Safe to fly now? ‘No consensus’ over ash
After worst day so far, Europe hopes to have half of flights on Monday
Associated Press April 19, 2010
AMSTERDAM – Major airlines that sent test flights into European air space found no damage Sunday from the volcanic ash that has paralyzed aviation over the continent, raising pressure on governments to ease restrictions that have thrown global travel and commerce into chaos.Is it safe to fly yet? Airline officials and some pilots say the passengerless test flights show that it is. Meteorologists warn that the skies over Europe remain unstable from an Icelandic volcano that continues to spew ash capable of knocking out jet engines.
Recreate Abbey Road – in your bedroom
Studio engineers write software for amateur musicians that replicates distinctive sound of The Beatles
By Nicky Trup Monday, 19 April 2010
It is the world’s most famous recording studio, playing host to The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Oasis as well as a host of other musical legends during its illustrious history.Now, amateur musicians can recreate the distinctive sound of an Abbey Road recording in their own bedrooms, thanks to a new piece of software designed by the studio’s engineers.
For around £220, home recording enthusiasts can download the RS124 Compressor Plug-in, which matches the quality of the RS124 valve compressor – a piece of hardware used at the north London studios throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. A more complex and expensive version is available for professional sound engineers and producers.
USA
On a Dusty Mesa, No Water or Electricity, but Boundless Space
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: April 18, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE – Fermin Roman knew he was a pioneer when he bought his homestead on the Pajarito Mesa, a treeless plateau outside Albuquerque. But the seller assured him that water and power would arrive in a year or two.
“I’m still waiting,” he said the other day, nearly 20 years later.Now home to more than 400 families, the mesa is one of the largest communities, other than some along the Mexican border, to survive entirely off the grid – without running water, electricity, streets or mail.
North Carolina Democrats’ votes against health care push labor to form party
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 19, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. — A political rebellion is brewing inside an old funeral home near the state Capitol here. Frustrated liberals and labor organizers are taking aim at the Democratic Party, rushing to gather enough signatures to start a third party that they believe could help oust three Democratic congressmen.
Less than two years ago, this same funeral home was a command post for the grass-roots army that propelled Barack Obama to victory in this conservative swing state. Here is where supporters distributed signs and stickers, sorted lists of registered voters and rallied with a Johnny Cash cover band.
Europe
Nato invites Russia to help with missile defence shield
New era sought that will bring Moscow in to ‘become part of the family’
By Kim Sengupta, Defence Correspondent Monday, 19 April 2010
Russia should be brought under “one security roof” with the West by allowing Moscow to playing a key role in “building and operating” a common, nuclear-defence shield, the Secretary-General of Nato has said.Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for Russia to “become part of the family” ahead of a Nato conference this week which will – volcanic ash permitting – trace the future of the alliance in a world posing vastly different threats from those that became familiar during the Cold War.
Days are turned to nights as clouds of falling ash cover everything in sight
From The Times
April 19, 2010
Hildur Helga Sigurðardóttir, Reykjavík
“It felt and looked like the end of days,” said Bjarni Brynjólfsson, a magazine editor, recounting his journey through the resticted zone near Eyjafjallajökull, the cause of chaos around the world.The country where it all began is now suffering, too.
In an area covering 18 sq km, the clouds of falling ash are so dense that it is like midnight at midday. A thick layer covers everything in sight; all photographs from the region look as if they are in black and white, all colour having been obliterated.
Farmhouses surrounding the volcano are barely visible from the main road, but inside there are people, trying to keep the ash out and desperately worried about their livestock.
Middle East
Secret prison for Sunnis revealed in Baghdad
Forces under the office of Prime Minister Maliki held hundreds of men at the facility. The U.S. fears that the news will stoke instability.
