Six In The Morning Tuesday 12 October 2021

 

Our underwater future: What sea level rise will look like around the globe

By John Keefe and Rachel Ramirez, CNN

Updated 1507 GMT (2307 HKT) October 12, 2021

The planet is warming rapidly, resulting in historic drought, deadly floods and unusual melting events in the Arctic. It is also causing steady sea level rise, which scientists say will continue for decades.

A new study from Climate Central, a nonprofit research group, shows that roughly 50 major coastal cities will need to implement "unprecedented" adaptation measures to prevent rising seas from swallowing their most populated areas.

Afghanistan ‘at make-or-break point’ says UN as G20 ministers meet

Leaders will discuss UN proposal to channel funds to Afghanistan to ease growing humanitarian catastrophe

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Tue 12 Oct 2021 09.24 BST

G20 leaders and ministers are meeting by video conference to discuss a UN proposal to channel funds to Afghanistan to ease its worsening humanitarian catastrophe.

It is the first time the world’s richest countries have met to discuss the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover on 15 August. Afghanistan was 75%-dependent on foreign aid before the takeover, and funds held overseas have been frozen by the US.

The European Union kicked off proceedings by announcing an extra €700m in emergency aid to Afghanistan and neighbouring countries. The pledge takes the total commitment of new funding to €1bn, after the EU executive’s promise of €300m to help prevent basic services in Afghanistan from collapsing and food from running out.

An inquiry exposed sexual abuse within French Catholic Church — now what?

It is estimated that 216,000 children have been abused by clerics in the French Catholic Church since the 1950s. The inquiry that unearthed the scale of the abuse could also lead the way to reforms within the church.

"The father took me to his tent and closed it," said the victim. 

"He kissed me on the lips, with his tongue. It was disgusting. He caressed me. I was petrified," the victim continued. "He taught me words I didn't know — like masturbation and fellatio. I thought I need to respect him, he's a priest. Plus, my parents really appreciate him."

This was just one experience of many shared in a recent report that revealed the scale of abuse within the French Catholic Church. 

Arms, vaccines and pork, and an embassy that isn’t

Taiwan strengthens ties with the US

Taiwan expressed its thanks for American vaccines during the pandemic. However, it is equally grateful for US arms sales, vital to an island intent on averting enforced reunification with China.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei’s Neihu district is relatively discreet, despite its huge size. There are no flags, armed marines or cars with diplomatic plates outside; only a US seal with a bald eagle over the front door reveals the building’s identity. The institute opened on this site in 2018, having moved out of the Xinyi district, where most nations locate their ‘representative offices’. (They are not officially ‘embassies’ because most nations do not recognise Taiwan as a country.)

Pro-Iranian groups reject early Iraq election results as ‘scam’

Several pro-Iranian parties promise to launch an appeal after early results show losses for parties with PMF links.

Pro-Iranian parties and armed groups have denounced early results from Iraq’s elections as “manipulation” and a “scam”.

Sunday’s parliamentary election – the fifth in the war-scarred country since the US-led invasion and overthrow of ruler Saddam Hussein in 2003 – was marked by a record low turnout of 41 percent.

Schools are new battleground in war of disinformation over Covid-19 vaccines

By Laura Smith-Spark,

The rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations to schoolchildren in the United Kingdom has opened up a new front in the disinformation war: anti-vax campaigners are now taking their protests to the school gates.

Groups opposed to vaccination have sought to stoke the fears of parents and children by falsely claiming that the vaccines are untested and dangerous.

Last week, a small group of protesters demonstrated outside St. Thomas More Catholic School in the town of Blaydon, near Newcastle in northeastern England, as children entered the school gates.