Six In The Morning

US tells Pakistan to name agents who aided bin Laden

Suspicion grows that someone knew al-Qaida leader’s location, shielded him

By HELENE COOPER and ISMAIL KHAN

Pakistani officials say the Obama administration has demanded the identities of some of their top intelligence operatives as the United States tries to determine whether any of them had contact with Osama bin Laden or his agents in the years before the raid that led to his death early Monday morning in Pakistan.

The officials provided new details of a tense discussion between Pakistani officials and an American envoy who traveled to Pakistan on Monday, as well as the growing suspicion among United States intelligence and diplomatic officials that someone in Pakistan’s secret intelligence agency knew of Bin Laden’s location, and helped shield him.

As tanks line the streets, Syrians stand firm to defy brutal regime

Crowds gather across nation despite bloody crackdown that has left hundreds dead

By Khalid Ali and Kim Sengupta Saturday, 7 May 2011

Thousands of protesters faced the guns of the Syrian regime yesterday undeterred by a ferocious crackdown and a campaign of intimidation that has failed to quell popular discontent against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Click HERE to upload graphic: Flashpoints and the security crackdown (200.92kb jpg)

Security forces opened fire on marches in several cities killing at least 21 protesters, according to rights activists, continuing the brutal crackdown that has left more than 550 people dead since widespread civil unrest began in March

Italy to send weapons to Libya, rebels claim



The Irish Times – Saturday, May 7, 2011

A SENIOR Libyan opposition figure said yesterday that Italy has agreed to send weapons to the under-equipped rebel forces, in an apparent serious breach of the United Nations arms embargo.

If confirmed by Rome, the weapons shipments are likely to cause consternation at the UN where China and Russia have already expressed doubts about whether Nato is stretching the no-fly zone mandate.

Vice-president of the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafeez Ghoga, said a deal has been agreed with the Italian government to provide weapons, which would be paid for from international donor funds pledged at a conference in the Italian capital earlier this week

Jail for man in charge of Egypt’s security police



David Kirkpatrick

May 7, 2011

 Egyptians are celebrating the sentencing of the once-feared former Interior Minister, Habib el-Adly, to 12 years in prison, a decision which sets the scene for a series of high-profile corruption trials of senior figures from the government of the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak.

Seen as a triumph for the rule of law and a vindication of the revolution that defined the so-called Arab spring, the trials could include Mr Mubarak.

Pakistan seeks solace in the Kremlin



By M K Bhadrakumar

The Kremlin has announced a three-day “official visit” by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to Russia beginning next Wednesday at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev.

Such visits are scheduled in advance while formal announcements are kept until a later date. Nonetheless, Zardari’s talks within inscrutable Kremlin walls will attract huge attention regionally and internationally as they will be taking place within a fortnight of the la affaire Abbottabad, which has prompted speculation regarding the United States-Pakistan relationship following the killing on Monday of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in that Pakistani town.

Why six MLB clubs stay in Venezuela despite rising crime and bitter politics

Major League Baseball teams are shuttering their academies in Venezuela due to rising crime and political tension, but the country remains the No. 2 source of foreign players in the MLB.

By Jasmina Kelemen, Correspondent  

San Joaquin, Venezuela

A tall, lanky infielder drops the ball three times before he finally gains control of the grounder. Pitches sail past the catcher’s mitt. Balls roll agonizingly deep into the outfield.

The casual observer could forgive the players, none older than 16, for their fumbles. But not the dozens of scouts representing every Major League Baseball (MLB) team silently scrutinizing the action, jotting down notes, and timing the execution of each play.

“I’m looking for the ones that aren’t nervous,” says Rolando Fernandez, the senior director of international scouting for the Colorado Rockies.