Sunday, February 17, 2013

Six In The Morning

17 February 2013 Last updated at 08:07 GMT


Pakistan blast: Governor fury at 'intelligence failure'



The governor of Pakistan's Balochistan province has accused intelligence and law enforcement agencies of being unable to keep the peace after a bomb blast in Quetta killed at least 81.
Nawab Zulfikar Magsi, given greater powers after a similar attack in January, told Geo News that agents were either "too scared or too clueless".
Saturday's attack on Shia Muslims was carried out by a Sunni militant group.
A strike has been called in Quetta for Sunday in memory of the dead.
President Asif Ali Zardari has spoken to Mr Magsi by telephone and called for concerted efforts to protect members of the Shia group that was targeted - the Hazara.







Secrets and lies – the double life of Prisoner X



Rumours swirl about 'Mossad man', Ben Zygier, found dead in Israeli jail


 
JERUSALEM
 



He was "a double agent working for Iran"; he was "responsible for the botched operation in a Dubai hotel in 2010" in which Mossad agents killed a senior Hamas commander; he was "just a loud mouth who couldn't keep quiet" about being a member of Israel's secret service. These are some of the many theories about why Ben Zygier, or "Prisoner X" as he was known until last week, was held in Israel's most secure prison for a few months before apparently killing himself in December 2010. His detention was kept so secret that even his guards didn't know his name; his presumed crime so grave that even his family haven't gone public about his case.

Zygier's name, and indeed his existence, would not have been known had it not been for an investigation by Foreign Correspondent, a programme produced by Australia's ABC television, which unearthed details about the Israeli-Australian. They disclosed that his body was returned to his native Melbourne just before Christmas (and just after the birth of his second daughter) in 2010.



KOSOVO

Kosovo independent, but not at peace


Albanians in Kosovo are celebrating five years of independence from Serbia. But the conflict in the former Serbian province lingers, especially in the north - for example in the divided city of Mitrovica.
On her way to work every day, Adrijana Hodzic has to pass by a tank. It's situated directly in front of the North Mitrovica citizen center. With it, the NATO peacekeeping troops are protecting the office from possible extremist attacks.
A large fraction of the Serbs who live in the north of Kosovo and in the northern sector of the divided city of Mitrovica recognize neither the Kosovar government in Pristina, nor the citizens' center that has opened here. It's an attitude that receives backing from the Serbian government in Belgrade, which refuses to accept Kosovo's independence.

As Tunisia's Ennahda falters, supporters wonder if it can handle the heat


Tunisia's leading party, the Islamist Ennahda, is struggling to deliver prosperity and stability. But its legitimacy is sliding, even among those who flocked to the party after the revolution.

By John Thorne, Correspondent / February 16, 2013


Before revolution toppled Tunisia’s dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Ghada Mtiri’s head scarf could get her into trouble with the police. Afterward, she campaigned for one of his chief victims, the moderate Islamist Ennahda (Al Nahda) party.

For her, Ennahda has stood for democracy, respect for religion, and the idea that “no one person can oppress another,” she says.
Now the party is under fire for what critics call a dismal leadership record. The murder last week of an opposition political leader ignited a smoldering crisis over how to replace a discredited cabinet – and how to get the original Arab Spring country back on track.

Singaporeans protest over population increase plan
By Faris Mokhtar, The Associated Press
Nearly 3,000 people held a rare rally in Singapore on Saturday to protest a government plan to increase the city-state's population by admitting more foreigners, voicing concerns that it will worsen already strained public services and push up the cost of living.
Such demonstrations are rare in the Southeast Asian country, known for its image of political stability and efficient governance, with the ruling People's Action Party stifling opposition voices and placing tight controls on public protests.
The chief organizer of the rally, Gilbert Goh, said the protest was a display of citizens' unhappiness over the population plan, which was endorsed in parliament on Feb. 8. "They want to tell the government, please reconsider this policy. The turnout is a testimony that this policy is flawed and unpopular on the ground," he said.




A meteor and asteroid: 1 in 100 million odds


By Meg Urry, Special to CNN
February 16, 2013 -- Updated 1726 GMT 

Editor's note: Meg Urry is the Israel Munson professor of physics and astronomy and chairwoman of the department of physics at Yale University, where she is the director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
(CNN) -- Friday was an extremely unusual day, astronomically speaking. Just as scientists were gearing up to witness an asteroid's closest ever approach to Earth in recorded history, a sizeable meteor exploded over Russia, causing thousands of injuries and major damage to buildings.
The asteroid, named DA14, came within 17,000 miles or so, as close as a telecommunication satellite in geosynchronous orbit. DA14 is quite a bit smaller than YU55, the asteroid that passed Earth in November 2011, but DA14 came more than 10 times closer.
These two rare events occurred the same day. Your inner mathematician and your inner prophet of the end times think they should be connected. But scientists say they are not. What gives?






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