Six In The Morning 18 July 2021

 

Europe floods: Merkel shocked by 'surreal' devastation

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed shock at what she described as surreal destruction caused by last week's flooding.

Mrs Merkel visited affected areas of western Germany on Sunday, talking to survivors and emergency workers.

At least 184 people in Germany and Belgium are now known to have died in the floods.

Heavy rain is continuing to wreak havoc, with attention now shifting to parts of Austria and southern Germany.

Tensions remain high as hopes dashed for breakthrough in China and India stalemate

Military build-up continues ‘like never before’ on both sides of 2,100-mile border despite high-level talks

Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Aakash Hassan in Ladakh

Sun 18 Jul 2021 10.55 BST

It was described as a dialogue, the first high-level meeting in months between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers to address the ongoing border aggressions that have pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war.

But those hoping Wednesday’s meeting would help break a year-long stalemate during which 200,000 troops have built up on both sides of the Himalayan frontier were to be left unsatisfied.

There was one point of agreement, however. As Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, noted, “relations between India and China are still at a low point”.

“Staying Would Be Suicide”With Departure of NATO Troops, the Taliban Gains Ground in Afghanistan

In recent days, both the American and German forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan. The government in Kabul is now on its own, with the Taliban conquering one district after the other. Could they soon lay siege on the capital city?

By Christoph Reuter in Kabul

The mobile phone video is short and slightly grainy, but you can hear the fear, even the panic in the voices of the people waiting. They’re making their way up the gangway into the small plane. Nobody wants to be left behind. A single man finally makes it past the security people and rushes to the plane. The person filming explains, "That was a senator" – a member of the upper house of parliament in Kabul. "These are members of parliament, representatives from the provincial council and commanders."

Taliban leader ‘favours political settlement’ to Afghan conflict

Announcement comes amid group’s military advances and as peace talks between Afghan gov’t and Taliban resume in Doha.

The Taliban’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada has said he “strenuously favours” a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan even as the group launched a sweeping offensive across the nation.

The announcement on Sunday comes as representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban armed fighters sat down for a new round of talks in Doha over the weekend, stirring hopes that the long-stalled peace talks were being resuscitated.

First positive COVID tests reported for 2 athletes in Olympic Village

By STEPHEN WADE

Two athletes living in the Olympic Village have tested positive for COVID-19, the first to do so with the Tokyo Games opening on Friday.

Organizers confirmed the positive tests on Sunday and both were listed as non-Japanese. No names or other details were provided.

Organizers on Sunday also said another athlete had tested positive but this person was not residing in the Olympic Village. This athlete was also identified as "non-Japanese."

Half of the US believes a deadly conspiracy theory

Analysis by Harry Enten, CNN

Updated 1105 GMT (1905 HKT) July 18, 2021

The two most monumental events of the last year in the US were the election of Joe Biden to the presidency and the introduction of Covid-19 vaccines. Yet there are those who falsely believe Biden won only because of fraud or that they shouldn't get a vaccine.

Having either belief is dangerous -- for either the health of society or the health of the republic. It turns out that about half the people in this country either have doubts about Biden's legitimacy or have not gotten the vaccine.

Take a look at the most recent Monmouth University poll, one of the few to ask about both people's vaccine status and how they view the 2020 election result.