UK parliamentary committee urges U.S.-Taliban talks (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – The United States must hold direct talks with the Taliban if it is to have any hope of ending the Afghan war, an influential British parliamentary committee said on Wednesday.

The Foreign Affairs Committee said the military campaign was not working and urged the British government to use its influence in Washington to convince it to engage fully in direct talks with Taliban leaders.

"An Afghan-led, but U.S. driven, process of political reconciliation is the best remaining hope that the UK and others have of achieving an honorable exit from Afghanistan," the report, based on interviews with experts and officials, said.

Britain and the United States have long stressed the need for a political settlement in Afghanistan. But officials have also said any talks must be Afghan-led, and insisted military pressure is helping bring insurgents to the negotiating table.

The report, however, argued the Afghan government led by President Hamid Karzai did not have the clout to negotiate a settlement without the direct involvement of Washington.

"All of those from whom we took evidence were convinced that the U.S.'s direct endorsement of, and participation in, talks was essential if a peace settlement is to be brokered..."

It said that while the military campaign might be achieving tactical successes, the overall security situation remained precarious. Current tactics might even reduce chances of a settlement by raising mistrust and radicalizing the insurgency.

"Given that the pre-requisites for a successful military campaign are currently lacking, we conclude that the U.S. should not delay its significant involvement in talks with the Taliban leadership..." it said.

The report -- which echoed comments made by Pakistan and some regional analysts that the Taliban could be convinced to break with al Qaeda in a political settlement -- was researched last year and may have been overtaken by events.

KARZAI IN LONDON TALKS

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a speech last month that Washington was "launching a diplomatic surge to move this conflict toward a political outcome that shatters the alliance between the Taliban and al-Qaeda ..."

"Now, I know that reconciling with an adversary that can be as brutal as the Taliban sounds distasteful, even unimaginable. And diplomacy would be easy if we only had to talk to our friends. But that is not how one makes peace," she said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday the situation in Afghanistan had in some cases moved on from the evidence given to the parliamentary committee.

"I fully support the committee's assessment that now is the right time to advance a political process in Afghanistan," he said in a statement.

Official sources from several countries say talks are already underway with the Taliban, although these have yet to find shape in any kind of formal peace process.

The Taliban says publicly it will not negotiate until foreign forces leave, although many Afghan experts -- including those cited in the report -- say the original leadership of the movement which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 are privately pragmatic about the need for talks.

The release of the report coincided with a fresh flurry of diplomatic contacts over Afghanistan.

Karzai met newly appointed U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, officials said, during a visit to London on Tuesday in which he also held talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Echoing comments made by Clinton, Cameron called for real progress this year on reconciliation with insurgents who were ready to abandon violence, cut ties to al Qaeda and accept the basic tenets of the Afghan constitution.

"It is time for the Taliban to start this journey and to make this year a decisive year for peace in Afghanistan," he told a news conference held jointly with Karzai.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is hosting a meeting in Saudi Arabia this week on Afghanistan which is expected to bring together representatives of more than 40 countries along with leaders of an Afghan peace council. Clinton said it would review efforts toward reconciliation.

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft, Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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Afghan peace delegation headed to Gitmo for talks (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan's peace council will send a delegation to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay to discuss the possible release of Taliban detainees as a goodwill gesture to boost reconciliation talks with insurgents.

Arsala Rahmani, chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council's committee on prisoners, said Tuesday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was backing the council's decision to travel to Cuba to seek the release of several prisoners, including Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former Taliban official who has been held at Guantanamo for more than eight years.

Khairkhwa's attorney, Frank Goldsmith, has said he received an e-mail in January from a legal adviser to the peace council, saying the council wanted the detainee released and repatriated to Afghanistan to help with the peace process. The e-mail said Khairkhwa could be repatriated under certain conditions, including that he stay in Kabul, though he wouldn't be in confinement.

Goldsmith said he was working with the legal adviser to prepare a written request that would be sent to the U.S. State Department.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Abdul Wahid Baghrani, a member of the peace council, said participants at last year's national conference, or peace jirga, told the Afghan government that if it wanted to make peace with the Taliban it needed to seek the release of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the main U.S. detention center in Afghanistan near Bagram Air Field.

"If the prisoners are released, this will be a goodwill gesture to the Afghan people," Baghrani said. "It would be a good step for making progress for the peace effort."

