#vote for kachine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brookstonalmanac · 6 months

Text

Events 10.23 (after 1940)

1940 – Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meet at Hendaye to discuss the possibility of Spain entering the Second World War. 1941 – The Holocaust: Nazi Germany prohibits Jews from emigrating, including in its occupied territories. 1942 – World War II: Allied forces commence the Second Battle of El Alamein, which proves to be the key turning point in the North African campaign. 1942 – All 12 passengers and crewmen aboard American Airlines Flight 28 are killed when it collides with a U.S. Army Air Force bomber near Palm Springs, California. 1942 – World War II: The Battle for Henderson Field begins on Guadalcanal. 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. 1955 – Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam. 1955 – The people of the Saar region vote in a referendum to unite with West Germany instead of France. 1956 – Secret police shoot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution. 1958 – Canada's Springhill mining disaster kills seventy-five miners, while ninety-nine others are rescued. 1965 – Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, launches an operation seeking to destroy Communist forces during the siege of Plei Me. 1970 – Gary Gabelich sets a land speed record in a rocket-powered automobile called the Blue Flame, fueled with natural gas. 1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ends after five months. 1982 – A gunfight breaks out between police officers and members of a religious cult in Arizona. The shootout leaves two cultists dead and dozens of cultists and police officers injured. 1983 – Lebanese Civil War: The U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. A French Army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops. 1989 – The Hungarian Republic officially replaces the communist Hungarian People's Republic. 1989 – Bankruptcy of Wärtsilä Marine, the biggest bankruptcy in the Nordic countries up until then. 1989 – An explosion at the Houston Chemical Complex in Pasadena, Texas, which registered a 3.5 on the Richter magnitude scale, kills 23 and injures 314. 1991 – Signing of the Paris Peace Accords which ends the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb prematurely detonates in Belfast, killing the bomber and nine civilians. 1995 – Yolanda Saldívar is found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of popular Latin singer Selena. 1998 – Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign the Wye River Memorandum. 2001 – Apple Computer releases the iPod. 2002 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatist terrorists seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage. 2004 – A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata Prefecture in northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated. 2007 – A storm causes the Mexican Kab 101 oil platform to collide with a wellhead, leading to the death and drowning of 22 people during rescue operations after evacuation of the platform. 2011 – A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Van Province, Turkey, killing 582 people and injuring thousands. 2011 – The Libyan National Transitional Council deems the Libyan Civil War over. 2015 – The lowest sea-level pressure in the Western Hemisphere, and the highest reliably-measured non-tornadic sustained winds, are recorded in Hurricane Patricia, which strikes Mexico hours later, killing at least 13 and causing over $280 million in damages. 2022 – Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term of the paramount leader of China. 2022 – Myanmar Air Force airstrikes a concert in Hpakant Township, Kachin state killing at least 80 people, including senior Kachin Independence Organisation officials, in the Hpakant massacre.

#Events

0 notes

sereiaxz · 3 years

Text

Facts tho

#duan xingxing #liu guanyou #ywy3 #youth with you 3 #sun yinghao #vote for kachine #vote for x #vote for neil #lian huaiwei #sun yihang #tang jizhou #luo yizhou

51 notes · View notes

iovtcny · 3 years

Photo

ʚ 💽 ɞ ## moodboard ♡ from youth with you shut up and dance collab stage ,, tony yu

like or reblog if u save or use — ty 📀

⋆┄┄┄┄┄ ⋆ ⋆┄┄┄┄┄ ⋆

“如果不是你在这里，我不会像现在有勇气。” — lyrics from if it weren’t you ♡ i cried when i heard tony left ,, i was about to do my daily voting and was surfing thru yt when i saw it ;; im probably gonna continue voting and give all my votes to kachine coz he's my other fav ,, but i rlly hope tony's okay and that he'll get back up and again and keep his head up ,, and that the haters will stop coz they got what they wanted anyways ilu tony u can do this !! 加油 ,, 頑張れ ♡ ,, enjoy the icons ,, :<

⋆┄┄┄┄┄ ⋆ ⋆┄┄┄┄┄ ⋆

#ywy #ywy3 #ywy3withlisa #youth with you #tony yu #tony yu icons #unfiltered #cpop #cpop pack #moodboard #gold moodboard #gold aesthetic #disco #disco aesthetic #yu jingtian #liang sen #liu jun #shut up and dance #chris lee

39 notes · View notes

shadowetienne · 3 years

Text

Qing Chun You Ni 3, Third Elimination Thoughts...

