Sunday, July 31, 2022
Julian Assange: The threat of extradition and politics behind it
The case against Julian Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, the social media influencers shaping Kenya’s election.
Red Cross claims to be barred from Ukrainian prison camp despite Russian invitation
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has not been granted access to the bombed out site of a prison camp where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a missile strike.
Six In The Morning Sunday 31 July 2022
This nation is scorching in a heat wave and wildfires, yet it's returning to planet-baking coal
Updated 1249 GMT (2049 HKT) July 31, 2022
Dimitris Mitsaris opens his garage door and the smell of fermenting grapes emerges, as the first morning light bounces off dozens of steel tanks. Mitsaris and his family live here, in Agios Panteleimonas, a mountainous village of just 800 residents in northern Greece, and have made their home into a small winery. "I don't even have electricity here yet," Mitsaris says with a laugh.
Heatwaves put classic Alpine hiking routes off-limits
Routes that are usually safe at this time of year now face hazards as a result of warmer temperatures
Agence France-Presse
Little snow cover and glaciers melting at an alarming rate in Europe’s heatwaves have put some classic Alpine hiking routes off-limits.
Usually at the height of summer tourists flock to the Alps and seek out well-trodden paths up to some of its peaks. But with warmer temperatures – which scientists say are driven by climate change – speeding up glacier melt and thawing permafrost, routes that are usually safe at this time of year now face hazards such as falling rocks released from the ice.
“Currently in the Alps, there are warnings for around a dozen peaks, including emblematic ones like Matterhorn and Mont Blanc,” said Pierre Mathey, the head of the Swiss mountain guide association.
The ugly truth about Nigeria's child trafficking
The trafficking of children in Nigeria for domestic service, sex work and forced surrogacy is rampant and lucrative. DW talks to two children about the horrors of their experiences.
Timipriye says her uncle's wife told her that they wanted to take her with them to Lagos, where she'd be taken care of and sent to university.
"With so many promises, I was very, very excited," she says, shyly, telling her story for the first time. "I immediately said I wanted to go with them."
At the time, Timipriye was 16 and living Nigeria's south, in a rural village about 350 kilometers (210 miles) from the bustling commercial capital, Lagos.
Several killed after UN peacekeepers open fire in eastern DR Congo
Two people have been killed and several others injured after UN peacekeepers opened fire during an incident in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on the Uganda border on Sunday, the UN said.
Video of the incident, shared on social media showed men, at least one in police uniform and another in army uniform, advancing towards the immobilised UN convoy behind a closed barrier in Kasindi. The town is in eastern DR Congo's Beni territory on the border with Uganda.
After a verbal exchange, the peacekeepers appeared to open fire before opening the gate, driving on and continuing to shoot while people scattered or hid.
Cover-Ups, Concealment and LiesClassified Report Reveals Full Extent of Frontex Scandal
The EU’s anti-fraud office has found that the European border agency covered up and helped to finance illegal pushbacks of asylum-seekers in Greece. The report, which DER SPIEGEL has obtained, puts pressure on the EU Commission – and could also spell trouble for Frontex's new leadership.
By Giorgos Christides und Steffen Lüdke
The contents of the investigative report from OLAF, the European Union’s anti-fraud agency, are classified. Members of the European Parliament are only granted access under strict security measures, and normal citizens are not allowed to see it. But Margaritis Schinas, the vice president of the European Commission, who is responsible, among other things, for migration, is allowed to. And perhaps he ought to do so as well. At the end of the day, it relates to a sensitive issue that also happens to fall within his area of responsibility.
Investigators have taken 129 pages to document the involvement of Frontex, the EU’s border agency, in the illegal activities of the Greek Coast Guard. Border guards systematically dump asylum-seekers adrift at sea in the Aegean – either in rickety boats or on inflatable life rafts. The investigators reviewed private emails and WhatsApp messages from Fabrice Leggeri, the former head of Frontex, and his team. They interviewed witnesses and seized documents and videos.
Taliban are enforcing their rule with a vengeance, veteran correspondent warns
“I really never expected to find it as bad and as awful as I did,” Lynne O’Donnell said after revealing she was forced to retract hard-hitting reports on the fundamentalist Islamic group.
By
Veteran Afghanistan correspondent Lynne O’Donnell says she has never seen the Taliban more brutal or the millions of people the austere fighters again govern more wretched.
“I really never expected to find it as bad and as awful as I did. It’s a very very sad, unhappy, traumatized, depressed place,” she said after revealing she was forced to retract hard-hitting reports on the fundamentalist Islamic group.
“They’re worse,” she said, commenting on the changes in the Taliban since their first time in power more than 20 years ago.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
The world of China’s President Xi Jinping
President Xi Jinping wants to establish the People's Republic of China as the leading world power of tomorrow. Never before has China been so successful and pursued such ambitious goals.
