Friday, November 1, 2024

Six In The Morning Friday 1 November 2024

 

More than 200 killed in Valencia floods as torrential rain hits another Spain region

Large numbers head to join clean-up in Valencia

As we've been reporting, large numbers of volunteers have been seen out on the streets to help with the clean-up operation after the floods.

The images below show people on their way to help with the effort – some holding cleaning equipment and supplies.

Summary

Gunfight and massive brawl in France seriously wounds five

Shootings in Poitiers are latest to injure children, with minister saying country at ‘tipping point’ on drug violence

 in Paris
Fri 1 Nov 2024 07.54 EDT

A shooting and massive brawl linked to drug trafficking has seriously wounded five people, including three teenagers, in western France, officials and media said, in the latest such gunfight to injure children.

The shooting began at about 10.45pm on Thursday in front of a restaurant in Poitiers and rapidly escalated into a mass fight, the interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, told BFMTV/RMC radio on Friday.

“What started as a shooting at a restaurant ended up in a fight between rival gangs that involved several hundred people,” Retailleau said. A 15-year-old boy who was shot in the head was in a critical condition, he said.

Iran condemns consulate closures in Germany as 'sanction'

The Foreign Ministry has urged German citizens to leave Iran to avoid the risk of being held hostage. The warning comes after the execution of the German-Iranian dissident Jamshid Sharmahd.

Germany's closure of Iran's consulates in the country effectively serves as a "sanction" against Iranians residing in Germany, Tehran said on Friday.

It comes after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday announced that three Iranian consulates would be closed in Germany in response to the execution of German-Iranian dual national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the order online.

Botswana president concedes election, ending governing party's six-decade rule

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded election defeat on Friday after preliminary results showed that his party – which had been in power for 58 years – failed to win enough seats to govern. Masisi’s presidency was marred by high unemployment and allegations of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement.

Botswana's opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has won a majority in parliament and can form the next government, the electoral commission announced Friday, marking a historic defeat for the party that had governed the diamond-rich country for nearly six decades.

Outgoing president Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded defeat in Wednesday's general election and said his administration would begin handing over the reins of government in the next few days.

"The UDC has reached the minimum requirement to be declared the next government," Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) spokesperson Osupile Maroba told AFP. 

Chinese aircraft hover over Japan-U.S. joint military exercise

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

November 1, 2024 at 14:50 JST


The largest joint Japan-U.S. military exercise may have provided the eavesdropping Chinese military with a wealth of intelligence.

A total of 45,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military participated in the Keen Sword joint military exercises, which began on Oct. 23 and will conclude on Nov. 1.

A primary aim of the drills was a simulated response to a military encounter off Taiwan.


North Korea pledges to stand by Russia until ‘victory’ in Ukraine

Pyongyang’s top diplomat also tells Russian counterpart of US and South Korea ‘nuclear plot’ against North Korea.

North Korea will back Russia until it achieves victory in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in Moscow as the United States warned thousands of Pyongyang’s troops were at the Ukrainian border and could soon be deployed into combat.

In her meeting on Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Choe also accused the US and South Korea of plotting a nuclear strike against her country.

“Our traditional, historically friendly relations, which have travelled the tested path of history, today … are rising to a new level of relations of invincible military comradeship,” she said, praising the role played in this by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.



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