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Serbia endorses bomb attack on Kosovo border

By Peter Popham in Mitrovica


Kosovo's honeymoon as an independent state was rudely shattered yesterday when hundreds of Serbs converged on two border checkpoints separating Serbia from the newly free state and destroyed them with plastic explosives.

United Nations peacekeepers evacuated by helicopter the police officers manning the checkpoints, and the vandals then used a tractor to push the metal sheds that functioned as checkpoint buildings down a hill and into a river.

The checkpoints were at Jarnije and Banja, 20 kilometres north of the divided city of Mitrovica.

Serb authorities in the four districts implicitly endorsed the attacks, calling on Belgrade to "urgently take steps" to protect Serbia's territorial integrity – in other words, to take military action to prevent the writ of the newly independent state extending to Serb majority areas. The Serbian Kosovo minister, Slobodan Samardzic, said "today's action is in accordance with general government policies".

It was widely predicted in the run-up to independence that the four Serb-dominated districts contiguous with Serbia in the north-west corner of Kosovo might issue a counter-declaration of partition from the Albanian-majority Kosovo. That has not happened, but some Western officials in Pristina said that the border attacks brought de facto partition closer.

Veton Elshani, a spokesman for Kosovo's police force, said of the attacks on the border posts: "It was very dangerous and the police had to withdraw and call for help from Nato peacekeepers."

Kosovo is some 90 per cent ethnic Albanian, but the four districts, including Mitrovica, are mostly populated by Serbs, who are bitterly resentful of the fact that the province known as the historic heartland of "Old Serbia" should have broken free.

Last night, French and American troops belonging to the KFOR peacekeeping mission were said to be attempting to seal the vandalised crossing points. The top UN official in Kosovo, Joachim Ruecker, condemned the attacks. "Any violence is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he said.

It was obvious on the road heading north from Pristina towards Mitrovica that something had gone badly wrong. Streams of white UN vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers (APCs), sped north,and camouflaged APCs were seen moving in the same direction. Traffic in the ethnic Albanian part of central Kosovo was badly disrupted by impromptu KFOR checkpoints.

The violence extended to Mitrovica north, the Serb quarter of the city, where for a second day thousands of protesters marched through the town to the bridge that separates the two communities. Monday's demonstration had been peaceful, but yesterday they used rocks and sticks to vandalise UN vehicles as they marched.

The previous night several loud explosions were heard in town, one of them damaging several cars near a UN building.

Mitrovica has long been the most sensitive corner of Kosovo, where hundreds of houses were destroyed and dozens of people died in ethnic attacks across the divide in 2004.

Kosovo's Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, insisted that there was no cause for alarm. "Everything is under the control of the Nato authorities, Kosovo police and the United Nations," he said. "Kosovo is integral, inseparable, and Kosovo territory is recognised internationally."
Independent

Obama scores 10 to zero with big win in Wisconsin and Hawaii


By David Usborne in Hawaii


Barack Obama decisively won the Wisconsin primary last night as well as caucus voting in Hawaii, leaving his opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, if not quite in the dust then certainly battling the perception that her once formidable campaign has started to fade.

Mrs Clinton, long considered the front-runner of her party, has been rolled over by Mr Obama in 10 successive contests since Super Tuesday two weeks ago. He not only snatched Wisconsin, once considered favourable to Mrs Clinton, but did so by an unexpectedly wide margin, partly by mining constituencies that were meant to be friendly to her.

Projected results from the Pacific archipelago of Hawaii were even more lopsided. Senator Obama was always heavily favoured in the islands where he was born and where he spent most of his school years. And indeed he easily overwhelmed Mrs Clinton by a margin of three to one in caucus voting that saw an unsually heavy turn-out among island voters.

It was a good night for John McCain too. After easily beating Mike Huckabee in Wisconsin, he put aside his well-advertised superstition to acknowledge that his taking the nomination was now no longer in doubt. With a win similarly last night in Washington State, the Arizona Senator continues to edge ever closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs finally to seal his party's nod.

Mrs Clinton had fought hard in Wisconsin, resorting in recent days to negative attacks against her opponent in a frantic bid to halt his sudden burst of momentum. Not only did she fail, but last night she watched as Mr Obama defeated her in almost every region of the state and with nearly every type of voter, including blue collar workers and white males. Even among white woman, he and she were tied.

