Six In The Morning

On Sunday

U.S. officials: Iran is stepping up lethal aid to Syria



By Joby Warrick and Liz Sly, Sunday, March 4, 10:41 AM
U.S. officials say they see Iran’s hand in the increasingly brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds in Syria, including evidence of Iranian military and intelligence support for government troops accused of mass executions and other atrocities in the past week. Three U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports from the region described a spike in Iran­ian-supplied arms and other aid for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a time when the regime is mounting an unprecedented offensive to crush resistance in the key city of Homs.

Chinese military spending increases by 11.2% in latest budget
Annual double-digit increases continue as Beijing arms itself against regional disputes and greater US presence

Associated Press in Beijing guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 March 2012 06.18 GMT
China is to boost its defence spending by 11.2% in 2012, the latest in nearly two decades of double-digit increases each year. Although the planned figure is less than last year's 12.7% increase, China's military leaders have said they are unhappy with recent moves by the Obama administration to increase the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Only twice since the early 1990s has the increase been less than double digits.

The fearful realities keeping the Assad regime in power
Nevermind the claims of armchair interventionists and the hypocrisy of Western leaders, this is what is really happening in Syria

Sunday 04 March 2012
In my 1912 Baedeker guide to Syria, a page and a half is devoted to the city of Homs. In tiny print, it says that, "in the plain to the south-east, you come across the village of Baba Amr. A visit to the arcaded bazaar is worthwhile – here you will find beautiful silks. To the north of Homs, on a square, there is an artillery barracks..." The bazaar has long since been demolished, though the barracks inevitably passed from Ottoman into French and ultimately into Baathist hands; for 27 days last month, this bastion has been visiting hell on what was once the village of Baba Amr.

Sudan's Bashir thumbs nose at ICC
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir danced on Saturday with his defence minister at a rally for paramilitary troops two days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the latter's arrest.

ABDELMONEIM ABU EDRIS ALI KHARTOUM, SUDAN - Mar 04 2012 09:24
"We will start a major campaign to face the enemies of God and the state," Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein told more than 1 000 members of the People's Defence Force (PDF), formed during the country's 22-year civil war. The rally, designed to showcase the PDF's fighting readiness, was the first of its kind since the 2005 peace deal that ended the civil war and led to South Sudan's independence last July after an overwhelming vote to separate. It came as analysts and diplomats warn that escalating tensions between the two countries threaten to erupt into direct conflict.

U.S. Backers of Israel Pressure Obama Over Policy on Iran


By MARK LANDLER
On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country’s most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama into hardening American policy toward Iran over its nuclear program. From the corridors of Congress to a gathering of nearly 14,000 American Jews and other supporters of Israel here this weekend, Mr. Obama is being buffeted by demands that the United States be more aggressive toward Iran and more forthright in supporting Israel in its own confrontation with Tehran.

Russia election: Vladimir Putin seeks third term
Polling stations across Russia have opened as the presidential election gets under way.

The BBC 4 March 2012 Last updated at 09:45 GMT
Sunday's vote sees Vladimir Putin hoping to become president again after four years as prime minister. Mr Putin was Russia's president from 2000 to 2008, but was barred by the constitution from standing for a third consecutive term. He faces four challengers, three of whom he has defeated in previous elections.