[News] News From Other Places!

It's news you can use from places with different views! (Don't misuse or abuse you yahoos.)

Maybe they can get him on record with which flat earth model he thinks explains the time zones he flew through to get there.

I feel the need to share this with Australia:

Prederick wrote:
Prederick wrote:

So.... uh... the reverberations of this are... unexpected?

Like, it appears to have gone better than the shooter could've possibly expected?

I need to sit down.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday his ruling party will cut ties with the Unification Church following a widening scandal triggered by former leader Shinzo Abe’s assassination last month, and apologized for causing the loss of public trust in politics.

Widespread cozy ties between members of Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, many of them belonging to Abe’s faction, and the South Korean-born church have surfaced since Abe was shot to death while giving a campaign speech in July.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagani, who was arrested at the scene, allegedly told police he killed Abe because of his apparent link to the church. In a letter seen by The Associated Press and social media posts believed to be his, Yamagani said he believed his mother’s large donations to the church had ruined his life.

Some Japanese have expressed understanding, even sympathy, as details of the man’s life emerged, creating deep implications for the political party that has governed Japan virtually uninterrupted since World War II.

Someone at the CIA is going to get a firm talking to about that

NathanialG wrote:

Someone at the CIA is going to get a firm talking to about that

When you go with the lowest bidder, you get what you pay for.

Chile votes overwhelmingly to reject new, progressive constitution

Chileans have voted comprehensively against a new, progressive constitution that had been drafted to replace the 1980 document written under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

With 96% of the votes counted in Sunday’s plebiscite, the rejection camp had 61.9% support compared with 38.1% for approval amid what appeared to be a heavy turnout with long lines at polling states. Voting was mandatory.

Senator Ximena Rincón, one of the leaders of the reject campaign, described the victory as “clear and emphatic”, and called for a new constitutional convention to be convened.

The “approve” campaign has accepted defeat and the country’s 36-year-old president, Gabriel Boric, has already called a meeting of party leaders for Monday morning at La Moneda, the presidential palace.

Any goodjers even close to knowledgeable about the situation in Chile?

Still down from being the world’s largest economy before the Raj. Yes, I am aware it’s hard to do get good economic stats before the 20th century but the only real comparable state (land mass/population) is China and Imperial China never allowed trade like the Mughal’s did.

Protests spread in Iran after woman dies in custody of morality police

Judging by what I'm seeing about this on Twitter the protests have grown considerably over the past few days and civilians are getting particularly feisty with state security forces, who they view as having beaten the woman to death for not properly wearing her hijab.

Iran's hardline and super conservative president, Ebrahim Raisi, is actually in America now is is scheduled to give a speech to the UN General Assembly tomorrow. He's the one to who ordered Iran's morality police strictly enforce dress codes for Iranian women.

Here's to hoping he doesn't have a country he can return to.

I did not, in my WILDEST dreams see the assassination of Shinzo Abe playing out like this:

Shinzo Abe: man sets himself alight in protest at state funeral for killed Japan PM

A man has set himself alight near the Japanese prime minister’s office, apparently in protest against next week’s state funeral for the country’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

The man, who has not been named, was initially unconscious and sustained burns over his entire body after the incident in Tokyo on Wednesday morning, less than a week before the controversial send-off for Abe, who was shot dead in July.

Opposition to the 27 September state funeral has grown since Abe’s death triggered revelations about the governing Liberal Democratic party’s ties to the Unification church, whose members are colloquially known as Moonies.

Media reports said the protester, who is in his 70s, regained consciousness and told police that he had doused himself in oil before setting it alight. A note in which he said he “strongly opposed” the funeral was found near the scene.

I’d prefer people to not set themselves alight and the amount of money being used is not particularly egregious. Still, perhaps a more appropriate funeral service for Abes’s crimes would be incineration and being turned into kitty litter.

On the run, Lebanese woman who stole own savings says she's not the criminal

On the run from authorities after forcing a bank to release her family savings at gunpoint to treat her cancer-stricken sister, 28-year-old Lebanese interior designer Sali Hafiz insists she is not the criminal.

"We are in the country of mafias. If you are not a wolf, the wolves will eat you," she told Reuters, standing on a dirt track somewhere in Lebanon's rugged eastern Bekaa valley where she has since been in hiding.

Seoul subway murder sparks fury over South Korea’s stalking laws

Outside the women's restroom at a subway station in the South Korean capital is a plaque that reads: "Women Friendly Seoul."

