China reimposes curfew in Urumqi

A night-time curfew has been reimposed in the restive western Chinese city of Urumqi, officials have announced.

The curfew had been suspended for the last two days after officials said they had the city under control.

Mosques in the city were ordered to remain closed on Friday – but at least two opened at the request of crowds of Muslim Uighurs that gathered outside.

The city remains tense after Sunday’s outbreak of ethnic violence that killed 156 people and wounded more than 1,000.

Thousands of people – both Han Chinese and Uighurs – are reportedly trying to leave the city.

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville, who is in Urumqi, said the authorities announced the city would be under curfew on Friday from 1900 local time (1100GMT).

‘Safety is paramount’

News of the curfew came as hundreds of Muslim Uighurs defied an order to stay at home for Friday prayers.

Officials had posted notices outside Urumqi’s mosques instructing people to stay at home to worship on Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam.

One official told AP the decision was made “for the sake of public safety”.

But worshippers gathered outside a number of mosques in the city demanding to be allowed in.

“We decided to open the mosque because so many people had gathered. We did not want an incident,” a policeman outside the White Mosque in a Uighur neighbourhood told the Associated Press.

One worshipper, speaking after attending prayers, said they had been warned to be careful.

“They told us safety is paramount and we should quickly finish our prayers, go home and have a good rest,” he said.

After the prayers, riot police punched and kicked a small group of Uighurs protesters, who demanded the release of men detained after last Sunday’s violence, our correspondent says.

Mass exodus

Meanwhile, the city’s main bus station is reported to be crowded with people trying to escape the unrest.

Extra bus services have been laid on and touts are charging up to five times the normal face price for tickets, AFP news agency reports.

XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese 26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han Chinese and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two Uighurs dead 5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead – most of them thought to be Han – and more than 1,000 hurt 7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of menfolk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march 8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis

“It is just too risky to stay here. We are scared of the violence,” a 23-year-old construction worker from central China said.

Many are university students, who have been told to leave the city earlier than they might have planned.

The violence began on Sunday when Uighurs rallied to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province.

Officials say 156 people – mostly Han – died in Sunday’s violence.

Ethnic Han vigilante groups have been threatening to take revenge, leaving many Uighurs afraid to leave their homes.

The atmosphere remains tense, with troops in place across the city and armed police surrounding Uighur neighbourhoods.

More than 1,400 people are thought to have been detained.

Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated.

Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.

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Are you leaving Urumqi? What has been your experience of the unrest in the city in recent days? Please send us your comments

Ban criticises G8 climate efforts

The summit has opened up to take in the so-called G5 nations

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised leaders of the G8 industrial nations for failing to make deeper commitments to combat climate change.

On Wednesday, the leaders, meeting in Italy, agreed to cut emissions by 80% by 2050, but Mr Ban said big cuts were needed sooner rather than later.

The leaders are set to meet their counterparts from emerging economies to discuss a new deal on global warming.

US President Barack Obama will chair the session, in the city of L’Aquila.

The second day of the summit has begun, opening up its discussions to take in the so-called G5 nations – Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Egypt is a special invitee.

The G8 leaders said on Wednesday they had agreed to try to limit global warming to just 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.

That is the level above which, the United Nations says, the Earth’s climate system would become dangerously unstable.

The G8 leaders also said rich nations should cut emissions by 80% by 2050 while the world overall should reduce them 50% by 2050.

But correspondents say emerging nations appear reluctant to sign up and tough negotiations lie ahead.

‘Moral imperative’

Mr Ban said Wednesday’s agreement was welcome, but the leaders needed to establish a strong and ambitious mid-term target for emissions cuts by 2020.

“This is politically and morally imperative and a historic responsibility for the leaders… for the future of humanity, even for the future of Planet Earth,” he told the news.

Mr Ban said the leaders also had to come up with financial incentives for poorer countries to reduce pollution and aid to help them mitigate the effects of climate change.

President Obama will chair the Major Economies Forum meeting on Thursday afternoon.

The countries represented there account for some 80% of the emissions of gases that are blamed for global warming.

‘Still time’

Our diplomatic correspondent says, in L’Aquila, says the talks with India and China will be difficult.

China’s president has headed home to deal with the ethnic violence in Xinjiang, so there are now questions whether his delegation will be more cautious.

G8 KEY ISSUES/TIMETABLE THURSDAY: Climate Change Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Egypt join talks 1230 GMT – Junior G8 1300 GMT – Major Economies Forum meeting FRIDAY: Development 0630 GMT – crisis’ impact on Africa with African leaders attending 0830 GMT – food security 1100 GMT – final news conference G8 members: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, US

Our correspondent adds that India is already complaining that the G8’s long-term targets for 2050 are too long-term and that G8 countries are ducking interim targets for 2020 which would make their 40-year ambitions more credible.

But in a meeting with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Mr Obama said there was still time to close the gap between developed and developing nations before UN talks on a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December.

The summit host, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has said a deal should be all-inclusive.

“It would not be productive if European countries, Japan, the United States and Canada accepted cuts that are economically damaging while more than five billion people in other countries carried on as before,” he said.

