Six In The Morning

'Mr Obama, it's time to keep your word and end this slaughter'
Exclusive interview: The leader of Syria's rebel forces tells Loveday Morris why the West must watch no longer

Loveday Morris Saturday 02 June 2012
The world cannot continue to sit idly by as Syrian women and children are slaughtered, says the colonel who has positioned himself at the helm of the Free Syrian Army. He called on the United States and Europe to create a no-fly zone that would enable rebels to establish a base for operations and provide safety for refugees.

Putin celebrates 'brotherly' ties on visit to Belarus
The Irish Times - Saturday, June 2, 2012

DANIEL McLAUGHLIN
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has denounced European Union sanctions on Belarus, hailing “brotherly” ties between Moscow and the autocratic state while further distancing himself from the west. Since returning to the Kremlin last month, Mr Putin has rejected an invitation to a summit of G8 industrial nations in the US, and rebuffed western calls for tougher action on Russian ally Syria, where Moscow is accused of delivering weapons to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Mr Putin said the fact that “brotherly Belarus” was the first country he had visited since reclaiming the presidency showed “the special nature of our relations”, referring to their shared “union state” and plans to form a Eurasian Union with Kazakhstan and possibly other ex-Soviet republics.

Satirists fear new Hong Kong laws may turn joke on them


Joyce Man June 2, 2012
HONG KONG: In this former British colony where free speech reigns but universal suffrage is absent, many - particularly designers, artists and singers - regularly use parody and satire to express themselves, disseminating their work through Facebook, chat forums, blogs and YouTube. But they fear this could be a thing of the past if the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2011, which is on its way to a second of three readings required to pass, becomes reality.

Failed path to peace in Myanmar
Southeast Asia

By Bertil Lintner
CHIANG MAI - Talks between the Myanmar government and ethnic resistance groups have raised hopes of a lasting solution to decades of ethnic strife, but the country's established history of failed ceasefires threatens to repeat itself with potentially disastrous consequences for new foreign-funded peace and reconciliation initiatives. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the northern Kachin State, where fighting between ethnic rebels and the Myanmar government flared up again last year after years of peace. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) entered into a ceasefire agreement with the central government in 1994 that ended decades of civil war but failed to produce a political solution to the group's calls for autonomy and other rights.

Take Mubarak and those with him, Egyptians beg
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, will hear a judge rule on whether he is guilty of graft and complicity in the killing of protesters.

02 Jun 2012 08:47 - Edmund Blair
Hosni Mubarak, who governed Egypt for 30 years before a popular uprising toppled him last year, will hear a judge rule on Saturday on whether he is guilty of graft and complicity in the killing of protesters. Hundreds of police surrounded the court set up at the Police Academy on Cairo’s outskirts. Protesters gathered outside holding up images of those killed in the uprising and calling for Mubarak’s execution. “Dear God, take Mubarak and those with him!” they chanted. If convicted, the 84-year-old former president could face anything from a few years in jail to the death penalty.