Jul 16 2023
Six In The Morning Sunday 16 July 2023
Southern Europe braces for second heat storm in a week
New system pushing into region from north Africa could lead to temperatures above record 48.8C
Southern Europe is bracing for a second heat storm in a week, with Spain, Italy and Greece, along with Morocco and other Mediterranean countries being told temperature records could be broken on Tuesday.
A new anticyclone that pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday could lift temperatures above the record 48.8C (120F) seen in Sicily in August 2021, and follows last week’s Cerberus heatwave.
The European Space Agency (ESA) said the next week could bring the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe in a heatwave called Charon, after the Greek mythological boatman who ferries souls to the underworld.
Abu Dhabi SecretsHow United Arab Emirates Seeks to Leverage Its Influence in Europe
On the third floor of a brown, inauspicious flat-roofed building in Geneva’s Rue de Montchoisy, employees of a private detective agency are planning to launch a character assassination. Their firm, though, isn’t just focusing on individual people, but on an entire country.
The company’s name: Alp Services.
It’s commodity: spying and smear campaigns.
It’s clients: politicians, oligarchs, countries.
It’s target in this case: Qatar.
The company’s contractor is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar’s neighbor and long-time rival, and Alp Services has been asked to identify people and organizations that have links to Qatar and insinuate that they are involved in Islamism and terrorism. Facts are beside the point. Alp Services focuses much of its attention on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Iran: Morality police return to enforce dress code in cities
Many women in Iran stopped covering their heads after the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. But police now say morality patrols are back.
Iranian police announced they were resuming patrols to enforce a strict dress code that requires women to cover their hair in public. In Tehran, male and female morality police officers could be seen patrolling the streets in marked vans on Sunday.
“The police will launch car and foot patrols to warn, take legal measures, and refer to the judiciary those who disobey police orders and disregard consequences of dressing against the norms,” said police spokesman Saeed Montazer Almehdi, according to the official news agency IRNA.
The report comes exactly ten months after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who was arrested for violating the Islamic dress code and later died in police custody.
Private Russian military companies are multiplying – and so are the Kremlin’s problems
The Kremlin said Friday that it is considering granting legal status to some of the more than two dozen private military companies active in Russia. Legally, these shadow paramilitary groups do not exist – which allows them to operate parallel to Russia’s armed forces, at times doing high-risk “dirty” jobs for the army while giving Moscow a measure of deniability.
The Kremlin has announced it may give legal status to some of the many private military companies (PMCs) active within Russia, notably the Wagner Group but also lesser-known militias like Convoy, Patriot, the Moran Security Group and Shchit (Shield).
“Legally, the Wagner private military group does not exist and has never existed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, noting that the status of companies such as Wagner remains “rather complicated”.
The declaration came a day after a similar statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the “Kommersant” business daily. “The (Wagner) group is here, but it does not exist legally,” he said. Putin said its eventual legalisation was a question to be discussed in the Duma (the lower house) and within the government.
Living in ‘an oven’: Heatwave grips displacement camps in Syria
Under a scorching sun, Hamida Dandoush sprinkles water on her tent in an attempt to cool it down, hoping to alleviate the high temperatures for herself and her family.
The 62-year-old woman from the town of Maardabsah is residing in the Saharah camp near the Syrian-Turkish border, where approximately 80 displaced families are enduring harsh living conditions amid the intense heatwave striking the region.
Shimizu failed to monitor grueling working hours of ‘karoshi’ victim
By TAKEHIKO SAWAJI/ Senior Staff Writer
July 16, 2023 at 17:34 JST
A 29-year-old employee of general contractor Shimizu Corp., whose suicide was recognized as an industrial accident resulting from overwork, likely underreported the hours he clocked due to workplace pressure to reduce overtime.
The man killed himself at a company dormitory in Tokyo in August 2021.
A report by an investigative committee of three lawyers established by Shimizu found that the employee put in more than 100 hours in average monthly overtime during the three months before his death, but manipulated computerized records to give the impression he worked fewer hours.
As a result, Shimizu failed to monitor his grueling work schedule.
