Palestine: The meaning of a status upgrade

While US and Israel oppose Palestinian bid for non-member statehood at UN, we ask how move could affect peace efforts.

There was a great show of support for the Palestinians as they bid to upgrade their status at the United Nations. But the move was also strongly opposed by Israel and the United States.

After years of long, inconclusive negotiations, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, asked the UN General Assembly to recognise the non-member state of Palestine in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Abbas has been leading the campaign to win support for the resolution, and over a dozen European governments have offered him their support.

"We Palestinians are taking the Israelis all the way with us, for the world to recognise Israeli borders of 1967, because Israel never ever admitted its borders. [The bid] is to keep safe and alive what is left of the two-state solution before it is too late, and it's to awaken the Israeli public [asking them] 'how can you cope with an apartheid system with endless occupation?'" - Mahdi Abdel Hadi, Palestinian Academic Society

The non-member observer state falls short of full UN membership. But a successful bid means the Palestinians would be allowed access to the International Criminal Court, where they could seek action against Israel on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Over the past 60 years, there have been many attempts to achieve Palestinian statehood.

In 1947, the partition resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, supporting an independent Jewish State and an independent Arab State; that was rejected by the Arabs.

But In 1974, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was granted observer status at the UN - which it holds to this day - allowing it to take part in General Assembly sessions, without the right to vote.

Then in 1988, the PLO unilaterally declared a State of Palestine at a meeting in Algeria.

Six In The Morning

Bradley Manning: how keeping himself sane was taken as proof of madness

WikiLeaks suspect's attempts to exercise and stay occupied in bare cell only perpetuated harsh anti-suicide measures

• • Ed Pilkington in Fort Meade, Maryland
  • guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 November 2012 02.36 GMT

Shortly before Bradley Manning was arrested in Iraq under suspicion of being the source of the vast transfer of US state secrets to WikiLeaks, he is alleged to have entered into a web chat with the hacker Adrian Lamo using the handle bradass87. "I'm honestly scared," the anonymous individual wrote. "I have no one I trust, I need a lot of help."

That cry for assistance was a gross under-estimation of the trouble that was about to befall Manning, judging from his testimony on Thursday. In his first publicly spoken words since his arrest in May 2010, delivered at a pre-trial hearing at Fort Meade in Maryland, the soldier painted a picture of a Kafkaesque world into which he was sucked and in which he would languish for almost one excruciating year.

JUSTICE

Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj acquitted at Hague retrial

The former prime minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, has been once again acquitted of crimes against humanity. The retrial the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague backed up the court's original 2008 verdict.

Judges at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague ruled on Thursday that Haradinaj and two accomplices were not guilty of charges that they had murdered and tortured Serbs in the 1998-1999 war as members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that, when he heard about the mistreatment of individuals, Haradinaj said no such thing should happen because this is damaging of our cause," said Bakone Justice Moloto, the presiding judge in the case.

Haradinaj (pictured above), Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimija had been acquitted of the charges at a previous trial in 2008. But that ruling was deemed invalid because of reports of witness intimidation.

'Bounty Loves Hurricanes'A Legendary Ship's Final Hours Battling Sandy

By Marc Hujer and Samiha Shafy

As Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast in late October, Captain Robin Walbridge wanted to save his ship, the legendary Bounty. He set out to sea to ride out the storm -- a decision which ended in disaster. He lost the ship, a crewmember and his own life.

It was still a mild fall day in New London, Connecticut, when Captain Robin Walbridge stepped on deck to prepare his crew for the possibility of dying. It was 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25.

About 1,200 nautical miles to the south, Hurricane Sandy, billed as the storm of the century, was making its way northward from Cuba. With wind speeds of more than 100 miles per hour (165 kilometers per hour), the storm was rushing across the ocean, headed for the east coast of the United States. At least 70 people had already died in the Caribbean, after being drowned, buried alive or struck with debris.

