By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
Sat Jul 12, 2:25 PM ET
COMBAT OUTPOST RADWANIYAH, Iraq - In the rural outskirts of Baghdad, where the war seems distant in Iraq's new period of relative calm, a prominent Sunni tribal chief makes no bones about what is lacking in the drive to turn security improvements into lasting economic and political reform.
"Up to now we have seen nothing from the government," Sheik Ayad al-Jabouri, wearing traditional headdress and robe, said with more than a hint of disdain for the Shiite-dominated leadership in the capital.
The central government has made limited strides in recent months. But its ability to show ordinary Iraqis — regardless of sect or ethnicity — that it can make political accommodations and act in their common behalf is in doubt. Creating that opportunity for normalcy was the main strategic aim behind the additional U.S. forces that President Bush sent to Iraq in 2007 as violence was peaking.
The last of the five Army brigades as part of that increase is departing Iraq this month. Most indications are that the momentum the troops created toward sustainable security is growing, though not yet without risk of faltering.
At this outpost southwest of the capital, al-Jabouri met on Friday with Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the top American commander for the Baghdad area. Hammond sees the current lull in fighting as an opportunity to press for more progress on the economic front. In the case of the Radwaniyah area, that means getting the Baghdad government to approve money for key water projects.
"We'll fix it," Hammond told the sheik, after hearing his complaints that the government is sitting on well-conceived U.S.-led projects to repair four water treatment plants and improve two irrigation canals.
Before al-Jabouri arrived, Hammond told a group of officers from the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, who operate from this small, remote outpost, that they cannot afford to relax and think they have won the war. It is time to press even harder, he said, to get Iraqis back to work and on a path of reconciliation.
"We're in a race," Hammond said.
Highlighting an issue that poses risk for sustaining the recent security gains, al-Jabouri complained bitterly to Hammond about Baghdad's refusal to permit Sunni volunteers — called the "Sons of Iraq" by the Americans — to join either the Iraqi army or police. There are about 1,300 in this area; they are paid under American contracts to temporarily provide security in their neighborhoods.
Across Iraq, these mostly Sunni volunteers number just over 100,000, according to the U.S. military.
Al-Jabouri told Hammond in great detail about his personal interventions in Baghdad to break the logjam.
"I wanted to show how frustrated we are," he told the general, speaking through a U.S. military interpreter.
The sheik railed against the government, saying "some are executing Iranian orders." But he also allowed as how members of his Sunni sect are not blameless. By refusing to participate in past elections, the Sunnis allowed the creation of an "unbalanced government," he said. "(Key) government offices are occupied by one side," he added, referring to the Shiites' dominant position in Baghdad.
The Bush administration hopes that problem will be corrected, at least partially, with provincial elections, which are expected in October or November, to be followed by parliamentary elections in 2009.
Hammond regards al-Jabouri as an important figure, willing to push Baghdad in ways that the general hopes will produce breakthroughs not only for political reconciliation but also economic revival.
It was clear from their meeting Friday that the sheik has high regard for the general. After their session, they walked to the gravely apron of a helicopter landing zone and presided over the slaughter of two goats and two sheep. The animals shrieked as a young Iraqi lifted one from the back of a pickup, threw it to the ground, pressed his foot into its neck and cut off the head with a knife.
The other three met the same fate.
It was a traditional gesture of acceptance of Hammond as a brother of the tribe.
Afterward, Hammond flew by helicopter to a small U.S. outpost in the Dora area of southern Baghdad to meet with Dr. Moyad M. Hamed, a cardiologist and businessman who is investing in U.S.-proposed projects aimed at revitalizing the area. He told Hammond that he thinks the latest Iraqi-led offensive in the Sadr City section of the capital virtually has eliminated the Shiite extremists who had held sway there.
But he also cautioned that maintaining those security gains will take more than firepower.
"It takes good government and good jobs," Hamed said, to keep newly peaceful Iraqis from turning back to extremism.
