Six In The Morning Wednesday 2 February 2022

 

New satellite images show buildup of Russian military around Ukraine

By Gianluca Mezzofiore and Tim Lister, CNN

Updated 1521 GMT (2321 HKT) February 2, 2022

More evidence has emerged of a steady build-up of Russian military equipment and deployments around Ukraine, with new satellite images revealing a further expansion of the military presence at multiple locations in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia.

Russian forces have moved into Belarus in the last two weeks. The Russian and Belarus defense ministries say the deployments are ahead of a major training exercise this month.

The imagery was collected and analyzed by Maxar. In an accompanying note, Maxar said the deployments "reflect an increased level of activity and readiness."

Allegations of worker exploitation at ‘world’s greatest show’ in Dubai

Migrant workers employed at Expo 2020 allege confiscated passports, racial discrimination and withheld wages

Pete Pattisson

Wed 2 Feb 2022 14.00 GMT

Security guards, cleaners and hospitality staff at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are allegedly working in highly abusive conditions that may amount to forced labour, according to a human rights group.

Migrant workers employed at the international fair in the UAE – taking place now after being delayed by Covid – allege they have been forced to pay illegal recruitment fees, suffered racial discrimination and had wages withheld and passports confiscated, said the report by Equidem.

Dubbed the “world’s greatest show”, Expo 2020 hosts 192 national pavilions, showcasing the latest ideas in technology and sustainability. Organisers hope to see 25 million visitors during the course of the fair, which opened in October 2021 and runs to March 2022.

‘Hypocritical’ Britain to blame for every Channel migrant drowning, says Macron

French president vows to ‘step up the pressure’ on UK but Priti Patel brands his comments ‘absolutely wrong’

Holly Bancroft

Emmanuel Macron has said Britain bears the responsibility for all migrant deaths in the Channel and accused Westminster of ‘hypocrisy’.

Speaking to the regional French newspaper La Voix du Nord, President Macron said he will “step up” the pressure on Boris Johnson to establish a legal route to Britain for asylum seekers - something Westminster has so far declined to do.

“The responsibility for those who die at sea does not fall upon France but upon this British refusal,” Mr Macron said.

Global warming causing early plant blooms, UK scientists warn

Herbs are among the plants quickly adapting to warmer temperatures by releasing flowers a month earlier. However, early blooms in late winter can leave plants vulnerable to frost damage and disrupt animal feeding cycles.

Scientists in the UK on Wednesday said rising temperatures were causing some plants to flower almost a month earlier, which poses a risk of frost damage and disrupted feeding cycles for animals. 

A study done by researchers at the University of Cambridge observed more than 400,000 bloom recordings of 406 tree, shrub, herb and climbing plant species across the United Kingdom. They found the average date of first flowering between 1987 to 2019 is 30 days earlier than the average date from 1753 to 1986.

The flowering patterns were kept in a database called "Nature's Calendar," which contains observations by scientists, naturalists, and amateur and professional gardeners going back over 200 years.  

FEARING CORRUPTION CHARGES, HONDURAN DEFENSE MINISTER REQUESTS ASYLUM FROM BIDEN

As the left resumes power with President Xiomara Castro’s inauguration, the official seeks shelter in the United States.

Ken Klippenstein

HONDURAS’S DEFENSE MINISTER quietly requested asylum from the U.S. government after the country elected a new leader in November, The Intercept has learned.

The defense minister, Gen. Fredy Díaz, said that he fears being charged with corruption by the newly elected democratic socialist President Xiomara Castro, especially considering the role the Honduran military played in the coup that ousted her husband, former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, according to a source whose knowledge of the matter was verified by The Intercept. In light of Zelaya’s expulsion from the presidency — and the country — by the Honduran army in 2009, Castro’s landslide victory on November 28 of last year stunned many in the international community. During her campaign, Castro vowed to “pull Honduras out of the abyss we have been buried in by neoliberalism,” reflecting the stance taken by Zelaya, who was critical of the U.S. role in the region.

‘Very hush-hush’: Borneo’s $80bn carbon deal stokes controversy

Figures behind the deal include a politician linked to deforestation in the 1990s and an associate named in the Panama Papers.

By Ian Neubauer

Published On 2 Feb 20222 Feb 2022

A politician linked to wide-scale deforestation in the 1990s and his Panama Papers-named associate, a Singaporean shell company, and the owner of an agricultural consultancy in Australia are among the figures behind a controversial carbon trading deal worth an estimated $80bn in Borneo.

The Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) ostensibly protects 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of jungle in the Malaysian state of Sabah from logging for the next 100 years.