“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly” Mr. Carlson, “WKRP In Cincinnati”
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Nov 23 2023
Six In The Morning Thursday 23 November 2023
Qatar says 13 hostages to be released from Gaza on Friday
What we’ve learned about the Hamas and Israel hostage deal
Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve just learned about the hostage release agreement announced by Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari:
- A pause in fighting will begin at 7am local time on Friday, both north and south of the Gaza Strip
- 13 hostages will be released at approximately 4pm
- All those to be released are women and children
- They will be handed to the Red Cross, but no details have been given of their route out of Gaza
- Qatar says it expects Palestinian prisoners to be freed “as a result of the release of hostages”, but gave no numbers
- Israel has confirmed it has received a list of those who will be released first, and is contacting their families
- Hamas has confirmed the four-day pause will begin at 7am, and says four fuel trucks and 200 aid trucks will be allowed to enter Gaza on each of the four days
- Qatari foreign office spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said he believed the details of the plan were “sound and robust”. He added: “I don’t know if I should say confident, but we are very hopeful, and the commitment we have seen from both sides leads us to be very positive.”
WHO requests details about respiratory illness clusters in parts of China
Epidemiologists say wave in north, particularly among children, may be partly caused by ‘immunity debt’
The World Health Organization has asked China for details about a rise in respiratory illnesses that has been reported in northern parts of the country, particularly among children.
Epidemiologists have warned that as China heads into its first winter since the lifting of zero-Covid restrictions, natural levels of immunity to respiratory viruses may be lower than normal, leading to an increase in infections.
Several countries, including the US and the UK, experienced large waves of respiratory viral infections in the first winter after Covid restrictions were lifted as people had lower natural levels of immunity. For young children, lockdowns delayed the age at which they were first exposed to common bugs.
Australia: Spring wildfire destroys homes in Perth
Perth is undergoing a rare spring heat wave, with temperatures forecast to peak at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), forcing dozens of people to evacuate and leaving hundreds without power.
Dozens of people have been evacuated due to a wildfire in Australia’s western coastal city of Perth, authorities said on Thursday.
Perth is the capital of the state of Western Australia. It is undergoing a rare spring heat wave, with temperatures forecast to peak at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday.
What do we know about the wildfire in Western Australia?
No deaths from the blaze were reported. Ten homes were destroyed by the wildfire, and around 130 people spent Wednesday night in an evacuation center, according to the state’s Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti.
Dutch far-right firebrand Wilders courts rivals after shock victory in legislative elections
Far-right firebrand Geert Wilders faced an uphill struggle Thursday to woo rivals for a coalition government after a “monster victory” in Dutch elections that shook the Netherlands and Europe.
China calls for independent monitoring of treated Fukushima water
China called for independent monitoring of the ongoing discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the sea during a meeting between its top diplomat and the chief of the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition on Thursday in Beijing.
Komeito party head Natsuo Yamaguchi introduced Wang Yi’s remarks to reporters following their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in the capital. The two Asian neighbors have been at loggerheads over the Fukushima plant water release that began in late August and prompted China to ban seafood imports from Japan.
At the outset of the talks, Wang hailed a summit held last week in San Francisco between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, saying it indicated a direction toward “resolving a deadlock” in frayed bilateral ties and “realizing the healthy and stable development” of the relationship.
‘An agenda to control you’: How climate solutions got sucked into a fevered culture war
It began with a law about heat pumps. It ended with stones being thrown at politicians and a surge in popularity for the far rightFor an example of how climate change is increasingly becoming a flashpoint in the culture wars, Germany is a good place to start.A proposed law — championed by the Green Party, part of the coalition government — aimed to ban almost all new heating systems that run on oil and gas in favor of more energy-friendly heat pumps.
Nov 22 2023
Six In The Morning Wednesday 22 November 2023
Hamas says pause in Gaza fighting to begin at 10am on Thursday
What we know about the hostages in Gaza
By Emma Pengelly and Jamie Ryan, BBC Verify
Neither Israel nor Hamas has provided an official list of those hostages being held in Gaza.