___
On the Net:
Multi-National Force-Iraq: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
رحلتي بكل حروف الهجاء
أ :
ابدي منين يادنيه وانتي اعْرف بأمري
He Monia Laden and Arafat ordered Ante
ب :
بديت بحلم اعيشن بيه مثل كل واحد بعمري
Dayton Biya like living a dream every one of Imran
ت :
تحمّلت الألم الوان شلته وانه من صغري
Bore the colors of pain entourage and that of micro
ث :
ثگله من الألم ظليت أحفُر يازِمن گبري
ثگله pain silhouette drilling supplies گبري
ج:
جرعت المُر انه بدنياي وظل ينزف قلم حبري
Murr doses that Sydney has been bleeding Registry Habri
ح :
حته الماي سم زعاف جرعته من كثر قهري
Mai-cm piece Zaaav doses of the many compelling
خ :
خطلي القدر ممشايه ومشيت وعبرتي بصدري
Mmchaih equally wrong, walked and cross-Sadr
د:
دنيت او همّه بعدوني او همّه الشتتوا فكري
Sydney or discouraging enemy or discouraging intellectual dispersal
ذ:
ذريت ايامك او لاريد اسمع سيرتك تطري
Atomic day or want to hear your instinctive
ر :
رماني دهري يادنيه وشنهو غايته مدري
Kermani atheist Laden and waging than generating
ز :
زرعت الطيب برضچ دوم وجِنت انطر أجر صبري
Tayeb برضچ Dom planted and reaped Nitrite wage Sabri
س :
سمعت وشفت مارديت أعاني ودمعتي تسري
I have heard and fail Mardi suffering and intended apply
ش :
شنهو دوه جروح الروح وياهو العلتي يبري
Doh waged wounds spirit and Yahoo have done Liberians
ص :
صبرت وگلت خليني يمكن ينبلج فجري
The patient can گلت cell breaking Fjri
ض :
ضميت الحلم بالروح وكتبته ابوسط كل شعري
Include dream and spirit of each poem written by Abusst
ط :
طويت احزاني بضلوعي يدنيه وانتظر أجري
Belt has been turned involvement of Sydney and had waited
ع :
عذري شنهو ياروحي البريتچ وي گلب مبري
Sorry waged Iarouhi البريتچ Wei گلب conclude
غ :
غدر وانتي تحملتي ألم وحزان وي سهري
Treachery and Ante pregnancy pain and Hazan Wei Mansehra
ف :
فصول العمر مكتوبه وتنطگ چلمتي وسطري
Life chapters written and تنطگ چلمتي and lines
ق :
قدر مكتوب عايشته يدنيه الكل ألم فسري
As far as written coexistence Sydney All Sri pain
ك :
كرهته وما أريد الگاه او لا ريده يمر بفكري
Worldwide Lth What I want or do not want is intellectual
ل :
ليالي انگضت مدري شلون وبعدني بسجني وبأسري
S انگضت generating failed, Aden prison and prisoners
م :
مدري شنهو صوچي وياك واريد اعرف شنو وزري
Samudra waged صوچي Weyak I Know What and buttons
ن :
ناطر حل من ربي يبيع الروح وما أشري
Nater solution of the Lord sells spirit and urticaria
ه :
هم غربه وألم واحزان وينه اليشد من أزري
Strangeness and they pain and grief and soft encouragement Zureik
و :
وينه اليسمع آهاتي ويلململي عمر مذري
The soft Alisema Manhattan, Ilmlumbly Omar Caster
ي :
يدنيه رحلتي هاذي ألم باقي وعمر يجري
Sydney trip straighten the rest of pain and Omar are
Israeli military denies air force trains in Iraq
11 Jul 2008 16:34:04 GMT
Source: Reuters
JERUSALEM, July 11 (Reuters) - Media reports about Israeli warplanes secretly training in U.S.-controlled Iraq for possible attacks on neighbouring Iran are false, an Israeli military spokesman said on Friday.
Issuing an official denial, the spokesman said: "Reports about putative Israeli air force activities in Iraq are utterly baseless."
Source: Reuters
JERUSALEM, July 11 (Reuters) - Media reports about Israeli warplanes secretly training in U.S.-controlled Iraq for possible attacks on neighbouring Iran are false, an Israeli military spokesman said on Friday.
Issuing an official denial, the spokesman said: "Reports about putative Israeli air force activities in Iraq are utterly baseless."
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Iran tests missiles, heightening tension with West
09 Jul 2008 17:41:35 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Iran tests missiles said able to hit Israel, US bases
* US official says diplomacy not exhausted on Iran
* Iran says holding night missile manoeuvres
* Obama urges tougher sanctions, McCain backs missile shield
By Zahra Hosseinian and Alistair Lyon
TEHRAN, July 9 (Reuters) - Iran test-fired nine missiles on Wednesday and warned the United States and Israel it was ready to retaliate for any attack over its disputed nuclear projects.
