Friday, November 22, 2019

Six In The Morning Friday 22 November 2019

Epstein: US attorney general blames 'screw-ups’ for suicide


US Attorney General William Barr has called the death of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein "a perfect storm of screw-ups".
In an interview with AP News, Mr Barr said the jailhouse suicide, which came as Epstein awaited trial, was due to a "series" of mistakes.
His comments come after two guards who were responsible for Epstein were charged with falsifying prison records.
Lawyers for Epstein's victims are urging Prince Andrew, a longtime friend of Epstein, to speak to US police.

Former CIA agent sentenced to 19 years for conspiracy with China

Jerry Chun Shing Lee was accused of delivering secrets to Chinese intelligence officers in exchange for $840,000



 
former CIA case agent was sentenced on Friday to 19 years in prison, for an espionage conspiracy with China.
Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 55, was sentenced in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, after his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit espionage.

You can hear the bombing right now’: Trump claims a ceasefire in Syria is working – but the casualties pile up

Ablack cloud looms over Tal Tamr. Great plumes of smoke rise from burning tyres lit by fighters defending this town, in northeast Syria, as they try in vain to block the view of the Turkish aircraft hunting them on the frontline a few miles away. 
Residents of the surrounding villages are leaving in droves as the fighting draws closer. Wounded soldiers and civilians trickle in at the town’s only hospital. An American Apache helicopter circles above the fray, observing but not engaging – a metaphor not lost on the people below.  

Protesters killed in Baghdad clashes, top cleric urges need for accelerating reforms

Iraqi security forces killed three protesters in Baghdad on Friday and forcibly dispersed protesters blocking the country’s main port near Basra, as the country’s top cleric warned nothing but speedy electoral reforms would resolve unrest.
Security forces opened fire and launched tear gas at protesters on a central Baghdad bridge, police sources said. Two people died from bullet wounds and one from a tear gas canister launched directly at the head. At least 27 more were injured.
In the south, security forces reopened the entrance to Iraq’s main port, Umm Qasr, which protesters had blocked since Monday, port sources said, but normal operations had not yet resumed.

Germany to take back 'Islamic State' mother from Syria

A German woman suspected of being an "Islamic State" member will be repatriated along with her three children, according to German media. It will be the first time that Germany has repatriated such a suspect.
German authorities ordered a German woman, believed to be an "Islamic State" (IS) member, to be returned to her home country from a Syrian camp, according to reports on Friday.
Spiegel magazine identified the woman as 30-year-old Laura H. from central Germany, saying that she left the country and joined the jihadi militia in 2016. She and three of her children are now reportedly living in the Kurdish-run prisoner camp al-Hol in northern Syria. They are set to reach Germany "in the coming days" by traveling via the Kurdish city of Erbil in Iraq, according to Spiegel.

After months of unrest, Hong Kong is holding a de facto referendum on protests

Updated 0053 GMT (0853 HKT) November 23, 2019
More than 4 million Hong Kongers will vote for hundreds of district council seats Sunday in what is being framed as a referendum on the protests which have roiled the Asian financial hub for almost six months.
Hong Kong elections are traditionally peaceful, even dull, but officials have warned that, amid the heightened tensions in the city, they will not hesitate to postpone the vote or close polling stations in the instance of violence. Riot police will be stationed in "inconspicuous" locations inside ever polling state, police told CNN.
After months of unrest with both sides claiming to represent the will of the majority of Hong Kongers, Sunday's vote offers the first objective test of how people in the city feel about the protests and the government.

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