Sunday, July 23, 2023

Six In The Morning Sunday 23 July 2023

 

Wagner mutiny: Junior commander reveals his role in the challenge to Putin

By Anastasia Lotareva
BBC Russian

A mercenary who took part in the attempted mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and his fellow fighters "didn't have a clue" what was going on.

In the space of just 24 hours, the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged an insurrection, sending troops into the southern city of Rostov, then further on towards Moscow.

Wagner fighters rarely talk to the media, but BBC Russian spoke to a junior commander who found himself in the middle of the action.

Gleb - not his real name - had previously been involved in the fighting for the symbolic town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. As the mutiny began, he was resting with his unit in barracks in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region.



Hun Sen issues threat to Cambodians who spoiled ballots

Authoritarian ruler said voters who destroyed ballot papers will face legal action

Cambodia’s authoritarian leader has warned voters who destroyed their ballots to turn themselves in or face legal consequences, as polls closed following a one-sided election in which he ran virtually uncontested.

The party of Hun Sen, 70, who has governed for almost four decades, claimed victory on Sunday evening. There had been little doubt over the outcome of the vote, given that the only opposition party big enough to pose a threat, the Candlelight party, was barred from running after it was accused of not submitting the correct paperwork.

A crackdown on opposition voices ahead of the vote, which also included legal challenges to prevent voter boycotts, left spoiled ballots as one of the only remaining outlets for people to protest against the regime.


A Warlord and His SmugglersKhalifa Haftar and His Role in The Deadly Shipwreck Off Greece

Who sent the overcrowded refugee boat to its tragic end in the Mediterranean in early June? Greek authorities have arrested nine Egyptians, but the real culprits appear to be men with apparent links to Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan warlord the EU has been courting for months.

By Mohannad al-NajjarSara CretaMuriel KalischFelix KeßlerSteffen Lüdke und Lina Verschwele


Dayyan Al-Numan had to wait a long time for his departure. The Syrian recalls by phone how it took weeks. Al-Numan describes a store house on the outskirts of Tobruk, in eastern Libya, where he was forced to wait. Each day, he was given a piece of bread and a piece of cheese, and he had to drink dirty water.

Al-Numan says the time he spent waiting was bad. Humiliation, threats and beatings were routine. He said he had to be quiet and that he wasn't allowed to leave the store house. Even just asking for a second piece of cheese was going too far. "If they go to the stores in Tobruk and dig the ground around and look around, they will find a lot of bodies."


Massive crowds rally in Israel as vote on judicial overhaul looms


Protesters set up camp outside Israeli parliament as hundreds of thousands rally in Tel Aviv against far-right government’s judicial plans.


Tens of thousands of Israelis have marched into Jerusalem and more protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv in a last-ditch show of force aimed at blocking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.

Protests have intensified in the days leading up to the debate that began Sunday ahead of a parliamentary vote on Monday which could see a key part of the proposals passed into law.

The bill would limit the Supreme Court’s powers to void what it considers “unreasonable” government or ministerial decisions. Critics view the legislation as a threat to Israel’s democracy.


3 hurt in stabbing on train in Osaka Prefecture; suspect arrested


Three people were injured after being slashed by a man with knives Sunday on a rapid train to Kansai airport in Osaka Prefecture, police said.

The man, Kazuya Shimizu, 37, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at a station next to the airport, with an officer drawing his handgun and warning him to drop the weapons, the police said. He was in possession of three knives at the time of his arrest.

Shimizu told the police he had trouble with a man on the train and that he was not acquainted with the three people who were slightly injured.

He was arrested at the Rinku-Town Station in Izumisano after slashing the neck and temple of the 23-year-old man, who was in the same train car at around 10:25 a.m.

Shimizu admitted to the allegation, the police said.









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