Six In The Morning Tuesday 17 September 2024

 

Hezbollah says exploding pagers kills three and injures many in Lebanon

David Gritten

BBC News

The Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah says two of its fighters and a girl have been killed after handheld pagers used to communicate exploded.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among hundreds of people reportedly injured by what Hezbollah called “mysterious” blasts which happened simultaneously in southern Beirut and several other areas of Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon.

CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.

Portugal wildfire deaths rise to seven after firefighters trapped in blaze

More than 50 people injured as 54 fires burn across country amid hot, dry and windy weather

Jon Henley and agencies

Tue 17 Sep 2024 15.39 BST

Seven people have been killed and more than 50 injured in wildfires ravaging central and northern Portugal, authorities have said, after three firefighters died on Tuesday when their vehicle was trapped in flames.

Portugal’s civil protection service said 54 wildfires were burning nationwide, mainly in the north, with 5,300 firefighters mobilised. France, Greece, Italy and Spain sent eight water-bombing planes through the EU’s mutual assistance mechanism.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled through Monday night to control four separate blazes near the towns of Nelas and Aveiro, south of Porto, with TV footage showing residents frantically pouring buckets of water on rapidly advancing flames.

Jammu and Kashmir election brings hope to restive region

India is organizing the first election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade. The region's residents are cautiously optimistic amid the never-ending violence.

At a campaign rally in southern Kashmir, 45-year-old Shameema Jan raises her voice and joins dozens of other women in singing traditional songs in support of their preferred candidate ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir regional election due to start on Wednesday.

The hopes held by these women are simple. They want a representative, preferably a woman, who can address their everyday concerns, such as water scarcity in the village, the imprisonment of local boys in jails outside Kashmir, and the growing issue of youth unemployment in the Muslim-majority region controlled by India.

Gunmen from al Qaeda-linked JNIM attack military police base in Mali capital

A military police base in Mali's capital Bamako was attacked by gunmen from al Qaeda-linked group JNIM on Tuesday. Mali's army said on social media that it had control of the situation in the capital after what it called a foiled infiltration attempt by "terrorists" into the Faladie military police school.

Gunmen attacked a military police base early Tuesday in the Malian capital Bamako where gunfire and explosions were heard and the airport was closed, sources, witnesses and an AFP correspondent said.

The al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming to have inflicted heavy human and material losses.

The jihadist group said on its communication channels that a "special operation" had targeted "the military airport and the training centre of the Malian gendarmes in the centre of the Malian capital (Bamako), this morning at dawn, causing huge human and material losses and the destruction of several military aircraft".

False postings on X about typhoon, heavy rain irk Tokyo officials

By SHIORI TABUCHI/ Staff Writer

September 16, 2024 at 17:01 JST

Online posts featuring false photos and misinformation about typhoons and heavy rain in summer gained so much attention on X that the Tokyo metropolitan government plans to strengthen countermeasures against such bogus “news.”

Local governments and experts have urged people to look at official information during disasters and avoid relying on what they read from strangers on social media.

However, the rapid spread of false information, including overflowing rivers, during Typhoon No. 10 in August underscored the difficulty of staying ahead of “impression zombies,” who post misleading messages to gain clicks and attention.

Georgia’s parliament approves law curbing LGBTQ rights

‘Family values’ bill is adopted despite being denounced by the president, rights groups and the European Union.

Georgian politicians have approved the third and final reading of a law on “family values and the protection of minors” that would impose sweeping curbs on LGBTQ rights.

The bill, adopted on Tuesday, would provide a legal basis for authorities to outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBTQ rainbow flag, and to impose censorship of films and books.

Late Night Music: The Source - Fly Away (Revisited) [Classic Trance]

Akihabara Gachapon Street Adventure along Tokyo's Chuo Avenue

Leo and I walk in Tokyo's Akihabara area in search of the best Gachapon down Chuo Avenue! Laura join us at Gachapon Kaikan and we get a unique perspective.

Six In The Morning Monday 16 September 2024

 

Political violence becomes America's new norm - but is still shocking

Anthony Zurcher

North America correspondent

After decades without political violence directed at a presidential candidate from one of the major parties, the US has now experienced this twice in the space of two months - with former president Donald Trump the target on both occasions.

In mid-July, he narrowly avoided being shot in the head by a gunman at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The 20-year-old attacker was shot dead by a sniper.

Two months later, on Sunday afternoon, during a round of golf, he was the apparent target of another would-be assassin, according to the FBI, with a suspect now in custody.

Amnesty calls for release of peaceful protesters in Angola

Health of three of four detained a year ago has deteriorated sharply after medical care withheld, charity says

Rachel Savage Southern Africa correspondent

Mon 16 Sep 2024 13.41 BST

Amnesty International has urged authorities in Angola to free four activists who were detained a year ago for planning a peaceful protest, and an influencer who criticised the president in a TikTok video.

The four activists were arrested in September last year before a protest against restrictions on motorcycle taxi drivers. They were sentenced to two years and five months in prison for “disobedience and resisting orders”. The health of three of the four activists has deteriorated sharply in prison, Amnesty said.

Germany's expanded border controls come into force

Germany has temporarily reintroduced controls on its western and northern borders as part of efforts to combat irregular migration and cross-border crime.

Germany's Interior Ministry rejects notion of racial profiling

Germany's Interior Ministry has rejected the idea that police are resorting to racial profiling in the expanded controls at the German borders — specifically checking people because of a perceived foreign appearance.

A ministry spokeswoman stressed on Monday in Berlin that "a racially motivated implementation of police measures would be completely unacceptable and also illegal."

