Six In The Morning

Obama appalled by tornado damage in Alabama

By Stephanie McCrummen, Perry Bacon Jr. and Michael E. Ruane, Updated: Saturday, April 30

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — President Obama joined thousands of storm victims across the tornado-ravaged South on Friday in making his way past splintered
houses along devastated streets, and he promised federal aid to help communities rebuild.

In the first major test of his administration in responding to a natural disaster, the president and his wife, Michelle, toured a ruined section of this city, where 39 people were killed and hundreds remained unaccounted for. They spoke with residents trying to salvage belongings in the aftermath of the week’s twisters.

“I’ve never seen devastation like this,” the president said. “We’re going to make sure you’re not forgotten.”

　Gaddafi offers ceasefire, but says he will not leave

By Lin Noueihed, Reuters Saturday, 30 April 2011

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said today that he was ready for a ceasefire and negotiations provided NATO "stop its planes", but he refused to give up power as rebels and Western powers demand.

Weeks of Western air strikes have failed to dislodge the Libyan leader, but have instead imposed a stalemate on a war Gaddafi looked to have been winning with government forces held at bay in the east and around the besieged city of Misrata, while fighting for control of the western mountains.

Taliban declares 'spring offensive'
Afghan fighters announce a fresh assault targeting foreign troops as well as local security forces and top officials.
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2011
The Taliban has announced the launch of a spring offensive against foreign troops in Afghanistan as well as Afghan security forces and government officials.

Saturday's declaration comes a day after high-ranking US military officers predicted such a move from the group.

Dubbed the "Badar" offensive, the fresh onslaught "will target foreign forces, high-ranking officials of President Hamid Karzai's government, members of the cabinet and lawmakers, as well as the heads of foreign and local companies working for the NATO-led coalition," the Taliban said in a statement.

The statement warned Afghan citizens to stay away from public locations that could be targeted as part of Badar, "so that they will not become harmed during attacks of Mujahideen against the enemy"

Battle Pits Cocoa Speculators against Chocolate Makers
The Bittersweet Wars
By Hauke Goos and Ralf Hoppe
.Hasso Nauck lives in a world of things that look and smell beautiful. He collects antique cars and plays golf, and his workplace is filled with the scents of chocolate. As he sees it, it's the best chocolate in the world -- because he makes it. Pralines, cocoa truffles and chocolate-covered "ginger tips" are only three of the 110 items in the product line of Hachez. The traditional chocolate maker calls its product "chocolade," a mix of the French and the German words for chocolate.

Nauck has been at the helm of Hachez, based in the northern city-state of Bremen, for the last 20 years. Although the chocolate business has always been relatively straightforward, this last year has seen some strange things happening.

Great tales of grit and wit, as told by America's man on the street'

Nick Miller April 30, 2011
T-Berry is sweating above his bright red bow tie as he launches into the story of the Pool Shootin' Monkey.

Using broad gestures, exaggerated facial expressions, high-pitched character voices, beats and rhymes, the Harlem-born 62-year-old spins an obscene yarn of animals arguing, fighting and screwing in a pool hall, his eyes fixed on the crowd, offending some, delighting others.

It's like Brer Rabbit meets Lenny Bruce, drawing on an African-American tradition that goes back through freestyle rap to jazz and all the way back to the plantations and slave ships of his ancestors.

Uganda riots reach capital as anger against Museveni grows

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Apr 30 2011
At least two people were killed and more than 100 wounded in Kampala after soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas and beat demonstrators with sticks. Civilians fought back by blocking roads with burning tyres and pelting vehicles with rocks.

The growing unrest, sparked by rising food and fuel prices, gained fresh impetus after the brutal arrest on Thursday of top opposition leader Kizza Besigye. But President Yoweri Museveni, in firm control for a quarter of a century, has met the challenge with an aggressive show of force.

Foo Fighters Go To The Garage

The band played a concert at an automotive garage last Wednesday. It reminds me of the time I saw Sonic Youth play at a small record store for about 20 people.

Nobody believed Jessica Matheson when she posted to her Facebook status Wednesday night that she spent the afternoon hanging out in her garage with lead singer Dave Grohl and the rest of the alternative rock band, the Foo Fighters.

But when she posted a picture with her arms around Grohl's waist and his arm around her shoulder, there was no dispute: The Foo Fighters had been in Port Orchard, playing for Matheson and 50 of her closest friends and family.

After the hour-and-a-half performance, the band freshened up and came back to the garage to sign autographs, take photos and talk with everyone in attendance. Matheson guessed they stayed for another hour after playing before heading to Seattle.

Six In The Morning

Searchers comb twister debris for victims; death toll nears 300
'Neighborhoods ... basically removed from the map,' Tuscaloosa mayor says
NBC, msnbc.com and news services
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Survivors and rescuers combed through destroyed towns and neighborhoods on Thursday, looking for belongings and victims after dozens of tornadoes ripped through the South overnight.
The death toll continued to climb in Alabama, and at least 298 people in six states perished in the deadliest outbreak in nearly 40 years.

People in hard-hit Alabama, where at least 210 deaths occurred, walked through flattened, debris-strewn neighborhoods and told of pulling bodies from rubble after the storms passed.
"We have neighborhoods that have been basically removed from the map," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said after surveying his city.

Robert Fisk: Out of Syria's darkness come tales of terror
Witnesses who fled across the Lebanon border tell our writer what they saw
Friday, 29 April 2011
In Damascus, the posters – in their tens of thousands around the streets – read: "Anxious or calm, you must obey the law." But pictures of President Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez have been taken down, by the security police no less, in case they inflame Syrians.

There are thieves with steel-tipped rubber coshes on the Damascus airport road at night, and in the terminal the cops ask arriving passengers to declare iPods and laptops. In the village of Hala outside Deraa, Muslim inhabitants told their Christian neighbours to join the demonstrations against the regime – or leave.

Tunisia angered by border clashes

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Friday, April 29, 2011
Libya's two-month civil war spilled over the border into Tunisia last night, provoking outrage in the western neighbour.

Fighting between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy and rebels trying to end his of rule spilled over Libya's land frontier yesterday, when Gadafy troops battled rebels on Tunisian territory for control of the Dehiba-Wazin frontier crossing.

The incursion was brief and limited, and Gadafy's troops even apologised locally. But the response was nevertheless furious from Tunisia, where the Arab world's wave of uprisings began late last year, leading to the overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January.

Palestinian deal rings alarm bells in Israel

Ethan Bronner and Isabel Kershner Jerusalem
April 29, 2011
THE two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, say they are putting aside years of bitter rivalry to create an interim unity government and hold elections within a year.

The surprise deal, brokered in secret talks by the caretaker Egyptian government, was announced at a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday where the two negotiators referred to each side as brothers and declared a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for independence. That struggle has been hobbled in recent years by the split between the Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Bob's 'Lazarus moment'

JASON MOYO HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Apr 29 2011
The trick was obvious, and it worked; weary Zimbabweans picked up the papers and fantasised it was another name on the page.

Rumours about his health have never been this feverish, murmurs of dissent within the party continue, and the patience of his regional allies wears thin.

Yet it may be some time yet before local papers carry news of Mugabe's fall.

Over the two years that he has been in coalition with Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe has carefully plotted a path towards what one of his top fixers, Jonathan Moyo, has described as Zanu-PF's "Lazarus moment".

South Africa's new Internet cable link could bring economic boom
A new $650 million cable system connecting southern Africa with West Africa and Europe will double the capacity of South Africa's mobile phone and Internet networks.
By Savious Kwinika, Correspondent, Scott Baldauf, Staff writer
Johannesburg, South Africa
When the $650 million West Africa Cable System landed in South Africa last week, it was a major step forward for a region that remains the one of the least-connected in the world.

