Six In The Morning Saturday December 9

Fatal protests as Jerusalem plan heralds 'darker times'

At least two Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured as Day of Rage protests continue across the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip over the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

A 30-year-old Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire during protests in Gaza on Friday, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing the Palestinian health ministry.

A 54-year-old man in Gaza later died from his wounds, WAFA also said. 

The gentrification of Beijing: razing of migrant villages spells end of China dream

Thousands of poor workers have fallen foul of a housing safety crackdown many suspect is driven by other motives

Tom Phillips in Sanyingmen village, Beijing

Inside the shell of one of dozens of derelict buildings in this condemned migrant community, a cinnabar-coloured calendar was nailed to the wall, adorned with the face of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his inescapable political slogan: “CHINA DREAM”.

Outside, as night fell and roadside puddles hardened into black ice, rural migrants who had come to China’s capital chasing pavements of gold set about dismantling their own.

In the village of Sanyingmen, a family of restaurateurs from Anhui, one of east China’s poorest regions, load the fruits of their labour onto the back of a van: a mattress, a wardrobe, a grease-stained cooking pot. A man from Jiangxi province scavenges internet cables from a heap of demolished shacks, having been given 24-hours to vacate his home.

Artists call for Turkey to release German journalist Deniz Yucel after 300 days in prison

International artists have called for the release of the German-Turkish journalist and publisher who on Sunday will have been held for 300 days without charge. He was moved from solitary detention a few days ago.

Accused of producing "terrorist propaganda" and "incitement of the population" Yucel was detained in Turkey last February and has been held without charge ever since. 

Among those calling for his release, according to Die Welt newspaper, for which Yucel was a correspondent, on Saturday, are singers Bono and Sting, Nobel Literature Prize winners Orhan Pamuk, Elfriede Jelinek, Svetlana Alexijevitsch, Herta Müller and J.M. Coetzee.

"Deniz Yucel will have been in detention in Turkey for 300 days on December 10 - he is detained without charge in a high-security prison. The 300 days are exactly 300 days too many," the statement under the #FreeDeniz online campaign added.

Spikes and sprinklers: French charity launches map to track anti-homeless measures

To a homeless person looking for a place to sleep, a bench with an armrest jutting out of the center, small metal spikes embedded on a windowsill or a stoop built at a slant all carry a clear message: “We don’t want you here.” A French charity has launched a campaign calling on people to denounce such so-called hostile architecture, designed to keep homeless people from using certain spaces.

The Fondation Abbé Pierre, a French charity dedicated to housing equality, launched a campaign on December 6 under the hashtag #soyonshumains (#letsbehuman), asking people to post photos of installations deliberately built to dissuade homeless people from sheltering or resting in certain areas. The charity also designed a special interactive map that showcases any tweets that are geolocalised.

Japan to buy long-range missiles for first time

By Joshua Berlinger and Kaori Enjoji, CNN

Japan will for the first time buy long-range missiles to counter the country's "increasingly severe" national security situation, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said.

"We will implement stand-off missiles capable of defending ourselves adequately, when we are outside the range of the opponent, in order to ensure the safety of the Self Defense Force and to defend our nation effectively," Onodera told reporters.

A spokesman from Onodera's office told CNN Japan will be purchasing two types of missiles --Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles -- from Lockheed Martin to put on its F-15 fighter jets.

California wildfires: Businesses face ruin as blaze rages

Much of California's avocado crop has been destroyed by wildfires that have ripped through the southern part of the state, industry experts say.

"We've lost at least several hundred acres of avocados, probably more," the California Avocado Commission told agriculture news site AgNet West.

About 90% of US avocados are grown in California, and the industry is worth millions to the economy.

About 5,700 firefighters have been battling the fires, officials say.

One death has been confirmed - that of a 70-year-old woman found in her car on Wednesday. Three firefighters have been injured and about 500 buildings destroyed.

There are now fears the fires will have serious implications for California's vast agricultural industry.