Thursday, July 1, 2021

Six In The Morning Thursday 1 July 2021

 

Foreign countries that 'bully' China will meet a 'great wall of steel,' says Xi during Communist Party centenary

Updated 1130 GMT (1930 HKT) July 1, 2021


China's rise is a "historical inevitability" and it will no longer be "bullied, oppressed or subjugated" by foreign countries, its leader, Xi Jinping, said Thursday during an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

"Anyone who dares to try, will find their heads bashed bloody against a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people," added Xi, in comments that later appeared to be softened in the government's own English language translation.
Speaking in front of a reported crowd of 70,000 at a highly-choreographed ceremony in Tiananmen Square, Xi delivered a strongly nationalist speech in which he claimed that only the party could ensure China's continued stability, and any attempt to divide it from the country would fail. "Without the Communist Party, there will be no new China," Xi said to thundering applause and cheers.


Afghan civilians take up arms against Taliban as foreign troops depart

Citizens react to spiralling violence with militants seizing at least 50 of county’s nearly 400 districts since May

 in Gozara district, Afghanistan

Haji Ghoulam Farouq Siawshani watched the Taliban rampage across northern Afghanistan this month, weighing up the threat from militants on his doorstep. Then, 10 days ago, the former oil trader turned militia commander issued a call to arms.

“Where the Taliban go, they bring destruction, and they are one kilometre away from my village,” he told the Guardian. “We decided to respond.”

He now leads a few dozen men he armed with ageing Kalashnikovs, in Gozara district, just south of the ancient trade and cultural centre of Herat, on the country’s western border with Iran.


Turkey quits treaty to stop violence against women

Many conservatives in Turkey and in Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party say the pact undermines the family structures that protect society

Ece Toksabay,Daren Butler

Turkey officially withdrew on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women, enacting a decision that drew condemnation from many Turks and Western allies when President Tayyip Erdogan announced it in March.

Thousands were set to protest across Turkey, where a court appeal to halt the withdrawal was rejected this week.

“We will continue our struggle,” Canan Gullu, president of the Federation of Turkish Women’s Associations, said on Wednesday. “Turkey is shooting itself in the foot with this decision.”

Can drone warfare in the Middle East be controlled?

Drone attacks are causing a crisis in the Mideast and experts are calling for a better regulatory regime. But would more rules even have an impact in the region?

Last weekend, the US launched airstrikes against militant groups loyal to Iran near the Iraqi-Syrian border. According to a statement issued by United States defense officials, the strikes were in retaliation for the groups' drone attacks on American troops in Iraq.

The US military said that drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (or UAVs), have been used against their personnel at least five times since April. In the most recent attacks, an armed drone was detonated at a dining area used by Americans inside Baghdad's airport. Another damaged an American hangar in northern Iraq.

As Delta Variant Surges, Outbreaks Return in Many Parts of the World

The nightmare is returning.

In Indonesia, grave diggers are working into the night, as oxygen and vaccines are in short supply. In Europe, countries are slamming their doors shut once again, with quarantines and travel bans. In Bangladesh, urban garment workers fleeing an impending lockdown are almost assuredly seeding another coronavirus surge in their impoverished home villages.

And in countries like South Korea and Israel that seemed to have largely vanquished the virus, new clusters of disease have proliferated. Chinese health officials announced Monday that they would build a giant quarantine center with up to 5,000 rooms to hold international travelers. Australia has ordered millions to stay at home.

Iranian refugee acquitted of smuggling slams UK asylum policies


Fouad Kakaei and experts say his acquittal highlights the flaws in the UK’s plans to overhaul its asylum system.


 Fouad Kakaei laughed when British authorities showed him photographs of him steering an inflatable dinghy over the Channel from France.

“It was ridiculous,” he said, referring to the moment he was questioned at the port of Dover in late December 2019. “I already told them I was the driver, I said so from the beginning.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera in north London, near his temporary hotel accommodation, he added: “They didn’t bring any evidence other than two pictures of me driving the boat and they said I had two SIM cards. This was given as evidence to prove I was a smuggler.”




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