Morsi decree divides Egypt

30 NOV 2012 00:00 - MAGDI ABDELHADI

Egypt's muddled transition from dictatorship to democracy has entered a dangerous phase.

The president and his Islamist supporters arrayed against the rest and each side claiming to be the true defender of democracy and the revolution.

President Mohamed Morsi said his controversial decree (euphemistically called "constitutional declaration"), which vastly expands his powers, is only a provisional measure to defend the revolution and ensure a swift passage to democracy. And a presidential spokesperson has now said that only decisions related to "sovereign matters" will be protected from judicial review. He may be sincere. But exceptional temporary measures in Egypt have a history of becoming permanent.

Back in 1954, Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of the military coup that overthrew the monarchy, abolished all political parties in order to fight the "reactionary forces" of the ancient regime. To this day, Egypt is still struggling to extricate itself from his legacy of an all-powerful president who rules by decrees with the help of a secret police.

Greater China

Is China trying to implode Japan's economy?

By Peter Lee 

Is the People's Republic of China (PRC) trying to implode the Japanese economy? It is starting to look that way. The PRC has counterprogramed the US pivot to Asia - and US advantages in military and softpower - by leveraging its economic strengths. 

When Japan kicked off this year's edition of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Follies with the national purchase of the uninhabited rocks, the PRC leadership responded by giving free rein to nationalist Nipponphobic demonstrations, boycotts, and occasional anti-Japanese thuggery - and then refused to allow relations to renormalize. 

The PRC frequently reiterates a hardline position during the press

  

conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For instance, on November 19:

Chávez authorized to leave Venezuela for health treatment - Chavismo at risk?

Chávez's travel to Cuba could mean missing important gubernatorial elections in December, potentially benefiting the opposition.

By Miguel Octavio, Guest blogger / November 29, 2012

[Tuesday], in surprising fashion, the Venezuelan National Assembly authorized President Hugo Chávezto seek treatment for his ailments in Cuba, under Article 235 of the Venezuelan Constitution which says that any absence of more than five days from the country has to be approved by the Assembly. This is different than a temporal absence, in which the vice president replaces him. (Art. 234), which Chávez has refused to do ever since he started receiving treatment in Cuba for his mysterious ailment.

According to the letter sent by Chávez to the National Assembly, he will receive treatment in a hyperbaric chamber for “oxygenation,” a treatment which according to the American Cancer Society is used for treating bone damage caused during radiation treatment [...]. Chávez has said that he has received chemotherapy, but has never formally acknowledged being treated with radiation, although there are rumors that this was the first type of treatment he received when the cancer was first discovered.

China: Sex, Lies and Video Tape

Zhu Ruifeng might be forgiven for seeming overtired or stressed - but he is jubilant, his voice full of energy.
"I am very happy when I battle corrupt officials," Mr Zhu told the BBC in a phone interview.
Earlier this month, Mr Zhu released a videotape shot in 2007 of a 57-year-old Communist Party local boss having sex with an 18-year-old girl.
Seven days later, the official, Lei Zhengfu, a district-level party secretary from the grimy city of Chongqing, was fired.
"In the past, I was at my happiest when they threatened me and blocked my website," said Mr Zhu.
"Because then I know my reports have attacked their hearts, and my reports are genuine."

Perhaps these guys should open a Chinese celebratory, political elite sex tape site and earn themselves some going to prison money. While they spend their precious time at rock breaking trying to figure out who put that camera in the hotel room.  Other than the blackmailing property developer seeking to increase his bank account. 

Six In The Morning

CIA sued over 1950s 'murder' of government scientist plied with LSD

Frank Olsen's family claim CIA threw him from a hotel window and covered up his death after he witnessed torture by agency operatives in Europe

• Karen McVeigh in New York
Follow @karenmcveigh1
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 November 2012 01.02 GMT

The family of a US government scientist who fell to his death from a New York hotel window six decades ago have launched a lawsuit for damages against the CIA, alleging the agency was involved in his murder and a subsequent cover-up.