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Bahrain opposition figure to return in test for talks (Reuters)

MANAMA (Reuters) – A Bahraini opposition figure was set to return to the Gulf Arab country on Tuesday after a week of unprecedented protests by majority Shi'ite Muslims against the U.S.-backed Sunni monarchy.

Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the opposition Haq movement, said on his Facebook page on Monday that he wanted to see if the island nation's leadership was serious about dialogue and would arrest him or not. He was due to arrive on Tuesday evening.

Mushaimaa, who is based in London, is one of 25 people on trial since last year over an alleged coup plot but a statement by King Hamad bin Isa on Monday hinted that the trial would be shelved, allowing Mushaimaa an unhindered return.

State media said the king had ordered the release of unspecified convicted prisoners and a stop to ongoing court cases, in what opposition figures say they understand to be a reference to the trial.

It was not clear if this would be enough to bring opposition groups into a dialogue that King Hamad has asked his son, the crown prince, to conduct. The protests, inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, were peaceful but seven people died and hundreds were wounded after police tried to break them up.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned attempts by security forces to crush the protest movement on an island that hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, limiting the government's room for maneuver.

The protesters want Bahrain to move toward a constitutional monarchy, in contrast to the current system where Bahrainis vote for a parliament that has little power and policy remains the preserve of a ruling elite centered on the ruling dynasty.

The al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, dominates a cabinet led by the king's uncle, who has been prime minister for 40 years since independence in 1971.

The opposition also wants the release of political prisoners.

On Monday the government canceled the March 13 opening race of the Formula One season in Bahrain. "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain," Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa said in a statement.

PEARL SQUARE

Protesters have set up camp at Pearl Square in the capital Manama where some 10,000 gathered on Monday demanding more say in a country whose Sunni ruling elite is seen by the West and Arab allies such as neighboring Saudi Arabia as a bulwark against the influence of Shi'ite power Iran.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil producer, has a restive Shi'ite minority of its own in its Eastern Province.

Bahraini Shi'ites reject the idea that their affiliations are to Iran, saying such attitudes are typical of discrimination that extends to housing and jobs.

Although Shi'ite Muslims account for about 70 percent of the population, they are a minority in Bahrain's 40-seat parliament due to an electoral process that they say shuts them out.

The government denies that it treats Shi'ites unfairly and in a rally widely covered by state television on Monday, thousands carried Bahraini flags and signs supporting unity and the dialogue proposed by the government.

A resolution read at the rally rejected any attempt to question the government's legitimacy, but also called for the release of prisoners of conscience.

Mushaimaa's Haq movement is more radical than the Shi'ite Wefaq party, from which it split in 2006 when Wefaq contested a parliamentary election. Wefaq's 17 MPs resigned last week in protest at the state's use of violence on the protesters.

Haq's leaders often have been arrested in recent years, only to receive royal pardons. Some were rearrested in the crackdown last year, when 25 Shi'ite activists including Mushaimaa were charged with trying to overthrow the government violently.

(Writing by Andrew Hammond; editing by Myra MacDonald)

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Harper talks to NDP leader Layton as election threatens (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the upcoming budget with the leader of the opposition New Democratic Party on Friday, a meeting that could bring concessions that might avert an election this year.

Harper's Conservatives, re-elected in October 2008, have a minority of seats in the House of Commons and need the backing of one of three opposition parties to pass the budget bill in March. A defeat over the budget would force an election.

"Our talks were cordial and respectful. The prime minister offered no assurances, but I am confident that my proposals were received and well understood," NDP leader Jack Layton said in a statement afterwards, without saying there was any agreement.

The NDP is on the left of the political spectrum, but it has been seen as the only party that might agree to back the budget. It is trailing in the polls and Layton has been recovering from cancer and now has a fractured hip.

March 22 is the most likely date for presenting the budget, though the government has made no announcement.

Layton said he provided four practical proposals: taking the federal sales tax off home heating bills; boosting pension payments for low-income seniors; strengthening the Canada Pension Plan; and taking action to help the 5 million Canadians who do not have a family doctor.

"Our New Democrat record is clear. I am always ready to work with other party leaders to get immediate action for Canadian families," Layton said.

"If Mr. Harper wants to head into an election showing that he is unable to put the needs of Canadians ahead of his own political goals, New Democrats are well prepared to fight that election."

