China’s Ambassador in London today went to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after being summoned to explain her country’s execution of Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen.
Mr Shaikh, a convicted drug smuggler who is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder, was killed by lethal injection early today, despite the personal intervention of Gordon Brown in a telephone call to Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier.
The execution was condemned by the Prime Minister and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, with the Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis declaring that it made him feel “sick to the stomach”.
Mr Shaikh’s family said that they were “deeply saddened, stunned and disappointed” by the execution.
President Barack Obama’s strategy of bringing a quick end to the war in Afghanistan with 30,000 more troops hinges on training and equipping enough Afghan forces to secure the country themselves.
But analysts say that proper recruitment and training of an army and police able to hold the Taliban at bay are likely to take far longer than the 18-month period outlined by Obama before foreign troops start coming home.
Obama’s top commander in Afghanistan, who had requested tens of thousands of extra troops to avoid defeat, said he now had “the resources to accomplish our task” and that his “main focus” will be to build up Afghan security forces.
General Stanley McChrystal, who expects to command more than 140,000 NATO and US troops once reinforcements arrive, vowed to transfer responsibility to Afghan security forces “as rapidly as conditions allow”.
President Hamid Karzai has pledged to take responsibility for Afghan security within the next five years.
Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky was one of President Obama’s earliest and most ardent supporters.
She served in the Illinois state legislature with him, and she supported his run for the U.S. Senate. But on the issue of Afghanistan, the president can’t bank on the support of his longtime political ally.
“I think he’s made up his mind that at this point there ought to be a troop increase, and I have to say I’m very skeptical about that as a solution,” she said.
Obama is expected to announce Tuesday night that he’s sending 30,000 more troops to the war-torn country and ordering military officials to get the reinforcements there within six months, White House officials say.
President Barack Obama absorbed history’s expanse Wednesday from atop the Great Wall of China, a manmade wonder of such
enormity that Obama found himself putting daily life in perspective.
“It’s magical,” Obama said, walking down a ramp alone, his hands in his pockets. “It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on earth is not that long. We better make the best of it.”
Playing tourist on his first visit ever to China, President Barack Obama drew a chilly comparison between the Chinese capital and his Illinois hometown.
“I have to say I didn’t realize that Beijing gets as cold as my hometown of Chicago,” the president said Tuesday just before sitting down for a one-on-one meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
Earlier in the day, Obama had spent nearly an hour touring the Forbidden City’s maze of red buildings and cobblestone courtyards. With snow dotting the roofs and patches of ice lining courtyards, Obama bundled up against the frigid weather in a sweater and brown shearling jacket. He kept his hands in his pockets to ward off the chill.
Built in the 1400s, the Forbidden City once was home to 24 Chinese emperors who ruled the country for nearly 500 years, between 1420 and 1911. The former imperial palace is now known as the Palace Museum, and is open to Beijing’s visitors.
President Barack Obama on Monday arrived in Beijing from Shanghai, for the second leg of his maiden state visit to China.
Obama arrived in China on Sunday on a three-day mission aimed at convincing Beijing that Washington is its partner, not its rival.
In a town hall speech in Shanghai, the US leader pushed for an unshackled Internet and expanded political freedoms as he sought to get around China’s media curbs.
He also said the United States and China, two economically interlocked rivals, need not be adversaries, appealing to millions of Chinese web surfers on the first day of his first visit to what he termed “a majestic country”. Obama’s speech
“I have always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I am a big supporter of non-censorship,” Obama said, before flying to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
