Six In The Morning

Obama expected to push for growth at G-8 summit

　Given the escalating crisis in Greece, the future of the Eurozone is expected to dominate the talks, raising the stakes for the summit and for Obama.

By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times May 18, 2012
For months, President Obama has been urging his European allies to balance their zeal for spending cuts with policies to spur economic growth. His pleas have mostly been ignored. But now, as Obama prepares to host the Group of 8 industrialized nations' summit Friday and Saturday, his pro-growth argument has taken on new force — and some measure of desperation. The G-8 gathering at Camp David will cover an array of topics, but given the escalating crisis in Greece, the future of the Eurozone is expected to dominate the talks, raising the stakes for the summit and for Obama.

Europe rocked by Spanish banking crisis


Friday 18 May 2012
The flames of the eurozone crisis leapt higher yesterday, as fears spread about the state of the Continent's most vulnerable banks. Shares in the Spanish lender, Bankia, plummeted 30 per cent at one stage in trading, following a report that customers had withdrawn €1bn in deposits since the Madrid government was forced to part-nationalise the bank last week.

The Bad Guy Games: controversial leaders pose an Olympic problem
Controversial national leaders will attend, causing a public relations headache

Luke Harding May 18, 2012 - 2:03PM
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said yesterday he would like to come to the London Olympics but would not be attending because Britain had "a problem" with him. His decision to stay away highlights a dilemma for the British government, which faces an unprecedented influx of leaders from unsavoury regimes for the opening ceremony on 27 July.

Lesotho in 'personality' poll
Lesotho goes to the polls on May 26 and as 15 parties battle it out in the closely fought election, the country's problems are largely ignored.


Lesotho goes to the polls on May 26 in a highly contested election that could leave long-serving Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili without a clear majority and force him into an insecure coalition with his rivals. Fifteen political parties and several independent candidates will fight for the country’s 120 parliamentary seats, although the main battle will be between Mosisili’s newly formed ruling Democratic Congress and his former party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy, which is now led by Mothetjoa Metsing. The Democratic Congress was created only in February in a move interpreted as a way for 67-year-old Mosisili to resist a leadership challenge from the younger and more dynamic Metsing, previously the Lesotho Congress for Democracy’s secretary general.

The riddle of the Scarborough Shoals


By Peter Lee
What's the standoff between China and the Philippines over an atoll in the South China Sea all about? Is it a matter of seafood and sovereignty ... or gas fields and gambling? To an outside observer, the antics of China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia over conflicting territorial claims smack of farce auditioning for tragedy, and ridiculous claims abound. Most notorious is the infamous Chinese nine-dash line, a scrotum-shaped outrage that extends from Hainan Island to brush the shores of Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, and encompasses almost the entire South China Sea.

Colombian politician arrested over alleged role in Farc plot
Sigifredo López is accused of helping rebels plan his own kidnapping after 11 fellow hostages were murdered

Associated Press in Bogotá guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 May 2012 08.38 BST
One of a dozen provincial lawmakers kidnapped by the country's main rebel group a decade ago has been arrested for allegedly helping the insurgents plan the daring daylight abduction. Colombians were stunned on Thursday by the arrest of Sigifredo López, 48, on suspicion of murder, treachery and hostage-taking. The news was especially alarming because he was the only one among the 12 who escaped execution by rebels in 2007 under circumstances that remain unclear. Authorities have not mentioned a possible motive.