With every loss she suffers, the job for Mrs Clinton only becomes more difficult. Her campaign has insisted that she will finally turn back the tide of Barack on 4 March when two states with huge numbers of delegates, Ohio and Texas, go to the polls. Winning at least one of them is now not only important for the former First Lady, it has become imperative.

She knows, moreover, that with his sudden streak of victories – he now has taken 22 states against her 11 – Mr Obama is generating a new psychology around his campaign that is likely to infect the minds of voters in all those states that have not yet voiced their preferences. People like winners.

It is notable that while poll after poll in delegate-rich Texas showed Mrs Clinton comfortably in the lead for weeks, a CNN poll this week showed Mr Obama almost even with her.

There is also the crucial matter of the nearly 800 super-delegates who may have the power to tilt the balance in favour of one or the other of the runners if they remain essentially tied at convention time. Both camps have been wooing them feverishly. But Mr Obama can expect to have an easier time winning their loyalty as he chalks up new victories across the country.

As the networks last night first projected Mr Obama as the victor in Wisconsin, a hoarse Mrs Clinton was on stage at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio. It was telling that every cable news cable cut her off in mid-sentence when Mr Obama began speaking at a rally of his own in Houston, Texas.

"Houston, I think we achieved lift-off here," Mr Obama told a cheering audience after revealing his success in far-away Wisconsin. "The change we seek is still months and miles away, and we need the good people of Texas to help us get there."

Mrs Clinton, by contrast, omitted all mention of her Wisconsin loss, although aides said she did telephone her rival to congratulate him. But at the microphone she targeted Mr Obama for not having the necessary experience to be President.

"Both Senator Obama and I would make history," she declared. "But only one of us is ready on day one to be commander in chief, ready to manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans. Only one of us has spent 35 years being a doer, a fighter and a champion for those who need a voice."

In Hawaii, Mrs Clinton benefited from heavy support from most of the Pineapple State union movement as well as from its popular senior Senator, Daniel Inouye. Her daughter, Chelsea, meanwhile, spent the last several days campaigning in the islands. In the end, however, none of this helped beat off Mr Obama and his home-boy advantage.

While Mr McCain was celebrating, Republican pundits noted that turn-out in Wisconsin among party members had been extremely well. The comparative lack of enthusiasm in the party does not bode well for a battle against the Democrats in November.

"For the Republicans this was a very disturbing night because of the turnout," David Frum, a Republican strategist warned.
Independent

Hillary Clinton 'has 12 days to get her campaign back on track'
Mail

Don't sack Musharraf, US and UK warn election victors





By Andrew Buncombe in Islamabad and Omar Waraichin Lahore

The US and Britain are pressing Pervez Musharraf’s victorious opponents to drop their demands that he resign as president and that the country’s independent judiciary be restored before forming a government.

In a strategy some Western diplomats admit could badly backfire, the Bush administration has made clear it wishes to continue to support Mr Musharraf even after Monday’s election in which the Pakistani public delivered a resounding rejection of his policies. “[The US] does not want some people pushed out because it would lead to instability. In this case that means Musharraf,” said one Western diplomat.

Officials say the policy is driven by concern about possible instability in the aftermath of the election in which the president’s parliamentary allies were soundly beaten. In such circumstances US and its Western allies are urging the election’s winners - the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N)- to quickly move forward and form a coalition that includes all “moderate” elements.

But along with Mr Musharraf’s future, the reinstatement of sacked Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhry and other Supreme Court justices - sacked by the president when they refused to ratify his imposition of a State of Emergency last November - has rapidly emerged as the most contentious issues in the aftermath of Monday’s vote, as the PPP and PML-N negotiate to form a coalition government. Mr Sharif, whose party secured the second most number of seats, built his campaign around the reinstatement of Mr Chaudhry and has repeatedly insisted Mr Musharraf should stand down.

Last night an aide to Mr Sharif, who is due to meet today (THURS) with PPP leader, Asif Ali Zardari, confirmed there had been pressure to drop its demand for Mr Chaudhry’s return. “The suggestion has been there from Western countries for some time. In fact it was raised by [a senior British official] when he met Mr Sharif in London. [But] we are not willing to compromise on our stance. We feel it would be against the interest of the Pakistani people.”

