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Overnight News Digest is a daily series posting at approximately midnight Eastern. We have a staff of seven editors, now led by ek hornbeck. We pay homage to Magnifico, our founder and long-term leader.
Back to normal tonight: War coverage, Around the World, Around the Country, and Other. I tend to look for stories not heavily covered elsewhere, kind of the "Diary Rescue" approach to OND. I am also always looking for more stories on China and India, where 1/3 of the world's population lives.
When it is posted, Meteor Blades's Green Diary Rescue & Open Thread front page diary often links to that evening's OND - consider this reference as returning the kind favor. Or, creating an infinite loop. Or a mobius, looping with a twist. ;-)
THE WAR ZONE(S)
A Chinese Uighur, Making Pizza in Albania
A former Guantanamo inmate has built a new life for himself, working in an Italian-style snack bar in Albania, along with four of his fellow Uighur Muslims. He's become a spokesman of sorts, and he hopes to go into business for himself.
The most famous pizza chef in Tirana is just coming out of his Friday prayers. It is almost one p.m., and about 1,000 worshippers stream through the gates of the old mosque on Kavaya Street in the center of the Albanian capital. In the midst of the crowd, a thin man with a trimmed beard and almond-shaped eyes peers out from behind his glasses. His name is Abu Bakker Qassim, and he comes from Yining in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
This is a few days old, I was attracted to the possibilities.
Binyam Mohamed: MI5 officer gave false evidence in Guantánamo detainee case
Lawyers for the government have admitted that a senior MI5 officer gave false evidence to the high court in the case of former Guantánamo Bay prisoner Binyam Mohamed.
The admission, combined with an apology, is contained in a letter from Treasury solicitor David Mackie to Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, who tomorrow will hear fresh demands from lawyers representing Mohamed, and the media, for the disclosure of information about who was complicit in his interrogation and torture.
The letter reveals that an MI5 officer, referred to as Witness A, gave "incorrect" evidence to the high court about when the CIA kept British security and intelligence officers informed about Mohamed's secret interrogation.
Iraq
Iraqi forces arrest four teenagers training to be suicide bombers
The children, who were detained in a village near the northern city of Kirkuk, were part of a cell known as the "Birds of Paradise" and were being specially trained to avoid detection as they carried out attacks, security officials said.
"Special forces units have arrested an organisation of children consisting of four individuals under the age of 14 who call themselves the 'Birds of Paradise'," said General Abdelamir al-Zaidi, the commander of the Iraqi army division in Kirkuk.
"The group relies on children and is connected to al-Qa'ida. It works to recruit children and young people to carry out suicide attacks and to aid the terrorist groups in detonating roadside bombs."
Christopher Hill set to be US ambassador to Iraq
The US Senate on Monday cleared the last major obstacle to veteran diplomat Christopher Hill's confirmation as US ambassador to Iraq,
voting to end debate on his embattled nomination.
The 73-17 vote set the stage for a final confirmation ballot as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, when Hill, the US representative to six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear problems, was all but certain to get the green light to go to Baghdad.
Despite overwhelming support from President Barack Obama's Democratic allies and many Republicans, Hill's nomination stalled on opposition from Republican Senator Sam Brownback, who forced Monday's so-called cloture vote.
Piss on Sam Brownback and the 16 others who voted against cloture, and on the stoopid repubs who have been sitting on this.
Afghanistan/Pakistan
More troops wanted in Afghanistan
US and British commanders in Afghanistan want more Australian soldiers training and fighting with the Afghan army.
A Western diplomatic source told The Age that coalition commanders were full of admiration for the work of Australia troops there.
He said Australian special forces carrying out long-range patrols in pursuit of the Taliban and infantry instructors training and mentoring Afghan troops were highly motivated professionals.
Pak groups rope in Babbar Khalsa to launch attacks
As part of their larger plan to target prominent politicians and carry out blasts in India during Lok Sabha polls, Pakistan-based
terror groups have roped in Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) to carry out terror attacks — particularly in Punjab.
Indian intelligence agencies recently found out about a joint meeting between militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed with BKI chief Wadhawan Singh in Rawalpindi in February where they planned terror attacks in Punjab during polls.
Wadhawan Singh, hiding in Pakistan, is one of the 40 most wanted terrorists who found place in New Delhi's list to Islamabad for deportation. Intelligence agencies believe that Singh has constantly been in touch with radical elements in the Sikh community to carry out his plan.
