Political news from elsewhere

[Buzz]

A court in India has ruled that groping a child through clothes is not sexual assault.

Indian court rules that groping without removing clothes is not sexual assault

A court in India has ruled that groping a child through their clothing does not constitute sexual assault, drawing outrage across the country and frustrating campaigners battling to address widespread sexual abuse against women and children.

edition.cnn.com

 

[Vagabond]

Myanmar’s Leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Is Detained Amid Coup

Communications were suspended and flights disrupted as the military took power from an elected government and declared a one-year state of emergency.

www.nytimes.com

In addition to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, others who were reported to have been detained by their family, friends and colleagues included President U Win Myint, cabinet ministers, the chief ministers of several regions, opposition politicians, writers and activists.

“The doors just opened to a different, almost certainly darker future,” said Thant Myint-U, a historian of Myanmar who has written several books about the country. “Myanmar is a country already at war with itself, awash in weapons, with millions barely able to feed themselves, deeply divided along religious and ethnic lines.”

“That it was able to make any progress this past decade toward democracy was a near miracle,” he said. “I’m not sure anyone will be able to control what comes next.”

And I'm not sure how much genuine progress there was, given that the threat of a military coup was always present and given that Aung San Suu Kyi and her party collaborated with the military in its crimes against humanity.

 

[Vagabond]

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman proposes to put a 170-km. long city in a mountainous, tribal area in northwest Saudi Arabia. This could go into the Silly News thread except that the details are horrifying.

The Dark Reality Behind Saudi Arabia’s Utopian Dreams

Mohammed bin Salman’s absurd plan for the Line — a 106-mile long city with no cars and no roads — comes with a grisly human price.

www.nytimes.com

The Line, according to the video, will save humanity from this nightmare, eliminating commutes and pollution and preserving 95 percent of the nature within its confines.

What the prince doesn’t say is that there are already thousands of people living in harmony with nature in the same area: a tribal community that has been there for centuries and is now being replaced by the project. One of these tribesmen made videos protesting the evictions — videos of a different sort, you might imagine, than the one M.B.S. has produced. He was shot dead last year in a confrontation with Saudi security forces.

Promotional video

 

[Vagabond]

Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to three years in prison for possessing walk-talkies.

After Coup, Myanmar Military Charges Aung San Suu Kyi With Obscure Infraction

The move against the deposed civilian leader was a curious coda to the army’s rapid dismantling of the country’s nascent democracy.

www.nytimes.com

Collaboration in crimes against humanity might be a more appropriate charge, but that would require the military to acknowledge all that it has done.

 

[Buzz]

The Chinese government wants Chinese men to be less “feminine”. Reaction from the public have not been kind.

China promotes education drive to make boys more 'manly'

The education ministry comes under criticism for moves to "prevent the feminisation" of young boys.

www.bbc.com

 

[ballettmaus]

There will be free sanitary products in all schools in New Zealand from June on. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/18/...0T03:15:39&utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social

 

[PRlady]

I see Australia is having its church-state issues as well: https://www.theguardian.com/austral...schools-to-have-anti-discrimination-exemption

 

[Buzz]

Speaking of boarder walls...

Dominican Republic announces plans for Haiti border fence

The 380km barrier will curb the flow of illegal migrants, drugs and stolen vehicles, the president says.

www.bbc.com

 

[sk9tingfan]

Sarkozy was convicted of corruption with a one year prison term. This will obviously go to appeal. Let's see what happens to Netanyahu and then Trump.

Ex-President Sarkozy Gets Jail Sentence for Corruption in France

Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of trying to obtain confidential information from a judge by offering to help him land a job. He received a sentence of at least one year, but is likely to appeal.

www.nytimes.com