6 injured in suspected terror attack on German motorists

LONDON – A man has been charged with attempted murder following a series of car crashes on a German motorway which authorities believe had a potentially Islamist motive, Berlin’s public prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Six people were injured, three of whom are in serious condition, and are currently hospitalized, following the crashes on an inner city highway in Berlin on Tuesday evening. The Berlin police force said that the attacker appeared to be targeting motorcyclists.

The suspect, who has not yet been named, will appear before a judge today.

Witnesses reported that the car deliberately rammed other cars, two motorcycles and a scooter. Up to 300 people were affected by long traffic jams, with the highway closed down in the aftermath of the incident.

“Statements by the accused after his actions suggest a religious-Islamist motivation,” they said in a statement. “There is also evidence of psychological instability.”

After the crashes, the suspect placed an old ammunition box on the roof of his car and seemed to indicate that it contained an explosive device, police said. The authorities found no explosives in the box and arrested the suspect soon after.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/injured-suspected-terror-attack-german-motorists/story?id=72464966

American Universities Will Use Code Names to Protect Chinese Students from Beijing’s New National Security Law

American universities are struggling to conduct certain classes this fall in a way that will protect Chinese students from prosecution under that country’s new national-security law.

China applied a law to the territory of Hong Kong in late June that gives the government broad authority to arrest any resident suspected of offenses against the “national security” of the country. The legislation states that it will apply to offenses committed against the Hong Kong administration “from outside the Region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the Region,” meaning anyone in the world can be prosecuted under the law.

American universities host thousands of students from China and Hong Kong, many of whom will be taking online courses this year. Universities and professors are now struggling to teach the courses in ways that will protect students from prosecution under the national security law.

“We cannot self-censor,” Rory Truex, assistant professor of Chinese politics at Princeton, told the Wall Street Journal. “If we, as a Chinese teaching community, out of fear stop teaching things like Tiananmen or Xinjiang or whatever sensitive topic the Chinese government doesn’t want us talking about, if we cave, then we’ve lost.”

With many students learning online from their homes in China, it will be especially tricky for professors and schools to teach subjects that are censored by the Chinese government.

https://news.yahoo.com/american-universities-code-names-protect-120909567.html

China says latest U.S. sailing near Taiwan 'extremely dangerous'

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s military said on Wednesday the latest U.S. navy sailing near Chinese-claimed Taiwan was “extremely dangerous” and stirring up such trouble was in neither country’s interests.

The U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin sailed through the narrow and sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the U.S. navy said, in what have become relatively routine trips in recent months, though they always anger China.

The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said its air and naval forces followed and monitored the U.S. ship throughout its voyage.

“Any words or deeds that … cause trouble in the Taiwan Strait are not in line with the fundamental interests of China and the United States, harm the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the strait, pose real threats to peace and stability in the region and are extremely dangerous”, it said.

Chinese forces will remain on high alert at all times to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it added.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said the U.S. ship was on an “ordinary mission” and passed through the Taiwan Strait in a southerly direction.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-taiwan/china-says-latest-u-s-sailing-near-taiwan-extremely-dangerous-idUSKCN25F151

Typhoon adds to southern China's rain and flooding woes

BEIJING (AP) — China suffered a double blow Wednesday of flooding and landslides from unusually heavy seasonal rains and a typhoon that came ashore on its southern coast.

Five people were missing in Yunnan province in the southwest after a landslide destroyed two houses, the official People's Daily newspaper said.

In Sichuan province, 21 vehicles parked in a square in Yibin city fell into a hole after the road beneath them collapsed in the middle of the night. No one was injured, according to media reports.

Flooding has left more than 200 people dead or missing in China this year and caused $25 billion in damage, authorities said last week

Typhoon Higos drenched Hong Kong overnight before making landfall in Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong province, in the morning with maximum sustained winds of 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour, China’s National Meteorological Center said.

It weakened to a tropical storm as it moved west toward the neighboring Guangxi region. More than 65,000 people were evacuated, schools were closed and many fishing boats returned to port along the coast, according to Chinese media reports.

Power was knocked out in Meizhou city in northeastern Guangdong province on Tuesday night after trees fell onto power lines, the electric company said.

