Six In The Morning

US warships steam toward Libya coast

President Barack Obama promises to bring justice to attackers who brought about death of US ambassador in Benghazi.　

Last Modified: 13 Sep 2012 07:23
US President Barack Obama has pledged to bring to justice those who attacked the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing an American ambassador for the first time in 33 years. The Tuesday night assault, which came amid a protest and reportedly involved RPGs and grenades, left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other US personnel dead, as well as five others wounded. US officials confirmed to Al Jazeera that a special unit of roughly 50 members of the Marine Corps had been dispatched to Libya to reinforce the troops guarding diplomats there, as two warships headed to the Libyan coast. The Marines' Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment is specially trained to deploy rapidly to protect government workers overseas. Speaking at the White House early on Wednesday, Obama pledged that the incident would not "break the bonds" between the two countries.

China's absent president-in-waiting 'fine'


John Garnaut September 13, 2012 - 4:06PM
China's president-in-waiting is "fine", says a close family friend, as Xi Jinping's mystery absence from the public stage stretches close to two weeks. Mr Xi has cancelled a series of meetings with foreign dignitaries and has not been seen in public since giving a speech to the Communist Party School on September 1. The lack of any official explanation has fuelled rumours that he has a serious health problem, was injured in a car accident, has run into political problems, has been working too hard and even that he has been the subject of an assassination attempt.

The dictator who turned his wrath on death row
The Gambia's ruler has vowed to kill all the condemned by next week - but you won't hear the West protesting. Phil Strongman on a forgotten despot

PHIL STRONGMAN THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2012
In the next two weeks, all of the Gambia's death row prisoners could be dead. When the country's President, Yahya Jammeh, announced last month that all 47 detainees would be put to death by mid-September – the nation's first executions since 1985 – the international community responded with outrage. But to many, this is just the most recent sign that all is not well in the Gambia. The detainees include former officials and military officers held for treason. Some are not Gambian, and others have been found guilty of crimes that would not usually warrant execution, prompting some West African observers to speculate that Jammeh might be bluffing.

Dutch Liberals claim election win


irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Thursday, September 13, 2012, 07:02
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte won a closely contested election as voters handed pro-European parties a sweeping victory, shunning the radical fringes and dispelling concerns that eurosceptics could gain sway in a core euro zone country. With 96 per cent of votes counted, Mr Rutte's centre-right Liberals won 41 seats in the 150-member lower house, a slender two-seat lead over the centre-left Labour Party on 39 seats, based on results early this morning. "We won our greatest victory in history and for the second time became the largest party in the Netherlands," Rutte told supporters after Labour leader Diederik Samsom telephoned him to concede defeat.

Syrians seek safety at home
While tens of thousands of Syrians have fled the conflict to find refuge in neighboring countries, the number of those who have been forced from their homes but stayed in Syria has risen dramatically.

DW
Surrounded by a group of hungry teenagers, a woman in her late-40s finally takes the first batch of potatoes out of the saucepan. Dinner boils down to some kind of potato wrap - yet youngsters point out that's an improvement from the night before. The family of 22 hunkered down the basement of a school nearby all evening after shelling started. Bread was all they had. Water and electricity are often cut off in Ma'at Masrin, a town North of Idlib under control of the Free Syrian Army. The only bottles of gas on the market are smuggled from Turkey, and sold at a prohibitive price. Grocery stores open sporadically. Om Sutey says she barely managed to cope through spring and early summer. Then in July, her sister's family fled Aleppo and found refuge in her home. Overnight, Om Sutey's household increased fivefold, but not her resources.

Nicaragua puts up fight as crime washes over Central America


By Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The biggest drug trafficking trial in Nicaragua’s history unfolds in a modest air-conditioned courtroom. The 24 defendants sit in a crowded dock, joking and waving to relatives. Behind them, police commandos wearing black hoods and toting assault weapons add unmistakable gravitas to the proceedings. Calling witness after witness, prosecutors lay out their case that a strip club operator, a former national elections official and 22 others helped launder tens of millions of dollars in cocaine profits. The trial has captivated Nicaraguans, and no fewer than eight television cameras capture the p