Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Indonesia’s Rebel Bikers
Across Indonesia, death-defying motorbike riders are the star attraction at fun fairs known as “pasar malams”.
The performers propel their bikes up the near-vertical walls of the so-called “Devil’s Barrel”, a two-storey high wooden structure.
Stunt riding is a male-dominated world in the conservative Muslim-majority country, but now a group of young women are blazing their own trail.
North Korean officials meet to address economic and agricultural issues | The World
South Korea warns that death from starvation appears to be rising in many of the North’s provinces
The major North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun has said that relying on external aid to cope with food shortages would be the same as taking “poisoned candy”, amid a national crisis and a reported increase in deaths from starvation.
North Korea has suffered food shortages in recent years, brought on by natural disasters, international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile programmes, and a sharp cut in trade with China due to border closures and Covid-19 lockdowns.
Why do world governments fear TikTok — and should we? Tech expert Scott Galloway explains
The White House has set a deadline of 30 days for all federal agencies to uninstall TikTok from government-issued devices. Canada and EU institutions have also banned the app from staff devices, citing risks to privacy and security.
Six In The Morning Tuesday 28 February 2023
Ukraine war: Zelensky says situation in Bakhmut worsening
By Alys Davies & Matt Murphy
BBC News
The situation in the city of Bakhmut, on the eastern frontline, is becoming "more and more difficult", Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Russian forces have been trying to take the city for over six months.
"The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions", Mr Zelensky stated.
The Ukrainian leader's remarks came as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China against arming Russia during a visit to Kyiv on Monday.
Some of the fiercest fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine just over a year ago has taken place in Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, part of which is under the control of Russia and its proxy forces.
Nigeria’s opposition parties call for election to be scrapped
Labour party chairman Julius Abure says vote has been ‘irretrievably compromised’
Nigeria’s main opposition parties have called for the country’s presidential election to be scrapped, alleging that results showing the ruling party’s candidate in the lead had been manipulated.
Early results have put Bola Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) well ahead of the main opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the outsider third challenger, the Labour party’s Peter Obi.
German doctor arrested for issuing illegal COVID exemptions
A doctor in the German state of Saxony was arrested on Tuesday, as part of an investigation into fraudulent COVID-19 health certificates. The 66-year-old woman has been accused of exchanging false health exemptions for money.
According to a police statement, the doctor earned €12,500 ($13,300) as part of the illegal activity. The arrest warrant accuses her of issuing some 162 exemption certificated to individuals who should not have qualified for them.
These included certificates to exempt people from wearing masks and to exempt them from being vaccinated or tested at establishments that required this for entry.
North Korea's Kim orders 'fundamental transformation' of agriculture amid fears of food shortages
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a "fundamental" change in agricultural production, state media reported on Tuesday (February 28), amid fears that the country's food shortage is worsening.
Dentsu, others indicted over Tokyo Olympics bid rigging
Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Group Inc, a former Olympic organizing committee executive and others were indicted Tuesday over alleged bid rigging in connection with the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Prosecutors took the decision after receiving complaints from the Japan Fair Trade Commission, indicting six companies, including Dentsu's rival Hakuhodo Inc., as well as six individuals from the companies and Yasuo Mori, former operations executive on the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee.
They are suspected of violating the anti-monopoly law by rigging bids for contracts worth around 43.7 billion yen to plan and run Olympic test events and competitions.
Twitter under fire for censoring Palestinian public figures
Digital rights groups say social media giants have restricted, suspended the accounts of Palestinian journalists and activists.
On December 15, Twitter owner Elon Musk suspended the accounts of some journalists, including reporters from newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post. Defending his decision, Musk claimed the journalists had breached the company’s new rule about revealing people’s locations.
The suspensions were condemned by the journalists’ newspapers and other media organisations – even the European Union and the United Nations weighed in, saying the move set a dangerous precedent. A day later, Musk lifted the suspensions after running a poll in which respondents went against his preferred outcome.
But there had been no such global outrage two weeks earlier about the suspension of the account of Said Arikat, a veteran Palestinian journalist based in Washington, DC, on December 3.
