Six In The Morning

U.S. War Game Sees Perils of Israeli Strike Against Iran



By MARK MAZZETTI and THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — A classified war simulation held this month to assess the repercussions of an Israeli attack on Iran forecasts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to American officials. The officials said the so-called war game was not designed as a rehearsal for American military action — and they emphasized that the exercise’s results were not the only possible outcome of a real-world conflict. But the game has raised fears among top American planners that it may be impossible to preclude American involvement in any escalating confrontation with Iran, the officials said.

Guilty – of watching a film on the Arab Spring in Mugabe's Zimbabwe
Six activists fear long jail sentences for alleged attempt to inspire uprising. Alex Duval Smith reports in Harare

　ALEX DUVAL SMITH HARARE TUESDAY 20 MARCH 2012　
Zimbabwe issued a tough warning yesterday that opposition to President Robert Mugabe's 32-year rule will not be tolerated when six political activists who screened a film about the Arab Spring were found guilty of conspiring to commit public violence. The five men and one woman – who include students and trade union leaders – will be sentenced after a mitigation hearing today at Rotten Row magistrates' court in the capital, Harare. They face up to a decade in prison.

Syrian Regime Resembles Mafia Cartel
Hopes that diplomacy will force Syrian President Bashar Assad to back down seem misguided, given that his regime resembles a mafia cartel bent on defending its turf by any means. There is no turning back for Assad's clan or the rebels -- both sides know that would spell their doom.


One of the most bizarre verbal exchanges in Syrian President Bashar Assad's war against his own people recently took place in the Damascus suburb of Douma. An opponent of the regime struck up a conversation with an extremely young soldier from the eastern part of the country: "After hesitating for a long time, the soldier accepted a sandwich and was amazed that someone was speaking Arabic with him," recalls the activist. "He asked where he was and was totally amazed when he found out that he was in Damascus. His commanding officer had told him that they were going to Israel to fight against the Zionists. But then he wondered why the Israelis were speaking Arabic with a Syrian accent."

New details emerge of sacking of Chinese party boss


MICHAEL WINES and JONATHAN ANSFIELD March 20, 2012 - 2:36PM
BEIJING: Communist Party leaders sacked Bo Xilai, the powerful party chief of metropolitan Chongqing, after being told that he had schemed to remove his police chief and impede a corruption investigation involving his family, according to a preliminary report on Bo's actions circulated among government officials. A version of the report, posted on a Chinese website and verified independently, provides a rare glimpse of the government's internal efforts to manage one of its biggest political earthquakes in years. Some officials are worried that the purge of Bo could upset plans for a transfer of power to a new generation of party leaders this autumn.

Korean baseball: Could scandal unseat the country's most lucrative sport?
As Korea's eight baseball teams wind up spring training in the US and Japan, their sport is reeling under a bribery scandal that could threaten baseball’s ascent as the national pastime.

By Donald Kirk, Correspondent
Professional baseball here is reeling under a bribery scandal that threatens to slow the game’s ascent as Korea's national pastime while the country's eight teams wind up spring training in the US and Japan. Anyone can bet online on anything from the next batter to the next pitch. The problem is that gangsters see easy money in fixing bets by bribing athletes. Prosecutors, hoping to snuff out the latest scandal before it spreads beyond a small number of players and "brokers," indicted two pitchers last week but acknowledge defeating the problem won't be easy.

Which is the world's biggest employer?
The National Health Service (NHS) in England is at the centre of a big political row about its reform. It's often said to be the third biggest employer in the world, after the Chinese army and Indian Railways. But is that really true?

By Ruth Alexander BBC News 20 March 2012
It's an incredible claim, given how much smaller the UK is than China or India. And indeed, it is not true. Sizing up the world's biggest employers, the NHS is revealed to be the fifth largest employer, with 1.7 million workers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. McDonald's makes it into fourth position in our list, with 1.9 million employees. However, 80% of the restaurants are franchises so, strictly speaking, 1.5 million of these people are employed by other companies, although they all wear the uniform.