In one of the most notorious cases in the organisation's history, bioweapons expert Frank Olson died in 1953, nine days after he was given LSD by agency officials without his knowledge.

In the lawsuit, filed in the US district court in Washington on Wednesday, Olson's sons Eric and Nils claim their father was murdered after he witnessed extreme interrogations in which the CIA killed suspects using the biological agents he had developed.

The Irish Times - Thursday, November 29, 2012

Moment of truth draws near for the British press

MARK HENNESSY, in London

For some, today’s findings from Leveson Inquiry are the final chance to regulate a “feral” British press. For others, they pose the greatest threat to press freedom in 300 years.

Tempers are running high as the deadline for release nears, with all sides attempting to pressure British prime minister David Cameron to their side of the argument.

Following its release, Mr Cameron, who received the report yesterday morning, will take to the despatch box of the House of Commons to say what he will do next.

The key issue is statutory regulation; though, like Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking-Glass, the two words mean whatever the speaker intends them to mean.

China pledges to board ships in disputed seas

November 29, 2012 - 3:50PM

Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which enter into what China considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, state media said.

The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty.

From January 1, Hainan police will have the authority to board and seize control of foreign ships which "illegally enter" Chinese waters and order them to change course or stop sailing, theChina Daily reported.

"Activities such as entering the island province's waters without permission, damaging coastal defence facilities and engaging in publicity that threatens national security are illegal," the English-language newspaper said.

Arabica coffee under threat as climate change looms

Reuters | 29 11月, 2012 07:21

Researchers predict that wild Arabica coffee populations could go extinct by in the next 70 years.

The high quality coffee bean is being threatened by rising tempratures according to a study in PloS One, and the loss of the wild populations of it could threaten plantations as the species loses genetic diversity.

A study by researchers at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in collaboration with scientists in Ethiopia found that 38 to 99.7 percent of the areas suitable for wild arabica will disappear by 2080 if predictions of rising temperatures pan out.

Because coffee is a highly climate-dependent crop, the increase of a few degrees of average temperature in growing regions can put at risk the future of Arabica coffee and the livelihood of millions of people who grow and produce it.

South Asia

Execution met with silence in Pakistan

By Zofeen Ebrahim 

KARACHI - Wednesday, November 21, dawned like any other in the sleepy town of Faridkot, some 150 kilometers from the Punjab capital of Lahore in Pakistan. But as the town's 3,000 residents went about their daily routines the air grew thick with apprehension, for a reason none wanted to mention. 

At seventy-thirty that morning, one of the town's former residents, a man named Ajmal Kasab, was executed in Pune's Yerawada Central Jail, in western India's Maharashtra state. 

Kasab was the sole survivor of a group of 10 men who carried out the three-day terror rampage in November 2008 that left 166 people dead in Mumbai. 

How lonely must it be to be Mahmoud Abbas?

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is losing support at home as Hamas' star rises. While he's trying to regain relevance with a UN bid this week, the US and Israel are working against him.

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / November 27, 2012

As Israel veered close to a ground invasion of Gaza last week, with Israeli warplanes and artillery pounding Gaza, and Hamas directing rocket fire towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time ever, one name was on nobody's lips: Mahmoud Abbas. 

Mr. Abbas may be president of the Palestinian Authorityand the head of Fatah, the political party founded byPalestinian Liberation Organization icon Yasser Arafat. But during days of shuttle diplomacy involving Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt, and other regional powers, Abbas was basically the lonely guy in the corner, hoping someone would eventually ask him to dance.

With the exception of a brief visit from Hillary Clinton, no one ever did. Now in the West Bank today, Abbas's Palestinian Authority is presiding over the exhumation of Mr. Arafat's body (his widow has been insisting of late that his 2004 death was the result of polonium poisoning) while Hamas negotiates with Israel via Egyptian intelligence officials over further easing of the economic blockade of Gaza.