With one East African sea cable connecting South Africa with high-speed Internet systems in Asia and the Middle East, and now a second sea cable connecting southern Africa with West Africa and Europe, South Africa's capacity of mobile phone networks and Internet networks will double. When the two systems are fully operational, South Africans will be able to send and receive up to 500 gigabytes per second.

Guantanamo Bay Detainee Files

Abd Al Aziz Abduh Abdallah Ali Al Suwaydi
Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Abd Al Aziz Abduh Abdallah Ali Al Suwaydi, US9YM-000578DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks

Name: Abd Al Aziz Abduh Abdallah Ali Al Suwaydi
ISN: US9YM-000578DP
Time in Gitmo: 8 years, 11 months, 23 days
Released?: No
Nationality: Yemen
Date of birth: 06/16/1974
Place of birth: Milhan, Yemen
Release date:
Arrest date:
Arrest location:
Arrested by:
Captured by US date:
Arrived at Guantanamo: 05/03/2002
Memo date: 06/09/2008
Detainee Summary: Detainee is a member of al-Qaida who was identified as an explosives trainer at the al-Qaida operated Tarnak Farm Training Camp. He received basic training, as well as advanced and specialized explosives training in Afghanistan. Detainee served in Usama Bin Laden?s (UBL) 55th Arab Brigade at the Said Center on the CLASSIFIED(S) front lines in Afghanistan (AF).1 After he fled Afghanistan, detainee was captured at a safe house operated by a senior al-Qaida facilitator, where detainee forged travel documents while attempting to return to Yemen. [ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DETAINEE IS AVAILABLE IN AN SCI SUPPLEMENT]
Health: Detainee is in overall fair health.
Threat to US: HIGH
Intelligence value: HIGH
Detention risk: LOW
Recommendation: Continued detention under DoD control

Abd Al Nasir Ibn Muhammad Khantumani
Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Abd Al Nasir Ibn Muhammad Khantumani, US9SY-000307DP

Name: Abd Al Nasir Ibn Muhammad Khantumani
ISN: US9SY-000307DP
Time in Gitmo:
Released?: Yes
Nationality: Syria
Date of birth: 01/01/1960
Place of birth: Aleppo, Syria
Release date:
Arrest date:
Arrest location:
Arrested by:
Captured by US date:
Arrived at Guantanamo: 02/11/2002
Memo date: 02/15/2008
Detainee Summary: Detainee is assessed to be a member of both al-Qaida and the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Network in Afghanistan (AF).1 Detainee is assessed to have 1 Analyst Note: Al-Zarqawi was killed by a Coalition air strike in Iraq on 8 June 2006. The al-Zarqawi Network is a National Intelligence Priority Framework (NIPF) Priority 1 counterterrorism (CT) target. Priority 1 targets are defined as issues, opportunities, or threats that rise to, or are expected to rise to, the level of interest of the President, CLASSIFIED(S) participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces in Usama Bin Laden?s (UBL) Tora Bora mountain complex, and was identified as a key figure in a riot leading to the escape of other extremists and the deaths of Pakistani guards. Detainee is assessed to be an explosives expert who received basic and advanced training in Afghanistan at multiple camps including Khaldan, al-Faruq, and possibly al-Ghuraba. Detainee?s DNA was found on a device reputedly used to trigger the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IED) in Iraq. Detainee admitted living in the Abu Muaz al-Suri Guesthouse in Kabul.2 This guesthouse was affiliated with a displaced Syrian terrorist cell and the al-Qaida terrorist network. The guesthouse is also linked to suicide training, and detainee was identified as a suicide operative. Additionally, detainee is associated with Abu Hamza al-Jawfi, an al-Qaida weapons procurer.
Health: Detainee is in good health.
Threat to US: HIGH
Intelligence value: HIGH
Detention risk: LOW
Recommendation: Continued detention under DoD control

Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari
Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari, US9YM-000040DP

Name: Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari
ISN: US9YM-000040DP
Time in Gitmo: 9 years, 3 months, 9 days
Released?: No
Nationality: Yemen
Date of birth: 01/01/1976
Place of birth: Al-Bayda, Yemen
Release date:
Arrest date:
Arrest location:
Arrested by: Pakistani forces
Captured by US date:
Arrived at Guantanamo: 01/16/2002
Memo date: 05/12/2008
Detainee Summary: Detainee is a member of al-Qaida and a former bodyguard for Usama Bin Laden (UBL). Detainee received militant training at the al-Faruq Training Camp and was reported to be a weapons trainer at the Tarnak Farm Training Camp. Detainee is assessed to have participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces and was captured with a group referred to as the Dirty 30, which included UBL bodyguards and a 20th 11 September 2001 hijacker. Detainee and other members of the Dirty 30 attended a religious institute known for extremist recruitment in Yemen, and in Afghanistan. Detainee?s CLASSIFIED(S) travel was possibly facilitated by a well known al-Qaida member.
Health: Detainee is in overall good health.
Threat to US: HIGH
Intelligence value: HIGH
Detention risk: MEDIUM
Recommendation: Continued detention under DoD control

Random Japan

MAKIN’ A BUCK

Police in Tokyo arrested two people for selling a drug called premium zeolite that they claimed “was effective for detoxification, including dealing with contamination from radioactive substances.” Apparently, the pair did not have proper licenses and those claims were unproven.

One good thing to come out of the quake: Japan Tobacco’s distribution bases were damaged, resulting in a “nationwide shortage of cigarettes” with only about 25 percent of the supply available compared to pre-quake levels.

Instead of the regularly scheduled Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, the scandal-plagued sport has decided instead to hold a test meet in Tokyo in May to figure out the rankings for the Nagoya basho in July.

As expected, the number of foreign visitors to Japan plummeted after the big earthquake/tsunami, with about 3,400 foreigners a day entering the country through Narita Airport from March 11-31—down 75 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau.

Kaichiro Saito, a sake brewer from Miyagi whose business has dried up in the wake of March 11, has called on folks to raise a glass or two. “I hope people buy more products from northern Japan rather than restrain themselves,” said Saito, who lost 80 percent of his customers. “That would be the best way to show support.”

Meanwhile, many of the traditional hanami cherry-blossom-viewing parties were scrapped this year with some people just not in the mood to party.

Stats

37.9
Height, in meters, of the tsunami that hit Iwate Prefecture on March 11, according to a University of Tokyo researcher

¥115.4 billion
Total donations received by the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan as of April 2

¥10 billion
Amount donated to the earthquake and tsunami relief fund by Softbank President Masayoshi Son, the largest donation by an individual

3,000
People who lined up to catch the first glimpse of two pandas at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo

28
Total number of Japanese who died in the February 22 6.3-magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to the Japanese

WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Japan rejected a South Korean protest over renewed claims to the disputed Takeshima/Dokdo islets in the Sea of Japan in junior high textbooks to be used in Japan next year. “Can’t accept that argument,” said Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.

South Korea then took the gloves off, revealing plans to build a maritime science facility in the area “as part of efforts to reinforce its control over the resource-rich area around the islets,” the Yonhap News Agency reported.

A small plane from China’s State Oceanic Administration buzzed a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in the East China Sea near Okinawa, coming within 60m of the warship before flying away.

Katsunobu Sakurai

He's Very Influential

Police Stealing

From Police?

Arrested

And Arrested Again

Foreign journalists criticize government's response to crisis

BY TAKASHI OSHIMA STAFF WRITER 2011/04/23
While the Japanese government has been struggling to combat sometimes sensational media coverage of the Fukushima nuclear accident abroad, foreign correspondents covering the story are critical of the Japanese authorities' handling of the disaster.

CNN correspondent Kyung Lah, from the United States, said many in the foreign media had been inspired by the Japanese people's fortitude in the aftermath of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Six In The Morning

Mohammed says he beheaded U.S. reporter despite warnings
Chilling portraits of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind, and other Guantanamo detainees emerge in the latest release of classified material from WikiLeaks.
Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau
Reporting from Washington— A senior Al Qaeda military commander strongly warned Khalid Shaikh Mohammed not to kill Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, cautioning him "it would not be wise to murder Pearl" and that he should "be returned back to one of the previous groups who held him, or freed."

