Six In The Morning

Inside Pakistan's drone country
Pakistan's tribal region of Waziristan, constantly watched and regularly bombarded by US military drones, has been called the most dangerous place on earth. The relentless assault exacts a huge psychological toll on the people who live there.

By Ahmed Wali Mujeeb BBC News, Waziristan
The US missile-attacks destroy militant training compounds and cars but they also hit mosques, homes, religious schools and civilian vehicles. I witnessed the fear, stress and depression this causes for the tribal communities on a visit to the region in May. The drones do not suddenly appear over the horizon, carry out the attack and leave. At any given time of the day, at least four are hovering in the sky, emitting a distinctive and menacing buzzing sound. They call them "mosquitoes". "Anybody who has been listening to the buzzing all through the day usually can't sleep at night," says Abdul Waheed, a tribesman in North Waziristan. "It's like a blind man's stick - it can hit anybody at any time."

Land acquired over past decade could have produced food for a billion people
Oxfam calls on World Bank to stop backing foreign investors who acquire land for biofuels that could produce food

John Vidal, environment editor The Guardian, Thursday 4 October 2012
International land investors and biofuel producers have taken over land around the world that could feed nearly 1 billion people. Analysis by Oxfam of several thousand land deals completed in the last decade shows that an area eight times the size of the UK has been left idle by speculators or is being used largely to grow biofuels for US or European vehicles. In a report, published on Thursday, Oxfam says the global land rush is out of control and urges the World Bank to freeze its investments in large-scale land acquisitions to send a strong signal to global investors to stop "land grabs".

Arms manufacturers 'must do more' to speak out against corrupt practices
Two-thirds of firms do not make public adequate information about what they are doing

KIM SENGUPTA THURSDAY 04 OCTOBER 2012
Some of the world's largest defence companies have failed to provide enough evidence about how they are tackling corruption in the arms trade – a problem that costs $20bn a year globally, a report suggests today. An index compiled by the pressure group Transparency International UK shows that two-thirds of the companies do not make public adequate information about what they are doing to stop illicit practices. Firms in Europe and the US are among the worst performers.

Turkey strikes Syria again
Turkey has hit Syrian targets with fresh artillery, a day after it fired on Syrian positions for the first time. Ankara's actions were in retaliation to a Syrian strike which killed five in Turkey on Wednesday.

DW-DE
Turkey's military continued to carry out artillery strikes on neighbor Syria Thursday, according to Turkish security sources. Turkish shells hit the Tal Abyad area, where Syrian troops have artillery bases. “At least five Turkish shells landed near the Tal Abyad area, where the Syrian army maintains posts," said Rami Idlibi, a Syrian activist located in the northern province of Idlib. It was not clear whether there had been any casulties in Thursday's attack.

Nigerian authorities 'knew about planned terror attack'
Nigerian security authorities were informed of an imminent attack before the 2010 terrorist bombings in Abuja that left 12 people dead and 36 injured.

04 OCT 2012 08:55 - DANIEL EDYEGU
Victor Ben Selekaye, a former spokesperson of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) – a militant group that claimed responsibility of the deadly attacks – told the South Gauteng High Court on Wednesday he personally notified security of a planned attack on September 24 2010 after learning of it a day earlier. Selekaye is the prosecution's second witness in the terrorism trial of alleged former MEND leader Henry Okah. "I got to know of the planned attack through my childhood friend, Raphael Damfebo.

Cuba reforms: Important changes, but pace is slow
Cuba released many political prisoners and expanded personal economic rights this year. But everything won't change at once: The socialist country has a bloated state bureaucracy that moves slowly.

By Melissa Lockhart Fortner
Perhaps the biggest underlying tension among Cuba watchers is on the issue of whether things (i.e. policies) on the island are changing for the better, or whether they remain upsettingly the same as they have for half of a century. A comprehensive view, of course, would acknowledge that both phenomena exist. And a realistic observer would recognize that one cannot expect everything to change at once: countries are complex, and a socialist country in particular has a bloated state bureaucracy that moves slowly. Cuba faces some of the same challenges it has for years. How does one encourage workers to innovate and increase productivity when there are no material incentives for doing so?

China vs Japan: What's Really Going on, and What's at Stake, in the Senkakus'

This ad and variants appeared in US newspapers this week. What is going on? It's quite simple: a case of naked expanionist aggression that began in the early 1970s and is starting to crescendo as China's leaders are now trapped in claims they cannot support and no longer wholly control. Come below the fold to for a post-mortem on the past and a pre-mortem on the future.....