Washington, which says Iran seeks atomic bombs, told Tehran to halt further tests. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is only for electricity.
Iran later announced night-time missile manoeuvres, and its missile tests rattled oil markets, helping crude prices to rebound about $2 a barrel after recent falls.
Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran has mounted since a big Israeli air drill last month. U.S. leaders have not ruled out military options if diplomacy fails to end the nuclear row.
Revolutionary Guards air force commander Hossein Salami said in televised comments that thousands of missiles were ready to be fired at "pre-determined targets." Missiles were shown soaring from desert launchpads, leaving long vapour trails.
"We warn the enemies who intend to threaten us with military exercises and empty psychological operations that our hand will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch," he said, according to ISNA news agency.
"Another night missile manoeuvre is taking place right now," Salami told state television later. He did not elaborate.
The White House told Iran to "refrain from further missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world."
But the United States gave no hint to leaders of a Group of Eight rich nations meeting in Japan this week that it planned to attack Iran, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, asked if the United States was any closer to confrontation with Iran, told reporters: "No, I don't think so."
Another senior U.S. official said the Bush administration had not exhausted the use of diplomacy to try to convince Iran to rein in its nuclear programme.
"We view force as an option that is on the table but a last resort," U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns, said.
Burns also told a Congressional panel that Iran had made only "modest" progress in its nuclear programme because of U.N. sanctions, while warning Tehran that it would pay dearly if it pursued its current course.
"It is apparent that Iran has not yet perfected enrichment (of uranium), and as a direct result of U.N. sanctions, Iran's ability to procure technology or items of significance to its missile programs ... is being impaired," he said.
MISSILE SHIELD
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested the tests justified U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield with bases in eastern Europe, which Russia firmly opposes.
"Those who say that there is no Iranian threat against which to be building missile defences perhaps ought to talk to the Iranians about ... the range of the missiles that they test fired," Rice said in Bulgaria.
France, Germany and Italy joined criticism of Iran.
"These are very dangerous missiles -- that's why the international community and not just Israel has an interest in blocking this escalation in a definitive way," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
France said the tests heightened international concerns, while Germany voiced regret that Iran had responded to an offer of incentives by world powers with a "gesture of ill will."
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called Iran a "great threat" and called for cooperation with allies to tighten pressure on Tehran. His Republican opponent John McCain voiced support for the missile shield to counter Iran.
Iran's State Press TV said the "highly advanced" missiles tested by the Guards included a "new" Shahab 3 missile, which officials have said could reach targets 2,000 km (1,250 miles) away. Iran has said Israel and U.S. bases are in its range.
Some U.S. facilities across the Gulf are little more than 200 km from Iran's coast. The United States has air and naval bases in nearby Arab states, including Qatar and Bahrain.
Iran has said U.S. forces are vulnerable because of their presence in two neighbouring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
"Israel does not threaten Iran, but the Iranian nuclear programme, combined with their aggressive ballistic missile programme, is a matter of grave concern," Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said after the tests.
World powers have offered Iran incentives if it suspends uranium enrichment, a demand rejected by Tehran.
Commenting on Iran's response last week to that offer, Burns told the Congressional panel: "Iran is interested in trying to find common ground ... We will see if the Iranians are serious."
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for about 40 percent of globally traded oil, if it is attacked. The U.S. military says it will prevent any such action.
The war of words heightens risks that a misunderstanding or a minor clash in the Gulf, for instance, could get out of hand.
Analysts say Iran's military technology often involves improving weaponry originating in China and North Korea.
"They are some way away yet from threatening Israel or U.S. bases," said London-based independent analyst Paul Beaver, noting that guidance systems over longer ranges needed work. (For the latest Global News blog on Iran click on: http://blogs.reuters.com/global/2008/07/09/irans-military- warnings-what-does-history-tell-us/) (Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb and Fredrik Dahl in Tehran, Paolo Biondi in Toyako, Japan, Sue Pleming and Susan Cornwall in Washington and bureaux in Jerusalem, Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Source: Reuters
* Iran tests missiles said able to hit Israel, US bases
* US official says diplomacy not exhausted on Iran
* Iran says holding night missile manoeuvres
* Obama urges tougher sanctions, McCain backs missile shield
By Zahra Hosseinian and Alistair Lyon
TEHRAN, July 9 (Reuters) - Iran test-fired nine missiles on Wednesday and warned the United States and Israel it was ready to retaliate for any attack over its disputed nuclear projects.