This week senior US officials have already met with Mr Sharif and the other leading players in Pakistan’s unfolding political drama, urging an inclusive transition towards democracy. Yesterday morning, a US diplomat based in Lahore spent two hours with Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the lawyers movement, laying out the US position.

Mr Ahsan, who has been under house arrest for three months, declined to detail the contents of his conversation with the diplomat, but he said: “There is no way other than to reinstate the judges…We are not going to let this pass. We will not let it be accepted as a norm.”

Since the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration has pursued a controversial policy in which it has given billions of dollars and considerable political support to Mr Musharraf, who is considered a vital ally in the so-called war on terror. The policy has been pursued despite criticism of Mr Musharraf’s human rights record and amid claims of hypocrisy over the US’s backing for a military dictator who seized power in a military coup while purportedly promoting democracy.

Officials admit that in the aftermath of such a decisive election its decision to stick by Mr Musharraf and its urging of his opponents to work with him - even with him serving in a reduced role - could be seen as interference and carried with it high risks.

Yet they say the threat of instability and the over-present threat of violence in Pakistan requires the various groups to form a coalition of moderate parties rather than becoming “fixated” on Mr Musharraf’s immediate future or the restoration of the judiciary. Another Western diplomat said: “The important thing is that a stable government can be formed.”

The West’s approach has already drawn criticism. Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch, said: “[How is it that] the US believes…Musharraf can be the guarantor of any sort of stability when he is the source of instability?”

Mr Musharraf has insisted that he has no intention of resigning. His spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, said yesterday that he intended to work with the new government and that he would serve out his term that expires in 2012. “The people on Monday didn't vote to elect a new president,” said the spokesman. “In fact, they participated in the elections to elect the new parliament.”
Independent

China accuses US of double standards over satellite strike

* James Randerson, science correspondent, and Mark Tran




China today accused the US of double standards after the US navy fired a missile to destroy a failed satellite 150 miles above the Pacific.

Beijing, which was criticised by the US and others when it shot down one of its own satellites last year, turned the tables on the Bush administration after this morning's space shot.

"The United States, the world's top space power, has often accused other countries of vigorously developing military space technology, but faced with the Chinese-Russian proposal to restrict space armaments, it runs in fear from what it claimed to love," said the ruling Communist party's newspaper, the People's Daily.

Earlier this month, Russia and China proposed a treaty to ban weapons in space and the use or threat of force against satellites and other spacecraft. But Washington rejected the proposal as unworkable and said it favoured confidence-building efforts, US media reported.

At a regular news conference, China's foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said: "The Chinese side is continuing to closely follow the US action which may influence the security of outer space and may harm other countries."

US defence officials said a missile fired from the USS Lake Erie apparently achieved the objective of destroying a tank of toxic fuel on the satellite that had failed soon after its 2006 launch.

Officials were cautiously optimistic the missile would hit the satellite, the size of a school bus. But they were less certain of hitting the smaller fuel tank, containing toxic fuel that the Bush administration said posed a potential health hazard.

"Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours," the Pentagon said.

The missile was fired at 3.26am GMT, despite earlier reports it would be postponed because of bad weather in the Pacific Ocean whipping up rough sea conditions.

The modified tactical standard missile 3 (SM-3) hit the satellite at an altitude of 150 miles (247km) while it was travelling at approximately 17,000 miles per hour.

Two other ships, the USS Decatur and the USS Russell, were close by and part of the task force, which was run by the Army Space and Missile Defence Command in Colorado Springs. If the initial shot had missed the satellite they could have provided back up missiles.

The Pentagon insisted the space shot was necessary to prevent possible deaths following the satellite's re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. The craft – a spy satellite that malfunctioned almost immediately after launch - was carrying around 450kg of toxic hydrazine fuel.

The successful launch proved that the US navy's Aegis anti-missile radar system could be quickly adapted to shooting down satellites.

When China shot down a defunct weather satellite on January 11 last year there were howls of protest from western governments. In the aftermath of the exercise, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "The US believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area. We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese."