But Mohammed told his U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay that he cut off Pearl's head anyway, according to U.S. military documents posted on the Internet on Monday by WikiLeaks.

Guantánamo Bay files rewrite the story of Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora escape
Several documents claim al-Qaida leader evaded US offensive by heading north, rather than into Pakistan as widely thought
Jason Burke
The Guardian, Tuesday 26 April 2011
Osama bin Laden escaped American and British special forces closing in on his refuge in December 2001 with the help of a minor local warlord who provided fighters to guide him to safety in the north-east of Afghanistan, claims a secret intelligence report compiled by officials at Guantánamo Bay.

The al-Qaida leader's successful flight from Tora Bora has long been seen as one of the key early lapses of the international military effort in Afghanistan. Though various theories have been floated, no firm account of how Bin Laden evaded the coalition forces and their Afghan auxiliaries has yet emerged.

However documents obtained by the Guardian reveal a host of new details about the escape of the world's most wanted man.

UN chief sets conditions for Sri Lanka probe

AP Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that he will only launch an international investigation into allegations of possible war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lanka's civil war two years ago if the government agrees, which is highly unlikely, or member states call for a probe.

A UN statement publicly releasing a report by a UN panel said the secretary-general has been advised that he needs government consent or a decision from member states in an international forum. He didn't specify a forum but it could include the UN Security Council, General Assembly or Human Rights Council.

Syria intensifies crackdown on protests
At least 500 pro-democracy activists arrested, rights group says, after authorities deployed troops to quell protests.
Last Modified: 26 Apr 2011
Syrian security forces have arrested at least 500 pro-democracy activists, a rights group said, as the government continues a violent crackdown on anti-government protests across the country.

The arrests followed the deployment of Syrian troops backed by tanks and heavy armour on the streets of two southern towns, the Syrian rights organisation Sawasiah said on Tuesday.

The group said it had received reports that at least 20 people were killed in the city of Deraa in the aftermath of the raid by troops loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Monday. But communications have been cut in the city, making it difficult to confirm the information.

25 years on: Ukraine remembers Chernobyl
The world on Tuesday marks a quarter of a century since the world's worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. The anniversary has added resonance after the recent Fukushima disaster in Japan.
DISASTERS | 26.04.2011
Ceremonies are taking place Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, amid heightened fears over nuclear safety in the wake of the recent Fukushima accident in Japan.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is visiting the site of the Chernobyl accident on Tuesday to take part in a memorial service, joined by his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, is however not joining the ceremony.

How wrong is Time's most influential people list?
Really wrong. Time has a strange definition of 'influence.'
By Dan Murphy, Staff writer
Time's List of the 100 "most influential people in the world" came out last week. I only noticed it today because I came across a news item about Egyptian Internet activist Wael Ghonim taking a sabbatical from his job at Google to, according to his Twitter account, "start a technology focused NGO to help fight poverty & foster education in Egypt."
Mr. Ghonim was the little known Google marketing executive who, with friends, started the "We are all Khaled Said" Facebook page to commemorate the murder of a middle-class Egyptian man by the police. That site evolved into the online rallying point for the Egyptian revolution. He was arrested in the early days of the Egyptian uprising and upon his release gave an emotional television interview that briefly made him the revolution's media star.

Guantanamo America's Shame Files Leaked

The prison at Guantánamo bay Navel Base has always been controversial since its opening during the George W. Bush administration which used it as a means of denying the prisoners Constitutional Rights which would be afforded them if the trials where held on U.S. territory. Lawyers at the U.S. Justice Department: Jay Baybee and Jon Yu wrote several memos which gave legal clearance to torture prisoners even though it violated U.S. and International Law.

President Obama promised to close the prison even going so far as to issuing an Executive Order yet the prison remains and those still held there will be tried under Military Tribunals created by the Bush administration which many see as a violation of the defendants and as Show Trials.

Click the names to read the original documents

Guantánamo detainee file: Mohammed Sadiq US9AF-000349DP

Guantánamo detainee file: Mukhibullo Abdukarimovich Umarov US9TI-000729DP

The files depict a system often focused less on containing dangerous terrorists or enemy fighters, than on extracting intelligence. Among inmates who proved harmless were an 89-year-old Afghan villager, suffering from senile dementia, and a 14-year-old boy who had been an innocent kidnap victim.

The old man was transported to Cuba to interrogate him about "suspicious phone numbers" found in his compound. The 14-year-old was shipped out merely because of "his possible knowledge of Taliban...local leaders"

The documents also reveal

• US authorities listed the main Pakistani intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), as a terrorist organisation alongside groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence.

Interrogators were told to regard links to any of these as an indication of terrorist or insurgent activity.

• Almost 100 of the inmates who passed through Guantánamo are listed by their captors as having had depressive or psychotic illnesses. Many went on hunger strike or attempted suicide.

Guantánamo Bay files: Children and senile old men among detainees

Sadiq's records state he was detained after suspicious documents allegedly belonging to his son were found in a raid on his house. He was flown to Guantánamo four months later. Interrogators concluded within six weeks of his arrival that Sadiq was "not affiliated with al-Qaida", not a Taliban leader and possessed "no further intelligence value to the United States". He was repatriated to Afghanistan after a further four months.

Another elderly and unsuitable prisoner was found to have senile dementia on arrival at Guantánamo. Haji Faiz Mohammed, then 70, was flown to the base in 2002 after being swept up in a raid by US troops in Afghanistan. "There is no reason on the record for detainee being transferred to Guantánamo Bay detention facility," his assessment says.

Guantánamo Bay files: Anti-extremist author framed and whisked to Cuba

US forces sent an anti-extremist author to Guantánamo Bay after being misled by Pakistani authorities.

Abdul Badr Mannan and his brother were arrested in Pakistan and turned over to US forces. In the belief the two were affiliated with al-Qaida, his detention log states, they were transferred on to the Cuban base.

However, four months after assessing Mannan as a high-risk detainee, US forces came to a very different view, recommending his release. "The detainee was also thought to have some affiliation with the Jama'at Ul Dawa AlQurani (JDQ) group," his file states. "However, it appears the detainee may have been writing a book (detainee and his brother are published authors) concerning Islamic extremism and had merely established contacts to further his research and writing."

Americas Conservatives Love War: When Oil Is Involved

United States Senator Lindsey Graham Republican from the state of South Carolina was advocating for the bombing of Tripoli in an effort to convince Col. Gaddafi's inner circle that his rule was over and that they could be killed at anytime. Never mind the fact that Tripoli is the largest city in Libya and those effected wouldn't just be the ruling elite. How many innocent civilians would be killed in order to achieve what mighty General Disaster Graham wants.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the United States should take a more aggressive approach in Libya to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi, bombing the capital city so members of Gaddafi’s inner circle "wake up every day wondering, ‘will this be my last?’"

Graham defended the United States' involvement in Libya, including the newly-approved use of predator drones in the country. Russia and China have accused the U.S. of overstepping a U.N. mandate against excessive force in Libya, arguing Western allies have made the situation in Libya worse.

“I like coalitions: It's good to have them, it's good to have the U.N. involved. But the goal is to get rid of Gaddafi,” Graham said on CNN’S “State of the Union.”

“A military stalemate is ensuing, and the only way I know to make this thing successful is to put pressure on Tripoli," he said. "So I would not let the U.N. mandate stop what is the right thing to do.”

CNN's Candy Crowley told him that's against the UN mandate

Graham: My recommendation to NATO and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off, go to Tripoli and start bombing Gaddafi's inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in Tripoli the way to get Gaddafi to leave is to have his inner circle break and turn on him and that's going to take a sustained effort through an air campaign.

