Six In The Morning Thursday 24 March 2022

Russian warship destroyed in occupied port of Berdyansk, says Ukraine

 

A Russian landing ship has been destroyed and two other vessels have been damaged in the occupied Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk, say Ukrainian officials.

The Ukrainian military posted footage early on Thursday and said the Orsk had been hit by its forces.

Details of what caused the explosion and fire on board the ship are unclear.

Berdyansk, which is west of the besieged port of Mariupol, was seized four days after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia says it has used the port as a base to ferry in equipment for its troops.

Russian army TV hailed the arrival of the Orsk in Berdyansk last week as an "epic event" as it was the first Russian warship to dock there.

Ethiopian government declares Tigray truce to let aid in

Announcement, which follows US envoy’s visit, comes with 90% of Tigrayans in need of food aid

Reuters in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia’s government has declared an immediate truce with rebellious Tigrayan forces to allow aid into the war-ravaged northern province.

A spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces did not respond to a request for comment on the announcement on Thursday, which follows a visit by the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this week.

More than 90% of 5.5 million Tigrayans need food aid, according to the United Nations, but only a tiny trickle has entered since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Tigray at the end of June last year. The 16-month-old conflict has pitted Tigray’s rulers – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – against the central government led by the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.

Lessons from online investigators in Syria help Ukraine

Researchers spent years collecting evidence of Russian war crimes in Syria, using everything from social media to satellite images. Open-source research has evolved. Could it help bring justice to Ukraine faster?

Russian attacks on Ukraine bear many similarities to those witnessed in Syria. In both countries, Russian bombs have hit civilian infrastructure, schools and kindergartens, hospitals and markets. Some of these incidents may qualify as war crimes under international humanitarian law.

In Ukraine and Syria, such incidents are being tracked by open-source researchers. The community of amateur and professional online investigators use freely available information — hence the name "open source" — to collect and verify a broad spectrum of incidents.

Biodiversity loss threatens economic stability: central banks report

Central banks have underestimated the significant threat posed by biodiversity loss, a new report said Thursday, warning that financial institutions and businesses were destroying the natural assets that they depend on.

While climate change is increasingly factored into calculations of systemic economic risks, the report by central bankers, financial supervisors and academics said the comparable threats from the biodiversity crisis had only recently begun to be appreciated.

"Biodiversity supports all life on our planet," said Ravi Menon, chairman of the Central Banks and Supervisors' Network for Greening the Financial System, in his foreword to the report.

N. Korea fires ICBM, breaks self-imposed moratorium

S. Korean military launches own missiles to show ability to punish North

By Ji Da-gyum

North Korea on Thursday fired an intercontinental ballistic missile after more than a four-year hiatus, breaking its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests.

Pyongyang launched an ICBM-class projectile that flew more than one hour and 10 minutes toward the East Sea at 2:34 p.m. from the Sunan area of the capital city Pyongyang.

The ICBM flew around 1,080 kilometers at an altitude of 6200 km or higher, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that the missile is presumed to have been fired at a high angle and with a lofted trajectory.

Legal protection urged for teens forced to appear in adult videos

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

March 24, 2022 at 18:15 JST

A cross-party group of lawmakers is racing to draft legislation to allow 18- and 19-year-olds to cancel contracts for appearing in adult videos that they signed against their will.

Advocates for the new legislation gathered in the Diet building on March 23 to call for ensuring teenagers legal protections against this kind of extortion. People aged 18 and 19 are currently protected against this exploitation under the Civil Law, but are about to unintentionally lose that protection when the age of adulthood changes.

Japan will lower the legal age of adulthood to 18 from 20 starting in April, in a major shift that will have significant implications for 18- and 19-year-olds.