The G8 summit began in L’Aquila on Wednesday, with the first day largely taken up with discussion of the fragile state of the global economy.

The leaders also issued a statement reaffirming that they were “deeply concerned” by Iran’s nuclear programme and condemning North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launches.

African leaders will join the summit on Friday to push for a new initiative to fund farming in the developing world and tackle global hunger.

China riot city ‘under control’

The situation in China’s riot-torn city of Urumqi is now under control after the deployment of thousands of troops, local Communist officials have said.

The party chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region, vowed that all those found guilty of murder during the riots would be put to death.

The unrest between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese began on Sunday and has left 156 people dead.

President Hu Jintao cut short his visit to the G8 summit to tackle the crisis.

Mr Hu flew back from Italy and arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville, in Urumqi, says the Xinjiang authorities have been under intense pressure to sort the crisis out as soon as possible amid the embarrassment of Mr Hu having to cancel his G8 attendance.

Call for calm

Urumqi’s Mayor Jerla Isamudin said at a press conference in the city: “Under the correct leadership of the regional party committee and government… the situation is now under control.”

AT THE SCENE: 8 JULY Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Urumqi Here in Urumqi’s Uighur Muslim neighbourhood, just on the edge, many hundreds of paramilitary police are on the move. They are seeking to separate this mainly Muslim part of the city from Han Chinese. Riot police are all around with shields, helmets, some are carrying semi-automatic weapons, others have clubs. They are lining up across the streets to separate these two sides. We haven’t seen any violence yet, we did see some Han Chinese running with batons, they were chased down a side street but this is massive deployment of troops on a scale this city hasn’t seen in a very, very long time. It feels like martial law in everything but name.

The city’s Communist party boss, Li Zhi, told the same press conference that the government would execute all those found guilty of killings during the riots.

China carries out more state executions that any other country, and anyone convicted of murder in a riot faces an almost certain death sentence.

The Associated Press news agency quoted Mr Li as saying that many people accused of murder had already been arrested and that most of them were students.

More than 1,400 people are thought to have been arrested over the violence.

Mr Li also appealed for calm.

“Everyone, and particularly the Han people, should show restraint,” he said.

Thousands of security personnel had poured into Urumqi to try to quell the rioting.

Our correspondent says the situation in the city is virtually one of martial law.

Despite the security presence and calls for calm, there were reports of fresh violence on Wednesday.

Reuters news agency said a crowd of about 1,000 Han Chinese had faced off with security forces, with some angry that police were arresting young Han men.

AFP reporters also said they had seen fresh violence, including one attack on a Uighur man by Han Chinese.

They said the man was beaten and kicked by about six people as dozens of Han Chinese yelled encouragement, before police moved in to end the attack.

The Chinese president had been expected to join the G8 talks on Thursday.

Instead he flew home from an airport in Pisa, leaving officials to represent him at the summit. A state visit to Portugal was postponed.

Exile’s denial

The violence began on Sunday when Uighurs rallied to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province.

XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese 26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two dead 5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead and more than 1,000 hurt 7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of men-folk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march 8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis

Officials say 156 people – mostly Han Chinese – died in Sunday’s violence. Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs.

There were further protests on Tuesday when Uighur women rallied against the arrest of family members.

Groups of Han Chinese armed with clubs then rampaged through the streets in a counter-protest that police broke up with tear gas.

China’s authorities have repeatedly claimed that exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer is stirring up trouble in the region. But she told the BBC she was not responsible for any of the violence.

Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han Chinese migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated.

Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.

Some Uighurs support the notion of an independent state and there have been a number of bombings and some attacks on security forces.

Chinese authorities say the Xinjiang separatists are terrorists with links to al-Qaeda and receive support from outside the country.

Campaigners accuse China of exaggerating the threat to justify tough security clampdowns in the region.

Are you in Xinjiang? What is the atmosphere like in the area? If you are in Xinjiang, let us know about your experiences

US markets wary over rescue deal

The markets remain nervous

US shares have fallen sharply with investors cautious over whether the House of Representatives will back the revised bank rescue plan.

The House is due to discuss the scheme later, with a vote expected on Friday. The bill successfully passed through the US Senate on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index was down 263 points or 2.4% at 10,571, a slide dragging European shares lower.

The falls came as France said it would host a summit on the financial crisis.

The UK’s FTSE 100 closed was down 1.8% to 4,870.3 points while Germany’s Dax index shed 2.5% and France’s Cac 40 lost 2.3%.

Sentiment was further hit by glum economic data – showing that the number of people filing for new unemployment benefit claims rose to a seven-year high, while factory orders had seen a steeper-than-expected drop in August.

European talks

The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the special meeting on Saturday would discuss a co-ordinated response to the financial turmoil amongst European members of the G8 ahead of a meeting of world finance leaders in Washington next week.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is due to attend, together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

Investors are still concerned about the efficiency of this rescue plan and how it can help the global economy Aric Au, Phillip Securities

But with just two days to go before the talks start, EU members are deeply divided, correspondent said.