Monday, February 27, 2023
Ukraine war: The airman fighting Ukraine's war in the sky
Ukraine pilot Roman has told the BBC that they need modern helicopters as they are currently limited to Soviet-era machinery.
Speaking to the BBC's Orla Guerin, he explains how they have to fly extremely low to evade Russia's air-defence systems.
World’s Busiest Station: Shinjuku Station Tokyo | Giant Hubs
The teams in this Giant Hub need a minute-by-minute precision, a constant control, a military discipline but at the same time always still a smile on their faces for the 3,6 million customers every day.
Taiwan, US to 'bolster military exchanges' amid tensions with China
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen has said Taipei will boost 'military exchanges' with the United States, at a time when tensions with Beijing remain high. The cooperation with the US has picked up pace especially since the start of the Ukraine War and renewed concerns over the threat of an invasion from China.
Six In The Morning Monday 27 February 2023
‘It’s all a lie’: Russians are trapped in Putin’s parallel universe. But some want out
One year ago, when Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine and began Europe’s biggest land war since 1945, it waged another battle at home – intensifying its information blockade in an effort to control the hearts and minds of its own citizens.
Draconian new censorship laws targeted any media still operating outside the controls of the Kremlin and most independent journalists left the country. A digital Iron Curtain was reinforced, shutting Russians off from Western news and social media sites.
And as authorities rounded up thousands in a crackdown on anti-war protests, a culture of fear descended on Russian cities and towns that prevents many people from sharing their true thoughts on the war in public.
Research reveals climate crisis is driving a rise in human-wildlife conflicts
Changing habitats and behaviours lead to interactions with a negative outcome for wildlife and humans
From blue whales colliding with ships to African elephants raiding crops in villages, the climate crisis is causing a rise in conflicts that lead to injury or death for humans and wildlife, new research shows.
The climate crisis is making food, water and healthy habitats harder to come by, forcing animals and human populations into new ranges or previously uninhabited places. It is also changing the way they behave. This means a rise in human-wildlife conflicts, as well as damage to personal property and loss of livelihoods for people, according to a review paper led by the University of Washington.
Norway: Thunberg joins Indigenous protests against turbines
The young environmental activist says green energy cannot come at the expense of human rights. A court order has deemed the turbines' location in Norway illegal, as they disrupt Sami reindeer-herding traditions.
The Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg joined Indigenous Sami demonstrators on Monday, blocking the entrance to Norway's Energy Ministry.
The demonstrators in Oslo are calling for the government to carry out a court order that deemed wind turbines in northwestern Norway illegal.
Why are the wind farms controversial?
The Sami Indigenous people, who are spread out across mostly parts of Norway, but also Sweden, Finland and Russia, have been herding reindeer for centuries. The practice represents a preservation of both livelihood and tradition.
Herders say the loud sounds produced by the wind turbines scare away reindeer.
Turkey's Erdogan asks for forgiveness over quake rescue delays
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday asked for forgiveness over rescue delays while visiting one of the areas hit hardest by the deadly earthquake earlier this month.
Erdogan, who is seeking another term as president after two decades in power, has received strong criticism from earthquake survivors in Adiyaman in the southeast.
In the last election in 2018, Erdogan handily beat his secular opposition rival in that province.
Tensions high in West Bank after deadly Israeli settler rampage
A Palestinian is shot and killed as settlers backed by the Israeli army burn dozens of houses and cars in the occupied West Bank in revenge attacks.
Israeli settlers have carried out at least 300 attacks, including shootings and arson, in a rampage through Palestinian villages in the Nablus area of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, in what has been described as a “pogrom”.
A 37-year-old Palestinian man identified as Samih al-Aqtash was shot in the stomach on Sunday night by settlers protected by the Israeli army in the village of Zaatara south of Nablus. He died of his injuries. The father of five returned home five days ago after volunteering to help earthquake survivors in Turkey.
Winter storm brings snow to California and tornadoes to central US
A winter storm that brought unprecedented snow to southern California has moved eastward, bringing with it tornadoes and powerful winds.
Residents in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Texas were asked to seek shelter as severe weather makes its way to the region through Monday.
There were reports of damaged homes and knocked down power lines, leaving thousands without power.
