Friday, June 28, 2024
Six In The Morning Friday 28 June 2024
Iranians vote for a new president under the shadow of conflict and economic woes
Under the specter of conflict with Israel, a struggling economy and social discontent, Iranians headed to the polls on Friday for snap presidential elections that could be the most important for the country in decades.
The sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a recent helicopter crash, alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, has left a leadership void. Raisi, a hardline regime loyalist, was widely regarded as a leading candidate to replace Iran’s Supreme Leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority over all state matters.
It is also the first presidential election since the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s notorious morality police in 2022, an event that sparked the largest protests since the regime’s founding in 1979. The vote takes place amid deteriorating relations with the West, an advancing Iranian nuclear program, and an increasing risk of direct war with Israel. Just two months ago, Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time as the Gaza conflict widened, and Israel is now preparing for a potential second front with Hezbollah, Iran’s primary regional proxy, in Lebanon.
Israel destroys 11 homes in West Bank village amid spiralling violence
Fifty left homeless in remote hamlet of mainly shepherds, as beatings and demolitions in occupied territory increase
Israeli soldiers have destroyed 11 homes and other structures in an isolated community in the occupied West Bank, leaving 50 people homeless, amid a reported uptick in house demolitions and spiralling violence in the Palestinian territory.
Contractors with bulldozers accompanied by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops arrived in Umm al-Kheir, a village mostly home to shepherds, on Wednesday morning and demolished six houses, tent residences, an electricity generator, solar cells and water tanks, according to residents and Israeli activists who documented the proceedings. Agricultural land and fences were also damaged and trees uprooted.
Pakistan: Parliament passes tax-heavy budget to appease IMF
Pakistan's parliament has approved a government budget entailing significant tax hikes. Islamabad is looking to secure yet another billion-dollar IMF loan in order to avoid defaulting on its debts.
Pakistan is looking to increase total tax revenues by around 40% during the 2024/25 fiscal year, according to government budget plans which were passed by parliament on Friday.
In a country dominated by informal employment and where only 5.2 million of its over 240 million inhabitants are subjected to income tax, increased tax revenues are now intended to raise around $46 billion out of a total budget of around $68 billion.
The tax-heavy budget, which also foresees a scrapping of petrol/gasoline subsidies, comes ahead of further talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a loan of between $6-8 billion to help Pakistan av
Urbicide: ‘Even if Israel stops bombing Gaza tomorrow, it will be impossible to live there'
Eight months of war have destroyed more than 55% of the structures in Gaza, according to the latest report from the UN Satellite Centre. The enclave's main towns have been devastated by Israeli bombardment, rendering them almost uninhabitable. The destruction has been called an example of “urbicide” – the deliberate, utter destruction of an urban area.
"All the houses have been turned into ruins. We're lost, we don't know exactly where our homes are in the midst of this massive destruction," said Mohammad al-Najjar, 33, in an interview with AFP on June 1 in the Jabaliya camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Eight months of war and intense bombardment by the Israeli military has turned most of Gaza into a heap of ruins, as confirmed by photos and satellite images.
"A total of 137,297 structures, or around 55% of structures in Gaza, are affected," noted the United Nations Satellite Centre (Unosat) in a report published on May 31.
Okinawa angry over lack of info about suspected assault of minor
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 27, 2024 at 17:06 JST
Okinawa prefectural government officials expressed outrage over being left in the dark about allegations that a U.S. serviceman had sexually assaulted a minor.
The suspected attack against the girl occurred on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. The suspect, Brennon R.E. Washington, 25, was indicted by the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on March 27.
However, the prefectural government said it had no knowledge of the case until a local broadcaster reported it on June 25.
China honours woman who died saving Japanese family
By Kelly Ng, BBC News
A Chinese woman who tried to shield a Japanese mother and her child from a knife attack has died.
Hu Youping was working as a school bus attendant in Suzhou city when a man attacked a Japanese woman and her child at a bus stop outside a Japanese school.
Tributes for her have poured out online and the local government has said she will be given the title of "Righteous and Courageous Role Model".
The Japanese embassy in China also lowered its flag to half-mast to honour Ms Hu. In a statement on Weibo, the embassy said it was "saddened" to hear of her death.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Bolivian military leaders arrested after apparent coup attempt
Six In The Morning Thursday 27 June 2024
Why an Israel-Hezbollah war would be far more dangerous today than the last time around
“We can plunge Lebanon completely into the dark and take apart Hezbollah’s power in days,” former Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz declared Tuesday at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel.
It was just the latest threat from a prominent Israeli public figure against Lebanon and Hezbollah as tensions flare.
It won’t be difficult for Israel to plunge Lebanon into darkness. The country’s power grid, already crippled by decades of mismanagement and the country’s economic collapse, barely functions as it is. A few well-aimed airstrikes will easily finish it off.
Bolivia’s president sees off attempted coup after urging citizens to take to streets
Luis Arce said the country’s democracy was at stake after army troops seized control of La Paz’s political heart and military police storm palace
Bolivia’s President Luis Arce appears to have seen off an attempt to topple his leftwing government after a dramatic afternoon in which heavily armed troops, seemingly commanded by a top army general, stormed the government palace before beating a retreat and seeing their alleged leader detained.
On Wednesday afternoon Arce urged citizens to take to the streets to defend the country’s democracy from an apparent coup attempt, after troops seized control of a central square in La Paz which houses government buildings.
“We need the Bolivian people to mobilise and organise themselves against this coup d’état and in favour of democracy,” Arce said in a video message filmed at the Great House of the People, the official presidential residence in Bolivia’s de facto capital of La Paz.
Kenya police set up roadblocks as more protests loom
Anti-government protesters in Nairobi, Kenya faced tear gas from police. Tuesday's rallies resulted in over 20 deaths and led to the withdrawal of contentious tax hikes.
