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Bitcoin’s Hold Above $20,000 Gives Bulls Hope For a Lasting Rally

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Bitcoin's Hold Above $20,000 Gives Bulls Hope For a Lasting Rally
Bitcoin's Hold Above $20,000 Gives Bulls Hope For a Lasting Rally (Image: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg)
  • The token heads to the fourth trading day above the key level
  • Crypto profits are still far from the Uptober traders they wanted
Bitcoin's Hold Above $20,000 Gives Bulls Hope For a Lasting Rally
Bitcoin’s Hold Above $20,000 Gives Bulls Hope For a Lasting Rally (Image: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg)

Bitcoin’s four-day streak above $20,000 has strengthened cryptocurrency traders. They have bet the token should resurface after a brutal year.

On Tuesday, the largest cryptocurrency by market value advanced above $20,000. And as of Friday morning in New York, it had yet to fall below that threshold. The breakout marked the end of a nearly three-week slump that saw Bitcoin trade below the key level for the longest stretch since late 2020.

Other cryptocurrencies staged their comebacks. For the past few days, Ether has traded at $1,500 or slightly above after spending much of the month near $1,300. Meanwhile, Dogecoin is up around 40% since the end of Sunday. Elon Musk, an ardent fan of the altcoin, completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc. this week.

Still, it’s not the “Uptober” cryptocurrency traders wanted. Cryptocurrency fans had seen Bitcoin post huge gains last October. Now last year, for example, the token advanced 40% during the month. But the gains in digital assets this week were encouraging for cryptocurrency bulls who expect the worst of this year’s selling to be behind us.

“Crypto has been making solid fundamental progress in recent months,” wrote Matt Hougan. Matt Hougan is a chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management. He points to the successful upgrade of the Ethereum network, as well as advancements on the regulatory front. “But those fundamentals haven’t been reflected in prices.”

Hougan said a couple of events pushed cryptocurrency prices higher this week. On the one hand, Tuesday’s data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to a three-month low. According to Hougan, market participants took the data to signify that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes are having the desired effect.

Bitcoin has already fallen 70% from its highs. It is a greater magnitude of loss than has been seen with many other assets. It has been said by Steven McClurg, co-founder, and chief investment officer of digital asset fund manager Valkyrie Investments.

“The flat markets before surpassing $20,000 again are likely due to support from corporate and institutional owners who largely bought around those prices and show that there is support for the asset, rather than a capitulation that would have caused an intense drawdown,” he said. “There’s a little glimmer of hope here that things could start to improve sooner rather than later.”

While some Bitcoin proponents are now ready to proclaim the end of this latest “crypto-winter” bear market, at least one analyst is taking a more reserved tone.

“We caution against countertrend exposure because bear market rallies are often fast and furious, making them difficult to time,” said Katie Stockton, co-founder of Fairlead Strategies.

Several measures show that interest in digital assets has waned during this year’s recession. Retail investors, in particular, have become disenchanted with the asset class and have not been involved in the market in the same way they did during the first two years of the pandemic. Google searches for the word “crypto” have fallen to the lowest levels in the past year.

It’s not just retail: Institutional digital asset products experienced their lowest trading volume this month in data dating back to June 2020, with average daily volume dropping 34% to $61 million, according to CryptoCompare.

Still, these are the exact kinds of trends one might see toward the end of a prolonged drawdown, says Alec Young, chief investment strategist at MAPsignals.

“People giving up something is what happens late in a bear market: Google searches, etc., that’s what you want to see, that capitulation, throw in the towel,” Young said in an interview. “It’s bullish for Bitcoin that people are giving up, that’s what you see in turn.”

Source: BLOOMBERG

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New Delhi Gives Itself Power Over Social Media Content Moderation

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New Delhi Gives Itself Power Over Social Media Content Moderation
New Delhi Gives Itself Power Over Social Media Content Moderation (Image: Manish Swarup/AP Photo)
  • The new rules give the Indian government control over the content. They would moderate decisions, made by social media companies.
New Delhi Gives Itself Power Over Social Media Content Moderation
New Delhi Gives Itself Power Over Social Media Content Moderation (Image: Manish Swarup/AP Photo)

The Indian government has announced changes to its information technology rules. All rules that will apply to social media companies are a move that is likely seen as holding back big tech companies.

