Six In The Morning

Deepwater drilling picks up again as BP disaster fades

Oil companies intensify exploration, production in gulf after yearlong moratorium

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and JOHN M. BRODER
Nearly two years after an explosion on an oil platform killed 11 workers and sent millions of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, deepwater drilling has regained momentum in the gulf and is spreading around the world. The announcement of an agreement late Friday by BP and lawyers representing individuals and businesses hurt by the disaster represented something of a turning of the page, though BP and its drilling partners continue to face legal challenges. After a yearlong drilling moratorium, BP and other oil companies are intensifying their exploration and production in the gulf, which will soon surpass the levels attained before the accident.

Critics cry fraud as poll gives Putin third term in Kremlin
President, then Prime Minister, and now President again as Russia's most powerful post-Soviet leader reasserts his grip

Shaun Walker Author Biography Moscow Monday 05 March 2012
Vladimir Putin is set to return to the Kremlin after securing more than 60 per cent of the vote in a presidential election that was marred by allegations of fraud. With 99 per cent of ballots counted, Mr Putin secured 64 per cent of the votes with Gennady Zyuganov, a veteran Communist, coming a distant second with 17.9 per cent. The result was never in doubt: preparations had been under way all day for a victory rally in Manezhnaya Square, outside the Kremlin. Thousands of supporters, many bussed in from the provinces, gathered to wave flags in sub-zero temperatures – a display intended to show that Mr Putin still has real support among ordinary Russians.

Author exposes East Timor 'stolen generation'
Of the thousands taken to Indonesia, many are still traumatised,

Lindsay Murdoch March 5, 2012
THEY were East Timor's stolen generation. Between 1975 and 1999, about 4000 young and vulnerable Timorese were secretly taken to Indonesia, where some of them were forced to work in slave-like conditions while others were educated and grew up with the families of soldiers, an Australian academic has found. Little has been known of the fate of the children, some of whom were abducted while others' parents were coerced or deceived into giving them away.

Kenya’s hide-and-seek war with Al-Shabaab


By JOHN NGIRACHU Posted Monday, March 5 2012 at 00:00
One Sunday a few weeks ago, the Kenya Defence Forces were patrolling the area around Tabda town, about 77 kilometres inside Somalia. Suddenly a young man stepped out of the bushes and stood in their way. This encounter was far enough from the village marked as a permanent centre by the iron roofing sheets and the mosque to raise the soldiers’ suspicions. The man was stopped, asked to identify himself, frisked by the soldiers and led towards the town, where the officer in charge, a lieutenant, was talking to the Transitional Federal Government forces that police the area.

Egypt's constitution: How 5 stakeholders would shape the document
With elections now over for Egypt’s parliament, lawmakers are are deciding who gets to write the country's new constitution. There is much at stake including the role of Islam in the state and the power of the military.

- Kristen Chick, Correspondent

1. The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, proposed in the joint parliamentary session in early March that parliament members should make up 40 percent of the constituent assembly, the body tasked with writing the constitution. That would give the FJP, the largest party in both houses, a significant say in drafting the document.

How Pakistani city of Mirpur became 'Little England'
The Pakistani city of Mirpur is known as "Little England" due to its large British Pakistani community. So what is life like for the city's many expats?

By Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Pakistan
Mirpur's connection with Britain has made it a place quite unlike anywhere else in Pakistan. You can see it in the huge villas. "Where could I get a place like this in the UK?" says Zahoor from Ilford, as we crane our necks to get a full view of his dazzling palatial creation, complete with terraces and towers. But even that is nothing compared to his most recent foray into development Mirpuri-style. He has now finished building an entire "British street". "It's a home away from home for UK Pakistanis," he says, proudly showing me the little semi-detached houses and their neat gardens that he hopes to sell on. "They'll even have British-style rubbish collections."