NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Fri 03/09/2010 16:50

Dear colleague,

Please find attached this week’s News Summary. The weekly summary is intended to provide background
information to topical news stories and issues that may resonate in communities. The weekly summary also includes
links to interesting news articles that people may wish to circulate further.

This week’s summary includes:

 The Middle East peace talks


th
The English Defence League demonstration on August 28
 The Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan (with an attached fact sheet from DfID on the flooding in
Pakistan)

We encourage you to share this unrestricted document with your contacts.

As ever we would appreciate your feedback on the format, content and timing of the News Summary as well as
suggestions on issues you would like it to cover. Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk with comments or if you
would like to subscribe.

Kind regards,

Naomi

Naomi Line
Strategic Communications Advisor
RICU (Research, Information and Communications Unit)
Office for Security and Counter Terrorism
Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
Tel: 0207 035 0236

**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are private and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please return it to the address
it came from telling them it is not for you and then delete it from your system.

This email message has been swept for computer viruses.

**********************************************************************

The original of this email was scanned for viruses by the Government Secure Intranet virus scanning service
supplied by Cable&Wireless Worldwide in partnership with MessageLabs. (CCTM Certificate Number
2009/09/0052.) On leaving the GSi this email was certified virus free.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.

Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

with comments or if you would like to subscribe
Weekly News Summary
Friday 3rd September 2010
Key Issues
Middle East peace process talks resume in Washington
The first direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for nearly two years have been taking place in
Washington.
Barack Obama inaugurated the new peace process saying "too much blood" had already been spilled in
the Middle East. The US President hosted a dinner in the White House at which Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sat at the table. Jordan's King Abdullah
and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak were there in supporting roles.
The leaders concluded their talks by agreeing to meet personally every two weeks in a bid to cement a
peace deal in the Middle East within a year. Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas have agreed to meet on
September 14th and 15th at a location in the Middle East.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday, September 2nd: “We welcome the direct talks
between Israel and the Palestinians beginning today. We look to Prime Minister Netanyahu and President
Abbas to show the perseverance, commitment and courage needed to achieve a sovereign, viable and
contiguous Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside a safe and secure Israel and their other
neighbours in the region''.
Key Points
The British Government seeks urgent progress on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The conflict matters to British national security, and the Government has said that it will take
every opportunity to help promote peace in the Middle East.
US President Barack Obama's said on Wednesday: "The status quo is unsustainable, for Israelis,
for Palestinians, for the region and for the world. It is in the national interests of all those involved,
including the US that this conflict be brought to a peaceful conclusion".
Speaking at a joint Press Conference on Thursday with the German Foreign Minister, Guido
Westerwelle, William Hague emphasised the "historic importance" of the move to direct talks.
Reiterating that the UK stood ready to "do everything we can to buttress those talks" the Foreign
Secretary said "the parties involved will need to show commitment and courage to achieve the
lasting peace that both sides deserve and we support them fully in that effort".
Associated articles:
Telegraph - Leaders agree to work for draft treaty
BBC - Each of the leaders pledged to work towards peace
Foreign office – Fact page on the peace process

EDL hold static demonstration in Bradford

On Saturday, August 28th approximately 800 members of the English Defence League held a static
demonstration in Bradford, while a counter demonstration was held by Unite against Fascism (UAF) half a
mile away. EDL had originally planned to march through the city centre; however the Home Secretary last
week took the decision to consent to a ban on all marches in Bradford over the bank holiday weekend. The
decision was based on an assessment by West Yorkshire Police that a ban on all marches was needed to
prevent serious public disorder.
Hundreds of officers from West Yorkshire Police were supported by colleagues from 13 other forces during
the operation to keep the groups apart. Bradford residents co-operated and supported the police ensuring
the atmosphere in the city was generally calm.

On Saturday 28th August, Chief Superintendent Alison Rose, Bradford South divisional commander,
and council leader Ian Greenwood said: "Although there has been some disruption to the city centre, we
are returning to normality and people of Bradford are now able to continue their lives. The police have
worked effectively to handle the situation and to respond quickly to the events as they unfolded.”

Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

with comments or if you would like to subscribe
Key Points
The Government makes every effort to promote and defend rights to free speech and peaceful protest.
Difficult issues will inevitably sometimes arise around balancing those rights with the rights of wider
communities.
Demonstrations should not and cannot be a cover for violent or criminal acts. Individual members of
EDL or any other group – like all members of the public – are subject to the law. Inciting racial hatred or
participating in acts of violence are criminal offences and will be robustly investigated and dealt with by
the police.
Only a small minority of individuals committed offences, which were dealt with by the police.
Associated articles:
The Guardian - Police praise calmness of local people
The Independent – March banned by the Government

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visits Pakistan

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visited Pakistan on Wednesday, where he stated that the scale of
the devastation seen is beyond compare, with around ten million people critically affected and more than
1.2 million houses destroyed or damaged. Nick Clegg assured the Pakistani people that “Britain will not
stand by and watch you suffer. Our countries share a strong bond and we are determined to help in your
hour of need.”
Looking towards the future he said “The UK will continue to stand by Pakistan, and continue helping its
people affected by the floods in any way we can, both at this critical life-saving time and longer term as
work begins to rebuild the country.” On Wednesday he announced how lifesaving aid from the UK will be
allocated while visiting Sukkur, south Pakistan, the region now worst affected by the monsoon floods. The
aid will be targeted at Punjab and Sindh.
This follows a surprise visit to British troops in Afghanistan's Helmand Province on Tuesday; where the
Deputy Prime Minister reiterated plans to have UK combat troops out of Afghanistan by 2015.
Key Points
The UK Government has now committed £64 million to help people in Pakistan affected by the
floods. This is helping millions of people access safe drinking water, toilets, emergency shelter,
health care, and other essentials. A summary of the UK Government’s contributions to date can be
viewed on the DFID website.
A new Pakistan Floods Monitor showing how and where UKAid is helping people in Pakistan can
also be found on the DFID website.
The DEC appeal has now raised over £42 million. To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan Floods
Appeal you can call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit http://www.dec.org.uk, donate over
the counter at any post office or high street bank, you can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE
to 70707.
The Charity Commission, has published advice for people who want to support those affected by
the floods in Pakistan, whether by fundraising or by making a personal donation.
Associated articles:
BBC – Pakistan will need aid for years to come
DfID Press notice - Nick Clegg announces how aid will be distributed

Other News Stories from this Week: The following are interesting news items that we think people may want to
circulate further:
Financial Times - Obama marks end of US combat in Iraq
On Tuesday US President Barack Obama declared it was “time to turn the page” on disagreements over the war in
Iraq as he marked the end of the US's seven-and-a-half year combat mission there. In his second address from the
Oval Office, President Obama said that the US had withdrawn nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq, leaving fewer than
50,000 soldiers “advising and assisting” Iraqi forces, and had closed or transferred hundreds of bases to Iraqi forces.
The Telegraph - Human rights are key to our foreign policy
In an article for the Telegraph on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK must harness Britain's
generosity and compassion to help the rest of the world.

Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

with comments or if you would like to subscribe
 Pakistan Monsoon Floods: UK response factsheet

The UK Government has committed £64 million (more than 8.5 billion PKR) to help people affected by the monsoon floods in Pakistan. In addition, a £10million
(approx 1.3 billion PKR) bridge project has been brought forward.

