Thursday, January 12, 2023

Six In The Morning Thursday 12 January 2023

 

Why reporting on Iran comes at a heavy price


By Parham Ghobadi
BBC Persian


In Iran, the anti-government protests of 2022 have continued into the new year. Reporting on one of the biggest international stories of the moment is an ongoing challenge for BBC Persian Service journalists, who are not allowed into the country, suffer daily harassment, and whose families back home are persecuted.

Iran has been in turmoil since September, when the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini sparked mass protests against the compulsory hijab and other restrictions - leading to calls for regime change.

It has meant working around the clock for BBC Persian journalists. But reporting on events in Iran is not just a logistical challenge, it also has serious personal ramifications. The harassment it triggers from the Iranian government creates consequences for the lives of the journalists.



Lula says he suspects pro-Bolsonaro staff helped mob enter presidential palace


President vows thorough investigation and says ‘many people were complicit … the truth is the palace was full of Bolsonaristas’

 in Brasília


The Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said he suspects hardcore supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro among the presidential staff facilitated the entry of insurrectionists who stormed his presidential palace seeking to overthrow Brazil’s government.

Speaking to a group of political journalists in Brasília’s Planalto palace – one of three buildings trashed by the pro-Bolsonaro mob last Sunday – Lula vowed to carry out a “thorough screening” of employees in the wake of the historic attack.


COP28: UAE names oil chief to head climate talks


The man heading the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said he would take a "pragmatic" approach to tackling climate change. He has some support but will also have to deal with critics.

"I'll have a pragmatic approach to keep the pollution flowing." 

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday named the head of the national oil company as president of this year's United Nations climate talks.

Sultan al-Jaber's appointment as president-designate of the conference known as COP28, prompted fierce criticism from environmental activists.



"I sincerely believe that climate action today is an immense economic opportunity for investment in sustainable growth," he was quoted as saying, promising a "pragmatic" approach.


‘I'll try my luck’: Haitians flock for passports hoping to reach US under new program




Haitians seeking to escape from poverty and uncertainty are flocking to the main migration office in the capital Port-au-Prince hoping to get a passport and perhaps their ticket to life in America under a new US immigration program. Under the policy announced by President Joe Biden, the United States will accept 30,000 people per month from Haiti and a handful of other countries mired in crisis, on the condition that they stay away from the overcrowded US border with Mexico and arrive by plane.



Sri Lanka ex-leader ordered to compensate Easter bombing victims

Supreme Court finds former President Maithripala Sirisena and four other officials were responsible for failing to prevent the deadly attacks.


Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that former President Maithripala Sirisena and four other top officials failed to prevent Easter Sunday bombings in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people, ordering them to pay compensation.

The seven-judge bench on Thursday ruled that Sirisena was responsible for negligence to take measures to prevent the attacks despite solid intelligence warnings two weeks prior.


‘Potatoes are a luxury’: Vital supplies dwindle as ‘eco-activists’ blockade a breakaway region guarded by Russia


Published 4:47 AM EST, Thu January 12, 2023


In the village of Tegh, Armenia, stationary vehicles clog the mountainous route to a border crossing where a mysterious diplomatic logjam has brought traffic to a halt.

This is the entrance to the only road that links the Armenian-majority breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in Azerbaijan, to the outside world via Armenia.

An Armenian soldier mans the first checkpoint, followed by barricades erected by Russian peacekeeping troops. Sandwiched between the barriers is a group of Azerbaijani self-styled activists carrying signs decrying “eco-cide,” and preventing nearly all movement in the corridor.






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