Six In The Morning Tuesday 1 August 2023

More drones coming, Ukraine tells Russia after skyscraper hit

  • A skyscraper in Moscow’s business district, home to three Russian government teams, has been hit by a drone attack for the second time in recent days, Moscow’s mayor said
  • The Kremlin said it was clear a threat existed following the incident, which it described as a Ukrainian “terrorist attack”
  • BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said repeated drone strikes in Moscow are a message to Russia’s political elite and a reminder to Russians that the war is coming home
  • Ukraine has said it did not, and will not, attack civilian vessels after Moscow claimed that Ukraine used sea drones to attack civilian transport vessels in the Black Sea
  • Two floors of an empty college dormitory were destroyed in overnight drone strikes in Kharkiv after Ukraine accused Russia of targeting populated areas of the city
  • Ukraine said it thwarted an attempt, by what the interior minister called Russian saboteurs, to cross Ukraine’s northern border overnight after guards opened fire on them

Leak reveals ‘touchy’ issues for UAE’s presidency of UN climate summit

Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes

A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.

The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.

The document begins with three pages of “Cop28 UAE key messages” and “narrative points”. These contain no references to fossil fuels, oil or gas but do mention renewable energy and hydrogen.

Australia: Childcare worker charged with 1,623 sex crimes

A childcare worker has been accused of sexually abusing 91 young girls over a 15-year period. Officials say it is one of the worst cases of sex crimes against children in Australia’s history.

A 45-year-old Australian childcare worker has been charged with committing many hundreds of sex crime offenses against 91 prepubescent girls, including some as young as 1 year old, police said on Tuesday.

The man was arrested last August following an almost decadelong hunt after a cache of child sexual abuse material was found on the dark web in 2014.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

The 1,623 charges include 136 counts of rape, 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child younger than 10 and 613 counts of producing child sex abuse material.

French journalists end 40-day strike as far-right editor takes helm at Sunday paper

Journalists at France’s sole dedicated Sunday newspaper announced on Tuesday they were halting one of the longest strikes in the recent history of French media, on the day a controversial editor aligned with the far right took up his post as editor in chief.

Journal du Dimanche (JDD) staff said they were throwing in the towel aware that their decision would mean that they would either leave the paper or have to work under its new leadership.

The strike since June 22 over over the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune, 34, as new editor-in-chief has meant that the influential weekly has now missed six consecutive issues.

The JDD’s SDJ journalists’ association said that agreement had been reached with the paper’s owners, the media arm of French conglomerate Lagardere Group, for the strike to end.

Ex-SDF member collapses as superior tells court he lied

By YURI MURAKAMI/ Staff Writer

August 1, 2023 at 18:17 JS

A former member of the Ground Self-Defense Force collapsed at the trial of three men accused of sexually assaulting her at Fukushima District Court on July 31.

Rina Gonoi, 23, fell to the floor and was hospitalized as her former superior told the court that he lied to protect the suspects and took no disciplinary action because of a locker room atmosphere at the time of the incident.

Gonoi had breathing difficulties but later recovered, her lawyer said.

Gonoi alleges that GSDF members Shutaro Shibuya, 30, Akito Sekine, 29, and Yusuke Kimezawa, 29, pushed her to the floor in a training building in Hokkaido and repeatedly pressed their crotches against her.

European countries to begin evacuation of citizens from coup-hit Niger

The evacuation plans come as military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali warn against any military intervention in neighbouring Niger.

At least four European countries on Tuesday announced that plans to evacuate their citizens are underway in Niger, days after President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by members of his presidential guard.

“France is preparing the evacuation of its citizens and (other) European citizens who want to leave the country,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the evacuation would start on Tuesday.

The German foreign ministry said in a statement that the French had “offered, within the limits of available capacity, to take German nationals on board their flights from Niger” and urged its citizens to take the offer.