The Israeli authorities have notified some of the relatives of those being held, while others who believe friends or family members are among the hostages have not been officially informed.
BBC Verify has been able to identify more than 200 of those taken on 7 October by analysing Hamas-affiliated channels, social media posts from family members of those taken, reports in international media and by speaking to relatives directly.
Myanmar fighting at its worst since 2021 coup, says UN
Widespread escalation in violence across number of states poses greatest challenge yet to military rule
Myanmar is gripped by the worst escalation in violence since the military seized power in a coup almost three years ago, the UN has said, with intense clashes taking place across a number of states and regions.
The UN said an escalation in the fighting that began late in October was “the largest in scale and most extensive geographically” since the military coup, and has affected swathes of the country.
The military, which seized power in February 2021, has struggled to control widespread opposition to its rule, including an armed resistance formed of pro-democracy activists. However, an operation launched recently in northern Shan state by an alliance of powerful ethnic armed groups, in coordination with newer anti-junta groups, has posed the greatest military challenge yet to its rule – and has galvanised opponents elsewhere.
South African lawmakers vote to shut Israel’s embassy
South Africa’s parliament has voted to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria amid criticism by President Cyril Ramaphosa of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.
Parliamentarians in South Africa voted in favor of a motion to close down Israel’s embassy on Tuesday and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel until a ceasefire is agreed in its war with the Islamist militant group Hamas.
Tuesday’s motion is largely symbolic as it is up to President Cyril Ramaphosa‘s government whether to implement the resolution or not.
It passed with 248 votes in favor and 91 votes against.
The motion was introduced by the left-wing opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“In the name of our own constitutional values we must end these relations until human rights of Palestinians are respected, promoted and protected,” EFF party leader, Julius Malema, said last week when he proposed the vote.
From drought to deluge: Kenyan villagers reel from floods
Days after floodwaters swallowed her home in eastern Kenya, Fatuma Hassan Gumo waded through thigh-deep murky water to collect her only remaining possessions — floating utensils.
Flash floods from the Tana river in Garissa, a county on the border with Somalia, forced the 42-year-old fruit vendor to flee at night from her submerged home built from mud and corrugated metal sheets to the nearest dry land with her family of 12, including seven children.
They are among thousands of people left homeless and destitute by torrential rains that have lashed much of Kenya, killing more than 70 people.
The Horn of Africa — only slowly emerging from a devastating drought that left millions hungry — is experiencing heavy rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon. The latest disaster has claimed dozens of lives and caused large-scale displacement in Kenya as well as Somalia and Ethiopia.
North Korea says it put military spy satellite into orbit on third try
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and MARI YAMAGUCHI
North Korea said it placed a spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year, demonstrating the nation’s determination to build a space-based surveillance system during protracted tensions with the United States.
The North’s claim Wednesday could not immediately independently be confirmed. Observers doubt whether the satellite is advanced enough to perform military reconnaissance. But the launch still invited strong condemnation from the United States and its partners because the U.N. bans North Korea from conducting satellite launches, calling them covers for tests of missile technology.
The North’s space agency said that its new “Chollima-1” carrier rocket accurately placed the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit on Tuesday night, about 12 minutes after liftoff from the country’s main launch center.
Baseball great Ichiro Suzuki throws shutout against a high school girls’ team in Japan
He may have retired from professional baseball four years ago, but Ichiro Suzuki certainly hasn’t lost his appetite for the game.
Likely a future Hall of Famer for his stellar Major League Baseball (MLB) career as an outfielder, Ichiro, 50, not only still likes to play, but he’s doing it as a pitcher.
A Japanese high school girls’ team found out just how well he can throw during Ichiro’s annual All-Star game on Tuesday.