I generally find the Times of India headlines rather cryptic.
AROUND THE WORLD
A Sign of Hope:
Guilt-wracked Mugabe torturers confess as Zimbabwe reconciliation process begins
HARRY is a former torturer. He is also at the heart of an experiment to bring peace and reconciliation to Zimbabwe.
Ten months ago, in the bloody run-off to the Zimbabwean presidential elections, he was a commander of a torture base for President Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in the sprawling township of Chitungwiza, 30km south of Harare.
He was one of thousands of previously "untouchable" ZANU-PF thugs who murdered as many as 180 people and tortured thousands to make sure that the election went Mugabe's way. He controlled mobs of rampaging youths who sought out supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and subjected them to unspeakable torture.
This article is a few days old, however it won the longest headline prize and brings a sign of hope to a devastated country on a neglected continent.
Political Issues and More
Boatpeople regime has nation divided: Newspoll
AUSTRALIANS are divided over the Government's handling of the rising tide of asylum seekers, as Malcolm Turnbull called for Labor to consider resurrecting a key plank of the Howard government's hard line on boatpeople.
As the Opposition attacked the Government for softening the Howard government's tough laws on asylum seekers, a Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Australian finds only 36 per cent of voters believe a tougher regime would make any difference in cutting illegal arrivals, while 57per cent believe it would do nothing to stop boatpeople.
As authorities stonewall on the circumstances of Thursday's deadly blast off Ashmore Reef, Newspoll finds 37 per cent of voters believe the Government is doing a good job on the asylum-seeker issue, while 40 per cent believe the Government is not.
Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to lift ban on old political foes
THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has opened the way for as many as 220 banned politicians to return to public life, as part of a reform package to address the deep social fissures exposed again by last week's "red shirts" uprising.
Mr Abhisit, who was manoeuvred into office last December after a court dissolved the People's Power Party and banned its senior members, has called on Thai political parties to make submissions for constitutional reform within a fortnight.
"I remain open-minded about amnesty for political wrongdoing, based on what many say are unfair laws, but will definitely draw the line on criminal violations."
EDITOR's COMMENT "draw the line on criminal violations." It seems like Mr. Abhisit is drawing a different line than President Obama.
Official: China centrally administered enterprises saw recovery in March
China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported a rebound in performance in March with a 26 percent growth in profits from a year ago, said an official with China's state asset watchdog Sunday.
The March figure was compared with a 33.3 percent year-on-year drop in profits during the first two months.
Government policies for cushioning effects from the global economic downturn had paid off, Li Rongrong, Minister in charge of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), said Sunday at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference 2009 in Boao, Hainan Province.
Chinese-controlled news says the Chinese economy is improving because of the Chinese gov't help for internal Chinese industry. W00t!
Zuma slates government at taxi summit
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma made the most of his last few days out of government, criticising the Department of Transport's work and their handling of the taxi industry's grievances with the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT).
At the South African National Taxi Council's (Santaco) summit on the planned BRT System, held at Gallagher Estate on Monday, Zuma diverged dramatically from his planned speech, talking informally to a mostly appreciative crowd of about 1 800 taxi operators.
He said that he had once been in talks with the industry, but that was before he lost his job, he added with a laugh.
First time source.
Conflicts
'Terrible destruction' in Sudan clashes
Clashes between rival ethnic groups in south Sudan have left more than 170 people dead, a district official said on Monday.
Armed fighters from the Murle ethnic group in remote Akobo county in eastern Jonglei state attacked Lou Nuer villages over the weekend, county commissioner Doyak Chol said.
"We have found 177 bodies dead, and we are expecting many more, even as high as 300 in total," Chol told AFP by satellite telephone.
Somali Pirates Form Unholy Alliance with Islamists
Warships have done little to deter Somalia's pirates. But following the latest spate of hijackings, the West plans to take a more robust approach to protecting shipping. Intelligence agencies are alarmed at the pirates' increasingly close ties to Islamist groups.
A sack filled with $1 million (€770,000) in $100 bills weighs just under 15 kilos (33 pounds). Occasionally $3 million in ransom money is paid to Somali pirates for a hijacked freighter and its crew. That's nearly 45 kilos.
