Six In The Morning

Pakistanis disclose name of CIA operative

By Karin Brulliard and Greg Miller, Tuesday, May 10
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The public outing of the CIA station chief here threatened on Monday to deepen the rift between the United States and Pakistan, with U.S. officials saying they believed the disclosure had been made deliberately by Pakistan’s main spy agency.

If true, the leak would be a sign that Pakistan’s powerful security establishment, far from feeling chastened by the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison city last week, is seeking to demonstrate its leverage over Washington and retaliate for the unilateral U.S. operation.
Less than six months ago, the identity of the previous CIA station chief in Islamabad was also disclosed in an act that U.S. officials blamed on their counterparts in Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI.

China's trade surplus jumps to $11.4bn
After the country reported a rare trade deficit for the start of this year, China has showed a strong rebound for April but it is likely to fuel US calls to revalue its currency
Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 May 20
China reported an unexpectedly large April trade surplus, in an announcement that is likely to fuel US pressure over currency controls and market access as American and Chinese officials hold high-level talks in Washington.

China's global trade surplus widened to $11.4bn (£7bn) as import growth fell amid government efforts to cool an overheated economy and exports rose by nearly 30%, data showed on Tuesday. The gap exceeded forecasts of $5bn to $10bn and was a strong rebound after China reported a rare trade deficit in the first quarter of this year.

Pakistan rejects claims it sheltered Bin Laden

By Andrew Buncombe in Islamabad Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Pakistan's prime Minister has denounced as "absurd" accusations of complicity in the sheltering of Osama bin Laden and warned yesterday that a repeat of the unilateral operation conducted by US special forces would resort in serious consequences.

In an impassioned televised address before a joint session of the parliament, Yousaf Raza Gilani said protecting the nation's sovereignty was a priority and claimed the civilian authorities had full confidence in the country's armed forces. He said a senior Pakistani army officer, Lt-Gen Javed Iqbal, would conduct an investigation into how Bin Laden had been able to live in the garrison town Abbottabad, under the noses of the military establishment, for up to six years.

NATO denies failure to save African migrants
Bloc rejects report that migrants were left to die on board stranded boat, despite distress calls.
Al Jazeera
NATO has denied a report claiming its military units failed to save dozens of migrants fleeing north Africa by boat which had been adrift in the ocean for 16 days, leading to the deaths of 61 people.

British newspaper The Guardian said despite a distress call from the boat to the Italian coastguard and a military helicopter and NATO warship, no rescue effort was attempted.

It said the boat, carrying 72 people including women, children and political refugees, ran into trouble after leaving Tripoli, the Libyan capital, for the Italian island of Lampedusa on March 25.

By the time the vessel drifted ashore at Zlitan, Libya, on 10 April, all but 11 passengers were dead, and another died after being imprisoned by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the country's leader.

Mexicans demand end to drug war bloodshed

Elisabeth Malkin May 10, 2011
MEXICO CITY: Led by ordinary citizens who were transformed by grief into activists as the drug war claimed their sons and brothers, tens of thousands of Mexicans marched silently through the capital's avenues on Sunday to demand an end to the bloodshed.

The march was called to send a message to the President, Felipe Calderon, and the rest of the country's politicians: the strategy against drug gangs has failed and must change.

The movement has coalesced around an unlikely hero: Javier Sicilia, a Catholic poet and journalist whose son was murdered seven weeks ago

Why India chose to disappoint the US

By Trefor Moss
India's procurement of 126 multi-role combat aircraft has been one of the most eagerly anticipated defense deals in years, and not just because of its US$11 billion value.

The selection was always going to be interpreted as an expression of New Delhi's evolving strategic outlook, and to some in Washington, which has built an increasingly close alliance with India driven by a mutual wariness of China, a win for either Boeing or Lockheed Martin, the two US contractors competing for the contract, seemed assured.

But the Americans were wrong to think that friendship alone would unlock the door to India's defense dollars