Six In The Morning Sunday 10 October 2021

 

A dictator's son. A former actor. A champion boxer. Inside the manic race to replace Duterte as the Philippines' leader

By Ben Westcott and Jinky Jorgio, CNN

A dictator's son. A former actor. A champion boxer.

A diverse field of candidates have put up their hands to succeed Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who is stepping down after a single six-year term in line with the Philippines constitution.

Although the 2022 presidential election campaign is yet to begin, the machinations and drama are well underway.

Taiwan national day: we will not bow to China, says president amid tensions

Tsai Ing-wen condemns China’s plans for Taiwan and says island will continue to build its defences

Helen Davidson in Taipei

@heldavidson

Sun 10 Oct 2021 15.07 BST

No one will force Taipei to take the path laid out by Beijing, Tsai Ing-wen has vowed on Taiwan’s national day, pledging to continue bolstering the island’s military defences.

Responding to repeated threats from China’s leaders that it will one day take Taiwan – by force if need be – and overthrow its democratically elected government, the president said Taiwan had the resolve to defend itself and its future, which “must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people”.

Tsai made the comments at formal celebrations in Taipei on Sunday, at the end of one of the most tense weeks between China and Taiwan for decades, including record numbers of Chinese military flights into Taiwan’s defence zone and a speech by Xi Jinping of China vowing reunification with Taiwan.

Murder trial of ‘African Che Guevera’ Thomas Sankara to finally begin

The murder trial of Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s iconic “father of the revolution”, is due to open on Monday, 34 years after his assassination. Fourteen people, including the country’s ex-president, Blaise Compaoré, will stand trial. FRANCE 24 examines why Sankara is such a heroic figure in Africa and at what to expect from this long-anticipated court case. 

In one of Africa’s most eagerly awaited trials for years, 14 people will be tried on October 11 at a military court in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou for the murder of the country’s former president, Thomas Sankara, and 12 members of his entourage.  

Nicknamed the “African Che Guevara”, Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983. He was a hero to many fans – who say he championed national sovereignty by rejecting aid from the International Monetary Fund and point to his advancement of women’s rights, banning forced marriages, polygamy and female genital mutilation. Sankara’s detractors say he was an authoritarian leader, alleging human rights violations including arbitrary arrests of political opponents and extrajudicial killings. 

Beatings at the Border

Europe's Violent Shadow Army Unmasked

Mysterious men wearing balaclavas are beating up refugees at the external EU border or abandoning them at sea. Months of reporting now reveals who is behind the operations.

By Giorgos Christides, Bashar Deeb, Klaas van Dijken, Alexander Epp, Steffen Lüdke, Andrei Popoviciu, Lamia Šabić, Jack Sapoch, Phevos Simeonidis und Nicole Vögele

You can hear the blows before you can see them. The noise of blunt objects striking arms, legs and backs filters through the thick shrubbery on the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. People screaming in pain, gasping and whimpering.

Powerful men in dark uniforms are standing on the Croatian side of the border on this hot June day. They are battering Afghans and Pakistanis who have come to Europe to apply for asylum.

All of the men are wearing balaclavas; one of them has also donned black sunglasses. Their uniforms bear no insignia to ensure that they are completely unrecognizable. They are completely unaware that just a few meters away, hiding behind just a couple of bushes and trees, two reporters are filming their every move.

‘Father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme’ Abdul Qadeer Khan dies

Pakistani atomic scientist died after being transferred to the hospital with lung problems.

 

Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, has died at 85.

The Pakistani atomic scientist, hailed as a national hero for making his country the world’s first Islamic nuclear power but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states, was transferred to hospital with lung problems, state-run PTV said.

Khan had been admitted to the same hospital in August after contracting the coronavirus.

UK to resettle teenage Afghan women footballers and families

By Caroline Hawley
Diplomatic Correspondent

Dozens of Afghan girls with promising football careers, who fled the Taliban, have been told they can come to the UK to be resettled, along with their families.

The 35-member squad - aged 13-19 - fled Kabul last month and have been staying for the past few weeks in a hotel in Pakistan, where their temporary visas were due to expire on Monday.

"We are working to finalise visas to the Afghan Women's Development Team and look forward to welcoming them to the UK shortly," a UK government spokesman said.