 By  VorkosiganVorkosigan



What happened in the Senkakus is really quite simple, despite forty years of attempts to complicate it by the two Chinese governments, the ROC (on Taiwan) and the PRC (in Beijing). In 1895 Japan annexed the Senkakus, which at the time nobody claimed to own. For some seventy years there were no protests from either the ROC (Taiwan) or the PRC (Beijing). However, in 1968 a report by the Committee for the Co-ordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), identified great potential for fossil fuel energy resources under the East China Sea. In 1971, after Okinawa was returned to Japan (the ROC (Taiwan) protested this) both the ROC (Taiwan) and PRC (Beijing) governments laid claim to the Senkakus, which they call the Diaoyutai Islands, the name they've been known as in Chinese for several centuries. Recall that both governments claim to represent "China".
That is the essence of the dispute. Currently both ROC (Taiwan) and PRC (Beijing) argue that the Diaoyutai are part of Taiwan, which, they both argue is part of China (under international law, most powers regard Taiwan's status as undetermined). They buttress their claims based on ancient maps and texts. More on that in a moment, but here are two bleakly salient facts:
1. ...between 1895 and 1970, neither Chinese government ever registered any protest over the Senkaku Islands. On all texts and maps produced by the PRC (Beijing) and ROC (Taiwan) the Senkakus are identified as Japanese and generally, their Japanese names are used. No maps or texts identify the islands' ownership as controversial.
2. ...after 1971, both governments hastily altered their official maps in the best 1984 style to reflect this historically new claim, and then further claimed that the islands had been "Chinese" all along. The idea that "ancient history" supports the Chinese claim to the Senkakus has arisen only since this time.
Let's look at the evidence..... first, the ROC (Taiwan).
ROC (Taiwan)
Although many of us in the Asian blogosphere know about the map alterations (as does the media, which rarely reports on them), I was nevertheless delighted when a longtime reader of my blog alerted me to this recent paper entitled The Diaoyutai Islands on Taiwan’s Official Maps: Pre- and Post-1971 (Asian Affairs: An American Review, 39:90–105, 2012) by Ko-hua Yap, Yu-wen Chen, and Ching-chi Huang. They write by way of introduction:

"This research report is the first to present irrefutable evidence of the ROC government’s change of position from excluding to including the Diaoyutai Islands in the ROC’s territory in the early 1970s. The evidence lies in cartographic information produced by the ROC government before the 1970s, which had always tacitly assumed that the Diaoyutai Islands were part of the Ryukyu Islands, not under the ROC’s sovereign control. Not until 1971 and 1972 did the Taiwanese government modify official maps—such as national atlases, military topographic maps, and maps in national textbooks—labelling the Diaoyutai Islands as part of Taiwan or using the “Taiwanese name” (i.e., Diaoyutai Islands, Tiaoyutai Islets) to identify these islands."

Yap et al examine four cases of how official texts and documents were altered. First, they instance the government-produced Taiwan Statistical Abstract. From 1946 to 1971, they observe, this text identified the northernmost point of Taiwan as Pengjia Islet, one of the three small islands off the northeast coast of Taiwan (example). But on Dec 2, 1971 the government announced that the Senkakus/Diaoyutai belonged to China and were administrated by Yilan county. The 1972 abstract was then duly altered, and Kuba Jima and Taisho Jima in the Senkakus were presented as the northernmost and easternmost points of Taiwan in all subsequent versions of this text. They then move on to the official maps. First they present the National War College atlases of Taiwan and China. They write:

"Evidence of the ROC’s shift of stance on the Diaoyutai Islands is also displayed in the NWC productions. For instance, in the National Atlas of China Vol. 1, the theme of which is Taiwan Province, the Diaoyutai Islands were not included in the first (1959), second (1963), or even third (1967) editions. It was only in 1972, when the fourth edition of the National Atlas of China Vol. 1 was published, that the Diaoyutai Islands were shown as part of Taiwan’s territory."

Here is the relevant map:
...the top map is the 1959, 1963, and 1967 edition. In the 1972 map there is a new inset box, depicting the Diaoyutai Islands as part of Taiwan. Then they, note, something else new appeared on this map:

It is equally interesting to note that, on the copyright page of the revised version, a line states that “the delineation of boundaries on the maps must not be considered authoritative.” This line never appeared in the original edition or in any other volumes of the National Atlas of China or the Grand Atlas of the World.

