Six In The Morning Thursday 7 July 2022

 

Ukraine war: Is the tank doomed?

By Frank Gardner
BBC security correspondent

Images of destroyed Russian tanks - the shattered hull, broken turret, gun barrel blackened and burnt, pointing uselessly at the sky - have been a defining image of the war in Ukraine. It has led some to ask whether modern anti-tank weapons have rendered tanks useless on the battlefield.

"This is a story that comes around every time a tank gets knocked out," says David Willey, curator and instructor at the Tank Museum at Bovington, Dorset, which boasts the world's largest collection of tanks. "Because the tank is such a symbol of power, when it's defeated people jump to the conclusion it's the end of the tank."

We are watching a Soviet-designed T-72 main battle tank rev its engine and clatter towards the refuelling point before rehearsing for a demonstration. This is basically the same tank model that rolled across the border into Ukraine in February and destroyed in their hundreds by small, agile bands of well-trained Ukrainian infantry wielding drones, Javelin and Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (Nlaws).

Venezuela Indigenous leader’s killing terrifies defenders of Amazon lands

Virgilio Trujillo Arana, who led community defense from criminal groups and illegal mining, was gunned down in broad daylight

Mie Hoejris Dahl in Caracas

Virgilio Trujillo Arana knew that he was risking his life by defending the Amazon lands on which his Indigenous Uwottuja community had lived for centuries.

“Whatever happens, happens,” he said, in a video recorded before his death. “[But] without land, we disappear. That’s why we defend our territories.”

Trujillo, 38, served as the coordinator of the Indigenous Territorial Guard in the Autana municipality, in the state of Amazonas in southern Venezuela. He was also the founder of Ayose Huyunami, a unit defending Indigenous lands from criminal groups and illegal mining.

Iran media: Revolutionary Guard accuses diplomats of spying

Iranian media reported on Wednesday that the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners of “espionage” and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones

Via AP news wire

Iranian media reported on Wednesday that the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of “espionage” and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones.

It was not immediately clear if the diplomat and other foreigners were detained. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not say when or whether they were currently in custody. Iran's state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground in restricted areas.

The news outlets said the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced “spying” charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out ballistic missile tests.

Why Russians are denouncing opponents of Ukraine invasion

Denunciations in Russia began soon after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. DW spoke with an anthropologist, a psychologist and a historian about people's motivations for turning dissidents in.

A father turns in his daughter because she is against the invasion of Ukraine. A man reports a co-worker to police after the two argue about the war. Another man lodges a complaint against a friend following a post on the social media network VKontakte mocking the letter "Z," which has been established as the symbol of the Kremlin's "special military operation" in Ukraine. In each case, denunciations were followed by police questioning, but none have led to trial.

Nevertheless, such denunciations can have grave consequences. In one of the most well-known cases, an elderly woman lodged a complaint about anti-war slogans printed on supermarket price tags. As a result, Sasha Skochilenko, the artist behind the tactic, sits in pretrial detention, facing up to 10 years in prison.

Haiti: One year since president’s killing, where do things stand?

Political deadlock and surging gang violence persist as Haiti marks one year since President Jovenel Moise’s killing.

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 7 Jul 20227 Jul 2022

One year ago, a band of armed mercenaries stormed the home of Jovenel Moise, killing the Haitian president and plunging the already fraught Caribbean nation into deeper political uncertainty.

Moise’s assassination on July 7, 2021 sent shock waves around the world, spurring calls for justice and accountability, and demands for a thorough investigation to determine who was ultimately behind the operation.

The president’s brazen killing also ushered in a fresh wave of gang violence in Haiti, which the United Nations human rights chief recently said has hit “unimaginable and intolerable” levels.

Last Muslim lawmaker leaves India's ruling party

By Rhea Mogul and Swati Gupta, CNN

Updated 0917 GMT (1717 HKT) July 7, 2022

The last remaining Muslim lawmaker in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has resigned, leaving the party without a single representative from the minority community among its 395 members of parliament.

Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned on Wednesday, one day before his term was expected to come to an end. The Indian parliament has nearly 800 lawmakers in total.

"My work in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) is over, but my political and social work will never be over," Naqvi told local news channel NDTV Thursday, without providing details over why he will not be seeking reelection.