Six In The Morning

Kadafi government rebuffs Libya rebel cease-fire offer
After rebels refused for weeks to negotiate with Moammar Kadafi's regime, a rebel leader offers a cease-fire if Kadafi agrees to withdraw his forces from besieged cities and permit peaceful protests.
By Borzou Daragahi and David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya— Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi's regime brusquely swatted down a truce offered by rebels Friday and continued to pummel opposition positions in both the eastern and western sections of the country.

After rebels had refused for weeks to negotiate with Kadafi's government, the leader of the opposition's national council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, offered a cease-fire if Kadafi agreed to withdraw his forces from besieged Libyan cities and permitted peaceful protests.

But Musa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the regime, dismissed the offer as a trick.

Europe's twilight zone
As the world looks to Libya, a refugee crisis unfolds
By Jerome Taylor in Lampedusa Saturday, 2 April 2011
Night after night they huddle together in groups, desperately trying to stay warm. The lucky ones scavenge blankets and plastic sheeting, or gather around sputtering fires. Others sleep on the hillsides, waiting for help to arrive.

While the world focuses its attention on events in the Middle East and North Africa, a humanitarian crisis is under way in Europe. This is Lampedusa, a tiny piece of normally unspoilt Italian paradise in the southern Mediterranean that has become a fetid refugee camp for thousands of desperate people fleeing turmoil and poverty.

Brazil's parliamentary clown: profile
Tiririca, whose real name is Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, started working in a circus aged eight in the state of Ceara in the poor north-east of Brazil.
12:09AM BST 02 Apr 2011
He survived a legal challenge to his right to stand as an electoral candidate in the Brazilian election amid claims that he was not fully literate after taking tests in reading and writing.
In October, the professional entertainer received more than 1.3 million votes in Sao Paulo state, more than any other candidate.
Tiririca caught the attention of disillusioned voters by asking for their support with the humorous slogan: "It can't get any worse" and a promise to do nothing more in congress than report back to them on how politicians spend their time.
"What does a congressman do? The truth is I don't know, but vote for me and I'll tell you," the 45-year-old said in his campaign advertisements.

Visions of Female Identity in the New Egypt
The Muslim Sisterhood
By Dialika Krahe
Jihan, the eldest, is sitting in an armchair in her second apartment in Cairo. A flowered veil frames her red cheeks, and a glass of apple juice rests in her hand. She says that, Inshallah, even a woman could become president in the new Egypt.

Arwa, the youngest, is sitting in front of a computer outside her pink children's room in the small city of Abu Kebir, scrolling through her blog. "Mubarak is gone," she says. "When I'm old enough, I will have a seat in parliament, Inshallah."
Zahraa, who is between the two in age, is standing in the shadow of Cairo's Tora Prison. She pulls her white hijab tight around her face, as if to arm herself for the future. "Our task is to raise the nation," she says.

Experts: Scrapping Fukushima plant could take decades

2011/04/02
Regaining control of the four stricken reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant could take months or years, according to nuclear experts.

And, even if the reactor cores can be cooled below 100 degrees, known as the "cold shutdown" stage, decommissioning will take several decades.

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the cooling system at the Fukushima plant. Since then, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), has been using fire trucks and electric pumps to try to cool the cores.

Gbagbo guard mounts last stand in Côte d'Ivoire

ABIDJAN, CôTE D'IVOIRE - Apr 02 2011 07:36

Rebel forces in Côte d'Ivoire have laid siege to the presidential palace as president Laurent Gbagbo made a last stand and the battle for power in Abidjan raged for a second day, with the UN mission coming under heavy fire.

Forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara have overrun nearly three-quarters of Côte d'Ivoire and looked poised to topple Gbagbo, but after entering the economic capital met with stiff resistance outside his fortified residence and office. With reports of beatings, looting and arson on the streets of Abidjan, residents barricaded inside their homes reported heavy arms fire throughout the early morning on Friday. On the peninsula where the palace is situated buildings were shaking with each explosion, witnesses said.