Six In The Morning

Blackwater Invades Somalia Hoping To Bring The Same Tragedy And Destruction They Gave Iraq

Blackwater founder sets up new force to tackle piracy
'Prince of Mercenaries' who wreaked havoc in Iraq turns up in Somalia
Erik Prince, the American founder of the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide, has cropped up at the centre of a controversial scheme to establish a new mercenary force to crack down on piracy and terrorism in the war-torn East African country of Somalia.

The project, which emerged yesterday when an intelligence report was leaked to media in the United States, requires Mr Prince to help train a private army of 2,000 Somali troops that will be loyal to the country's United Nations-backed government. Several neighbouring states, including the United Arab Emirates, will pay the bills.

Duvalier Calls For Himself To Be Tried For Torture And Corruption

Duvalier in Haiti: 'Baby Doc' calls for reconciliation

He said his surprise return had been prompted by last year's earthquake and his desire to help rebuild the country.

Mr Duvalier also wanted "to express deep sorrow for all those who say they were victims of my government".

He is being sued for torture and other crimes against humanity.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by a former United Nations spokeswoman, Michele Montas, and three Haitians who were jailed during Mr Duvalier's 1971-1986 rule.

Promises Are Not Results

Mohamed Ghannouchi pledges to step down amid fresh protests calling for the departure of all remnants of the old regime.
Tunisia PM vows to quit after polls
In an interviewon Tunisian television on Friday, Ghannouchi said he will leave power after a transition phase that leads to legislative and presidential elections "in the shortest possible timeframe."

After a month of widespread protests ended with the ouster of longtime Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, protesters have continued to demand the departure of all remnants of Ben Ali's old guard.

Victim compensation

Ghannouchi was an ally of Ben Ali and a member of his ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD). Despite resigning his membership in the party, he has been struggling to restore calm under a new multiparty government that the opposition complains retains too many RCD members.

Japan To Stupid And Stubborn To End Its Illegal Whaling

Japan's whaling fleet on the run
IN THE shadows of intent, somewhere between harmless fireworks and deadly force, lies the whaling conflict in the Antarctic.

At one end of this spectrum are the stink bombs thrown against water jets. At the other is the near fatal collision involving the Ady Gil.

Among all this piratical colour and movement, decisive moments of a decades-long struggle can pass little noticed.
Such was the case last week when a bizarre fleet manoeuvre formed in the Southern Ocean.

Three black ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society took up positions around a red fuel tanker and escorted it out of the Antarctic. Skulking in their wakes were two of the three harpoon-equipped whale hunter ships in the Japanese fleet.

Cheese In High Places
Francois Driard wanted to live in the Himalayas, and figured traditional French cheese making would be right at home.
French cheese maker finds a niche in Nepal
Reporting from Chandeshwori, Nepal —
Francois Driard enters a cave dug into the steep Himalayan hillside, scares off a mouse and, in a twice-weekly ritual, wipes mold from several plate-sized wheels of cheese sitting on crude shelves against the wall.

Voila! High-end French cheese has reached a new level, literally, with Driard's farm an hour from Katmandu, where the 32-year-old has become what he believes is the only French cheese maker in the Himalayas.

Xenophobia Lives On Through Arizona's Attorney General
Attorney general attacks anti-white 'brainwashing', but critics say he is pandering to xenophobic sentiment
Tucson teachers fight to overturn ban on Mexican American classes
Arizona is a state riddled with anti-government white militias, radio stations pumping out racist hate speech and politicians who wave guns as they denounce the oppressive rule of Washington. But Arizona's attorney general apparently believes the real threat to the stability of the US government is being fomented in a handful of high schools in a liberal corner of the desert state.

Tom Horne has declared classes in Mexican-American history and social studies in the city of Tucson illegal on the grounds that they are "propagandising and brainwashing" students into overthrowing the constitutional government and hating white people.