Washington, which says Iran seeks atomic bombs, told Tehran to halt further tests. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is only for electricity.
Iran later announced night-time missile manoeuvres, and its missile tests rattled oil markets, helping crude prices to rebound about $2 a barrel after recent falls.
Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran has mounted since a big Israeli air drill last month. U.S. leaders have not ruled out military options if diplomacy fails to end the nuclear row.
Revolutionary Guards air force commander Hossein Salami said in televised comments that thousands of missiles were ready to be fired at "pre-determined targets." Missiles were shown soaring from desert launchpads, leaving long vapour trails.
"We warn the enemies who intend to threaten us with military exercises and empty psychological operations that our hand will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch," he said, according to ISNA news agency.
"Another night missile manoeuvre is taking place right now," Salami told state television later. He did not elaborate.
The White House told Iran to "refrain from further missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world."
But the United States gave no hint to leaders of a Group of Eight rich nations meeting in Japan this week that it planned to attack Iran, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, asked if the United States was any closer to confrontation with Iran, told reporters: "No, I don't think so."
Another senior U.S. official said the Bush administration had not exhausted the use of diplomacy to try to convince Iran to rein in its nuclear programme.
"We view force as an option that is on the table but a last resort," U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns, said.
Burns also told a Congressional panel that Iran had made only "modest" progress in its nuclear programme because of U.N. sanctions, while warning Tehran that it would pay dearly if it pursued its current course.
"It is apparent that Iran has not yet perfected enrichment (of uranium), and as a direct result of U.N. sanctions, Iran's ability to procure technology or items of significance to its missile programs ... is being impaired," he said.
MISSILE SHIELD
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested the tests justified U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield with bases in eastern Europe, which Russia firmly opposes.
"Those who say that there is no Iranian threat against which to be building missile defences perhaps ought to talk to the Iranians about ... the range of the missiles that they test fired," Rice said in Bulgaria.
France, Germany and Italy joined criticism of Iran.
"These are very dangerous missiles -- that's why the international community and not just Israel has an interest in blocking this escalation in a definitive way," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
France said the tests heightened international concerns, while Germany voiced regret that Iran had responded to an offer of incentives by world powers with a "gesture of ill will."
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called Iran a "great threat" and called for cooperation with allies to tighten pressure on Tehran. His Republican opponent John McCain voiced support for the missile shield to counter Iran.
Iran's State Press TV said the "highly advanced" missiles tested by the Guards included a "new" Shahab 3 missile, which officials have said could reach targets 2,000 km (1,250 miles) away. Iran has said Israel and U.S. bases are in its range.
Some U.S. facilities across the Gulf are little more than 200 km from Iran's coast. The United States has air and naval bases in nearby Arab states, including Qatar and Bahrain.
Iran has said U.S. forces are vulnerable because of their presence in two neighbouring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
"Israel does not threaten Iran, but the Iranian nuclear programme, combined with their aggressive ballistic missile programme, is a matter of grave concern," Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said after the tests.
World powers have offered Iran incentives if it suspends uranium enrichment, a demand rejected by Tehran.
Commenting on Iran's response last week to that offer, Burns told the Congressional panel: "Iran is interested in trying to find common ground ... We will see if the Iranians are serious."
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for about 40 percent of globally traded oil, if it is attacked. The U.S. military says it will prevent any such action.
The war of words heightens risks that a misunderstanding or a minor clash in the Gulf, for instance, could get out of hand.
Analysts say Iran's military technology often involves improving weaponry originating in China and North Korea.
"They are some way away yet from threatening Israel or U.S. bases," said London-based independent analyst Paul Beaver, noting that guidance systems over longer ranges needed work. (For the latest Global News blog on Iran click on: http://blogs.reuters.com/global/2008/07/09/irans-military- warnings-what-does-history-tell-us/) (Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb and Fredrik Dahl in Tehran, Paolo Biondi in Toyako, Japan, Sue Pleming and Susan Cornwall in Washington and bureaux in Jerusalem, Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
'Honor killing' alleged in Georgia
Pakistani immigrant is accused of strangling daughter who opposed her arranged marriage
By Dahleen Glanton and Antonio Olivo | Chicago Tribune correspondents
2:29 AM CDT, July 8, 2008
JONESBORO, Ga. — Twenty-five-year-old Sandeela Kanwal was not happy with the marriage her father had arranged for her. So after the ceremony was performed in Pakistan three months ago, she went to Georgia and her husband went to Chicago.