The town destroyed to make way for a whites-only suburb
On 9 February 1955 apartheid South Africa forcibly evicted residents from Sophiatown, a multi-racial suburb in Johannesburg. 65,000 people were ‘removed’ and Sophiatown was demolished and turned into a whites-only neighbourhood called Triomf.
Elizabeth Nobathane was a child at the time and shares her memories of the night soldiers arrived to move her family to a segregated new township called Meadowlands, 13 miles outside of Johannesburg.
Taliban oppression escalates, destroying women's lives in Afghanistan
In a new report titled "Death in Slow Motion," human rights group Amnesty International says the "suffocating crackdown against Afghanistan's female population is increasing day by day."
Six In The Morning Saturday 30 July 2022
Ukraine condemns Russia's 'humiliating death' tweet after prison attack
Ukraine has labelled Russia a "terrorist state" after Moscow's UK embassy tweeted that Ukrainian Azov battalion soldiers deserved a "humiliating death" by hanging.
The embassy tweet came amid a row about the deaths of more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) held by Russia - Azov soldiers reportedly among them.
They died in an attack on Olenivka prison in Russian-held eastern Ukraine.
Twitter did not remove the tweet, but said it broke Twitter anti-hate rules.
Besides the Ukrainian government, many other Twitter users voiced outrage at the tweet. Twitter says it may be in the public interest to keep the post accessible.
‘Wake-up call’ for climate-sceptic Czechs as blaze devastates national park
Sentiment is shifting among politicians and public as beloved region of forested mountains goes up in flames
Robert Tait Prague
As wake-up calls go, this one had the distinction of early morning pungency. If the Czech Republic is to complete the journey from deep climate change scepticism to full recognition of the global heating crisis, history may record that the common experience of awakening to a pervading burning smell marked a turning point.
This was the sensation that greeted inhabitants of Prague and other towns and cities last Monday morning as smoke from a blaze that had broken out the previous day in Bohemian Switzerland, a storied forested area close to the German border, wafted across the country and seeped into the popular consciousness.
In scenes that Czechs previously associated with Hollywood disaster films or news footage from more southern climes, more than 400 firefighters spent the rest of the week trying to extinguish flames that spread over 1,200 hectares of the popular national park area, which was used as a location for the Chronicles of Narnia films.
India to ground last of its Russian fighters within three years over dismal crash record
In the last 20 months five pilots have been killed in six MiG-21 Bison crashes
India has decided to phase out the last of its Russian MiG-21 squadrons by 2025, after a trainee aircraft crashed on Thursday with two pilots onboard, making it the sixth crash in the last 20 months.
On Thursday a MiG-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in the Barmer in the Western state of Rajasthan.
Two pilots- Wing Commander M. Rana and Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal who were aboard the aircraft were killed, once again putting the spotlight on the ageing fleet.
North Koreans seeking escape worry about being pushed back by South
A case of two men who escaped North Korea only to be secretly sent back by South Korean authorities continues to worry would-be defectors to the South.
Recently inaugurated South Korean PresidentYoon Suk-yeol is requesting an investigation into the 2019 case of two North Korean defectors who were allegedly sent back without due process.
North Korean refugees who have made the perilous journey to the South say the case is widely known in the North and could dissuade future would-be defectors.
Video footage released in July shows the men struggling as they are forced toward the border at Panmunjom, with one man throwing himself to the floor.
Japanese soccer team fined ¥20 million because fans’ cheering violated COVID-19 guidelines
By SoraNews24
With regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan is in a bit of an awkward situation. Reported infections are currently at an all-time high, but for the most part it seems as if Japanese society is moving towards a post-pandemic lifestyle. This can result in a lot of conflicting opinions about proper social behavior, as we can see in the current case of the Urawa Reds.
The Urawa Reds (formally Urawa Red Diamonds) are a first-division J.League soccer club based in Saitama Prefecture, having both a long history and very devoted fan-base. So devoted, in fact, that their exuberant support has landed the club in hot water in the form of a 20 million yen fine from the J.League for violating the league’s COVID-19 safety rules against loud cheering during games.
Iraqi protesters storm parliament for second time in a week
Supporters of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr occupy parliament to prevent the nomination of a new PM.
Protesters have once again breached Iraq’s parliament in a show of support for influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, leaving at least 125 people injured and escalating a political standoff.
Saturday’s demonstration comes days after protesters stormed the legislative body and suspended a session to nominate a new prime minister.
Thousands of supporters rallied by al-Sadr and his Sadrist Movement tore down concrete barriers on Saturday and entered the Green Zone, which houses government departments and foreign missions, before breaking into parliament.
