Political Appointments System in Hong Kong of HK$220,000 per month (US$28,000) is more than the salary of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and also more than Alan Greenspan earned as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve. A political assistant would earn more than what Tony Snow earned (US$ 14,000 per month) as the former White House Press Secretary. Political observer Michael Chugani said there was no "single credible reason why these novice politicians are being paid more than heads of state of some countries." Lau Ngai-keung was sceptical that political appointments would help to foster local political talent, noting that such appointees may earn
Lists of former Guantanamo Bay detainees alleged to have returned to terrorism spokesmen claimed in January 2009 that at least 61 former captives had returned to the fight. But they did not publish any of the men's names. On February 3, 2009, the government of Saudi Arabia published a list of 85 most wanted suspected terrorists that included two former Guantanamo captives who had appeared in an alarming video, and nine other former captives. On February 18, 2009, the "BBC News" reported that UK officials had told them that an Afghan former captive repatriated in the Spring of 2008 had risen to a high-ranking position in the Taliban, in Pakistan, following his