Sunday, June 6, 2021

Six In The Morning Sunday 6 June 2021

 Delta variant is around 40% more transmissible

  1. The Delta variant is 40% more transmissible, the health secretary says, adding that protection against it is just as good with two doses of a vaccine
  2. Matt Hancock says the variant, first identified in India, makes life more challenging, and the government is "open" to delaying England's 21 June unlocking if needed
  3. Asked if measures such as face coverings and working from home could continue in the long term, he says he "wouldn't rule that out"



Hundreds detained without trial in Uganda in new wave of repression

Roundup of opposition activists took place in May around date of swearing-in ceremony for President Yoweri Museveni

by  in Johannesburg and  in Kampala

Sun 6 Jun 2021 12.15 BST

Anew wave of repression in Uganda has led to the abductions of dozens more opposition activists by security forces and at least one alleged death. Several hundred people are thought to have been detained without trial in the east African country in secret prisons where they are subjected to a brutal regime of mistreatment. The country has suffered a series of crackdowns aimed at stamping out dissent since campaigning began for presidential elections late last year.

The trigger for the most recent repression by security services appears to have been the swearing-in ceremony of Uganda’s veteran president, the 76-year-old Yoweri Museveni, in May.

Museveni won a sixth term in office in January in an election denounced as fraudulent by the opposition. Police and other unidentified security agencies moved to arrest and detain hundreds in the week before and after the inauguration.


Sea snot: Turkey races to prevent marine disaster as sealife suffocated by slime

Country’s environment minister promises to release disaster management plan for sea area

Conrad Duncan@theconradduncan

Turkey has vowed to defeat a plague of “sea snot” that is threatening marine life in the Sea of Marmara, with marine creatures at risk of dying from suffocation due to the substance.

A thick slimy layer of the organic matter, known as marine mucilage, has spread through the sea south of Istanbul, blanketing harbours, shorelines and swathes of seawater.

The viscous substance poses a threat to marine life and the fishing industry as some of the matter has sunk below the waves, suffocating life on the seabed.


Lessons from the Pandemic on ADHD

Cases of attention deficit disorder ADHD have increased in the pandemic. Doctors say the closure of day care centers and schools are part of the problem. And they have some better ideas for treating children rather than just prescribing them drugs.


Lukas wasn’t even a year old yet when his parents started thinking something might be wrong with him. "He just doesn’t seem normal – he’s different, even wilder than the wild ones,” says his father, a 47-year-old who does shift work as a machine operator.

The family lives in a rural village in the German state of Bavaria. His mother, 44, is an office worker. Lukas, who is now eight, is an only child and an outsider. "When Lukas wanted to play along and wasn’t allowed to or he was made fun of because his nasally voice,” his mother says, "he would just start hitting or biting.”

Pope voices pain over deaths of indigenous children in Canada, but doesn't apologise

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect of the rights and cultures of native peoples.

HoweverFrancis stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded. Two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools.

Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly blessing, Francis urged Canadian political and Catholic religious leaders to “cooperate with determination” to shed light on the finding and to seek reconciliation and healing.

Israel arrests Palestinian activists Muna and Mohammed al-Kurd

Palestinian activists behind social media campaign against forced expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah arrested after raid on their home.

Israeli police have arrested activists Muna al-Kurd and Mohammed al-Kurd, who have been at the forefront of the campaign to stop the forced expulsions of Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The arrests of the activists, who are twins, come a day after Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Givara Budeiri was arrested while covering a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah. Budeiri was released hours later after her arrest drew global condemnation.




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