Monday, June 20, 2022

Six In The Morning Monday 20 June 2022

 

Africa has been "taken hostage" by Russia’s war against Ukraine, Zelensky says


Addressing the African Union Commission via video link on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Africa has been “taken hostage by those who started the war against our country.”

Zelensky warned the global food crisis will continue “as long as this colonizing war goes on,” affecting the lives of as many as 400 million people all over the world who depend on Ukrainian exports.

“Our main task right now is to eliminate the threat of famine. In the 21st century this threat simply cannot be, thanks to Ukraine and thanks to our agrarian industry,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for the Russia’s war, you would be in a different situation right now – in a totally secure situation. Therefore, to avoid famine, the attempts of countries like Russia to return the colonial policy of landgrabs has to come to an end,” Zelensky said.



Russian emails appear to show ‘network’ holding $4.5bn assets linked to Putin


Exclusive: Questions over palaces, vineyards and yachts run by entities that appear to be part of a cooperative

, Olesya Shmagun and Miranda Patrucic

Palaces, yachts and vineyards reportedly provided to Vladimir Putin by friends and oligarchs can now be linked to what appears to be an informal network holding assets worth more than $4.5bn (£3.7bn).

A digital paper trail appears to suggest that an array of holiday homes and other assets reportedly used by the Russian president, which according to available records belong to or have been owned by separate individuals, companies and charities, are linked through a common email domain name, LLCInvest.ru.

A snapshot of leaked email exchanges from last September further suggests directors and administrators associated with some of the separate entities that hold and manage these assets have discussed day-to-day business problems as if they were part of a single organisation.

Kazakhstan: Voters back reforms to reject founder's legacy

Kazakhstan's voters appear to have backed reforms that remove powers from the president and end privileges enjoyed by former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev.


Kazakh voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional changes that ostensibly end former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev's three-decade grip on power in the country, election authorities said on Monday.

The reforms for a "New Kazakhstan" has come from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev — Nazarbayev's hand-picked successor — in the wake of violence earlier this year. 


Francia Marquez: From maid to Colombia’s first Black vice president

When Colombians elected their first leftist president ever on Sunday, they also elected the country’s first Black vice president: Francia Marquez, a single mother who worked as a maid before challenging international mining interests as a fiery environmentalist. Her victory marks a turning point in a country plagued by social inequalities and historically governed by conservative elites. 

On the campaign trail, she was exuberant and unabashedly dazzling. In brightly coloured Afro-Colombian garments teamed with big jewellery, Francia Marquez embraced her identity, challenged the status quo and proposed a brighter future.  

"It's time to move from resistance to power," the 40-year-old candidate would chant, raising her fist – with a smile.  

More than 100 killed in Ethiopia’s Oromia region: Witnesses


Witnesses say more than 200 people killed in the attacked blamed on the OLA rebels, but no official confirmation on casualty yet.

More than 100 people, mostly from the Amhara ethnic group, have been killed in an attack in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to witnesses, who blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for one of the deadliest attacks in recent memory.

However, two other witnesses said more than 200 people have been killed. The regional government in Oromia confirmed the attack but did not give details about casualty figures. The central government in Addis Ababa could not be reached for comments.

World's largest freshwater fish found in Mekong, scientists say


By Grace Tsoi
BBC News

A 300kg (661lb) stingray caught in the Mekong river in Cambodia is the biggest freshwater fish ever documented, scientists say.

It unseated the previous record-holder, a 646lb (293kg) Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005.

There is no official record-keeping or database of the world's biggest freshwater fish.

The Mekong is rich in biodiversity but overfishing, dams and pollution threaten its fragile ecosystem.




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