Jul 15 2023
Six In The Morning Saturday 15 July 2030
What we know about Andrey Troshev, the man Putin proposed as the new Wagner boss
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed to Wagner Group fighters that a senior mercenary named Andrey Troshev now command the private military group, according to comments the Russian leader made to the Kommersant newspaper.
Putin appears to have created a split between senior fighters from the Wagner mercenary group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin since its failed uprising last month – at least in terms of the narrative emerging from his comments to the Kommersant.
The paper was reporting on a meeting held by the Russian president five days after the Wagner rebellion collapsed at the end of June – a meeting attended by Prigozhin and several dozen senior Wagner combatants.
European heatwave: red alerts issued for 16 cities in Italy
Rome, Florence and Bologna among areas affected as forecasters say Sicily and Sardinia could face record 49C temperatures
Sixteen cities across Italy have been issued with red alerts as southern Europe continues to experience fierce heat and faces the possibility of record-breaking temperatures.
Rome, Florence and Bologna are among the areas affected by the heatwave, with forecasters suggesting that Sicily and Sardinia could see temperatures climb as high as 49C (120F), which would be the hottest ever recorded in Europe.
The red alerts mean that even healthy people could be at risk from the heat, and the Italian government has advised those in the alert areas to avoid direct sunlight between 11am and 6pm.
Pakistan: Imran Khan complains of ‘total crackdown’ on party
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan faces almost 180 cases of wrongdoing, he told DW’s Conflict Zone. He said the upcoming elections could be delayed, and refuted claims he had been too friendly with the Taliban.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he faces scores of legal cases after being ousted from office last year and fears he’ll soon be back in jail.
“Till the age of 70, I didn’t have one criminal case. And in the last few months, I have almost 180,” he told DW’s Conflict Zone with Tim Sebastian.
Khan has previously said the cases against him are politically motivated, aimed at sidelining his leadership and dismantling his party before the country’s next election, due in October or November.
More than 20 people killed as heavy rains cause flooding, landslides in South Korea
At least 22 people have died and 14 are missing after heavy rain caused flooding and landslides in South Korea, officials said Saturday, with thousands more ordered to evacuate their homes.
South Korea is at the peak of its summer monsoon season and there has been heavy rainfall for the last three days, triggering widespread flooding and landslides, and causing a major dam to overflow.
The interior ministry reported that 22 people had been killed and another 14 were missing in the heavy downpours, mostly buried by landslides or after falling into a flooded reservoir.
The majority of the casualties — including 16 dead and nine missing — were from North Gyeongsang province, largely due to massive landslides in the mountainous area that engulfed houses with people inside.
In the most severely affected areas, “entire houses were swept away whole”, one emergency responder told the Yonhap News Agency.
Ministry issues warning after oilfield closures in Libya
The fields were shut in protest over the kidnapping of former finance minister Faraj Bumatari.
A day after three Libyan oilfields were shut in protest against the abduction of a former finance minister, the oil ministry has said that the closures could lead to a declaration of force majeure.
A ministry statement late on Friday called on all parties not to let their disputes affect energy production and exports.
Such closures could severely affect the North African country’s vital oil sector, including marketing and demand, and undermine the ministry’s efforts to stabilise crude production, the ministry said.
US heatwave: A third of Americans under extreme heat advisories
A “dangerous” US heatwave is forecast to intensify this weekend, with warnings issued across the south-west.
“Do not underestimate the impact of heat”, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Saturday.
Nearly a third of Americans – about 113 million people – are under heat advisories: from Florida to California and up to Washington state.
Phoenix, Arizona, is likely to hit 110F (43C) on Saturday for the 16th day running – nearing a record.
Death Valley in California – one of the hottest places on Earth – is forecast to reach 128F (53C).
The NWS tweeted that “a sweltering and extremely dangerous heatwave will plague the West this weekend, along with spots of the Southern US.
Jul 14 2023
Six In The Morning Friday 14 July 2023
Health alerts issued as blistering heat scorches southern Europe
Tourists collapse in Greece and Italy and worker killed near Milan amid heatwave worsened by carbon pollution
A ferocious heatwave inflamed by carbon pollution is baking southern Europe, posing severe health risks to older people and those with underlying health conditions.