Downing Street also expressed its concern at the time. "We don't believe that this does contravene international law. What we are concerned about, however, is lack of consultation and we believe that this development of this technology and the manner in which this test was conducted is inconsistent with the spirit of China's statements to the UN and other bodies on the military use of space."

The Chinese action was also criticised because of the millions of pieces of orbiting space junk created by the satellite's destruction. This cloud of shrapnel could damage other satellites or the space shuttle while in orbit.

Space junk should not be a problem from today's space shot though. Because of the satellite's relatively low altitude, debris began re-entering the atmosphere almost straight away according to the US defence department.

Most debris should re-enter the atmosphere within 48 hours and the remaining pieces will leave orbit within 40 days.

Scientists and groups opposed to the militarisation of space backed China's criticism of the US exercise. The distinguished physicist and author of Physics of the Impossible, Professor Michio Kaku, said, "With a certain amount of justification, the Chinese claim there is a double standard … This latest move can be seen as provocative, since the US has refused to renegotiate and strengthen the 1987 Outer Space Treaty."

"What is needed is a comprehensive ban on the militarisation of outer space, by nuclear and conventional weapons," he added. "Arming the heavens will only put us one step closer to a disastrous war in space that no one can win."

"The potential political cost of shooting down this satellite is high," said Laura Grego, an astrophysicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program.

"Whatever the motivation for it, demonstrating an anti-satellite weapon is counterproductive to US long-term interests, given that the United States has the most to gain from an international space weapons ban. Instead, it should be taking the lead in negotiating a treaty."
guardian

After 10 straight victories, Obama's camp claims wide lead and urges Clinton to quit



Barack Obama's campaign team, riding a wave of 10 straight victories in the contest for the Democratic nomination after wins in Wisconsin and Hawaii, yesterday urged Hillary Clinton to bow to the inevitable and accept defeat.

Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, dismissed the Clinton camp's hopes of making a comeback when the power states of Texas and Ohio hold their primaries on March 4. "This is a wide, wide lead right now," Plouffe said in a conference call with reporters. "The Clinton campaign keeps saying the race is essentially tied. That's just lunacy."

The argument from the Obama camp appears designed to paint Clinton as a nuisance candidate - much like Mike Huckabee, who has continued to fight for the Republican nomination even though it is impossible for him to claw back John McCain's lead in delegates.

It comes at a time when Obama and McCain are increasingly taking swipes at one another on the stump, heightening anticipation that the two will face each other in November's presidential election, and relegating Clinton to a sideshow.

Clinton's hopes of upsetting that equation turn on delivering a convincing performance in tonight's Democratic debate in Austin, Texas, and on gaining traction for her argument that she is the best candidate in a time of deepening economic woes, campaign officials admitted in their own conference call with reporters.

Clinton unrolled the first sign of what her campaign called a harder-edged approach to the economy in a speech in New York and in television advertisements which appeal to nightshift workers. "It is time to get real, to get real about how we actually win this election and get real about the challenges facing America," she said. "I am not running for president to put Band-Aids on our problems. I am running to solve them."

The message was aimed at voters in the ailing industrial state of Ohio, where Clinton needs to win by commanding margins if she is to have a chance of a comeback.

But, as the results from Wisconsin indicated, she is being deserted by even her most ardent supporters: the working-class voters she had been banking on in Ohio and middle-aged white women.

However, campaign officials insisted yesterday Ohio would not follow the trend in every other contest since Super Tuesday on February 5. "Ohio is very different from Wisconsin," said Harold Ickes, a longtime adviser to the Clintons.

The Clinton campaign also appears to have miscalculated with a last-minute burst of negative advertisements in Wisconsin. Her team had accused Obama of plagiarising his speeches from the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick. But the attacks appeared to have alienated undecideds, who turned to Obama.

As Obama continues to broaden his coalition of supporters, Clinton continues to face a cash crisis. Obama outspent her 4-1 in Wisconsin on advertising. Her campaign officials claimed that they lacked the resources to fight for Wisconsin, even though Clinton raised well over $100m (£51m) last year. She sent an email to supporters urging them to help keep her competitive in the coming contests in Ohio and Texas.

Obama took 58% of the vote in Wisconsin against 41% for Clinton. He did even better in Hawaii, the state where he was born, carrying 76% of the vote.

