Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Six In The Morning Wednesday 22 July 2020


Chinese consulate in Houston ordered to close by US


The US has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, by Friday - a move described as "political provocation" by Beijing.
The US State Department said the decision was taken "in order to protect American intellectual property".
But China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was "outrageous and unjustified".
The statements came after unidentified individuals were filmed burning paper in bins in the building's courtyard.



Femicides rise in Mexico as president cuts budgets of women's shelters

New figures reflect surge in violence against women during pandemic while government implements austerity measures



Violence against women has surged in Mexico since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the country’s president has downplayed the problem and slashed the budgets of agencies charged with addressing women’s issues.
Figures released this week show that crimes such as femicides climbed 7.7% in the first half of 2020, when compared with the same period last year, and shelters have reported a sharp rise in the number of women attempting to flee domestic violence.

Leaked Department of Homeland Security memo suggests intelligence being gathered on racial justice protesters, report says


The memo appears tied directly to President Trump's executive order punishing protesters who topple statues


Graig Graziosi

A leaked memo from the US Department of Homeland Security suggests that federal investigators are gathering intelligence on protest movements in US cities where efforts to topple statues have been prevalent.
The memo was obtained by Lawfare and described US intelligence officials "collecting and reporting on various activities in the context of elevated threats targeting monuments, memorials, and statues." It also provided legal guidelines for the "expanded intelligence activities necessary to mitigate the significant threat to homeland security" posed by protesters.

Coronavirus latest: One in five infected in Delhi

Experts believe that infection rates could be even higher in densely populated areas. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has admitted his country's COVID-19 outbreak will become even worse.


  • More than 22% of people in Delhi have coronavirus antibodies, a study shows
  • After much reluctance, the US president has encouraged citizens to wear face masks 
  • The Australian state of Victoria has recorded its highest-ever daily increase in infections
  • Brazil has reported another 41,008 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours 
  • Over 14.8 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus 


  • Russian court sentences Gulag historian to 3.5 years in prison

    A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced respected Gulag historian Yury Dmitriyev to more than three years in prison in a controversial sexual abuse case, his lawyer said.
    Dmitriyev, head of the prominent rights group Memorial in Karelia in northwestern Russia, spent decades locating and exhuming mass graves of people killed under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule. 
    Memorial said the prosecution of the researcher, who was tried behind closed doors, is part of a growing crackdown on dissenters.

    'The abuse needs to stop': Australian ex-gymnasts lash out

    By 

    More than 20 former Australian gymnasts and coaches have taken to social media en masse to detail a gruesome history of physical, mental and emotional abuse in the sport which drove at least one to the point of suicide.
    "At 17 … I felt it was easier to end my own life than to give in to what they wanted me to be," said Chloe Gilliland, who as Chloe Sims won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
    Others told of how they were fat-shamed from the age of nine, how they were manipulated into poses they were not able to hold, how they were made to train and compete with serious injuries, how they were reduced to tears and had to learn not to cry, and how they were told there would be repercussions if they complained to their parents.






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