts say that is a problem many countries will increasingly have to deal with as citizens demand access to the net.

The BBC survey found that 87% of internet users felt internet access should be the "fundamental right of all people".

More than 70% of non-users felt that they should have access to the net.

Overall, almost 79% of those questioned said they either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the description of the internet as a fundamental right - whether they currently had access or not.

Free speech

Countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Turkey most strongly support the idea of net access as a right, the survey found.

More than 90% of those surveyed in Turkey, for example, stated that internet access is a fundamental right - more than those in any other European Country.

Facebook has become a lightning rod for causes of all types

South Korea - the most wired country on Earth - had the greatest majority of people (96%) who believed that net access was a fundamental right. Nearly all of the country's citizens already enjoy high-speed net access.

The survey also revealed that the internet is rapidly becoming a vital part of many people's lives in a diverse range of nations.

In Japan, Mexico and Russia around three-quarters of respondents said they could not cope without it.

Most of those questioned also said that they believed the web had a positive impact, with nearly four in five saying it had brought them greater freedom.

However, many web users also expressed concerns. The dangers of fraud, the ease of access to violent and explicit content and worries over privacy were the most concerning aspects for those questioned.

A majority of users in Japan, South Korea and Germany felt that they could not express their opinions safely online, although in Nigeria, India and Ghana there was much more confidence about speaking out.

Afghans more optimistic for future, survey shows

By Adam Mynott BBC World Affairs Correspondent

Most Afghans are increasingly optimistic about the state of their country, a poll commissioned by the BBC, ABC News and Germany's ARD shows.

Of more than 1,500 Afghans questioned, 70% said they believed Afghanistan was going in the right direction - a big jump from 40% a year ago.

Of those questioned, 68% now back the presence of US troops in Afghanistan, compared with 63% a year ago.

For Nato troops, including UK forces, support has risen from 59% to 62%.

READ THE FULL REPORT Poll of Afghan opinion, 11-23 December 2009 [779 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here Send us your comments Afghans react to the poll

The survey was conducted in all of the country's 34 provinces in December 2009.

In 2009 only 51% of those surveyed had expected improvement and 13% thought conditions would deteriorate.

But in the latest survey 71% said they were optimistic about the situation in 12 months' time, compared with 5% who said it would be worse.

The other significant theme which emerges from the figures is growing antipathy towards the Taliban.

Ninety per cent said they wanted their country run by the current government, compared with 6% who said they favoured a Taliban administration.

Sixty-nine per cent believed the Taliban posed the biggest danger to the country, and 66% blamed the Taliban, al-Qaeda and foreign militants for violence in Afghanistan.

Most Afghans appeared positive about the presence of troops from Nato and other countries stationed in Afghanistan.

The survey also asked if people thought it was good or bad that US forces entered Afghanistan in 2001 to drive out the Taliban. Of those questioned, 83% said it was either very good or mostly good. This compares with 69% for 2009.

However, more of those questioned believe troops with the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) are now worse at avoiding civilian casualties (43% worse and 24% better).

There was some ambivalence about how long Isaf forces should remain in the country - 22% said they should leave within the next 18 months, and 21% said they should stay longer than 18 months from now.

Afghans appear more positive about their general living conditions and the availability of electricity, medical care and jobs compared with a year ago.

Insecurity and crime were slightly worse, they said, and freedom of movement slightly better.

Despite a presidential election last year mired in controversy over ballot rigging, 74% said they were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the outcome.

Also, 72% of Afghans rated President Hamid Karzai as excellent or good - compared with 52% 12 months ago - and 60% rated the performance of the present government as good or excellent, as opposed to 10% who thought it was poor.

One of the major issues facing Afghanistan is corruption among government officials or the police.

Of those surveyed, 95% identified it as a problem; 76% said it was a big problem and 19% said they considered it a moderate problem.

The survey was conducted by the Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research (Acsor) based in Kabul. Interviews were conducted in person, in Dari or Pashto, among a random national sample of 1,534 Afghan adults from 11-23 December 2009.

BBC - New Afghan 'poll frauds' emerge

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Further evidence has come to light of widespread fraud during the recent Afghan presidential election.

One tribal elder has admitted to the BBC that he tampered with hundreds of ballots in favour of incumbent President Hamid Karzai.

More than 600 serious complaints are being investigated, but the deadline for new complaints has now passed.

With 60% of polling stations having already declared, Mr Karzai has a clear lead.

In the latest case of alleged fraud uncovered by the BBC, a tribal elder from Zaziaryoub district - in the eastern province of Paktia - said he had helped to fill in about 900 ballots in favour of President Karzai.

The elder says in a neighbouring village, his nephew saw one man fill in more than 2,000 ballots.

Allegations of fraud have been made against all the prime candidates, but the election process seems to have been working overwhelmingly in favour of Mr Karzai, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Kabul.

However, some of these complaints will not get heard by the Electoral Complaints Commission, as the time to file an official complaint has passed.

The commission is currently looking into 2,000 fraud claims overall.