Scorching heat has already hit several countries, with local media reports of tourists collapsing in Greece and Italy, and an outdoor worker dying near Milan. Temperatures are expected to hit 42C in Athens on Saturday, 41C in Seville on Monday and 40C in Rome on Tuesday.
An area of high pressure called Cerberus – named after a three-headed dog from Dante Alighieri’s poem Inferno – has brought hot air from Africa to Europe. Warm air, which holds more moisture than cold air, can lead to hot and dry conditions in some areas, and heavy rains and flash floods in others.
South Africa: Zuma in Russia for ‘health reasons’
The former president who had his bid to avoid returning to prison denied, is in Russia for medical treatment. Zuma had been jailed for contempt of court amid a corruption case.
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma is in Russia where he traveled to for “health reasons,” according to his foundation, which commented amid speculation over whether he would be returning to prison.
“Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons,” the Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesman Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement issued on Friday.
Manyi said that the 81-year-old would return to South Africa “once his doctors have completed their treatment.” It was not disclosed what medical condition the former president was receiving treatment for.
Communication cuts, disease outbreak in Sudan as fighting rages
War-torn Sudan’s capital experienced a communications blackout for several hours on Friday, residents said, as the army and paramilitary forces waged intense battles across Khartoum and humanitarian groups warned of worsening crisis
“Violent clashes” shook the capital, witnesses told AFP over the phone, after residents woke up to an outage of vital internet and mobile phone connections.
The source of the malfunction was not clear, though mobile and internet networks were restored by the afternoon.
Throughout the day, columns of black smoke were seen rising near army headquarters in the centre of Khartoum as well as in the city’s south.
Witnesses in Khartoum North said there were “clashes using all kinds of weapons”. In Omdurman, just across the Nile river, witnesses reported fighter jets and drones flying overhead.
China coast guard warns Japanese fishing boat near disputed islands
China says its coast guard issued a warning to a Japanese fishing boat operating in waters surrounding uninhabited East China Sea islands that are controlled by Japan but claimed by China.
The warning is the latest event pointing to lingering tensions between the sides, just over a week after China’s senior diplomat, Wang Yi, made controversial comments suggesting China, Japan and South Korea should establish an alliance based on cultural and racial similarities in order to exclude the U.S. and other Western-style democracies.
State media ran a statement just before midnight Thursday quoting coast guard spokesperson Gan Yu saying a Chinese vessel issued a “warning to depart” to the Japanese fishing boat Zuiho Maru on Thursday near the the island known as Chiwei Yu in Chinese and Taisho in Japanese.
The tiny islet is the easternmost of the eight islands making up the Senkaku chain, known as Diaoyu in Chinese
Palestinian leader calls on world to ‘protect us,’ and his people respond with bitter laughter
President Mahmoud Abbas, the 87-year-old veteran who has led the Palestinian Authority for nearly two decades, is trending on Palestinian social media – but not in the way he might like.
When he made a rare flying visit to Jenin this week, eight days after the largest Israeli incursion into the city’s refugee camp in decades, many comments in the Facebook live feed of Palestine TV were harsh.
“Most of those cheering are his security forces. Where are the injured people?” one viewer asked.
“Good morning, you can wait for a week more, no harm,” another said, in reference to the time that had passed between the Israeli pullout and Abbas’s arrival.
“Those helicopters were rented,” another said of the two Jordanian aircraft that brought the leader and his entourage to Jenin.
El Salvador’s secretive mega-jail
Angelica already had a hunch where her missing husband, Darwin, was. But official footage, shared by the government and uploaded on to social media, confirmed her suspicions.
Painstakingly scrolling through it, frame by frame, she spotted him 25 minutes into the footage, shaking hands with his cellmate. She pressed pause, rewound, and examined the footage again.
Though his head was shaved, and he was wearing nothing except regulation white shorts, she had no doubt that this person was Darwin, whom she had not seen since his arrest 11 months previously.
This was her first evidence that he had been transferred to El Salvador’s notorious mega-jail, Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot), which was opened in January by the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, in Tecoluca, 74km (46 miles) south-east of the capital San Salvador.
