Six In The Morning

Soldier in Afghanistan massacre 'just snapped,' US official says



By msnbc.com staff and NBC News
A senior American official said Thursday that the U.S. soldier suspected of killing 16 Afghan villagers had been drinking alcohol that night and was suffering from the stress of a fourth combat tour and tension with his wife, The New York Times reported. “When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues — he just snapped,” the official said, according to the Times. The newspaper said the official had been briefed on the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity because the soldier has not been formally charged.

Syria: 'The children can escape the country, but they can't escape the conflict and fear'
Refugees, many heart-breakingly young, are flooding into Lebanon

Baalbek Friday 16 March 2012
Mona flinches each time she hears a bang in the chaotic refuge in the Lebanese mountains that has been her home for a week. The five-year-old wears several layers of baggy, boys' clothes and clutches a ragged, blue bear. "I always get scared. My father is in Syria so I worry a lot about him," she says. Bed-wetting and terrorised wails are nightly features of the lives of the 30 children who fled Homs and Qusayr, a nearby village, with their five mothers in two convoys last week. Some of the children are boisterous and grapple for attention. Others sit in silence, their eyes dart around and their heads jolt each time the louder ones clap or smack the floor. Others sit in the centre of the room, frenziedly banging the carpet and imitating the chant leaders so familiar in videos of Syria's protests.

Are Obama's Efforts to Justify Drone Warfare Aimed at Iran?
When it comes to America's security, President Barack Obama has turned out to be just as ruthlessly determined as his predecessor -- particularly when it comes to using drones to wage the war on terror. But the target of his recent legal repositioning might have much less to do with terrorists than with Iran.

By Thomas Darnstädt, Marc Hujer and Gregor Peter Schmitz
On a recent Monday afternoon, US President Barack Obama was sitting in the White House, participating in a live video chat with handpicked Internet users. They were discussing relatively superficial issues, such as what a blessing it is to have daughters and whether Obama could be convinced to perform a little dance on camera. But then, in the middle of this innocuous banter, "Evan from Brooklyn, New York" appeared on the screen wanting to know about the drone war. Isn't the president overstepping moral and legal boundaries, Evan asked, when he has potentially innocent people killed at the touch of a button? Until now, speaking openly about America's drone war in Pakistan was practically a breach of secrecy for members of Obama's administration. Indeed, his staff has made great efforts to avoid even using the word "drone."

Five jailed over West Papua independence push


Michael Bachelard March 16, 2012 - 4:21PM
FIVE activists fighting for an independent West Papua will immediately appeal their conviction and imprisonment on treason charges, handed down today. The men, including Forkorus Yaboisembut, the man declared “president of the Federal Republic of West Papua” by representatives of the district’s 200-plus tribes last October, were jailed yesterday for three years by Jayapura district court judge Jack Johanis Oktavianus.

'Third Force' rises in Indian politics
South Asia

By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - Fresh from leading the Samajwadi Party (SP) to an absolute majority in elections and sworn in this week as Uttar Pradesh's new chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav has wasted no time to stamp his authority by replacing officials of the earlier Mayawati government with old loyalists. Akhilesh, who at 38 is the youngest and 33rd chief minister of India's most politically important state, was credited with steering the party to trounce the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, who goes by one name and resigned from her post on March 7 after completing four terms in office. The SP won 224 of the 403 seats in the state assembly, leaving Mayawati with only 80 seats.

Swazi students protest funding cuts
Swaziland's students have pledged to bring their country to a standstill next week

LOUISE REDVERS Mar 16 2012 02:32
The students say the proposed 60% cut in allowances will put tertiary education out of the reach of many poorer families. They are also angry that scholarships will not be awarded to students who are members of political parties, which are banned in Swaziland. Government unable to pay allowances The University of Swaziland opened a month late this academic year because the government was unable to pay allowances on time due to a liquidity crisis triggered by a fall in revenues from the regional customs union.