Figures obtained from the campaign of Hamid Karzai's leading opponent, Dr Abdullah, suggest that in four provinces alone results have been declared from 28 polling stations which observers had reported were closed.

Damning evidence

AFGHAN ELECTION

Vote held on 20 August for presidency and provincial councils

Turnout not made official yet but estimated at 40-50%

More than 400 insurgent attacks on polling day, Nato says

More than 2,000 fraud allegations, 600 deemed serious

Final result expected 17 Sept but fraud allegations must be cleared

Hamid Karzai has clear lead over Abdullah Abdullah in presidency race

Candidate needs more than 50% to avoid runoff

Just days ago, a tribe in the south made the most serious claim so far.

The leader of Kandahar's Bareez tribe said that nearly 30,000 votes were cast fraudulently for President Hamid Karzai instead of primarily for the main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

Mr Karzai's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, who heads the Kandahar provincial council, called the claims "baseless".

Because of time needed to investigate the fraud allegations, the final results of the election may not be known until the end of September.

There are concerns continuing claims of fraud could undermine the legitimacy of the election, which Afghanistan's Western allies see as crucial in their campaign against the Taliban.

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Bosnian Serbs Guilty of Burnings

Two Bosnian Serb commanders have been found guilty of war crimes, including burning women and children alive, during the Bosnian civil war.

Cousins Milan and Sredoje Lukic were members of a paramilitary group called the White Eagles, or the Avengers.

They were accused of murder, persecution, extermination and other inhumane acts against Bosnian Muslims near Visegrad between 1992 and 1994.

Judges at The Hague jailed Milan Lukic for life, and Sredoje to 30 years.

Judge Patrick Robinson, reading his verdict, said: "The perpetration by Milan Lukic and Stredoje Lukic of crimes in this case is characterised by a callous and vicious disregard for human life."

The burning alive of Muslims, he said, was extraordinarily brutal, and "exemplified the worst acts of humanity that one person may inflict on others".

Ringleader

The court ruled that Milan Lukic, the leader of the White Eagles paramilitary force, was the ringleader of the attacks.

WHITE EAGLES

Paramilitary group in Bosnian conflict in early 1990s

Accused of ethnic cleansing of Muslims near Visegrad

Worked with Bosnian Serb police and army units

Also known as the "Avengers"

He herded about 130 women, children and elderly men in to two houses - both in or near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad - before setting fire to them.

All those who tried to escape were shot.

He was also found guilty of murdering 12 Muslim civilian men, and beating Muslims at a detention camp.

Sredoje Lukic was found guilty of aiding and abetting one of the house fires.

Prosecutors told the tribunal that the White Eagles carried out a campaign of ethnic cleaning.

One prosecutor, Dermot Groome, said the cousins took part in a "widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population".

Top fugitives

The cousins had denied the charges at their trial at the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, which ended in May.

The defence had called for an acquittal because of what it called "inconsistencies" in the prosecution evidence.

But the court found the testimonies of surviving witnesses to be credible.

In 2005, Milan and Sredoje Lukic were two of The Hague tribunal's top fugitives.

Milan Lukic, 41, went on the run for seven years after being indicted on war crimes charges, but was arrested in Argentina in August 2005 and was handed over to the tribunal after being extradited.

Sredoje Lukic, 48, surrendered to the Bosnian Serb authorities the following month.

Guantanamo Detainee Denies Guilt

Mr Ghailani's trial will be an important test case for closing Guantanamo

BBC, June 9 - The first Guantanamo detainee to be brought to the US for trial has pleaded not guilty to involvement in two embassy blasts in East Africa in 1998.

Ahmed Ghailani appeared before a federal court in New York, after being transferred there earlier in the day.

Mr Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was detained in Pakistan in 2004 and taken to Guantanamo in late 2006.

The case is seen as a test of the Obama administration's pledge to close Guantanamo Bay by next January.

Mr Ghailani entered the courtroom in Manhattan wearing a blue prison uniform.

AHMED KHALFAN GHAILANI Born in Zanzibar but date varies from 1970 to 1974 Alleged to have been Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard Accused of buying equipment for embassy attack in Tanzania in 1998 and involvement in simultaneous Kenya attack Indicted in 1998 in New York and reportedly fled to Afghanistan Reported in Liberia in 2001 Arrested in Pakistan in 2004 Profile: Ahmed Ghailani

Judge Loretta Preska asked him for his plea to charges of conspiring to commit the bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

"Not guilty," Mr Ghailani said.

Judge Preska set a date of 16 June for the next hearing.

The justice department says Mr Ghailani faces 286 charges.

They include conspiring with Osama Bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda to kill Americans around the world, and murder charges for each of the victims of the embassy attacks of 7 August 1998.

If found guilty Mr Ghailani could face the death penalty.

Earlier, US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement: "With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for his alleged role in the bombing of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya."

Congress rejection

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington says if President Barack Obama is to honour his promise to close Guantanamo Bay in his first year in office he needs as many cases from there as possible to be tried as ordinary criminal cases in federal courts.

