Wednesday, November 30, 2022
China Covid protestors clash with riot police in hazmat suits
Riot police in hazmat suits have clashed with protesters in the city of Guangzhou, China.
Footage online shows police in white hazmat suits clutching riot shields to protect themselves from debris and glass thrown at them by protesters.
It follows a week of unrest over China's zero-Covid policy. The country has see a record number of new cases in recent days.
On Wednesday city officials said Covid restrictions would be relaxed in several districts.
Renewed clashes in China as authorities try to quell protests
Riot police and protesters clashed anew in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou, online videos showed on Wednesday, as rallies against strict lockdown regulations continue in China. Protesters' demands quickly escalated from anger over lockdown policies into calls for political freedom.
Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie dies at age 79
Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie has died at the age of 79, her family has said.
A statement on Facebook said: “On behalf of Christine McVie’s family, it is with a heavy heart we are informing you of Christine’s death.
“She passed away peacefully at hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness. She was in the company of her family. We kindly ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this extremely painful time and we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally. RIP Christine McVie.”
Six In The Morning Wednesday 30 November 2022
Envelope that exploded at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid was addressed to ambassador, officials say
From CNN's Al Goodman in Madrid
The envelope that exploded at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid Wednesday was addressed to Ambassador Serhii Pohoreltsev, according to a statement released by Spain’s Foreign Ministry.
Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares spoke to Pohoreltsev after the incident. The person injured was a Ukrainian worker, according to the same statement.
Albares, who is visiting Spanish troops at a NATO mission in Romania, extended his support and solidarity after the incident.
Covid restrictions lifted in Chinese city of Guangzhou after protests
Police still searching for protesters in other cities as top security body urges crackdown on ‘hostile forces’
Helen Davidson and agencies
Authorities have abruptly lifted Covid restrictions in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, where protesters scuffled with police on Tuesday night, as police searched for demonstrators in other cities and the country’s top security body called for a crackdown on “hostile forces”.
After days of extraordinary protests in the country that also prompted international demonstrations in solidarity, the US and Canada urged China not to harm or intimidate protesters opposing Covid-19 lockdowns.
On Wednesday afternoon, authorities suddenly announced a lifting of lockdowns in about half of the districts across the southern city of Guangzhou. Official announcements told local officials to variously remove “temporary control orders” and to redesignate areas as low risk. They also announced an end to mass PCR testing.
Jailed Belarus opposition figure ‘in intensive care’
Father says prominent Lukashenko critic was well when he last visited her in October
Belarus’s jailed opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova is in a serious but stable condition in intensive care following surgery, her allies say.
Ms Kolesnikova, 40, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2021 for her role in protests against the authoritarian regime of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko.
She was taken to hospital earlier this week but doctors did not share her diagnosis or any other details about the surgery.
Ms Kolesnikova’s Twitter account, run by her opposition colleagues, said she had been hospitalised and undergone surgery on 28 November.
Qatar minister wants 'more respect' from Germany's Habeck
Qatar's energy minister accused German Minister of Economy Robert Habeck of being disrespectful towards the country in an interview given to German newspaper Bild.
Earlier this month, Habeck said there must have been corruption involved in the World Cup going to Qatar.
"The idea to hold a football World Cup in Qatar, in that heat, has been simply daft all along and cannot be explained by anything else than corruption," the Green party politician told reporters.
Islamic State jihadist group declares death of its leader
The Islamic State jihadist group said Wednesday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi has been killed in battle and announced a replacement.
A spokesman for the group said Hashimi, an Iraqi, was killed "in combat with enemies of God", without elaborating on the date of his death or the circumstances.
Speaking in an audio message, the spokesman identified the group's new leader as Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi.
Qurashi refers to a tribe of the Prophet Mohammed, from whom IS leaders must claim descent.
Alzheimer's drug lecanemab hailed as momentous breakthrough
By James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent
The first drug to slow the destruction of the brain in Alzheimer's has been heralded as momentous.
The research breakthrough ends decades of failure and shows a new era of drugs to treat Alzheimer's - the most common form of dementia - is possible.
Yet the medicine, lecanemab, has only a small effect and its impact on people's daily lives is debated.
And the drug works in the early stages of the disease, so most would miss out without a revolution in spotting it.
Lecanemab attacks the sticky gunge - called beta amyloid - that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Western museums are returning artefacts to countries of origin
A museum in London has returned its entire collection of Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government.
China's Shocking Uprising - What The Protests Mean for China's Future
The protests and uprisings that are shocking the world. China is rising up, and the Chinese government is terrified.