It would be under the amended rules. It was announced on Friday. A government panel will be formed to hear user complaints. The complaints about social media platforms: content moderation decisions. This gives the government control over the content. The moderation decisions, social media companies make.

The Internet Freedom Foundation is a nonprofit that advocates for digital rights. They called the proposed panel “essentially a government censorship body for social media. That will turn bureaucrats into arbiters of our online free speech.”

One of the concerns raised by the foundation is that the existence of the panel “will incentivize platforms to remove/suppress/label any speech unpleasant to the government, or those that exert political pressure.”

The foundation also expressed concern that the government will also be in a position to force social media platforms. It would be force to display content that platforms have found to violate their rules.

“Opaque and arbitrary methods of choosing appeals for review, lack of trust in an executive body, the government’s ability to influence content moderation decisions in a non-transparent manner”. Are just some of the other concerns the foundation noted about the amended rules.

Tightening Standards

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has had tense relations with many big tech companies, and New Delhi has been tightening regulation of companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Tensions over social media content decisions have been a particularly thorny issue in India. As companies often receive takedown requests from the government or proactively remove content.

Social media companies are already required to have an internal complaint repair officer. And appoint executives to coordinate with law enforcement officials.

Under the amended rules, companies would be required to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours. They also will resolve them within 15 days or 72 hours in the event of a request for the deletion of information.

In June, the government published draft changes to the IT law. It would require companies to “respect the rights granted to citizens under the Constitution of India.” It has also proposed the creation of a government group.

The Indian government is concerned that users upset with decisions to remove their content do not have an adequate system to appeal against those decisions and their only legal recourse is to go to court.

“Several (tech) intermediaries have acted in violation of the constitutional rights of Indian citizens,” the government said in June, without naming any specific company or rights.

The governing panel shall consist of a chairperson and two full-time members, two of whom shall be independent.

Source: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter in $44 Billion Deal

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Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter in $44 Billion Deal
Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter in $44 Billion Deal
  • The Tesla CEO’s purchase caps a six-month saga about the social media giant’s future.
Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter in $44 Billion Deal
Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter in $44 Billion Deal

Elon Musk has officially taken control of Twitter after finalizing a $44 billion deal to buy the social network.

In one of his first decisions at the helm of the social media giant, Musk, the world’s richest man, fired three top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, several U.S.-based media outlets reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal, political, and trust affairs, were also reportedly fired.

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Must Read: Australian billionaire criticizes Elon Musk’s return to Work Order

Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, was also fired, the Washington Post reported, citing an anonymous source.

Following the reports, Musk tweeted “the bird is released,” referencing the social network’s bird logo.

Musk and Twitter have yet to confirm the layoffs.

The Tesla CEO’s purchase caps a six-month saga in which Twitter initially resisted Musk’s takeover offer and then sued the billionaire after he signaled he would reject the deal over concerns about spam accounts and whistleblower claims about lax cybersecurity practices.

Musk’s interest in the platform has become a lightning rod for the debate about free speech in the digital age. Critics have expressed concern that Musk’s reign could mean an open list for hate speech and disinformation, while many conservatives have heralded the takeover as a corrective to Big Tech’s censorship of politically incorrect views.

Musk, who describes himself as an “absolutist of free speech,” has criticized Twitter’s moderation policies and opposed censorship that goes beyond the requirements of the law. In May, Musk said he would reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, which was removed for allegedly inciting violence in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Musk has also expressed discomfort with the platform’s reliance on advertising and is widely anticipated to oversee major job cuts at the company, though he has reportedly denied a Washington Post report suggesting he plans to cut 75 percent of the workforce.

In a lengthy message posted on Twitter ahead of Friday’s purchase deadline, Musk, who previously changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit,” denied any intention of turning the platform into a “free hellscape for all.”

“The reason I acquired Twitter is that it’s important for the future of civilization to have a common digital plaza, where you can debate a wide range of beliefs in a healthy way, without resorting to violence,” he said.

Musk, who has portrayed himself as a moderate, regularly intervenes in politics and has drawn criticism with unorthodox proposals to handle geopolitical flashpoints ranging from Taiwan to Ukraine.

The billionaire announced earlier this year that he would vote Republican in the upcoming election, as Democrats had become the “party of division and hate,” but later said he supported moderate candidates from both parties.

