Saturday, September 30, 2023
Six In The Morning Saturday 30 September 2023
‘Azerbaijan is hungry for land’: Armenians fear country will seek to grab more territory
After Baku’s success in Nagorno-Karabakh, it could attempt to encroach farther, locals believe
The beehives were in no man’s land. After the border clash near his village in April, Geram drove down to the fields where his family has been farming for decades and kept a small apiary.
But when he got near, he heard gunshots. The Azerbaijanis were firing at him from their new positions on the surrounding hilltops. He ran back to his car and never returned.
Another local, Samvel Hyusunts, lost nearly 70 hectares (173 acres) where his family had been farming wheat for decades. “They take what they can have,” he says, standing in a dusty suit and flat cap on the roadside where thousands of refugees have passed from Karabakh into Armenia. “The village is suffering.”
One year on: Life in Russian-annexed eastern Ukraine
One year ago, Russia announced the annexation Ukraine’s Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya regions. Residents in the occupied territories describe how their lives have changed in the past year.
Russia is celebrating the first anniversary of the annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regionson September 30. The Kremlin is flaunting its land grab using entirely different language, referring to it as the "accession of new regions."
Russia has minted special anniversary coins to mark the occasion, and concerts and festivals will be on show in the occupied territories. All the while, Russia promises prosperity and stability.
In reality, however, an estimated 1 million to 2 million people have fled the Russian-annexed regions of Ukraine this year alone.
DW spoke to residents in these regions to learn how their life has changed in the past year.
'Counterfeit people': The dangers posed by Meta’s AI celebrity lookalike chatbots
Meta announced on Wednesday the arrival of chatbots with personalities similar to certain celebrities, with whom it will be possible to chat. Presented as an entertaining evolution of ChatGPT and other forms of AI, this latest technological development could prove dangerous.
Meta (formerly known as Facebook) sees these as "fun" artificial intelligence. Others, however, feel that this latest technological development could mark the first step towards creating "the most dangerous artefacts in human history", to quote from American philosopher Daniel C. Dennett’s essay about "counterfeit people".
On Wednesday, September 27, the social networking giant announced the launch of 28 chatbots (conversational agents), which supposedly have their own personalities and have been specially designed for younger users. These include Victor, a so-called triathlete who can motivate "you to be your best self", and Sally, the "free-spirited friend who’ll tell you when to take a deep breath".
Paradise prison: How 107 Bangladeshis became enslaved on a Pacific island
Instead of being given legitimate jobs, 107 men from Bangladesh were enslaved in Vanuatu working under the threat of violence and even death.
When Bangladeshi businessman Mustafizur Shahin left for a job opportunity overseas he did not expect to be held captive on a Pacific island, forced to work without pay, physically abused when he complained and saved only after he made a daring escape.
What had promised to be a chance of a lifetime, working with a millionaire entrepreneur and his chain of clothing boutiques, turned out to be a case of modern-day slavery where the threat of physical injury and even death hung over 50-year-old Shahin.
Shahin said he felt he was “a living dead body” when recounting events that brought him from the streets of Bangladesh to the shores of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu to toil in slavery with little food and in constant fear.
Alien life in Universe: Scientists say finding it is 'only a matter of time
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent
Many astronomers are no longer asking whether there is life elsewhere in the Universe.
The question on their minds is instead: when will we find it?
Many are optimistic of detecting life signs on a faraway world within our lifetimes - possibly in the next few years.
And one scientist, leading a mission to Jupiter, goes as far as saying it would be "surprising" if there was no life on one of the planet's icy moons.
Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently detected tantalising hints at life on a planet outside our Solar System - and it has many more worlds in its sights.
Ex-gangster rewinds troubled life, admitted to Keio University
By TABITO FUKUTOMI/ Staff Writer
September 29, 2023 at 07:00 JST
An intimidating man with a bald head, big chest and lacking his left little finger showed up at a tiny cram school in a residential area in Hiroshima Prefecture in autumn six years ago.