Shabeena's Quest

On Pakistan's Taliban frontier getting an education is an act of defiance, but one woman is opening her school to all.

This is the story of Shabeena, a remarkable school principal, and her quest to bring education to the children, particularly the young girls, living in the shadow of the Taliban on Pakistan's frontier. 
Despite age-old traditions that keep girls out of school and send them into arranged marriages, Shabeena's school actively recruits them. 
Afshan, a bright young girl who comes from a family of six daughters, is one of her great success stories. Living on the meager wages of a night security guard, her family is committed to each of them attending school. 
Another girl, Zarina, comes from similar circumstances but has had to fight to stay in school and resist her family's plan to marry her off at the age of 14. 
The film follows Shabeena at work. We see young girls and boys in their classrooms, discussing Pakistan and its future; we hear villagers tussling with different views about education for girls; we see Shabeena recruiting for new students, persuading reluctant parents of the long-term benefits of educating girls. 

The Pakistani Taliban attempted assassination of Malala Yousafzai for simply advocating that school aged girls be given equal access to an education in October shows just how tenuous life is for those who simply believe that everyone should have the chance of receiving a quality education.  

Singapore: Your Democratic Dictatorship

Rare bus drivers' strike in Singapore ended

Ah Singapore where one party rule since independence in 1965 has created nothing less than your average authoritarian government.  Or, yes this is the nanny state run amok.

Singaporean authorities have ended a rare strike by migrant bus drivers by deploying riot police near their dormitory and threatening prosecution. The drivers had objected to being paid a quarter less than other staff.

Most of the 170 Chinese drivers returned to work on Wednesday after Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin had warned that Singapore had "zero tolerance" for public transport disruptions and would deal with strikers "in accordance to the law."

The drivers from mainland China, who were recruited by Singapore's partly state-owned transport company SMRT, had begun their stoppage on Monday after changed employment terms. They cited disparity in pay between them and drivers hired from neighboring Malaysia.

Shortages of service workers

Singaporean law requires 14 days notice of intent to strike. Penalties range from fines of 1,600 euros ($2,070) to one year in jail.

Singapore began hiring bus drivers from China and Malaysia because of a chronic shortage of service workers prepared to accept low wages. Singapore has a growing number of expatriate professionals working for global companies.

Tan's ministry said the last "illegal" strike occurred in Singapore in 1980 and involved Singapore Airlines pilots' union.

What's difficult to believe is that they actually have elections but, somehow the ruling party always manages to win. (steal the election)

Six In The Morning

28 November 2012 Last updated at 05:24 GMT

Egypt crisis: Protesters maintain Mursi decree defiance

Egyptian protesters have vowed continued defiance against a decree granting President Mohammed Mursi wide-ranging new powers.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country on Tuesday, in one of the largest protests since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Mursi has said the decree will be limited in scope, but has refused continuing demands to overturn it.

His opponents have called for another mass rally on Friday.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which Mr Mursi belonged to until he assumed the presidency, postponed a rally on Tuesday saying it wanted to avoid "public tension".

The Irish Times - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 

A new day begins for all Greeks, says PM after euro zone approves debt deal

DAMIAN Mac CON ULADH in Athens

There were few Greeks awake at 3am yesterday to hear their prime minister tell them that the Eurogroup’s agreement to pay out a long-awaited bailout instalment was the result of a fight by the entire country.

“Tomorrow a new day begins for all Greeks,” Antonis Samaras told reporters at 3am, shortly after euro zone politicians agreed to release a massive €43.7 billion tranche in bailout loans, in four instalments starting from the middle of next month.

The deal, Greece’s finance minister, Yannis Stournaras, said from Brussels, would keep Greece in the euro, contribute to debt reduction and offer it “a significant opportunity to exit the vicious cycle of recession and over-indebtedness”.