UK aid contribution to date – overview

 Safe drinking water; 1,150 private bathing facilities; emergency shelter kits for 30,500 families; toilets installed/repaired; hygiene kits for 74,500 families;
650 new born baby kits; plus more, in Punjab and Sindh channelled via Save the Children, Concern, and Oxfam (announced in Sukkur on 1 Sept by UK
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg): £9 million (1.2 billion PKR)
 Health care, shelter, and food for people primarily in Punjab and Sindh (announced in Pakistan on 18 Aug by UK Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell
and Baroness Warsi): £14.5 million (approx 2 billion PKR)
 Nine DFID-funded planes carrying lifesaving aid have arrived in Pakistan consisting of:
 Five DFID funded RAF planes (three RAF C17s, two RAF C130), two carrying UN items, the remaining three bringing tents and emergency shelter
kits from DFID stores in the United Arab Emirates.
 Four further DFID chartered planes, bringing emergency shelter kits, blankets, and buckets from DFID stores in the United Arab Emirates.
 3,500 tents and 12,558 shelter kits, providing shelter for more than 80,290 people
 24,000 water containers and 48,375 blankets
 1.7 million water purification tablets – equivalent to 28 million litres of water
 Help for half-a-million malnourished children and pregnant/breastfeeding women by providing high energy food supplements, treatment for severely
malnourished children, and training health workers: £4 million (approx 535 million PKR)
 Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for 800,000 people via UNICEF: £5 million (approx 675 million PKR)
 Water and sanitation, shelter, food, and healthcare via Pakistan Emergency Response Fund: £5 million (approx 675 million PKR)
 Bridges project brought forward - ten bridges currently being shipped from the UK and two being transported by road from Karachi: £10 million (approx 1.3
billion PKR)
 Emergency ‘seed money’ for NGOs released via Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies: £750,000 (approx 102 million PKR)
 Radio broadcasts with humanitarian information: £45,000 (more than six million PKR)
 Extension of DFID loan guarantee scheme to small enterprises affected by the floods
 UK public contributions to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal: £40 million (nearly 5.5 billion PKR)
 Scottish Government contribution to Scottish aid agencies in country: £500,000 (approx 67 million PKR)
 Previous contributions to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Central Emergency Response Fund, and
International Committee of the Red Cross

Water and sanitation in Punjab and Sindh via Save the Children, Oxfam, and Concern
Aim: provide emergency shelter, safe drinking water, and sanitation to people affected by the floods in Punjab and Sindh
Partners: Save the Children, Oxfam, and Concern
Amount: £9 million (1.2 billion PKR)
Number of people likely to benefit: Millions
Where: Punjab and Sindh
When: the aid will begin to be distributed over the coming days
What: The aid will be targeted at Punjab and Sindh, and includes:
 2,330 water pumps/points to provide safe drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people;
 1,150 private bathing facilities, benefiting thousands of people particularly women;
 Emergency shelter kits for around 30,500 families – provide shelter for more than 152,000 people;
 Around 5,000 toilets installed/repaired, for use by some quarter of a million people;
 Hygiene kits for about 75,000 families, containing for example bath, dish and laundry soap, disinfectant, women's sanitary materials, tooth brush/paste,
towel, comb;
 650 new born baby kits, containing baby vests, baby shampoo and soap, baby blankets etc; and
 Spades, picks, and wheelbarrows to help 16,000 families remove debris from their homes.

Family Tents and shelter kits

Aim: provide emergency shelter for people whose houses have been washed away or seriously damaged by the monsoon floods
Partners: distributed by Save the Children-UK and the International Organization for Migration
Amount: 3,500 tents (1,500 airlifted by the RAF from United Arab Emirates to Islamabad) and 12,558 shelter kits
Number of people likely to benefit: more than 80,290
Where: Swat, Shangla, Nowshera, Charsadda, D.I. Khan, Punjab
When: a significant number of tents have already been distributed, the remainder will continue to be distributed in the coming days

Nutrition, treatment and emergency health care training

Aim: provide life-saving treatment and care to severely malnourished children and pregnant/breast-feeding women
Partners: emergency health and relief organisations, the Pakistan Ministry of Health, and UNICEF
Amount: £4 million (approx 540 million PKR)
Number of people likely to benefit: around half a million
Where: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan
When: about three months, starting immediately

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene via UNICEF: £5million

Aim: to help prevent further death and disease of the children and people of Pakistan affected by the monsoon floods by providing safe

Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

with comments or if you would like to subscribe
drinking water, hygiene kits, toilets, sewage clearance, waste removal, etc
Partner: UNICEF
Amount: £5million (approx 675 million PKR) committed on Monday 2 August 2010
Number of people likely to benefit: approx 800,000 people
Where: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, and Pakistan-administered Kashmir
What: Providing clean drinking water to over half a million people through the restoration wells and water tankering in SWAT, Kohat, Charsadda, Nowshera,
Lower Dir, and Peshawar; Restoration of sanitation services; Distribution of hygiene kits; In Swat, awareness campaigns on health and hygiene issues, provision of
water purification tablets, hygiene kits and related items; emergency medicines given to district health departments of Charsadda and Nowshera.
Delivered/ongoing:
 520,000 inhabitants receiving safe drinking water through water tankering
 50,000 inhabitants receiving safe drinking water through restoration of 63 water supply schemes
 30,000 inhabitants provided with water purification tablets and means
 30,000 inhabitants provided with adequate sanitation
 48,000 persons deployed for clearing of drains, dewatering, solid waste collection and so forth
 52,000 inhabitants having access to personal hygiene material through distribution of 6,100 hygiene kits
 20,000 inhabitants having access to water storage and handling materials through distribution of 2,240 buckets and 5,000 Jerry cans

Pakistan Emergency Response Fund: £5million

Aim: to help prevent further death and disease of the children and people of Pakistan affected by the monsoon floods by providing emergency relief, including
food, shelter, water, sanitation, and healthcare
Partner: Fund managed by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Amount: £5million (approx 675 million PKR). Committed in May 2010. The UK was the first country to contribute to this new fund
Number of people likely to benefit: roughly 500,000 people
What: safe drinking water, emergency communal latrines, washing facilities, family hygiene kits, sanitation and hygiene information campaigns, tents and
tarpaulins
Where: currently Charsadda and Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to extend further across the country.
When: already in operation

New bridges: £10million

Aim: accelerate provision of new bridges, to replace some of those washed away by the monsoon floods
Amount: £10million (approx 1.35 billion PKR)
Number of people likely to benefit: approximately 4.5 million people across eight districts
What: Ten bridges, procured in the UK, are on their way to Pakistan. The start date of this pre-agreed project, originally scheduled for the New Year, will be
brought forward to start as soon as soon as possible after the recovery process makes access possible. DFID is also funding a team of engineers to work with the
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to plan and deliver the bridges.
Where: Malakand and FATA
When: Engineers have been in the area since week ending 6 August 2010. Identification of priority sites and planning started straight away. Delivery of the
bridges will depend on availability, manufacture, and transport of the new bridges to Pakistan

Quick release emergency seed funding: £750,000

Aim: administer emergency quick release ‘seed money’ to enable agencies to set-up and kick-start rapid programmes for a three week period
Partner: Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies
Amount: £750,000 (approx 100 million PKR) drawn from a pre-existing DFID programme
Number of people likely to benefit: approximately 160,000 people so far
What: healthcare, shelter, food, water, sanitation, hygiene
Where: Swat, Shangla and Kohistan, Di Khan, Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar
When: NGOs are already operating on the ground

Radio broadcasts
Aim: provide vital information on where to get food, shelter, plus advice on how to avoid disease etc
Partner: BBC World Service Trust and Internews
Amount: £45,000 (more than six million PKR) provided from core funding
What: six daily bulletins broadcast (three Pashto, three Urdu) on up to 34 partner radio stations, providing advice and information on where to get food and
shelter, how to avoid disease, stay safe, etc
Number of people likely to benefit: reaching over 60 million people
Where: most of Pakistan
When: started week commencing Monday 9 August 2010

Extension of loan guarantee to small businesses

Aim: help small businesses restart their operations
Amount: extension of a pre-existing £8 million (approx 1 billion PKR) guarantee to facilitate loans
What: using the DFID guarantee banks will offer up to 1million PKR to small enterprises to restart their operations
Number to benefit: small enterprises which have been affected by the floods
Where: All of Pakistan
When: available immediately

Previous contributions being spent in response to the monsoon floods

 New York Central Emergency Response Fund has announced $26.3 million in response to the monsoon floods, of which
Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
with comments or if you would like to subscribe
 UK’s contribution is around 16 per cent.
 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): DFID has contributed £17million (approx 2.3 billion PKR) since 2006, £8million (approx 1 billion
PKR) of which was given in March 2010. They are spending £1.5 million (approx 200 million PKR) specifically in response to the monsoon floods, to fund
drinkable water, medical care, shelter, and food etc for an estimated 10,000 families across the country
 European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO): DFID contributes 16% to the budget

Please email ricu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

with comments or if you would like to subscribe