The man was not there for a shakedown but a desire to further his education.
Speaking to Katsuyoshi Fujioka, 47, the manager of the educational institute located near JR Fukuyama Station, the former yakuza member asked, “Is it possible to pass Keio University’s entrance exam within one year?”
The man in his 40s, who came from Tokyo, described himself as having graduated only from junior high school.
Fujioka replied, “How far you can go depends on how hard you will work.”
Friday, September 29, 2023
Decoding Putin and Xi's blueprint for a new world order
China and Russia are getting closer. Rather than distancing himself from Vladimir Putin over his war against Ukraine, Xi Jinping is doubling down on the relationship. And Putin is becoming more and more dependent on Xi as an economic, military and geopolitical lifeline. Why is this happening? What do Xi and Putin want to achieve? And what does their relationship mean for the rest of the world?
Putin meets with Wagner commander to set up additional volunteer units to fight in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with former senior officer Andrei Troshev, who played a leading role in the Wagner group. It comes a month after the mysterious death of former Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow.
Six In The Morning Friday 29 September 2023
At least 59 people killed in twin attacks on mosques in Pakistan
Suicide bombing kills at least 54 at parade to mark prophet’s birthday, while further five die in attack at police compound
At least 59 people have died in bomb attacks on two mosques in Pakistan as the country held a public holiday to celebrate the prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
In the most serious incident, a suicide bomber killed at least 54 people who were gathering for a parade near a mosque to mark the prophet’s birthday in restive Balochistan province.
A second attack struck a mosque in a police station compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing five people and collapsing the building.
Sweden to call in military to help crack down on gangs
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has blamed "irresponsible immigration policy and a failed integration" for the violence. He is taking several steps to help stem growing gang activity.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was meeting the head of Sweden's armed forces and the police chief on Friday to discuss ways to stem growing gang violence in the country.
He wanted "to see how the armed forces can help the police fight the gangs."
In September alone 12 people were killed in the wave of violence sweeping the country. One was killed in a bomb attack, and another 11 were shot dead in separate incidents.
"We're going to hunt down the gangs, and we're going to defeat them," Kristersson said during a televised address on Thursday evening.
Karabakh refugees burn cherished possessions on way out
The video on Angelina Agabekyan's phone shows her husband's military uniform and her son's toys burning over a bonfire they had set before fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh.
Agabekyan's little boy adds his bicycle to the flames melting his toys "so that the Azerbaijanis don't get to play with them".
The scene has been replayed across the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan so often that the separatist government this week urged people not to burn things down before taking flight.
But refugees interviewed by AFP on the Armenian side of the border recount how they had set everything from their books to family albums ablaze to keep them from falling into Azerbaijani hands.
Japan held secret talks with North Korea in March and again in May
By TAKUYA SUZUKI/ Staff Writer
September 29, 2023 at 14:52 JST
Japan initiated secret talks with North Korean officials on two occasions this spring in an apparent attempt to reopen negotiations on resolving the decades-old abduction issue once and for all.
Despite the overture, no agreement was reached for formal talks between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kishida has repeatedly said he was prepared to meet with Kim to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and ’80s to train North Korean spies in the Japanese language and the nation’s customs and culture.
Imprisoned Tunisian opposition leader Ghannouchi starts hunger strike
The 82-year-old opposition leader has been in jail since last April on charges of incitement against Kais Saied’s rule, which he denies.
Rached Ghannouchi, a prominent opposition leader in Tunisia and the former speaker of the country’s parliament, has begun a three-day hunger strike behind bars, in solidarity with a fellow political prisoner and head of the opposition coalition National Salvation Front, Jaouher Ben Mbarek.
Ghannounchi has been imprisoned since last April on charges of incitement and plotting against state security, which the opposition figure and his supporters say are baseless. He is a fierce critic of President Kais Saied.