However, the US Congress has already rejected an administration request for funding to close down Guantanamo amid widespread opposition to bringing detainees on to the US mainland.

Our correspondent says Mr Ghailani's case will also establish whether defence lawyers will seek to have US federal trials thrown out on the grounds that the government has admitted applying harsh interrogation techniques to some detainees, and holding others in secret prisons overseas.

Mr Obama is hoping to persuade America's allies around the world to take some of the other Guantanamo detainees, but negotiations have proved difficult.

A number of high-value prisoners are likely to face indefinite detention without trial, our correspondent says.

Apology

According to the transcript of a closed-door hearing in March 2007, Mr Ghailani admitted delivering explosives used to blow up the US embassy in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

Ahmed Ghailani appeared at the Federal Courthouse in New York

However, he told the hearing he did not know about the attack beforehand and apologised to the US government and the victims' families.

Investigators say he left Africa just before the bombings.

Mr Ghailani is thought to have been born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar in 1970 or 1974 - making him 39 or 35 years old. He is said to speak fluent English.

He is alleged to have risen through the ranks of al-Qaeda to become a bodyguard of Osama Bin Laden.

According to the US transcript, he admitted visiting an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan after the bombings. But he denied being a member of al-Qaeda.

Analysts described him as a very important figure, who was probably sent to east Africa at the time of the bombings by Osama Bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

It is suggested that Mr Ghailani fled to Afghanistan after being indicted in 1998.

Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8091013.stm

Army Denies Role in Thai Attack

BBC, June 9 - A Thai military spokesman has denied any possibility that the army was responsible for Monday's attack on a mosque in the south of the country.

At least 10 people died in the Narathiwat shootings, which happened during evening prayers.

Islamic militants are thought to be behind many of the attacks in the area, as part of a separatist insurgency.

But local people say they find it hard to believe the insurgents would have attacked fellow Muslims in such a way.

Separatist violence in the region has caused more than 3,000 deaths in the past five years, and there has been a recent upsurge in violence.

'Barbaric act'

Eyewitnesses report that the five or six gunmen disguised themselves with ski masks when they attacked the mosque.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says the provocative nature of the attack raises questions about exactly who was behind it.

Local villagers have said they find it hard to believe the insurgents would have carried out such an attack on Muslims while they were praying.

But a spokesman for the regional army command told the BBC it was impossible that any military units were responsible.

Thailand's army chief General Anupong Paojinda told reporters that the insurgents were trying to pin the blame for the "barbaric act" on the authorities .

"They absolutely want to raise this issue to a level of international concern, by making it seem like state authorities are violently cracking down on villagers," he told reporters, before leaving Bangkok for Narathiwat.

After more than a year in which the military seemed to be making progress in curbing the insurgency, the number of attacks has suddenly spiked over the past two weeks.

The insurgents remain in the shadows, never stating their demands, our correspondent said.

Comprising young men recruited by local Islamic preachers, the small cells of fighters launch hit-and-run attacks on soldiers, government officials and Thai Buddhists almost at will, he adds.

Much of the south is now a no-go area for the army, and the mainly Muslim population is deeply mistrustful of the government.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has just finished a visit to neighbouring Malaysia, where he sought co-operation in sealing their shared border.

But this conflict - where both the insurgents and the security forces benefit from rampant smuggling - is too complex to be resolved by diplomacy alone, our correspondent says.

Thailand annexed the three southern provinces - Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani - in 1902, but the vast majority of people there are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect, in contrast to the Buddhist Thai speakers in the rest of the country.

Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8090599.stm

Bottom of the Blog Wonders

Today I began rounding out our choice of news and other gadgets which appear at the bottom of Starting Points, always after the regular postings (my originals, re-posts from others). You have to scroll down to see all these goodies. They're not just cute. They're an integral part of this blog.

So is the right sidebar, to which I also added a few more gadgets today, all designed to make your online life easier and a little more fun. (Yeah, I know some of the diverse postings here can get a little heavy.) There will many new link headers in the sidebar in coming days.

Here's a rundown of today's new sidebar gadgets:

• Translate This Blog or Any Other Webpage (new)
  
• Dictionary Help Tools (new)
  
• Sidebar Search Menus (new)
  
• Google Phrase Translator (new)
  

And here's a complete list of all that's now at the bottom, since the original posting explaining what I was doing down there has now gone into the blog's March 2009 archive:

• Breaking News Customized for This Blog (unique, covers all areas mentioned in the blog logo)
  
• BBC News (new)
• Al Jazeera Video News (new)
• TwitterSearch (a very easy way to get the best of Twitter fast)
  
• Many Other Social Networks (new, may not yet cover your favorite)
• Easy Wikipedia Search
• Google Mini Search
• Google Tools (new)
• Search YouTube
  

I re-named some of these gadgets to better reflect what they do. Collectively, they're a unique set of tools which to a significant degree replace typical blog postings and facilitate net search- and-explore processes. Try out as many as you can. The learning curve is pretty flat. Play around -- you can't break anything.