Six In The Morning

Bullets, beatings and Blair's brutal friend in Kazakhstan

Behind the President's PR effort, unrest is being crushed. Joanna Lillis meets the victims of the violence

JOANNA LILLIS

 

 

THURSDAY 29 DECEMBER 2011

In a forlorn town in the oil-rich Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, the hospital is jammed with patients. Some are groaning in the wards, recovering from gunshot wounds; others are fed by intravenous drips; one lies in a coma.

This is the Kazakh oil town of Zhanaozen, where clashes between security forces and protesters this month have left 15 people dead. The normally placid country paints itself as a bastion of stability and a haven for Western investors who have sunk billions into its oil and gas sector.

Samoa to skip a day, cross date line

Keni Lesa

December 29, 2011 - 5:16PM

The tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa will jump forward in time as it crosses westward over the international dateline to align itself with its other 21st century trading partners throughout the region.

At the stroke of midnight on December 29, time in Samoa will leap forward to December 31 - New Year's Eve. For Samoa's 186,000 citizens, Friday, December 30, 2011, will simply cease to exist.

Fresh DR Congo election crisis looms

Sapa-AFP | 29 December, 2011 11:31

The widespread violence many feared when incumbent Joseph Kabila was declared the winner earlier this month of a fraud-tainted November 28 presidential vote never happened.

Incidents did occur but threats of mass protests by supporters of frustrated challenger Etienne Tshisekedi were contained and a wider flare-up averted.

However another election, for the fractious country's parliament, was held the same day and the results have yet to be released.

Clash of ideologies: BJP, Congress fight over Lokpal fineprint

Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, December 29, 2011

Opposition on Thursday slammed the Lokpal Bill saying it would lead to "constitutional havoc" as the Centre would be encouraged to "usurp" rights of states through the provision of setting up of Lokayuktas.

Initiating the debate in the Rajya Sabha, leader of the 

Opposition Arun Jaitley

also opposed minority quota in the Lokpal bench, inclusion of NGOs and keeping CBI out of the purview of the ombudsman.

"If you are creating history, let us not create bad history. We will be leaving a lot of task for the next generation to do," he said.

Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina

Authorities in Argentina caught a man trying to board a plane with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles.

By Michael Warren, Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

A man tried to board a plane in Argentina with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles in his baggage, each meticulously labeled with its Latin name.

Czech citizen Karel Abelovsky, 51, was en route toSpain when airport officials made him open his baggage at Buenos Aires' international airport after police spotted the reptiles in the X-ray scanner. They found 247 exotic and endangered species in all, packed inside plastic containers, bags, and even socks.

Smokin' hot island rises up from depths of the Red Sea

Volcanic eruption gives rise to huge lump of lava; will it have staying power?

By Brett Israel

OurAmazingPlanet

The Red Sea has a new inhabitant: a smoking island.

The island was created by a wild eruption that occurred in the Red Sea earlier this month. It is made of loose volcanic debris from the eruption, so it may not stick around long.

According to news reports, fishermen witnessed lava fountains reaching up to 90 feet (30 meters) tall on Dec. 19, which is probably the day the eruption began, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.