Six In The Morning Sunday 1 May 2022

 

"Everyone Here Is Like a Zombie, It's Terrible!"The Voices of Those Trapped in the Mariupol Steel Works

Resistance fighters, the wounded and families with children have been trapped in a steel works in Mariupol for weeks. Shocking reports from the people trapped inside are now trickling out. Many fear they won’t survive the siege.

By Ullrich Fichtner, Katja Lutska, Alexandra Rojkov und Thore Schröder

The book on war crimes is growing longer this spring, page by page, and there will ultimately be an entire chapter called "Mariupol."

In the steel factory in the city on the coast of the Sea of Azov, hundreds, and possibly even thousands, of people are trapped, under almost constant attack by Russian troops. From the sea. From the ground. And apparently also with bunker-buster bombs from the air.

The steel factory is called Azovstal, an industrial facility spread out across eight square kilometers that is completely inscrutable to the layperson, a sprawling collection of structures beneath whisps of smoke, even in times of peace. Beneath the compound is a maze of shafts, tunnels and bunkers, in which the final remaining defenders of Mariupol are now making their last stand.

Sydney Olympics were bought ‘to a large extent’, said Australian official John Coates

Exclusive by Ed Aarons and Romain Molina

John Coates, the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee and outgoing president of the Australian National Olympic Committee, said “to a large extent” that Sydney was awarded the summer Olympic Games in 2000 because it “bought the Games”.

In extracts from a recently discovered hour-long interview in 2008, Coates revealed that he offered payments to two African National Olympic Committees who were represented on the IOC panel in exchange for their votes in 1993.

Coates, who is also the president of the court of arbitration for sport, was cleared of any wrongdoing in 1999 in respect to this by an independent report by the auditor Tom Sheridan after it was alleged that this amounted to him offering bribes in exchange for votes. Sheridan said the payments were not offered directly to the IOC members and also criticised the IOC guidelines for bidding cities as unworkable.

Family of 'Hotel Rwanda' hero files $400 million US lawsuit against Kigali

The family of "Hotel Rwanda" hero Paul Rusesabagina announced Saturday that it has filed a $400 million lawsuit in the United States over his alleged abduction and torture.  

Rusesabagina is currently serving a 25-year prison term on terrorism charges after a trial his supporters say was a sham and riddled with irregularities.

"The complaint alleges that the Government of Rwanda and high-ranking Rwandan officials conspired to facilitate and execute an elaborate plot to lure Paul Rusesabagina from his home in Texas to Rwanda, where he would be tortured and illegally detained for the remainder of his life," the family and his lawyers said in a statement. 

Taliban supreme leader makes rare appearance to mark Eid al-Fitr

Haibatullah Akhunzada appeared for only the second time since taking control of the Taliban in 2016 and hailed the ‘security’ situation in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada appeared for only the second time since taking control of the Taliban in 2016 to tell worshippers celebrating Eid al-Fitr that the Taliban had achieved freedom and security since seizing power last year.

Flanked by security, Akhunzada spoke days after a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Kabul, killing more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers – the latest of a series of attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan during Ramadan.

Japanese firm develops AI system to catch shrine box donation thieves

A Japanese security firm has developed a system using artificial intelligence to detect thefts of cash contributions from shrines' offertory boxes and notify parishioners of incidents in real time.

Nagoya-based Trinity Inc hopes the new system to be launched this summer will lead to catching thieves red-handed at shrines, which are open 24 hours a day and often left unstaffed for long periods of time.

Many visitors to Japan's shrines leave cash offerings inside offertory boxes typically installed in front of the shrine's main building.

Beijing shuts Universal Studios, bans restaurant dining in major escalation of Covid restrictions

By Nectar Gan and CNN's Beijing Bureau

Updated 0524 GMT (1324 HKT) May 1, 2022

Beijing has banned all restaurant dining, shut down Universal Studios and ordered residents to provide proof of a negative Covid test to enter public venues in a major escalation of restrictions as a five-day holiday gets underway.

The Labor Day holiday, which started on Saturday this year, has traditionally been a busy time for mass travel and gatherings in China. But there is little holiday spirit this year, as the Chinese government doubles down on its zero-Covid policy to fight the country's worst outbreak since Wuhan.

Many local governments have ordered residents not to leave their cities unless absolutely necessary and have imposed lengthy quarantine requirements for people coming from areas where Covid cases have been reported. The Chinese Transport Ministry expects 100 million journeys to be made over the holiday -- a 62 percent plunge from last year.