Jul 13 2023
Six In The Morning Thursday 13 July 2023
‘Resting,’ fired, believed dead: Russia’s missing generals reveal cracks in faltering military
To lose one general during a war that’s going badly might be seen as unfortunate; to lose two within 24 hours looks careless. But that is what’s happened to the Russian command in southern Ukraine – and the two cases illustrate further deficiencies and dissent among Russia’s military leadership.
Early Tuesday, a Ukrainian missile slammed into a hotel in the coastal town of Berdyansk that had been taken over by the Russian military.
One of many reported Russian casualties was Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, the deputy commander of the Southern Military District and a key figure in Russia’s defense of occupied areas of southern Ukraine. He is thought to have been the most senior among the roughly 10 Russian generals killed in the campaign in Ukraine to date.
Thailand’s winning candidate for PM blocked from power
Protests feared after Pita Limjaroenrat of Move Forward fails to get parliamentary backing required to take office
The leader of Thailand’s pro-reform party, which won the most seats in May’s election, has been blocked from taking power by a parliamentary vote that includes military-appointed senators, a move likely to provoke street protests.
Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Move Forward, a progressive party that has a strong youth support base, won the most votes and most seats in May’s election. But Thailand’s election rules, rewritten after a military coup in 2014, required him to have majority support from parliament to become prime minister.
Sweden’s top court bars Turkey’s extradition requests
The court said “dual criminality” had not been met, and that the two people wanted by Turkey risked “being exposed to persecution.”
The Supreme Court in Sweden on Thursday said there are “obstacles to extradition” of two Turkish citizens wanted by Ankara for alleged involvement in the so-called Gulen movement.
In a statement, the court said “the requirement of dual criminality” — when a criminal offense in Turkey would also be considered a crime in Sweden — had not been met.
The court also said the two people — who have refugee status in Sweden — “risk being exposed to persecution if they were to be extradited.”
Sudan war summit urges calm, UN reports mass grave in Darfur
A summit of African leaders from war-torn Sudan’s neighbours Thursday urged an end to the fighting, as UN experts reported a mass grave had been discovered in the country’s Darfur region.
While Cairo hosted the crisis meeting on the nearly three-month-old conflict, gun battles, explosions and the roar of fighter jets again shook the Sudanese capital Khartoum, residents told AFP.
At least 3,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes in the war between Sudan’s rival generals, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
Leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Libya as well as of the African Union and Arab League met in Cairo to discuss the war and its regional impact.
The United Nations has warned that Sudan’s conflict risks spiralling into “a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region”.
Kishida: Still a go for Fukushima water release to start in summer
By SHINYA TAKAGI/ Staff Writer
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated that there was no change in the timetable to start releasing “sometime this summer” treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Speaking with reporters on July 12, Kishida said, “I want to make a decision after the government as a whole confirms that safety will be secured and depending on the extent to which measures to deal with negative publicity are in place.”
Kishida was in Kaunas to attend the NATO summit.
Earlier on July 12, the prime minister met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the summit.
Scorching heatwave bakes southern US states
US heat warnings, explained
Most areas in the southwestern US are under some sort of National Weather Service heat warning, whether it is Heat Advisory or an Excessive Heat Warning.
But what is the difference between the two?
- A Heat Advisory is typically issued within 12 hours of the onset of extremely dangerous heat conditions. Typically, this advisory is issued when the maximum heat is expected to be 100F (38C) or higher for at least two days, with night temperatures above 75F (24 C). Under this advisory, people are advised to take precautions to protect themselves from the heat, or else they may become seriously ill or die.
- An Excessive Heat Warning is more extreme than a Heat Advisory, and is issued when the temperature is expected to be 105F (41C) or higher for at least two days.
- The National Weather Service will sometimes issue Excessive Heat Watches, which warn of the possibility of an extreme heat event often 24 to 72 hours in advance. This is used when the timing of the heatwave remains uncertain.
The National Weather Service has issued extreme heat warnings for multiple states. Here is a break down of which areas will see the hottest temperatures on Thursday:
- Phoenix, Arizona – Forecast high: 115F (46C)
- Las Vegas, Nevada – Forecast high: 118F (47C)
- Houston, Texas – Forecast high: 100F (38C)
- Death Valley, California – Forecast high: 117F (47C)
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