Six In The Morning

Don’t worry the media in the U.S. and its political leaders won’t allow this to happen as they enjoy conflict too much  



Spirit of unity after Arizona slayings may be fleeting

Reporting from Washington and Phoenix – Silence fell in Washington on Monday as President Obama, members of Congress and hundreds of officials bowed their heads in the wake of Arizona’s mass shooting and promised a new spirit of comity that harkened back to the days after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

“Harsh words are offered from both sides,” said Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas). “I hope this tragedy will play a role in diminishing some of the strident statements that we have heard.”

How many times have they done this?  

But Spanish politicians say announcement is heavy on rhetoric and flimsy on details  

Basque separatists Eta declare a ‘permanent’ end to violence

After months of anticipation, the armed separatist group Eta yesterday declared a permanent ceasefire in order to seek a “democratic” end to its 51-year-long violent campaign in Spain for an independent Basque nation.

“Eta has decided to declare a permanent and general ceasefire which will be verifiable by the international community,” the group said in a statement. “This is Eta’s firm commitment towards a process to achieve a lasting resolution and towards an end to the armed confrontation.”

The politics of the onion or how to find yourself out of government



High onion prices leave India’s ruling party in tears

THE SOARING price of onions across India, which in the past has been an issue over which federal and provincial governments were voted out of office, is now threatening prime minister Manmohan Singh’s administration.

A staple ingredient in almost all kinds of Indian food, onions have been selling in Delhi and other northern cities in recent days at 60 rupees (€1.02) per kg, up from 30 rupees, registering a 100 per cent increase.

Enterprising traders across the country were even offering kilos of free onions along with the purchase of each tyre, television and any other electrical item.

Creating boarders for colonial power has consequences  



Neighbours fear division of Sudan may have domino effect

If Southern Sudan, why not Southern Nigeria, or Northern Ivory Coast, or multiple Congos? The Sudanese vote has implications for all of Africa, signalling that the borders drawn by colonial cartographers are no longer sacrosanct. Some fear it may spur the Balkanisation of the continent.

”The referendum in Sudan could have a domino effect,” said Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress in Nigeria. ”It is likely to be infectious to other parts of Africa in the sense that most countries … are divided along the lines of Christians and Muslims.”

Finding spies of convenience

State television identifies a young Iranian as “main element” behind death of a nuclear scientist in January last year.  

Iran ‘uncovers Israel spy network’

Iran’s state media has reported the arrest of a “network of spies” linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service it blamed for the murder of an Iranian nuclear scientist.

The station on Monday aired the footage of a young man identified as Majid Jamalifash, who it said was the “main element” behind the assassination of the scientist.

In a statement, the intelligence ministry said Israel had used European, non-European and some neighbouring countries to carry out the assassination plot.

“The ministry … has identified and arrested members of a spy and terrorist network linked to the Zionist regime,” the station said on Monday quoting the statement.

The less fortunate always get left behind



Residents of Colombia oil patch complain boom is passing them by

Reporting from Yopal, Colombia – Weather-beaten rancher Leonardo Bautista brings to mind the character in a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel who waited years in vain for a pension. Only Bautista is waiting for a new road, or any other benefit to filter down to those who live at ground zero of Colombia’s oil boom.

Every day, 150 crude-laden semitrailer trucks grind over his town’s dirt road, raising dust and spewing oil. Bautista and his neighbors want a paved road to mitigate the noise and environmental damage, and to leave room for other vehicles, which often get muscled off course as the lumbering tankers swerve to avoid potholes.