Six In The Morning Saturday 16 October 2021

 

China isn't about to invade Taiwan. But the two sides are on a dangerous path

Analysis by Ben Westcott and Eric Cheung, CNN

Updated 0439 GMT (1239 HKT) October 16, 2021

Taiwan's Defense Minister, former general Chiu Kuo-cheng, stood in front of the island's legislature last week and made a dire prediction -- by 2025, China will be able to mount a "full-scale" invasion of Taiwan.

The dramatic statement came after China sent its highest number of warplanes yet into the skies above waters southwest of the island. But despite the rhetoric and the military saber-rattling, analysts agree China is unlikely to invade Taiwan anytime soon, with one expert adding the chance of invasion in the next 12 months is "close to zero."

Beijing has cast waves of aggression toward the island ever since the former Nationalist government fled there at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

China, coal and COP26: can the world’s biggest emitter give up its dirty habit?

Those who helped fuel China’s growth fear for livelihoods, while power shortages create transition dilemma for Xi Jinping

Vincent Ni China affairs correspondent

Sat 16 Oct 2021 15.00 BST

When he was a little boy in the 1980s, Wang Xiaojun was taught to be proud of his home town of Lüliang in the north-western Chinese province of Shanxi. Shanxi is China’s biggest coal-producing region, and Lüliang was a significant base for the Red Army during the second world war.

Nestled in the mountains of the dusty Loess Plateau, Lüliang, a city of 3.4m people, has had less to shout about in recent years. A series of corruption scandals in the city brought down several high profile officials shortly after President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013; there are concerns over the high number of babies born with congenital defects, blamed by experts on air pollution; and, last week, a huge flood forced coal mines to close just as China scrambles to tackle its energy crunch.

Is the EU doing enough to protect journalists?

Maltese reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack in 2017. Four years later, the EU has pledged to strengthen the safety of journalists. Many, however, feel these promises won't be enough.

When Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered on October 16, 2017 in a car bomb attack people were shocked, not only across Europe but around the world. 

But the Maltese reporter who was renowned for her investigations into corruption and money laundering wasn't the only one. In the four years since her death, other colleagues including Jan Kuciak from Slovakia, Giorgos Karaivaz from Greece and Peter de Vries from the Netherlands have also been killed. In Europe — the continent that is considered a relatively safe haven for media professionals.

Beirut port blast activist resigns after U-turn on judge

The spokesman for relatives of those killed in the Lebanese capital's port blast quit on Saturday, while denying he had been pressured to urge the lead investigator in the case to step down.

Ibrahim Hoteit told AFP he changed his mind about the judge over fears that tensions surrounding the probe could lead to civil war.

Several political parties, including powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, have accused judge Tarek Bitar of political bias in his probe into the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 210 people.

FESPACO 2021: African film lovers come together in Ouagadougou

Pan-African festival opens in Burkina Faso’s capital months after being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

By Henry Wilkins

16 Oct 2021

After an eight-month delay, the biggest festival of African cinema is back.

The 27th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) officially opens on Saturday in Burkina Faso’s capital and will run until October 23. Held every two years, the festival started in 1969 and represents till this day a rare opportunity for African storytellers to showcase their creations on a global stage.

Originally scheduled for February 27 – March 6, the popular event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Burkina Faso also gripped by a six-year war with armed groups linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda and local fighters.

Myanmar army general Min Aung Hlaing excluded from leaders' summit

The army general who seized power in Myanmar in February has been excluded from an annual summit of regional leaders later this month.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) agreed to invite a non-political representative from Myanmar instead of Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

It is a unprecedented move for the 10-member bloc, which traditionally avoids interfering in its members' affairs.

Myanmar's military junta said it was "disappointed" with the decision.