Crowley: Here's the problem, the UN resolution calls for protecting the Libyan people so it's going top be hard to make that connection, listen we're going after Gaddafi, we're going after his men, that's not within their mandate.

Six In The Morning

Majestic views, ancient culture, money fight
Spectacular Skywalk is center of a legal battle between developer and tribe
By MARC LACEY
GRAND CANYON WEST, Ariz. — Think of a Caribbean glass-bottomed boat hung out over the edge of the Grand Canyon and you have the idea behind the Skywalk, a modern, vertigo-inducing moneymaker that is drawing hundreds of thousands of people annually onto the Hualapai Indians’ reservation to stare down beneath their feet at the distant canyon floor.
That the views are spectacular, no one would dispute. But a fierce legal battle has erupted over whether these are million-dollar views or whether they are considerably more valuable than that.

Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh agrees to step down
Deal to hand power to deputy within 30 days accepted by opposition parties, but with reservations
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 April 2011
Yemen's embattled president has agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

A coalition of seven opposition parties said they also accepted the deal but with reservations. Even if the differences are overcome, those parties do not speak for all of the protesters seeking President Ali Abdullah Saleh's removal, and signs were already emerging that a deal on those terms would not end protests.

Gaddafi clings to Tripoli – but for how long?
A special report from inside the embattled Libyan capital
By Karin Laub and Maggie Michael, AP Sunday, 24 April 2011
Muammar Gaddafi's opponents unfurl a rebel flag from a motorway overpass in the dark and speed away. On the outskirts of the capital, masked protesters denounce the Libyan leader, then quickly disband. The pop of gunfire is heard almost every evening, some of it, according to dissidents, from sneak attacks on army checkpoints.

Furtive resistance is the best those seeking Gaddafi's removal can muster, under the heavy weight of fear in the most important stronghold of his rule. But the fact that such small-scale actions are taking place at all is a sign that activists are still trying to bring the rebellion to the capital, even after Gaddafi's forces gunned down demonstrators two months ago.

Privacy bill draft is tough on leaks

Apr 24, 2011 - Namrata Biji Ahuja | Age Correspondent | New Delhi
Leaks such as the Radia tapes could soon be punishable by law with the government firming up the draft Right to Privacy Bill, 2011, to check misuse of interception of communications and protect “personal information” of citizens.
The bill, for the first time, defines “right to privacy” and includes in it “confidentiality of communication, family life, bank and health records, protection of honour and good name and protection from use of photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples and other samples taken at police stations and other places”.

New fighting claims more lives
CAMBODIA SAYS THAI SIDE DROPPED CHEMICAL WEAPONS; KASIT CALLS FOR TALKS
Published: 24/04/2011 at 12:00 AM
On Saturday, Phnom Penh accused Thailand of using chemical weapons against Cambodian troops in the fighting, which has forced the suspension of border trade and triggered the evacuation of thousands of residents. Firing by both sides had ceased by noon, but Cambodia's defence ministry said at nightfall that the situation was "still tense".

The ministry earlier charged that Thailand had fired 75mm and 105mm shells "loaded with poisonous gas" into Cambodian territory, but did not elaborate.

A Cambodian field commander said separately that Thailand used both cluster shells _ anti-personnel weapons banned by many countries _ and artillery shells that gave off a debilitating gas.

Vienna to honour Austria's Nazi army deserters
The Austrian capital Vienna has announced plans to erect a memorial in honour of soldiers who deserted from Adolf Hitler's army, the Wehrmacht
The BBC
The city council has yet to decide the exact location, but campaigners want it to be put in Heldenplatz (Heroes Square) alongside war memorials.

The square is also where Hitler, born in Austria, addressed crowds in 1938 when Austria was annexed to Germany.

The BBC's Bethany Bell says Austria is gradually confronting its Nazi past.

Two years ago Austria's parliament agreed to rehabilitate soldiers criminalised by the Nazis for deserting from the Wehrmacht.

President Bashar al-Assad Is A Liar

When the anti-government protests began Bashar al-Assad announced that the Syrian government would end its Emergency Law however it was an illusion as Assad will do anything to retain power. After all who wants to be a member of the Little Peoples Brigade?

According to witnesses and activists, most of the deaths occurred in Ezra, near the southern flash-point town of Deraa, and in a suburb of Damascus.

At least 200 people are said to have died since unrest began last month.

In a concession to the protesters, President Bashar al-Assad formally ended five decades of emergency rule.

A spokesman for Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on him to prove his good intentions by allowing Friday's protests to proceed "without violent repression".

Six In The Morning

Obama authorizes Predator drone strikes in Libya

By Greg Jaffe and Edward Cody
President Obama has authorized the use of armed drones in Libya, deepening U.S. involvement in the stalemated conflict and once again putting U.S. assets into a strike role against loyalist ground forces.

The U.S. military began flying armed Predators on Thursday and will continue to maintain at least two of them over Libya at all times, officials said.
At a news conference, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was adamant that the use of the drones was not a prelude to an even deeper U.S. commitment involving more strike aircraft or U.S. ground troops. “I think the president has been firm, for example, on boots on the ground,” he said. “There is no wiggle room in that. . . . This is a very limited capability.”

Earth Day's 41st anniversary celebrated by Google
Earth Day, credited with launching modern environmental movement in US, appears as Google doodle again

If you open Google's homepage you will be greeted by an Eden-like scene of diverse wild animals in their natural habitats.

This Google doodle, built around the search giant's logo, is its latest celebration of Earth Day, started 41 years ago to raise awareness of and appreciation for the natural world.

The interactive scene features two pandas, one of which shocks the other with a sneeze when you place your mouse on it, a nod to this YouTube video.

Brain illness could have affected Stalin's actions, secret diaries reveal
Accounts by his inner circle give new insight into dictator's life
By Shaun Walker in Moscow Friday, 22 April 2011
It's one of the great questions of history, and indeed philosophy: what does it take to create a Hitler or a Stalin? What circumstances does it require to produce such evil? Newly released diaries from one of Joseph Stalin's personal doctors suggest that, in Stalin's case, illness could have helped to contribute to the paranoia and ruthlessness of his rule over the Soviet Union.

Alexander Myasnikov was one of the doctors called to Stalin's deathbed when the dictator fell ill in 1953, and, in diaries that have been kept secret up to now, he claims that Stalin suffered from a brain illness that could have impaired his decision-making.

Japan government announces disaster relief budget
The Japanese government has announced a 4 trillion yen ($48.9bn; £29.6bn) emergency budget for disaster relief, after March's earthquake and tsunami.

The budget still needs approval from parliament later this month, and could be implemented in May.

Authorities say no new bonds were issued to fund the spending, to prevent adding to Japan's huge public debt.

The government estimates it will cost as much as 25tn yen to rebuild the country.

The emergency budget is aimed at disaster relief, including providing temporary housing, restoration of infrastructure and disaster-related loans.

Fighting threatens Côte d'Ivoire's return to normality
Fresh fighting and splits in the coalition that brought Alassane Ouattara to power could derail Côte d'Ivoire's recovery.
ABIDJAN, CôTE D'IVOIRE - Apr 22 2011
Gunfire and explosions returned to Abidjan this week as Ouattara's army takes on two separate militias resisting his control in the country's commercial capital.

Reports of infighting in the port city of San Pedro, a polio outbreak and humanitarian emergency in the west indicate that the West African country's return to normality will be far from smooth.

The violence in Abidjan, the worst since defeated president Laurent Gbagbo was toppled last week, is concentrated in two pockets: the northern suburb of Abobo and the western district of Yopougon.

Israel and North Korea: Missing the real story

By Aidan Foster-Carter
I can only assume March 11 was a slow news day in Israel - though there was plenty going on in the neighborhood. Otherwise, why would that distinguished daily, the Jerusalem Post, deem it worthwhile to devote quite a long article, in its International Section, to the exciting, world-shattering news that Israel now boasts a North Korea friendship group?

