Six In The Morning Tuesday 3 January 2023

 

Republicans revolt over House Speaker vote

Tensions rise as Republicans meet before vote

Republicans started the day with a closed-door meeting ahead of today's House Speaker vote.

In a speech - which reportedly received a standing ovation - McCarthy said that he is "not going to go away", CNN reported.

The meeting became tense, with a defiant Kevin McCarthy telling opponents that "he's earned this job", according to both CNN and the Washington Post.

Additionally, McCarthy is said to have warned that he will no longer negotiate or offer concessions - he had previously offered concessions to more conservative Republicans who oppose his bid to become speaker.

China criticises other countries for ‘excessive’ Covid travel rules

Beijing threatens countermeasures in response to growing list of nations tightening rules on its passengers

Associated Press in Beijing

Beijing has criticised recently imposed testing requirements on passengers from China and threatened countermeasures against countries involved.

“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing.

“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity.”

Israeli ultranationalist minister visits Jerusalem holy site

Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint site for the first time since taking office as Israel's national security minister. The move was seen as a "provocation" by Palestinians, as well as Israeli opposition.

Israel's new national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Tuesday visited a Jerusalem flashpoint holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

"The Temple Mount is open to all," the ultranationalist politician said afterward on Twitter.

Thousands attend politically charged funeral for Kurdish shooting victims in Paris

Thousands of Kurds from across Europe travelled to the Paris suburbs Tuesday for the politically charged funeral of three of their own killed in a December attack in the French capital.

Buses were chartered to bring people from across France and some neighbouring countries to the ceremony in Villiers-le-Bel, north of Paris, local sources said.

Tears and cries of "Martyrs live forever!" greeted the coffins, wrapped in the flags of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdish-controlled Rojava territory in northern Syria.

Church-linked sessions held to push ‘family education’ law

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

January 3, 2023 at 15:38 JST

Organizations linked to the Unification Church arranged study sessions aimed at local assembly members in a stealthy push for ordinances to promote the religious group’s “family education” idea, documents showed.

The study sessions were first held in 2015. About 100 local assembly members have participated in each of the six sessions held so far.

Documents from those sessions have never used the name of the Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. In addition, the names of the church-related organizations were never prominently mentioned.

Satellite images show aftermath of missile strike in Russian-held city of Makiivka

From CNN's Sugam Pokharel

Satellite images taken by US satellite company Planet Labs show the aftermath of the strike in Makiivka, in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

The images — which were taken on Dec. 20, 2022 and on Jan. 2, 2023 — purportedly show the building allegedly housing Russian troops before and after the attack, according to Planet Labs. 

The satellite image taken on Jan. 2 shows a building almost completely demolished to the ground. 

According to both Ukrainian and pro-Russian accounts, the strike took place just after midnight on Jan. 1 on a vocational school housing Russian conscripts.

In a rare admission, the Russian Ministry of Defense on Monday said that 63 servicemen had been killed in Makiivka when Ukraine used HIMARS missiles to attack a building where Russian soldiers were quartering.