Both states were relatively small in the delegate count. But the scale of Obama's victories allowed him to extract respectable numbers of delegates under the Democratic party's system of proportional representation. With Wisconsin and Hawaii in his column, Obama now holds a decisive lead in delegates, even factoring in Clinton's earlier advantage because of her support from super delegates.

He also won an endorsement from the powerful Teamsters union yesterday. "There was very, very strong support for him among the union's members," Jim Hoffa, president of the union, said.

The Associated Press yesterday gave Obama 1,336 delegates, against 1,251 for Clinton, putting him closer to the magic figure of 2,025 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination. With voting over in all but 14 states, Clinton has relatively few opportunities for a comeback.

On the Republican side, McCain solidified his grip on the Republican nomination with decisive wins over Huckabee in Wisconsin as well as Washington state.

guardian

Rioters attack British embassy in Kosovo


* US embassy is set on fire as thousands march against Kosovo
* Cabra feels the heat as Kosovo temperature rises


The British Embassy in Belgrade came under attack as protests against Kosovan independence swept the Serbian capital, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

Damage to the building was "limited" and embassy staff were safe, Mr Miliband said.

The United States Embassy was torched by Serb rioters and a charred body was found after the attack.

Both the UK and the United States have recognised Kosovo after it declared independence from Serbia earlier this week.

In a statement, Mr Miliband said: "I have been closely watching reports of the violence in Belgrade against international embassies, including the UK embassy.

"I want to underline that we are in close touch with our Ambassador in Belgrade and understand that all our embassy staff are safe, that the premises are currently secure and that damage to the building is limited.

"While the Kosovo issue raises strong feelings in Serbia, no cause can justify such displays of violence.

"We have made clear to the Serbian government that we expect them to fully uphold their obligations to protect our embassy and other diplomatic premises in Belgrade."

Masked attackers broke into the US compound, which was closed at the time, just after 7pm, and tried to throw furniture from an office.

They set fire to the office and flames shot up the side of the building.

The US reacted with unusual sharpness, denouncing Serb authorities for failing to protect the compound from rioters who torched part of its main office building.

"Our embassy was attacked by thugs," White House press secretary Dana Perino said aboard Air Force One as President George Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice returned from a trip to Africa.

"We have made known to the Serbian government our concern and displeasure that their police force did not prevent this incident."

US Embassy spokeswoman Rian Harris said a body was "found at the part of the building set on fire by the protesters".

She said all embassy staff were accounted for. Belgrade's Pink TV said the body appeared to be that of a rioter.

Serbia's president Boris Tadic, on an official visit to Romania, appealed for calm and urged the protesters to stop the attacks and move away from the streets. Independent

The 'mistress' who could destroy that man who would be President... and the wealthy wife who'll back him to the hilt Mail

Violence reignites as Kosovan Serbs protest at secession


UN police today fired tear gas at about 5,000 Serb demonstrators trying to cross a bridge in the divided city of Kosovoska Mitrovica, as protests at Kosovo's declaration of independence continued.

Demonstrators waved Serbian flags and chanted 'Kosovo is ours!' on the fifth day of public unrest since Kosovo's Albanian leaders declared independence on Sunday.

The show of Serbian disgruntlement came despite appeals by Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaci, for Serbs to play a constructive role in Europe's fledgling state.

"My message to Serbs of Kosovo is to continue to be part of the institutions of Kosovo," Thaci told the Associated Press. "I call them to join us in our vision for a new Kosovo, and for Kosovo to be a part of the EU and Nato. Kosovo is a country of everybody."

He expressed hope that the daily violence that has broken out at border posts since Sunday's declaration will ease as peacekeepers step up patrols and the EU deploys a 1,800-member police and justice mission.

In Belgrade, the nationalist prime minister appealed for calm after rioting in the Serb capital left one person dead and damaged US and western embassies.

"This directly damages our ... national interests," said Vojislav Kostunica. "All those who support the fake state of Kosovo are rejoicing at the sight of violence in Belgrade."

Kostunica's appeal for calm came as Serbia's pro-western politicians warned the violence could be a prelude for a crackdown against moderates.