ARMED CONFLICT

M23 rebels to stay in Goma until demands are met

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced they would withdraw from the eastern city of Goma only if President Joseph Kabila agreed to their demands. Congo's government quickly dismissed this as a “farce.”

"The withdrawal, yes. If Kabila agrees to our demands then we'll go quickly," Jean-Marie Runiga, political chief of M23, told reporters Tuesday in a hotel in Goma, flanked by senior M23 officials in civilian clothes and rebels in military fatigues.

Lambert Mende, Congo's government spokesman, quickly dismissed M23's demands. "It's a farce, that's the word. There's been a document adopted by the region. If each day they're going to come back with new demands it becomes ridiculous. We're no longer in the realm of seriousness," Mende told Reuters from Kinshasa.

Middle East

New balance of terror in the Middle East

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi 

 In the week-long war between Israel and the Palestinians, slowly but surely signs have emerged of a new "balance of terror" reflecting Hamas's enhanced ability to strike back at Israel via the Iran-made long range Fajr-5 rocket. 

Compared with the previous war in 2009, when Hamas relied on the shorter range and more inaccurate rockets that rattled southern Israel before a ceasefire went into effect, this time we are witnessing a "more disciplined" and sophisticated Hamas missile brigade that reportedly has some 15,000 military personnel operating through a network of tunnels. 

It comes as little surprise then that Hamas has set its own conditions for a truce despite the deadly waves of Israeli air

Kim Jong-un Seems to Get a New Title: Heartthrob

By EDWARD WONG

BEIJING — How do you say satire in Mandarin?

Not known for its sense of humor, the Chinese Communist Party’s official mouthpiece apparently fell for a parody by The Onion, the satirical newspaper and Web site, when it reported Tuesday in some online editions of People’s Daily that Kim Jong-un, the young, chubby North Korean ruler, had been named the “Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.”

Or did it?

The brief article, accompanied by a 55-photograph slide show, quoted from The Onion as evidence: “With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true. Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle and, of course, that famous smile.”

Mexico moves to demote federal police force

Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto's plan to downsize and transfer control of the federal police raises questions about his security policies.

By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

MEXICO CITY — Through most of the administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, the federal police agency has held a starring role, built to seven times its previous size and favored by American advisors and dollars despite persistent troubles and scandals.

But President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto, who is meeting Tuesday with President Obama, has already demonstrated that one of his immediate actions will be to demote the police force, raising questions about his security policies at a time of heightened deadly violence across the country.

Peña Nieto takes office Saturday. Even before the inauguration, his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is pushing through the legislature a restructuring of the government that would eliminate the Public Security Ministry, home to the federal police. Control over the police would be transferred to the Interior Ministry.

The Climate Question: Degrees of Change

Climate change has become one of the biggest, most complex issues of our time. And the warnings from some of the world's leading scientists are getting louder. 

But sceptics remain. Despite the data, many are unconvinced that the science is on target.

So, we ask: Is climate change man-made and, if so, what can we do to stop it?

From the crumbling ice caps of the Arctic to the shifting sands of the Arabian Gulf, Al Jazeera takes you around the world to see first-hand the impact mankind is having on our planet.

Against the backdrop of a major UN climate change conference in Qatar, join Nick Clark as he looks at the efforts that have been made to address climate change, the failures of previous agreements and the challenges that lay ahead.

Six In The Morning

Yasser Arafat's remains exhumed as forensic experts search for additional clues to his death

AP

 

 

TUESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2012

The remains of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were exhumed from his grave today so international forensic experts could search for additional clues to his death, Palestinian officials said.

The remains were taken from the massive mausoleum in the West Bank city of Ramallah where Arafat was buried and moved to a nearby mosque so Palestinian doctors could take samples from his bones, the officials said.

Under Islam, only Muslims can handle a Muslim's remains.

EUROZONE CRISIS

Eurogroup pulls nightshift to seal Greek deal

Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund have tried twice to establish a long-term plan for Greece. Now it is ready - but it may be too ambitious.