The worst of the flooding appeared to be over in Sichuan, where the emergency level was lowered Wednesday morning and the toes of a famous Buddhist statue re-emerged as waters receded, news reports said.

It was the first time in at least 70 years that water had reached the foot of the Leshan Giant Buddha, a 71-meter (233-foot) -tall statue carved into the side of a mountain in the eighth century.

Emei Mountain, a nearby tourist site, reopened to visitors after being closed for nearly three days.

The sprawling Chongqing municipality saw its worst flooding since 1981. Water covered roofs in low-lying areas of the historic town of Ciqikou, which was closed to tourists because of the rains from Tuesday evening.

On the Yangtze River, the inflow of water into the reservoir behind the massive Three Gorges Dam hit a record 72,000 cubic meters (2.5 million cubic feet) per second, state media said. The inflow is expected to peak Thursday at 76,000 cubic meters per second, the Ministry of Water Resources said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Typhoon-Higos-hits-China-weakens-to-tropical-15494341.php#photo-19829198

China: 3 Gorges Dam braces for decades' largest floods

The world's largest electricity-producing dam in China is bracing for the country's largest floods in decades, local media reported.

China is witnessing heavy rainfall this season, triggering floods in most southern parts of the country and increasing the water level of the Yangtze River which is spanned by the Three Gorges, Wudongde, Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba dams.

The Yangtze has been witnessing its largest floods since 1981 due to the incessant downpour, with floods forcing authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 of the region's residents.

Based in China's central Hubei province, Three Gorges Corp said the dam was "ready to confront the challenge" posed by the deluge by coordinating with the other dams upstream to retain floodwater, the daily Global Times reported.

This is the first time since 2003 that the giant dam was opened due to its facing such a huge challenge of floods.

The floods in the Yangtze River has also raised concern over potential damage to the 1,200-year-old world heritage site of the Leshan Giant Buddha. The 71-meter (233-feet) statue is located in the southwestern Sichuan province. The rising water level in rivers has pushed muddy floodwater to its toes for the first time since 1949.

Hydro-meteorological estimates show the Three Gorges Dam will face water levels of at least 73,000 cubic meters per second Thursday morning – the largest since 2003.

"To confront the flood peak, dams in the upstream of the Yangtze River including Wudongde, Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba dams will work together under elaborate deployment and operation to jointly retain the flood," Three Gorges Corp said. All three dams are managed by Three Gorges Corp.

China's President Xi Jinping also visited the flood-stricken residents in eastern China's Anhui province.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-3-gorges-dam-braces-for-decades-largest-floods/1946591

Grandson of former Kazakhstan president dies in London after accusing family of corruption

The grandson of Kazakhstan’s former president was found dead in his London apartment months after he accused his family of corruption.

Aisultan Nazarbayev, previously groomed to be a future leader of the nation, said he sought political asylum in Britain because he became afraid of his relatives after uncovering alleged Russian corruption involving billions of dollars, according to the Telegraph. His mother, Dariga Nazarbayeva, the former chairwoman of the Kazakhstan Senate, confirmed his death in a statement on social media.

According to the Telegraph, 30-year-old Aisultan returned to Kazakhstan before the UK lockdown, but traveled back to London ten days ago. He was found dead Sunday in his home there from apparent heart failure.

Aisultan was a graduate from Britain’s Royal Military in Sandhurst in 2010 and tapped for a post with the Defense Ministry by the time he hit his early 20s. Once viewed as a potential leader of Kazakhstan, Aisultan has run into trouble in recent years.

Nazarbayev’s father, Rakhat Aliyev, formerly a senior member of the Kazakh government, died in an Austrian prison in 2015 awaiting trial on two charges of murder. Nazarbayev wrote on Facebook that he believed his father had been killed.

In 2019, Aisultan was handed a suspended prison sentence after biting a police officer, who also Tasered him four times at a stranger’s West End apartment.

Michael Wolkind QC said Nazarbayev’s behaviour was fuelled by mental health difficulties and cocaine.

Two days earlier he had threatened to take his own life.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/grandson-of-former-kazakhstan-president-dies-in-london-after-accusing-family-of-corruption/ar-BB188OQR?li=BBnb7Kz

Kids exposed to simulated sex and graphic images in "dark side" of popular computer game Roblox

Some of these games, according to an article published in Fast Company, are written in computer code that bypasses Roblox's child safety filters. That results in "condo videos" — images of naked characters who simulate sex acts and use crude language in accompanying online chats.

