Six In The Morning

Syria bombings hit a city seen as key to Assad's future

Rebels and the government of President Bashar Assad trade blame for the twin bombings in Aleppo, which killed at least 28.

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Beirut— A pair of car bombs killed at least 28 people and left hundreds injured in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, bringing the violence that has raged across much of the country to a pro-government commercial hub whose allegiance is regarded as vital to the survival of President Bashar Assad. The twin bombings Friday, apparently aimed at military and police posts, stunned residents of the key city. State television broadcast horrific live shots in an effort to bolster Assad's claim that he is fighting violent, foreign-backed efforts to overthrow him.

Turkmenistan's one-horse race
Eight candidates are running for president, each with the same message: vote for the incumbent. Shaun Walker reports from a country where democracy is still a dream

Saturday 11 February 2012
It is democracy, Turkmen style. There are eight candidates standing in tomorrow's presidential election. But all seven men who are challenging the incumbent, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, have refused to ask the electorate to vote for them. Instead, they have lauded the president and his achievements; one of many signs that talk of gradual reform in one of the world's most authoritarian countries is mere wishful thinking.

N Korea's new leader not ready, brother says

<.br> February 11, 2012 - 10:51AM
The elder brother of North Korea's new leader says bribery and corruption will be the undoing of a country ruled by an inexperienced young man, newly published emails show. Kim Jong-Nam, the half brother of Kim Jong-Un, who took control of the hermit state after the death of their father late last year, said corruption was so rampant that the country's political system would not survive

Ethnic conflict displaces 40000 in Kenya
More than 40,000 people have fled recent clashes between two northern Kenyan tribes over access to water and pasture, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday.

Sapa-AFP
"Over 40,000 people have fled their homes in Moyale, northern Kenya," said Alexander Matheou, IFRC head for East Africa. The UN had earlier said "tens of thousands" displaced by the fighting had fled into neighbouring Ethiopia, where the majority are living with host families. Clashes between rival cattle herding pastoralists in the region are common, with herders often carrying guns to protect their animals, but the recent fighting has been unusually heavy.

Greece bailout: Cabinet approves draft bill for fresh cuts
Greece's cabinet has approved fresh austerity measures demanded by the eurozone and IMF in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout.

The BBC
The draft bill must now be passed by the Greek parliament and approved by European finance ministers. Five ministers have resigned from the government over the issue, with one junior party in the coalition saying the demands were "humiliating". Unions began a 48-hour strike on Friday with protesters clashing with police. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has warned the country faces "uncontrolled economic chaos" if it fails to agree spending cuts and defaults on its debts.

Germany's Studio Babelsberg Recalls a Century of Film History
It's where Marlene Dietrich made her name, Fritz Lang created "Metropolis" and Quentin Tarantino and Roman Polanski sat in director's chairs. Studio Babelsberg, the world's first major film studio, turns 100 on Sunday.

By Jess Smee
To the uninitiated, it is just a vast empty hall, a place where people shrink in comparison to high rafters and towering walls. But, for film buffs, Studio Babelsberg's Marlene Dietrich Hall is legendary. Within these walls, Weimar-era director Fritz Lang filmed his dystopian mega-city "Metropolis," and Marlene Dietrich first batted her eyelashes at the camera in "Blue Angel." It was here that Europe's first sound films were recorded.