Six In The Morning

Iran to continue nuclear programme

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will not retreat from nuclear programme despite currency problems created by sanctions.

Last Modified: 03 Oct 2012 07:04

Iran will press on with its nuclear programme despite the problems caused by Western sanctions, including a dramatic slide in the value of its currency, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.

"We are not a people to retreat on the nuclear issue," he told a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

"If somebody thinks they can pressure Iran, they are certainly wrong and they must correct their behaviour," he said.

Ahmadinejad's comments came amid an accelerated slide in Iran's currency, which has now lost more than 80 per cent of its value compared with a year ago, with 17 per cent of its value shed on Monday alone.

The rial slipped another four per cent on Tuesday to close at 36,100 to the dollar, according to exchange tracking websites.

Ahmadinejad said the plunge was part of an economic "war" waged by the West on the Islamic republic and "a psychological war on the exchange market."

Iran, he said, had sufficient foreign currency reserves.

Calls for President Mikheil Saakashvili to step down after shock poll result in Georgia

Saakashvili concedes defeat in parliamentary election, but says he intends to stay on

SHAUN WALKER 

 

TBILISI

 

WEDNESDAY 03 OCTOBER 2012

The leader of Georgia's opposition coalition yesterday called on the President, Mikheil Saakashvili, to resign and call snap presidential polls.

After securing a shock victory in Sunday's parliamentary vote, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili said the honourable thing would be for the president to leave office. Mr Saakashvili has been president since the 2003 "rose revolution" and has a year left to rule, but would have to do so with a parliament controlled by his foes. "The only right thing for him to do now is to resign," said Mr Ivanishvili. "This would be good for himself and his future."

The Manbij ExperimentRebels Make a Go of Governing in Liberated City

By Christoph Reuter and Abd al-Kadher Adhun

Rebels have taken responsibility for the administration in the first major city to be liberated in Syria. Bashar Assad's troops have answered the provocation with targeted air strikes on schools and hospitals. The regime is pulverizing large parts of the country's infrastructure, including access to fresh drinking water.  

Angry older people, unconcerned with decorum, are pushing their way into the room. They shout furiously at the stunned officials sitting behind their desks. The revolution is all very well and good, they say, "but where are our pensions?"

With some difficulty, the man from the justice committee manages to convince them to at least appoint a spokesman, so that they won't all talk at the same time. But they remain adamant. "You are the new government! So it's your responsibility to pay our pensions!"

Nigeria leader willing to work with Okah for peace

03 OCT 2012 10:23 - DANIEL EDYEGU

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has shown a willingness to offer terror-accused Henry Okah an olive branch to pacify the volatile Niger Delta.

Niger Delta Minister Godsday Orubebe on Tuesday told the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg that despite the grievous harm that the October 1 2010 twin bombings caused to families of the victims, dialogue with members of warring factions has proved the best strategy in restoring peace to the oil-rich state.

"Throughout his tenure, [Jonathan] has always preached about the use of dialogue as a better way of getting to mutual consensus on contentious matters. If the accused is ready for dialogue, we would be very pleased to bring him on board," Orubebe said during his testimony against Okah.

Unhappy anniversary

By Brendan O'Reilly 

On the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Japan, the relationship between these two Asian powerhouses is more fraught than at any time over the past four decades. 

The ongoing standoff over a group of islands in the East China Sea, called Diaoyu by the Chinese and Senkaku by Japanese, is of course significant in its own right. However, this clash is also symptomatic of a much deeper crisis. 

As the center of economic and political power in Asia shifts from Japan to China, an effort to redefine spheres of influence is almost inevitable. This struggle for influence is much exacerbated by a bloody legacy of historical animosity and domestic attitudes of

fear and disdain. Furthermore, the United States' strategic redeployment to Asia plays a significant role in the confrontation. As opportunities for mutual benefit are squandered on both sides, the economic, political and military implications of the deep-rooted Sino-Japanese rivalry can be felt around the world.

Homeland Security 'fusion' centers spy on citizens, produce 'shoddy' work, report says

By Michael Isikoff
NBC News

The Department of Homeland Security has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a network of 77 so-called “fusion” intelligence centers that have collected personal information on some U.S. citizens — including detailing the “reading habits” of American Muslims — while producing “shoddy” reports and making no contribution to thwarting any terrorist plots,  a new Senate report states. 