Conservative sources said it was likely the government would be able to sweeten pensions for poor seniors. The government has also been taking some action to broaden the Canada Pension Plan, but the sources weren't sure if that would be enough for Layton.

Harper insists he does not want an election any time soon, but his lead in recent opinion polls is sufficiently strong that he may not be inclined to make too many concessions.

"The prime minister was pleased to hear Mr. Layton's views," Dimitri Soudas, Harper's communications director, said in a statement released after the meeting. "As the prime minister has stated publicly, this is not the time for an opportunistic election."

(Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Frank McGurty)

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Qantas in Rolls-Royce talks after new A380 problem (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – Qantas said it was checking with Rolls-Royce after an oil problem with an A380 superjumbo's engine, but added the incident was not connected to November's mid-air blast.

A spokeswoman said the flagship Airbus craft was flying from Singapore to London on Tuesday when oil supplies dropped on one of its four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, but did not pose a safety problem.

"The crew detected a decrease in oil supply to the engine, so they just monitored it throughout the flight," she told AFP on Saturday.

"The engine was never shut down. There was no need for the flight to be diverted and it landed without any issue."

However, she added that power to the engine was reduced about two hours before landing "as a precautionary measure".

"We always work with Rolls-Royce when things like this happen to engines," the spokeswoman said.

"It has happened previously to another Trent 900 operator other than ourselves. We are obviously in talks with Rolls-Royce to see if this is something that needs a permanent fix."

On Thursday, Qantas estimated that it suffered an Aus$80 million (US$81.1 million) financial hit from November's blast, and said it was still discussing compensation with the British engine-maker.

On November 4, a Trent 900 engine exploded minutes into a flight from Singapore, forcing an emergency landing, in an incident that sent jitters through the industry and prompted Qantas to ground its A380 fleet.

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Gov't: Philippine rebels stronger ahead of talks (AP)

MANILA, Philippines – Communist guerrillas grew stronger last year after a long period of battle losses, acquiring more fighters and guns and killing more government forces in a spike of attacks, a Philippine government report says ahead of renewed peace talks.

Government and rebel negotiators are to resume talks stalled for more than six years, on Tuesday in Norway. Both sides have declared a weeklong cease-fire to bolster the negotiations aimed at ending one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies.

Government negotiators have expressed hope that last year's election of reformist President Benigno Aquino III on the promise he would reduce poverty and improve governance would soften the rural-based insurgency, which has survived decades of military crackdown.

A confidential government threat assessment report, however, said the guerrillas managed to recover last year from a decline dealt by battle losses since 2002 with its fighters increasing by 30 to 4,398 and firearms rising by more than 130 in just a year to 4,871.

The rebels managed to re-establish six rural strongholds that had been overrun by the military and staged 413 attacks — 11 percent more than in 2009. Security personnel killed by the rebels rose by nearly 9 percent to 172, including 102 soldiers, due to improved guerrilla capability to make bombs used in ambushes, according to the report. A copy was obtained by The Associated Press.

"Despite what many consider its anachronistic ideology, the insurgency has endured," the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said. "Many of its criticisms of income inequality, human rights abuses and broader social injustice still resonate with some Filipinos."

The report said government forces killed 35 rebels last year and captured 131 others while more than 150 surrendered.

Military chief of staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr. said army troops and police captured Allan Jazmines, a member of the policy-making central committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, at a rebel safehouse in Baliuag town in Bulacan province before nightfall Monday.

The rebels protested the arrest and demanded his immediate and unconditional release "so that there will be no disruption of the formal peace talks."

Chief rebel negotiator Luis Jalandoni said in a statement that Jazmines is among guerrilla consultants to the talks covered by a government immunity from arrests and prosecution amid the negotiations.

The military has said that it was willing to release Jazmines if he was covered by the government immunity.

David said without elaborating that the arrest of Jazmines, shortly before a cease-fire came into force, was a setback to the Maoist rebels' "organizing, deception and propaganda efforts, adding "arrests of this kind will continue."

Jazmines was captured twice during the reign of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and was among communist leaders who were freed when President Corazon Aquino took power following a 1986 "people power" revolt that toppled the strongman, said Satur Ocampo, a former rebel spokesman and negotiator.

Both sides imposed a weeklong cease-fire that began Tuesday to foster the negotiations, which stalled in 2004 after the Maoist rebels accused then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government of instigating the inclusion of the communist party and its armed wing, the New People's Army, in U.S. and European terrorist blacklists.

