Dec 03 2023
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Dec 02 2023
Six In The Morning Saturday 2 December 2023
Residents of south Gaza city say Israeli strikes heaviest since start of war
Israel’s strategy ‘best described as clearly designated un-safe areas’
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem
Two days into the resumption of military operations in Gaza, it’s becoming clearer how Israel says it intends to avoid civilian casualties – which are once again rising rapidly.
Israel is no longer calling on Palestinians to move to al-Mawasi, a thin strip of territory along the Mediterranean coast which officials for weeks described as the only “safe zone.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve not seen huge amounts of people going there,” Major Peter Lerner told me this afternoon, “so we are adjusting our operational assessment of the situation on the ground.”
Tsunami warning after Philippines hit by 7.5 magnitude earthquake
Seismologists say tsunamis expected to hit Philippines and Japan in early hours of Sunday morning
An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 has struck Mindanao in the Philippines, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, at a depth of 63 km (39 miles), and tsunamis were expected to hit the Philippines and Japan shortly.
The Philippine Seismology Agency (Phivolcs) said tsunami waves could hit the Philippines by midnight local time (1600 GMT) and could continue for hours.
The Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre (3 feet) high were expected to reach Japan’s western coast a little later, by 1.30am on Sunday (16.30 GMT on Saturday).
The US Geographic Survey estimated the earthquake at magnitude 7.6 and a depth of 32 km (20 miles), and said it had struck at 10.37pm (14.37 GMT).
More details soon …
As economy tanks, Turkish companies eye Egypt
Relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, have been icy for years.
When democratically elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was removed from office by then General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in 2013, Erdogan immediately sided with the jailed Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated leader, calling el-Sissi a putschist, murderer and tyrant.
Erdogan adopted the Muslim Brotherhood’s signature hand gesture and often dismissively referred to Turkish opposition politicians as el-Sissis in an expression of loathing for the new Egyptian president.
Burkina, Niger to quit G5 anti-jihadist force
The military leaders of Burkina Faso and Niger said Saturday they would quit the G5 anti-jihadist force in Africa’s Sahel region, the latest blow to the fight against insurgents in one of the world’s most troubled zones.
The G5, created in 2014, has secured only meagre results, with Mali also quitting the original five-nation force last year in the wake of a military coup.
Leaders of the five countries agreed to deploy a joint anti-terror task force backed by France in 2017, but the military rulers of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have all accused Paris of having an outsize role after years of French deployments on their territories.
Burkina and Niger “have decided in full sovereignty to quit all instances of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force” as of November 29, the two countries said in a statement.
Over 20 nations, including Japan, call for tripling of nuclear energy
More than 20 countries, including Japan, called for the tripling of world nuclear energy capacity at U.N. climate talks on Saturday as part of efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A declaration endorsed by nations ranging from South Korea to the United States to Ghana and several European countries said nuclear energy plays a “key role” in reaching the goal of carbon neutrality.
The use of nuclear energy as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is controversial — particularly in Japan following the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011 — as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste.
Russia boosts size of armed forces by 170,000 troops
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase the maximum number of troops by nearly 170,000 people, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Putin’s decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the strength of the armed forces to 1.32 million service personnel and increases the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million.
“The increase in the full-time strength of the armed forces is due to the growing threats to our country associated with the special military operation and the ongoing expansion of NATO,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Dec 01 2023
Six In The Morning Friday 1 December 2023
Israel tells civilians to leave parts of south Gaza as fighting resumes
Blinken says US still ‘intensely focused’ on hostage release
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Hamas bears responsibility for the truce coming to an end.
“Hamas reneged on commitments it made. Even before the pause came to an end, it committed an atrocious terrorist attack in Jerusalem, killing three people,” Blinken tells reporters as he boards his plane in Dubai.
Hamas claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday.
Blinken adds that Hamas did not uphold commitments it made in terms of releasing certain hostages, and that the US remained “intensely focused” on freeing hostages.
“We’re determined to do everything we can to get everyone reunited with their families, including pursuing the process that had worked for seven days,” Blinken says, adding that work is continuing “almost hour by hour”.
Fears raised after Hong Kong journalist fails to return from China trip
Minnie Chan has reportedly been out of contact since travelling to Xiangshan Forum a month ago
Friends and colleagues of a Hong Kong journalist have raised concerns after she failed to return from a defence and security forum in Beijing a month ago.
Minnie Chan, a reporter for the South China Morning Post, has not been in contact since she went to the Xiangshan Forum, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Thursday. Chan filed several stories from the forum, the most recent of which was published on 2 November.
