Six In The Morning Sunday March 23

More planes joining search for missing Malaysian airliner

By Ralph Ellis and Mariano Castillo, CNN

March 23, 2014 -- Updated 0915 GMT (1715 HKT)

 The numbers are growing, even if the answers may not be.

On Sunday, eight airplanes will fly over the southern Indian Ocean searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, said Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Andrea Hayward-Maher.

That's two planes more than Saturday and the most aircraft involved in the search lead by Australia so far, she said.

Sunday's search will be a visual search, AMSA rescue spokesman Mike Barton told reporters. Eyes will take precedence over radar.

The planes will base their movements on Chinese satellite images of debris and drift modeling, the AMSA said.

Al-Qai'da aid project shows the way in Afghanistan

World View: Corruption has blighted the torrent of dollars poured into the country by America since 2001

PATRICK COCKBURN

Sunday 23 March 2014

An Afghan acquaintance who had worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told me several years ago how an Afghan subcontractor had made a large profit from a contract to build and get running a tractor repair shop in Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan. Uruzgan, the home province of Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, was then a particularly dangerous place, but the subcontractor cunningly turned this to his advantage. The strong Taliban presence in the area meant that nobody from the main contractor or USAID, which was funding the project, could visit the site of the new repair shop. Instead, they relied on photographs emailed to them which showed that the work was making impressive progress.

The head of the subcontractor did not go near Uruzgan, but instead rented an existing tractor repair shop in one of the safer parts of Kandahar. Along with the shop, he hired young men for a few days who were told to look as if they were busily fixing tractor engines. A photographer took pictures of all this which, when emailed to Kabul, convinced the donors and main contractor that the contract was being fulfilled.

Targeting Huawei: NSA Spied on Chinese Government and Networking Firm

According to documents viewed by SPIEGEL, America'a NSA intelligence agency put considerable efforts into spying on Chinese politicians and firms. One major target was Huawei, a company that is fast becoming a major Internet player.

• March 22, 2014 – 06:00 PM

The American government conducted a major intelligence offensive against China, with targets including the Chinese government and networking company Huawei, according to documents from former NSA worker Edward Snowden that have been viewed by SPIEGEL. Among the American intelligence service's targets were former Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Chinese Trade Ministry, banks, as well as telecommunications companies.

But the NSA made a special effort to target Huawei. With 150,000 employees and €28 billion ($38.6 billion) in annual revenues, the company is the world's second largest network equipment supplier. At the beginning of 2009, the NSA began an extensive operation, referred to internally as "Shotgiant," against the company, which is considered a major competitor to US-based Cisco. The company produces smartphones and tablets, but also mobile phone infrastructure, WLAN routers and fiber optic cable -- the kind of technology that is decisive in the NSA's battle for data supremacy.

Egypt to bring mass trial of Morsi backers

22 MAR 2014 10:40 SAPA-AFP

More than 1 200 supporters of Egypt's Mohamed Morsi will face charges in the country's biggest trial since his ousting by the army in July.

The mass trial is part of a crackdown by Egypt's military-installed authorities targeting Morsi's Islamist supporters who remain steadfast in demanding his reinstatement.

Morsi, Egypt's first elected and civilian president, was removed by the army on July 3. His ouster triggered widespread unrest across a deeply polarised country.

About 500 defendants will be tried on Saturday and another 700 are to face charges on Tuesday, judicial sources said.

It was unclear how many of the accused would appear at the courts in person, as sources said around 200 of the defendants are in detention, while others are either out on bail or are on the run.

Brazil no-fly zones around World Cup stadiums. Why?

Brazil no-fly zones: To ward off terrorist attacks, Brazil's Air Force will create no-fly zones around stadiums. But there's a catch: By law they can't shoot down intruders.

By Anthony Boadle, Reuters / March 22, 2014

BRASILIA

The Brazilian Air Force will declare no-fly zones over World Cup stadiums to prevent terrorist attacks during this year's soccer tournament, but there's a catch: it can't shoot down intruders, for now.

By law, Brazil's military can only shoot at unresponsive civilian planes on drug trafficking routes near its borders, but not over densely populated urban areas where games will be played in 12 cities.

The Air Force is asking the Brazilian government to change the shoot-down law to allow effective defense of the air space during the 64 games of the June 12-July 13 global soccer tournament, said Air Force Brigadier Antonio Carlos Egito at a news conference on Friday.

In the meantime, the anti-aircraft guns to be deployed near the stadiums cannot be fired at a plane flying into a no-fly zone, said Egito, the military chief of air traffic over Brazil.

Philippine security forces arrest top communist leaders

Philippines security forces arrested the country's top communist leaders on Saturday, a week ahead of the 45th anniversary of the group's armed struggle when it is expected to launch attacks on government targets, head of the armed forces said on Sunday.

The communist leaders had been blocking peace negotiations and ordering followers to step up attacks against plantations, mines, telecommunications and construction firms to raise funds to finance their revolution, according to the military.

Benito Tiamzon, chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)) and his wife, Wilma Austria Tiamzon, were in two vehicles when army and police forces intercepted them in Carcar, Cebu, on Saturday, said General Emmanuel Bautista, the head of the armed forces.