Source: AL JAZEERA

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Hiring in China’s Small Businesses Doesn’t Pick Up From Record Low

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Hiring in China's Small Businesses Doesn't Pick Up From Record Low
Hiring in China's Small Businesses Doesn't Pick Up From Record Low
  • The situation of manual jobs is almost the worst since 2016
  • The jobs that decreased the most are related to property and construction
Hiring in China's Small Businesses Doesn't Pick Up From Record Low
Hiring in China’s Small Businesses Doesn’t Pick Up From Record Low

Hiring activities for China’s smallest companies were near a record low last month, underscoring how the slump due to a property recession and Covid Zero controls is affecting companies that are the backbone of the economy.

The Blue Collar employment index for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are mainly in manufacturing and services, showed little improvement in the third quarter after hitting a record low of 0.3 in June, according to the Beijing-based China Employment Research Institute. That means there are more than three times as many applicants as jobs available.

Must Read: The Fed’s GDP tracker shows the economy could be on the brink of a recession

The index “reflects declining demand for hiring in manufacturing and services due to the economic downturn,” said Zeng Xiangquan, head of the institute that compiled the data. The recent drop is a sharp reversal of the situation in late 2020 and early 2021 when the index rose as factories struggled to hire enough workers to meet growing foreign orders for Chinese goods during the pandemic.

The index is compiled based on data from the job posting website 58.com Inc., which starts in 2016.

Must Read: China’s Real Estate Sector Remains the Biggest Drag on the Economy

Nationwide data showed the employment situation worsened in September, with the surveyed unemployment rate rising to 5.5%, while the youth unemployment rate was nearly 18%, according to data released earlier this week.

Covid and Housing

In addition to declining demand from factories, Covid restrictions also hurt tourism, catering, and hospitality businesses, according to Zeng. Small businesses are likely to be less resilient than larger ones when it comes to weathering shocks, he said.

With housing slumping now lasting more than a year, jobs related to the real estate and construction industries showed the biggest declines in the third quarter compared to last year. Job openings for construction supervisors fell 94% from a year earlier, while posts for general construction workers, heating and air conditioning mechanics, and forklift operators plummeted more than 80%, according to the index.

That’s a change from the second quarter when major cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen went into lockdowns and jobs like subway and bus workers, shop assistants, and coffee baristas saw the biggest drops.

Source: Bloomberg

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New NASA Instrument Detects Methane ‘Super-Emitters’ from Space

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New NASA Instrument Detects Methane 'Super-Emitters' from Space
New NASA Instrument Detects Methane 'Super-Emitters' from Space (Google Earth/Maxar/NASA/JPL-Caltech/via Reuters)
  • The Earth’s Surface Mineral Dust Sources (EMIT) Investigation identified more than 50 methane hot spots worldwide.
New NASA Instrument Detects Methane 'Super-Emitters' from Space
New NASA Instrument Detects Methane ‘Super-Emitters’ from Space (Google Earth/Maxar/NASA/JPL-Caltech/via Reuters)

NASA scientists, using a tool designed to study how dust affects climate, have identified more than 50 methane-emitting hot spots around the world, a development that could help combat the potent greenhouse gas.

NASA said Tuesday that its Earth Surface Mineral Dust Sources (EMIT) Investigation had identified more than 50 methane “super-emitters” in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United States since it was installed aboard the International Space Station in July.

Newly measured methane hot spots, some previously known and others newly discovered, include extensive oil and gas facilities and large landfills. Methane is responsible for about 30 percent of the global temperature rise to date.

“Controlling methane emissions is key to limiting global warming,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement, adding that the instrument will help “identify” methane super-emitters so such emissions can be stopped “at the source.”

Circling Earth every 90 minutes from its position aboard the space station about 400 km (250 miles) high, EMIT can scan vast expanses of the planet dozens of kilometers in diameter while focusing on areas as small as a football field.

The instrument, called an imaging spectrometer, was built primarily to identify the mineral composition of dust blown into Earth’s atmosphere from deserts and other arid regions but has proven adept at detecting large methane emissions.

“Some of the [methane] plumes detected by EMIT is among the largest ever seen, unlike anything ever observed from space,” said Andrew Thorpe, a research technologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who is leading the methane studies.

Examples of the newly imaged methane super-emitters exhibited by JPL on Tuesday included a cluster of 12 plumes of oil and gas infrastructure in Turkmenistan, some plumes stretching more than 32 km (20 miles).