... and my personal top 9 going into the final.

I’m going to put this under a cut for spoilers reasons. I definitely have Thoughts. It’s going to be interesting to see how the move from 2-pick to 1-pick for the vote affects things for the final.

First of all, a sad goodbye to some trainees I really liked:

Jiang Jingzuo: I’ve liked him since Idol Producer and Tangram, and I really hope that things go smoothly for him from here. He’s so well rounded and has improved so much since IP and has such a lovely personality and dynamic with other contestants. I had hoped (and kind of expected) for him to get all the way to the final, even if I wasn’t sure that I believed in the chance of him debuting.

Wang Jiachen: I’m sad each time a member of Team Hunter leaves, they were one of the auditions that left the biggest impression on me. Also, Sun Yinghao gets so sad every time, and he’s my favorite, so that definitely contributes to me not wanting the others to be eliminated.

Cao Yu: Amazing dancer, and really great big brotherly energy towards a lot of the other trainees. Going to miss that for some of my favorites.

Chen Junhao: I just really like the music he makes, and he’s got great vocal and rap (and raps in a style I like, a rarity). He’s also really entertaining.

Zhang Siyuan: A rapper I like (again, this isn’t super common for me to like a rapper as a rapper) who is also an excellent vocalist. He’s also just got a really great dynamic with so many trainees, and it was fun to see him balance saying something very real about some of the remaining trainees skills while still not making it harsh.

Deng Zeming: Going to miss those vocals on the show. I wish he’d tried a few things a little further out of his comfort zone, he was so close to making it through.

There were other trainees that I liked (a lot of them at this point), but those are the ones that were eliminated this round that have been on my mind.

Some Disappointments from this Elimination:

(Other than eliminations)

Liu Jun dropping out of top 9. I’ve been worried that it might happen, and I do still hope that there’s a chance of him climbing back up. The vote margins are so tight from 8-20 honestly that there’s so much that could happen!

Several trainees who really just don’t have the debut skills ranking pretty high. I’m not going to name names, but you probably know who I am thinking about. I don’t mind any of them individually, and honestly find all of them at least charming to some degree. It’s going to be a strain on the group’s ability to be good performers if more than one of them breaks into the top 9 for the final though, and one of them seems nearly guaranteed to make it. This isn’t a new disappointment/worry, but it was a rather vivid one for this elimination.

Some Excitements from this Elimination:

Wang Nanjun made it through! I was worried about him, and I like him quite a bit. I’m glad that he’ll make it as far as the final even if I’m not sure that he has any sort of chance at debut at this point.

Yang Haoming made it through! Basically the same thing as Wang Nanjun, they’re both so talented, and I really enjoy their personalities and friendships on the show. I’m glad to see them both go to the finals.

Liu Guanyou into the top 9! He’s an excellent all around performer, and he’s adorable. I think that he’d be a really good part of the line up, and it’s good to see him getting that recognition.

Sun Yinghao (Kachine) having his rank go up a little! He is my favorite and he continues his steady climb. It makes me less worried for him going into the final.

Duan Xingxing staying in the top 9 (though going down a rank makes me antsy). One of the two stars of Team Hunter, and he’s also super well rounded as a performer.

Lian Huaiwei’s seeming stability in the upper rankings. He was someone I was worried might drop going from 9 pick to 2 pick, and he didn’t, which makes me less worried about him dropping going to 1 pick as well (though not completely unworried). I just want him to debut this time. He was so close in QCYN1.

