Saturday, September 15, 2018

Six in The Morning Saturday September 15

Hurricane Florence: Warnings of 'catastrophic' flash flooding

Weather forecasters warn of the risk of life-threatening flash flooding in parts of North and South Carolina, and Virginia, from storm Florence.
It has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm but continues to soak the East Coast area with rain, downing trees and damaging homes.
It is slowly grinding over the eastern states, with winds of 65mph (105km/h).
Five deaths have been linked to the storm and thousands of people have been staying in emergency shelters.
Evacuation warnings were issued for 1.7 million people in the region.


Bookshops threatened with legal action over book about Malaysian 'playboy banker'

Free speech campaigners say letters sent to booksellers are attempt to ‘short-circuit legal process’

 media editor

London-based libel lawyers representing a playboy financier have sent threatening letters to bookshops around the world in an attempt to block distribution of a new book detailing his alleged involvement in one of the biggest financial scandals in history.
Free speech campaigners said the decision to threaten a book’s distributors rather than the publisher or author could be seen as an attempt to “short-circuit the legal process” around libel law and risks setting a precedent that would intimidate booksellers.
The book – Billion Dollar Whale by the Wall Street Journal reporters Bradley Hope and Tom Wright – describes how the Malaysian financier Jho Low is accused by the US government of masterminding the theft of billions of dollars from the Malaysian state-owned investment fund 1MDB, which was sent to bank accounts in Switzerland, Singapore and the Virgin Islands. It has been widely reported that Low, 36, is facing money-laundering charges in absentia in Malaysia and is the subject of an Interpol red notice.

Nearly 30 megacities announce massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in defiance of Trump at California summit


Meeting to encourage 'deeper worldwide commitments' to tackling climate change marked by California governor calling US president 'liar, criminal' and 'fool'
Some of the world’s largest cities, including London, Paris and New York, have revealed they are no longer increasing their climate-harming carbon emissions — and pledged to cut them further.
Greenhouse gas pollution from 27 of the world’s largest cities has been on a downward trajectory for five years thanks to a switch to renewable energy and cleaner transportation systems, it emerged at the Global Climate Action Summit, an event being held in San Francisco to encourage “deeper worldwide commitments” to save the environment.

The faces behind Germany's far-right protests

A recent series of far-right protests made headlines around the world and fueled concern over increasing racism and xenophobia in Germany. DW examines the individuals who helped to organize these rallies.
"Dim-witted far-right extremists." That is how Holger Stahlknecht, the state interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt, summed up the participants at the wave of recent far-right marches in Chemnitz and Köthen. What have been called mourning marches came after two murders said to have involved refugees. Many of the participants openly chanted racist slogans, and there were reports of foreign-looking individuals being chased through the streets of Chemnitz.
Germany's domestic security agency, the BfV, along with its state-level affiliates, is responsible for monitoring and investigating individuals who plan to or are involved in violating civil rights enshrined in the country's constitution. Yet none of these authorities have provided any insights regarding the recent far-right protests. Saxony's security agency told DW that out of principle [they] do not comment on any individuals.

How Little Has Changed Since Anita Hill Spoke Out Against Clarence Thomas


A Supreme Court justice is once again on track to be confirmed despite facing sexual misconduct allegations.
In November 2016, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made history by becoming the first woman to serve as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a statement on the milestone, she tipped her hat to the influence of Anita Hill, who launched a movement when she testified about Clarence Thomas’ sexual harassment in 1991. 
“I became a senator in 1992—the Year of the Woman—and became the first woman to serve on the Judiciary Committee in the wake of the Anita Hill hearings. So it’s a special honor to be the first woman to become ranking member of this committee, not to mention the first Californian,” Feinstein said. 
Feinstein was one of four women elected to the Senate in 1992. A record number of women joined the House. Many of them were spurred to change the representation of the overwhelmingly male Congress after Hill’s electrifying testimony.

Japan on brink of IWC pullout after commercial whaling comeback blocked


By Denis Barnett



Japan's determined bid to return to commercial whale hunting was rejected by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Friday in a tense vote that left the 72-year old organization at a crossroads.
Japan's vice-minister for fisheries Masaaki Taniai said he "regretted" the vote's outcome, and threatened Tokyo's withdrawal from the 89-member body if progress could not be made towards a return to commercial whaling.
"If scientific evidence and diversity is not respected, if commercial whaling is completely denied... Japan will be pressed to undertake a fundamental reassessment of its position as a member of the IWC," he said.


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