Six In The Morning Monday August 3

Greek shares plunge as market reopens

• 3 August 2015
 
• From the sectionBusiness

The main Athens stock index, the Athex, has fallen by 22.87% as trading resumes after a five-week closure.

The nation's top four lenders - Piraeus Bank, National Bank, Alpha Bank, and Eurobank - were biggest fallers, all down by 30%, the maximum allowed. Banks make up about a fifth of the index.

The bourse was shut just before Athens imposed capital controls at the height of the debt crisis.

Traders had predicted sharp losses as a result of pent-up trading.

Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that Greek manufacturing activity plunged in July to its lowest level on record as a three-week bank shutdown caused new orders to dive and created serious supply problems.

Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy, fell to 30.2 points, the lowest reading since records began in 1999. A measure of 50 denotes growth.

Give me your tired, your poor … the Europeans embracing migrants

Away from the xenophobic hysteria aimed at desperate immigrants are people taking steps to help newcomers and promote the good things they bring

Monday 3 August 2015 08.00 BST

Judging from the headlines, it sometimes seems no one in Europe wants to help refugees. Record numbers are arriving in Italy and Greece this year, and yet other European governments have agreed to share less than a fifth of them. Hungary is building a wall to keep them out. For the same reason, France has sealed its border with Italy. In Greece, for much of this year there were doubts over the legality of giving a refugee a lift.

But on a local level, there are thousands of people across the continent who are braving the vitriol of their peers, and filling the void left by the politicians. Many Europeans back their governments’ stance but their xenophobia masks another phenomenon – that of a huge drive by ordinary citizens to welcome refugees, rather than reject them. From the Hungarian volunteers providing round-the-clock support to Syrian and Afghani newcomers, to the Spanish priests assisting migrants with paperwork, here are seven movements from across Europe that are fighting for refugees’ rights.

Erdogan's Cynical Game: Is Turkey Creeping Toward Civil War?

By Maximilian Popp and Christoph Reuter

Turkish President Erdogan claims to be battling the terrorist Islamic State, but in reality he is mainly fighting against the Kurdish PKK militia. By doing so, he has shown that he is willing to derail the peace process in his country for the sake of clinging to power.

Newal Bulut grew up in war, and now she fears it could return. She is a 27-year-old graphic designer from the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey. Sometimes she asks herself whether that night in June, when the pro-Kurdish party HDP won seats in the Turkish parliament thanks in part to Turkish voters, was only a beautiful, ephemeral dream?

Bulut spent several nervous months with Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chairman of the HDP. She applauded at his speeches, and convinced friends and relatives to support the young party leader, who not only promised but also embodied change in Turkish politics. At school and later at university, Bulut saw how friends who had advocated for more rights for Kurds, were arrested as suspected terrorists. She hoped that the HDP's success in the June 7 election would help Turkey become a peaceful, pluralistic country.

Elderly couple provides 'safe school' in their home: a solution to bullying?

Fred and Vivian Morgan say they have successfully helped 20 troubled children recover from years of bullying in their Warwick, England home-turned-school.

By Gretel Kauffman, Staff writer

In a nation where nearly half of all teenagers report being bullied at some point, one couple is offering a unique solution. 

After hearing the story of Simone Grice, a bullied schoolgirl who committed suicide, 94-year-old Fred Morgan and his wife, Vivian, decided in 2012 to convert their 10-bedroom home in Warwick, England into a private school for children who have undergone severe bullying. 

The students, aged between 11 and 16, typically spend around a year at the Northleigh House School studying English, math, and science, taught by a mainly part-time staff of 22. Activities such as horseback-riding and piano lessons are also available for those interested. 

Iraqis protest over power outages and poor services

Anti-government demonstrations persist over poor living conditions, including electricity cuts and water quality.

03 Aug 2015 06:54 GMT

Thousands of Iraqis have demonstrated against the government over the lack of basic services across the country, as rampant electricity cuts exacerbate a sweltering heat wave.

On Sunday, hundreds took to the streets in the southern cities of Nasriyah and and Najaf to protest over poor living conditions, including power shortages, and urged authorities to fight widespread corruption.

About 1,000 people also rallied in the central town of Hillah, where many called for holding government officials accountable for poor public services.

A day earlier, large protests broke out in the cities of Basra and Karbala over the poor quality of water and frequent electrical blackouts.

ASIA PACIFIC

China aiming for air control over Western Pacific, surveillance as far as Izu chain: report

KYODO

In a report on its air strategy, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army plans to broaden its air surveillance and attack capabilities to the Western Pacific, including the vicinity of Japan, to ensure its command of the air, it was learned Sunday.

The report seen by Kyodo News emphasizes the need to develop and enhance nine types of “strategic equipment,” such as a new type of strategic bomber and a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense ground-based interceptor system with an eye specifically toward the United States, which is strengthening its so-called pivot to Asia.