"Roblox has made a world where kids can build whatever they want and with condo games, what they want is to be much more grown-up than I think anyone imagines they would try," Fast Company Editor at Large Burt Helm said.

Helm had been looking into "condo games" for several months. He compared them to a house party "where the parents are out of town."

"But the most shocking thing is that you see characters that are naked, and you see that kids have coded ways for these characters to have sex," he said.

Aside from that, Helm said he found some users even going as far as trying to get kids to start separate, private conversations with them on a different app.

"And you don't know if someone is actually an adult pretending to be a child or with very bad intentions," he said.

Roblox declined an on-camera interview request but said it has "no tolerance for inappropriate content or behavior". The company said it has "a stringent safety system in place," including monitoring content created by users, acting quickly on reports of inappropriate content and continually evolving its defense systems.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roblox-condo-games-kids-exposed-pornographic-scenes-sex-acts/

Tim Norman, 'Welcome to Sweetie Pie's' reality star, charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot

James "Tim" Norman, the star of the OWN reality series "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's," has been arrested on federal charges for his alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of his nephew.

Norman, 41, also the owner of the Jackson, Mississippi, restaurant, was arrested by FBI agents Tuesday in Jackson on charges of conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire resulting in death, according to a statement released by the FBI's Jackson office.

The reality show, which ran from 2011 to 2018, followed Norman and his mother Robbie Montgomery, a former backup singer for Ike and Tina Turner, as they ran the family restaurant franchise.

An affidavit filed Aug. 11 states Norman conspired with Terica Ellis, of Memphis, Tennessee, using prepaid cellphones to coordinate the murder of Norman's 21-year-old nephew, Andre Montgomery, on March 14, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri. Ellis also faces one count of conspiracy, according to the complaint.

The affidavit states Norman attempted to obtain a life insurance policy for Montgomery in the amount of $250,000 in October 2014, but the policy was not issued. Another policy totaling $450,000 was issued by a separate insurance company two weeks later, and Norman was named as the sole beneficiary.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/08/19/james-norman-sweetie-pies-owner-charged-murder-hire-plot/3398974001/

Why Did a Chinese Diplomat Walk All Over People on a Pacific Island?

The dispute over a welcome ceremony in Kiribati has put concerns about Chinese diplomacy and colonialism front and center.

SYDNEY, Australia — The grainy photograph certainly said something about China and the Pacific: It showed the Chinese ambassador, Tang Songgen, walking over the backs of 30 people on a remote island in the nation of Kiribati soon after he had landed on a grassy airstrip.

To some, especially American and Australian officials who helped the image go viral this week, there was no greater symbol of Chinese “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy — in their view, it reinforced Beijing’s domineering, colonial approach.

To others, including people from Kiribati, the criticism was a sign of ignorance. The ambassador was simply taking part in a local welcome ceremony, typically reserved for weddings, that elders had chosen to adapt.

Whether it was inappropriate statecraft or a tempest in a tropical teapot, the debate reflected a new reality for the nations of the Pacific: They suddenly matter again in geopolitics. China and the United States are waging a war of influence across the vast region that often brings aid and attention — but also an urge to talk (or walk) first and ask questions later.

“Our islands have always been geopolitical playgrounds for others,” said Katerina Teaiwa, an associate professor at the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, whose father is from Kiribati. “Given all that, it’s quite frustrating for Pacific Islanders not to be taken seriously or heard.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/world/asia/kiribati-china.html

Look what's being promoted…actually not that shocking anymore…sadly

=

Disney’s First Bisexual Kid Cartoon is Pissing Off Close-Minded Parents Everywhere

When we learned this week that the Disney Channel’s cartoon series The Owl House is making history with the brand’s first queer kid lead character, a Dominican-American teen named Luz, we rejoiced. Representation! Non-binary sexuality! Normalizing non-hetero orientations and relationships from the get-go in kids’ TV! It’s about freaking time. There was so much to celebrate, really — that is, until we started reading the reactions from so many parents who are determined to stifle any potential expressions/explorations of non-normative sexual identities in their kids. In fact, these parents seem hellbent on crafting a closet and welcoming any and all kids to crawl inside, and frankly it’s making our hearts hurt.

