Six In The Morning Thursday 22 July 2021

 

Covid: China rejects WHO plan for second phase of virus origin probe

China has rejected the next stage of a World Health Organization (WHO) plan to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

The WHO wants to audit laboratories in the area the virus was first identified.

But Zeng Yixin, deputy health minister, said this showed "disrespect for common sense and arrogance toward science".

WHO experts said it was very unlikely the virus escaped from a Chinese lab, but the theory has endured.

Tigray: thousands flee in neighbouring region as conflict spreads

Official in Afar says Tigrayan forces have seized three districts in fight against Ethiopian military

Reuters in Addis Ababa

Thu 22 Jul 2021 15.35 BST

Attacks by Tigrayan forces in the Afar region of Ethiopia have forced more than 54,000 people from their homes, an official has said, as the eight-month conflict appeared to be spreading.

Tigrayan fighters seized control of three Afar districts this week, according to Ahmed Koloyta, a spokesperson for the region.

Afar is strategically importance because the main road and railway linking Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia, to the sea port of Djibouti run through it.

Pegasus spyware allegations leave Indian democracy hanging by a thread

Spyware that can be covertly installed on mobile phones has sent shock waves across the globe — and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been accused of using it.

The Indian government has found itself at the heart of a spyware scandal that has sent seismic waves across the entire political world.

A collaborative investigation, based on information accessed by nonprofit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and shared with a host of publications, into the Pegasus spyware has revealed a list of potential targets for surveillance.

Tokyo Olympics: Female athletes face double standards over uniforms

The Norwegian women’s beach handball team were fined because their shorts were too long, British Paralympian Olivia Breen was told by an official that her briefs were too short and Olympic swimmer Alice Dearing won’t be allowed to wear a swimming cap for natural black hair at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Ahead of the Games, set to start on July 23, female athletes are being scrutinised for their choice of sportswear. FRANCE 24 looks at why athletic uniform regulations for women are so harsh.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics haven’t even begun and the run-up is already fraught with debate on what female athletes should or shouldn’t wear.

Double Paralympic world champion Olivia Breen is the latest Olympic athlete to be caught in a sartorial storm. After competing in the long jump at the English Championships in Bedford on July 18, an official said her briefs were “too short and inappropriate”.

Iran opens oil terminal to bypass strategic Strait of Hormuz

New terminal located near Jask port on Gulf of Oman, allowing ships headed into Arabian Sea and beyond to avoid narrow strait.

Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani has said Iran opened its first oil terminal in the Gulf of Oman, a move that will allow it to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades.

“This is a strategic move and an important step for Iran. It will secure the continuation of our oil exports,” Rouhani said in a televised speech on Thursday.

Wildfires have erupted across the globe, scorching places that rarely burned before

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN
Photo editor Sarah Tilotta, CNN

Updated 1016 GMT (1816 HKT) July 22, 2021

Yakutsk in Russian Siberia is known as the world's coldest city. In a place where even an exposed nose during the winter months can cause biting pain, people are accustomed to taking precautions against freezing temperatures, including spending extra time in the morning to dress in many layers.

But now the city is blanketed in haze as nearby wildfires tear through forests that have been parched by weeks of heatwaves. The fires are so big, and the winds strong, smoke is traveling as far away as Alaska.

In the US, the Bootleg wildfire in Oregon has grown into a monstrous complex with its own weather, sending the dense smoke some 3,000 miles across one end of the continent to the other. New York City on Wednesday woke up to an intense red sunrise, the smell of wildfires and a thick brown haze.