Saturday, May 29, 2021

Six In The Morning Saturday 29 May 2021

 

We need to know how Covid-19 emerged so we can stop it happening again

Updated 0449 GMT (1249 HKT) May 29, 2021


Why does the theory that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, leaked from a laboratory in China endure so persistently?

Above all, it isn't because public, hard, tested evidence is growing at pace.
The theory instead seems to persist mostly because of several massive coincidences.

‘Black Wednesday’ for big oil as courtrooms and boardrooms turn on industry


Campaigners sense turning point as shareholders, boards and The Hague act to force Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to cut pollution


The world’s patience with the fossil fuel industry is wearing thin. This was the stark message delivered to major international oil companies this week in an unprecedented day of reckoning for their role in the climate crisis.

In a stunning series of defeats for the oil industry, over the course of less than 24 hours, courtrooms and boardrooms turned on the executives at Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Shell was ordered by a court in The Hague to go far further to reduce its climate emissions, while shareholder rebellions in the US imposed emissions targets at Chevron and a boardroom overhaul at Exxon.

‘An absolute disaster’: Spanish post office in race row over equality stamps

The stamps were released to mark the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd


Spain’s post office was mired in a racism row over a new stamp collection designed to raise awareness of prejudice against people of colour to mark the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd.

Correos, the state-run postal service, was accused by anti-racism campaigners of reinforcing the idea that black lives were worth less than those of white people because of how the stamps were priced.

The Equality Stamps collection comes in different colours from light brown to black.

The light brown ones were the most expensive at €1.60 (£1.38) while the cheapest black ones cost €0.70.


How North Korea uses Berlin universities for propaganda

North Korea's elite university brags of alleged partnerships with Western institutes, including two German ones. Those, however, bristle at the notion of partnership. DW investigates.

Those who have been selected by the regime to study at North Korea's top university, the Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, belong to the country's academic elite. Named after the founder of North Korea, it is the most important institution for training cadres in the isolated, communist country. It also proudly claims to be the alma mater of the state's current leader Kim Jong Un.

Generally, North Koreans' contacts with the rest of the world are kept to a minimum, including in higher education establishments. So it is all the more surprising that on the English version of its website, Kim Il Sung University boasts of being associated with dozens of partner schools around the world, including two in Germany. Apparently, the university has cleverly compiled an imposing list of past, current and alleged partnerships with "sister universities" and claims that "international academic exchanges are in full swing."


Colombia’s president deploys military to Cali after deadly protests continue

Colombian President Iván Duque on Friday announced the deployment of military forces to the city of Cali where at least ten people have died in increasingly violent protests, according to local authorities.

Duque repeated his assertion that the protests, which have been raging for a month, are infiltrated by illegal armed groups and promised to deploy "all intelligence capabilities” to demonstrate this.

“This deployment will almost triple our capacity throughout the province in less than 24 hours, ensuring assistance in nerve centers where we have seen acts of vandalism, violence and low-intensity urban terrorism,” said the president, speaking from Cali, the city in southwest Colombia that has become the epicenter of the nationwide antigovernment protests.

‘No longer afraid’: Palestinians vow to fight Jerusalem evictions

At least 218 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem have eviction cases filed against them, putting 970 people at risk of forced displacement, UN says.


Jerusalem’s District Court postponed a ruling this week on an appeal by seven Palestinian families, comprising 44 people, facing expulsion from their homes in the Batan al-Hawa area of Silwan.

Palestinians say, however, what they see as the “Judaisation” of East Jerusalem, incorporating expulsions, will continue – it is just a matter of time.

The court delay on Wednesday followed an earlier ruling by the magistrate’s court that the families, part of 19 families from Batan al-Hawa, be expelled from their homes to make way for Israeli settlers who claim they lived there before 1948 when the state of Israel was established.


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