Six In The Morning

On Sunday

'Disaster emergency' as dozens of tornadoes pummel Midwest

　

By msnbc.com staff and news services
A disaster emergency has been declared in Kansas are a severe storm system moving through the state spawned a number of strong tornadoes, causing damage in multiple counties. Governor Sam Brownback issued a declaration of disaster emergency to help speed relief to areas affected by the storms. "We are continuing to assess all the damages across the state," said Brownback, "and signing this declaration clears the way for making state aid available to those counties that need help with clean-up and recovery." Dozens of tornadoes were reported Saturday as baseball-size hail shattered windows and tore the siding off homes in northeast Nebraska and one twister damaged a hospital in Creston, Iowa. Several homes were wrecked in Kansas.

Egypt disqualifies top Islamists from election


TOM PERRY AND DINA ZAYED CAIRO, EGYPT - Apr 15 2012 07:36
The race for the Egyptian presidency took a dramatic turn on Saturday when the authorities disqualified front-runners including Hosni Mubarak's spy chief, a Muslim Brotherhood candidate and a Salafi preacher whose lawyer warned that "a major crisis" was looming. The presidential election is the climax of a transition to civilian rule being led by the military council that assumed power from Mubarak on February 11 2011 at the height of the uprising against his three decades in power. The generals are due to hand power to the elected president on July 1.

Maoists extend deadline for MLA’s release


Koraput/Bhubaneswar, April 15, 2012
The Maoists holding ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka hostage on Sunday extended the deadline for fulfilment of their demands till April 18. In a message, a leader of Maoists’ Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) set the new deadline of 5 p.m. of April 18 for release of 29 rebels, Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, a Koraput-based lawyer who fights cases for the Maoists, said.

Sixth Summit of the Americas: 8 things to watch
Yes, the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena will debate drug policy and Cuba. And when you're done reading the thousandth boring article on those topics, you may wonder what else is going to be discussed. Here are eight other things to watch at the Summit:

James Bosworth, Guest blogger
1. The actual Summit agenda You may not know it from the media coverage, but the Summit has an agenda and there [is] a list of topics that will be officially discussed. The leaders are supposed to spend the majority of the time talking about topics like physical infrastructure integration, citizen security, poverty and inequality, disaster relief, and access to technology. Will any new projects come of those five topics? Will a final declaration be agreed to by all the countries? Some of these topic aren't overly controversial and there is room for agreement by all countries, if they can actually focus on them.

UN monitors prepare for Syria mission
A small advance group of UN monitors is preparing to go to Syria to oversee the ceasefire, hours after the Security Council voted for its deployment.

Jim Muir 15 April 2012
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he would make firm proposals in days for a larger group of about 250 people. The mission comes as a BBC reporter says the ceasefire appears in danger of collapsing in some parts of Syria. Activists said at least 20 people were killed as violence flared on Saturday in Homs and at a funeral in Aleppo. The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, condemned the bloodshed saying it raises "renewed doubts about the sincerity of the [Syrian] regime's commitment to the ceasefire".

Sport that survived the Khmer Rouge
Cambodia's contestants in the Davis Cup are inspired by a player who lived through the Killing Fields

Sunday 15 April 2012
Tep Rithivit is a successful businessman who has played his part in rebuilding Cambodia after the horrors of the Khmer Rouge years. Yet one of the proudest moments of his life will come this week when four of his fellow countrymen play a series of tennis matches in what is likely to be a near-empty stadium. Group four of the Asia/Oceania Zone is as low as you can get in the Davis Cup, the team event contested by countries from every corner of the planet. But Cambodia's first appearance in the competition, which starts in Qatar tomorrow, will be the realisation of a 17-year dream.