Six In The Morning Friday 17 November 2023

 

Russia seeks extremist label for ‘LGBT movement’

By Robert Greenall
BBC News

Russia’s justice ministry has filed a motion with the country’s Supreme Court to ban the activities of what it calls the “international LGBT public movement” as extremist.

It is unclear whether the ministry’s statement refers to the LGBT community as a whole or specific organisations.

It said the movement had shown signs of “extremist activity”, including inciting “social and religious strife”.

The ban could leave any LGBT activist vulnerable to criminal prosecution.

Revealed: Abramovich, the super-agent and the footballers owned as ‘commodities’

Investigation shows how two of the most powerful men in football controlled the careers of 21 young players

by  and Simon Lock

The entire population of Tillmitsch, in the mountainous Austrian wine-growing region of Styria, could fit into Manchester City FC’s 53,400-seater Etihad Stadium more than 14 times over.

The local team plays in the lowly fourth tier of Austrian football, a far cry from the pinnacle of the global footballing pyramid occupied by the Manchester club.

Yet if life had taken a slightly different turn, the 6ft 4in central defender Emir Dautović – who patrols the penalty box for SV Tillmitsch when he isn’t working for a frozen foods company – might have starred for the reigning English and European champions.

Lithium mining in Africa reveals dark side of green energy

The new rush for lithium in Africa risks fueling corruption and harming local communities and the environment, investigations have shown.

At a Chinese-run lithium mine in Namibia, local workers have complained for months about squalid living conditions and unsafe work practices.

An August fact-finding mission by the Mineworkers Union of Namibia into the Uis mine — which is operated by Chinese mining company Xinfeng Investments — found that the mine’s local employees live in tiny, hot shacks made of corrugated zinc and without proper ventilation.

The union also faulted a lack of privacy in the sanitation blocks, where toilets and showers are lined up without partitions between them. By contrast, the mine’s Chinese workers have comfortable air-conditioned rooms and decent bathrooms.

‘Fiery hell’: Ukraine secures multiple strategic areas along eastern bank of Dnipro River

Ukraine’s marine corps said Friday it has secured multiple bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region in fighting it described as having left nearly 3,500 Russians killed or wounded and dozens of ammunition depots, tanks, armored vehicles and other weaponry destroyed.

 

 

 

The Marine Infantry Command’s claims are the first to come directly from the Ukrainian military about advances across one of Russia’s most significant strategic barriers. Earlier this week, Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office, confirmed for the first time that Ukraine had established a foothold on the eastern side of the river.

The wide river is a natural dividing line along the southern battlefront and Moscow’s forces have used it since leaving the area around the city of Kherson in November 2022 to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing further toward Russian-annexed Crimea.

Western officials with knowledge of intelligence, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information, said Thursday that Ukraine has portions of three brigades across the river and was expected to make small gains as Russians have so far been unable to repel them.

 

 

China, Japan reaffirm strategic relationship in rare leader talks

By Sakura Murakami and Ethan Wang

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to pursuing mutually-beneficial relations in their first face-to-face talks in a year, a sign that Asia’s two largest economies are looking to patch up strained ties.

The two leaders also discussed China’s ban on Japanese seafood and the high-profile case of a Japanese businessman detained in China during their hour-long talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco on Thursday evening.

The countries should “focus on common interests” and reaffirm their “strategic relationship of mutual benefit and give it new meaning,” Xi told Kishida as they sat across from one another at a table flanked by their delegations.

 

‘Where will I leave these children, on the street?’ The struggle for survival faced by disabled Palestinians in Gaza

Since Israel’s complete siege on Gaza began, Hazem Saeed Al-Naizi, the director of an orphanage in Gaza City, had been gripped with fear, worried about when food, water and other basic necessities might run out for the dozens of children and young people in his care, most of whom are living with disabilities.
When a strike hit a mosque near the Mabarat Al-Rahma orphanage on October 27, blowing out windows, scattering the building with debris, igniting a fire and filling the air with smoke, Al-Naizi said he was confronted with the agonizing decision of whether to evacuate the children and young people.
“There was chaos in the place, children crying, and smoke and fire spread,” Al-Naizi told CNN, sharing videos of the aftermath. “We quickly moved the children to a safe place and extinguished the fire to get rid of the smoke that almost killed us all.”