Comments on Facebook regarding the mere existence of a 14-year-old queer cartoon character range from “just cancelled my Disney Plus” to “they are kids stop stealing their innocence” to this gem below.

Most of the criticism seems to stem from the idea that parents shouldn’t be revealing anything about sexual orientation to young kids, period. But, as commenter Sabrina Young wrote on Facebook, “we push romantic hetero relationships on kids from day one…people are people, and there are more than hetero couples. By not showing kids the possibilities you are ostracizing them when they don’t fit your mold.”

And she has a point: Why is no one up in arms about the hetero couples in, oh I don’t know, every single Disney movie from Snow White to Tarzan and beyond?

Gender and sexuality studies professor Gwendolyn Beetham agrees that it’s never too early to discuss sexual identity with kids. She tells Sheknows, “you may be saying, ‘College age is fine, but won’t talking to young kids about different sexualities lead to their hypersexualization?’ The answer, quite simply, is no. You know what leads to the hypersexualization of children? Shirts for little boys that read ‘future heartbreaker’ — or the fact that you can barely buy anything for girl children that isn’t pink and frilly (or sometimes even low-cut?!).”

As for The Owl House creator Dana Terrace, she’s been vocal and proud about creating a queer kid character for the show — and about the support she’s received in doing so from Disney higher-ups.

https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2313716/disney-bisexual-kid-cartoon/

>>10340763

I know, just informing those unaware

>>10340861

Perfect role model for little girls…she needs to be abolished…

>>10340893

They're all whores and prostitutes currently

Jailed WeChat User Says Chinese Police Monitor Overseas Accounts Too

2020-08-18 – Authorities in the eastern province of Shandong detained a user of the social media platform WeChat after he sent content to a friend in the United States, providing fresh evidence that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is monitoring communications with WeChat users.

Gao Zhigang was taken away on Sept. 26, 2019 and initially held under criminal detention by police in his home district of Yingze in Shandong's Taiyuan city, on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble."

Following his release, Gao told RFA that he was detained on the basis of a single video clip he forwarded to his U.S.-based friend.

"After I was detained, I was held under administrative detention for 10 days, and they interrogated me," he said. "Then, on the eighth day, I was transferred to the criminal detention center."

"Then there was a 10-month wait before I was sentenced for 'picking quarrels and stirring up trouble'," he said.

Gao's 10-month sentence for "slander" of the government and public order charges included time already served, and he was recently released after being sentenced last December.

But the twist came when Gao viewed the evidence against him, and realized that it hadn't come from his phone.

"The screenshots they provided weren't mine, because I had deleted everything after sending it," he said. "The recipient was also being monitored – by a different police station."

"They are able to get into WeChat through a back door and target you."

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/china/2020/china-200818-rfa03.htm

Expelled Chinese Communist Party Insider Details Internal Tensions in VOA Interview

A recently expelled Chinese Communist Party insider is speaking out about increasing tensions among high-level officials at a time when Xi Jinping’s hardline policies are bringing Beijing into more conflict with democratic countries.

On Monday, China's Communist Party announced that longtime insider Cai Xia, a former professor at the elite Central Party School, had been expelled from the party and stripped of her pension. Cai Xia had recently spoken in support of another party critic, businessman Ren Zhiqiang, and called China's leader Xi Jinping a "mafia boss."

In an exclusive interview with VOA’s Mandarin service, Cai said that Xi faces widespread opposition inside the party and is doing everything he can to maintain stability from within. That frequently means using a variety of methods to suppress dissent or even differing voices within the party.

“There’s a rule among party leaders. The more pressure it faces externally, the more it fears internal problems,” she said. “Now with great challenges home and abroad, they are trying to silence even the slightest different voices to maintain stability inside the party.”

According to Cai, the core work of the Party since 2019 has been “political safety.” She said that right now in China, “political safety” means that Xi maintains his “safe” place as the Party’s top leader.

https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/expelled-chinese-communist-party-insider-details-internal-tensions

UNICEF: North Korea closed shipping route with China

Aug. 19 (UPI) – The United Nations Children's Fund says North Korea has closed a shipping route between Dalian, China and North Korea's port of Nampo.