The “ fusion centers,” created under President George W. Bush and expanded under President Barack Obama, consist of  special   teams of  federal , state and local officials collecting and analyzing  intelligence on suspicious activities throughout the country.  They have been hailed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as “one of the centerpieces”  of the nation’s counterterrorism efforts.

Six In The Morning

White House secret meetings examine al-Qaeda threat in North Africa


By Greg Miller and Craig Whitlock, Tuesday, October 2
The White House has held a series of secret meetings in recent months to examine the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s franchise in North Africa and consider for the first time whether to prepare for unilateral strikes, U.S. officials said. The deliberations reflect concern that al-Qaeda’s African affiliate has become more dangerous since gaining control of large pockets of territory in Mali and acquiring weapons from post-revolution Libya. The discussions predate the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. compounds in Libya but gained urgency after the assaults there were linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. U.S. officials said the discussions have focused on ways to help regional militaries confront al-Qaeda but have also explored the possibility of direct U.S. intervention if the terrorist group continues unchecked.

Reality Contradicts Plans for Afghan Withdrawal
Berlin maintains that Afghanistan is on the right track for German troops to withdraw by the end of 2014 as planned. But a classified report by the German foreign intelligence agency paints a different picture.

Der Spiegel
Afghan President Hamid Karzai likes to tell the West what it wants to hear. "We will fight corruption with great determination," he says. Or: "We will relentlessly strive for good governance." Such messages are well received in the West, because they correspond with the rosy picture that Western officials like to relay to the public themselves. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, for example, has become somewhat of a master at this game. "We are on course to realize the withdrawal of international and German combat troops by the end of 2014," he recently said, while also pointing out how important it is to integrate former Taliban fighters into Afghan society.

Anyone but Berlusconi: Italy begs unelected Monti to stay
Spectre of former PM is boosting popularity of leader parachuted in by European Union

MICHAEL DAY MILAN TUESDAY 02 OCTOBER 2012
Two political leaders have joined calls for Italy's unelected technocrat Prime Minister, Mario Monti, to stay on in some form after next spring's general election to prevent speculators dragging the Italian economy – and the euro – back to the edge of the abyss. The realisation that Mr Monti's stabilising stop-gap government has just six months left has been causing alarm bordering on panic among business leaders and even some of the politicians who stand to replace him. His unelected regime was rushed into place in November 2011 with Italy's finances on the precipice – a crisis that forced the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi as Prime Minister.

Indian activists claim law weighted against men
Despite decades of female empowerment, India remains very much a male-dominated society. However, a growing number of men are increasingly frustrated with laws they say discriminate against them.

DW-DE
India may be a male-dominated society but, in terms of the law, not everyone would agree that men have it all their own way. The very same laws that have been used to empower women have are now being criticized for being unfair to men, leading to false prosecutions and even suicide. The most misused of these is the law commonly known as "Section 498a." Amended 30 years ago from an earlier law, it was intended to protect a married woman from unending monetary demands of the groom's family. Such demands can lead to the torture or even death of a bride.

Ex-Ivorian leader's spokesman charged with murder in Ghana


By AFP Posted Tuesday, October 2 2012 at 02:02
Ghanaian authorities on Monday charged the spokesman for Ivory Coast's ex-leader Laurent Gbagbo with murder following a warrant from his home country, days after he was granted bail while awaiting an extradition hearing. Justin Kone Katinan's lawyer Patrick Sogbodjor said that while the alleged murder was committed in Ivory Coast, prosecutors charged him in Accra as a procedural move to keep him in custody after his earlier release on bail. Authorities declined to further explain the seemingly unorthodox move, referring questions to a police spokesman who did not respond to phone calls.

Colombian president to have surgery for prostate cancer
Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's president, said he will have surgery to remove a tumor located in his prostate gland.

By Reuters
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday that he would undergo surgery for prostate cancer this week but that the tumor was minor and non-aggressive "It's a small tumor located on the prostate gland and it's a good prognosis, it's not aggressive," the 61-year-old Santos said in an address to the nation from the presidential palace in Bogota, flanked by his doctor and his wife. Santos, who took office two years ago and is about to begin peace talks with Colombia's FARC guerrillas, said he would undergo surgery on Wednesday and that there was a 97 percent chance he would be completely cured.