Kyodo News reported that her friends, whom it did not name, were concerned she was under investigation. The Guardian understands colleagues at the South China Morning Post have also made inquiries to their editors about her whereabouts.
Philippines opens South China Sea monitoring base
The Philippines has inaugurated a coast guard station on an island occupied by its forces in the disputed South China Sea. Manila says the base is necessary to monitor Chinese vessels after recent “bullying.”
The Philippines opened a coast guard base on the contested island of Thitu on Friday, fully equipped to monitor passing vessels in the South China Sea.
Manila says the base will monitor the behavior of Chinese ships and aircraft in the waterway, accusing Beijing of seeking to bully it over the Spratly archipelago.
Why does the Philippines say it needs a base?
Earlier this year, the Philippine Coast Guard said it had spotted a Chinese navy ship and dozens of militia vessels near the island, which is Manila’s main strategic outpost in the South China Sea.
Staff at the three-story facility will use radar, satellite communication, and cameras to observe the surrounding waters.
Guinea-Bissau army says holding leader of rebel security unit after clashes
Guinea-Bissau’s army said Friday it was in control after a gun battle in the capital between units of the security forces, underscoring the political divisions in the small West African nation with a history of instability.
Gunfire was heard through part of the night and early on Friday in Bissau, in clashes between members of the national guard and special forces guarding the president, an AFP reporter heard.
Calm had returned by mid-morning, with the army announcing the capture or surrender of the commander of the national guard.
Daily life resumed in outlying neighbourhoods of the capital, Bissau, but activity remained subdued in the centre, where military pick-ups patrolled.
Security has been stepped up around official buildings and near the presidency, the military general staff and judicial police.
U.S. continues to fly Osprey aircraft in Japan, despite Tokyo’s request not to
By Mariko Katsumura and John Geddie
Japan is concerned that the U.S. military is continuing to fly its V-22 Osprey aircraft despite its request to ground them until their safety is confirmed after a fatal crash this week, Tokyo’s top government spokesperson said on Friday.
Japan, a key U.S. ally, had sought the suspension of all non-emergency V-22 Osprey flights over its territory after one fell into the sea on Wednesday in western Japan. Japan’s Coast Guard has said one person was found and confirmed dead, and the search for the remaining seven aboard continues.
The Pentagon said on Thursday that it was still flying Ospreys for now, and that it was not aware of any official request for their grounding. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
As climate chaos accelerates, which countries are polluting the most?
Countries have a mammoth task ahead as they gather for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. They are way off track for preventing “climate catastrophe,” and scientists are sounding the alarm that time is running out to slash fossil fuels.
Data from Climate Action Tracker, an independent research group, reveals how much planet-heating pollution is still being spewed out, who are the biggest polluters and how much progress still needs to be made.
At COP28, countries will judge their progress toward the Paris Agreement’s pledge to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, with the ambition of limiting it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Nov 30 2023
Six In The Morning Thursday 30 November 2023
Two women freed by Hamas as more hostage releases expected
Prisoners to be released include eight women and 22 children, says Palestinian group
The advocacy group the Palestinian Prisoners Club has published its list of Palestinians held in Israeli jails who it says are expected to be released today as part of the truce exchange deal.
There are 22 minors and eight women on that list.
The 30 have been chosen from an original list of 300 Palestinians compiled by Israel – accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to incitement to attempted murder.
Less than a quarter of those on that list had been convicted – the vast majority were being held on remand while awaiting trial.
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Two more hostages have been freed by Hamas – French-Israeli Mia Schem, who was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival, and lawyer Amit Soussana
Russia outlaws ‘international LGBT public movement’ as extremist
Human rights activists say supreme court’s vague wording provides wide scope for persecution
Russia’s supreme court has outlawed what it called an “international LGBT public movement” as extremist, in a landmark ruling that representatives of gay and transgender people warn will lead to arrests and prosecutions of the already repressed LGBTQ+ community.
The ruling in effect outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a country growing increasingly conservative since the start of the war in Ukraine. The “extremist” label could mean that gay, lesbian, transgender or queer people living in Russia could receive lengthy prison sentences if deemed by the authorities to be part of the so called “international LGBT public movement”.
The justice ministry earlier this month filed a request that the “international LGBT movement” be labelled extremist, without clarifying what it meant under the term, which is not a registered entity in Russia but rather a broad definition used by the Russian authorities.
Gaza conflict: Middle East tourism struggles for survival
Tourism plays an important role in the economies of countries like Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. But visitor bookings are falling because of fears around the nearby conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Moustafa Hassan is slowly starting to worry.