Early Sunday, after a heated argument with her father, police in Clayton County near Atlanta said, the Pakistani immigrant allegedly took a bungee cord, wrapped it around his daughter's neck and killed her.
Shortly after police arrived, officials said, Chaudhry Rashid, 54, had a seizure and was taken to the hospital. Hours later, he was released, transferred to jail and charged with murder.
The problem of "honor killings" and other domestic violence after failed arranged marriages is spreading as some culturally rigid Pakistani and Indian immigrants settle in different parts of the country, said Najma Adam, a sociology professor at Governors State University in suburban Chicago who co-wrote a 2007 study on the issue.
Such cultural unions serve as social contracts among South Asians and other communities, where a marriage agreement is more about families joining forces than about two people finding love—akin to the arranged marriages of European royalty, she said.
When the marriage breaks down, both families are dishonored—especially the bride's, she said.
Subsequently, "family members, parents, are the ones who end up either taking their life or further abusing them," Adam said.
In arranged marriages, "even if [the husband] is beating her and very abusive toward her, because of the very strong patriarchal underpinnings, she is the one who has committed the crime by leaving him or by wanting out of this relationship," Adam said.
Rashid made his first court appearance Monday, but Chief Magistrate Daphne Walker delayed the case until Tuesday because she said she did not feel comfortable conducting the proceedings without an interpreter for Rashid, who speaks Urdu and very little English.
Rashid was returned to jail and held without bond.
Officer Timothy Owens, a spokesman for the Clayton County Police Department, said Rashid owns a pizza restaurant in the area. The family lives in a two-story house in a middle-class neighborhood in Jonesboro, an Atlanta suburb.
Members of Rashid's family, several of whom were in court Monday, had obtained a lawyer for him. Attorney Tammi Long said the family had written a letter to Rashid in Urdu, saying she would represent him and that they supported him.
In accordance with Pakistani custom, Kanwal had traveled to Pakistan three months ago to marry a Chicago man, also of Pakistani descent. Owens, who said the investigation had been slowed because of the language barrier, said the name of the husband was not immediately known.
Owens said Kanwal returned to Jonesboro after the wedding and had not seen her husband since. The officer said Kanwal lived in her father's house along with other relatives, including Rashid's wife, who is not Kanwal's mother.
Kanwal and her father had not spoken in two months, Owens said, because of their disagreement about ending the marriage, which in Pakistani culture could have disgraced her family.
"There is a stigma in the wife wanting the divorce," said Owens.
Dahleen Glanton reported from Jonesboro and Antonio Olivo from Chicago.
dglanton@tribune.com
aolivo@tribune.com
By Dahleen Glanton and Antonio Olivo | Chicago Tribune correspondents
2:29 AM CDT, July 8, 2008
JONESBORO, Ga. — Twenty-five-year-old Sandeela Kanwal was not happy with the marriage her father had arranged for her. So after the ceremony was performed in Pakistan three months ago, she went to Georgia and her husband went to Chicago.
Early Sunday, after a heated argument with her father, police in Clayton County near Atlanta said, the Pakistani immigrant allegedly took a bungee cord, wrapped it around his daughter's neck and killed her.
Shortly after police arrived, officials said, Chaudhry Rashid, 54, had a seizure and was taken to the hospital. Hours later, he was released, transferred to jail and charged with murder.
The problem of "honor killings" and other domestic violence after failed arranged marriages is spreading as some culturally rigid Pakistani and Indian immigrants settle in different parts of the country, said Najma Adam, a sociology professor at Governors State University in suburban Chicago who co-wrote a 2007 study on the issue.
Such cultural unions serve as social contracts among South Asians and other communities, where a marriage agreement is more about families joining forces than about two people finding love—akin to the arranged marriages of European royalty, she said.
When the marriage breaks down, both families are dishonored—especially the bride's, she said.
Subsequently, "family members, parents, are the ones who end up either taking their life or further abusing them," Adam said.
In arranged marriages, "even if [the husband] is beating her and very abusive toward her, because of the very strong patriarchal underpinnings, she is the one who has committed the crime by leaving him or by wanting out of this relationship," Adam said.
Rashid made his first court appearance Monday, but Chief Magistrate Daphne Walker delayed the case until Tuesday because she said she did not feel comfortable conducting the proceedings without an interpreter for Rashid, who speaks Urdu and very little English.
Rashid was returned to jail and held without bond.
