Six In The Morning

'We Have Achieved Almost Nothing'An Insider's View of EU Efforts in Kosovo

Since 2008, the EU has had thousands of soldiers, judges and prosecutors in Kosovo to help it become a Western-style constitutional democracy. But a German police officer with years of experience there says it is still dominated by corruption, clan loyalties and drugs -- with officials just waiting for the high-minded reformers to leave.

I compare the development of a police force in Kosovo with that of the Obilic power plant near the capital, Pristina. Since NATO drove the Serbs out of Kosovo in 1999, there have been plans to install a filter at the plant, but it still hasn't happened. Instead, the plant continues to spew pollution unabated into the air. It's the same story with the European Union's efforts to establish a clean political system and a functioning legal system in Kosovo.

Mali army chiefs adopt plan to expel Islamist rebels

Sapa-AFP | 08 11月, 2012 08:18

West African army chiefs have adopted a military plan to expel Islamist rebels controlling northern Mali, as one extremist group pushes for a negotiated solution to the crisis.

Mali has slid into chaos since a March 22 coup overthrew the government of president Amadou Toumani Toure, creating a power vacuum that enabled Islamist rebels to seize the vast desert north.

The military blueprint, reached at a meeting of army top brass in Bamako that wrapped up late Tuesday, will next be studied by regional heads of state for approval before being presented to the UN Security Council on November 26.

"We are very satisfied," Malian army chief Ibrahim Dembele said at the close of the meeting.

"On the whole, the strategy was adopted (and) friendly troops will come here to help Mali reconquer the north.

Middle East

The politics of money in Palestine

By Ramzy Baroud 

In Malaysia, a small group of community activists are busy at work developing projects that benefit most vulnerable members of Palestinian society in Gaza. 

Working under the umbrella of Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM), the group shows solidarity through empowerment projects: interest free loans for small projects, providing employment for women, supplying thousands of solar lamps aimed at ending the persistent darkness for many families, and more. 

The overall value of the combined efforts of VPM is important because it is long-lasting. Equally important, the channeled funds are not part of a political scheme nor are aimed to exact concession. This can hardly be said of much of the relationship

between Palestinian leadership and society, and outside funds, which began pouring it, with a clear political manual that has been dutifully followed by those who provide the funds and those who receive them. 

8 November 2012 Last updated at 07:36 GMT

China congress: Hu Jintao opens party meeting on leadership change

Chinese President Hu Jintao has opened a Communist Party congress that begins a once-in-a-decade power transfer with a stark warning on corruption.

Addressing more than 2,000 delegates, Mr Hu said that a failure to tackle the issue "could prove fatal to the party".

China faced unprecedented opportunities and challenges, he said, and the nation should "aim higher and work harder".

His speech kicks off a week-long meeting that will see a new set of leaders unveiled.

Security is very tight across Beijing, with many dissidents detained or under house arrest, rights groups say.

Brand power in Honduras: Lesser known gangs claim affiliation to infamous 'maras'

Honduras warns that some criminal groups have claimed to be affiliated with feared 'mara' gangs in order to intimidate their victims. There are reports of similar 'cartel impersonators' in Mexico, too.

By Geoffrey Ramsey, InSight Crime / November 7, 2012

Honduras' anti-extortion task force warned of cases of crime syndicates claiming to be affiliated with "mara" gangs in order to intimidate their victims, an indication of the fear associated with street gangs in the country.

In a Nov. 5 press conference the deputy director of the Interior Ministry's anti-extortion task force, Arturo Sandoval, said that organized criminal groups have been conducting extortion rackets by falsely invoking the names of street gangs. Sandoval said that his office has recorded several such cases since its creation in April, reported La Tribuna.

The official added that so far in 2012 his office had received 580 complaints of extortion, up from just 14 complaints in 2010 and 138 in 2011, a trend which Sandoval credits to greater awareness of police reporting hotlines, and a wiretapping law passed in December 2011 which allows law enforcement to monitor phone calls. 

Legal battle looms over marijuana initiatives

By Sari Horwitz, Thursday, November 8, 3:14 AM

The approval of ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana in Washington state and Colorado left officials searching for guidance from the federal government on Wednesday, with major questions over whether the states could become the first in the nation to permit recreational use of the drug.

The Justice Department said it was reviewing the initiatives but would not comment further on how it would respond. A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration said that its enforcement of federal law, which bans production, possession and sale of marijuana, “remains unchanged.”

The ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington state were a step beyond the measures that have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes in the District and 17 states, including Massachusetts, which passed such an initiative Tuesday.