Dec 23 2023
Six In The Morning Saturday 23 December 2023
Doctors accuse Israeli troops of desecrating bodies and shooting civilians at hospital Israel says was Hamas ‘command center’
Israeli soldiers raiding a hospital in northern Gaza desecrated the bodies of dead patients with bulldozers, let a military dog maul a man in a wheelchair, and shot multiple doctors even after vetting them for terror links, according to allegations by staff and patients.
The claims relate to an eight-day operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the Kamal Adwan Hospital last week, which the military alleges was being used as a command and control center by Hamas.
CNN spoke to two senior medical staff, another doctor and a patient at the hospital, who provided corroborating testimonies of what happened. CNN also reviewed video evidence for some of the claims.
Czech Republic holds day of mourning for Prague shooting victims
Flags fly at half mast and minute’s silence observed two days after Charles University student killed 14 people
Bells rang out and flags flew at half mast on Saturday as the Czech Republic mourned the 14 victims of the country’s worst mass shooting.
The archbishop, Jan Graubner, said mass at the main St Vitus cathedral at the Prague Castle and a minute of silence was observed at midday, with people stopping in streets amid heavy rain and snow, and in malls while Christmas shopping.
A 24-year-old student opened fire at the faculty of arts at Charles University on Thursday, killing 13 people and then himself. Another person died in hospital later. It is one of the the worst shootings in the country in decades.
Russia: Ex-reporter barred from challenging Putin in 2024
TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova, who applied to run in Russian presidential elections next March, has been barred from the ballot over registration “mistakes.”
Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova has been barred from running in March’s presidential election because of “mistakes” in her application for registration as a candidate, Russian television reported.
A video posted by a Russian news channel showed a meeting of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) where the members voted unanimously to reject Duntsova’s candidacy.
Duntsova’s campaign team also confirmed the rejection on its Telegram channel and showed screenshots of documents the CEC had highlighted as lacking the proper signatures.
Two held after France grounds Nicaragua-bound plane over suspected ‘human trafficking’
The Airbus A340 had flown in from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, landing at Vatry airport in eastern France for a technical stopover.
It was held by French authorities after an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying passengers “likely to be victims of human trafficking,” the Paris prosecutors office told AFP. The two men in custody were among the passengers.
“Identity checks are being carried on the 303 passengers and on the cabin crew,” said the prosecutor’s office. They were also checking the conditions in which the passengers were being transported and the purpose of their journey.
A source close to the case said that minors were among the passengers.
Taiwan reports more Chinese military activity as election approaches
Taiwan reported Chinese warplanes and warships around the island on Saturday, including aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing continues military activities with three weeks to go before Taiwan votes.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for four years of regular Chinese military patrols and drills near the island.
Campaigning is under way for Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary polls. Relations with China are a major point of contention.
Banksy: Police investigate removal of street sign in Peckham as alleged theft
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation after a south London street sign featuring work by the elusive artist Banksy was removed.
The piece of street art – a red stop sign with three military drones on – was unveiled on the corner of Commercial Way, Peckham, on Friday.
But within an hour it was removed by a man with bolt cutters as witnesses took photos.
Police are treating it as theft. Officers are yet to make any arrests.
One gallery owner told the BBC the artwork could be worth up to £500,000.
Dec 22 2023
Six In The Morning Friday 22 December 2023
Prague gunman killed himself on roof as police approached
22nd December 2023, 06:18 PST
By Kathryn Armstrong & Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe Correspondent
in London and Prague
Prague police say the gunman who killed 14 people at a university on Thursday afternoon killed himself after being surrounded by the authorities.
The attack, which happened at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University, is the worst mass shooting in Czech history.
The authorities said evidence suggests the shooter also killed a man and his young daughter in a forest near Prague last week.
However, this is still unconfirmed.
Russia warns US and Europe over reports Ukraine may get its seized assets
Kremlin threatens ‘serious consequences’ if there is an unprecedented seizure of Russian assets held abroad
The Kremlin has threatened Europe and the US with “serious consequences”, including tit-for-tat financial seizures or even a break in diplomatic relations, if Russian assets held abroad are given to aid the Ukrainian budget and war effort.
A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters on Friday that if the Biden administration and European leaders planned to seize Russian central bank assets believed to be in excess of $300bn (£236bn) that were frozen after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, they should “realise that Russia will never leave those who do it alone”.