The moving spirit is one Shmuel Yerushalmi: originally from Ukraine, now of Beersheba. Many former Soviet Jews who moved to Israel are conservative, but not Shmuel. An avowed Marxist-Leninist, he's quoted as saying that the true dictators of the modern world aren't the likes of Kim Jong-il of North Korea - he also cites Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko - but the leaders of the US and "Western empires". Whatever you say, comrade.

The disappeared of Kashmir

Kashmir's current insurgency began in 1987 after a disputed election when Prime Minister Farooq Abdullah who had been dismissed a year earlier by former Prime Minister Indira Ganhdi as the elections approached Farooq Abdullah announced an alliance with Ganhdi's Congress and was easily reelected in a disputed election many believe was rigged in Farooq Abdullah.

By 1989 the insurgency had became a real threat to the governments of Jammu and Kashmir and of India as viewed through their political lens it was then that the Public Safety Act (PSA) came into force it allows the government to hold those it deems to be active insurgents indefinitely. Since then its believed that somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 people have disappeared those numbers are in dispute as the Indian government has never released the names of those it has detained.

On the evening of May 14, 1996, members of the counter-insurgent Ikhwan group, a pro-government militia made up of former insurgents, now working for the Indian army, knocked on his door and took off with this son, Imtiyaz Ahmed Wani.

Suspected of being an insurgent, a separatist fighting for freedom from the Indian state, Imtiyaz disappeared without trace.

After searching from pillar to post, visiting police stations and army officers, Wani went to the State Human Rights Commission to file a complaint about his missing son. Finding no joy there, he sold a property, took out a loan and paid a seemingly sympathetic counter-insurgent who promised information about his missing son. But the money, like his son, disappeared.

"My son was a gardener at the forest department, earning Rs 2,000 ($45) a month; he did no wrong," Wani finally offers.

In late March 2011, Amnesty International (AI) released a report claiming that the "state of Jammu and Kashmir was holding hundreds of people without charge or trial in order to keep them out of circulation". AI alleges that a contentious Public Safety Act (PSA) allows security forces to detain individuals when the state has insufficient evidence for a trial.

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq

Those opposed to the Iraq always believed that oil and access to it by the major oil companies was the the impedes for the invasion of a country whose military could threaten no one.
Exploiting other countries natural resources by western nations and their corporations is nothing new. Here are a few of the more egregious examples: Iran in August of 1953 through pressure from British Petroleum Kermit Roosevelt working through CIA threw a coup as the then Prime Minister wanted to keep the revenues from Iran's oil in Iran. The CIA came through again in Chile when Salvador Allende wanted to nationalize several American corporations.

Five months before the March 2003 invasion, Baroness Symons, then the Trade Minister, told BP that the Government believed British energy firms should be given a share of Iraq's enormous oil and gas reserves as a reward for Tony Blair's military commitment to US plans for regime change.

The papers show that Lady Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf because the oil giant feared it was being "locked out" of deals that Washington was quietly striking with US, French and Russian governments and their energy firms.

Minutes of a meeting with BP, Shell and BG (formerly British Gas) on 31 October 2002 read: "Baroness Symons agreed that it would be difficult to justify British companies losing out in Iraq in that way if the UK had itself been a conspicuous supporter of the US government throughout the crisis."

The 20-year contracts signed in the wake of the invasion were the largest in the history of the oil industry. They covered half of Iraq's reserves – 60 billion barrels of oil, bought up by companies such as BP and CNPC (China National Petroleum Company), whose joint consortium alone stands to make £403m ($658m) profit per year from the Rumaila field in southern Iraq

U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups, cables released by WikiLeaks show

By Craig Whitlock
The State Department has secretly financed Syrian political opposition groups and related projects, including a satellite TV channel that beams anti-government programming into the country, according to previously undisclosed diplomatic cables.
The London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, began broadcasting in April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in Syria as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow the country’s autocratic leader, Bashar al-Assad. Human rights groups say scores of people have been killed by Assad’s security forces since the demonstrations began March 18; Syria has blamed the violence on “armed gangs.”

Anger on streets as 'national hero' generals are jailed for war crimes

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Monday, 18 April 2011
Up to 30,000 Croats took to the streets of the capital Zagreb over the weekend to protest against the jailing of two generals for war crimes in the Balkans wars on Friday.

Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac are considered national heroes in Croatia. General Gotovina was jailed by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for 24 years, and General Markac received an 18-year sentence. Both were found guilty of orchestrating a campaign of murder and looting that led to the expulsion of some 200,000 Serbs from Croatia in 1995. A third general, Ivan Cermak, was acquitted of all charges and arrived in Zagreb late on Friday.

Japan PM under fire in polls

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Monday, April 18, 2011
Most Japanese want a new prime minister to lead the massive rebuilding needed after last month's earthquake and tsunami, newspaper polls showed today, as the head of government was again scolded in parliament for his handling of the disaster.

Japan is also struggling to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control after it was damaged by the March 11 natural disasters and began leaking radiation, a process that could take the rest of the year.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) said yesterday it hoped to achieve a cold shutdown to make the reactors stable within six to nine months.

Full recovery could take even longer, the government has said, while rebuilding the shattered northeastern coast has yet to begin.

Chinese dogs saved from cooking pot

April 18, 2011 - 5:09PM
Hundreds of dogs being trucked to Chinese restaurants were spared a culinary fate after about 200 animal lovers mobilised to stop them ending up on dinner tables, state-run media said on Monday.

A truck crammed with the dogs was forced to stop on a highway in eastern Beijing on Friday by a motorist who swerved his car in front of the truck and then used his microblog to alert animal-rights activists, reports said.

Siege of Misrata: Death toll mounts

THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Apr 18 2011
"Some 80% of the deaths are civilians," said Dr Khaled Abu Falgha, administrator of the city's main hospital.

Medical staff have seen a sudden rise in the number of people brought into the hospital in the last week suffering gunshot wounds to their heads and necks -- the preferred target zone of marksmen.

Another six beds in the intensive care unit are occupied by men brought down by snipers posted around the city by forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Nationalist True Finns make gains in Finland vote
A nationalist party has taken nearly a fifth of votes in Finland's general election, the electoral commission says.

The True Finns finished just behind the conservative NCP and the Social Democrats on around 19%.

While the Social Democrats have called for changes on EU bail-outs, including the planned Portuguese rescue, True Finns opposes the plans altogether.

A hostile Finnish government could theoretically veto the package.

Unlike other eurozone countries, Finland's parliament can vote on whether to approve the measures.

Like The World Wants This Guy As President

"Why aren't they paying us?" Trump asked CNN's Candy Crowley. "When they said that you should have said, we'll go in. We want $5 billion. We have already spent $1.5 billion on fighting Gaddafi. We want $5 billion right now and we'll go in. You know what? That's peanuts to them. They'd give you a check in two seconds."

The billionaire also said he was nostalgic for a time when the U.S. could claim the resources of defeated nations.

"In the old days when you have a war and you win, that nation is yours," he said. "Either I go in and take the oil or I don't go in at all."

"Just take their oil?" Crowley asked.

"Absolutely," Trump replied. "I'd take the oil, give them plenty so they can live very happily. I'd take the oil."

Six In The Morning

Libya conflict: Gaddafi 'cluster bombing Misrata'
Abdullah, a doctor in Misrata, told the BBC he had seen evidence of the use of cluster bombs
The BBc
Human Rights Watch said one of its photographers had seen three mortar-launched projectiles explode over a residential area of Misrata.

A Libyan government spokesman denied the allegation.

Government troops have intensified their siege of Misrata, the only west Libyan city still in rebel hands.

The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from inside the battle-scarred city that local residents fear a massacre without greater action by Nato air forces to break the siege.

