Six in The Morning Wednesday 10 August 2022

 

China property crisis: Why homeowners stopped paying their mortgages

By Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent

"Construction stops, mortgage stops. Deliver homes and get repaid!"

That was one of the chants disgruntled apartment buyers in China used at a protest in June. But their ire over unfinished homes didn't stop at signs and chants.

Hundreds of them stopped paying their mortgages - a radical step for China, where dissent is not tolerated.

A young couple who moved to Zhengzhou in central China told the BBC that after receiving the down payment last year, the developer withdrew from the project and construction stalled.

Fate of ‘sleeping giant’ East Antarctic ice sheet ‘in our hands’ – study

Melting of the world’s biggest ice sheet would cause catastrophic sea level rise, but can be avoided with fast climate action

Damian Carrington Environment editor

The fate of the world’s biggest ice sheet rests in the hands of humanity, a new analysis has shown. If global heating is limited to 2C, the vast East Antarctic ice sheet should remain stable, but if the climate crisis drives temperatures higher, melting could drive up sea level by many metres.

The East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) holds the vast majority of Earth’s glacier ice. Sea levels would rise by 52 metres if it all melted. It was thought to be stable, but is now showing signs of vulnerability, the scientists said.

Kenya election: Provisional results show tight race amid low turnout

Official results have yet to be announced, but the two leading candidates are running neck and neck in results tallied by local media. Disappointingly, Tuesday's election witnessed a low voter turnout compared with 2017.

Preliminary results from Kenya's presidential election have shown a very tight race between the two main front-runners, Vice President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

At the time of publication, the Daily Nation, one of Kenya's highest circulation newspapers, had Ruto leading with 51% and Odinga with 48%. The other two candidates — George Wajackoyah and David Waihiga — had not managed to get past 1%.

In a tweet, Odinga's running mate Martha Karua urged supporters to remain patient.

Iraq cleric Sadr urges judiciary to dissolve parliament by end of next week

Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called on the country's judiciary to dissolve parliament by end of next week, threatening unspecific consequences if it does not do what he says.

The populist leader has helped inflame tensions in Iraq over the last two weeks by commanding thousands of followers to storm and occupy parliament, preventing the formation of a government nearly 10 months after elections.

His political opponents, mostly fellow Shi'ites backed by Iran, have refused to accede to Sadr's demands, raising fears of fresh unrest and violence in a conflict-weary Iraq.

Shrouded in secrecy for years, Russia’s Wagner Group opens up

The mysterious network of mercenaries is embracing an ever-public image as the war on Ukraine drags on.

By Niko Vorobyov

Published On 10 Aug 202210 Aug 2022

On paper, the Wagner Group, a Russian network providing fighters for hire, does not exist.

It does not file tax returns, its alleged backers deny any connection to it and officially, private military companies (PMCs) are illegal in Russia.

“Mercenaries have no official status, so they don’t have the same rights or guarantees as an official representative of the armed forces, and payment is only after completing a mission,” Marat Gabidullin told Al Jazeera. “You finish the mission, get paid and you can go on vacation.”

Let's talk about Covid-19 boosters

By Ivana Kottasová and Hafsa Khalil, CNN

Updated 1206 GMT (2006 HKT) August 10, 2022

There's been a lot of talk about Covid-19 booster shots in recent weeks.

It makes sense -- with colder months just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, public health authorities across the world are getting ready for a potential spike in coronavirus cases.

Getting people at risk of severe disease boosted is a big part of the plan. But guidance on who, when and how depends largely on who you ask.

Let's start with the basics: All adults should have had their first booster by now. The data shows clearly that an extra shot of an mRNA vaccine increases protection, including against severe disease.