Delivering millions of dollars to the pirates is a hell of a job, says Jack Cloonan, a security expert from New York. "Remember, they're sitting there and they're all armed to the teeth," he says. "And you're sitting there in your rubber raft: 'Here's one for you, and one for you ... '"
Thousands flee to safety as Sri Lanka breaks through Tamil Tigers' defence
Tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in Sri Lanka fled to safety today after the military smashed through one of the Tamil Tigers' last major defensive lines. Video footage released by the Sri Lankan defence ministry showed civilians pouring through a breach in an earth barrier which the rebels had been using to hold back the military onslaught.
The civilians waded through a lagoon towards the army's lines, some carrying possessions in bags on their heads.
The military clearly regards today's events as a major breakthrough in its stand-off against the last remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and is expected to step up its offensive after issuing a deadline of noon tomorrow for the rebels to surrender.
Climate Change
South Korea lights the way on carbon emissions with its £23bn green deal
The secretary for future vision is considering how many South Koreans it takes to change a million lightbulbs. No joke.
Kim Sang-hyo, the president's extravagantly titled right-hand man, is trying to create more than 940,000 green jobs and improve his country's energy efficiency at the same time. Switching every bulb in every public building in South Korea to light-emitting diodes by the end of this year is one, very small, element in the master plan of what has been described as the greenest new deal on the planet.
Since the start of the financial crisis last year, governments across the globe have been talking up the environmental content of their fiscal stimulus programmes and being judged by their efforts to save the planet. US president Barack Obama and the Chinese government have been praised for their ambitious plans to invest in renewable power, clean transport and energy-efficient buildings. Britain, by contrast, has been castigated for the relatively miserly sums it has so far committed to green projects. Alistair Darling's budget tomorrow will be closely scrutinised from the same perspective.
Penny Wong turns heat on Malcolm Turnbull as Coalition accused of return to climate scepticism
BLOCKING the Rudd Government's emissions trading scheme in the Senate would mean the Coalition was responsible for undermining crucial Copenhagen climate change talks and harming Australia's long-term economic interests, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has charged.
Senator Wong yesterday sought to intensify political pressure on Malcolm Turnbull, whose Liberal Party was now calling on the Government to "go back to the drawing board" and return to the Senate with a new plan to reduce emissions next year. She said the Opposition Leader was leading the Coalition back to the climate-sceptic stance of the Howard years.
"Wrecking this reform is about much more than Australia's domestic political debate; wrecking this reform shortens the odds of a global deal on climate change," Senator Wong told the Lowy Institute yesterday. "So the Opposition Leader must decide whether he wants to simply revive Mr Howard's legacy on climate change, or create a legacy of his own. If Australia falls at this hurdle, we risk being seen as returning to the years of the Howard government Kyoto sceptics, when we were part of the problem, not part of the solution. There is no going back to the drawing board, there can be no more wasted years."
Paraguay’s cattle numbers increase 38% in 17 years; exports six fold
The census shows that following three decades of virtual stagnation, cattle breeding picked up in the last few years with increases averaging 500.000 head annually. Similarly the number of farms with more than 1.000 head of cattle has seen their share balloon from 3.767.593 head of cattle in 1991 to 6.050.678 in 2008 which represents 60.6% jump. Small farms with less than 50 cattle in the same period dropped dramatically.
Issues with Espionage
Spy versus spy in Iran, North Korea
The case of the American freelance journalist sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran for spying for the United States has a disquieting relevance to the dangers facing two American journalists held at the other end of former United States president George W Bush's "axis of evil" - North Korea.
While Roxana Saberi, 31, appeals her weekend conviction in Tehran after an in-camera trial that lasted one day, the two Americans, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, seized by North Korean soldiers on March 17, are in a "state guest house" near the capital Pyongyang on charges of "hostile acts", including espionage.
India's eye in the sky takes aim
India on Monday launched an Israeli-made RISAT 2, or radar-imaging satellite, on board its domestically built rocket the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, from Sriharikota, a barrier island off the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The launch is seen as a vital step towards securing India's borders and deterring cross-border infiltration in the wake of the deadly terror strikes which have rocked India in recent months, particularly the Mumbai attack on November 26, 2008, that killed up to 200 people and destroyed property worth millions.
Energy
Huge LNG plant ready to open in Chile and cut Argentine dependency
LNG is natural gas that has been compressed to roughly 1/600th of its normal volume for the purposes of long-distance shipping. The Quintero plant, which can convert LNG back to its gaseous form, will allow Chile to import natural gas from major world suppliers in Russia and Asia.