Aftershocks worsen Japan's quake trauma

April 16, 2011 - 1:58PM
Hundreds of aftershocks have rocked the ground and frayed nerves in the five weeks since Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami, forcing survivors to relive the terror almost daily.

The incessant rumbling of the Earth's stressed crust has held back relief work, imperilled already dangerous operations to contain a nuclear crisis and fuelled fears far beyond the coast that was devastated by the giant wave.

Nigerians pick president in crucial election

Apr 16, 2011 8:42 AM | By Reuters
The election pits President Goodluck Jonathan, the first head of state from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, against Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler with a reputation as a disciplinarian from the mostly-Muslim north.

Other candidates include former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, although they are seen as rank outsiders.

Eurosceptic party set for big poll gain in Finland
The Irish Times - Saturday, April 16, 2011
DEREK SCALLY in Helsinki
FINLAND VOTES tomorrow in a tight general election likely to see large gains for a populist EU- critical party opposed to Portugal’s euro zone bailout.

On the back of popular opposition to the Greek and Irish assistance, the nationalist, anti-immigrant True Finns party has doubled its support within a year to challenge decades of consensus rule between Finland’s three main parties.

After winning 4 per cent in the 2007 election, the True Finns under leader Timo Soini may win about 17 per cent, a public television poll showed. The ruling Centre Party of outgoing prime minister Mari Kiviniemi has suffered a popularity dip after a political fundraising scandal forced her predecessor’s resignation last year

Assassinated Kandahar police chief was optimistic about security
A Taliban suicide bomber on Friday killed the Kandahar police chief, who recently noted to the Monitor gains in creating a 'safe and secure environment' in the restive province.
By Tom A. Peter, Correspondent / April 15, 2011
Kandahar City, Afghanistan
A Taliban suicide bomber killed the police chief of Afghanistan’s critical and long restive southern province of Kandahar on Friday, just days after the chief had expressed optimism about security gains.
“I am hopeful that we will have a safe and secure environment in our city,” Gen. Khan Mohammad Mujahid said in a Monday interview with the Monitor. “We have destroyed and eradicated [militants’] safe havens, so they don’t have bases to plan their attacks and operations.”

Four days later, a man dressed in police clothing approached General Mujahid in the courtyard of the heavily guarded police headquarters in Kandahar City, hugged him, and detonated himself.

Oil companies' new Gulf drilling plans called inadequate

By Renee Schoof and Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Oil companies recently turned in their first plans for exploratory drilling in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including new information the government has required since last year's BP blowout about how they'd try to prevent and cope with another oil disaster.

The oil companies that want to explore the seabed below the deep water say they've learned from last year's accident and have better plans in place than they did a year ago, when an explosion at an oil rig set off the nation's worst oil accident.

In Asia Boys Are Number 1

Throughout Asia there the gender gap continues to widen as the preference for male children continues unabated. India's 2011 Census reflects this as there are 914 girls for every 1,000 boys that number has dropped 13 percentage points since the last Census was taken.

China's One Child Policy has so skewed the ratio of men to women that

A study by the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences named the gender imbalance among newborns as the most serious demographic problem for the country’s population of 1.3 billion.
“Sex-specific abortions remained extremely commonplace, especially in rural areas,” where the cultural preference for boys over girls is strongest, the study said, noting the reasons for the gender imbalance were “complex”.

Its estimated that by 2020 24 million Chinese men will be unable to marry.

India has seen the problem become more acute with the introduction of ultrasound machines insuring that a male child is born.

The reasons for the gender imbalance in India and elsewhere in south Asia are complex and historic. Many patriarchal communities traditionally prefer sons because they will inherit a family's wealth without it being "married" into another family, because it is believed they will better care for elderly parents and because a family will earn a dowry upon a son's marriage, rather than having to pay one out for a daughter's. This has led to widespread sex-selective abortion – officially banned two decades ago – which has increased as ultrasound machines have become cheaper and more ubiquitous. Nowadays a test can be had for less than £150.

101 East: India - Microfinance, banking on debt

Six In The Morning

A Syrian plan to attack protesters?
Human rights activist says document lays out how to brutally suppress the opposition
By Michael Isikoff National investigative correspondent
WASHINGTON — A document purportedly drafted by senior Syrian intelligence officials details a chilling plan to infiltrate the ranks of anti-regime protesters, arrest and assassinate their leaders, and link anti-regime demonstrations to the work of “Zionist” and other outside agitators.
The document was circulated by Syrian opposition figures Wednesday and cited by dissidents as fresh evidence of the brutality of the regime of President Bashar Assad. “It is very scary — this is the work of a Mafia state,” said Radwan Ziadeh, a prominent Syrian human rights activist and visiting scholar at George Washington University, who said he obtained the document from sources inside Syria on Tuesday night.

While the Saudi elite looks nervously abroad, a revolution is happening
The gap between the Saudi regime's conservative ideology and modern urban reality has fed discontent across society
Soumaya Ghannoushi
The Guardian, Thursday 14 April 2011
The Saudi regime is under siege. To the west, its heaviest regional ally, the Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, has been ousted. To its north, Syria and Jordan are gripped by a wave of protests which shows no sign of receding. On its southern border, unrest in Yemen and Oman rages on. And troops have been dispatched to Bahrain to salvage its influence over the tiny kingdom exerted through the Khalifa clan, and prevent the contagion from spreading to Saudi Arabia's turbulent eastern provinces, the repository of both its biggest oil reserves and largest Shia population.

UK and France cajole coalition nations to join air raids on Gaddafi
Qatar meeting of foreign ministers exposes clash in strategies for dealing with the Libyan uprising
By Patrick Cockburn Thursday, 14 April 2011
Britain and France are asking other members of Nato to step up air strikes on Libyan government forces at a meeting of foreign ministers in Qatar that has underlined the radically different policies of the countries involved in the Libyan crisis.

Divisions between the foreign ministers were also evident over issues such as using frozen Libyan state assets to fund the opposition in eastern Libya and the feasibility of arming the rebels. Germany expressed doubts about the legality of using money belonging to the Libyan government.

UN hails Palestinian Authority progress towards statehood

Isabel Kershner April 14, 2011
A United Nations report has praised Palestinian Authority efforts at strengthening its institutions, describing aspects of its administration as sufficient for an independent state.

The endorsement came at a crucial time for the Palestinian Authority, which has set a September deadline for the completion of its state-building program and is working towards international recognition of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem that month.

September is also the target date set by Israel and the Palestinians to reach a negotiated agreement for a Palestinian state, but the latest round of peace talks has been stalled for six months.

Kashmiris defy Geelani's boycott call, 1st phase J&K panchayat poll records 78% turnout

Randeep Singh Nandal, TNN | Apr 14, 2011, 01.26pm IST
SRINAGAR: First-time panchayat election contestant Farida Bano (40) was tense at the start of the polling on Wednesday morning. But her confidence grew as the number of voters swelled outside a polling booth in Budgam district's Sheikhpura village. By 10 am 28% voters had voted.

Farida is one of the four women contesting the first phase of the elections in the area. She said brisk voting awed her a little. "I am nervous but this is good. I want to serve my village and think I will do a good job if given a chance," she said.

Kenya revives its colonial rail system to meet its modern needs
A private company sees the country's dilapidated railways as an opportunity to make a profit and meet Kenyans needs for faster transportation.
By Mike Pflanz, Correspondent / April 13, 2011
ON THE 06:40am TO NAIROBI – We pull slowly out of Athi River station, leaving behind the run-down railroad shed that is now home to the Jesus Victory Center and a tinshack kindergarten.

Ahead, an hour-long commute, through the Athi plains once swarming with wildlife, beneath final approach to the international airport, through the smoggy iron roof slums and the industrial area, and into the heart of Nairobi.

Random Japan

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
The Red Cross Society of North Korea sent $100,000 (¥8.1 million) in aid to the Japanese Red Cross Society for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Fearless leader Kim Jong Il also kicked in another $500,000 to help pro-Pyongyang Korean residents in Japan affected by the quake/tsunami.

