Six In The Morning

Apple officials said to consider stake in Twitter

　Social media's importance in how people spend time and money seen as driving factor

By EVELYN M. RUSLI and NICK BILTON
Apple, which has stumbled in its efforts to get into social media, has talked with Twitter in recent months about making a strategic investment in it, according to people briefed on the matter. While Apple has been hugely successful in selling phones and tablets, it has little traction in social networking, which has become a major engine of activity on the Web and on mobile devices. Social media are increasingly influencing how people spend their time and money — an important consideration for Apple, which also sells applications, games, music and movies.

Syrians: 'We shall be free or we shall suffer'
Special report: Syrians brace themselves as war planes join the battle for Aleppo. Kim Sengupta reports from Al-Bab

KIM SENGUPTA SATURDAY 28 JULY 2012
The Independent witnessed two fighter-bombers repeatedly appearing low overhead during the battle at the town of Al-Bab near Aleppo and, on at least two occasions, the aircraft appeared to be firing at the ground during the fighting. This is the second time that Bashar Al-Assad’s regime has been accused of using war planes against its own people. During most of the sorties early yesterday evening, the pilots appeared to be carrying out what is known as “show of force” to intimidate the enemy by their presence without opening fire.

UK blocks 16m aid to Rwanda pending investigation
The UK has followed measures by the US and Netherlands after a UN report accused Rwanda of arming rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

28 JUL 2012 08:48 - GUARDIAN REPORTER
Britain has frozen £16-million of aid to Rwanda pending an investigation into its alleged role in fuelling a deadly regional conflict, the most significant blow yet to a country that has long been a darling of western donors. The decision follows similar steps by the US and Netherlands to censure President Paul Kagame after a UN report accused Rwanda of arming rebels responsible for atrocities in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The UK, the biggest bilateral donor to Rwanda, has previously been seen as less willing to criticise Kagame, championed by Tony Blair as a "visionary leader" despite concerns over internal repression.

Ethnic peace key to Myanmar reform
Southeast Asia

By Brian McCartan
In her first statement this week as an elected parliamentarian, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi chose to highlight the plight of ethnic minorities, underscoring the issue's rising importance in domestic politics. Her speech was delivered amid ongoing fighting between the government and ethnic insurgents in northern Shan and Kachin States and communal strife in western Rakhine State. It also underscored the need for the government to reach durable political solutions with ethnic minority groups or risk the unraveling of democratic and economic reforms.

Honduras: Contraceptive may be handed out at Catholic church...to pigeons
Nets installed at a Honduran cathedral to keep pigeons from roosting on the historic structure were met by calls of animal cruelty. Now an environmental group suggests using contraceptive feed.

By Russell Sheptak, Guest blogger
There's a legal battle brewing in Tegucigalpa between the Catholic Diocese and pigeon lovers from La Casa de Noé. The historic cathedral in Tegucigalpa was renovated in 2009. At that time the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (IHAH), as part of its mission to protect the national patrimony, installed nets designed to keep pigeons from roosting on the historic structure. Their nests damage the building, and their excrement is corrosive. Now, La Casa de Noé [The House of Noah] claims that the nets are killing hundreds of pigeons, and that constitutes animal cruelty.

Kabul hospital hell reveals depth of corruption
In 2010, the US discovered that Afghan soldiers were being starved to death in a US-funded military hospital in Afghanistan, and nothing was done. Now US lawmakers are losing patience with corruption in the country.


The scandal first broke in September last year, when the Wall Street Journal ran a feature detailing sickening conditions at the Dawood National Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, a facility being run on US taxpayer's money. There was evidence of horrifying scenes - amputees being left to defecate in their own beds, blood draining from patients into open vats, maggots feeding on infected wounds - and all embedded in deep corruption. According to the report, doctors and nurses routinely demanded bribes for food and basic care.