The maritime route, used by UNICEF and other international agencies to deliver essential goods to the North, has been temporarily closed following official communication from Pyongyang. In late July, UNICEF met with North Korean public health officials to discuss the supply chain, UNICEF stated in its Situation Report No. 11 on COVID-19 and the East Asia Pacific region released this week.

"To this end, the country office is prioritizing COVID-19 supplies, vaccines and essential medicines to be processed for customs clearance and transshipment," the report reads.

U.S. experts on North Korea told Radio Free Asia the measures pose even greater challenges for international organizations sending aid supplies to the isolated country. Closures only exacerbate the public health and food security crisis in North Korea, they said.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/08/19/UNICEF-North-Korea-closed-shipping-route-with-China/6061597840040/

Congo-Kinshasa: North Korea Busts Global Sanctions via Bank in DR Congo

Evading the international sanctions designed to disrupt its nuclear weapons program, North Korea exploited vulnerabilities in certain parts of the banking sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to gain access to the global financial system, The Sentry reveals in its latest investigative report.

Released today, The Sentry’s report “Overt Affairs” exposes a cascade of due diligence failures, compounded by entrenched corruption involving allies of former President Joseph Kabila, leading to a clear violation of US, EU, and UN sanctions. The report reveals how two North Korean nationals working through their company Congo Aconde obtained a US dollar-denominated account at the DRC affiliate of Afriland First Bank, thereby gaining access to the international financial system.

George Clooney, Co-Founder of The Sentry, said: "Don't think for a second that corruption and money laundering in a place like the Democratic Republic of Congo doesn't impact international security. When banks fail to fulfill basic compliance requirements – and when governments turn a blind eye – organized crime and terror financing will always flourish."

John Dell’Osso, Senior Investigator at The Sentry, said: “The activities we uncovered in this investigation suggest that the DRC serves as a haven for sanctions evaders. Without any effort to obscure their national origin, two North Korean nationals succeeded in setting up a company in the DRC, were contracted by government officials to undertake construction projects using public funds, and gained an entry point into the international financial system. As a clear violation of US, EU, and UN sanctions on North Korea, the inaction, lack of due diligence, and corruption that enabled this breach put Congo’s entire economy in jeopardy.”

https://allafrica.com/stories/202008190807.html

North Korea reportedly has up to 60 nuclear bombs in massive weapons stockpile

North Korea is believed to have between 20 and 60 nuclear bombs — as well as a 2,500- to 5,000-ton stockpile of 20 types of chemical weapons, the world’s third-largest, according to reports.

The US Department of the Army headquarters made the assessment in its recent report, titled “North Korean tactics,” saying Pyongyang is unlikely to give up the weapons in its bid to prevent a regime change, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.

“Estimates for North Korean nuclear weapons range from 20-60 bombs, with the capability to produce 6 new devices each year,” the US Army said, noting that some reports state that the rogue regime could obtain as many as 100 by the end of 2020.

“North Korea sought nuclear weapons because its leaders thought the threat of a nuclear attack would prevent other countries from contemplating a regime change,” the US military said.

The report also pointed out that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un witnessed the case of Libya’s Moammar Gaddafi and “does not want something similar to happen in North Korea.”

https://nypost.com/2020/08/18/north-korea-has-up-to-60-nuclear-bombs-in-weapons-stockpile-report/

Kim Jong Un Stirs Suspense With Rare Meeting on Mystery Issue

(Bloomberg) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is convening a key ruling party body on Wednesday for the first time in eight months to address a “crucial” mystery issue. He’s got plenty of tricky situations to choose from.

The state’s official Korean Central News Agency offered few clues about the gathering of the Central Committee, saying it will “discuss and decide on an issue of crucial significance in developing the Korean revolution and increasing the fighting efficiency of the Party.” It didn’t elaborate.

Kim is facing difficulties on various fronts, both at home and abroad. Floods have wiped out farmland to deal another blow to the virus-hit economy, while a reported health scare earlier this year raised questions about succession. His nuclear discussions with President Donald Trump have also ground to a halt without him winning any sanctions relief, and the U.S. and South Korea this week kicked off joint military drills

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kim-jong-un-stirs-suspense-with-rare-meeting-on-mystery-issue/ar-BB184MSC