The defence minister, Dragan Sutanovac, of the EU-friendly Democratic party, described the violence that followed Kosovo's declaration of independence at the weekend as "one of Belgrade's saddest days".

He said rioters were encouraged by the support of some nationalist politicians for smaller attacks against western embassies and commercial interests in the city earlier in the week.

Several ministers and other top officials in nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica's government, and leaders of the ultra-nationalist Radical party, had dismissed those attacks as "minor incidents."

Some 200,000 people attended yesterday's state-backed rally and officials said police were overwhelmed by the biggest march since protesters stormed the old Yugoslav parliament building in 2000 to oust nationalist leader Slobodan Milosevic.

But police were nowhere to be seen when scores of rioters - many wearing balaclavas - attacked the US embassy for the second time in a week. A charred body, apparently that of a rioter, was later found in the embassy.

EU officials issued a veiled threat to Kostunica that Serb actions could imperil closer ties with the 27-member bloc.

"The embassies have to be protected, and that is the obligation of the country," the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told reporters at an EU event in Slovenia.

"Things will have to calm down before we can recuperate the climate that would allow for any contact to move on the SAA [stabilisation and association agreement]," he said of a preliminary deal on ties with the EU.

The pact was agreed last year but the EU has said it will not sign it until Belgrade fully cooperates with the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The EU was ready to sign an interim trade deal but Kostunica blocked the move earlier this month in protest over Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia on Sunday.
Thaci said the violence raging across Belgrade yesterday was reminiscent of the Milosevic era. "The pictures of yesterday in Belgrade were pictures of Milosevic's time," said Thaci, a former guerrilla leader of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army who is reviled by Kosovo Serbs.

More than a dozen countries have recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence, including the US, Britain, France and Germany. But the declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership has been rejected by Serbia's government and the Serbs who live in northern Kosovo.

In Bosnia, which is made up of the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation, Bosnian Serb MPs threatened to hold a referendum on secession if a majority of UN member states and the EU recognised Kosovo's independence.

The parliament of the Serb Republic yesterday adopted a resolution attacking Kosovo's declaration of independence as an illegal act that violated Serbia's territorial integrity.

But Bosnian Serb prime minister Milorad Dodik told parliament there was no rush to break up the country. "We are not adventurers," he said, "and we do not plan to broach a decision about independence now. The referendum can be used only once, if we decide and when we decide it. It is no game."
guardian

Turkish forces enter northern Iraq



Thousands of Turkish troops, backed by warplanes, have entered northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels in the largest ground offensive since the US-led invasion.

Up to 10,000 soldiers were reported to have crossed the border after fighter jets and heavy artillery bombed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) forces.

The PKK said that two Turkish soldiers were killed and eight wounded in clashes following the incursion but Turkey refused to comment on the claim. A rebel spokesman pledged they "will prevent Turkish army from entering deep in the Iraqi land".

The Turkish military announced the operation on its website earlier today. "After the successful bombing, a cross-border ground incursion backed by the air force started at 1900 (1700 GMT) on Thursday," a statement read.

"The Turkish armed forces, which value Iraq's territorial integrity and its stability, will return as soon as planned goals are achieved.

"The executed operation will prevent the region from being a permanent and safe base for the terrorists and will contribute to Iraq's stability and internal peace."

NTV television reported 10,000 troops were taking part in the offensive and had penetrated 10km (six miles) into Iraq. The key Habur border crossing was also said to be closed.

A spokesman for US forces in Iraq, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, said Turkey had assured the US that it would do everything possible to avoid "collateral damage" to innocent civilians and infrastructure.

"The United States continues to support Turkey's right to defend itself from the terrorist activities of the PKK and has encouraged Turkey to use all available means, to include diplomacy and close coordination with the government of Iraq to ultimately resolve this issue," Smith added.

However, Reuters reported that deputy assistant secretary of state Matthew Bryza said the offensive was "not the greatest news" and took Turkey's confrontation with Iraq-based Kurdish fighters to a "whole new level".

In December, several hundred Turkish troops carried out a smaller ground incursion and Ankara has also launched air and artillery strikes against suspected PKK targets in Iraq. Its parliament authorised the army to carry out such raids in October.