It was the first time since on-and-off talks started 25 years ago that the rebels have agreed to a cease-fire while negotiations are being held.

___

Associated Press reporter Oliver Teves contributed to this report.

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Korea talks stall after North delegation walks out

The two sides fail to reach an agreement on securing high-level military talksThe talks were the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombingThe bombing killed four South Koreans last November
Seoul (CNN) -- Talks between North and South Korea collapsed Wednesday after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on securing high-level military discussions during preparatory meetings held in the border area of Panmunjom.
The resumption of talks, the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombing that killed four South Koreans last November, signaled a change in atmosphere between the two Koreas. It led many to speculate that a consensus on holding higher-level military would be reached.
However, the North Korean delegation walked away from the negotiating table less than five hours after the second round of talks had begun, a move that was called "unilateral" by the South Korean Defense Ministry.
One of the issues that stalled talks was North Korea's demand for a comprehensive agenda from both sides on possible military actions, while the South pushed to limit the talks to the sinking of the Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island attack, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
The South and North ran into a similar deadlock while discussing the agenda of the high-level talks on the first day Tuesday. Seoul has demanded that North Korea apologizes for its military provocations carried out last year that also include the sinking of a warship that killed 46 sailors in March.
Pyongyang has denied involvement in the case.
South Korea emphasized Tuesday that it wants the agenda of the high-level talks to specify the island bombing and warship attack. The North argued back, saying that restricting the talks to those issues is "the equivalent of refusing to hold higher-level military talks," according to Seoul's Defense Ministry.
The resumption of humanitarian talks may also be in jeopardy because of the collapse in military talks.
Seoul earlier in the day sent a message to the North saying that it agreed in principal to hold humanitarian talks, in response to two requests Pyongyang had made this year, according to the Unification Ministry.
The South said it would be willing to discuss the details of the time and venue of the humanitarian talks after the high-level military talks are over. The Unification Ministry has not yet indicated whether the collapse of the military talks will push back or affect the resumption of the so-called Red Cross talks.
The Red Cross talks are used to facilitate reunions for families separated by the Korean War and for the North to receive humanitarian aid such as rice and fertilizer from Seoul.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Jiyeon Lee contributed to this report.
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Two Koreas military talks collapse

The two sides fail to reach an agreement on securing high-level military talksThe talks were the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombingThe bombing killed four South Koreans last November
Seoul (CNN) -- Talks between North and South Korea collapsed Wednesday after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on securing high-level military discussions during preparatory meetings held in the border area of Panmunjom.
The resumption of talks, the first of its kind since the Yeonpyeong island bombing that killed four South Koreans last November, signaled a change in atmosphere between the two Koreas. It led many to speculate that a consensus on holding higher-level military would be reached.
However, the North Korean delegation walked away from the negotiating table less than five hours after the second round of talks had begun, a move that was called "unilateral" by the South Korean Defense Ministry.
One of the issues that stalled talks was North Korea's demand for a comprehensive agenda from both sides on possible military actions, while the South pushed to limit the talks to the sinking of the Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island attack, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
The South and North ran into a similar deadlock while discussing the agenda of the high-level talks on the first day Tuesday. Seoul has demanded that North Korea apologizes for its military provocations carried out last year that also include the sinking of a warship that killed 46 sailors in March.
Pyongyang has denied involvement in the case.
South Korea emphasized Tuesday that it wants the agenda of the high-level talks to specify the island bombing and warship attack. The North argued back, saying that restricting the talks to those issues is "the equivalent of refusing to hold higher-level military talks," according to Seoul's Defense Ministry.
The resumption of humanitarian talks may also be in jeopardy because of the collapse in military talks.
Seoul earlier in the day sent a message to the North saying that it agreed in principal to hold humanitarian talks, in response to two requests Pyongyang had made this year, according to the Unification Ministry.
The South said it would be willing to discuss the details of the time and venue of the humanitarian talks after the high-level military talks are over. The Unification Ministry has not yet indicated whether the collapse of the military talks will push back or affect the resumption of the so-called Red Cross talks.
The Red Cross talks are used to facilitate reunions for families separated by the Korean War and for the North to receive humanitarian aid such as rice and fertilizer from Seoul.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Jiyeon Lee contributed to this report.
View the original article here