Pakistan court grants bail to former PM Imran Khan
Khan and one of his aides were both granted bail in a case where they have been accused of leaking state secrets.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case where he is accused of making public state secrets.
Khan’s party’s deputy leader, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was also granted bail.
The former prime minister was sentenced in the summer to three years in prison over graft charges. The sentence was suspended, but he remained in jail since August due to other charges against him, including the official Secrets Act case.
“The case has completely collapsed, and Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi have finally been granted bail,” lawyer Salman Safdar told reporters outside court.
More than 20 countries join US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping
More than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling militant group Hamas.
“We’ve had over 20 nations now sign on to participate” in the coalition, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.
Ryder said the Houthis are “attacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world,” effectively becoming “bandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea.”
S Korean court orders 2 Japanese companies to compensate wartime Korean workers for forced labor
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
South Korea’s top court ordered two Japanese companies to financially compensate more of their wartime Korean workers for forced labor, as it sided Thursday with its contentious 2018 verdicts on the firms that caused a huge setback in relations between the Asian neighbors.
But observers said that Thursday’s ruling won’t likely hurt bilateral ties much since Seoul and Tokyo, now governed by different leaders, are pushing hard to bolster their partnerships in the face of shared challenges like North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats and China’s increasing assertiveness.
The Supreme Court ruled that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries must provide between 100 million and 150 million won ($76,700 and $115,000) in compensation to each of four plaintiffs — all bereaved families of its former employees who were forced to work for the company during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The court also said Nippon Steel Corp. must give 100 million won (about $76,700) to each of seven Korean plaintiffs, also all bereaved relatives, for similar colonial-era forced labor.
Prominent Chinese business analysts are starting to disappear from social media
Some of China’s most prominent analysts have been subjected to social media restrictions that appear designed to restrict their ability to comment on the country’s ailing stock markets and struggling economy.
At least six analysts are unable to upload new posts or gain new followers on popular social networking platforms, according to their account pages reviewed by CNN.
One of them is Liu Jipeng, an advisor to the Chinese government, who recently asked retail investors in the country to refrain from investing in the stock market. He has not posted on social media since early December and users can no longer follow his accounts.
Dec 21 2023
Six In The Morning Thursday 21 December 2023
Czech Republic: Fatal shooting at Prague university
Czech police say the shooter has been “eliminated,” and that there were several dead and wounded at the university in the capital, Prague.
Czech police reported on Thursday a shooting incident at a downtown educational facility in the capital, Prague , that killed and injured an unspecified number of people.
Around 11 people were killed in the shooting, including the gunman, Prague’s emergency services said.
It was not immediately clear whether the gunman died of a self-inflicted wound or if he was neutralized by police.
What else do we know about the shooting?
Police initially told residents to avoid the area and stay indoors, saying their operations were ongoing. A few minutes later, they said the shooter had been “eliminated.”
Pakistan uses artificial rain in attempt to cut pollution levels
Cloud seeding improves air quality in city of Lahore but experts say practice is not a sustainable solution
Artificial rain has been used in an attempt to lower pollution levels in Lahore, Pakistan.
The capital city of the eastern province of Punjab, near the Indian border, has some of the worst air quality in the world and has become extremely polluted because of a growing population of more than 13 million people.
By early December, the air quality in the city had grown so bad that schools, markets and parks were closed for four days. By last weekend, the city’s air quality index (AQI) had reached levels considered extremely hazardous to health.
Turkey court again says jailed MP’s rights violated
Turkey’s top court on Thursday ordered the release of jailed lawmaker Can Atalay, ruling for the second time that his rights had been violated.
The case of Atalay, 47 — who ran from jail in May’s general election and was elected to parliament — has created an unprecedented judicial crisis.
Atalay was elected to serve as a member of the leftist Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP).
Before that however, he was one of seven defendants who in April 2022 jailed on charges of attempting to overthrow the government for organising 2013 mass protests.
He got an 18-year sentence in a trial that also saw civil society leader Osman Kavala jailed for life.
Atalan’s status sparked a judicial crisis in November when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the highest court of making a series of mistakes.