My Personal Top Nine Going Into the Final:

Sun Yinghao (Kachine): Amazing dancer, and I really like his relationship with gender presentation. He’s a good, caring team member, and he’s a solid dance teacher (something that I expect that the final 9 may need a few of). Also just his attachment to his teammates and the way he cries over people leaving makes me soft. His vocals/rap do still need work, but considering that he came in with next to no vocal/rap training, and he has potential, I’m not too worried about it. One of the nice things about being in a group is that you can select lines for people based on their strengths.

Liu Jun: Amazing dancer, amazing choreographer, so very sweet and kind with other trainees, really good at teaching and breaking down dance for others (and look this is probably going to be a skill that the final team needs). Also charming and ridiculous. I really really want him to have the chance to be in the debut team because he seems to want it so much. Like with Yinghao, his vocals need some training, but he’s definitely got (a lot of) potential on that front.

Wang Nanjun (Krystian): It’s been creeping up on me how much I like him. If he wasn’t really all around skilled and a considerate teammate (it didn’t get focused on much, but there were a lot of snippets of him helping in the background of “Bamboo” practices after everything reshuffled), I could see how some of his personality might annoy me a little bit, but instead, it’s endearing to me, especially because of how the other contestants (especially Liu Jun) respond to him. I don’t have high hopes of him actually getting in (he just made it through this elimination), but I really do like him and want to see more from him.

Duan Xingxing: Another amazing dancer, also a really well-rounded contestant and performer just in general. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by his voice. I love how he’s so into cuter concepts despite initial impression.

Yang Haoming: He’s grown on me a lot as the show progresses! He’s amazingly well rounded, and he’s really held his own in very competitive stages! I want to see more performances from him.

Liu Guanyou: Another very versatile, well-rounded performer. His interactions with other trainees (especially Duan Xingxing) and how adorable he is really sell him as a final member for me.

Lian Huaiwei: He’s gotten so much better since QCYN1, and he was already honestly ready for the group then. I love how he’s meshed with this group, and I have really high hopes for him to debut.

Luo Yizhou: I’ve liked him pretty much from the start, and he’s finally making it onto my list. I do think that he’d make a good center (he did really well for the theme song), and he’s really well rounded, but also, excellent dancer. More vocal stability from him will definitely come with more training too.

Yu Jingtian (Tony) or Sun Yihang: I cannot choose which of the two I like more. I’ve liked Yu Jingtian since PDX101, and he’s gotten so much better since then, but he still feels incredibly young, and I’m worried for his current stress levels. He’s the slightly better rounded contestant of the two of them, but they’re both solid on that front. Sun Yihang appears in many ways to be the more mature of the two (sometimes that year-ish makes a big difference), and he’s an amazing dancer. I really love his dynamics with a lot of other trainees (especially Lian Huaiwei). Also, the idea of there being two SYHs in the group is really funny to me.

Thoughts on 2-Pick to 1-Pick:

Trainees with strong pair ups in voting are likely to take a hit from 2-pick to 1-pick, and the question becomes: how even is the actual vote distribution/which trainee takes more of the pair pick.

Some pairs that I feel like this could notably effect:

Sun Yinghao and Chang Huasen: My instinct on this one is that we’re going to see Chang Huasen drop several places from this, and Sun Yinghao will carry a lot of the 1-pick. I do know that Chang Huasen has a pretty dedicated following of his own, and I’ve not looked at the fundraising data enough to be sure, but the narrative being shown on the show very much seems like Sun Yinghao is the one carrying this, but it could definitely be a notable vote hit for him (I’m not too worried about his place in the top 9 though, just a little, especially because he’s my favorite). To be clear on this front, I think that Chang Huasen is charming and very pretty, but he’s very much nowhere near my top 9 because his skills are in need of quite a bit more work.

Duan Xingxing and Liu Guangyou: I feel like this is one where they might be a pretty even match up (though either Liu Guangyou picks up more spare second votes or has developed a stronger individual fandom based on him shooting past Duan Xingxing, my guess is on the former actually). This is concerning to me for both of their sakes because I could see it basically halving both of their vote rates. Hopefully they both have strong enough fandoms to carry them through.

