Six In The Morning Thursday 30 December 2021

 

Didn't the Korean War end in 1953? The short answer is no

By Brad Lendon, CNN

Updated 0728 GMT (1528 HKT) December 30, 2021

Is the Korean War about to come to an end?

Some people might answer: "Didn't that happen in 1953?"

Others may know that it was only an armistice that brought hostilities to a halt in 1953 -- but there's never been a treaty to end the conflict between North Korea (and its chief ally China) and South Korea and its allies, most notably the United States.

With the top South Korean diplomat on Wednesday saying Seoul and Washington have "effectively" agreed on a draft agreement to end the war, here's a primer on what that means.

Ashraf Ghani blames international allies over Afghanistan’s fall to Taliban

In first interview since fleeing Kabul in August, former president says US ‘erased’ Afghans in years of peace talks with militants

Emma Graham-Harrison

Thu 30 Dec 2021 15.12 GMT

The former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has broken his silence with his first interview since fleeing Kabul four months ago, in effect blaming the international community and in particular the Americans for the fall of the republic.

Ghani told the BBC he was rushed into fleeing Kabul on a helicopter by his “terrified” national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, and the commander of the collapsing presidential security detail.

“They said the PPS [presidential protection service] has collapsed, [and] if I take a stand they will all be killed,” Ghani said. “He [Mohib] did not give me more than two minutes.”

Despite outrage, Spaniards prepare to wear blackface for annual Three Kings parade

Painting King Balthasar is a practice that cannot be justified in a country like Spain’

Sofia Barbarani

As most households across the world begin the glum task of wrapping up the Christmas season, Spaniards are readying themselves for what they consider the most magical night of the year: the arrival of the Three Kings with bundles of gifts and sweets.

On the night of the 5^th of January families gather on the city streets to watch the passing of kings Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar and their entourage of marching bands, light shows, camels, and horses in a grand parade.

The parade tradition, which dates to the late 1800s and is rooted in the kings’ visit to the infant Jesus, is a joyous occasion usually followed by feasts and the unwrapping of gifts either at midnight or on the morning after.

Follow the money: How to bring IS extremists to justice

Financing terror, chemical weapons, forensics and digital archives: The ex-German prosecutor now heading the UN's special team on crimes of the so-called "Islamic State" explains where the search for justice will focus.

Who profited from the rise of the extremist group known as the "Islamic State" in Iraq and where are they today? This is just one of the questions that former German federal prosecutor Christian Ritscher hopes to answer over the course of the next year.

In September 2021, Ritscher was appointed to head UNITAD, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh (the Arabic name for the "Islamic State" group).

Hopes and fears of 'Israelisation' in occupied Golan

Bulldozers in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights are clearing the ground for middle-class neighbourhoods, part of a plan to dramatically expand Jewish settlements on land still home to thousands of Syrians.

Israel's government on Sunday approved a one-billion-shekel ($320-million) five-year plan to double the Jewish settler population of the Golan Heights, a strategic area that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Under the plan, more than 10,000 new homes are to be built -- a third of them earmarked for the Jewish settlement of Katsrin.

"In 20 to 30 years, Katsrin will grow from a population of 9,000 to a population of 50,000 to 60,000," said its mayor, Dimi Apartzev.

US Muslims call for action as ‘spying’ incidents shake community

Council on American-Islamic Relations says it uncovered a ‘mole’ within its organisation and a ‘spy’ at a US mosque.

By Ali Harb

Published On 30 Dec 202130 Dec 2021

First, the major Muslim-American advocacy group reported that a “mole” had infiltrated the leadership of one of its state branches. Then, only days later, the organisation said a “spy” at a US mosque had passed information on to an “anti-Muslim” group.

The two incidents, revealed earlier this month by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have shaken Muslim advocates in the United States and renewed longstanding concerns about spying on the community.

“Community members were shocked and saddened to learn about this specific situation, but a lot of people were also not surprised that an anti-Muslim hate group was targeting CAIR and spying this way,” said Whitney Siddiqi, community affairs director at CAIR-Ohio.