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic organized a charity soccer match and dinner involving several ATP stars that raised $100,000 for the relief effort.

Yomiuri Giants baseball star Alex Ramirez, meanwhile, donated $1 million, as well as sending trucks stocked with medicine to the worst-hit areas.

One of the biggest sources of aid has come from what some might consider an unlikely source—the yakuza.

Stats

262
Number of aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater in the seven days following March 11, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency—a record

145 million
Approximate number of DS gaming consoles sold by Nintendo through the end of 2010

1,024,820
Signatures from around the world on display at UN headquarters in New York calling for the abolition of

FALLOUT
The American-owned Tokyo Apache of basketball’s bj-league decided to scrap the rest of their season after the destructive earthquake and tsunami hit. They also donated $1 million to relief efforts.

It was reported that a play concerning the effects of a tsunami that was written by an ex-elementary school principal will be published in social studies textbooks next year. “People stand no chance against the power of nature,” said author Hagemu Kumagaya, whose grandfather lost his whole family in the 1933 Showa Sanriku Tsunami.

Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka is set to be knocked down, but before that happens, the landmark will be used as a shelter for up to 1,600 people who have been evacuated due to the crisis in Fukushima.

It was revealed that Masataka Shimizu, the president of TEPCO, whose damaged nuclear power plants have left the nation on edge since March 11, took a few days of sick leave after the disaster.

A group of student volunteers in the tsunami-hit village of Noda in Iwate Prefecture have begun searching for photo albums amid the rubble that was once a town and handing them back to their rightful owners.

Unlike many other nations, the Philippines decided to keep importing Japanese food with the exception of chocolate made with milk from the Fukushima area.

Every Dog

Has His Day

Catch And Release

Caught

Deport Me

Please

Man found stranded since March 11 in empty town inside evacuation zone

Saturday 09th April, 06:24 AM JST
The farmhouse sits at the end of a mud-caked, one-lane road strewn with toppled trees, the decaying carcasses of dead pigs and large debris deposited by the March 11 tsunami.

Stranded alone inside the unheated, dark home is 75-year-old Kunio Shiga. He cannot walk very far and doesn’t know what happened to his wife.

His neighbors have all left because the area is 20 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant - just within the zone where authorities have told everyone to get out because of concerns about leaking radiation.

No rescuer ever came for him.

Curbs on summer power use in offing
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Kyodo News　
The government said Friday that it plans to set a legal curb on power consumption by large-lot users to cope with electricity shortages expected this summer in the Kanto and Tohoku regions, while asking households to reduce their use by about 15 to 20 percent during peak hours.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a government task force that the measures are intended to avoid the rolling blackouts introduced by Tokyo Electric Power Co. after the March 11 catastrophe.

Tepco separately said it is basically terminating the scheduled area-by-area blackouts as of Friday.

Six In The Morning

Japan: Powerful earthquake hits north-east
A powerful earthquake has hit north-east Japan, exactly one month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.
The BBC 11 April 2011
The 7.1-magnitude tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning, and forced workers to evacuate the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

The epicentre of the quake was in Fukushima prefecture, and struck at a depth of just 10km (six miles).

It came as Japan said it was extending the evacuation zone around the nuclear plant because of radiation concerns.

The cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were damaged in last month's disaster. Workers have been struggling to prevent several reactors from overheating, and avert a large-scale release of radiation.

China says milk was tainted with nitrite intentionally
Suspect has been accused of poisoning milk from two dairies, which killed three children in Gansu province
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 April 2011
Investigators have found that a tainted milk incident in north-west China which killed three children appears to be a case of intentional poisoning and have detained a suspect, state media said.

Investigators found that nitrite, an industrial salt that can be deadly, was added to fresh milk from two dairies last week in Gansu province in order to harm people, the China Daily newspaper reported on Monday. A suspect in Pingliang, where the poisoning took place, had been taken into custody.

Powerful yakuza boss released from prison

April 11, 2011 - 2:19PM
Police in Japan are bracing themselves for the possibility of conflict with the underworld after the head of the country's most powerful crime syndicate was released from prison.

Kenichi Shinoda was freed from the Fuchu prison, near Tokyo, on Saturday (9APR) after serving a six-year sentence for firearms offences.

Shinoda - also known as Shinobu Tsukasa - served 13 years in prison for killing a rival with a samurai sword in the 1970s while he was the leader of the notorious Kodo-kai, a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate based in central Japan

Sudan says Israel behind air strike

KHARTOUM, SUDAN - Apr 11 2011
Tuesday's attack was carried out by two AH-64 Apache helicopters, about 15km south of Port Sudan, Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

They flew in from the Red Sea and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles and machinegun fire on the car after having jammed the local radar system, the statement added.

The US-made helicopters were not owned by any country in the region except Israel, said the statement.

Leftist Humala leads Peru election polls, but undecided voters could cause upset
Eleven percent of the electorate was still undecided ahead of today's Peru election, a fact that could swing the vote away from leading candidate Ollanta Humala.
By Lucien Chauvin, Correspondent / April 10, 2011
Lima, Peru
Peru’s closely fought presidential election may come down to voters like Miguel Peña when more than 19 million people go to the polls today.
Mr. Peña, who helps park cars at a supermarket in Lima, the capital, has not decided who he will vote for out of a field of 10 candidates. He says he is still trying to decide between front-runner Ollanta Humala, former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), and former Finance Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

“I like Humala, because he says he will work for the poor, but we hear on the radio that he will take the country backwards. I haven’t decided, but I think it might be Humala,” he says.

Six In The Morning

Gbagbo stages bloody fightback in Ivory Coast
Violence continues as former president refuses to concede defeat
By Daniel Howden in Abidjan Sunday, 10 April 2011
What began as the week when Laurent Gbagbo would finally concede defeat ended with the Ivory Coast strongman defying the world from his bunker in Abidjan. After watching his area of control shrink to only a few pockets of the lagoon city, his forces pushed back dramatically overnight on Friday with an assault on the French ambassador's residence.

AFP reported yesterday that Abidjan's Golf Hotel, headquarters of the internationally recognised President-elect, Alassane Ouattara, had come under attack. The UN evacuated 17 British citizens from the high commissioner's residence, which is close to the Gbagbo compound.

Iceland rejects Icesave repayment deal
Icelanders have rejected the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands some 4bn euros lost when the country's banking system collapsed in 2008
The BBC 10 April 2011
Partial referendum results show 58% voting no, and 42% supporting the plan.

"The worst option was chosen. The vote has split the nation in two," Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said on state TV.

It is the second time a referendum has rejected a repayment deal, and the case will now go to an international court.

Landsbanki ran savings accounts in the UK and Netherlands under the name Icesave and investors there lost 4bn euros (£3.5bn; $5.8bn).

Cairo protesters defy military

April 10, 2011 - 11:39AM
More than 1000 protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square vowed on Saturday to stay overnight in defiance of the military after a protester was killed the night before when soldiers dispersed a similar sit-in.

At least one person was killed earlier in the morning when troops and police stormed the iconic square to break up an overnight protest demanding the trial of former regime officials.

The health ministry said one person died, a figure later echoed by the army, and 71 people were hurt - some from bullet wounds and others suffering breathing difficulties or having been struck during clashes.

Advertisement: Story continues below
Medics said two people were killed and 18 people wounded

Aftershocks expose risks of emergency power at nuclear facilities

2011/04/10
The massive aftershock Thursday compromised power supply systems and emergency generators at nuclear power facilities in northeastern Japan, sparking concern that plant operators are still unprepared to avert another crisis.

As the nation races to deal with the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, experts foresee a series of aftershocks, including at least one major seismic event.

