Six In The Morning Sunday 25 July 2021

 

Tokyo Olympics: Shock golds for Kiesenhofer & Hafnaoui as Osaka & Biles start campaigns

Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer won a surprise road race gold and Tunisian teenager Ahmed Hafnaoui stunned the favourites in the pool on a drama-filled second day at the Tokyo Olympics.

There were also upsets in the tennis, with Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty knocked out, and the taekwondo where Britain's two-time champion Jade Jones lost in the first round.

Even favourite Simone Biles was wobbly in gymnastics qualifying, while golf was robbed of two leading players through positive Covid-19 tests and defending tennis champion Andy Murray pulled out of the men's singles.

Emmanuel Macron ‘pushes for Israeli inquiry’ into NSO spyware concerns

French president reportedly spoke to Naftali Bennett to ensure ‘proper investigation’ after Pegasus project

Bethan McKernan Middle East correspondent

Sun 25 Jul 2021 15.26 BST

Emmanuel Macron has reportedly spoken to the Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, to ensure that the Israeli government is “properly investigating” allegations that the French president could have been targeted with Israeli-made spyware by Morocco’s security services.

In a phone call, Macron expressed concern that his phone and those of most of his cabinet could have been infected with Pegasus, hacking software developed by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group, which enables operators of the tool to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones from infected devices.

The leaked database at the heart of the Pegasus project includes Macron’s mobile phone number.

In the Valley of the Warriors

Growing Anxiety as the Taliban Approaches in Eastern Afghanistan

Silently and strategically, the Taliban are gaining ground in eastern Afghanistan – and without even firing shots. As they advance, they are forming grotesque alliances against forces even more radical than themselves.

By Christoph Reuter und Christian Werner (Photos)

No one has conquered it in over a century. Not the United States Army, not the Islamic State, not the Taliban, not the the mujahedeen, not the Soviet army. The inhabitants of the rugged Darah-i-Noor valley, whose villages are built into mountain slopes like fortresses, have always wanted one thing above all: to be left alone. But, as they will tell you here, one thing has always been clear if there has to be fighting: Anyone here capable of holding a gun will do so. At least among the men.

The fact that enemies might appear to be stronger than they are has never been a reason for the people here to give up. Their cousins a few mountain ranges away in the Korangal Valley didn’t give up in recent years, either, when they defied the helicopters, missiles, drones and precision munitions of the Americans who had set up base there. "That’s jihad,” they tersely say. "That’s how it has to be.”

Two brothers competing in Tokyo: one for Syria, the other for refugees

A photo of two Syrian brothers, competing for different teams at the Olympics, hugging each other in Tokyo went viral on social media earlier this week.

Mohamad Maso is representing war-torn Syria in the triathlon event, while his younger brother Alaa will swim for the Olympic refugee team.

Some media and internet users wrongly believed that the photo of the brothers' embrace showed them meeting after years of separation due to the conflict in Syria.

Iraqi PM al-Kadhimi: Iraq does not need US combat troops

With the threat of an ISIL resurgence ever-present in Iraq, al-Kadhimi stressed Baghdad was not seeking a full withdrawal.

Iraq’s prime minister has said his country no longer requires American combat troops to fight ISIL (ISIS), but a formal timeframe for their redeployment will depend on the outcome of talks with US officials this week.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in an interview with The Associated Press news agency that Iraq will still ask for US training and military intelligence gathering, but will seek a timeline for the withdrawal of combat troops, which was announced in April amid ongoing talks between Washington and Baghdad.

Australia once reveled in being the 'lucky country' on Covid-19. Now weary Aussies 'feel like prisoners'

A postcard of kangaroos lounging among gumtrees arrives in our letterbox in London, addressed to my 4-year-old daughter.

"My darling," it says. "How are you? Are you enjoying school? Do you have friends? Your brother is one year old now. I hope you can come and see me in Australia one day. I love you and think of you often -- from 'Nana in Australia.'"

"Nana in Australia" is the pixelated face on my laptop, the voice cutting out on my phone.