MV-22 Osprey arrives in Okinawa: No residents want it there

Yesterday the U.S. Marine Corps deployed the first 6 of 24 MV-22 Osprey's to Okinawa after being made flight ready at Iwakuni Marine air station in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Futenma Marine Corp air station is located in the middle of Ginowan   a densely populated city in Okinawa.  Laocated right next to the  air station is a university where a helicopter crashed in 2004 and an elementary school.  Residents of the city believe that given its location and the large population which surrounds the base its only a matter of time before there is an accident involving these aircraft which have proven to have a spotty safety record since they were widely deployed.

Their delayed arrival in Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 47,000 US troops in Japan, came after Tokyo said it was satisfied by Washington's assurances over the aircraft's safety record.
The transport aircraft's tilt rotors allow it to take off and land like a helicopter and cruise like a plane. The US says the fleet at Futenma is needed to replace ageing CH-46 aircraft and improve its ability to respond to security crises in the Asia-Pacific region.

Controversy

The V-22's development process has been long and controversial, partly due to its large cost increases.^[49] The V-22's development budget was first planned for $2.5 billion in 1986, then increased to a projected $30 billion in 1988.^[31] As of 2008, $27 billion had been spent on the Osprey program and another $27.2 billion will be required to complete planned production numbers by the end of the program.^[24]

Its [The V-22's] production costs are considerably greater than for helicopters with equivalent capability—specifically, about twice as great as for the CH-53E, which has a greater payload and an ability to carry heavy equipment the V-22 cannot... an Osprey unit would cost around $60 million to produce, and $35 million for the helicopter equivalent.

—Michael E. O'Hanlon, 2002.^[50]

The V-22 squadron's former commander at Marine Corps Air Station New River, Lieutenant Colonel Odin Lieberman, was relieved of duty in 2001 after allegations that he instructed his unit that they needed to falsify maintenance records to make the plane appear more reliable.^[24][51] Three officers were later implicated in the falsification scandal.^[49]

The aircraft is incapable of autorotation to make a safe landing in helicopter mode if both engines fail. A director of the Pentagon's testing office in 2005 said that if the Osprey loses power while flying like a helicopter below 1,600 feet (490 m), emergency landings "are not likely to be survivable". But Captain Justin "Moon" McKinney, a V-22 pilot, says there is an alternative, "We can turn it into a plane and glide it down, just like a C-130".^[46] A complete loss of power would require the failure of both engines, as one engine can power both proprotors via interconnected drive shafts.^[52]While vortex ring state (VRS) contributed to a deadly V-22 accident, the aircraft is less susceptible to the condition than conventional helicopters based on flight testing.^[5] But a GAO report stated the V-22 to be "less forgiving than conventional helicopters" during this phenomenon.^[53] In addition, several test flights to explore the V-22's VRS characteristics in greater detail were canceled.^[54] The Marines now train new pilots in the recognition of and recovery from VRS and have instituted operational envelope limits and instrumentation to help pilots avoid VRS conditions.^[31][55]

With the first combat deployment of the MV-22 in October 2007, Time Magazine ran an article condemning the aircraft as unsafe, overpriced, and completely inadequate.^[46] The Marine Corps responded by arguing that much of the article's data were dated, obsolete, inaccurate, and reflected expectations that ran too high for any new field of aircraft.^[56]

The V-22 has a maximum rotor downwash speed above 80 knots, more than the 64 knots lower limit of a hurricane.^[57][58] However, it is possible to fast rope from the V-22.^[59]

Changes to the Osprey and its software have addressed 3 problems: hydraulic fires in the nacelles, vortex ring state, and unarmed landings in hostile territory

The reality is this: Residents of Okinawa can protest all they want but neither government be it in Tokyo or Washington will heed their demands.  As, this isn't about them or their concerns about  the air crafts safety worthiness its about America's next enemy China and the need to feed the military industrial complex.   

Rapper Psy takes Number 1 in the charts with 'Gangnam Style'

Rapper Psy became the first South Korean musician to make it to number one in the UK today with his single "Gangnam Style".

The pop track broke into the top 40 two weeks ago at number 37, four weeks after its release, and has been climbing steadily since ending up at number three in last week's chart.
The video that accompanies the single has amassed more than 253 million views in just two months and became the most "liked" video of all time on YouTube.
Psy, who is already an established star in South Korea having released six albums, taught Britney Spears his dance moves on US TV show Ellen earlier this month.

