Thursday, October 20, 2022

Six In The Morning Thursday 20 October 2022

 

Liz Truss resigns as PM, with new leader by next Friday

Lib Dems: Tory MPs must block Johnson’s return

The Liberal Democrats are calling for Boris Johnson to be barred from standing in the Conservative Leadership election and returning to Number 10.

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper MP said:

Quote Message: The fact that Conservative MPs are even considering putting Boris Johnson back in Number 10 shows how out of touch they really are. They think there’s one rule for them and another for everyone else.

Boris Johnson was forced to resign in disgrace after countless lies, scandals and failures. He shattered public trust in the government and plunged the UK into a political crisis. He must never be allowed near Downing Street again.

The future of our country should be in the hands of voters, not the Conservative MPs who have caused all this chaos.

Summary

  1. Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party
  2. Speaking outside Downing Street, she said she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected
  3. It kickstarts a contest to find the next Tory leader and PM - which should produce a result by next Friday
  4. The newly-appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt rules himself out. But Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are seen as contenders
  5. Sources close to former PM Boris Johnson do not confirm or deny speculation he will stand again
  6. Truss's departure after 45 days in office makes her the shortest-serving PM in UK history
  7. Her now-abandoned September mini-budget started the turmoil; a chaotic night in the Commons on Wednesday sealed her fate



China using influencers to whitewash human rights abuses, report find



Social media videos by people from the Uyghur community are part of a sophisticated propaganda campaign, thinktank says


 in Taipei

The Chinese Communist party is using social media influencers from troubled regions like Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia to whitewash human rights abuses through an increasingly sophisticated propaganda campaign, a report has claimed.

The report published on Thursday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), described the videos by “frontier influencers” as a growing part of Beijing’s “propaganda arsenal”.

Under the increasingly authoritarian rule of Xi Jinping, the CCP’s oppression of ethnic minorities has worsened, with major crackdowns in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Global condemnation has mounted, with a recent United Nations report finding there was a likelihood it was committing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has vociferously denied accusations it has detained an estimated 1 million people in re-education camps and suppressed religious and cultural activities, saying the policies are to counter extremism and alleviate poverty.


France repatriates 55 citizens including 40 children from Syrian camps in major operation

Repatriation comes after France was condemned for violating Isis fighter’s families’ right to return



France carried out a major operation to bring back 55 of its nationals, including 40 children and 15 women, from camps in former Isis-controlled areas in northeastern Syria.

The latest repatriation operation comes almost a month after Europe’s top human rights court, in a landmark ruling, reprimanded France for refusing to bring home the families of two Isis fighters.

The children were handed over to child care services where they will undergo medical and social follow-ups, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The women will be transferred to the judicial authorities.

Protests erupt in N'Djamena amid anger over junta's rule

Chadians are outraged over junta ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby's second swearing-in as president. The demonstration comes on the date when the military originally promised to cede power to civilians.

Pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with police in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, on Thursday, defying a government ban. 

What do we know so far? 

The demonstrations occurred on the date when the military originally promised it would cede power to civilians.

Several parts of N'Djamena were barricaded, with police reportedly firing smoke and tear gas at protesters.


Bangladesh: Floating farms provide lifeline as waters rise


With frequent flooding and rising sea waters brought on by climate change, farmers in Bangladesh are increasingly turning towards the 200-year-old practice of using floating rafts to grow crops in water-logged fields.


Afghan women’s long and hard struggle for the right to divorce


Women had struggled long and hard for the right to divorce, but since the Taliban returned to power last year, the situation worsened.



After years of abuse at the hands of her husband, 32-year-old Bano gathered the courage last year to file for divorce in northeastern Afghanistan.

“For four years, he beat me every day and raped me every night,” she told Al Jazeera, requesting that her name be changed because she is in hiding from her abuser. “If I resisted, he would beat me more.”

Devastation on Ukraine’s eastern front, where the notorious Wagner group is making gains

Updated 5:47 AM EDT, Thu October 20, 2022


The weather in Bakhmut deceives the senses, sunny and warm – almost peaceful.

But a deafening boom of outgoing artillery from the critical eastern Ukrainian town shook that notion out of the system, as Ukrainian soldiers on Wednesday launched offensives to try to reclaim positions from Russian forces.

Three men could be seen making a run for it out of town, one with a microwave strapped to his back.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has been going on for eight months. It’s only when you descend into the city of Bakhmut that you really get a sense of the devastation and destitution that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has wrought.







No comments:

Translate