Scientists estimate that Turkmenistan’s plumes collectively spew methane at a rate of 50,400 kg (111,000 pounds) per hour, rivaling the peak flow of the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas field explosion near Los Angeles that ranks as one of the largest accidental methane releases in U.S. history.

Two other major emitters were an oil field in New Mexico and a waste processing complex in Iran, which emitted nearly 60,000 pounds (29,000 kg) of methane per hour combined. The methane plume south of the Iranian capital, Tehran, was at least 4.8 km (3 miles) long.

JPL officials said neither site was previously known to scientists.

“As it continues to study the planet, EMIT will look at places where no one thought to look for greenhouse gas emitters before, and find plumes that no one expects,” Robert Green, EMIT principal investigator at JPL, said in a statement.

A byproduct of the breakdown of organic material and the main component of natural gas used in power plants, methane accounts for a fraction of all human-caused greenhouse emissions but has about 80 times more capacity to trap heat pound-for-pound than carbon dioxide.

Compared to CO2, which remains in the atmosphere for centuries, methane persists only for a decade, meaning reductions in methane emissions have a more immediate effect on global warming.

Source: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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China’s Crude Imports and Refining Increased After the Maintenance

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China's Crude Imports and Refining Increased After the Maintenance
China's Crude Imports and Refining Increased After the Maintenance
  • China’s oil imports and crude processing rose last month as refineries returned from seasonal maintenance, while net exports of fuel products rose after the allocation of a new quota.
China's Crude Imports and Refining Increased After the Maintenance
China’s Crude Imports and Refining Increased After the Maintenance

China’s oil imports and crude processing rose last month as refineries returned from seasonal maintenance, while net exports of fuel products rose after the allocation of a new quota.

Inbound oil shipments rose to 9.83 million barrels per day, the highest level since May, according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data released Monday. Crude processing rose 9% from the previous month to 13.88 million barrels per day, the most since February.

China’s crude purchases are poised to increase during the final quarter of the year after Beijing issued a new quota for oil imports and fuel exports. Refineries can increase processing by 500,000 barrels per day over the past three months just to utilize the new allocations, according to Energy Aspects. Refining could increase further as new plants start, including Shenghong Group.

The volume of refining capacity under maintenance fell to 28.3 million tons as of Sept. 29, down from 48.7 million tons on Aug. 25, according to industry consultancy OilChem. Meanwhile, processing rates for independent refineries in Shandong province rose to 69.1% of capacity in the week ending Oct. 21, the highest level since July, OilChem data shows.

China’s net fuel exports rose 17% from the previous month to 3.37 million tons, the highest level since June 2021. Beijing is trying to revive economic growth by allowing refineries to ship more fuel overseas.

Source: Bloomberg

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Retail Giant Walmart Outlines Crypto Strategy

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Retail Giant Walmart Outlines Crypto Strategy
Retail Giant Walmart Outlines Crypto Strategy
  • Walmart’s global chief technology officer has revealed Crypto’s role in the retail giant’s future. “Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact,” the executive said. “We want to make sure we do it frictionless so customers can transact.”
Retail Giant Walmart Outlines Crypto Strategy
Retail Giant Walmart Outlines Crypto Strategy

Executive Talks about Crypto in Walmart’s Future

Walmart’s Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar discussed cryptocurrency at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit on Tuesday.

Responding to a question about Crypto’s role in Walmart’s future, Kumar said, “I think there are three main areas of disruption. Crypto falls in the middle. I’ve talked before about how customers get inspired and discover products. That’s changing.”

He continued, “Part of that is going to happen in the Metaverse. Part of that is going to happen in live streams, within your social media app. So, whether it’s physical or virtual goods, they [crypto] play a role in terms of what the customer wants.” The Walmart executive opined:

“Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure it’s friction-free so customers can transact and buy, and how they can get value from it.“

“And that’s where I think a lot of the disruption will start to happen in terms of different payment methods, different payment options,” he added. “The role of cryptography will continue to play a very important role in that. And obviously, we want to be where the customer needs us to be.”

