Six In The Morning

What would happen if Iran did get the bomb?

Experts say an Iran with nuclear weapons could trigger a regional arms race

By Scott Peterson Staff writer Christian Science Monitor
Are you afraid of Iran yet? Shrill warnings of war or imminent apocalypse over Iran's nuclear program have never been so strident, or so ominous. A window is closing fast, the narrative goes, to prevent a fanatical and suicidal religious regime from acquiring the ultimate tools of Armageddon: nuclear weapons. Within months, some politicians claim, either Israel, the United States, or both may have no choice but to attack Iran to remove this "existential threat" to the Jewish state. The world is facing another Hitler, declares Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and this moment of decision is akin to the eve of World War II. Iran is a threat to Israel and "a real danger to humanity as a whole," warns Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Syrians flee their homes amid fears of ethnic cleansing
Not everyone is relishing Assad's end. Charlotte McDonald-Gibson meets the members of his Alawite sect living in fear

Saturday 18 February 2012
Members of Syria's minority Alawite community are fleeing their homes and going into hiding, terrified that avenging rebels will hunt them down as more areas of the country come under the control of fighters trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. While many countries have thrown their weight behind the opposition, with the UN General Assembly late on Thursday night approving a resolution calling on Mr Assad to cede power and Britain pledging £2m in aid to Syrians affected by the fighting, the situation remains dire.

Movie Examines Journalists' Battle to Report Egypt's Uprising
The documentary "Reporting... A Revolution" tells the story of six intrepid Egyptian journalists who watched in horror from their Cairo hotel as security forces attacked protesters near Tahrir Square during last year's revolution.

By Jess Smee
In January 2011, Nora Younis, a young Egyptian journalist had just arrived home after reporting on the Tunisian revolution. Instead of spending time with her family, fast-moving events on the streets pulled her back into the newsroom: The uprising had spread to Cairo. Before she knew it, Younis was covering another historic protest. "I just got back from Tunisia and rather than being with my baby son, I had to go to Tahrir Square. The revolution was happening here," she told Spiegel ONLINE. "It feels very different when it happens in your own country: When the outcome of the battle will influence your own and your son's future, it is no longer about journalism. It becomes a personally decisive moment."

Liberty, equality and amusement rides


February 18, 2012
PARIS: Why simply take your children to pose with Mickey Mouse when they could be re-enacting the Battle of Trafalgar in a giant aquarium - or dry-skiing past frozen corpses from Napoleon's desperate retreat from Russia? A French MP has laid down the gauntlet for a new generation of ''histotainment'' with plans for Europe's first theme-park based on the French emperor Napoleon.

Senegal: EU urges transparency in voter registration


By TAMBA JEAN-MATHEW NATION Correspondent
The European Union observer mission in Senegal has urged the Electoral Affairs Ministry to ensure more transparency in the distribution of voter cards to lend credibility to the February 26 presidential elections. The EU mission has recommended in a statement that the ministry periodically publishes the number of voter cards issued. It further requested the ministry to work with the prefects and sub-prefects to provide information to the public about the number of voter cards issued in their respective localities.

Honduras report bolsters criticism of prison system
The Comayagua prison was built for 250 people but held 842, a panel reported in December. More than 350 inmates died in a fire there this week.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Mexico City— The prison where more than 350 inmates died in a fire this week was packed with more than three times the number of prisoners it was built to hold, according to an official report issued in December. As Honduran officials worked Thursday to remove and identify victims of the deadly blaze, new details about how the Comayagua prison was run appeared to bolster broad criticism of the country's overcrowded and unsafe prison system. The Comayagua prison was built for 250 inmates but held 842, according to the December report on Honduras' prison system by the government-appointed National Committee for the Prevention of Torture.