Six In The Morning

Cops: NATO summit protesters held over Molotov cocktail plot

　

By The Associated Press
Three protesters at the NATO summit in Chicago have been charged with terrorism conspiracy stemming from allegations that they planned to make Molotov cocktails, police said. Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa told The Associated Press early Saturday that the three were being held on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of an explosive or incendiary device and providing material support. He said they would face a bond hearing later Saturday morning. Stoppa identified the men charged as 20-year-old Brian Church, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; 24-year-old Jared Chase, of Keene, N.H.; and 24-year-old Brent Vincent Betterly, of Oakland Park, Mass.

Nato fears split over Afghan withdrawal will fuel bloodshed
Hollande’s pledge to pull out troops early will dominate Chicago talks as UK bill is set to hit £20bn

Nigel Morris Saturday 19 May 2012
Nato's leaders will try to avert a damaging split tomorrow over when Western troops are pulled out of Afghanistan after the new French President's election pledge to withdraw its forces early. François Hollande has promised to end the French military presence by the end of this year – two years ahead of the schedule backed by the United States.

Fears of Bank Runs Mount in Southern Europe
Following the downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's, the focus in the euro crisis is back on the banking sector. Greeks are withdrawing hundreds of millions from their accounts, with reports that the same is happening in Spain. Experts are calling on the European Central Bank to step in and prevent full-scale bank runs.

By Stefan Kaiser
The final wake-up call came from Moody's. On Thursday evening, the US rating agency downgraded 16 Spanish banks in one fell swoop, some of them by three notches. On Monday, the agency had already downgraded 26 Italian banks -- including major institutions such as UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. The outlook for all the institutions involved is negative, Moody's said. These are drastic steps, but they are hardly excessive. The European sovereign debt crisis long ago also became a banking crisis.

Shadow of the past haunts nation's future
Poverty and inequality are the dark side to a free East Timor, writes Lindsay Murdoch in Dili.

May 19, 2012
Celebrations down the mountains marking the 10th anniversary of East Timor's independence today mean little to Ines Lemos. ''I don't think about anything other than my daughter, and her killer being free.'' Her daughter, Ana, had worked for the United Nations organising a referendum on independence for East Timor. On September 13, 1999, a pro-Indonesia militia commander known as Bola Guling came for the 34-year-old. Ana was repeatedly raped, once in front of her mother and children, and then paraded through her home town of Gleno, in the coffee-growing region two hours south of Dili. Her body was found days later.

Banda sets up enquiry into Mutharika transition
Malawian President Joyce Banda on Friday announced an inquiry into an alleged plot by the inner circle of the country's late former leader to block her rise to power following his death.

Sapa-AFP
"By public demand, I have decided to immediately set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances and intent of the alleged coup plot," Banda told parliament in a speech broadcast on national radio. Banda said she had been "receiving a lot of requests" from Malawians to institute the probe since the death of her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Mutharika, who had been president since 2004, died following a heart attack.

Chile's car boom
Beyond urban sprawl there's an economic issue with Chile's car boom: crude oil is already Chile's biggest import, and an increasing reliance on gas could impact the country's trade balance.

By Steven Bodzin, Guest blogger
If there’s one thing that defines the Chilean national character, it’s a love for the countryside. That means that the first thing people do when they can afford it is buy a car. For country-dwellers, a car or truck helps make the rural lifestyle a bit more profitable, as taking crops to market in horse-drawn wagons is more quaint than efficient. For city folks, a car helps people to see the countryside on the weekend. But of course soon enough, a big portion of both country and city folks, once they own cars, become suburban folks. And once they are living in spread-out suburbs, they need another car, and another. It’s a feedback loop we’ve seen all over the world.