Monday, October 31, 2022
Will Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine grain deal worsen hunger?
Moscow is accused of blackmail after suspending its participation in a grain export agreement.
How inflation and economic policy impact the work of US farmers
Farming in America has never been so expensive. Soaring energy costs also mean that farmers are losing money hand over fist running tractors and sprayers. Pricier agricultural inputs like fertilizers and chemicals are putting the squeeze on their margins too.Months ahead of the US midterm elections, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law - part of which was aimed at helping farmers weather the current economic crisis and build resiliency into the climate change-sensitive sector.
Shanghai Disney: Video shows crowds trapped in Covid lockdown at theme park
Video posted on social media shows crowds of people trapped inside Shanghai Disney.
Visitors in the theme park will not be allowed out until they can show a negative Covid-19 test.
The park closed its gates to comply with China's strict zero-Covid policy.
Six In The Morning Monday 31 October 2022
Russia’s war in Ukraine
Russian forces targeted key Ukrainian energy infrastructure with intense shelling on Monday, disrupting residents’ power and water ahead of a harsh winter.
Here are the latest developments:
- Critical infrastructure taken out: A spate of Russian strikes hit facilities in major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. While many residents were left without water and electricity, people in the capital told CNN that their spirits remained high.
- Ukraine intercepts attacks: At least 10 Russian missiles were shot down over Kyiv early Monday, according to a local official. Oleksii Kuleba, head of Kyiv region military administration, said the strikes “hit critical infrastructure targets” and two people had been injured – one seriously.
- Grain deal hits hurdles: A dozen vessels containing left Ukrainian ports on Monday, despite Moscow’s departure from the grain export deal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is determined to maintain the Black Sea grain initiative, which was brokered by Ankara and the United Nations.
- Global food crisis: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is “deliberately working to ensure starvation” following the Kremlin’s exit from the grain deal. The agreement was put in place to alleviate the effects of Russia’s invasion on a worsening global food crisis.
- Ukraine repels “fierce assault” from Russia: Ukrainian forces fought off a “fierce assault” by Russian troops in the eastern city of Donetsk on Sunday, according to Zelensky. Russian troops have continued a months-long attempt to seize strategically important parts of Ukraine’s east.
Bolsonaro remains silent after election defeat to Lula as key allies accept result
Brazil’s far-right president has yet to concede after receiving 58.2m votes to Lula’s 60.3m
Tom Phillips in São Paulo
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has fallen silent after his chastening election defeat to his leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
A stream of world leaders have stepped forward to recognize Lula’s stunning political comeback, including the US president, Joe Biden, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and China’s Communist party chief, Xi Jinping.
But Bolsonaro – a pro-dictatorship radical who has repeatedly hinted he might not accept defeat – has yet to concede.
Al-Shabab: Somalia's Islamist militant group
Car bombings by al-Shabab at the weekend claimed the lives of 100 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu, spotlighting one of Africa's deadliest insurgencies. But who is the group? And what does it seek to achieve?
According to analysts, al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI, or "Unity of Islam"), a militant Salafi group, was the forerunner of al-Shabab and gave birth to many of its leaders back in the 1990s.
Al-Shabab, which means "the Youth," aims to establish a strict interpretation of Shariah law across Somalia. It has previously carried out public stoning and amputations of suspected adulterers and thieves. In addition, the group prohibits the shaving of beards for men and has banned entertainment through music and movies.
Indian police arrest nine in connection with deadly bridge collapse
Nine people were arrested Monday in connection with the collapse of a pedestrian bridge in western India that killed at least 137 people, police said.
The nine – all associated with a company that maintained the bridge in Morbi -- were being investigated for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, senior police officer Ashok Kumar Yadav said in a statement.
The bridge, which had reopened days earlier after months of renovation, collapsed on Sunday evening, sending hundreds tumbling into the river in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Embassy: 2 Japanese women among dead in Seoul stampede
By KIYOHIDE INADA/ Correspondent
October 31, 2022 at 13:28 JST
Two Japanese women were among the 26 foreign nationals confirmed dead in the Halloween party stampede in the downtown Itaewon district here on Oct. 29, the Japanese Embassy said.
The death toll had risen to 154 as of the morning of Oct. 31, the South Korean government said, adding that 103 of the fatalities were people in their 20s, 30 were in their 30s, and 11 were teenagers.
Thirty-three of the 149 injured in the crush were in serious condition, the government said.
Shanghai Disney: Visitors unable to leave without negative Covid test as park shuts
Shanghai Disney has become the latest high-profile venue to shut its gates thanks to China's strict zero-Covid policy, trapping visitors inside.
People have been told they will not be allowed out of the theme park until they can show a negative test.
It comes after Shanghai reported 10 locally transmitted cases on Saturday.
China's controversial zero-Covid policy has already seen millions of people repeatedly locked down, sometimes in unusual locations.
