Six In The Morning Friday 12 March 2021

 

Streets of blood in Myanmar town as UN fears 'crimes against humanity'

By Helen Regan, CNN

Updated 0930 GMT (1730 HKT) March 12, 2021

Bloodshed continues in Myanmar after another violent day Thursday saw at least 12 people killed by the ruling junta, according to a watchdog group, prompting a top UN official to say the crackdown on peaceful protests is "likely meeting the legal threshold for crimes against humanity."

In the small, central town of Myaing, police shot into a crowd of unarmed people, killing at least eight, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Images posted on social media showed the town's roads streaked with blood and bodies laying crumpled and lifeless in the street.

In one unverified graphic image, a body can be seen with the head blown apart and brain remnants spilled onto the road.

Cast out: the Yazidi women reunited with their children born in Isis slavery

Yazidi elders disown former slaves of Islamic State, forcing them to choose between their children and their community

by Martin Chulov and Nechirvan Mando in Erbil

Fri 12 Mar 2021 12.03 GMT

Bundled up in oversized scarves and coats, and squirming over lounge chairs, the 12 young children seemed startled as nine strange women with outstretched arms hurried towards them.

Some of the women sobbed as they embraced the bemused toddlers, who stared at them blankly not recognising their mothers, or understanding what the fuss was about. One mother stood motionless with her head in her hands, while another stared intently into her tiny daughter’s eyes.

The nine mothers, all members of the Yazidi community, and their children, all born to the terrorists who enslaved them, had been reunited for the first time since the collapse of Islamic State in early 2019. And after two years of preparing for such a moment, the women were about to make the most momentous decisions of their lives.

Journalists' group: 65 media workers killed in 2020

The International Federation of Journalists said 65 journalists and media workers were killed while doing their jobs last year

Via AP news wire

A total of 65 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2020 while doing their jobs, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

That is 17 more than in 2019, and the death toll is around the same level as in the 1990s, the federation said Friday as it published details of its annual report on killings.

The IFJ also reported that more than 200 journalists are currently jailed because of their work.

Nigeria: Gunmen abduct dozens of students

The attack on the school in northwestern Nigeria is the fourth of its kind since December. It is thought around 30 students have been kidnapped.

Nigerian gunmen have kidnapped around 30 students from a forestry college in northwestern Kaduna state.

It is the fourth mass kidnapping from a school in Nigeria since December and the third this year.

Include Taliban in interim Afghan administration, says Russia

Inclusion would solve the ‘problem of integrating the Taliban into Afghanistan’s peaceful political life’, a Moscow official claims.

Russia said on Friday that the Taliban should be included in any Afghan interim administration, before a conference in Moscow aimed at supporting peace talks between the group and Afghanistan’s government.

Moscow is set to host a conference on Afghanistan on March 18 and has invited several regional players, including Taliban representatives.

Covid vaccinations: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca jab, says WHO

Countries should not stop using AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine over fears it causes blood clots as there is no indication this is true, the World Health Organization says.

Bulgaria, Denmark and Norway are among the countries that have paused its use.

But on Friday a WHO spokeswoman said there was no link between the jab and an increased risk of developing a clot.

Margaret Harris said it was an "excellent vaccine" and should continue to be used.

Around 5 million Europeans have already received the AstraZeneca jab.