Six In The Morning

Thousands displaced as Syrian authorities demolish Hama neighborhood


By Amir Ahmed, CNN October 1, 2012 -- Updated 0640 GMT
Syrian security forces are overseeing the systematic displacement of thousands and then demolishing their neighborhood in the western flashpoint city of Hama, residents told CNN. Tanks completely surround the Mesha Alarbaeen district in Hama -- once home to about 30,000 mostly poor residents as well as the hub of opposition activity in the city -- as bulldozers operate inside, tearing down homes. "So far they have razed 120 buildings," Osamah, a Hama resident who visited the neighborhood on Sunday, told CNN. The neighborhood had been "the main gathering place" for those "peaceful and militant" who oppose President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to Osamah.

Ai Weiwei firm to be closed down by Chinese authorities
Move is bittersweet for artist as it could mean he avoids paying the remainder of a 15m yuan tax fine

Tania Branigan in Beijing guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 October 2012 08.13 BST
Chinese authorities are closing down the firm handling Ai Weiwei's affairs, the outspoken artist said on Monday, possibly saving him from paying the remainder of a 15m yuan (£1.5m) tax fine. The 55-year-old said he believed he and his team had lost the battle but won the war, after a court rejected his appeal against the charges last week. Officials said this weekend they were removing Fake Cultural Development's business licence because it had not met annual registration requirements. The company has been unable to do so because police confiscated all its materials and its stamp when they detained Ai last year.

These 'savages' created some of history's finest art
The Long View: It's true, I suspect, that "cultural" Islam, which includes a lot of Christian artists, is greater than the Islamic religion

ROBERT FISK Monday 1 October 2012
On sale outside the Louvre's spanking new exhibition of Islamic art this weekend was a magazine headline to engage any reader. "Les fanatiques," it read. The fanatics in question were not Texas pastors or Californian video-makers who burn Korans or insult the Prophet Mohamed. "Les fous de dieu" – the "madmen of God" as the French press usually calls them – are not the Midwest Christian Apocalypse-believers who support Israel and claim, if you believe the latest posters on the New York subway, that they are fighting "savages". Oh no, indeed, the fanatics, crazies and savages in question are the chaps who created the Islamic treasury of golden chalices and crimson rugs and silver vases and marble friezes and bronze lions and stone-paste roosters and vast, brass candlesticks beneath the golden "desert" roof of the Louvre's latest exhibition hall.

Georgia elects new parliament amid prison torture scandal
Georgians are electing a new parliament. Monday's poll follows a jail torture scandal that could undermine pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili's grip on power. His main challenger is the tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili.


The polls are expected to usher in a new political era for the mountainous Caucasus nation of 4.5 million people, with constitutional changes set to strengthen the power of the parliament and prime minister while reducing those of the president by 2013. An August poll by the US National Democratic Institute had recorded 37 percent support for Saakashvili's United National Movement against 12 percent support for the opposition Georgian Dream, led by the 56-year-old billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili. But 43 percent of the respondents said they could vote either way. That poll, however, was taken before a prison torture scandal sparked a political uproar in Georgia.

Frelimo splurges as poverty rules
It was billed as a celebration of socialist revolutionary triumph, but when the ruling Frelimo party marked its 50th birthday this week Marx came a distant second to money.

Reuters | 01 October, 2012 00:06
Reflecting their anti-colonial, revolutionary roots, Frelimo leaders pointedly chose a venue in the untamed corner of Southern Africa where half a century ago guerrillas launched the uprising that would lead to independence from Portugal in 1975. But, beyond the symbolism of the location, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, the obligatory use of "Comrade" and the AK-47 rifle that still adorns the national flag, everything at the party congress pointed to the huge wealth accruing to the political elite that holds sway in the fast-growing energy producer.

Venezuela poll rivals hold mass rallies
Probe launched into deaths of political activists as surveys predict tight race between president and challenger.

Last Modified: 01 Oct 2012 05:23
A huge crowd has filled the streets of Venezuela's capital cheering the opposition candidate, waving flags in a show of support one week before the country's tightly contested presidential election. Henrique Capriles waved from a lorry that rolled through the vast expanse of supporters in Caracas on Sunday. The crowd overflowed from Bolivar Avenue, the widest thoroughfare in the city's business district, which according to some estimates has a capacity to hold about 260,000 people. The authorities did not provide a crowd estimate. "Bolivar Avenue is too small for us," Capriles shouted to the crowd, which was the largest of any opposition gathering in recent years.