Six In The Morning Tuesday May 12

Nepal earthquake, magnitude 7.3, strikes near Everest

• 8 minutes ago
 
• From the sectionAsia

A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 died in a devastating quake.

At least four people have been killed and an unknown number injured, according to aid agencies.

The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar, near Mount Everest.

The US Geological Survey said it had a magnitude of 7.3. An earthquake on 25 April, centred in western Nepal, had a magnitude of 7.8.

The latest tremor was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh.

In the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, which was badly damaged last month, people rushed out of buildings as the quake struck at 12:35 local time (07:50 GMT).

Syria crisis: Turkey and Saudi Arabia shock Western countries by supporting anti-Assad jihadists

Joint approach by Turkey and Saudi Arabia graphically illustrates how the interests of the Sunni regional powers are diverging from those of the US in Syria

KIM SENGUPTA 

 

 

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Turkey and Saudi Arabia are actively supporting a hardline coalition of Islamist rebels against Bashar al-Assad’s regime that includes al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, in a move that has alarmed Western governments.

The two countries are focusing their backing for the Syrian rebels on the combined Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest, a command structure for jihadist groups in Syria that includes Jabhat al-Nusra, an extremist rival to Isis which shares many of its aspirations for a fundamentalist caliphate.

The decision by the two leading allies of the West to back a group in which al-Nusra plays a leading role has alarmed Western governments and is at odds with the US, which is firmly opposed to arming and funding jihadist extremists in Syria’s long-running civil war.

Third atheist blogger killed in Bangladesh knife attack

Police say Ananta Bijoy Das was attacked in Sylhet city, months after fellow bloggers Avijit Roy and Washiqur Rahman were murdered

Saad Hammadi in Dhaka and Agence France-Presse

Tuesday 12 May 2015 08.25 BST

A secular blogger has been hacked to death in north-eastern Bangladesh, the third such deadly attack this year.

Police said Ananta Bijoy Das was murdered in broad daylight as he headed to work at a bank in the city of Sylhet, an attack that fellow writers said highlighted a culture of impunity.

Kamrul Hasan, commissioner of Sylhet police, said a group of about four masked attackers pounced on Das with machetes at about 8.30am on Tuesday on a busy street in Bangladesh’s fifth largest city.

North Korean leader ordered aunt to be poisoned, defector says

By Paula Hancocks, CNN

Updated 0408 GMT (1108 HKT) May 12, 2015

Mr. Park shifts uncomfortably in his seat. As one of the most senior North Korean officials to ever defect, he was preparing to tell the ugly truth about the regime he served faithfully for decades.

This is not his real name; he wants his identity hidden for fear of retribution against friends and family still in Pyongyang. It's not surprising when you hear what he has to say.

His first allegation is shocking. He claims North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his own aunt, a blood relative, to be poisoned.

Afghanistan: Development or militarization?

By Salman Rafi Sheikh

Afghanistan’s 2014 presidential election was largely projected as a “make or break” point for the future of democracy in Afghanistan. Not only did U.S. officials hail this ‘successful democratic transition’ and ‘peaceful’ transfer of power, they also had us believe that democracy “is actually” gaining ground in Afghanistan. Whether or not democracy was or is gaining ground in Afghanistan is a moot question; however, what is clearly evident is that the U.S. and its allies do repeat this success story quite often to demonstrate their “success” in “civilizing” Afghanistan. In simple words, this success story serves as a perfect excuse for them to justify the need for strengthening Afghanistan’s military. The notorious argument, repeated on quite a few occasions, goes as follows:

Since Afghanistan is politically “stable” now, the need of the hour is to bolster Afghanistan’s defesce apparatuses so that re-emergence of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s sole rulers could be avoided. As is evident, after successful democratic transition, military transition is the next “logical” step.

Arms control advocates rally to prevent development of killer robots

BY JOHN ZAROCOSTAS

McClatchy Foreign Staff

GENEVA — The British aircraft manufacturer BAE Systems promotes its Taranis drone with a video that focuses on the dramatic: images of the swept-wing stealth aircraft flitting through the clouds, dramatic background music and thunder, men in chemical suits amid futuristic control rooms.

Its mission is multifaceted, the website claims: conducting sustained surveillance, marking targets, gathering intelligence, deterring adversaries and carrying out strikes in hostile territory.

And, the manufacturer notes, in large type: “Controlled by a human operator.” With a photo of the man who was at the controls as the stealth drone made its inaugural test flight.