“Sharm [el-Sheikh] is safe, it is a city of peace,” insisted the Egyptian man who works as a food and beverage manager at a hotel in the popular resort town. But potential visitors seem to be thinking twice about coming, the 50-year-old father of four told DW.
“The number of tourists to Egypt has decreased due to the Gaza war,” Hassan noted. Sharm el-Sheikh is about a three-hour drive from the Israeli border and, of all of Egypt’s traditional tourist sites, closest to Israel’s border with Egypt.
Ibama: Brazil’s environmental police are back on the job
When President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to power in January, he revived Brazil’s environmental police force. The Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) is “back at work”, says its president, Rodrigo Agostinho. After years of budget cuts under Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, Ibama has seen its resources triple since the start of the year and is now stepping up its efforts to combat deforestation and illegal gold mining as well as limit livestock farming. FRANCE 24 reports from the northern state of Para.
Geandro Guerreiro views a map on his phone showing his next destination in between the startling swerves the pick-up truck makes to avoid gaping holes in the dirt road.
“We’ve got around 10 plots of land to check in this area today. The owners probably won’t be there, but the aim is to record the offence, fly over the area and notify the culprits as quickly as possible.”
The man in charge of the ground mission here is supervising around 15 Ibama police officers in this Amazonian no man’s land, which is being eroded by pastures. “Everything in grey is land that has been illegally deforested and is already under embargo,” he explains, pointing to a map covered in spots. Here in the town of Pacaja, Guerreiro admits they have to tread carefully.
Japan suspends its own Osprey flights after U.S. aircraft crash
Japan suspended flights by its Osprey aircraft Thursday, officials said, the day after a U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed into the sea during a training mission.
Tokyo has also asked the U.S. military to ground all Ospreys operating in Japan except for those searching for victims of the crash.
A senior Defense Ministry official, Taro Yamato, told a parliamentary hearing that Japan has suspended flights of Ospreys beginning Thursday until details of the crash and safety are confirmed.
Xi Jinping visits financial hub Shanghai for first time in three years as Chinese economy sputters
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has visited Shanghai for the first time in three years, as his government steps up efforts to prop up the country’s economy and financial markets.Xi made the trip on Tuesday and Wednesday and he visited the Shanghai Futures Exchange, a tech exhibition in the Zhangjiang High-tech Park, and a government-subsidised rental housing community, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.He was accompanied by top government officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng and Cai Qi, his chief of staff.
Nov 29 2023
Six In The Morning Wednesday 29 November 2023
Israeli forces raid Jenin in West Bank as truce efforts continue
We will fight to the end – Netanyahu
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his position that a full ceasefire is not on the cards and his forces will fight “until the end”.
As we’ve been reporting, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working to try to secure an extension to the current pause in fighting.
“From the start of the war, I set three goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again go back to being a threat to the State of Israel. These three goals still stand,” Netanyahu said in statement.
He said the return of dozens of hostages was a “very great achievement”.
“But in recent days I have heard a question: After completing this stage of the return of our hostages, will Israel go back to the fighting? My answer is an unequivocal yes.
Closing arguments begin in trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists
Judge says verdict is ‘tentatively’ three or four months away after 10 months of hearings
The long-running national security trial of a group of pro-democracy figures known as the Hong Kong 47 began hearing closing arguments on Wednesday, more than 1,000 days after the accused were first arrested and after 10 months of hearings.
The trial is Hong Kong’s biggest since authorities introduced the national security law in June 2020. Ten days have been allowed for closing arguments and on Wednesday one of the judges, Andrew Chan, said a verdict was “tentatively” three or four months away.
More than 50 pro-democracy politicians, activists, campaigners and candidates were arrested in February 2021 over the holding of unofficial pre-election primary polls, which authorities later deemed to have been illegal despite opposing parties having held unofficial primaries in past elections.
German court upholds wiretaps of climate activists to press
A court in Bavaria has ruled that police were right in wiretapping phone calls between members of the Last Generation climate activist group and journalists.
The Munich District Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of police over their wiretapping of phone calls between the Last Generation climate activist group and its press contacts.
The German court, which issued an order allowing the surveillance, ruled that the violation of the freedom of the press could be justified because of the threat posed by the group’s actions.
What the court ruling said
The court rejected six complaints filed by journalists over the surveillance of their communications with the activist group, which is well-known in Germany for blockading road traffic.
The court found that a surveillance order had been correctly issued by a judge and that the surveillance had been carried out according to the law.
