Six In The Morning Wednesday 29 September 2021

 

Afghanistan is the world's opium king. Can the Taliban afford to kill off their 'un-Islamic' cash cow?

By Kara Fox, CNN

Updated 0426 GMT (1226 HKT) September 29, 2021

When the khaki-colored landscapes of Afghanistan are transformed by a patchwork of pink, white and purple each spring, farmers rejoice. Their cash crop of poppies is ready for harvesting.

Opium cultivation has long been a source of income for rural communities across the country, a land besieged by decades of war. But for the United States, those same colorful scenes symbolized the enemy.

"When I see a poppy field, I see it turning into money and then into IEDs [improvised explosive devices], AKs [assault rifles], and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]," said Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Fears grow for photojournalist arrested by Taliban as executions resume

Taliban deny Morteza Samadi, 21, has been sentenced to death but family concerned for his safety after he was detained while covering women’s protests in Herat

Zahra Joya and Ruchi Kumar

Wed 29 Sep 2021 14.26 BST

Fears are growing for a photojournalist who has been detained by the Taliban for more than three weeks after being arrested while covering the women’s protests in Herat.

Morteza Samadi, 21, a freelance photographer, was one of several journalists who were arrested at street protests at the beginning of September. All were quickly released except Morteza, whose whereabouts is not known. Some of those detained in Kabul have alleged they were badly beaten and tortured.

Fears for Morteza have grown after the bodies of executed convicts were put on public display in Herat’s main squares – a draconian practice brought back by the Taliban. A veteran leader of the Taliban, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, said in an interview with Associated Press that the new government will be bringing back executions, as well as amputations as punishment for petty crimes.

Wary of China, US and EU forge alliance on technology

With Beijing on the rise as a tech superpower, Brussels and Washington want to close ranks. But divisions loom over the new "Trade and Technology Council" alliance — and previous efforts have a mixed track record.

The chip crisis turned dire when the coronavirus hit. As demand for electronics was skyrocketing in the spring of 2020, manufacturers warned they were running short of semiconductors — key components needed to make devices from smartphones to cars.

They had good reasons: In the following months, the shortage forced factories to shut down assembly lines. Tech companies postponed product launches. Computers were delivered months too late.

The first major massacre in the ‘Holocaust by bullets’: Babi Yar, 80 years on

On September 29 and 30, 1941, more than 33,000 people, mostly Jews, were executed in the Babi Yar ravine near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv – one of the largest mass murders in the Holocaust. FRANCE 24 looks back at this unspeakable event 80 years on, as plans are finally underway for an official museum honouring the victims’ memory.

“A policeman told me to undress and pushed me to the edge of the pit, where a group of people were awaiting their fate. Before the shooting started, I was so scared that I fell into the pit. I fell onto dead bodies. At first I didn’t understand a thing: where was I? How did I end up there? I thought I was going inside. The shooting went on; people were still falling. I came to my senses – and suddenly I understood everything. I could feel my arms, my legs, my stomach, my head. I wasn’t even injured. I was pretending to be dead. I was on top of dead people – and injured people. I could hear some people breathing; others were moaning in pain. Suddenly I heard a child screaming: ‘Mum!’ It sounded like my little daughter. I burst into tears.” Dina Pronicheva, one of the few survivors of the Babi Yar massacre, captured its horror when she gave testimony in the trial of fifteen German soldiers in Kyiv in 1946.

Romdhane named Tunisia’s first female PM by President Saied

President Kais Saied appoints Najla Bouden Romdhane as the new prime minister, nearly two months after his power grab.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has named Najla Bouden Romdhane, a little-known university engineer who worked with the World Bank, as the country’s first female prime minister, nearly two months after he seized most powers in a move his foes call a coup.

Romdhane will take office at a time of national crisis, with the democratic gains won in a 2011 revolution in doubt and as a major threat looms over public finances.

North Korea says it fired new 'hypersonic missile'

North Korea has claimed that it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile called Hwasong-8 on Tuesday.

State media said the new missile was one of the "five most important" new weapons systems laid out in its five-year military development plan.

They called the missile a "strategic weapon", which usually means it has nuclear capabilities.

Tuesday's launch is another indication of Pyongyang's growing weapons technology amid strict sanctions.