This agreement took three attempts and many night shifts. But unlike last week's failed meeting, the rings around everyone's eyes weren't quite as dark - and the relief was even greater. Eurogroup leader Jean-Claude Juncker said at a press conference afterwards, the new deal was about more than money - it was the "promise of a better future for the Greek people and the entire eurozone."

EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn added that the bloc had passed a credibility test, "that we simply could not fail."

Failed CO2 TargetsGoing Through the Motions in Doha

The United Nations Climate Change Conference beginning in Doha this week is turning into a farce. While negotiators are sticking to the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, even climatologists admit that the project has failed.

Protecting the climate is incredibly important to Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, as evidenced by all the resolutions it has adopted in the past to save the planet. Germany has climate funds and reduction targets, building and transportation programs, and even an entire strategy to wean itself off nuclear power and shift to green energy, which has been dubbed the Energiewende, or "energy revolution." But at some point there is such a thing as overkill.

Can a member of parliament be expected to be chauffeured around Berlin in a small car? Or should he even stoop to the level of taking a cab? Now that, the Bundestag recently decided, would be asking too much. But because the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the elegant limousines normally used to chauffeur German lawmakers exceeds standards set three years ago, the Bundestag came up with a convenient solution. They simply raised the previously established limit of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer to 140.

Pakistani journalist escapes car-bombing attempt

November 27, 2012 - 1:43PM

Salman Masood

Islamabad: A prominent Pakistani journalist and talk show host escaped what appeared to be an assassination attempt here in the capital on Monday after a bomb was found under his car, officials said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing attempt that apparently targeted Hamid Mir, who hosts one of the country's most-watched political talk shows.

Most suspicions pointed to the Pakistani Taliban, which had recently singled-out Mr Mir for criticism over his coverage of Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist wounded by militants in October.

ICC suspects Boko Haram of crimes against humanity

Sapa-AFP

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has a "reasonable basis" to believe Boko Haram Islamists have committed crimes against humanity in Nigeria, her office said Monday.

Nigerian authorities should prosecute acts of murder and persecution attributed to the radical group that have claimed more than 1 200 lives since mid-2009 or the ICC could step in, the prosecutor said in a report seen by AFP.

"There is a reasonable basis to believe that since July 2009, Boko Haram has committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity," namely murder and persecution, the report said.

The report also cited a "reasonable basis" to believe that Boko Haram has "launched a widespread and systematic attack that has resulted in the killings of more than 1 200 Christians and Muslims."

27 November 2012 Last updated at 01:10 GMT

Uzbekistan's Gulnara Karimova linked to telecoms scandal

Investigators in Switzerland and Sweden are probing alleged links between a leading European telecommunications company and a high-level multi-million dollar fraud and corruption scandal in Uzbekistan.

The allegations stretch all the way to businesswoman, pop diva and one-time UN ambassador Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

She has so far not commented on the claims and the BBC's efforts for her to do so have remained unanswered.

Swedish-based TeliaSonera, which is partly state-owned, has been at the centre of a huge political storm since Swedish TV broadcast a report accusing it of making a $300m payment to an intermediary company for the rights to operate a 3G mobile phone service in the Central Asian republic.

Six In The Morning

Voters deal blow to Catalan president's hopes for independence referendum

Artur Mas's CiU will need alliance with hardliners after party emerged with 50 seats, down from the 62 it won two years ago

• Martin Roberts in Madrid
• The Guardian, Monday 26 November 2012

The Catalan president leading the region's most determined bid for independence in decades has emerged much weaker from elections he called to press for a referendum on breaking away from Spain.

The final count gave Artur Mas's Convergència i Unió (CiU) 50 seats, down from the 62 it won when elections were last held, two years ago, and far fewer than the 68 needed to win approval for a referendum in the 135-member Catalan parliament without settling differences with smaller parties.