China Covid: How five dramatic days of protests unfolded
Protesters have taken to the streets across China following a deadly fire in a locked down block of flats.
They are demanding an end to Covid lockdowns - and some have made rare calls for President Xi Jinping to stand down.
Here is a timeline of how the demonstrations unfolded.
Remember the incident that set this off was a fire in Urumqi that killed at least 10 people. Many blamed the countries zero-covid protocols for their deaths.
Six In The Morning Tuesday 29 November 2022
NATO foreign ministers reiterate solidarity with Ukraine and pledge to assist with infrastructure repairs
From CNN's Radina Gigova in London
NATO foreign ministers said Tuesday in a joint statement they remain steadfast in the "commitment to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity" and pledged allies will assist Ukraine as it repairs its energy infrastructure amid Russian attacks.
"Russia’s unacceptable actions, including hybrid activities, energy blackmail, and reckless nuclear rhetoric, undermine the rules-based international order," according to the statement.
"We condemn Russia’s cruelty against Ukraine’s civilian populations and violations and abuses of human rights, such as forcible deportations, torture, and barbaric treatment of women, children, and persons in vulnerable situations," it said.
Big polluters given almost €100bn in free carbon permits by EU
Free allowances ‘in direct contradiction with the polluter pays principle’, WWF report says
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Big polluting industries have been given almost €100bn (£86bn) in free carbon permits by the EU in the last nine years, according to an analysis by the WWF. The free allowances are “in direct contradiction with the polluter pays principle”, the group said.
Free pollution permits worth €98.5bn were given to energy-intensive sectors including steel, cement, chemicals and aviation from 2013-21. This is more than the €88.5bn that the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) charged polluters, mostly coal and gas power stations, for their CO2 emissions.
Furthermore, the WWF said, the free permits did not come with climate conditions attached, such as increasing energy efficiency and some polluters were also able to make billions in windfall profits by selling the permits they did not use.
Can China's COVID lockdown protests keep momentum?
The countrywide protests are an unprecedented challenge to Beijing's zero-COVID policy. Authorities are taking drastic measures to keep the movement from spreading any further.
Thousands of people in cities across China are fed up with the government's strict "zero-COVID" policies, and they're taking big risks to voice their discontent on streets and college campuses.
While most of the world is learning to live with coronavirus, China continues to mandate lockdowns, limit freedom of movement and close businesses in places where new cases appear.
A recent rise in COVID infections across the country means more people have been subject to restrictions. Their frustration has resulted in the largest outpouring of public protest China has seen in decades.
Top Qatari official puts worker deaths for World Cup ‘between 400 and 500’
A top Qatari official involved in the country's World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament “between 400 and 500” for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha.
The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
It also threatened to reinvigorate criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup for the migrant labor that built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure needed for the tournament.
Philippines sees a pandemic boom in child sex abuse
By Laura Bicker
BBC News, Manila
Seven-year-old Eric giggles, showing off a broad toothless grin, as he talks about space travel in the shade of a garden, surrounded by lush, thick forest, a few hours north of the Philippines' capital Manila.
Eric dreams of flying a rainbow-coloured rocket to Saturn. He has just lost his baby teeth but he is small for his age. His white, checked shirt hangs off his tiny shoulders.
"What do you cry about during therapy?" his social worker asks him. "I cry about my parents," he says, looking at the ground.
Fedalyn Marie Baldo has spent months with Eric, his 10-year-old sister Maria and two older brothers to help them understand that theirs is not a normal childhood.
Prisoners on death row sue to end executions by hanging
By SHOKO MATSUURA/ Staff Writer
November 29, 2022 at 17:15 JST
Three death row inmates filed a lawsuit with a district court here against the central government on Nov. 29, seeking an injunction to prevent their executions by hanging.
They argue that death by hanging is a painful and degrading form of capital punishment and that it violates Japan’s Constitution, which prohibits cruel forms of punishment.
The Criminal Law sets out that state executions in Japan are carried out by hanging, a practice performed since the Meiji Era (1868-1912).
But the plaintiffs argue the public does not know the brutal reality of what occurs when death row inmates are hanged.
Monday, November 28, 2022
The Bitcoin revolution - How it all began
Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency. It’s also the most important and popular of its kind. Launched in 2009, the Bitcoin blockchain’s creator used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. His (or her) true identity remains a mystery to this day.
In early 2009, in the midst of the financial crisis, someone named "Satoshi Nakamoto” started circulating Bitcoin. In doing so, they created the first decentralized and reliable cryptocurrency. Whoever they are, they vanished into thin air in 2011.
