Six In The Morning

Secret US memo made legal case to kill Anwar al-Awlaki

Document provided justification for acting despite an executive order banning assassinations

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.

The memo, written last year, followed months of extensive interagency deliberations and offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to one of the most significant decisions made by President Obama – to move ahead with the killing of an American citizen without a trial.

Euro crisis spreads and puts the world economy at risk

When G20 finance ministers meet in Paris next weekend, the stakes will be enormous for both Europe and the world

Heather Stewart

The Observer, Sunday 9 October 2011

When finance ministers from the G20 major economies meet next weekend, they could be excused for having a sickening feeling of deja vu. This time it’s Paris, not London, but, just as in May 2009 when Gordon Brown brought the power-brokers of the world economy together in Docklands, they are trying to prevent a financial crisis spiralling out of control and dragging the global economy into recession. This time, though, there is far less political agreement or goodwill.

Instead of the US, where the collapse of Lehman Brothers sent consumers and investors into panic mode, this time the focus is firmly on the eurozone, and time is running out.

Rupert Cornwell: Capitalism’s heart occupied – where will it all lead?

Out of America: The anti-corporate demonstrations in New York have struck a chord all over the US. Could they be the Democrat version of the Tea Party?

Sunday, 9 October 2011

Back in December a humble fruit vendor in Tunis, scorned and humiliated by those in power, set himself ablaze. With his deed he ignited an Arab revolution. Ten months later and 5,000 miles away, might something comparable just possibly be happening? In other words, could some small, at first apparently inconsequential rallies be the spark that lights the fuse beneath the frustration, anger and confusion of an America beset by economic and financial crisis?

Let it be clear at once, the US is not on the brink of anarchy. Since the “Occupy Wall Street” movement held its first gathering in a lower Manhattan park on 17 September, demonstrations have taken place in at least 16 other big cities across the country. Put every one of them together, and the participants would number only in the tens of thousands at most.

‘Crisis level’ floods threaten Bangkok



 Lindsay Murdoch

October 9, 2011

Thailand’s worst floods in more than half a century have reached a ”crisis level” and threaten to swamp the capital, Bangkok, next week.

The city’s worried officials have asked for spiritual help from the water goddess. Buddhist monks yesterday conducted a riverside lai nam (water dispelling) ceremony attended by officials who fear large areas of Bangkok will be inundated, coinciding with peak tides.

The floods have already left 252 people dead and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to factories and homes and flooded temples in the ancient royal capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok.

South Sudan’s Kiir in Khartoum for key talks



SIMON MARTELLI KHARTOUM, SUDAN – Oct 09 2011

These and the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s border region between the army and rebel militiamen with historic ties to the south have heavily strained north-south relations.

But after one-to-one talks on Saturday, both presidents pledged to work together for peace and stability, and to put the years of conflict behind them.

“We achieved the comprehensive peace agreement [in 2005] through joint efforts. By the same good will, we will not go back to war,” Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir said in a speech.

TEPCO orchestrated ‘personal’ donations to LDP

 

2011/10/09

Tokyo Electric Power Co. executives pumped tens of millions of yen in personal donations into Liberal Democratic Party coffers in a campaign apparently backed by the company’s political lobbyists, an Asahi Shimbun investigation found.

Although TEPCO’s public relations department insists that the company does not encourage the donations, The Asahi Shimbun found that at least 448 of the company’s executives donated a total of 59.57 million yen ($777,000) to a political fund-raising arm of the then ruling party between 1995 and 2009.