Two years after the death of Mahsa Amini, a ‘quiet revolution’ is still under way in Iran

The scale of the protest movement that erupted after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and the brutal repression of those demonstrations have left an indelible mark on Iranian society. More and more women are flouting the veil requirement when out in public in what one NGO has described as a "quiet revolution" while men's behavior and awareness have also seen a shift in the years since.

September 16 marks two years since a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for wearing what they called an "ill-fitting" veil, sparking one of the largest waves of protests in the history of the Islamic Republic.

In the days following Mahsa Amini’s death, tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to express their anger, chanting, "Woman, life, freedom." These demonstrations, which lasted for several months, were violently suppressed by the Iranian authorities. But two years later, the legacy of the protests remains tangible; tongues have loosened, and more first-hand accounts have begun to surface.

Philippines vows continued presence after South China Sea reef pullout

By Jesse Johnson
STAFF WRITER

The Philippines said Monday it would “continuously deploy” coast guard vessels to the contested waters of Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, denying it has given up on the reef a day after it withdrew a ship that had been stationed there amid a five-month standoff with China.

“The Philippine Coast Guard, together with the armed forces of the Philippines, will never abandon our sovereign rights over these waters. We are still going to sustain our presence,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela told a livestreamed news conference.

Ten maps to understand the occupied West Bank

Since 1967, Israel has occupied the West Bank. Here are 10 maps showing how military control affects Palestinian lives.

By Mohammed Haddad and Marium Ali

Published On 16 Sep 202416 Sep 2024

As Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people, nears one year, assaults in the occupied West Bank continue, with at least 703 people killed by Israeli forces since October 7.

Despite Gaza and the West Bank being just 33km (21 miles) apart at their closest points, Israeli restrictions have long prevented travel and interaction between the two Palestinian territories, even before the recent conflict.

Late Night Music: Deep Progressive Techno #11

The optics and strategy of the Harris-Trump debate

With both candidates averse to media scrutiny, the presidential debate took on huge significance.

This week marked the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. With both candidates giving legacy media the cold shoulder, was it enough to convince voters of their vision for America?

Six In The Morning Sunday 15 September 2024

Israeli army says ‘high probability’ its strike killed three Gaza captives

Army says conclusions of its probe into the deaths of the captives suggest an Israeli air strike likely killed them in November.

After denials for months, the Israeli military says there is a “high probability” its air strike was responsible for the deaths of three Israeli captives in Gaza in November.

The military on Sunday said it was unaware the captives were present in a tunnel in the Palestinian territory when they launched the attack on November 10, 2023.

The bodies of the three captives – Corporal Nik Beizer, Sergeant Ron Sherman and French-Israeli national Elia Toledano – were recovered on December 14. But the cause of death was not determined.

South Africa school language law stirs Afrikaans learning debate

The DA party argues Afrikaans education will be harmed, while the ANC says law is necessary to redress inequality

Rachel Savage Southern Africa correspondent

Sun 15 Sep 2024 13.20 BST

A contentious South African education law has drawn furious condemnation from politicians and campaigners who claim it is putting Afrikaans education under threat while evoking for others an enduring association of the language with white minority rule.

The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act was signed into law on Friday by the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who said he would give dissenting parties in his coalition government three months to suggest alternatives to two sections that give provincial officials the powers to override admission decisions and force schools to teach in more than one of South Africa’s 12 official languages.

The provisions have meanwhile been welcomed by those who say they are necessary in order to stop some government schools using language to racially exclude children.

Europe floods: Emergency services struggle as rivers rise

Several people have drowned in Romania and at least one firefighter lost his life in Austria following heavy rainfall and flooding across Europe. 

Heavy rains cause dam to fail in southwestern Poland

A dam in southwestern Poland has burst after heavy rains, officials said. The dam in Stronie Slaskie, in the Lower Silesia region, gave way and water from the Biala Ladecka River is now flowing freely into the Nysa Klodzka catchment area, a meteorological network said. 

The town of Stronie Slaskie is located in the Klodzko Valley on Poland's border with the Czech Republic. Police have sent a rescue helicopter to the area to bring people stranded by the water to safety. Army soldiers are also on the scene. 

On Saturday evening, a dam burst in the nearby mountain village of Miedzygorze. 

Two years after Mahsa Amini: Little progress for women in Iran

Persecution of bereaved relatives. Impunity for perpetrators. Rampant executions and infighting among the opposition. A bleak picture confronts opponents of Iran's clerical authorities two years after a protest movement erupted that they hoped would be a turning point in the four-and-a-half-decade history of the Islamic republic. 

Gov't, forced sterilization victims reach compensation settlement

The Japanese government and people who were forced to undergo sterilization surgeries from the 1950s to the 1970s under a now-defunct eugenics protection law have settled their lawsuits, following a recent ruling by Japan's top court that deemed the law unconstitutional.

Under the agreement signed by the government and the plaintiffs, the state will pay 15 million yen in compensation to each victim of forced sterilization surgery, considered by many to be the worst human rights violation in Japan's post-World War II history.

Separately, a cross-party group of lawmakers on Friday proposed paying 15 million yen to each victim of forced sterilization surgery who did not join the lawsuit.

A stolen skull, a severed statue and an Australian city divided

Tiffanie Turnbull

BBC News

Reporting fromHobart

For months, an unusual monument sat in an oak-lined square at the heart of Tasmania's capital: a pair of severed bronze feet.

A statue of renowned surgeon-turned-premier William Crowther had loomed over the park in Hobart for more than a century. But one evening in May, it was chopped down at the ankles and the words "what goes around" graffitied on its sandstone base.

It was a throwback to another night more than 150 years ago, when Crowther allegedly broke into a morgue, sliced open an Aboriginal leader’s head and stole his skull - triggering a grim tussle over the remaining body parts.