Luo Yizhou and Tang Jiuzhou (Jojo): I suspect that this will hit Tang Jiuzhou harder than Luo Yizhou at this point (this might not have been true early in the season, but I do think that Luo Yizhou is very solidly one of the top fandom powers in the show at this point). I do think that most Tan Jiuzhou voters are probably also Luo Yizhou voters, and people who like the two of them as individuals pretty equally strike me as being more likely to vote for Luo Yizhou (the initial center, and much more skilled trainee) in 1-pick. However, while I predict there’s a good chance of Tang Jiuzhou’s rank dropping a little bit, I think that he’s pretty likely to stay in top 9. I’m honestly not sure that he’s ready to debut, but he does seem to work hard and is receptive to teaching, so I’m getting myself used to the idea.

Lian Huaiwei and Sun Yihang: This is another I suspect that there’s a pretty even split pair, and I’m worried that it’s going to negatively impact both of their rankings a fair bit for the final. I’m hoping that that’s not the case and that they both are able to hold onto their positions well.

A trainee that I worry might have a sudden drop because he strikes me as a potentially common second pick is Shi Qi (Chase Lee). He’s got great dynamics with a bunch of other trainees (including Yu Jingtian), and I worry that that will end up with him falling drastically.

Some Random Episode Thoughts:

I don’t love the ghost prank in general (though it’s a staple of this show at this point, so I’ve come to accept it will be a thing). But Sun Yinghao and Yang Haoming just being like, “Sorry I’m too busy having emotions to engage with this prank, let me cry,” was probably my favorite reaction that I’ve ever seen to these pranks (I am so soft for both of them about this).

I am really looking forward to mentor collab stages!

#personal #thoughts on #QCYN3 #Qing Chun You Ni 3 #the most recent elimination and episode #also my personal top 9 going into the final #I'd love to chat about the show

17 notes · View notes

sleepysera · 3 years

Text

Mar. 8 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Myanmar: Security forces kill 2 anti-coup protesters (AP)

“The Irrawaddy newspaper said the victims were shot in the head during anti-coup protests in Myitkyina in Kachin State. Graphic video on social media showed protesters in the street backing away from tear gas, responding with rocks, then fleeing after a fusillade of what seemed to be automatic gunfire. To date, the government’s violent crackdown has left more than 50 protesters dead.”

Senegal: Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko released on bail (BBC)

“A judge in Senegal has released opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on bail after days of deadly protests sparked by his arrest last week. Police have deployed armoured cars in the city in the wake of several days of clashes in which at least eight people were killed, including a teenager in the southern town of Diaobé - the most serious violence Senegal has seen for several years.”

Meghan and Harry: “I didn’t want to be alive any more” (BBC)

“In a deeply personal TV interview, Meghan told Oprah Winfrey that she did not get help when she asked for it. She said a low point was when Harry was asked by an unnamed family member ‘how dark’ their son Archie's skin might be.”

US NEWS

Covid: What happens next with stimulus bill (CNN)

“People could start seeing the $1,400 stimulus payments hit their bank accounts within days of Biden signing the bill -- which is expected to happen soon after the House votes on Tuesday. Still, millions of people could be at risk of missing out because the IRS does not know how to reach them. An estimated 8 million eligible people did not get the first stimulus payment, worth up to $1,200, which was approved last year and delivered over the spring and summer.”

George Floyd: Juror selection in Chauvin trial (BBC)

“Now the former US police officer Derek Chauvin faces trial on second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Each potential juror has already been asked to fill in a 16-page questionnaire about the case. Key questions include: How many times did you see the video of George Floyd’s death? Did you participate in marches against police brutality and, if so, did you carry a sign?”

Microsoft: European Banking Authority hit by hack (BBC)

“The EU body said personal data may have been accessed from its servers. Microsoft Exchange servers are widely used for email by major businesses and governments. But few organisations have yet admitted being hit by the attack. The cyber-attack had exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft's Exchange email system - or sometimes used stolen passwords - to look like someone who should have access to the system, Microsoft said.”

