Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Six In The Morning Wednesday 17 November 2021

 

Deadly storm cuts transport links around Vancouver

A deadly storm described by officials as a once-in-a-century weather event has severed road and rail links around Vancouver, Canada.

Two motorways connecting the West Coast city were closed after being damaged by severe flooding.

Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes due to the massive storm, which struck on Monday.

A woman was killed in a highway landslide, and rescuers say at least two other people are missing.



France’s right-wing presidential hopeful skips first day of trial on race hate charges

Lawyer for commentator and essayist claims his client’s opponents were seeking to stir up a ‘trial by public opinion’


France’s far-right presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour did not show up to court on the first day of his trial on charges relating to inciting racial hatred in Paris on Wednesday.

The controversial commentator and essayist is being tried on charges of “public insult” and “incitement to hatred or violence” against a group of people due to their ethnic, national, racial or religious origin.

He was previously convicted of hate speech after justifying discrimination against Black and Arab people in 2010, and of incitement to religious hatred for anti-Islam comments in 2016.

Gadhafi's son returns to Libyan politics: Can he win?

After years in hiding, Seif al-Islam, the son of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, will run for president in upcoming Libyan elections. Experts believe his return complicates things even further in the unstable nation.

This week, the son of former Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, made his official return to the country's political scene. On Sunday, in the electoral authorities' office in the southwestern city of Sabha, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi submitted his candidacy for Libya's upcoming presidential elections.

The elections are due to be held on December 24 this year.

Seif al-Islam's father ruled Libya for 42 years until his regime was brought down by a revolution in late 2011. Moammar Gadhafi was renowned for his eccentricity and brutality and was killed by his opponents in October 2011. Of Moammar's seven sons, three were killed after the revolution, which turned into a violent civil war.


Sudan security forces fire tear gas as thousands join anti-coup protests

Thousands protested in Sudan's capital Wednesday against last month's coup, chanting "no to military power" in defiance of a crackdown that has already claimed 24 lives.

Several rallies broke out across Khartoum, even though telephone lines were cut and internet services have been disrupted since the October 25 putsch, AFP journalists reported.

Security forces fired tear gas on the protesters, causing several injuries, witnesses said.

The renewed protests came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Africans to watch out for rising threats to democracy as he began a three-nation tour of the continent in Kenya.

What a staggering gun cache discovered in one suspected neo-Nazi's house says about far-right extremism in Europe


Updated 1332 GMT (2132 HKT) November 17, 2021



Last month, Austrian police made a remarkable discovery. In a raid on a house in the town of Baden, they found an arsenal of weapons and 1,200 kilograms of ammunition -- as well as Nazi paraphernalia and a large amount of gunpowder.

Altogether some 50 weapons, including submachine guns and pump-action rifles, were seized. According to a police statement, the house belonged to a 53-year-old man who is "suspected of national socialist Nazi activities," including sharing numerous files on Internet forums.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said of the raid: "The consistent action against right-wing extremism is not only part of the historical responsibility, but also a clear advocacy of our democratic coexistence in Austria."

Naomi Osaka joins chorus of international concern for Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai


Updated 1310 GMT (2110 HKT) November 17, 2021



Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has become the latest athlete to voice concern over Peng Shuai, who has not been seen in public since accusing a former Chinese state leader of sexual assault.

"Censorship is never OK at any cost, I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and OK. I'm in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way," Osaka said as part of a Twitter statement on Tuesday.
She included the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai.



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