Six In The Morning

Syria ceasefire comes into effect under Annan plan

A Syrian ceasefire proposed by UN envoy Kofi Annan has come into force, but Western countries have publicly doubted Syria's willingness to stick to it.　　

The BBC Jim Muir
Syria has said it would abide by the ceasefire but reserved the right to respond to attacks. The US earlier said the government's pledge appeared to have "little if any credibility". Correspondents say the ceasefire appears to be largely holding so far. The main armed rebel group said it would respond to any government attack. Mr Annan received written assurances from the Syrian foreign ministry that government troops would "cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 06:00 (03:00 GMT)... while reserving the right to respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups", his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi said.

Arctic oil rush will ruin ecosystem, warns Lloyd's of London
Insurance market joins environmentalists in highlighting risks of drilling in fragile region as $100bn investment is predicted

Julia Kollewe and Terry Macalister The Guardian, Thursday 12 April 2012
Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to raise its voice about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic. The City institution estimates that $100bn (£63bn) of new investment is heading for the far north over the next decade, but believes cleaning up any oil spill in the Arctic, particularly in ice-covered areas, would present "multiple obstacles, which together constitute a unique and hard-to-manage risk".

Low-key, witty and not Sarkozy – why France likes the quiet man
Hollande's critics say he lacks passion, but his tactics may work. John Lichfield sees a growing threat to the President at a rally in Besançon

Thursday 12 April 2012
Mr Hollande, who may be president of France in a month, likes to do everything quietly. He even manages to shout quietly. "I want to tell you one simple thing," he said to an overflowing rally in Besançon, in the east of France, this week."I am ready. I am ready to win. I am ready to be President of France. I am ready to transform our country." Mr Hollande may win but "transform" is an uncharacteristically dramatic word for the Socialist candidate's cautious and, in places, vague programme.

Music ensemble traverses Haiti's tragic existence to give the people a lifeline


Larry Rohter April 12, 201
SINCE its founding in 1948 the Orchestre Septentrional's homeland, Haiti, has endured the nearly three-decade Duvalier family dictatorship, 26 other governments, a foreign intervention, a devastating earthquake and, most recently, a cholera epidemic. Through it all ''Septen'', as the group is known, has continued to perform for its fans. Whether playing an elegant ballroom or an outdoor festival, Septen is a heady combination of drums and horns driving dancers onto their feet. But to Haitians, Septen's ability to thrive when all else seems to be falling apart makes the orchestra a bulwark and a solace.

The heat is on for Malawi's new President Banda


JUSTINE GERARDY LILONGWE, MALAWI
If Malawi's new President Joyce Banda needed a sobering reminder of her daunting to-do list, a trip to a local supermarket in search of a bag of sugar is all that would be needed. Shortages of the household staple are the latest crisis to hit the ailing economy -- battered by years of daily foreign currency and fuel shortages -- which Malawians expect the newly sworn-in leader to sort out. "I have been here since six o'clock in the morning. There's a scarcity of sugar in Malawi -- it's about one month now," said Moses Tstate (32) after nearly four hours in a massive sugar queue.

Iran talks have right mix for history
"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences

By Chris Cook
Winston Churchill's rhetoric in 1936 is as relevant now, as the "Iran Six" nations prepare to meet Iran in Istanbul later this week, as it was then. (The "Iran Six" or P5+1 are the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany.) I believe that this meeting, through the consequences which will flow from it during the following months, has the potential to shapehistory. Unlike most observers, I am optimistic as to the outcome. The prize "While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies" - Dick Cheney, Halliburton chief executive officer, Institute of Petroleum, London 1999.