Six In The Morning

Karadzic to begin Srebrenica defence at Hague
Bosnian Serb wartime leader hopes to convince judges of his innocence as he faces 10 charges of war crimes and genocide.

Last Modified: 16 Oct 2012 05:50
Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic is due to open his defence before the United Nations' Yugoslav war crimes court, hoping to convince judges of his innocence in a conflict that claimed 100,000 lives. Karadzic plans a four-hour statement to open his defence on Tuesday, followed by the testimony of Russian colonel Andrei Demurenko, the UN chief of staff in Sarajevo from January to December 1995. Wives and relatives of victims of the massacre will look on from the public gallery. Karadzic, who has been allotted 300 hours for his defence, has said he will call 300 witnesses to testify on his behalf. The names include Greek President Carolos Papoulias, who was Athens' foreign minister during the Bosnian war. Karadzic has said Papoulias' testimony could prove his innocence for the infamous shelling of Sarajevo's Markale market on February 5, 1994, in which 67 people died. Although acquitted on June 28 for one count of genocide, Karadzic faces 10 other war crimes and genocide charges

Western spies get discreetly involved in Syria
Western intelligence agencies are quietly at work supporting the Syrian opposition from Turkey. While governments officially deny involvement, media reports paint an ever clearer picture.

SYRIA
Experts are convinced that intelligence services are active in Syria, although Western governments have denied taking any military action there. Discretion is the primary precaution to ensure intel operations are not too widely publicized in a country that has been torn apart by violence for 18 months. It's been clear for some time that CIA agents in Turkey have been monitoring weapons transfers to Syrian rebels. Experts said they suspect the British intelligence service is also involved, observing the situation in Syria from Cyprus and passing on strategically important information to rebels.

Cruise ship's black box reveals confused orders
Disgraced skipper of stricken liner may face manslaughter charges

MICHAEL DAY MILAN TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2012
The black box onboard the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship which sank claiming 32 lives, recorded the captain and first officer shouting conflicting "turn to port" and "turn to starboard" instructions to the helmsman moments before the collision, a closed hearing heard yesterday. The recording also apparently captured captain Francesco Schettino, 51, saying "Let's go and do a salute [to Giglio]" in his native Neapolitan dialect. Moments after giving the initial order "hard to port", Mr Schettino changed his mind and ordered: "Hard to starboard. Close the watertight doors in the engine room," the session reportedly heard.

Mo Ibrahim: Zimbabwe should be African powerhouse
Advocate Mo Ibrahim says Zimbabwe should be a powerhouse in Africa but its stagnant political leadership under Robert Mugabe is holding it back.

16 OCT 2012 07:20 - SAPA-AFP
The founder of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance said Zimbabweans needed to "get their act together" if the country headed by 88-year-old Mugabe was to end its political impasse and move forward. And African leaders should be brutally honest in criticising heads of government who drag their countries down, the Sudan-born telecoms tycoon said. He was speaking after his foundation announced that for the third time in four years it would not award its Prize for Achievement in African Leadership – the world's biggest individual prize – as no suitable candidates were found.

Militants threaten Manila peace deal
Southeast Asia

By Jacob Zenn
A framework agreement formally signed on Monday by the Philippine government and rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) aims to end a decades-long conflict through the establishment of a new autonomous political entity known as Bangsamoro on the southern island of Mindanao. Despite widespread optimism both at home and abroad about the agreement's peace prospects, a number of outstanding issues still mitigate against the deal's long-term success. Those spoilers include the potential for radical MILF fighters to defect from the leadership who brokered the deal and continue their armed struggle; a resurgent Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which believes its own peace agreement has been undermined by the deal and has threatened to resume hostilities; the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), who under their radical leader Ameril Kato have threatened to carry out attacks on civilians if the agreement passes; and Abu Sayyaf, the country's al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist insurgency which appears to have launched a new international recruitment drive.

The Danish agent, the Croatian blonde and the CIA plot to get al-Awlaki


By Paul Cruickshank, Tim Lister and Nic Robertson, CNN October 16, 2012 -- Updated 0403 GMT (1203 HKT)
The story would not be out of place on the TV thriller "Homeland": the Danish petty criminal turned double agent who receives $250,000 in cash for helping the CIA try to ensnare one of al Qaeda's most wanted -- by finding him a wife. The wanted man was American-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had become one of the most effective propagandists for the group. The bride-to-be was a pretty blonde from Croatia. The agent was Morten Storm, who had long moved in radical Islamist circles and had apparently won the trust of al-Awlaki during a stay in Yemen in 2006.