Six In The Morning Monday 26 July 2021

 

Xi Jinping set out to save the Communist Party. But critics say he made himself its biggest threat

Analysis by Ben Westcott and CNN staff

Updated 0246 GMT (1046 HKT) July 26, 2021

In January 2013, months after taking the helm of China's ruling party, Xi Jinping gathered the country's top politicians and asked them why the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had collapsed.

Xi, of course, already had the answer.

"It completely denied Soviet history, the history of the Soviet Communist Party, denied Lenin, denied Stalin," he said. "Party organizations at all levels had almost no effect, and the army was not there."

Nine years later, none of the above apply to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

‘Record-shattering’ heat becoming much more likely, says climate study

More heatwaves even worse than those seen recently in north-west of America forecast in research

Damian Carrington Environment editor

@dpcarrington

Mon 26 Jul 2021 16.00 BST

“Record-shattering” heatwaves, even worse than the one that recently hit north-west America, are set to become much more likely in future, according to research. The study is a stark new warning on the rapidly escalating risks the climate emergency poses to lives.

The shocking temperature extremes suffered in the Pacific north-west and in Australia 2019-2020 were “exactly what we are talking about”, said the scientists. But they said the world had yet to see anything close to the worst impacts possible, even under the global heating that had already happened.

Putin warns of 'unpreventable' strikes by Russian navy

The Russian president's warning comes amid tensions between London and Moscow after a British warship entered waters close to Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that its navy is ready to carry out an "unpreventable strike" on enemy targets if it was in the country's "national interests."

Putin was speaking in Saint Petersburg during a parade of warships, just a few weeks after the UK angered Russia by sending a British warship close to the annexed Crimea peninsula. 

How Emily Oster became one of the most respected — and reviled — voices of the pandemic

As schools finally prepare to reopen widely, the Ivy League economist and parenting expert reflects on her vastly influential, and polarizing, role.

By Anna North 

The face of school reopenings in America isn’t a public health official. It’s not a teacher or a principal. It’s not even President Joe Biden, who made opening school buildings a core goal of his first 100 days.

Instead, it’s Emily Oster, a Brown University economics professor previously best known for writing a popular pregnancy advice book.

The fact that an Ivy League economist with no authority whatsoever over public policy became the symbol of the movement to reopen schools is somewhat bizarre, including to Oster. She says she never imagined that her data would be one of the only resources the country had on Covid-19 in schools.

Tunisia crisis: Clashes at parliament day after PM sacked

Clashes around army-barricaded parliament a day after President Saied removed the gov’t and legislature following nationwide protests.

By Farah Najjar and Arwa Ibrahim

26 Jul 2021

• Street clashes outside army-barricaded parliament, a day after President Kais Saied removed the prime minister and suspended parliament
• Move followed nationwide protests over economic troubles and government mishandling of the coronavirus crisis.
• Troops blocked parliamentary speaker and Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi from entering the building on Monday.

Al Jazeera condemns raid by Tunisian security forces on bureau

In reaction to Tunisian security forces’ raid on Al Jazeera Media Network’s office in Tunis and the expulsion of its journalists, the Doha-based network issued a statement of condemnation.

“Al Jazeera considers this action by the Tunisian authorities as a troubling escalation and fears it will impede fair and objective coverage of unfolding events in the country,” said the statement.

“Al Jazeera calls on the Tunisian authorities to allow its journalists to operate unhindered and be allowed to practice their profession without fear or intimidation,” it added.

Tokyo 2020: S Korea TV sorry for using pizza to depict Italy

Pizza for Italy, Dracula for Romania and Chernobyl for Ukraine.

These were the pictures and captions used by a South Korean broadcaster to depict nations at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

MBC has since apologised for offending viewers, after complaints the visuals were "offensive" and "ridiculous".

The channel said it wanted to make it easier for viewers to understand the entering countries quickly but said it was an "inexcusable mistake".