Nov 21 2023
Six In The Morning Tuesday 21 November 2023
Netanyahu says progress made on hostages as Hamas says deal close
Israeli army reviewing claims strikes killed Lebanese journalists
Earlier today we reported that a Lebanese broadcaster said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli air strike.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed its soldiers were in the area of al-Jabin, saying they were “operating against a threat posed from a launching area of the Hezbollah terrorist organization”.
The Israeli military adds: “We are aware of a claim regarding journalists in the area who were killed as a result of IDF fire.
“This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous. The incident is under review.”
Rapists and kidnappers increasingly targeting migrants crossing Darién Gap
As record numbers make the perilous journey between Colombia and Panama, Médecins Sans Frontières is treating far more survivors of sexual violence, including children
Armed bandits are exploiting the record number of people crossing the Darién Gap – a 100km stretch of jungle connecting Colombia and Panama – to kidnap and rape desperate migrants, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The organisation said it treated 397 survivors of sexual violence this year – many of them children – once they safely reached Panama. There have been reports of “group rapes in tents set up for that purpose in the mountainous rainforest and swampland”.
The number far exceeds the 172 recorded in 2022, and the charity says it is the latest example of how the suffering of migrants in the Darién is becoming normalised. MSF is urging the Panama and Colombian authorities to deploy an effective security presence in the jungle to protect migrants.
Ukraine commemorates 10 years since ‘Euromaidan’ protests
Ten years ago today, mass protests began in Kyiv against deepening ties with Russia in what would set the stage for today’s conflict. European politicians are visiting in a show of solidarity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday addressed Ukrainians on the “Day of Dignity and Freedom,” which commemorates the 2004 “Orange Revolution” and the 2014 “Revolution of Dignity” pro-democracy protests.
The latter was sparked by the “Euromaidan” protests that started on November 21, 2013 centered on Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Square, after Ukraine’s former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych scrapped an agreement to bring Ukraine closer to the EU.
By February 2014, the Euromaidan protests became known as the Revolution of Dignity, and deadly clashes between police and protesters ended with Yanukovych being removed by parliament. Russia called the ouster a coup, and later in 2014 annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.
Transgender women banned from playing international women’s cricket
Transgender women who have been through male puberty have been barred from international women’s cricket under new regulations announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
In September, Canada’s Danielle McGahey became the first transgender cricketer to take part in an official international match.
Transgender participation has become a hot-button issue as different sports try to balance inclusivity with ensuring fair competition.
International governing bodies in cycling and athletics have also banned transgender competitors.
The ICC board, meeting in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, said the new policy, which takes effect immediately, is aimed at “protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion”.
3rd release of treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant ends safely, TEPCO says
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
The release of a third batch of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean ended safely as planned, its operator said Monday, as the country’s seafood producers continue to suffer from a Chinese import ban imposed after the discharges began.
Large amounts of radioactive wastewater have accumulated at the nuclear plant since it was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It began discharging treated and diluted wastewater into the ocean on Aug. 24 and finished releasing the third 7,800-ton batch on Monday. The process is expected to take decades.
The discharges have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries including China, which banned all imports of Japanese seafood, badly hurting Japanese producers and exporters of scallops and other seafood.
Far-right conspiracy theorists accused a 22-year-old Jewish man of being a neo-Nazi. Then Elon Musk got involved
Ben Brody says his life was going fine. He had just finished college, stayed out of trouble, and was prepping for law school. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob’s misguided rants accusing the 22-year-old from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.
The claim, Brody told CNN, was as bizarre as it was baseless.
But the fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a “Fed”) planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.
Nov 20 2023
Six In The Morning Monday 20 November 2023
Premature babies evacuated from besieged Gaza hospital arrive in Egypt
Israeli military: ‘Terrorists opened fire from within Indonesian Hospital’
Earlier we reported that the director of the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza had told the BBC 10 people had been killed in an Israeli air strike there.
The BBC has verified footage showing tanks close to the hospital – the director said there were tanks just 20m from the building.
We’ve now heard from the Israeli military in response to these reports.
