Six In The Morning Wednesday 2 June 2021

 

Fears of environmental disaster as oil-laden ship sinks off Sri Lanka

The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for almost two weeks before the blaze was put out this week.

Hundreds of tonnes of oil from fuel tanks could leak into the sea if it sinks, devastating nearby marine life.

The Sri Lankan and Indian navies had worked jointly over the past days in an attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking.

But rough seas and monsoonal winds hampered the operation, just outside the port of Colombo.

Hundreds of fishing fleets that go ‘dark’ suspected of illegal hunting, study finds

Vessels primarily from China switch off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in possible illegal fishing

Uki Goñi in Buenos Aires

Giant distant-water fishing fleets, primarily from China, are switching off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in a possibly illegal hunt for squid and other lucrative species on the very edge of Argentina’s extensive fishing grounds, according to a new study by Oceana, an international NGO dedicated to ocean conservation.

Every year, vessels crowd together along the limits of Argentina’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to take advantage of the lucrative fishing grounds.

By monitoring the ships’ tracking beacons between January 2018 and April 2021, Oceana found that more than 800 vessels apparently conducted nearly 900,000 hours of fishing within 20 nautical miles of the invisible border between Argentina’s national waters and the high seas.

France’s New Caledonia set for final independence referendum in December

Third vote is part of long road towards decolonisation for Kanaks indigenous to archipelago

Dominique Vidalon,Sudip Kar-Gupta

The French Pacific island of New Caledonia, which rejected independence in two previous referendums, will have a third and final vote on 12 December, France’s overseas territories minister said on Wednesday.

The referendum would be followed by a two-year transition period to allow Paris to clarify its relations with New Caledonia, minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

“The government of the republic will organise and call voters concerned by this consultation on 12 December, 2021” he told reporters after a meeting of the French cabinet.

Iran: Large navy vessel sinks after catching fire in Gulf of Oman

Iran's largest naval ship was on fire for 20 hours before it finally went down in the Gulf of Oman. The military did not comment on the cause of the fire, but local reports suggest a problem in the engine room.

An Iranian vessel sank in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday after unsuccessful efforts to put out a fire, the navy said, adding that the crew was able to disembark with no loss of life.

How Iranian media say events unfolded

Iranian state television said the fire broke out on the "Kharg," Iran's highest-tonnage naval vessel, at around 2:25 a.m.on Wednesday (21:55 UTC) near the Iranian port of Jask.

Yes. Tokyo Olympics are still on, despite opposition, pandemic

By STEPHEN WADE

Will the postponed Tokyo Olympics open despite rising opposition and the pandemic?

The answer is almost certainly "yes."

Senior International Olympic Committee member Richard Pound was emphatic in an interview with a British newspaper.

"Barring Armageddon that we can't see or anticipate, these things are a go," Pound told the Evening Standard.

Xi Jinping wants to 'make friends' with the world. But Beijing can't kick its wolf warrior habits

By Ben Westcott and Nectar Gan, CNN

Updated 0719 GMT (1519 HKT) June 2, 2021

Xi Jinping wants China to learn how to make friends and influence people.

Speaking at a study session for the Communist Party's top leadership on Monday, the Chinese President said it was important for the country to tell its story in a positive way, presenting the image of a "credible, lovable, and respectable China," according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

He added that the Party's propaganda organizations need to make it clear to the world that Beijing wants "nothing but the Chinese people's well-being."