Kenyan police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi on Thursday, even after President William Ruto backed down on planned tax hikes in the face of public outrage.
The anger over the tax hikes has led to the most serious crisis in Ruto's two-year presidency, with especially young people taking to the streets in protest.
Iranians focus on cost of living ahead of presidential election
In Iran, the six candidates approved to run in the imminent presidential election have made their final pitches to voters ahead of Friday's snap poll. The election was called after former president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month. The candidates have spent much of the campaign encouraging Iranians to participate, amid fears of low turnout. FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar, Karim Yahiaoui and Abdallah Malkawi report.
U.N. rights expert expresses concerns over sexual abuse in Japan
A U.N. human rights expert expressed concerns on Wednesday about various "challenges" in Japan, including alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of talent signed with a major Tokyo-based entertainment agency and discrimination against sexual minorities.
Speaking in a U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Robert McCorquodale, chief of a working group that released a report on Japan-related issues last month, recommended the establishment of an "independent" national institution to tackle the problems, mentioning the scandal involving the company formerly known as Johnny & Associates Inc.
The experts also pointed out "unacceptable" shortcomings in the remedies provided to victims of sexual abuse linked to the agency now renamed Smile-Up Inc., and noted the failure of Japan's legal system to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals.
BBC tracks down smuggler behind Channel crossing which killed Sara, 7
By Andrew Harding, Reporting from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK
As he ambled, nonchalantly, across a sunlit public square, the smuggler appeared to have no idea he was being followed.
He was a short, stocky, 39-year-old in a pale green shell suit and baseball cap - an unremarkable figure taking an afternoon stroll from a tented migrant reception centre to a nearby tram station.
Our team broke into a run.
“We know who you are,” I said, as we caught up with him halfway across the square in Luxembourg’s capital city.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Six In The Morning Wednesday 26 June 2024
Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man
By Tiffany Wertheimer, BBC News
Julian Assange has landed back home in his native Australia, after a plea deal allowed him to walk free from a London prison.
There were emotional scenes at Canberra Airport, as the Wikileaks founder kissed his wife and hugged his father, his lawyers watching on, visibly moved.
"Julian needs time to recover, to get used to freedom," Stella Assange said at a news conference shortly after her husband arrived.
For the past 14 years, Assange has been in a legal battle with US officials who accused him of leaking classified documents, which they say put lives in danger.
Dutch foreign ministry calls in Israeli ambassador over ICC spying claims
Meeting disclosed after questions by Dutch MPs concerned about Guardian revelations of anti-ICC campaign
Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands was asked to “report” to the Dutch foreign affairs ministry to explain allegations of a secret surveillance and espionage campaign by Israeli spy services against the international criminal court, it has emerged.
Dutch officials asked to meet the ambassador, Modi Ephraim, to discuss concerns raised by a Guardian investigation that revealed Israeli intelligence agencies attempted over a nine-year period to undermine, influence and allegedly intimidate the ICC chief prosecutor’s office.
Kenya updates: Ruto refuses to sign tax bill after unrest
Over 20 people were killed during anti-government protests in Kenya on Tuesday, according to a doctors' association. President William Ruto has now said the controversial tax bill will be withdrawn. DW has more.
Ruto proposes spending cuts after rejecting tax bill
After confirming that he had refused to sign Kenya's 2024 finance bill due to pressure from the public, Ruto said that he would call for additional austerity measures to reduce expenses.
He said that the executive branch of the government will cut costs.
Ruto proposed that parliament, the judiciary and county governments also "undertake budget cuts and austerity to ensure we do live within our means respecting the very loud message that is coming from the people of Kenya."
The Kenyan government had aimed to impose additional levies to reduce the country's sovereign debt, which amounts to around 68% of its GDP.
ICC convicts Mali Islamist for Timbuktu war crimes
The International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted an al Qaeda-linked extremist leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Mali, notably for abusing prisoners as the de facto chief of the Islamic police in the historic desert city of Timbuktu.
Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud sat stoically while the decision finding him guilty of torture and cruel treatment between 2012 and 2013 was read out.
Judges continued to read the verdict on the many other charges he faced for his alleged role in a reign of terror insurgents unleashed on Timbuktu, including rape, torture, persecution, enforced marriages and sexual slavery.
Presiding judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua said Al Hassan played a "key role" overseeing amputations and floggings as police chief when Islamic militants seized control of Timbuktu for almost a year from early 2012.
A timetable for his sentencing will be handed down soon.
Suspected N Korean hypersonic missile exploded, S Korea says
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, a development that comes as North Korea is protesting the regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a trilateral military drill with South Korea and Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its capital region around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It said the missile was fired toward the North’s eastern waters, but the launch ended in failure.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff later told South Korean journalists that the missile blew up as it flew over the waters of the North's eastern coastal Wonsan city. It said the fragments of the missile were scattered in the waters, up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) away from the launch site. No damages were immediately reported.
India exports rockets, explosives to Israel amid Gaza war, documents reveal
As New Delhi attempts to walk a diplomatic tightrope, documents seen by Al Jazeera and company statements suggest Israel is receiving Indian weapons as it wages war on Gaza.
In the early morning hours of May 15, the cargo vessel Borkum stopped off the Spanish coast, lingering in the waters a short distance from Cartagena. At the port, protesters waved Palestinian flags and called on authorities to inspect the ship based on suspicions that it carried weapons bound for Israel.
Leftist members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Spanish President Pedro Sánchez requesting that the ship be prevented from docking. “Allowing a ship loaded with weapons destined for Israel is to allow the transit of arms to a country currently under investigation for genocide against the Palestinian people,” the group of nine MEPs warned.