Six In The Moning

Former Khmer Rouge prison chief's appeal rejected, will spend life in prison



By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com
A math teacher turned prison chief who oversaw a torture center where at least 12,000 people died under Cambodia’s genocidal Khmer Rouge regime will spend the rest of his life behind bars, after a war crimes court rejected his appeal to overturn his conviction and instead increased his sentence. Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, was deputy and then chairman of S-21, a school converted into a prison where thousands of Cambodians were brought for execution during the regime’s 1975-1979 rule. He is the only former cadre to accept responsibility and express remorse for his role in what has become known as “the killing fields.”

Thousands storm ministry in protest at match deaths
Cairo football fans say Port Said catastrophe was reprisal for their part in revolution

Port Said Friday 03 February 2012
Egypt was thrust into a fresh crisis last night as security forces fired tear gas at protesters who returned to the streets of Cairo to demonstrate against the deaths of 74 football supporters on Wednesday. In an emotionally charged day that followed Egypt's worst-ever sporting disaster, exacerbated by charges that security forces stood by and allowed rival fans to clash, nearly 10,000 gathered in Tahrir Square and outside the Interior Ministry, with some ripping down barbed wire around the building.

At least 150 dead as freeze sweeps across Europe
The Irish Times - Friday, February 3, 2012

DANIEL McLAUGHLIN in Moscow
MORE THAN 150 people have died as a freezing Siberian weather front sweeps across Europe, playing havoc with everything from transport and power networks to major political rallies. With Moscow blanketed in snow and temperatures expected to hover around minus 20 degrees in the coming days, Russia’s chief public health officer Gennady Onishchenko advised his compatriots to stay at home tomorrow, rather than attending protests in the capital. “If the forecast is correct, then I categorically advise against taking part in these events,” Dr Onischenko said. “No tea or other warm drink will save you and it might even have a bad effect. It’s better to stay away and find another way of helping to build a happier state.”

Somalia famine is over: UN
Famine conditions have ended in war-torn Somalia six months after they were declared, but the situation remains dire with nearly a third of the population needing emergency support, the UN said on Friday.

Sapa-AFP | 03 February, 2012 09:48
"No more region in Somalia is under famine conditions," Jose Graziano da Silva, the head of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told reporters. "However, the good news does not mean the crisis is over." Three areas had been in famine: southern Somalia's Middle Shabelle, in Afgoye -- the world's largest camp for displaced people -- and inside camps in the anarchic capital Mogadishu. However, those areas "have now improved to emergency level," the UN said, while warning that the situation remains critical.

Taliban eat into Afghanistan's core
AN ASIA TIMES ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

By Hamza Ameer and Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud
ISLAMABAD - As the United States steps up efforts to engage the Taliban and al-Qaeda in a peace process for Afghanistan, elements of the Taliban have initiated their own plan focusing on regaining the power they lost in 2001 following the US-led invasion. This involves hijacking the efforts and finances that the US is investing in training and equipping the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). Well-placed sources in the Taliban who are based in the Pakistan tribal region on the border with Afghanistan have told Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity that massive numbers from both the ANA and the ANP will switch and join the Taliban on the eve of the scheduled withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan

Extradition fight: Who is Julian Assange, why is Sweden seeking him?
A British court is hearing a final appeal from Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblower site, to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex crime allegations. Mr. Assange has made many powerful enemies, including the US government. Here are four questions about the man and the case.

Whitney Eulich, Staff writer
Born in Queensland, Australia, Julian Assange was first accused of computer hacking as early as 1995. A talented mathematician, Mr. Assange was adept at cracking codes and encrypting material. He was able to avoid prison in Australia on the condition he not re-offend, reports the BBC. But hacking has become what Assange is known for. He created the organization WikiLeaks in 2006 with a community of contributors and volunteers across the Internet. His work focused on bringing “important news and information to the public” through innovative, secure, and anonymous information leaks, and by providing sources to journalists, according to the organization’s website.