Six In The Morning

US Congress agrees last-minute budget deal
Republicans and Democrats have reached a deal on the US budget, an hour before a deadline that would have forced the government to close many services.
The BBC 9 April 2011
They have passed a stop-gap spending bill which will allow the government to keep running while the wider budget plan is finalised.

The parties have agreed to slash about $38bn (£23bn) from spending for the year until 30 September.

President Barack Obama said the cuts would be difficult but necessary.

"Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful," he said.

"Programmes people rely on will be cut back. Needed infrastructure projects will be delayed. And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances."

France vows 'strong response' as Gbagbo launches fresh attack
Ambassador's residence targeted as UN says pariah's forces have made significant gains
By Daniel Howden in Abidjan Saturday, 9 April 2011
The battle for Abidjan escalated last night as forces loyal to international pariah Laurent Gbagbo fired on the French ambassador's residence.

It was unclear if there had been any casualties, but French military sources vowed a "strong response". Attack helicopters were seen leaving the French base soon after the mortar and rocket attack, which was the strongest attempt yet by Mr Gbagbo to force former colonial power France into a fight which would rally Ivorian nationalists.

Claims from the UN that Gbagbo's forces had regained the highly important areas of Plateau and Cocody were unconfirmed.

Pyongyang propaganda with a light touch in Indonesia

Tom Allard April 9, 2011
JAKARTA: After the craziness of Jakarta's early evening traffic, the ambience is oddly calming, an ersatz oasis from the barely contained chaos outside.

Synthetic ivy and orange blossoms climb walls adorned with paintings of Korean landscapes, silk flowers fill the vases and the karaoke machine pumps out hits as the dinner crowd fills Pyongyang, an incongruous outpost of North Korean culture and cuisine in the steaming, teeming streets of the Indonesian capital.

Nation mourns with boy who lost his parents

BY KUNIAKI NISHIO STAFF WRITER 2011/04/09
Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 9-year-old Toshihito Aisawa's father, Kazuyuki, jumped in the car and raced to pick him up at his school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Along with his wife, Noriko, Toshito's grandmother Kyoko and two cousins all packed into the car, Kazuyuki tried to outrace the approaching tsunami.

He lost the race.

Toshihito got out of the car by breaking a window before losing consciousness. When he came to on a pile of scrap lumber, all his loved ones were gone.

A local barber took the third-grader into his home.

Need to scrub your conscience? Tweet

SATISH NANDGAONKAR
If you have a conscience and want to wash it in public, you need not march to the Anna Hazare Town Square in your city. Just tweet it, as long as your conscience can be squeezed into 140 characters.

You will then be rubbing digital shoulders with such luminaries as Lalit K. Modi, Riteish Deshmukh and countless others who usually fall in that amorphous species called celebrities.

Twitterworld is now crawling with such corruption-busters, all riding Anna piggyback. But scratch a few tweets and the real message tumbles out, at least in the IPL founder’s case.

Red Sox-Yankees series highlights globalization of baseball
When the Red Sox and Yankees kicked off a three-game series today at Fenway Park in Boston, 14 of the 50 players were foreign-born, representing a game that is rapidly globalizing.
By Ezra Fieser, Correspondent / April 8, 2011
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
When the Red Sox and Yankees met for the first time this season today at Fenway Park, the greatest rivalry in America’s pastime had a decidedly foreign flavor.
Fourteen of the 50 players on the field or in reserve were born outside of the United States, including Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, better known as “Big Papi” in his native Dominican Republic, and the Yankees’ Panamanian closer Mariano Rivera.

They are stars that represent the changing face of a game that once barred blacks but is now rapidly globalizing. From Australians to Venezuelans, a total of 234 foreigners – 27.7 percent of all players – graced opening day rosters this year, according to Major League Baseball statistics. The New York Yankees, with 16 foreign-born players, are the most international team in baseball.

Six In The Morning

Night falls on Abidjan: Looting, gangs, burning corpses – and hungry people afraid to go out
Daniel Howden reports from the perilous streets of Abidjan, as the conflict in Ivory Coast edges closer to a bloody showdown
Friday, 8 April 2011
The roadblocks begin right outside the airport. Rusted barrels and planks are strewn across side streets, manned by boys in filthy vests. The boys are armed with little more than their own strength in numbers. The looting lends the streets of Abidjan the appearance of an earthquake zone. Burnt-out cars are overturned. Emptied streets are carpeted in smashed glass. What's left on the Tarmac is only what was broken as it was looted.

A line of office furniture reaches as far as a smashed wardrobe and stops. Then the bodies start. At first, the fire seems to be nothing more than a pile of tyres. Then a soldier explains that people have begun to burn the corpses to prevent disease from spreading. Further along, a cloud of stinking black smoke rises from a garishly painted bus stop. A charred leg rises unmistakably out of the flames.

Rebels rejects Gadafy talks
irishtimes.com
Friday, April 8, 2011
With daily skirmishes near the contested port of Brega in eastern Libya making little impact on the front line and rebels unable to end a brutal government assault on the western city of Misrata, Nato admits its mission to protect civilians is tough.

In rebel-held eastern Libya, wounded rebels being brought to a hospital Ajdabiyah said their trucks and tanks were hit yesterday by a Nato air strike outside Brega, where fighting has dragged on for a week.

It was the second time in less than a week that rebels had blamed Nato for bombing their comrades by mistake after 13 were killed in an air strike not far from the same spot on Saturday

German Justice Through the Eyes of a Somali Pirate
A courtroom in Hamburg is the scene of a head-on collision between two worlds as the German justice system tries 10 Somali pirates who hijacked a cargo ship. The pirates, some of whom are under 18, had no idea what a court or a trial was and were afraid they would be tortured -- or executed -- by the judge.
By Beate Lakotta in Hamburg
This odyssey is Abdiwali's fate, and only God knows how it will end. It almost came to an end for him once before, in the Indian Ocean.

They had been held on board the Dutch warship Tromp, where Dutch marines had blindfolded them and secured them to the deck with handcuffs. Abdiwali was terrified that they would be tortured, so much so that he managed to loosen his handcuffs and jump overboard, hundreds of nautical miles off the Somali coast.
As he watched the Tromp slip away in the cool, smooth waters, he expected to be attacked by a shark. "I wanted the ocean to swallow me. I preferred to die quickly," he says today.

Men have affairs because wives neglect their responsibilities, MP tells parliament

April 8, 2011 - 12:47PM
Malaysian men have extramarital sex because of "wives who neglect their responsibilities" to their husbands, a Malaysian MP has told his country's Parliament, outraging women's groups.

"Husbands driving home after work see things that are sexually arousing and go to their wives to ease their urges," said independent lawmaker Ibrahim Ali, according to online portal Malaysiakini.

"But when they come home to their wives, they will say, 'wait, I'm cooking,' or 'wait, I'm getting ready to visit relatives,'" Mr Ibrahim said.

Hazare announces jail bharo on April 13 after govt rejects demands

TNN | Apr 8, 2011, 10.16am IST
NEW DELHI: The government has rejected the demand of Anna Hazare to issue an official notification to constitute the draft committee for Lokpal Bill and also rejected the proposal for an outsider to lead the new committee of government and civil society.

The protesters announced that Kapil Sibal had conveyed about this decision to them and has also said that Pranab Mukherjee will head the committee.

Reacting to the government's stand, Anna Hazare announced country-wide Jail Bharo agiation on April 12.

White House talks fail to produce budget deal; House passes stopgap bill

By Philip Rucker, Perry Bacon Jr. and William Branigin
A Thursday-night meeting between congressional leaders and President Obama failed to resolve an impasse over federal spending that, barring an agreement on Friday, would result in a government shutdown.

After the session, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, Obama said in brief remarks to reporters that differences between the two parties remained, adding, “I’m not yet prepared to express wild optimism.”

He did not detail the remaining disagreements between Democrats and the White House and congressional Republicans, which have prompted days of tense negotiations over a bill to fund the federal government.