Scandal-hit biggest LDP faction execs asked for voluntary questioning
Japan’s prosecutors have asked former top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno and other executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction to submit to voluntary questioning over a political funds scandal, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
Matsuno stepped down as chief cabinet secretary last week amid allegations he failed to report more than 10 million yen ($70,000) in income from tickets he sold for fundraising events hosted by the intraparty group, the sources said.
Matsuno served as secretary general of the intraparty group, a position widely viewed as one that would have involved knowledge of the flow of money, for two years through 2021.
Palestinians support Hamas decision to go to war with Israel, survey suggests, with no political solution on horizon
If Ramallah has a center, it is Al-Manara Square. Six roads meet here, and pedestrians weave their way confidently across the tight roundabout, forcing cars to make way. It is always busy.
Demonstrators will rally here to protest, but when CNN visited on a Sunday morning, people were going about their business. All the same, photos from the war in Gaza posted in the square and hung on banners and fences remind anyone who needs reminding of the horrors unfolding not far away.
“This destruction resembles the conscience of the world,” reads one poster, under a picture of rescue workers clearing rubble.
European Super League: Revamped proposal launched for European competition
Revamped plans for a controversial European Super League have been announced after a top court ruled that banning clubs from joining a breakaway league was unlawful.
The proposal is for a league system which would include 64 men’s clubs and 32 women’s clubs.
The plans for a new ESL format would rival current Uefa tournaments.
Following the announcement, Manchester United said in a statement they remain “fully committed” to Uefa competitions.
United were one of the founding clubs of the original ESL but backed out following widespread condemnation of the plans.
The club said their position has “not changed” and they remain dedicated to “positive cooperation with Uefa, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA [European Clubs Association] on the continued development of the European game.”
Dec 20 2023
Six In The Morning 20 December 2023
UN set for Gaza vote as Netanyahu says Israel will not stop fighting
US spokesperson: Gaza truce discussions are ‘very serious’
Discussions for a truce in Gaza are “very serious”, according to a senior US official.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One that there are “very serious discussions and negotiations and we hope that they lead somewhere”.
According to Israeli media reports the negotiations are thought to focus on a deal to free some of the remaining hostages, possibly in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
- A draft resolution by the United Arab Emirates also calls for the return of hostages and a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians
- In a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said anyone who thinks Israel will stop the war before achieving its goals is “not connected to reality”
- The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has arrived in Cairo for talks on a fresh ceasefire in Gaza
- Hamas broke through Israel’s heavily guarded perimeter on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages – some of whom were released during a brief truce
- Nearly 20,000 people are now reported to have been killed and more than 52,000 injured in Gaza since the start of the war
Environmental campaigners filmed, threatened and harassed at Cop28
Indigenous campaigners, human rights defenders and climate activists say they are being silenced by fear of reprisals
Incidents of harassment, surveillance, threats and intimidation are creating a climate of fear at UN events including the recent Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, experts have said.
Indigenous campaigners, human rights defenders and environmental activists say they are increasingly afraid to speak out on urgent issues because of concerns about reprisals from governments or fossil fuel industries.
“In the last few years, we’ve seen Indigenous representatives being filmed by people related to government institutions while giving statements about human rights at UN events, or photographed just for being present at a UN event,” said Lola García-Alix, the global governance senior adviser for the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
In North Korea, torture awaits those deported from China
After 25 years in China, a North Korean woman was deported and vanished without a trace. DW examines the fate of North Koreans forcibly repatriated by Beijing.
Kim Cheol Ok managed a hasty phone call to inform her family about her imminent deportation to North Korea on October 9.
On that day, Cheol Ok and 500 other North Koreans living in China were forcibly repatriated. Her bigger sister in London, who managed to escape during the Great Famine of the 1990s, fears for her life.
“I am sure she is being beaten,” Kim Kyu Li tells DW in her London flat, where she lives in exile.
In North Korea, prisoners often die from starvation and illnesses caused by malnutrition.
“They eat mice and cockroaches and get sick from it,” Kyu Li says.
French health minister quits as immigration law splits Macron’s ruling party
French President Emmanuel Macron faced cracks within his ruling alliance on Wednesday as Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau tendered his resignation in protest at a controversial immigration law that the far right’s Marine Le Pen hailed as an “ideological victory” for her camp.
The bill, a compromise between the centrist president’s party and the conservative opposition, illustrates a rightward shift in politics in much of Europe as governments try to curb the rise of the far right by being tougher on immigration.