Friday, July 29, 2022
Is the world edging towards an ‘accidental’ nuclear war?
UK National Security Adviser warns of warfare due to communication breakdown between the West, Russia and China.
The Biggest LIE about Japan
Japan is one of the world's most misunderstood cultures. How healthy is the food really? Is the country a technological marvel? And how friendly is everyone in everyday life?
Study shows: Western sanctions take a heavy toll on Russia's economy | DW News
Researchers at Yale University say the Russian economy is suffering massive damage due to Western sanctions, despite Moscow downplaying the effect. The authors claim their work casts doubt on Moscow's claims that the economy remains robust and that the West is suffering more through "a war of economic attrition."
China accuses US of double standards over relations with Taiwan and Ukraine • FRANCE 24 English
China accused the United States of double standards at the United Nations on Friday for challenging Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan while emphasizing the principle of sovereignty for Ukraine after Russian forces invaded.
Six In The Morning Friday 29 July 2022
Russia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin's war effort in Ukraine
Updated 1400 GMT (2200 HKT) July 29, 2022
Days after Moscow launched its bloody war on Ukraine, a Russian cargo plane stood on a Khartoum runway, a strip of tarmac surrounded by red-orange sand. The aircraft's manifest stated it was loaded with cookies. Sudan rarely, if ever, exports cookies.
A heated debate transpired between officials in a back office of Khartoum International Airport. They feared that inspecting the plane would vex the country's increasingly pro-Russian military leadership. Multiple previous attempts to intercept suspicious Russian carriers had been stopped. Ultimately, however, the officials decided to board the plane.
Inside the hold, colorful boxes of cookies stretched out before them. Hidden just beneath were wooden crates of Sudan's most precious resource. Gold. Roughly one ton of it.
‘It’s barbaric’: UFC champion Francis Ngannou on being smuggled into Europe
The fighter knows the city on the Spain-Morocco border where 23 migrants were killed in June – he crossed there himself
Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
The bright lights of the Las Vegas strip shimmered in the background as Francis Ngannou clicked on the video. Scenes of horror filled his screen; scores of young men, many of them motionless, lying on the bloodstained ground. In one shot, a man lay prone as a Moroccan security officer appeared to beat him with a stick.
The UFC world heavyweight champion instantly recognised the spot along the Spain-Morocco border where the video had been shot. “I couldn’t sleep for two days,” he said.
The images, along with the news that at least 23 people were killed that day after 2,000 attempted to cross the border, played over and over in his mind. “I had to force myself to remember ‘you’re not there any more. Look around, you’re not there any more.’”
Egyptian activist: 'I am disappointed with German politicians'
Sanaa Seif, sister of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, one of Egypt's best-known dissidents, was recently in Berlin. She spoke to DW about her brother's hunger strike and Europe's double standards on Ukraine and the Middle East.
Sanaa Seif isn't allowed to disclose the names of all of the politicians she met with in Germany recently. Some of the lawmakers wanted to keep the meetings private.
That actually tells you a lot, explained the Egyptian 28-year-old, who has recently been touring Europe and the US, advocating for her brother, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, and promoting his recently published book.
"It doesn't make sense to me when I see German politicians shy away from talking about human rights," Seif told DW. "It's like they don't want to rock the boat."
Xi warns Biden not to ‘play with fire’ as two leaders agree to in-person meeting
President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to schedule their first in-person summit during a sometimes tense phone call Thursday where Xi warned the United States not to “play with fire” in Taiwan.
Although this was their fifth phone or video call since Biden took office a year and a half ago, the summit would be their first in-person meeting as leaders. No detail was given on the timing or location.
Biden and Xi “discussed the value of meeting face-to-face and agreed to have their teams follow up to find a mutually agreeable time to do so,” a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Japanese government urges businesses to raise wages on par with price hikes
Japan on Friday urged companies to raise wages on par with price hikes of around 2 percent, a level the central bank has set as its inflation target, so that the world's third-largest economy can complete its exit from deflation.
The government said in its Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finance that such an economy will block the country from falling into stagflation, at a time when the United States, Europe and others are suffering from price surges fanned by Russia's war against Ukraine.
It was the first such paper compiled under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who pledges to bring about "new capitalism," characterized by a virtuous cycle of growth and redistribution driven by investment into people.
A summer of bomb threats frightens Moldova as war rages nearby
Moldovans fear a Russian invasion as tensions between the breakaway region Transnistria and Chisinau heat up.
On July 5, Moldovan authorities were alerted via email that more than 50 state institutions had been mined that day.
It was the start of a summer of bomb threats.
Since then, more than 100 similar warnings have been sent to landmarks, including the Chisinau International Airport, parliament and government buildings, the Supreme Court, commercial centres, hospitals and churches around the country.
All were false alarms.
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