By Ned Parker
April 19, 2010
Reporting from Baghdad
Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s military office, where many were routinely tortured until the country’s Human Rights Ministry gained access to the facility, Iraqi officials say.The men were detained by the Iraqi army in October in sweeps targeting Sunni groups in Nineveh province, a stronghold of the group Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militants in the north.
Ahmadinejad: Iran too ‘mighty’ to attack
By the CNN Wire Staff
Tehran, Iran is so powerful today that no country would dare attack it, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday during an annual army parade.
“Iran’s army is so mighty today that no enemy can have a foul thought of invading Iran’s territory,” the Iranian leader said, according to state media.
“Of course, Iran is a friend and brother of regional and independent nations and it wants peace, progress and security for all countries,” Ahmadinejad said.
Asia
Thailand braces for another week of unrest
From Times Online
April 19, 2010
Times Online
Thailand is braced for another week of unrest, as troops armed with assault rifles moved into Bangkok’s central business district this morning ahead of a planned mass rally by anti-government protesters while pro-establishment Yellowshirts threatened to take ation themselves against the rival Redshirts.Troops lined the Silom Road, known as Thailand’s Wall St, positioned themselves on rooftops and surrounded the Bangkok Bank, one of the protesters’ key targets. Meanwhile Redshirt protesters stockpiled rudimentary weapons – bricks pulled from the area’s pavements, and stacks of bamboo rods ahead of tomorrow’s rally in their continued bid to topple Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government.
Indian minister Shashi Tharoor quits over cricket row
An Indian minister has resigned amid allegations of impropriety over his role with the winning bid of a new cricket league franchise.
The BBC Monday, 19 April 2010
Junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor was asked to quit by Prime Minister Manhohan Singh, press reports say.
It is alleged that a female friend of Mr Tharoor was granted a free stake in a new team from his home state, Kerala, for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mr Tharoor denies any wrongdoing but the scandal has sparked uproar.
Budget discussions were held up in parliament on Friday as opposition politicians demanded clarity on the controversy.
Cricket is almost a religion in India and its popularity with the masses means that politicians are keen to get involved with the sport, the BBC’s Rahul Tandon in Calcutta says.
Africa
Robert Mugabe rejects violence as Zimbabwe turns 30
President urges an end to inter-party attacks but the MDC casts doubt on latest call for reconciliation
David Smith
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 18 April 2010 20.19 BST
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe sought to restore his battered reputation today when he made an unprecedented appeal for an end to politically motivated violence.Speaking at a ceremony to mark 30 years of independence from Britain, Mugabe called for Zimbabweans to treat each other with tolerance and respect in a country where at least 600 people are reported to have been murdered by his militias in the past decade.
It was the 86-year-old president’s most unequivocal denunciation of political violence.
Egypt: we don’t need no segregation
Sexual harassment in Egypt is leading to calls for gender segregation. But is hiding women really the solution?
Osama Diab
guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 April 2010 08.00 BST
Gender segregation is increasingly being viewed as a solution to widespread sexual harassment in Egypt. Signs of segregation have been apparent all over the country. In recent years, the government has designated two carriages in each metro train for women. Also, private women-only beaches, coffee shops and restaurants have been created to cater for women who want to remain beyond the reach of curious virile eyes (and sometimes hands).A study on sexual harassment titled Clouds in Egypt’s Sky was carried out by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights (ECWR) as part of its “Safer Streets for Everyone” campaign.
Latin America
Despite billions in U.S. aid, Colombia struggles to reduce poverty
By Juan Forero
Washington Post staff writer
Monday, April 19, 2010
ALGARROBO, COLOMBIA — Eight years after President Álvaro Uribe took office and began harnessing billions in U.S. aid dollars to pummel Marxist guerrillas, Colombia is safer for this country’s 45 million people and for the foreign investors who have flocked here.But stubbornly high levels of poverty expose a harsh reality: Despite better security and strong economic growth, Colombia has been unable to significantly alleviate the misery that helps fuel a 46-year-old conflict and the drug trafficking behind it.