“The last part is how the products are discovered, and how the products are delivered. A lot of disruption happening there,” Kumar noted, explaining:

“When talking specifically about cryptography, it will be about the discovery of products, whether physical or virtual inside, either the Metaverse or in advance, and then how people transact.“

Source: Bitcoin.com

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Malaysian Media Says Israel’s Mossad Behind Palestinian Kidnapped

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Malaysian Media Says Israel's Mossad Behind Palestinian Kidnapped
Malaysian Media Says Israel's Mossad Behind Palestinian Kidnapped (Image: Lai Seng Sin/Reuters)
  • The New Straits Times reported that a Palestinian man was kidnapped in a “snatch and grab” operation in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Media Says Israel's Mossad Behind Palestinian Kidnapped
Malaysian Media Says Israel’s Mossad Behind Palestinian Kidnapped (Image: Lai Seng Sin/Reuters)

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency is believed to be behind the abduction of a Palestinian man who was abducted from a street in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and interrogated before being released by police, a Malaysian news organization reported.

Malaysia’s New Straits Times reported Tuesday that the Palestinian computer programmer was crammed into one of two waiting cars by four men involved in the “snatch and grab” operation on the night of Sept. 28.

The abducted man, who was not identified, was beaten while being driven to a house on the outskirts of the capital, where blindfolded and tied to a chair, he was interrogated by a video call on matters related to the Palestinian political organization Hamas and its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.

“A video call had been set up in front of the victim. On the line were two men, believed to be Israelis, whose first line for him was, ‘You know why you are here,'” the news organization reported.

“Over the next 24 hours, the victim was interrogated and beaten by Malaysian agents when their answers were not satisfactory to Israelis,” the news organization added.

“The Israelis wanted to know about his experience in developing computer applications, Hamas’s strength in software development, the members of the Al-Qassam Brigade he knew and their strengths,” a source with knowledge of the case told the New Straits Times.

The source also said the team of kidnappers, identified as Malaysians, had “ruined” the operation, as they had let a second Palestinian man escape. Malaysian officers also did not cover their faces and did not place false license plates on their vehicles, the source said.

The second Palestinian, described as a “most precious capture,” was able to raise the alarm with police who traced the car’s license plates to a house where the kidnappers were arrested and the man released.

Both Palestinians have left Malaysia, according to the report.

A “well-informed Malaysian source” confirmed to Al Jazeera Arabic that an investigation had uncovered a “Mossad cell” in the country that was involved in spying on important sites, including airports, and seeking to penetrate “government electronic companies.”

The source said Mossad had employed Malaysian agents it trained in Europe to carry out the operation, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, which also quoted Malaysian media as reporting that Mossad had recruited a cell of at least 11 Malaysians focused on tracking Palestinian activists.

Mossad was previously linked to the 2018 murder in Malaysia of Palestinian academic Fadi al-Batsh, 35, who was shot dead on his way to morning prayers in Kuala Lumpur.

Al-Batsh’s relatives accused Mossad of being behind the murder.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, then Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, said at the time that the suspects were believed to be Europeans with ties to a foreign intelligence agency, according to state news agency Bernama.

Police said the two attackers had waited for al-Batsh, a Hamas member, in front of a residential building in Kuala Lumpur’s Setapak district for nearly 20 minutes, and fired at least 10 bullets, four of which killed him instantly.

Hamas also accused Mossad of assassinating al-Batsh. Israel dismissed the accusation.

Reporting on Mossad’s alleged role in the Malaysian kidnapping, the Jerusalem Post said Tuesday that during the 2021 Israel-Hamas conflict, which killed more than 230 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel, Israel’s agency said it was “its policy to attack Hamas activists anywhere.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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UN ‘Deeply Distressed’ Over Dispossessed Refugees Found by Greece

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UN 'Deeply Distressed' Over Dispossessed Refugees Found by Greece
UN 'Deeply Distressed' Over Dispossessed Refugees Found by Greece (Image: Emrah Gurel/AP)
  • The UN refugee agency condemns the “cruel and degrading treatment” of people discovered at the Greek-Turkish border.
UN 'Deeply Distressed' Over Dispossessed Refugees Found by Greece
UN ‘Deeply Distressed’ Over Dispossessed Refugees Found by Greece (Image: Emrah Gurel/AP)

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says it is “deeply distressed by shocking reports and images” of 92 people found at the Greek-Turkish land border stripped of their clothes.

“We condemn such cruel and degrading treatment and call for a full investigation into this incident,” UNHCR said on Twitter on Sunday.

Ankara and Athens traded accusations after Greek authorities found the 92 refugees near their northern border with Turkey on Saturday.

Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Cataculi denied his country’s involvement in the incident late Saturday after Greece blamed Ankara for it.

“As not a single case of human rights violation by Turkey could be found, it only seeks to expose the image of its own cruelty as if Turkey had done it,” Catakli said on Twitter in response to a tweet from Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi.

