Six In The Morning

In authoritarian North Korea, hints of reform

　

By Chico Harlan, Tuesday, September 4, 8:56 AM
Under new leader Kim Jong Eun, North Korea in recent months has shifted its rhetoric to emphasize the economy rather than the military and is introducing small-scale agricultural reforms with tantalizing elements of capitalism, according to diplomats and defector groups with informants in the North. The changes, which allow farmers to keep more of their crops and sell surpluses in the private market, are in the experimental stage and are easily reversible, analysts caution. But even skeptical North Korea watchers say that Kim’s emerging policies and style — and his frank acknowledgment of the country’s economic problems — hint at an economic opening similar to China’s in the late 1970s. There are reasons to be dismissive of North Korea’s potential for reform: The family-run police state, now with its third-generation leader, maintains city-size labor camps and funnels precious resources to its nuclear program rather than its impoverished millions.

India's CBI begins searches over coalfields sale
Police in India say they are carrying out searches at the premises of five companies which got coalfields by "misrepresenting facts".


Government officials and individuals are also being raided in 10 cities including Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi. A recent report by government auditors said the country lost $33bn (£20bn) by selling coalfields cheaply. The raids come even as the government has rejected the opposition demand to cancel the sale of the coalfields. The parliament has been deadlocked over demands by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the government should cancel the sale and order an independent probe into the matter.

Rhino horn: Vietnam's new status symbol heralds conservation nightmare
Soaring demand among new consumer groups is fuelling an unsustainable rise in wildlife crime and poaching in South Africa

David Smith in Johannesburg The Guardian, Tuesday 4 September 2012
It is the new delicacy of choice among Vietnam's high-rollers. When the young, fashionable and rich gather to party, they increasingly spice up their drink with a special ingredient: rhino horn powder. These status-conscious hedonists include men who believe that rhino horn can enhance their sexual performance. They apparently know or care little that, thousands of miles away, their obsession could one day drive a glorious animal to extinction. Between 1990 and 2005, poachers in South Africa killed an average of 14 rhinos a year.

Israel's future 'at risk' if Iran strike sanctioned
Warning from former judge questions claims about Israeli casualties by Defence Minister

DONALD MACINTYRE JERUSALEM TUESDAY 04 SEPTEMBER 2012
The former Supreme Court judge appointed by Israel's government to investigate the defects of its 2006 war against Lebanon has issued an outspoken warning that a unilateral strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could "endanger the future of the country". Judge Eliyahu Winograd's warning came as the US was reported to be planning a series of military preparations designed both to convince Israel to hold back from such a strike and Iran to take more seriously the stalemated negotiations designed to halt its perceived progress towards a nuclear weapons capability.

Civilians stuck in the crossfire of Colombia's civil war
Civil war has gripped Colombia for decades. One of the flashpoints is the Cauca region in the south. The residents there are now peacefully confronting both the military and the guerrillas in towns like Toribio.

DW
Merly Troches has a friendly smile when she talks about the horror in her hometown of Toribio. Her daily life is marked by shootings and grenade and bomb attacks. The house of the 29-year-old lies just 100 meters from the local police station. A stone's throw away, police with submachine guns have entrenched themselves behind sandbags. The radical left-wing FARC guerrillas attack the police post on a regular basis. Merly carries her youngest son, who is just 20 days old. "Luckily he was born after the attack with the bus bomb," she says. Merly points to the door of her house - grenade shrapnel has pierced it. The walls of the living room are pocked with bullet holes and the frames of family photos are splintered.

Zimbabwe needs billions for infrastructure
Zimbabwe Finance Minister Tendai Biti on Monday said more than $20 billion was needed for infrastructure projects such as road and rail networks and to fully kickstart the re-emerging mining industry.

Sapa-AFP | 03 9月, 2012 16:07
"The thirst for capital in our country is huge and high," Biti said at a ceremony to unveil a 500 million pula (64.3 million US dollars) credit facility from Botswana. "On infrastructure alone, the country requires $14.5 billion. The mining sector requires $5 to 7 billion to be fully operational. Our country needs capital in the form of foreign direct investment, lines of credit and cheap access to finance." He said the credit line is part of funds pledged by Zimbabwe's regional neighbours to help recovery projects after President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a unity government in 2009 after polls chaos.