Six In The Morning Wednesday 12 June 2019

 

 

LIVE UPDATES

Hong Kong protests over China extradition bill

By James GriffithsHelen ReganBen Westcott and Steve George, CNN

Updated 4:22 a.m. ET, June 12, 2019

Police push back protesters with batons and tear gas

Police reinforcements are building up en masse at Lung Wo Road. They are pushing back towards Tim Wa Avenue, which is under the control of protesters.

A tear gas warning went up before police charged protesters on Tim Wa with batons and pepper spray.

Police pushed past central government gate and reinforcements are pouring out now onto Tim Wa Avenue.

More tear gas has been fired.

Indian villages lie empty as drought forces thousands to flee

Sick and elderly left to fend for themselves with no end in sight to water crisis

Hundreds of Indian villages have been evacuated as a historic drought forces families to abandon their homes in search of water.

The country has seen extremely high temperatures in recent weeks. On Monday the capital, Delhi, saw its highest ever June temperature of 48C. In Rajasthan, the city of Churu recently experienced highs of 50.8C, making it the hottest place on the planet.

Further south, less than 250 miles from the country’s commercial capital, Mumbai, village after village lies deserted. Estimates suggest up to 90% of the area’s population has fled, leaving the sick and elderly to fend for themselves in the face of a water crisis that shows no sign of abating.

Botswana decriminalises homosexuality in landmark ruling for LGBT+ rights

More than two dozen countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws criminalising gay sex

Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93

Botswana became the latest country to decriminalise homosexuality on Tuesday, celebrated by activists as a day of “pride, compassion and love.”

In the landmark ruling, the southern African nation’s High Court rejected sections of the penal code that criminalise same-sex relations and impose up to seven years in prison.

High Court said in its ruling that penalising people for who they are is disrespectful, and the law should not deal with private acts between consenting adults. The right to privacy includes sexual orientation, which is innate and not a fashion statement, the judges said.

Journalist gunned down in Mexico: reports

A journalist was murdered Tuesday in southeast Mexico, her former employer and other news outlets reported.

Norma Sarabia was a correspondent for the newspaper Tabasco Today for 15 years and most recently worked for other local media outlets, the newspaper said in its report of her death.

She was attacked by two armed men riding a motorbike who shot her several times outside her home in Tabasco state, the paper reported.

“We deeply regret her death and we sympathize with her family,” wrote editorial director Hector Tapia on Twitter.

Israel plans to entrench annexation of East Jerusalem: Report

Concerned that Jerusalem will soon have a non-Jewish majority, Israel may excise Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem.

If current demographic trends continue, Jerusalemcould become a minority-Jewish city as early as 2045, according to a report by the Jerusalem and Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).

And to stop this trend Israel may excise Palestinianneighbourhoods located east of its separation barrier, entrenching its de facto annexation of most of occupied East Jerusalem, according to the report.

Japan’s Shinzo Abe heads to Tehran amid US-Iran tensions

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is heading to Iran with a keen eye on international sanctions and domestic politics.

The visit, which begins Wednesday, is partly aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme.

However, observers have expressed doubt over what can actually be achieved.

For Mr Abe, the trip might help boost his image as a global statesman ahead of elections back home, experts say.

Mr Abe will be the first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in four decades, and is expected to hold talks both with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.