Apartheid row at Norwegian school

 Bjerke teachers segregate ethnic students in Oslo | Mail Online

A Norwegian school segregated ethnic minority classmates because white children were feeling 'in the minority.'

The move, at Bjerke Upper Secondary School in Oslo, divided students and parents, sparking an protests across the city.

Teachers at the school claim the segregation in one of the three general studies classes was a result of many white Norwegians changing schools after feeling they were in ‘the minority’ in classes

After authorities were alerted by concerned parents the school was forced to send a letter to parents apologising and promptly scrapping the scheme.

But Robert Wright, a Christian Democrat politician and former head of the city's schools board said authorities had been wrong to block the move claiming other Oslo schools follow Bjerke's example to stop a situation of 'white flight.'

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Snaptu: Honeybees can smell TB

New Zealand biologists believe that honeybees can sense the faint floral odor on the breath of people infected with tuberculosis, and are trying to find a way to train bees to help them diagnose TB: "When we tested them with the tuberculosis odours…

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Ali Abdullah Saleh is to sign in Riyadh today ..Finally you resigns...

Yemen's Saleh to sign exit plan says UN envoy - Yahoo! News

Yemen's veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh is to sign in Riyadh on Wednesday a Gulf plan under which he will finally cede power, the UN envoy to the restive country said.

"The signing ceremony will take place today in Riyadh," Jamal Benomar told AFP by telephone, confirming that the plan, signed by the opposition in April, will now be inked by the veteran leader himself after months of stalling.

Both parties will also sign a UN-crafted roadmap which sets a mechanism for implementing the Gulf plan, under which Saleh will hand power to his deputy in return for immunity from prosecution.

Three-way US-China drills possible: Australia

 - Yahoo! News

Defence Minister Stephen Smith Tuesday said Canberra would seriously consider trilateral military training with the United States and China following the announcement of a US troop buildup in Darwin.

Smith said the move was suggested by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following talks with Australian leader Julia Gillard at last weekend's East Asia Summit in Bali after Beijing criticised the troop boost.

"We don't see it as something which would necessarily occur in the short-term but it?s a good suggestion, it's an interesting suggestion," Smith said.

"It's a positive suggestion and one which I think in the longer term could fall for serious consideration."

Yudhoyono's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa expressed reservations about the plan to bring some 2,500 Marines to northern Australia by 2016-17, unveiled by US President Barack Obama during a flying visit to Canberra last week.

Natalegawa warned that it could inflame relations and create a "vicious circle of tensions and mistrust" in the region, urging transparency, particularly about the motives behind the move.

Indonesia is building up its own military cooperation with US forces.

The United States and its allies have expressed concern over the intentions behind China's military build-up and called for greater transparency.

Smith said Australia already did training and exercises with China and had completed joint live-firing drills with its navy for the first time last year.

"We're working very hard with China and the PLA (People's Liberation Army) to do precisely that, to do some training to do some exercises and we encourage China and the United States to do that themselves as well," he said.

Such training "reduces the risk of miscalculation or misjudgment", Smith added.

Jeffrey Bleich, US ambassador to Australia, said there were "a lot of variables" but Washington was interested in strengthening military ties.

"For the broad brushstrokes yes, we want to work more with the Chinese military and we're looking for opportunities to cooperate with all countries in the region," Bleich told The Australian newspaper.

"If you have a lot of nations rising quickly and not understanding each other's intentions you're always concerned about the risk of a misunderstanding. You want to be prepared for that."

The US and Chinese navies have held joint search-and-rescue drills.

The two sides would carry out humanitarian rescue-and-disaster relief drills next year, and also joint anti-piracy drills in the Gulf of Aden this year, they announced in July.

But they do not stage joint live-fire drills like those the US has with its ally South Korea.