Catakli also called on Greece to stop “manipulation and dishonesty.”

Greek Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said Sunday that the refugees’ accounts suggest they have been brought to Greece by Turkish military police.

“One would expect a working explanation from the Turkish government,” he told a Greek television station.

Athens will soon extend a 40-kilometer (24.8-mile) fence along its border with Turkey to prevent people from entering the country that way, Theodorikakos said.

Greece has urged Turkey to respect a 2016 deal with the European Union in which Ankara agreed to stem the flow of refugees and migrants to Europe in exchange for billions of euros in aid.

Turkey says it has strengthened measures to prevent human trafficking.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Mysterious Beijing Protester Sparks Hunt, Tributes Online

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Mysterious Beijing Protester Sparks Hunt, Tributes Online
Mysterious Beijing Protester Sparks Hunt, Tributes Online. (Image: Twitter)
  • A rare and dramatic protest in Beijing that criticized President Xi Jinping has sparked an online search for the mysterious protester’s identity, as well as praise for the action.
Mysterious Beijing Protester Sparks Hunt, Tributes Online
Mysterious Beijing Protester Sparks Hunt, Tributes Online. (Image: Twitter)

The protester had set up the Sitong Bridge in Beijing’s Haidian district and covered two large banners calling for an end to China’s harsh zero Covid policy and the overthrow of Xi.

While state media has remained silent, photos and videos of Thursday’s event have circulated widely online, prompting a swift crackdown by censors on social media platforms and the WeChat app used by most Chinese.

Thursday’s protest took place on the eve of a historic Communist Party congress, where Xi will receive a third term as party chief, consolidating his grip on power.

The person also set fire to what appeared to be car tires and could be heard chanting slogans on a loudspeaker.

Reports say one person has been arrested in connection with the protest. Footage from the incident showed police officers surrounding the person, who was wearing a yellow helmet and orange clothing.

The BBC has asked local police for comment.

Many have praised the lone protester’s actions, calling them a “hero” and referring to them as the “new Tank Man,” a reference to the unknown Chinese man who stood in front of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen protests.

The protester is believed to be the man dressed in an orange work suit
The protester is believed to be the man dressed in an orange work suit. (Image: Twitter)

Online detectives have tried to track down the person, focusing on a Chinese investigator and physicist from a village in the northern province of Heilongjiang. A BBC check with village officials confirmed that a man by that name used to live there.

He had published what appeared to be a manifesto on the popular research site ResearchGate. This was later withdrawn, although others have uploaded copies of it since then.

In the 23-page document, he called for a strike and acts of civil disobedience, such as breaking Covid testing stations, on Sunday. This was to prevent “dictator Xi Jinping from illegally continuing in office so that China can embark on the path to democracy and freedom.”

Some Chinese have congregated on the man’s two Twitter accounts, posting what they claimed were his photos and writing hundreds of grateful messages.

“You are a hero and you have my respect,” one person wrote, while another said, “I salute the village hero! I hope you can go back safely!”

The man’s name is among the protest-related material that has been censored online. No references to the incident could be found on the Chinese social media site Weibo until Friday morning.

Images and images of the protest and related keywords, including “Haidian,” “Beijing protester,” and “Sitong Bridge,” were quickly removed. Phrases tangentially related to the protest, including “bridge” and “hero,” also yielded limited results.

By Thursday night, all traces of the protester's actions had been removed
By Thursday night, all traces of the protester’s actions had been removed. (Image: Reuters)

Although Chinese media have not reported on the incident, former Global Times editor Hu Xijin appeared to refer to it when he tweeted Thursday night that the “vast majority” of the Chinese people supported Communist Party rule and were “hoping for stability and opposing agitation.”

Many Chinese have reported that their accounts on social media platforms or WeChat, China’s largest messaging app, had been temporarily banned after they shared images of the protest or posted messages alluding to the protest.

The BBC has contacted Tencent, WeChat’s parent company, for confirmation.

Such a dramatic outcry, and public criticism of the government, is rare in China, although China’s harsh “zero Covid” policy has fueled growing public frustration.

In 2018, a woman who disfigured a poster of Xi, saying she opposed his “tyranny,” was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The Beijing protester’s actions come at a particularly sensitive time politically, and thousands of police officers are expected to mobilize across the capital ahead of the week-long party congress.

Source

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