“Overnight, terrorists opened fire from within the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza toward IDF troops operating outside the hospital,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
“In response, IDF troops directly targeted the specific source of enemy fire. No shells were fired toward the hospital,” the IDF added.
The IDF also said that despite challenges of fighting “a terrorist organisation which operates out of hospitals”, it was committed to international law and took “numerous measures to minimise harm to non-combatants”.
Over 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began attacking the enclave after Hamas’s attacks on 7 October, in which 1,200 Israelis were kiled.
Revealed: the huge climate impact of the middle classes
Carbon emissions of richest 10% is up to 40 times bigger than poorest, and ignoring divide may make ending climate crisis impossible, experts say
The richest 10% of people in many countries cause up to 40 times more climate-heating carbon emissions than the poorest 10% of their fellow citizens, according to data obtained by the Guardian.
Failing to account for this huge divide when making policies to cut emissions can cause a backlash over the affordability of climate action, experts say.
The world’s richest 10% encompasses most of the middle classes in developed countries – anyone paid more than about $40,000 (£32,000) a year. The lavish lifestyles of the very rich – the 1% – attract attention. But the 10% are responsible for half of all global emissions, making them key to ending the climate crisis.
German police arrest 18-year-old over far-right attack plot
Authorities in the state of Hesse say the man is suspected of planning a “serious state-endangering act of violence” and of violating German firearms laws. Investigations have been running for several months.
An 18-year-old man is in detention on suspicion of plotting a violent attack, the criminal police office (LKA) for the German state of Hesse and the public prosecutors office in Frankfurt said in a joint statment issued on Monday.
“The suspicion of preparing a serious state-endangering act of violence and of violating firearms laws stands against him,” authorities said. “The 18-year-old repeatedly threatened in pertinent [online] forums to want to kill people for the advancement of his political goals. The existing investigations revealed a hardened, violent, antisemitic and far-right fundamental attitude.”
Brazil grapples with extreme weather as heatwave sweeps nation
A massive heatwave last week swept across large parts of Brazil including major city Rio de Janeiro where US singer Taylor Swift was forced to reschedule a show after the death of an audience member. “The problem isn’t only the heat … [but] ferocious tropical storms, high winds and hail stones”, FRANCE 24’s Tim Vickery said, adding that Brazil has also witnessed landslides provoked by torrential rain in past summers.
N Korea criticizes potential sale of U.S. missiles to Japan, S Korea
North Korea on Monday denounced the United States’ potential sale of missiles to Japan and South Korea, calling it a dangerous act that raises tension in the region and brings a new arms race, state media reported.
In a statement carried by the KCNA news agency, the North’s defense ministry said Pyongyang will step up measures to establish deterrence and respond to instability in the region, which it said was caused by the United States and its allies.
Japan plans to buy 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States, part of its biggest military build-up since World War II. The Pentagon said on Friday the U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale in a deal valued at $2.35 billion.
China calls for ‘urgent’ action on Gaza as Muslim majority nations arrive in Beijing
Editors note: China severely oppresses its minority Muslim population
The world must “must act urgently” to stem the conflict in Gaza, China’s top diplomat said Monday during a meeting with officials from Arab and Muslim majority nations, as Beijing steps up its efforts to play a role in establishing ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian National Authority, and Indonesia, as well as the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for a two-day visit to the Chinese capital, the start of the delegation’s expected tour of several world capitals.
“The international community must act urgently, taking effective measures to prevent this tragedy from spreading. China firmly stands with justice and fairness in this conflict,” Wang told the visiting leaders in opening remarks ahead of talks, where he reiterated China’s call for an immediate ceasefire.
Nov 19 2023
Six In The Morning Sunday 19 November 2023
Inside West Bank district under harsh Israeli lockdown since Hamas attack
By Joel Gunter
Reporting from Hebron
Fawaz Qafisha cracked his front door open a few inches, stuck his head through the gap and squinted against the sun. The street outside was almost completely dead, save for an Israeli soldier who was sitting on a garden chair placed opposite Qafisha’s house, facing the front door.