The plant is being pegged as a solution to the country’s natural gas supply problems, which began five years ago when Argentina – Chile’s principal provider – began restricting exports. Chile relies heavily on natural gas not only for household purposes, but also for electricity production.
China starts building 3rd-generation nuclear power reactors using Westinghouse technologies
China on Sunday started the construction of its first third-generation pressurized water reactors using AP 1000 technologies developed by U.S.-based Westinghouse.
The reactors, located in Sanmen of east China's Zhejiang Province, will also be the first in the world using such technologies.
The Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant will be built in three phases, with an investment of more than 40 billion yuan (5.88 billion U.S. dollars) injected in the first phase.
"It is the biggest energy cooperation project between China andthe United States," said Zhang Guobao, vice minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission and also head of the National Energy Administration.
Can we get an opinion from noted pro-nuclear fan NNadir?
AROUND THE COUNTRY
Interior staff's top seats in limbo
The Interior Department's Web site links to a page highlighting key officials. It's blank.
The department, which manages millions of acres of public lands, including large swaths of Utah, is still waiting for most of its top people.
At the moment, Secretary Ken Salazar is the only official who has been confirmed by the Senate to serve at the department under President Barack Obama and several others are awaiting hearings or votes.
Part of the holdup stems from a clash with Utah's two senators and part with a slowdown of the vetting process to appoint new political designees for the department.
Thank you Sens. Hatch and Bennett, you partisan maroons.
Depleted uranium already here
Significant quantities of depleted uranium are already buried in Utah, well in advance of new federal regulations aimed at determining how much of the unusual metal can be disposed of safely in one place.
The Utah Radiation Control Board heard Tuesday that 49,000 tons of "DU," as it's often called, has been taken to EnergySolutions Inc.'s specialized landfill in Tooele County since the site opened in 1988.
Radiation Control Division Director Dane Finerfrock told board members about the DU volumes as part of his report on recent decisions by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
But I don't want DU in my backyard!
Some Utahns turn sour economy into opportunity
Jaleh Haghighat cried for 20 minutes on Dec. 19, the day Citadel Broadcasting laid off her and 10 other account executives.
"I was sad, and I was mad," Haghighat says. "Then I stopped and looked in the mirror and said, 'I've been really lucky in life. I've always excelled at whatever I tried.' "
A native of Tehran, Iran, who was raised in Salt Lake City, Haghighat had held a variety of jobs, including as a restaurant manager. But she had never finished college -- as her parents had always urged.
GOP may get more seats in Congress
It's pretty clear that Utah will get another seat in the U.S. House, either next year through special legislation or in 2012 after the 2010 Census.
But to which major political party will that seat go?
And which other states will either gain seats or lose them through redistricting?
A new analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that Republicans are likely to pick up most of the new seats created.
I'm not sure if this is a "consider the source (Deseret News, LDS owned & operated)" or if it needs some truthiness applied.
Part II in a series: Prairie Meadows generates long-sought growth east of Des Moines
Thanks to the drawing power of the Prairie Meadows casino, what was once written off as an area destined for truck stops and cheap motels is now considered a prime area for entertainment and retail development.
Business, government and community leaders in eastern Polk County say discussion of growth — over the past 20 years and in the future — begins with the success of the racetrack and casino, which attract about 3 million visitors per year to the area.
This is the second in a series on the effects of legalized local gambling.
Lawmakers approve consumer right to sue for fraud
Iowa would join every other state in allowing consumers to sue companies for fraud under a bill passed today by the Iowa House of Representatives.
The bill would give individuals the right to sue if they think they’ve been defrauded. Currently, most such suits must be filed by the state attorney general’s office, which favors the change.
Consumer advocates have criticized Iowa’s bill as having too many exceptions. The proposal specifically says many services are exempt, including those provided by insurance companies, banks, lawyers, cable-TV providers, doctors, veterinarians and architects.
OTHER
Sports Headlines
Boston Marathon was this morning.
RAGBRAI 2009 to launch in Council Bluffs with Barenaked Ladies and BBQ and the route is announced too.
Political Cartoons
Pat Bagley for the Salt Lake Tribune: on the NRA.
Chicago Tribune gallery of 49 Cartoons
Links
Readings show Four Corners marker off by 2.5 miles
Study: China's Great Wall is longer than thought
2009 Pulitzer Prizes announced
Helmet-shot soldier 'luckiest man in army'
East Germany, Up Close and Personal This is a book review about a trip through eastern Germany right after the wall came down. I found it rather touching.