Severe weather is expected to continue to the upper Midwest later in the week.
Californians have already faced mass power outages, flooding and the closures of both motorways and beaches as the storm swept the US state.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Nigeria: Can Peter Obi’s online appeal win enough votes?
As Nigerians head to the polls, will the force of social media get Peter Obi the top job? Plus, Ukrainian journalists on life and work in a country under attack.
Six In The Morning Sunday 26 February 2023
Russian unit complains of receiving "criminal orders" and being sent into battle "to be slaughtered"
For the second time in a month, men who say they are with a mobilized Russian unit deployed to Ukraine have complained about their treatment and commanders.
The men are from regiment 1439, which comes from Irkutsk in Siberia. A group from the same regiment issued a similar protest in January. It's unclear whether the new video includes men involved in the previous complaint.
In the latest video, published Saturday, the group claimed they had been given “unlawful and criminal orders” from their command and sent to battle without “any support.”
Nigerians face tense wait in presidential election vote count
New polling system hit by significant technical problems with results unlikely to be confirmed on Sunday
Jason Burke in Lagos
Nigeria is in the midst of a tense wait as election authorities count tens of millions of votes that will determine who will become president in Africa’s most populous country and control its national assembly.
Voting on Saturday was marred by widespread delays and some scattered violence but fears of widespread chaos proved unfounded.
Early hopes that official nationwide results could be expected from late on Sunday appear optimistic as a new system deployed by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has developed significant technical problems. The final election tally is expected by the middle of next week.
Estonia's Star in the MakingHow Kaja Kallas Rose To Become One of Europe's Leading Voices
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warned early on about the dangers presented by Vladimir Putin. She has raised the profile of her small country in other ways too.
By Nadia Pantel
There are two different kinds of stories the family of Kaja Kallas tells about the years they spent in Siberia. There are the stories of hunger, cold and fear – of how Soviet soldiers piled Kallas' mother into a cattle car with her mother and grandmother in 1949 and deported them to the east, beyond Novosibirsk. And then there are the stories they can laugh about. The one about how they managed to bring a sewing machine along with them, which provided a bit of income once they arrived at their destination, a tiny settlement of little more than a handful of wooden huts. There, they repaired the clothing of other residents. "My grandparents experienced horrible things," says Kaja Kallas. "And they taught me that you have to celebrate being alive."
Kallas is sitting at the oval table where she, as head of Estonian government, receives guests from around the world. Two days later, she will meet here with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. A week earlier, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson dropped by for a visit.
Iran releases Spanish woman jailed over Amini protests
The 24-year-old activist was charged with espionage after allegedly joining anti-government demonstrations in November. A second Spanish national remains in prison.
A Spanish woman imprisoned in Iran for three months on espionage charges after she was arrested during anti-government protests has been released, Spain's government said Sunday.
Ana Baneira Suarez was 24 years old when she was arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) revealed at the time.
"She was freed yesterday, but we didn't want to announce it publicly before her plane had taken off from Iran," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told journalists.
"I was able to speak with her ... she is well," he said, adding she was on her way to northwestern Spain, where she is from.
Two Israelis killed in West Bank as Israeli, Palestinian officials meet in Jordan
A Palestinian gunman on Sunday opened fire at an Israeli car in the occupied West Bank, killing two Israelis, senior politicians and Israeli settler leaders said. The shooting cast a shadow over a high-level meeting between Palestinian and Israeli delegations in neighbouring Jordan meant to reduce surging violence ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The shooting came days after a deadly Israeli military raid in the nearby Palestinian city of Nablus, in which 11 Palestinians were killed in a gun battle. The military said it was searching for the attacker, who opened fire on a car on the West Bank's main highway and fled.
In an initial move, an Israeli cabinet minister approved a proposal that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian militants involved in deadly attacks.
Dozens killed as boat carrying migrants, refugees sinks off Italy
At least 81 people are rescued after a boat carrying more than 100 people crashes in stormy weather off the Italian coast.
At least 58 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying migrants and refugees sank off the Italian coastal city of Crotone in the southern region of Calabria.
The vessel had set sail from Turkey several days ago with migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed on Sunday in stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria.
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