The sudden nature lockdowns have seen people fleeing shops - including a Shanghai branch of Swedish furniture giant Ikea - and workplaces as they try to avoid being trapped inside.
Sunday, October 30, 2022
The Right Frequency: Is talk radio dividing America?
In a Listening Post special, Flo Phillips travels across the US to ask what role conservative talk radio is playing in polarising American politics.
Poland's abortion ban lands woman in court | Focus on Europe
Justyna Wydrzynska faces three years in prison for sharing abortion pills with a pregnant woman in Poland. The state is cracking down ever harder on women who are resisting Poland's restrictive anti-abortion laws.
Chennai: The Indian man who makes quirky bicycles from scraps
ajendran, from Chennai city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has been fascinated with bicycles since he was boy.
Now 57 and working in a lathe workshop, he's channelled his passion into designing his own bicycles from scrap metal.
Rajendran's latest invention - designed to run without a chain - took him a year and a half and 60,000 rupees ($728.8; £630.2) to make.
He can often be seen riding his creations down the streets of Chennai to introduce them to people.
Why China’s ex-leader was escorted out of Communist Party congress - BBC News
China’s former leader Hu Jintao was led out of the Communist Party congress in Beijing, shortly after reporters were allowed in. The unexpected moment led to intense speculation.
Six In The Morning Sunday 30 October 2022
South Korea mourns after Halloween crush kills 154
Survivor: 'People were suffocating, screaming... falling'
Survivors have been speaking of their horror at watching friends and strangers suffocate in an alleyway as dance music blared into the night.
"People began pushing from behind, it was like a wave - there was nothing you could do," said Nuhyil Ahammed.
"I couldn't sleep last night. I can still see people dying in front of me."
The 32-year-old had been caught in the crush and says there was nothing anyone could have done to save others or themselves.
Nuhyil, an IT worker who lives in Seoul, said he had attended the Halloween party here for the last five years.
Summary
- 154 people have died in a crush in South Korea's capital, Seoul
- Another 133 were injured, Yonhap news agency reports
- Twenty foreign nationals are among the dead, the government says
- The jam of people developed as huge crowds gathered in Itaewon - a popular nightlife area - for Halloween
- Most victims were teenagers and adults in their 20s, the fire service says
- Reports say the crush began in a narrow alley when people in a crowd fell over
- It was the first outdoor no-mask Halloween event since the pandemic
China braces for wave of workers fleeing iPhone factory in Covid-hit Zhengzhou
Cities near to the Foxconn plant have drawn up plans to isolate migrant workers who are returning to home
Agencies
Cities in central China have hastily drawn up plans to isolate migrant workers fleeing to their home towns from the country’s largest iPhone factory, amid fears they will spread coronavirus after leaving the plant in Covid-hit Zhengzhou.
Videos shared on Chinese social media showed people who are allegedly workers at the Foxconn plant climbing over fences and carrying their belongings along a road. It was previously reported that a number of workers had been placed under quarantine because of an outbreak of the disease.
Foxconn, a supplier to Apple that is headquartered in Taiwan, has about 200,000 workers at the Zhengzhou complex. It has not disclosed the number of infected workers, nor the number who have left, but said on Sunday that it would not stop them from departing.
Oil and gas giants making record profits during Ukraine war ‘given unprecedented access to EU leaders’
Exclusive: European Commission has held more than 100 meetings with fossil fuel representatives this year, anti-lobbying groups say
Oil and gas giants have enjoyed “unprecedented” access to European leaders while raking in record profits since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, campaigners have warned.
Lobbying watchdogs allege in a new report that fossil fuel firms have successfully used this “privileged access” and capitalised on divisions among member states in order to “delay and minimise any genuine political intervention” to keep soaring energy costs in check.
Energy giants have also “used the crisis to their own advantage by forcing” the European Union into more infrastructure investments, locking consumers into “a spiral of skyrocketing energy prices, fossil fuel addiction and climate disaster”, the groups claim.
Iran journalists demand release of jailed colleagues
Dozens of journalists have been arrested during widespread protests that were triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
More than 300 Iranian journalists on Sunday called for the release of colleagues who were detained amid nationwide demonstrations.
They signed a statement published in the Iranian Etemad and other newspapers in which they accused authorities of arresting members of the press and "stripping them of their civil rights."
"They did not have access to their lawyers, they were interrogated and charged before holding a public hearing," the statement said.
Brazil votes in heated Bolsonaro-Lula presidential runoff
Brazilians vote Sunday in a polarizing presidential runoff election that pits an incumbent vowing to safeguard conservative Christian values against a former president promising to return the country to a more prosperous past.
The runoff shaped up as a close contest between President Jair Bolsonaro and his political nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both are well-known, divisive political figures who stir passion as much as loathing.
Bolsonaro was first in line to cast his vote at a military complex in Rio de Janeiro. He sported the green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag that always feature at his rallies.