Some fear the operation could trigger a wider conflict with the Iraqi Kurds, who enjoy relative autonomy and prosperity in northern Iraq, although Turkey insisted its only target was the PKK rebel group. Turkish president Abdullah Gül said he spoke to his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, yesterday to inform him of the goals of the operation.

Fouad Hussein, a spokesman for the semi-autonomous Kurdish government, said the Kurdish Peshmerga forces had been put on alert. He said Iraqi Kurdish forces also had tightened security around bases housing Turkish military monitors operating in northern Iraq with permission from local authorities under a 1996 agreement.

"The government of Kurdistan ordered the Peshmerga forces to be on alert in fear of any Turkish incursion on Iraqi territory," he said, claiming that Turkish military monitors had tried to leave their bases in violation of the terms of the 1996 agreement.

"Those troops tried to move out but the Peshmerga forces forced them to return to their camps within half an hour," he said.

The offensive is the latest Turkish operation against the PKK, which it accuses of using Kurdish northern Iraq as a base to launch attacks on south-east Turkey in its long-running campaign for autonomy in the region. The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation.

Nihat Ali Ozcan, a terrorism expert with the research centre, Tepav, said the operation is designed to head off any infiltration by rebels into Turkey in the spring, the customary start of the fighting season.

An Iraqi border forces officer, Colonel Hussein Tamer, said Turkish shelling on Thursday hit several Kurdish villages in the Sedafan area, some 30km from the border.

Turkey has staged ground incursions against Turkish Kurd rebels in northern Iraq in past years. The PKK launched its guerrilla campaign in 1984, and as many as 40,000 people have died.
guardian

US prison beckons British bankers who got cosy with Enron

· Texan judge due to hand out 37-month jail terms
· Trio must be contrite after plea-bargaining over fraud


A trio of disgraced British bankers known as the NatWest Three will be sentenced to lengthy jail stretches by a US judge today for stealing $7.3m in a complex Enron-related fraud that sparked a row over Britain's extradition policy.

The NatWest Three's dealings with Enron went far deeper than a single transaction - and the men have used their wealth to invest in ventures ranging from engineering to movie production, pubs and Scottish property.

At a hearing in Houston's federal courthouse, David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby are each expected to be sent to prison for 37 months, in line with the terms of a plea agreement. Their sentencing will close the book on a prosecution that sparked cries of injustice and complaints of judicial overreach by the US.

The Texan court's no-nonsense judge, Ewing Werlein, will offer them the opportunity to speak - and experts say they would be wise to eat humble pie.

"I think it's important for each of the three to express remorse for what they've done," says Douglas McNabb, a US lawyer specialising in white-collar federal crime. "They've got to be particularly careful they don't start backtracking."

The trio became something of a cause célèbre when they were extradited to the US two years ago. Their crime was to recommend that their employer, NatWest, sold a stake in an Enron venture, LJM Cayman, for $1m - far less than its true value. Unbeknown to NatWest, they had a personal interest in the buyer of the stake, which sold it on at a huge profit.

Since the Enron deal, Darby, 45, the senior banker of the three, has exhibited the most modest business ambition. A father of five girls, he left the financial world to become managing director of a small Wiltshire business, Bohan Engineering, which makes bespoke industrial machines for drilling, pinning and assembling manufactured products.

His colleagues have branched out into colourful fields. Bermingham, 45, became immersed in film finance, at one stage through a company called Grosvenor Park Productions. He won credits as executive producer on movies including Things To Do Before You're 30, Trauma and The Libertine - a 17th-century romp.

Mulgrew, a Glaswegian former bouncer, also dabbled in the movie world by investing in Trieste Film Partners - a film-leasing entity set up by the entrepreneur Patrick McKenna's Ingenious Media group. But the world of property proved more of a draw for the Scot, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. In the years after his controversial dealings with Enron, he entered correspondence about a number of deals, including purchasing an Islington gastropub, a Highlands hotel, and Hewan Wood, a beauty spot on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

Mulgrew, 46, snapped up a flat in Glasgow's affluent Hyndland suburb for £120,000 in April 2001 - eight months after receiving the proceeds of the Cayman deal. A month earlier, in March 2001, Mulgrew paid £245,000 for a new apartment on Edinburgh's Holyrood Road, beside the newly built Scottish Parliament. He signed agreements to rent this property out to his mother, Trish Godman, who is a Labour MSP and the parliament's deputy presiding officer, for £1,000 a month. She appears not to have used the flat, however, as over this period she was claiming hotel expenses in Edinburgh. She declined to discuss this with the Guardian.