Ukraine accuses Russia of poisoning military intelligence chief’s wife
Ukraine said Tuesday it believed Russia had poisoned the wife of its military intelligence chief, in an apparent assassination attempt targeting the heart of Kyiv’s leadership.
Marianna Budanova, who is an advisor to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, was hospitalised after a prolonged deterioration in her health, the Babel news outlet reported earlier.
Ukrainian investigators’ “main hypothesis” is that Russia was involved in the poisoning attempt, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov later told AFP.
“The target was the wife,” he added, because “it is simply impossible to reach the commander directly.”
There were no immediate comments from Russian authorities.
Yusov said mercury and arsenic, highly toxic substances, were used in the attack.
Up to 170,000 residents must flee if order given at Tokai reactor
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 29, 2023 at 17:01 JST
As many as 170,000 residents would be forced to evacuate if a serious accident occurred at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 plant, the only commercial reactor in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.
The Ibaraki prefectural government on Nov. 28 released the estimate, which Japan Atomic Power calculated for the spewing of radioactive materials in the event of a major crisis at the Tokai plant.
Prefectural officials said this was the first case in the nation of a local government asking a utility operating a nuclear reactor to make such an estimate to assess the effectiveness of evacuation plans.
COP28 leader hits back at allegations he used climate talks to strike oil deals
Updated 7:47 AM EST, Wed November 29, 2023
The COP28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber has strongly denied accusations that his team sought to use the international climate talks in Dubai to strike fossil fuel deals for the UAE’s state-owned oil and gas company.
Several media outlets, including CNN, this week published stories based on a cache of leaked documents obtained by the UK-registered Centre for Climate Reporting, which appeared to be briefing notes for Al Jaber for meetings with foreign officials in the run-up to the summit. Al Jaber also runs the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). He denies ever seeing the documents or ever using such talking points in his discussions.
Several of the documents detailed suggestions to offer new oil and gas projects to visiting officials, which would benefit the UAE.
Nov 28 2023
Six In The Morning Tuesday 28 November 2023
Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Moment Indian workers freed after weeks
Some of the workers arrive at nearby hospital
Nitin Ramola
Reporting from the tunnel
Ten ambulances carrying some of the labourers have now reached nearby Chinyalisaur Base Hospital.
India’s president Droupadi Murmu has posted on X to say she is “relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued”.
She says the rescue effort that was met with obstacles “have been a testament of human endurance”.
She says: “The nation salutes their resilience and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk, far away from their homes.
Former drug trafficker offers up island in hope of reduced sentence
Mafia informant Raffaele Imperiale hands over artificial isle off coast of UAE to show willingness to cooperate
A former drug trafficker turned mafia informant has handed over an artificial island he owns off the coast of Dubai to the Italian authorities in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence.
The announcement was made during the trial in Naples on Monday, which involved about 20 defendants, including Raffaele Imperiale, nicknamed “the Van Gogh boss”, a notorious international drug trafficker for the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia.
Imperiale, who had been on the run for five years, was arrested in Dubai in August 2021 and extradited to Italy in March 2022.
What is life like for women held in Japan’s prisons?
Rights groups are calling on the Japanese government to improve conditions for women in Japanese prisons. Statistics show most women in Japan are incarcerated for non-violent offenses.
Many of the women held in Japanese prisons endure “serious human rights violations,” according to a report released by a rights watchdog this month.
The violations include inadequate access to health care, separation from their children and excessive restrictions in their communications within and outside of prison.
A number of women questioned for the report, published by the Japan office of Human Rights Watch, even claimed they had been handcuffed while giving birth in prison, a charge that the Ministry of Justice has denied.
Dozens killed in attack by armed groups in Burkina Faso, UN says
At least 40 civilians were killed in an attack on Sunday in Djibo, in northern Burkina Faso, the UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday.
“A large number of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters attacked a military base, homes and Internally Displaced People’s camps in the city Djibo, in the Sahel region, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring more than 42,” the UN agency said.
An army detachment in Djibo in northern Burkina Faso was the target of the attack, according to security sources.
“The attack began around 3pm (local time and GMT) on Sunday and was carried out by several hundred armed men who tried in vain to penetrate the (military base),” said the source.
Tokyo yakuza arrested over samurai sword, U.S. rifle at home
By SHOKO MIFUNE/ Staff Writer
November 28, 2023 at 18:03 JST
Tokyo police arrested a yakuza gang member on Nov. 28 on suspicion of illegally possessing antique weapons, including a samurai sword and a U.S.-made rifle from the 19th century.