At least 30 people killed in bridge collapse in India: Reports
The 230-metre bridge was built during British rule in the 19th century and was recently reopened to the public after renovations.
At least 30 people were killed and dozens critically injured when a suspension bridge in India’s western Gujarat state collapsed on Sunday.
“We can confirm that 30 people have lost their lives, many have been rescued from the river, and some are still missing,” said Amit Jhala, a senior administrator at the state-run hospital to where victims were taken.
More than 400 people were on the bridge over the Machhu River in the town of Morbi at the time of the collapse, local TV channel Zee News reported.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Environmentalists in danger
The fight against the destruction of nature is a dangerous one. Around the globe, people are risking their lives to protect the environment and climate. When environmentalists’ activities disrupt organized crime and other illegal profiteers, they are sued, threatened and even murdered.
Iran's Guards chief warns protesters: 'Today is last day of riots'
The head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their fierce crackdown on unrest sweeping the country.
South Korea Halloween crush: Video shows panic as crowd surges
Scores of people have died in a crush among huge Halloween crowds in a popular area of South Korea's capital.
Videos from the scene show people struggling in dense crowds and emergency workers attending.
Six In The Morning Saturday 29 October 2022
Many feared dead in South Korea Halloween crush
By Merlyn Thomas
BBC News
Dozens of people are reported to be in cardiac arrest in a popular night spot in South Korea's capital, Seoul.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol ordered a disaster response team to Itaewon, Yongsan-gu district.
The fire department said there had been 81 reports of "shortness of breath" amid reports of a crush.
There were reportedly 100,000 night revellers in the area celebrating the first outdoor no-mask Halloween event since the pandemic.
In South Korea, local medical officials are likely to say only that someone is in "cardiac arrest" until there is an official announcement of death by a doctor.
Crowded area 'felt unsafe'
There were reportedly 100,000 revellers in the area celebrating the first outdoor no-mask Halloween event since the pandemic.
Social media messages posted earlier in the evening show some people remarking that the Itaewon area was so crowded that it felt unsafe.
Xi invokes Mao in trip to Communist 'holy' sites
Days after securing an unprecedented third term in power, Xi Jinping joined high-ranking Communist Party leaders in a tour of the revolution's most important historical sites.
China's President Xi Jinping chose the Communist Party heartland of Yan'an for his first group outing with the country's newly-appointed top brass this week.
During the trip, the leaders donned matching navy windbreakers while Xi invoked the legacy of Mao Zedong, who established the People's Republic of China in 1949.
The trip came just days after the landmark 20th Communist Party congress where Xi enshrined his "core position" within the party and took on a third consecutive term as leader.
Iran's Guards chief warns protesters: 'Today is last day of riots'
The head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their fierce crackdown on unrest sweeping the country.
Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police last month, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.
"Do not come to the streets! Today is the last day of the riots," Guards commander Hossein Salami said in some of the toughest language used in the crisis, which Iran's clerical leadership blames on its foreign enemies including Israel and the United States.
‘Scores of casualties’ after twin blasts in Somalia’s capital
A vehicle loaded with explosives is driven into the education ministry compound in Mogadishu and is followed by gunfire.
Twin car bombings rocked Somalia’s education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, causing “scores of casualties”, police said.
A vehicle loaded with explosives was driven into the ministry compound and was followed by gunfire, police officer Ibrahim Mohamed said.
“In a few minutes another blast occurred in the same area,” he said.
Haitian politician shot dead, as violent gangs and political turmoil push country to the ‘edge of collapse’
A Haitian politician has been shot dead outside his home, authorities have said, as international concerns intensify over the gang violence, political turmoil and humanitarian crises that have seized control of the country.
Eric Jean Baptiste was killed on Friday night outside his home in the capital Port-au-Prince, local police told CNN.
He was the leader of the Rally of Progressive National Democrats Party (RNDP), a minor political party in Haiti, and launched a longshot presidential bid in 2016.
A security guard was also killed in the attack, the police spokesperson said. Baptiste survived an earlier attempt on his life in 2018, escaping with a bullet wound.
Pokémon still going: Taiwan’s love affair with the game the world forgot
Global use of Pokémon Go has plummeted, but its popularity remains undimmed among Taiwan’s young and old
by Helen Davidson and Chi Hui Lin in Taipei, photographs by An Rong Xu
We can’t show you Tsai’s face. The 52-year-old is busily swiping away at six phones in a custom-built usher-style tray. Charging cords snake off into a backpack full of powerbanks. The elaborate setup is designed to maximise his Pokémon Go experience, ensuring he’s always in hunt-mode.
Tsai started in 2016 with just one phone, but says six is the perfect number to avoid waiting for his device to process all the “boring” bells and whistles each time he catches one of the virtual creatures.
He’s excited to talk to us, Tsai says without looking up, and ordinarily he’d be happy to pose. But he came to Taipei from Kaohsiung 350km away and his wife thinks he’s on a work trip.
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