This flat, which is beside Holyrood House, does not appear to have appreciated much in value. Trish Godman and her husband, Norman Godman, a former Labour MP for Greenock, bought it from Mulgrew for £250,000 in November 2006. She has not had to record it in the parliament's register of members' interests because it is a personal residence. She has not claimed hotel expenses since buying the flat.

Shareholders who lost millions in the collapse of Enron have suggested that the NatWest Three's gains from the corrupt energy trading company went well beyond the $7.3m deal to which they have admitted guilt. After leaving NatWest in 2000, the trio were hired by the Royal Bank of Canada to set up a London-based trading team. Running this desk, they worked at the Canadian bank for just over a year - and over this period 30% of their dealings were with Enron. Their role was to help Enron create complex offshore entities with names such as Bob West Treasure, Jedi and Hawaii that kept losses off the energy firm's balance sheet.

An internal email seen by the Guardian reveals just how lucrative this was. In a message dated November 15 2001, Mulgrew said that his team had generated C$64.9m (£33m) of revenue in 12 months, of which C$48.3m was taken "straight to the P&L [profit and loss account]".

"With a headcount totalling 47, we are naturally delighted that we were able to contribute new business revenue in excess of C$1m per head," wrote Mulgrew. Presciently, he added: "Obviously the year hasn't been without its trials and tribulations, most recently the Enron situation which has been trying for a number of us."

When Enron went bust, the US bankruptcy courts appointed an "examiner", Harrison Goldin. He concluded that the RBC team used improper techniques to help the energy trading firm conceal its financial problems. "The ENA [Enron North America] examiner has determined that the evidence is sufficient for a fact finder to conclude that RBC aided and abetted certain Enron officers in breaching their fiduciary duty," says Goldin's report. Goldin reveals that the trio were fired by RBC in 2001 amid suspicions that, once again, they had "secretly invested" in an Enron offshore partnership behind their employer's back.

Even after their sentencing, the NatWest Three's legal difficulties will not end. A group of Enron shareholders led by the University of California, which lost $144m in Enron's collapse, has sued RBC and has subpoeaned the trio to give depositions. "After [the] arrival of the bankers from NatWest, RBC structured, financed and executed several deceptive transactions with Enron," says the university's writ.

At the height of their success, Bermingham, Darby and Mulgrew wooed Enron's top brass. They forged close relationships with Enron's chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, and his second-in-command, Michael Kopper, both of whom are now in prison. The British trio hosted a weekend for the energy company's executives at Scotland's Skibo Castle. They went on an Enron skiing trip to Chamonix and cavorted with influential Enron staff at a Houston lapdancing club, Treasures.

The walls of an American prison cell will give them plenty of time for reflection.
Cayman deal leads to jail

March 2000
The NatWest Three - David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby - collude with corrupt Enron contacts to skim off $7.3m in profits through a fraudulent deal between NatWest and Enron in the Cayman Islands

July 2000
The NatWest Three quit to join Royal Bank of Canada, where they engage in further deals helping Enron move its ballooning losses to offshore entities

November 2001
Royal Bank of Canada sacks the NatWest Three for allegedly investing personally in an Enron venture behind their employer's back

December 2001
Enron bankrupt

February 2002
The US Department of Justice and the Financial Services Authority begin investigating the trio's dealings with Enron

June 2002
US prosecutors charge the NatWest Three with fraud over their Cayman Islands transaction with Enron

June 2004
As the US begins extradition proceedings, the NatWest Three plead for the case to be heard in the UK

May 2005
Home secretary Charles Clarke orders the trio's extradition in spite of a Daily Telegraph campaign called "Fair Trials for British Business"

July 2006
The NatWest Three are extradited to Texas and bailed to remain in the Houston area

November 2007
The trio change their pleas to "guilty" in exchange for a sentence of 37 months in jail under a plea bargain

February 2008
A Houston judge is due formally to sentence the NatWest Three, requiring them to report to jail
guardian

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