The words, meant to assure women of their safety, have become tragically ironic. Last week, inside the restroom, a young woman who worked at the station was brutally murdered. The man suspected of killing her had been stalking her for years.

The wall underneath the plaque has since become a shrine of messages left as notes, with women and men of all ages coming to express their fury, fear, and sorrow.

"I want to be alive at the end of my workday," reads one. "Is it too much to ask, to be safe to reject people I don't like?" reads another.

The mother of a teenage girl cries as she scans the messages. "Where have we gone so wrong?" she asks, now questioning whether to allow her daughter to travel to school alone.

Also, the protests in Iran:

Iran grapples with most serious challenge in years

The eruption of nationwide protests in Iran following the death in police custody of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman detained for allegedly failing to adhere to hijab (headscarf) rules is the most serious challenge Iran's leadership has faced in years.

While authorities say Mahsa Amini died from underlying health reasons, her family and countless other Iranians believe she died as a result of having been beaten.

Protesters say that if they don't act now, they could fall victim to the same fate. At least 30 people have been killed in the protests.

It has come at a time when Iranians are feeling particularly fed up. Systematic corruption among Iran's political elite, growing poverty with inflation at more than 50%, deadlock in nuclear talks and lack of social and political freedom have left Iran's young and vibrant population feeling hopeless.

According to Iran's Social Security Organization Research Institute at least 25 million Iranians were living below the poverty line by June 2021. That number is even higher now.

These are not the first protests in the history of the Islamic republic of Iran. But many observers believe there is something different about them.

More than anything, this is a woman's protest.

Brazil's election looms:

Brazil election: ‘We'll vote for Bolsonaro because he is God’

That's not an exaggeration or taken out of context, FYI.

Pastor Laura Almeida, at the Mustard Seed Ministry in the north-eastern city of Recife, is one of his most committed fans. Standing in front of her Sunday congregation, she sings his praises.

"We'll vote for Bolsonaro because he is God," she tells her members. "He defends the same principles as us in accordance with the word of God."

After the service, she explains her thinking to me.

"Whenever people are suffering, when they believe in an all-powerful creator, I think God raises up a saviour," she says.

I ask her if that saviour is President Bolsonaro. "Yes," she replies. "Today in Brazil, I think that's him."

And on the other side:

Lula: Can Brazil's 'most popular president' win again?

Not far from the centre of Manaus, where Lula spoke, 24-year-old mother-of-three Carol Araújo lives in small community of palafitas - houses that sit on stilts over a small river.

Rainy season is coming to an end and the earth below the houses here in the neighbourhood of São Jorge resembles a swamp more than a river.

Rubbish is everywhere: broken bottles, old boxes and shoes. In the sweltering heat of Manaus, the stench is overpowering.

Official figures suggest an estimated 63 million people now live in poverty in Brazil, and Carol, who was born in São Jorge, is one of them.

She knows nothing but hardship, but she does know who she is going to cast her ballot for. "I'm going to vote for Lula because under him, everything was easier," she says. "But I don't know if [by him] coming back things will improve."

It is a risk she is prepared to take. With food and energy prices rising, she cannot make ends meet.

"I try and find work when it comes my way but it's hard. I have to make it work to feed my children." She says that it comes down to knowing who will help her and those like her, because "during the elections, all the politicians do is make promises".

Or, if you prefer it to be explained to you by a funny British man:

Also, lazy authoritarians be lazy:

Harjot Kaur Bhamra: Bihar IAS officer mocks schoolgirl's sanitary pad request

At Tuesday's Sashakt Beti, Samriddh Bihar (Empowered Daughters, Prosperous Bihar) event in the state capital, Patna, the student asked senior official Harjot Kaur Bhamra if the government could provide girls with free sanitary pads that cost 20-30 rupees ($0.25-$0.37; £0.23-£0.34) in the market.

The student also spoke about the broken toilets at her school and the difficulty in using them. Reports say the audience mainly comprised 15 and 16-year-old students.

Ms Bhamra, who is a senior bureaucrat in the women and child welfare ministry and heads the Women and Child Development Corporation in the state, seemed to be annoyed by the schoolgirl's questions.

"Why do you need to take everything from the government?" she said. "This way of thinking needs to change. Do it yourself."

When the teenager persisted in asking for solutions from the government which is voted in by the citizens, Ms Bhamra responded in anger: "This is height of stupidity. Don't vote, then. Become Pakistan. Do you vote for money and services?"

After a video of her exchange was shared on social media, many called her comments "shameful" and said the officer was "unfit" to be a public servant.

