Six In The Morning Saturday 19 June 2021

 

Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi declared Iran’s new president

Conservative judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi will take office in early August, replacing moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

By Maziar Motamedi

19 Jun 2021

Conservative judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi has been elected Iran’s eighth president, the interior ministry has announced.

The ministry confirmed on Saturday that Raisi won 61.95 percent of the vote in Friday’s election on a voter turnout of 48.8 percent – the lowest turnout for a presidential election since the 1979 revolution. Raisi got 28,933,004 votes.

At 3,726,870 votes, void votes finished second in the race, also for the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

Hong Kong: Apple Daily staff treat ‘every day like it is our last’ as leaders appear in court

Newspaper staff gather outside court ahead of appearance of editor-in-chief Ryan Law and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung

Agence France-Presse

Sat 19 Jun 2021 05.45 BST

Two executives from Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily have appeared in court, charged with collusion after authorities deployed a sweeping national security law to target the newspaper critical of Beijing.

Editor-in-chief Ryan Law and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung are accused of colluding with foreign forces to undermine China’s national security over a series of articles that police said called for international sanctions.

They were denied bail, with chief magistrate Victor So saying there were insufficient grounds “for the court to believe that the defendants will not continue to commit acts endangering national security”.

Night trains make a comeback across Europe

More and more people want to respect the climate when traveling. Now, European overnight trains are making an unexpected comeback as a more sustainable long-distance option.

Berlin's main railway station, Hauptbahnhof, just before 6:30 pm: a long train with midnight-blue carriages stands at Platform 11. Several people roll their suitcases past a carriage on which "Nightjet" is written in large letters under the windows. In a few minutes the train will depart for Vienna. The trip takes more than 12 hours, but the passengers won't notice much of that. They'll glide slowly from one world into another – while they sleep. And when they wake up in the morning, they'll already be at their destination. 

WHO declares an end to second Ebola outbreak in Guinea

The World Health Organization on Saturday officially announced the end of Guinea's second Ebola outbreak which was declared in February and claimed 12 lives.

At 16 confirmed cases and seven probable infections according to WHO figures, the limited size of the latest flare-up has been credited to experience from the 2013-16 epidemic, which killed more than 11,300 people mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Just 12 people died this time around.

Slim chance for Suu Kyi at Myanmar’s kangaroo courts

Coup-toppled democratic leader stands charged of corruption that could result in a life sentence and ban from politics

Concern for the future of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is mounting after her appearance in a purpose-built courtroom in the country’s capital Naypyidaw at the start of what is expected to be a seven-week trial.

Since the coup on February 1, little has been seen of Suu Kyi, and her future appears uncertain after the initial court proceedings.

Initially charged with the illegal possession of walkie-talkies, charges against the pro-democracy leader have escalated dramatically. She now stands accused of various counts of corruption that, if she is found guilty, could result in what is effectively a life sentence.

She was born in Australia, but the country wants to send her back to alleged war criminals

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN

Updated 0051 GMT (0851 HKT) June 19, 2021

Tharnicaa was eight months old when Australian Border Force officers burst into her home in rural Australia, and tore her Sri Lankan refugee parents and their children from their new life.

The shocking dawn raid infuriated locals who began a nationwide campaign against their removal to Sri Lanka, where as minority Tamils they fear persecution.

After a traumatic three years, during which the family was held offshore on Christmas Island, and Tharnicaa had to receive medical treatment for illnesses she developed in detention there, the Australian government has finally succumbed to pressure to let them stay -- for now. This week, it announced they can remain in community detention in Perth while they finalize their legal challenges.