CiU now needs an alliance with the separatist Esquerra party, which surged into second place with 21 seats, from fourth spot in 2010. Although Esquerra has often criticised Mas's minority government, it has not ruled out an agreement.

The Irish Times - Monday, November 26, 2012

Israel warns it will disrupt Hamas attempts to rearm

MARK WEISS in Jerusalem

Israel’s top general has warned that the army will continue to disrupt any attempt by Hamas to rearm.

The comments by Israeli defence forces chief of staff Lieut Gen Benny Gantz followed reports in the British Sunday Times that Israeli spy satellites had detected a cargo ship, docked at an Iranian port, being loaded with missiles, presumably bound for the Gaza Strip.

Lieut Gen Gantz said the issue of Hamas’s attempt to bolster its strength was important and far from new.

Deputy Hamas politburo chief Mousa Abu Marzook said Hamas would not stop making weapons in Gaza or smuggling them into the territory. “These weapons protected us and there is no way to stop obtaining and manufacturing them,” he said.

Bangladesh blaze highlights plight of garment workers

November 26, 2012 - 1:30PM

Jason Burke and Saad Hammadi

SURVIVORS have described how a fire tore through a multi-storey garment factory just outside Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, killing more than 120 colleagues in one of the worst such incidents in recent years.

Mohammad Shahbul Alam, 26, described flames filling two of the three stairwells of the nine-floor building – where clothes for international brands appear to have been made – shortly after the fire alarm had been raised.

Rooms full of female workers were cut off as piles of yarn and fabric filling corridors ignited. Reports also suggested fire exits at the site had locks on, which had to be broken in order for staff to escape.

At least 12 dead as al-Shabaab attack town on Kenya border

25 NOV 2012 12:46 - AFP

Somalia's al-Shabaab fighters briefly took control of a small town on the border with Kenya in a battle that left at least 12 people dead.

Heavy fighting broke out late on Saturday afternoon in Bulohawo and lasted into the evening, residents and military commanders said, with residents confirming that the al-Shabaab took full control of the town for a few hours before Somali troops were able to reinforce their positions.

"The violent elements attacked Bulohawo in late afternoon and after heavy fighting our forces defeated them and inflicted heavy losses on them," said Diyad Abdi Kalil, a Somali military commander in the area, by phone.

Casualty estimates varied but most sources agreed that at least a dozen people, most of them fighters for the two sides, had been killed.

26 November 2012 Last updated at 00:29 GMT

Brazil’s World Cup work overshadowed by police murders

By Will SmaleBusiness reporter, BBC News

It is not a good time to be a police officer in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city.

So far this year, 95 officers have been murdered in and around the giant, sprawling city, according to official figures - up from 47 in 2011.

The spike in fatal attacks has been blamed on a powerful criminal gang known as the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), or First Command of the Capital.

The violence exploded back in May when six members of the PCC were killed in a shoot out with an elite police unit trying to clamp down on the drugs trade.

According to lurid newspaper headlines in Brazil, the gang's leadership swore revenge, and police officers immediately started being targeted in what has been described as an "undeclared war". Many have been killed in ambushes while they are off duty.

Pulitzer wanted for reporter who broke story on Nazi Germany’s surrender

By Manuel Roig-Franzia

In headier days, Ed Kennedy personified the hard-drinking, hard-charging war correspondent of another era. The first time his future wife saw him, he was sidled up to a hotel bar in Paris with none other than Ernest Hemingway, both of them so “dead drunk” they could hardly stand.

Kennedy was a star Associated Press correspondent with a penchant for daring evasion of authority, dashing into World War II battle zones where he wasn’t supposed to go because he had to get the story. He just had to. 

But it was the biggest scoop of his career — Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender — that ruined his career. And a determined group of prominent journalists wants to do something about that.

They want Kennedy to be posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a recognition of a singular moment of courage when a star correspondent defied political and military censorship to file one of the biggest stories of the century.