Officer Timothy Owens, a spokesman for the Clayton County Police Department, said Rashid owns a pizza restaurant in the area. The family lives in a two-story house in a middle-class neighborhood in Jonesboro, an Atlanta suburb.
Members of Rashid's family, several of whom were in court Monday, had obtained a lawyer for him. Attorney Tammi Long said the family had written a letter to Rashid in Urdu, saying she would represent him and that they supported him.
In accordance with Pakistani custom, Kanwal had traveled to Pakistan three months ago to marry a Chicago man, also of Pakistani descent. Owens, who said the investigation had been slowed because of the language barrier, said the name of the husband was not immediately known.
Owens said Kanwal returned to Jonesboro after the wedding and had not seen her husband since. The officer said Kanwal lived in her father's house along with other relatives, including Rashid's wife, who is not Kanwal's mother.
Kanwal and her father had not spoken in two months, Owens said, because of their disagreement about ending the marriage, which in Pakistani culture could have disgraced her family.
"There is a stigma in the wife wanting the divorce," said Owens.
Dahleen Glanton reported from Jonesboro and Antonio Olivo from Chicago.
dglanton@tribune.com
aolivo@tribune.com
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Mothers win the right to breastfeed in all public places
By Daniel Martin
Last updated at 8:40 PM on 15th June 2008
Mothers are to get the legal right to breastfeed in any public place.
The Equality Bill will make it an offence to stop any woman from breastfeeding a baby up to the age of six months.
Under current laws, women who breastfeed in places such as restaurants or bars can be charged under public order or indecency legislation.
New laws will make it an offence to stop any woman from breastfeeding a baby up to the age of six months in a public place
Ministers are changing the law in response to concerns that Britain has the lowest breastfeeding rate in Europe.
Three-quarters of women give their newborn baby breast milk but this falls to 25 per cent after six months.
This is despite the wealth of scientific evidence showing that it is far more beneficial for babies than feeding them with formula milk.
Dr Geoff Lawson, a paediatrician at Sunderland Royal Hospital, said: 'Among the benefits are immunity, optimal brain development and optimal growth. Not to mention the social benefits of bonding between mother and baby.
'No one ever says breastfeeding is easy but it is so very, very worthwhile because of a huge number of proven benefits.'
The Department of Health has been running a series of 'Breast is Best' campaigns over the past few years.
Surveys have recorded a slight increase in the number of breastfeeding mothers in that period.
But the effectiveness of the message has been blunted by the fact that many women feel uncomfortable nursing their baby in public.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: 'Final decisions have yet to be made but the Government is keen to give new mothers complete confidence to breastfeed while going about their normal business, for example while on the bus or in a cafe.'
But the bill will not go as far as a law passed in Scotland four years ago, which allows public breastfeeding with no age limit on the child.
Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1026604/Mothers-win-right-breastfeed-public-places.html
Last updated at 8:40 PM on 15th June 2008
Mothers are to get the legal right to breastfeed in any public place.
The Equality Bill will make it an offence to stop any woman from breastfeeding a baby up to the age of six months.
Under current laws, women who breastfeed in places such as restaurants or bars can be charged under public order or indecency legislation.
New laws will make it an offence to stop any woman from breastfeeding a baby up to the age of six months in a public place
Ministers are changing the law in response to concerns that Britain has the lowest breastfeeding rate in Europe.
Three-quarters of women give their newborn baby breast milk but this falls to 25 per cent after six months.
This is despite the wealth of scientific evidence showing that it is far more beneficial for babies than feeding them with formula milk.
Dr Geoff Lawson, a paediatrician at Sunderland Royal Hospital, said: 'Among the benefits are immunity, optimal brain development and optimal growth. Not to mention the social benefits of bonding between mother and baby.
'No one ever says breastfeeding is easy but it is so very, very worthwhile because of a huge number of proven benefits.'
The Department of Health has been running a series of 'Breast is Best' campaigns over the past few years.
Surveys have recorded a slight increase in the number of breastfeeding mothers in that period.
But the effectiveness of the message has been blunted by the fact that many women feel uncomfortable nursing their baby in public.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: 'Final decisions have yet to be made but the Government is keen to give new mothers complete confidence to breastfeed while going about their normal business, for example while on the bus or in a cafe.'
But the bill will not go as far as a law passed in Scotland four years ago, which allows public breastfeeding with no age limit on the child.
Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1026604/Mothers-win-right-breastfeed-public-places.html
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