Six In The Morning

Cameron in new EU sanctions warning to Russia over plane

 20 July 2014 Last updated at 07:13

 BBC

Tougher EU sanctions against Russia will be needed if Moscow does not change its “approach” to the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine, David Cameron has indicated.

The PM said the EU should stand up for its principles, amid claims Russia-backed rebels were involved.

Writing in the Sunday Times, he said it may be “time to make our power, influence and resources count”.

The Russian ambassador to the UK warned sanctions would have a negative effect.

Alexander Yakovenko said he regretted recent decisions by the US and EU to impose sanctions, claiming it “can only encourage the Ukrainian authorities to continue violence”.

The day the Rana Plaza garment workers died: New documentary tells the stories of those who survived the collapse of a clothing factory near Dhaka

It was one of the worst industrial disasters of modern times, killing more than 1,000 people

JONATHAN OWEN   Sunday 20 July 2014

Trapped in darkness for days before eventually escaping the rubble, Rojina Begum was one of thousands injured in the worst industrial disaster of modern times – when the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed.

More than 1,000 people died when the factory outside Dhaka, which made clothes for companies such as Matalan and Primark, fell down in April last year. A year on from the tragedy, Ms Begum is one of several survivors remembering their ordeal in a new documentary. Many are speaking about their experiences for the first time.

The disaster could have been avoided, with warnings of cracks in the building the day before ignored. Ms Begum said: “After I went inside I saw the rumour was true.

New hope for Antarctic Ocean?

A new report calls for protection measures in the Antarctic Weddell Sea, one of the world’s last, intact ecosystems. Cooperation between Germany and Russia could help achieve a better situation.

DW

Located to the south of the Atlantic Ocean, the Weddell Sea region is renowned for having one of the most intact ecosystems left on earth and for being a major engine of global ocean circulation.

An alliance of leading environment groups called the (AOA) has launched a new report entitled “Antarctic Ocean Legacy: Towards Protection of the Weddell Sea Region.” It’s part of the group’s recent proposal to designate marine protected areas (MPA) and marine reserves across 19 regions around Antarctica.

The findings in the report aim to support ongoing scientific and policy work in the region.

Aid workers free after month in captivity in Darfur: UN

Three Sudanese employees of international aid agencies were released on Saturday in the troubled Darfur region after 32 days in captivity, peacekeepers said.

Sapa-AFP | 19 July, 2014 15:18

“They appear to be unharmed and in good condition,” the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said in a statement.

Mustafa Abdalla Adarge, of the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, was freed along with two staff from the Irish aid group GOAL, Mohamed Abu Elgassem and Ahmed Elsayed, in North Darfur state’s Kutum district, UNAMID said.

GOAL had confirmed on June 20 that two of its employees were “abducted by an unknown group” while driving on a routine assignment near Kutum town.

Chinese tourists abandon Vietnam after oil rig row



By Cat Barton

For years Nguyen Huu Son has guided Chinese tourists around Vietnam’s popular coastal city Danang, but a bitter maritime dispute between Hanoi and Beijing means he is now out of work.

Relations between the communist neighbours plunged to their lowest point in decades when Beijing moved a deep-sea oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea in early May, triggering deadly riots in Vietnam.

The rig has since been withdrawn. But the Chinese tourists have not returned.

 Record-Breaking Wildfires Bear Down on Washington Communities

 

 Jacob Passy and Jacob Rascon

A cluster of Washington state wildfires grew to more than 300 square miles on Saturday, officials said, making it the largest groups of wildfires in Washington state history. The Carlton Complex fires have burned at least 336 square miles in and around Okanogan County since they were ignited by lightning on Monday, according to Washington State Emergency Management spokesman Mark Clemens. Firefighters have been unable to contain the blaze because of gusty winds and high temperatures. The fire has damaged phone and power lines throughout the area, leaving up to 3,000 people without power, Clemens said. Generators have been sent to the rural towns to keep water and sewer services running, and it may take up to two weeks to restore electricity once the fire is contained, he added.