Six In The Morning Thursday 23 July 2020

China harboring military-linked fugitive scientist at San Francisco consulate, FBI says

By James Griffiths, CNN

Updated 0928 GMT (1728 HKT) July 23, 2020

Tensions between the United States and China have continued to ratchet up following the forced closure by Washington of Beijing's consulate in Houston, amid revelations that federal prosecutors are seeking a Chinese scientist accused of visa fraud who they say is hiding out in China's consulate in San Francisco.

Prosecutors allege Tang Juan, a researcher focusing on biology, lied about her connection to the Chinese military in order to obtain entry into the US and has since avoided arrest by taking refuge in the West Coast diplomatic mission.

With Tokyo's red-light district closed, bars and restaurants must make their own rules

Kabukicho is far quieter than usual but is being accused of fuelling a coronavirus second wave

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Published onThu 23 Jul 2020 13.16 BST

The arrival of dusk is normally the cue for Tokyo’s biggest red-light district to spring to life. But in the middle of a pandemic, not even the neon lights could lift the coronavirus cloud hanging over Kabukicho this week.

Doormen in masks and visors gestured to occasional passersby with promises of a “sensual massage”, and clubs tempted thirsty office workers with all-you-can-drink deals for ¥1,000 (£7).

But these are rare signs of activity in Kabukicho, an area packed with thousands of bars, clubs, restaurants and commercial sex establishments, which now finds itself the target of criticism that it is fuelling a second wave of the coronavirus.

Yemen: ‘Nearly 100 medics killed by coronavirus’, dealing devastating blow to war-torn nation

Country’s Covid-19 mortality rate five times the global average and among the highest in the world, says reports

Bel TrewMiddle East Correspondent @beltrew

Nearly 100 healthcare workers have died from coronavirus in Yemen, one of the highest figures worldwide for medical staff, according to a new report.

MedGlobal, an international health charity, said in a report released on Thursday that at least 1,610 Covid-19 cases have been reported in war-torn Yemen, including 446 deaths.

This means the rate of confirmed virus deaths in Yemen – 27 per cent – is five times the global average and possibly the highest in the world.

Former SS Nazi guard convicted in Germany's 'last' Holocaust trial

A 93-year-old former SS Nazi concentration camp guard has been found guilty of accessory to murder and handed a suspended sentence of two years. This may be the last verdict on a Holocaust perpetrator in a German court.

Bruno D. had been charged with accessory to 5,230 murders in the Stutthof camp. Some of the victims were executed, others died of illness. Some 40 survivors and relatives of those who died acted as co-plaintiffs.

The judge acknowledged the former SS guard's willingness to take part in the trial and listen to the testimony of victims, but said he refused to recognize his own guilt right until the end. "You saw yourself as an observer," she said.

Militarization of US democracy? Trump deploys federal agents to Portland protests

Why has Donald Trump deployed federal agents in camouflage – many unidentified – to the streets of Portland, Oregon? The Department of Homeland Security overruled objections from local authorities, insisting that the forces were there to quell "lawlessness". François Picard's panel argues over the legality and the motives of the US president's move in an election year. How will this deployment of force play with voters in November? Is Trump putting US democracy to the test?

West African leaders on high-stakes mission to end Mali standoff

Presidents of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal arrive in Bamako in a bid to defuse political crisis.

by Fidelis Mbah

West African leaders have arrived in Bamako on a high-stakes mission aimed at defusing Mali's weeks-long political crisis that has raised concerns of further instability in a country grappling with multiple crises, including an escalating conflict.

The visit on Thursday by the presidents of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal comes days after a mediation mission by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS failed to break the deadlock.