Ms Bhamra later claimed that reporting on the event was "false, malicious and wrong" and threatened to take legal action against a Hindi newspaper which first reported her comments.

"I am known to be one of the most vociferous champions of women's rights and empowerment," she said, and blamed "mischievous elements" for trying to "malign" her reputation.

Also in India...

Bollywood under siege as rightwing social media boycotts start to bite

In August this year, a week after the release of Laal Singh Chaddha, Bollywood’s adaptation of Forrest Gump, a Twitter account with about 280,000 followers, tweeted: ​​“#Urduwood is trending. Thanks to all who have accepted this term to accurately define the anti-national, anti-Hindu paedophile cabal that takes your money to destroy you.” The tweet received more than 1,700 retweets and about 5,800 likes.

For those not familiar with the term “Urduwood”, it is a pejorative popular among far-right social media and politicians. Urdu is an Indian language with a Perso-Arabic script, and the national language of Pakistan; hence it is associated with Muslims and its use is a way to claim the film industry is “Hinduphobic”.

For decades, India’s Hindi film industry, known as Bollywood, has been one of the country’s most popular products, for Indians themselves and the world at large. But the consolidation of Hindu nationalism under the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has marked a cultural shift.

Laal Singh Chaddha stars, and is produced by, Aamir Khan, one of Hindi cinema’s trio of superstar Khans (Shahrukh and Salman are the other two, all unrelated). On its release, social-media platforms witnessed a tidal wave of targeted attacks calling for a boycott of the movie. The resurfacing of remarks made by Khan on the rise of “intolerance” in India in 2015, as well as clips from his 2014 film PK (which criticised blind-faith belief) were coupled with targeted tweets. Laal Singh Chaddha has fared poorly at the box office, but the calls for a boycott have not stopped. Other movies, such as Vikram Vedha, Dobaara, Shamshera and Brahmastra, are also in the line of fire, the last two owing to the recirculation of 11-year-old remarks by the lead actor, Ranbir Kapoor, on eating beef.

“Bollywood is an industry where Muslims have had representation and success, which bothers the Hindu right,” the Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker said. Bhasker herself has repeatedly been on the receiving end of rightwing ire, including a death threat. She adds: “If a popular mass-medium of entertainment is so organically secular, pluralistic and diverse, then to further their agenda of a Hindu nation and discredit secularism, they have to discredit that medium.”

Well now, a whole lot of that sounds very familiar!

You know how a lot of games gate catastrophes behind progression? Like "once your base reaches level 15 earthquakes can occur" etc. It feels like that happened when the world hit 7B people, and now suddenly our simulation has the "regional right-wing hysteria" switch enabled.

Brazil election: Lula and Bolsonaro to face run-off

Lula leads, but couldn't hit 50%, Bolsonaro did better than polls suggested. The second round is October 30, and sh*t's probably gonna get real weird before then.

Five reasons why China's economy is in trouble

China's economy is slowing down as it adapts to a punishing zero-Covid strategy and weakening global demand.

Official growth figures for the July to September quarter are expected next week - if the world's second-largest economy contracts, that increases chances of a global recession. Beijing's goal - an annual growth rate of 5.5% - is now out of reach although officials have downplayed the need to meet the target. China narrowly avoided contraction in the April to June quarter. This year, some economists do not expect any growth.

The country might not be battling steep inflation like the US and the UK, but it has other problems - the factory of the world has suddenly found fewer customers for its products both domestically and internationally. Trade tensions between China and major economies such as the US are also hampering growth.

And the yuan is on course for its worst year in decades as it plummets against the US dollar. A weak currency spooks investors, fuelling uncertainty in financial markets. It also makes it difficult for the central bank to pump money into the economy.

All of this is happening at a time when the stakes are especially high for President Xi Jinping - he is expected to secure an unprecedented third term at the Communist Party Congress (CPC) which begins on 16 October.

So what exactly has gone wrong?

Argentina usually gets overlooked in discussions of South America unless the Kirchners are doing something stupid, but the inflation thing is not going great down there!

In more amusing news:

The general of the Ugandan army is on twitter thirsting over a random chick you can’t make this up loool

Like, we are talking Terminally Horny On Main here.

EDIT: LOL It's his entire TL.

As my friend said, "Is uganda a desert because this is THIRST"

His progressive views on gender really got to me: "Why are all our hotties going to the Middle East to be low-paid and powerless domestic servants when they could be low-paid and powerless domestic servants here?"

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/PYbwLwe.png)

Uganda be kidding me!