Before Qafisha had even adjusted his eyes to the light and spotted us coming down the road towards him, the Israeli soldier had sprung to his feet, raised his rifle halfway and ordered Qafisha back inside.
The falafel cook, aged 52, gestured for us to hurry.
“This is how it is any time we try to open the door now,” he said, as we entered.
“We are not even allowed to stand at our windows.”
Argentina holds breath as far-right Milei seizes narrow runoff advantage
Populist provocateur appears slight favorite over Peronist Sergio Massa as 35m Argentinians vote to choose new president
Argentina is teetering on the brink of an unpredictable new political era this weekend with an erratic far-right populist known as “El Loco” (the Madman) the slight favourite to become president of South America’s second-largest economy in Sunday’s election.
As polls opened on Sunday morning against a backdrop of soaring inflation and widespread poverty, analysts believed Javier Milei, a TV celebrity turned congressman, held a slender advantage over his rival, the finance minister, Sergio Massa, but said the result was too close to call.
An Idol Loses Her WayHas Greta Thunberg Betrayed the Climate Movement?
It was last Sunday in Amsterdam that the world’s view of Greta Thunberg suddenly shifted. She was bundled up against the November chill, wearing a gray, quilted jacket as she stood on a stage in front of a vast crowd. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders.
Event organizers estimate that 85,000 people turned out, making it perhaps the largest climate demonstration in the history of the Netherlands. But Thunberg, as shown by the black-and-white Palestinian kaffiyeh wrapped around her neck, had something else on her mind. As a climate justice movement, “we have to listen to the voices of those who are being oppressed and those who are fighting for freedom and justice.” The reference was to the Palestinians.
Ukraine: Russia intensifying aerial drone campaign
Russian drones attacked Ukrainian infrastructure targets for the second night in a row as the Kremlin steps up aerial assaults ahead of winter. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy says air defenses are being boosted.
Waves of Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Sunday morning as attacks on infrastructure and energy targets continued into a second night.
The head of Kyiv’s military administration, General Serhiy Popko, wrote on Telegram on Sunday that the city had been attacked “in waves from different directions.”
The Ukrainian air force reported that 15 out of 20 Iranian-produced Shahed “kamikaze” drones had been shot down over the Kyiv region, as well as near the cities of Poltava and Cherkasy to the south-east of the capital.
“No casualties or critical destruction were recorded,” according to Popko.
‘A real blow for the junta’: Myanmar’s ethnic groups launch unprecedented armed resistance
Fighting in Myanmar between the military junta and an alliance of ethnic armed groups has intensified since late October after an unprecedented offensive in the country’s north exposed the junta’s struggles on the ground. The UN called for all sides to respect international law in a statement on Friday, saying that more than 70 civilians had already been killed and some 200,000 displaced by the upsurge in violence.
Myanmar’s army, known as the Tatmadaw, has been fighting against simultaneous offensives launched by ethnic armed groups in several regions across the country since late October.
“It’s the biggest challenge that the military junta has had to face since the coup d’état of February 1, 2021,” said Thomas Kean, a specialist on Myanmar at the International Crisis Group, an NGO that monitors global conflicts.
Fighting erupted over the weekend in Shan, Kachin and Chin states in the country’s north as well as in Rakhine State in the west, where an informal ceasefire had been in place for almost a year until early last week. Armed groups have taken the fight to the Tatmadaw in Kayah State in the country’s east, according to Kean. At least 70 civilians, including children, have been killed since the fighting erupted in earnest on October 27, and more than 90 wounded and more than 200,000 displaced, according to a UN statement released Friday.
Gripped by drought, this island is running out of drinking water
When Racha Mousdikoudine opens her kitchen faucet, she never knows what will happen.
“Maybe I won’t get any water at all,” she told CNN. “Maybe I’ll get 30 minutes of water. Maybe the water will only come after hours of waiting.”
For the last four months, Mousdikoudine and her two children have had little or no running water in their home on the French territory of Mayotte, and island of around 310,000 people in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar.
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