Syrian colonel plots guerrilla attacks against Assad regime
Leader of rebel army formed by military defectors is
protected by Turkey
The most senior officer to defect from Syria's armed forces is plotting a series of guerrilla attacks and targeted assassinations from self-imposed exile in Turkey in an attempt to topple the regime.
Colonel Riad al-As'aad, 50, is the head of a newly formed Syrian Free Army – a force made up of defectors from the Syrian military – devoted to overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad by military force in apparent connivance with his Turkish protectors. "They [the regime] forced us to respond," he told The Independent. "We are organised inside. We are soldiers, we are working. Our power is slowly growing."
Egypt PM Essam Sharaf
urges calm after Cairo
clashes
Egypt's PM has appealed for calm after 24 people were killed as clashes between Coptic Christians and security forces escalated into full-scale riots.
The violence broke out after a protest in Cairo against an attack on a church in Aswan province last week, with Muslims joining in on both sides.
PM Essam Sharaf said discord between Muslims and Christians in Egypt was "a threat to the country's security".
An emergency cabinet meeting has been called for Monday.
Merkel wants Lisbon Treaty changes to deal with crisis
ARTHUR BEESLEY, European Correspondent
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is intensifying her drive for changes to the Lisbon Treaty as part of a comprehensive deal to assert control over the expanding euro zone debt crisis.
The chancellor rallied support for her initiative last night from French president Nicolas Sarkozy, giving fresh momentum to an emergent proposal which may require a referendum in Ireland.
Her alliance on this front with the French leader is likely to create political difficulty for Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who has made it clear in recent days that he does not want to reopen the pact.
Her alliance on this front with the French leader is likely to create political difficulty for Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who has made it clear in recent days that he does not want to reopen the pact.
China pours cold water on 'one-child' policy hopes
BEIJING, CHINA - Oct 10 2011
Guangdong in southern China asked Beijing in July for permission to modify the policy and allow couples where just one parent is an only child to have a second baby, as concerns grew over gender imbalances and an ageing population.
But Zhang Feng, director of the provincial population and family planning commission, said in an interview with the Nanfang Daily that there would be "no major adjustments to the family planning policy within five years".
It was unclear whether this meant the province had dropped its earlier plans altogether or whether Beijing had refused to grant Guangdong permission.
It was unclear whether this meant the province had dropped its earlier plans altogether or whether Beijing had refused to grant Guangdong permission.
Recession officially over, but US incomes kept falling
Drop appears to be the largest in several decades, Census Bureau data shows
By ERIC DASH
In a grim sign of the enduring nature of the economic slump, household income declined more in the two years after the recession ended than it did during the recession itself, new research has found.
Between June 2009, when the recession officially ended, and June 2011, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 6.7 percent, to $49,909, according to a study by two former Census Bureau officials. During the recession — from December 2007 to June 2009 — household income fell 3.2 percent.
Cricketers in the hood
Compton cricket club hails from one of the most deprived areas of Los Angeles and counts ex-gang members and even officers from the LAPD among its ranks. Which makes it one of the most extraordinary teams in the sport of gentlemen
'Facing the West Indian quick bowlers of yesteryear, the likes of Malcolm Marshall or Mikey Holding, was a stroll when compared to standing in a field in the middle of Compton. However, there are similarities. There is the realisation that you may get hurt, battered or simply that the experience may cost you your life."
These are the words of Paul Smith, global ambassador for the Compton cricket club; a diverse collection of characters from one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the United States. Northumberland-born Smith is widely thought of as one of the best English players not to have represented his country at the sport. In the 90s, his ability to bowl at high speed and take wickets at crucial times, and a propensity to take an attack apart with his bat, was well-known within the game, as his Warwickshire side conquered on all fronts.
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