Family in gymnastics racism row say apology is 'useless'
By Stephanie Hegarty
BBC News
The mother of a black girl who was not given a medal at an Irish gymnastics event ceremony says the apology she has received is "useless".
A video emerged recently showing the alleged racist treatment of a young black gymnast being ignored by an official who was handing out medals at an event in Dublin last year.
The mother said watching the incident unfold at the time was "horrendous".
Gymnastics Ireland apologised on Monday "for the upset that has been caused".
In the statement, the governing body said it was "deeply sorry", that it knew it needed to do more to ensure "nothing like this will happen again" and it condemned "any form of racism".
But the mother of the girl said the sports body only publicly apologised after 18 months "because the world wanted them to".
Thursday, September 28, 2023
No, USA Today did not report that Zelensky's delegate started a 'drunken bar brawl' in New York
A fabricated video - edited in the social media style of American media USA Today - claimed a member of the Ukrainian delegation provoked a drunken bar fight in New York during President Zelensky’s visit to the US, before being detained by police.
Six In The Morning Thursday 28 September 2023
Nagorno-Karabakh’s breakaway government says it will dissolve itself
President of Armenia’s unrecognised republic signs decree under which it will cease to exist by 1 January 2024
The breakaway government of Nagorno-Karabakh has announced it will dissolve itself and that the unrecognised republic will cease to exist by 2024, formally ending more than 30 years of separatist rule.
The president of Armenia’s self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Samvel Shahramanyan, signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions by 1 January 2024, Karabakh Armenian authorities said in a statement. The republic would cease to exist from that day, the decree said.
Taiwan unveils its first domestically manufactured submarine
The self-governing island says it will bolster its defenses and hopes the sub will serve as a deterrence against the Chinese navy. It is only expected to be fully operational in two years.
Taiwan unveiled its first-ever domestically built submarine on Thursday.
President Tsai Ing-wen said building submarines was a crucial military deterrence.
"Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take this step and allow the self-reliant national defense policy to grow and flourish on our land," Tsai said.
It must still undergo sea trials and will not enter service for another two years.
Taiwan's navy has two working submarines bought from the Netherlands in the 1980s. It previously said it had plans to build eight submarines.
'The only solution was suicide': Desperation for women seeking abortions in Turkey
Abortions may be legal in Turkey, but they’re increasingly difficult to obtain, and socially frowned upon. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's last 20 years in power have seriously eroded women's ability to terminate unwanted pregnancies legally, pushing them to get abortions in underground clinics where their identities will be remain anonymous and their families will be not be notified.
Plaintiffs finally win recognition as Minamata disease victims
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 28, 2023 at 15:37 JST
Plaintiffs expressed long-sought-after vindication on Sept. 27 that a district court finally acknowledged that they were also victims of Minamata disease and entitled to relief from the government.
“It took nine years for a ruling in our favor to emerge,” said plaintiff Atsuko Matsuo, 68, who grew up in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, at a news conference in Osaka. “The fair ruling was the result of the plaintiffs working together as one.”
The Osaka District Court ruled that day that the 128 plaintiffs should each receive compensation of 2.75 million yen ($18,400).
Switzerland’s glaciers lose ‘mind-blowing’ volume of ice in just two years
Glaciers in Switzerland are shrinking at a “mind-blowing” rate. A total of 10% of their ice volume has disappeared over a period of just two years as a combination of low snowfall and soaring temperatures cause unprecedented melting, according to figures released Thursday.
Evergrande: Why should I care if China property giant collapses?
A crisis at the world's most indebted company has worsened after its chairman was placed under police surveillance.
It follows earlier reports that other current and former executives at Chinese property giant Evergrande had also been detained.
Evergrande suspended the trading of its shares in Hong Kong on Thursday until further notice.
It marks another low for the firm which was declared to be in default in 2021 after missing a crucial repayment deadline, triggering China's current real estate market crisis.
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