Chinese police: Delete photos or face arrest at Shanghai Covid protest site
Chinese police are making people delete pictures from their phones along the road in Shanghai where large Covid protests took place over the weekend.
Hong Kong residents show support for mainland China Covid protests
Dozens of protesters gathered in Hong Kong in solidarity with anti-lockdown demonstrations in mainland China. The protest was held to commemorate the 10 people who died in a fire in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang region, and show solidarity with the protests that took place over the weekend in cities across China against stringent Covid-19 measures.
Hong Kong police warned some protesters for violating a ban on gatherings of groups of 12 or more people and cordoned off the area to record protesters' identities. They were then allowed to leave
Six In The Morning Monday 28 November 2022
At the heart of China’s protests against zero-Covid, young people cry for freedom
For the first time in decades, thousands of people have defied Chinese authorities to protest at universities and on the streets of major cities, demanding to be freed not only from incessant Covid tests and lockdowns, but strict censorship and the Communist Party’s tightening grip over all aspects of life.
Across the country, “want freedom” has become a rallying cry for a groundswell of protests mainly led by the younger generation, some too young to have taken part in previous acts of open dissent against the government.
“Give me liberty or give me death!” crowds by the hundreds shouted in several cities, according to videos circulating online, as vigils to mark the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire in Xinjiang spiraled into political rallies.
OneLove armband sends ‘very divisive message’, says Qatar official
Head of World Cup organising committee says he sees rainbow armband as protest against Islamic values
Sean Ingle Chief sports reporter in Doha
The head of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee has accused teams who wanted to wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup of sending a “very divisive message” to the Islamic and Arab world.
Hassan al-Thawadi’s comments came as the UK sports minister Stuart Andrew said he would wear the rainbow-coloured armband at the England v Wales match on Tuesday.
The Conservative frontbencher, who is gay, said it was “really unfair” that Fifa had threatened sporting sanctions at the 11th hour against seven European teams who had planned to wear the anti-discrimination symbol in Qatar, forcing them to protest in other ways.
Despite UN sanctions, Germany did research with North Korea
Kim Jong Un wants to modernize his nuclear weapons. To stop him, the UN has banned research collaboration with North Korea. A DW investigation found that one Berlin institute continued without flagging the risks.
The email is only a few sentences long, but it was sent from the most unlikely location: North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. The message came from Im Song Jin, a physicist and expert in laser optics, in response to a DW request. Im is one of a privileged few. To have an email address and be permitted to communicate with the outside world is a sign that he is trusted by the North Korean regime.
Im confirmed to DW that between 2008 and 2010 he was a visiting scientist at the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) in Berlin. And after that? "I have a business e-mail address in Kim Il Sung University," Im wrote. "By using this e-mail address we communicated and continued collaboration works."
Iran releases more than 700 prisoners following World Cup win
Iran has released more than 700 prisoners after the national team's World Cup football victory over Wales, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said Monday.
It announced that "709 detainees were freed from different prisons in the country" following the 2-0 victory on Friday.
Among those are "some arrested during the recent events," Mizan Online said, making indirect reference to demonstrations which have shaken Iran for more than two months.
It gave no further detail.
Lebanon's Economic CrisisArmed Cash Withdrawals Spread amid Growing Desperation
With their bank accounts frozen and their savings inaccessible, Lebanese depositors are turning to drastic means to withdraw their money. The population hails them as heroes while officials have shied away from prosecuting them.
Bassam Hussein’s last cash withdrawal for the time being required rather unusual preparations. He shelled out almost half a million Lebanese pounds for 15 liters of gasoline, which he then filled into small bottles. He already had a shotgun and ammunition at home. The 42-year-old fitness trainer took it all with him on the morning of August 11 to his branch of the Federal Bank in Beirut’s central quarter of Hamra. He waited a few minutes outside the bank before marching inside with his equipment past frightened passersby. With one hand on the trigger and using the other to splatter gasoline onto the tables, he yelled: "Either I’ll get my money, or I’ll die trying!"
China Covid protests: Fury and fear of virus puts Xi Jinping in a bind
By Tessa Wong
BBC News
For the past three years, the patience of one billion people in China has been stretched, growing thinner and thinner with every lockdown and round of mass Covid testing.
As thousands took to the streets in cities protesting against Covid restrictions, an exhausted nation has been asking how much longer must they endure Xi Jinping's zero-Covid policy.
In one of President Xi's biggest political tests yet, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must now negotiate both mounting fury and a deep-rooted fear of Covid, as the country feels its way to an exit from the pandemic.
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