Thursday, July 14, 2022

Six In The Morning Thursday 14 July 2022

 


Sri Lanka on a knife-edge as Rajapaksa lands in Singapore

Country in state of emergency amid protests against president, who is reported to be heading for Saudi Arabia


 in Colombo


The Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has arrived in Singapore, with his final destination reported to be Saudi Arabia, as the beleaguered leader continues his pursuit of a safe haven.

Sri Lanka has been gripped by mass protests over its economic meltdown, and tensions remained on a knife-edge on Thursday, with a curfew imposed in the commercial capital of Colombo and military tanks deployed on the roads.

Rajapaksa – who remains immune from prosecution while still president – had promised to accede to protesters’ demands to resign, but his absence has left the country in political limbo.

Ukraine's new US rockets are causing fresh problems for Russia

Updated 1437 GMT (2237 HKT) July 14, 2022


There's a new and potentially very significant factor in the Ukrainian conflict: the Ukrainians' ability to use recently supplied Western systems to hit Russian command posts, logistical hubs and ammunition dumps a long way beyond the front lines.

In the past week, there have been enormous explosions in several occupied areas in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The available evidence, from satellite imagery and Western analysts, is that the targeting has been highly effective.
For months the Ukrainian military pleaded for long-range precision artillery and rocket systems from Western partners. Now they have them and are deploying them to considerable effect in both the south and east of the country.




‘The fires are still not under control’: Blazes continue to rage across Europe

Fires happening in France, Spain, Portugal and Croatia


Wildfires continued across Europe on Thursday with thousands of firefighters working to stop blazes spreading in several countries.

About 1,000 firefighters, supported by six water-bomber aircraft, were trying to bring under control two wildfires in southwestern France that have already burnt almost 4,000 hectares.

“The fires are still not under control, no casualties were reported” said the local authority for the Gironde department, where the blazes, which started on Tuesday, were raging.


Mali to suspend all new UN peacekeeping rotations for 'national security' reasons


Mali will from Thursday suspend all new rotations of the United Nations’ MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, including those already scheduled, for “national security” reasons, the foreign ministry said.

The suspension will last until a meeting is held to “facilitate the coordination and regulation” of the rotation of contingents, it said in a statement.

The announcement came four days after the Malian authorities arrested 49 Ivorian soldiers it later described as “mercenaries” intent on toppling the country’s military-led government.


Expert: Gun used to kill Abe made with careful calculations

TAIRA GOTO/ Staff Writer

July 14, 2022 at 16:29 JST


The homemade gun believed to have been used to kill former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears clunky and crude, but the creator clearly had considerable knowledge about weaponry, a firearms expert said.

Soichiro Takakura, 45, who has written for weapons publications and appeared on TV programs featuring guns, also said the sound in the video of the shooting was unlike any gunshot that he has heard before.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Abe. Photos of the suspect at the scene in Nara show him holding what appears to be a handmade gun that fired two shots at Abe.


For China’s nightlife scene, ‘zero COVID’ an unceasing ordeal

Many entertainment establishments across China remain closed months after the lifting of sweeping lockdowns.



 Ai Jing, a concert booker in Beijing, often feels like business never has a chance to pick up from the latest COVID-19 curbs before another round of restrictions brings operations grinding to a halt.

Ai, who runs the concert booking agency Haze Sounds, struggles to find musicians these days since a ban on live events in the capital introduced in April forced many of them out of the business.

Ai can hardly look to touring musicians either, as few are willing to make plans amid the constant risk of a sudden lockdown in any city where cases crop up.






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