It also showed the difficulties for Macron of governing without a parliamentary majority, which he lost in the June 2022 election after winning a second presidential mandate.
Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau told Le Monde daily he would resign in protest against the new law.
“It’s not possible for me to defend this text,” Le Monde quoted Rousseau, a former communist, as saying.
Japan to ship Patriot missiles to U.S. as export rules eased
By NOBUHIKO TAJIMA/ Staff Writer
December 20, 2023 at 16:30 JST
The government is making final arrangements to export domestically produced Patriot missiles to the United States, sources said, which would mark the first domestic arms exports after restrictions are eased.
Japan’s National Security Council will soon make the final decision.
This would be Japan’s first export of finished defense equipment under the new policy that significantly relaxes restrictions on arms exports.
He ran out of countries to visit, so he created his own
Wearing his best suit and sunglasses, the sultan of Slowjamastan officially declared independence from the United States of America at 12:26 p.m. on December 1, 2021 as he broadcast the secession live from his open-air government “office” in Dublândia, the capital of the Republic of Slowjamastan.
Dec 19 2023
Six In The Morning Tuesday 19 December 2023
Iceland volcano: Pollution warning for capital after eruption
By Oliver Slow & Marita Moloney BBC News
Gas pollution could hit Iceland’s capital after a volcano began erupting late on Monday, the country’s meteorological office has said.
The eruption, which broke out on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland, comes after weeks of intense earthquakes and tremors.
Fumes could reach Reykjavik by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
About 4,000 people were evacuated last month from Grindavik, a fishing town threatened by the lava flow.
A resident living near Grindavik described “crazy” and “scary” scenes that night and said she could still see the volcano exploding on Tuesday.
Indian government accused of attack on democracy as 141 MPs suspended
Opposition politicians excluded from rest of winter session for protesting against parliament security breach
More than 140 Indian opposition politicians have been suspended from parliament, the largest number in history, after protesting against a recent security breach at the parliamentary premises.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government was accused of a direct attack on democracy and creating “anarchy” after 141 MPs from 11 different opposition parties, who sit in the lower and upper houses of parliament, were suspended for the rest of the winter session.
While opposition MPs have been suspended by the BJP government in the past, this was the most bulk suspensions of MPs on record in Indian parliamentary history. On Monday alone 78 MPs were suspended, the highest in a single day.
Congo election: North Kivu hopes next president brings peace
As citizens prepare to head to the polls on December 20, people in conflict-ridden North Kivu province are hoping the next president will quash rampant insecurity.
Mahoro Esperance is no stranger to navigating the dangers of conflict in and around her home. The 23-year-old mother of one was born in the territory of Masisi, one of the most unstable areas in the Congolese province of North Kivu.
Most recently, her region was the scene of clashes between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels and the Congolese army, prompting her to take refuge in a camp in a safer region.
Wracked with anxiety, Esperance — a seamstress by trade — tries to busy herself with sewing projects to take her mind off things. But it doesn’t seem to be working. As she prepares to vote in the upcoming general election on December 20, the only solution she can think of is a “powerful” president who pushes hard for peace.
French lawmakers strike tentative deal on toughened immigration law
A group of French lawmakers struck a tentative deal on Tuesday on a contested bill that will toughen immigration laws and has highlighted the difficulties for President Emmanuel Macron of running the country with no majority in parliament.
The government had initially said this would be a carrot-and-stick legislation that would make it easier for migrants working in sectors that lack labour to get a residency permit, but would also make it easier to expel illegal migrants.
But, without a majority in the lower house of parliament since the June 2022 elections, and in order to gain support from the right, the government progressively agreed to water down measures meant to give some illegal migrants residency permits, while tightening access to welfare, among other steps.
Prosecutors search offices of two LDP factions mired in funds scandal
Prosecutors on Tuesday searched the offices of two major ruling Liberal Democratic Party factions over a political fundraising scandal, in a further blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad started searches of the biggest LDP faction, once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and another led by former LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai.
They are seeking to build cases against accountants working for the factions, deeming they failed to declare on behalf of the groups hundreds of millions of yen in fundraising party revenue in political funding reports to create secret slush funds. Some of the money was funneled back to lawmakers, sources familiar with the matter said.
Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships in the Red Sea?
The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.
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