Six In The Morning Monday 26 September 2022

 

Deadly gun attack at Russian school

By Merlyn Thomas
BBC News

A gunman has opened fire at a school in central Russia, killing at least 15 people and injuring 24, Russian officials say.

The victims include 11 children at the school of about 1,000 pupils in the city of Izhevsk.

The gunman killed himself at the scene and was a former pupil of the school.

Videos posted online appear to show panic inside the building where the shooting took place, with children and adults running along corridors.

Iran protests: at least 450 arrested in northern province

Amnesty says at least four children among those killed by state forces since start of protests over woman’s death in custody

Weronika Strzyżyńska

At least 450 people have been arrested in Mazandaran, a northern province of Iran, during the last 10 days of protests, according to the province’s chief prosecutor.

Protests sparked by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini have spread across the country. They have been met with internet shutdowns and violent repression.

The official death toll in the unrest is 41, and human rights groups say the true number may be higher.

Cuba approves same-sex marriage, adoption

Cuban communist leaders applauded the result of a nationwide referendum, which upends decades of discrimination. The move was opposed by conservative Christians in the Catholic and evangelical communities.

Cubans voted to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption, allowing surrogate pregnancies and giving greater rights to non-biological parents, electoral authorities said on Monday.

Preliminary results of a referendum held over the weekend ndicated an "irreversible trend," with by 66.9% to 33.1% in favor of a package of measures, electoral council president Alina Balseiro said on state television.

"The Family Code has been ratified by the people," she said.

Senior Central African rebel leader on trial at ICC

A former Central African Republic rebel commander pleaded not guilty at the International Criminal Court on Monday (September 26) at the start of his trial on charges of "awful" war crimes. FRANCE 24's Fernande Van Tets tells us more.

7 schools near Abe state funeral site to close for safety reasons

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

September 26, 2022 at 16:45 JST

Seven public schools in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward will be closed on Sept. 27 to ensure the safety of the children during the state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The ward’s education board issued a notice to all 19 public schools and kindergartens in the ward as of Sept. 15 to take steps because “chaos and overcrowded public transportation are expected in all areas in the ward” on the day of the funeral.

The board did not specifically name schools, but it urged those close to Nippon Budokan Hall, the venue for the funeral, to shorten their school hours or offer classes online for the safety of children.

Why Elon Musk’s Starlink will not affect protests in Iran

So far the only effect of Starlink’s ‘activation’ has been indirectly helping spread malware on Iranian devices.

By Maziar Motamedi

Published On 26 Sep 202226 Sep 2022

 “Activating Starlink.”

That is how billionaire Elon Musk generated headlines last week as he often does, in a few terse words on Twitter. This time, he was referring to the ongoing protests in Iran.

He was making a promise to allow Iranians affected by state-imposed internet restrictions to use his satellite internet network operated by SpaceX. And the United States government said it would support his efforts by easing its sanctions on Iran by promoting the free use of the internet and issuing the necessary permits to make the process work.