Six In The Morning

US braces for withdrawal along Iraqi road
Commanders say departing troops could be easy targets for insurgents
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Even as the American military winds down its eight-year war in Iraq, commanders are bracing for what they fear could be the most dangerous remaining mission: getting the last troops out safely.
The resurgent threat posed by militants was underscored Monday when rockets slammed into a military base in eastern Baghdad, killing six service members in the most deadly day for American forces here since 2009. In recent weeks, insurgent fighters have stepped up their efforts to kill American forces in what appears to be a strategy to press the United States to withdraw on schedule, undercut any resolve to leave troops in Iraq, and win a public relations victory at home by claiming credit for the American withdrawal.

Revealed: the untold story of the deal that shocked the Middle East

Exclusive by Robert Fisk
Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Secret meetings between Palestinian intermediaries, Egyptian intelligence officials, the Turkish foreign minister, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal – the latter requiring a covert journey to Damascus with a detour round the rebellious city of Deraa – brought about the Palestinian unity which has so disturbed both Israelis and the American government. Fatah and Hamas ended four years of conflict in May with an agreement that is crucial to the Paslestinian demand for a state.



A series of detailed letters, accepted by all sides, of which The Independent has copies, show just how complex the negotiations were; Hamas also sought – and received – the support of Syrian President Bachar al-Assad, the country’s vice president Farouk al-Sharaa and its foreign minister, Walid Moallem.

EU ministers to meet over E.coli

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Tuesday, June 7, 2011
European Union farm ministers will try today to agree financial aid for fruit and vegetable producers whose sales have been hit by an E.coli outbreak that has killed 22 people in Europe.

While the structure of the compensation package and the amount of aid have yet to be defined, the European Commission said yesterday it expected the ministers to reach a provisional agreement at an emergency meeting in Luxembourg.

Shark activists push for Bahamas sanctuary


June 7, 2011
Shark defenders hope to capitalise on a series of victories in their fight against the lucrative fin trade, releasing a report on Monday calling for sanctuaries to save the world's oldest predator.

As legislation inches forward in California to ban the import and purchase of fins used in gourmet Chinese soups - source of the global shark population crash - activists are pushing for a sanctuary in the Bahamas in a bid to halt drastic overfishing that leads to 73 million sharks being killed each year.

Gaddafi regime fails to fool media over injured child

Jun 07 2011
Foreign journalists in Tripoli were taken by bus to a hospital on Sunday night to see the seven-month-old girl, Nasib, who lay unconscious. Media handlers claimed she had been hurt when a bomb exploded in a field near her house on the eastern edge of the capital a few hours earlier.

But a member of the medical staff slipped a note written in English on hospital stationery to a reporter, which was seen by Reuters, that said: "This is a case of road traffic accident. This is the truth."

Journalists' suspicions had already been raised during an earlier visit to the bombsite in the suburb of Tajura where the girl was said to have been injured.

DPJ sees growing movement for grand coalition with LDP

2011/06/07
The growing calls within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan for a grand coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party may accelerate a movement to force Prime Minister Naoto Kan to step down as early as this month.

On June 5, DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada said a short-term coalition would be necessary to ensure progress in the rebuilding process through passage of a second supplementary budget and legislation to allow for the issuance of deficit-covering government bonds.