Six In The Morning

 Germany marks anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall

9 November 2014 Last updated at 02:09

BBC

Celebrations are being held in Germany to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Concerts and exhibitions are being staged in the city and Chancellor Angela Merkel will later attend a huge open-air party at the Brandenburg Gate.

White balloons marking a stretch of the wall will be released to symbolise its disappearance.

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop people fleeing from Communist East Germany to the West.

Its fall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War.

War with Isis: The militants will remain until the region’s Sunnis feel safe

World View: The US plan of strengthening local tribes is no match for the brutality of the jihadis

PATRICK COCKBURN Sunday 9 November 2014

Islamic State (Isis) has a grisly ritual whereby its victims are compelled to chant “the Islamic State remains” in the moments before they are executed. Unfortunately, the slogan remains all too true: five months after Isis defeated the Iraqi army and captured much of northern and western Iraq, it is still tightening its grip on its territory in Iraq and Syria and nobody has devised a feasible policy to defeat it.

The US announced on Friday that it is to send another 1,500 soldiers to Iraq to advise and train its army, doubling the number it already has in the country. A new development is that the extra troops will be sent to serve in Iraqi army and Kurdish units and no longer be confined to Baghdad and the Kurdish capital, Erbil. The supposed reason for sending them, according to the Pentagon press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, is because “the Iraqis have demonstrated the willingness and the will to go after Isil [Isis]”.

Protesters set fire to Mexican palace as anger over missing students grows

 Attack on building in Mexico City caps day of protest at the apparent massacre of 43 students

 Reuters

theguardian.com, Sunday 9 November 2014 07.26 GMT

A group of protesters set fire to the wooden door of Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto’s ceremonial palace in Mexico City’s historic city centre late on Saturday, denouncing the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers.

The group, carrying torches, broke away from what had been a mostly peaceful protest demanding justice for the students, who were abducted six weeks ago and apparently murdered and incinerated by corrupt police in league with drug gang members.

Heavy shelling, unmarked military columns observed in eastern Ukraine

Observers reported heavy shelling and large columns of unmarked tanks and artillery moving through eastern Ukraine overnight. Continued violence threatens the complete breakdown of a ceasefire signed in early September.

   DW-DE

Large columns of unmarked tanks, howitzers and troop carriers were spotted moving through eastern Ukraine in territory held by pro-Russian separatists, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported.

The movements all occurred within the rebel-held “Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR),” in eastern Ukraine. Heavy shelling was also observed, according to the OSCE.

“In the city of Donetsk and in Makeevka (25km north-east of Donetsk city), in “DPR”-controlled territory, the [Special Monitoring Mission (SMM)] observed convoys of heavy weapons and tanks. At the time of reporting, the SMM could hear heavy, outgoing shelling to the north and northwest of the city’s outskirts,” a statement from the OSCE read.

 Japanese MP’s surprise encounter paved way for meeting of leaders

November 9, 2014 – 4:47PM

 John Garnaut

Tokyo: The first sign of today’s likely conciliation between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping was transmitted through a delegation of young and idealistic Japanese MPs at Beijing Capital Airport on August 17.

The previous year, Kiyohiko Toyama’s delegation had been treated so “miserably”, with so much scolding from so many low-level apparatchiks, that the possibility of securing a meeting with China’s vice-president hadn’t even occurred to them.

Hong Kong’s post-handover leader says China won’t change mind on democracy: paper



(Reuters)

Hong Kong’s first leader after its return to Chinese rule says Communist Party leaders in Beijing will not give in to students’ demands for democracy, a newspaper said on Sunday, an apparent response to their suggestion he could act as intermediary.

A leader of Hong Kong’s protests, which have blocked city streets for weeks, on Thursday called for a respected go-between, such as former leader Tung Chee-hwa, to help arrange a trip to Beijing.