France and Holland favor a European response to help banks hit by the credit crisis while Germany and Luxembourg believe a joint rescue plan is not necessary.

European leaders have denied speculation that they wanted to establish a unified 300bn euro ($418.4bn; £236bn) banking rescue deal along the same lines as the US plan.

The rescue idea was said to be being proposed by France, but Mr Sarkozy insisted that there were no such plans.

“I deny both the amount and the principle [of such a plan],” he said.

‘Essential’

In the US, a number of changes had to be made to the $700bn (£380bn) bail-out plan in order to help win approval in the Senate.

These include raising the government’s guarantee on savings from $100,000 to $250,000, tax breaks to help small businesses, expansion of child tax credit, and help for victims of recent hurricanes.

President George W Bush said that the package was “essential to the financial security of every American”.

However, economists said doubts remained about how effective the package would be.

“Investors are still concerned about the efficiency of this rescue plan and how it can help the global economy,” said Aric Au of Phillip Securities in Hong Kong.

McCain and Obama

US presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama, who both returned from the campaign trail for last night’s Senate debate, voted in favor of the rescue plan.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said he was happy with the result and praised both presidential candidates for voting.

“I think it shows that when we work together we can accomplish good things,” he said.

Mitch McConnell, leader of Republican senators, was also in jubilant mood.

“This was a measure that was much needed, to unfreeze the credit markets and get America’s economy working again,” he said.

Aids conference ends with warning

More than 30 million people around the world are infected with HIV

An international Aids conference has ended with a warning that commitments made by wealthy countries to fund access to HIV treatment may not be met.

The charity Oxfam said there had been an air of complacency from government and UN officials at the Mexico meeting.

In 2005, the G8 industrialised nations set a goal of providing HIV treatment to all who needed it by 2010.

But with less than two years to go, the G8 leaders have committed little more than a third of the promised resources.

Michel Kazatchkine, the head of the Global Fund to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, said that although lives were being saved on an unprecedented scale, he was deeply concerned at the lack of funds.

Three priorities

“We should be deeply concerned that with less than two years to go before our deadline for universal access, the G8 has committed little more than a third of the resources that it has promised to deliver by 2010,” said Mr Kazatchkine at the close of the six-day conference.

What we have is the sense of real slippage Robert Fox Oxfam Aids: The challenges ahead

Millions of lives were at stake, said Robert Fox, the leader of Oxfam International’s delegation in Mexico City.

“What we have is the sense of real slippage, that well you know it may not be 2010 and it probably will be 2015, as if that doesn’t matter,” he said.

Twenty-four thousand people attended the conference, and the organisers said the voices of those who bore the brunt of the HIV-pandemic had been loud and clear.

Mr Kazatchkine highlighted three priorities to take the battle against Aids forward:

• Defeating the discrimination against those with Aids virus flourished

• Focussing research on more coordinated research

• Strengthening health systems in developing nations

The Mexico City conference was the 17th of its kind since acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids) emerged in 1981.

The next conference will be held in Vienna in 2010.

Clinton wants Aids funding boost

Former US President Bill Clinton has called for an increase in funding to keep down the cost of drugs for people with HIV.

Courtesy BBC

Mr Clinton told a world Aids conference in Mexico that a 50% rise was needed in the next two years just to keep pace with expanding drug programme.

Figures released ahead of the meeting show the number of people with HIV worldwide has decreased slightly.

However, infection rates are still rising in some countries.

Across the world 33 million people are affected by the syndrome.

“Aids is a very big dragon. The mythological dragon was slain by Saint George, the original knight in shining armour, but this dragon must be slain by millions and millions of foot soldiers,” Mr Clinton told the conference.

A crowd of demonstrators holding banners calling for housing for people with HIV walked in front of the podium during his speech.

Mr Clinton used the moment to talk about how rising oil, food prices and the mortgage crisis had made the lives of people with HIV even more difficult.

There was “no silver bullet” to rid the world of the disease, he said.

“We know there is so much yet to be done: to expand prevention, treatment and care, to strengthen undeveloped health systems,” he added.

Universal access

The six-day conference was preceded by an awareness march, a photo exhibition and other events.

About 20,000 scientists, government officials and campaigners are in Mexico City for the event.

Funding, access to treatment, improving prevention against HIV and social issues such as stigma and violence against women are all on the agenda.

However delegates are not expecting any breakthrough announcement concerning new drugs or the search for a preventative vaccine.

The UN General Assembly and the Group of Eight (G8) have set the goal of achieving universal access to treatment and therapy by 2010.

Since Aids first became widely known, a quarter of a century ago, 25 million people have died.

In one positive development, US President George W Bush recently won backing to triple US spending on combating the syndrome.

But in some countries like Russia and China, and even Germany and the UK, the rates of infection are rising, the BBC’s Duncan Kennedy reports from Mexico City.

In the US, better detection methods have just shown the figures there have been underestimated by about 30%.

And in Africa, home to 70% of cases, access to the right drugs is improving but there are not enough health care workers to administer them.

There are concerns too about the human rights of sufferers who are often too scared to seek treatment.