The 51-year-old suspect is a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai organized crime syndicate, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
He has admitted to keeping the antique weapons at his home in Tokyo’s Taito Ward in July without approval from local authorities, police sources said.
Investigators confiscated a Japanese sword and spear, both from the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603), and a Sharps rifle.
These magnificent purple and green lights aren’t auroras. This is Steve
Not all science is carried out by folks in white lab coats under the fluorescent lights of academic buildings. Occasionally, the trajectory of the scientific record is forever altered inside a pub over a pint of beer.
Such is the case for the sweeping purple and green lights that can hover over the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere. The phenomenon looks like an aurora but is in fact something entirely different.
It’s called Steve.
Nov 27 2023
Six In The Morning Monday 27 November 2023
Gaza truce extended by two days, Qatar says
Hamas says truce will continue with same conditions – Reuters
More now on the extension to the truce, which was due to expire after today but Qatar says has now been extended by two days.
A Hamas official has just told Reuters news agency in a phone call that the temporary truce will have “the same conditions as in the previous truce”.
The current truce sees one hostage freed by Hamas in exchange for the release of three Palestinians detained in Israel, and has seen 39 Israeli hostages released in exchange for 117 Palestinian prisoners.
We haven’t yet heard from Israel on the extension of the truce.
- Families have been informed by the Israeli government that a further release of hostages will take place later on Monday
- As part of the Israel-Hamas deal, 39 Israeli hostages in Gaza have been released so far with 117 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails
Cop28 host UAE planned to promote oil deals during climate talks
Leaked briefing documents for meetings with governments contained ‘asks’ from state oil firm
The host of the UN Cop28 summit, the United Arab Emirates, planned to use climate meetings with other countries to promote deals for its national oil and gas companies, according to leaked documents.
Cop28 begins on Thursday and will be run by Sultan Al Jaber, who is the chief executive of the national oil company Adnoc as well as the UAE’s climate envoy. This dual role has been criticised as a conflict of interest, and climate summit veterans said the new revelations undermined trust in Al Jaber’s presidency of Cop28, potentially threatening a successful outcome.
The Guardian reported recently that Adnoc had the largest net zero-busting expansion plans of any company in the world and that state-run oil and gas fields in the UAE had been flaring gas almost daily despite having committed 20 years ago to a policy of zero routine flaring. Adnoc questioned the figures behind the report but did not provide its own figures.
France: 6 teens go on trial over 2020 teacher beheading
Samuel Paty was killed by a suspected Islamist after showing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad to his class. Five teenagers are charged with identifying the teacher to his killer for payment.
The trial of six teenagers linked to the 2020 beheading of teacher Samuel Paty — a case that shocked France — began on Monday in Paris.
Paty, a 47-year-old history and geography teacher, was stabbed and then beheaded near his secondary school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine by an 18-year-old suspected radical Islamist, who was identified as Abdoullakh A.
The assailant, a Russian-born Chechen refugee, was shot dead by the police soon after the attack.
The teens — aged 14 to 15 at the time — face charges of criminal conspiracy and false accusation, with possible sentences of up to 2.5 years.
South Korean city turns to matchmaking to boost low birth rates
Against the backdrop of Christmas songs, 100 South Korean men and women gathered at a hotel near Seoul dressed in their best with name tags hanging on their clothes, hoping to find love. They were participants at a mass blind dating event hosted by Seongnam city, an attempt by the local government to reverse a falling birth rate in a country where the popularity of marriage and enthusiasm towards parenthood have nosedived.
Incoming New Zealand gov’t to abandon anti-smoking laws
New Zealand’s incoming conservative government will jettison world-leading measures to stub out smoking, new Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed Monday, in a move described by health campaigners as a “huge win for the tobacco industry”.
Unveiled under former prime minister Jacinda Ardern, the so-called “generational smoking ban” aimed to prohibit the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008.
Praised by public health experts and anti-smoking advocates, a suite of near-identical measures were recently announced in the United Kingdom.
China launches criminal probe into ‘insolvent’ shadow bank
The troubles besetting one of China’s biggest privately-owned financial conglomerates have deepened with Zhongzhi now at the centre of a criminal investigation.
Beijing police have begun a probe into the wealth management unit of Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, the authorities said over the weekend. The announcement comes just days after the company told investors that it is “severely insolvent.”
According to a statement posted on Saturday, police suspect Zhongzhi of “illegal crimes” and have enforced “mandatory criminal measures” against a number of suspects, including one surnamed Xie. The founder of the group, Xie Zhikun, died of a heart attack in December 2021, but his nephews hold key posts in the group, according to Chinese state media.
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