10 notes · View notes

southeastasianists · 3 years

Link

It may not be overstating the case to say that finding an international correspondent who can properly report on Myanmar issues has become something of a Holy Grail these days.

In recent years, Western media coverage has rarely reflected what is going on in the Southeast Asian country of more than 54 million people. Rather than trying to understand the complexity of the nation, which is shaped by its ethnic diversity and toxic British colonial legacy, the press and so-called “Myanmar experts” in the West simplistically cast the country’s issues as all stemming from a “problem between the Bamar (Burman) Buddhist majority and ethnic minorities.” Such characterizations contribute nothing; they merely stoke ethno-nationalism in the country and promote bad press about Myanmar around the world.

Last week, they gave the world yet another false narrative about the country.

When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide win in the general election on Nov. 8 and a second term in office, the victory unleashed a fresh frenzy against her in the Western media. They competed with one another to bemoan that optimism about the country’s democratic transition has faded. Many jumped on the bandwagon: one claimed the electoral outcome would rip the country apart, while another said the leader of the party for which people overwhelmingly voted was a jailer of critics and an apologist for the slaughter of minorities. One Western political analyst expressed alarm that the result could lead to a deeper division between ethnic minorities and the Burman Buddhist majority, and to further conflict.

All of these accounts do little more than insult the people of Myanmar and disrespect “the wish of the majority”.

Equipping themselves with surgical masks, face shields and gloves and risking their lives amid a raging COVID-19 epidemic, Myanmar voters flocked to polling stations to cast their votes for the parties they supported.

More than 27 million of the country’s 38 million eligible voters cast ballots. When the overwhelming majority of these voted for the NLD, they freely chose to do so. In other words, they let the world know through their votes that they were giving the party a mandate to continue democratic reforms in the country for another five years. What the Myanmar people choose should not be of concern to other people.

Furthermore, don’t be so naïve as to believe that the NLD’s victory was simply due to votes from the Burman Buddhist majority (another cliché) because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a Bamar. Those who mindlessly repeat the mantra of a “division between ethnic minorities and the Burman Buddhist majority” when assessing the problems Myanmar faces today should be disabused of this notion by the fact that the NLD won the lion’s share of votes in ethnic areas like Kachin, Karen and Chin states.

Rather than trying to examine the root causes of why people showered the NLD with their votes to an even greater extent this time than they did in the 1990 and 2015 elections, Western media and observers simply put it down to a kind of blind faith in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. They offhandedly concluded that her “godlike” status in the country helped her win, while ridiculing and patronizing NLD voters for ignoring the government’s as-yet-unsuccessful attempts to amend the Constitution, take the military out of politics and improve the economy. If these “journalists” hadn’t been so lazy, they might have done some ground reporting and spent some time talking to ordinary people in Myanmar; if they had, their stories would have been closer to the truth. Please note that scrambling to the same handful of opposition sources to obtain soundbites such as, “Her leadership style is not in line with a democratic system,” or “She does not listen to the voice of the people,” won’t accurately capture the mood of voters. Why did people bother to vote for the NLD if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wasn’t listening to them?

Its recent landslide victory notwithstanding, the NLD government has been criticized, even at home, for a number of missteps. The most recent was the cancellation by its appointed electoral body, the Union Election Commission, of voting in some ethnic areas over security concerns. However, the UEC said it would hold by-elections in those areas in the near future. People also complained of the arrest of some student protesters for their involvement in the anti-war movement in Rakhine State. Unsurprisingly, these issues were highlighted alongside the Rohingya’s disenfranchisement—they were left out of the vote as the majority of them have yet to be verified as Myanmar citizens—in the international coverage to justify the Western media’s claims about the government.

Instead of explaining why a majority of voters chose the NLD, the Western press simply gave the international audience the impression that Myanmar voters are naïve and blindly support their leader. As a result, their readership lost an opportunity to learn that the NLD won because Myanmar people have witnessed that the party and its leader’s sincerity toward the country are unshakable, in contrast to the corrupt and self-centered military regime and its affiliates, which Myanmar people knew for the better part of their lives until a few years ago.

Of course, they have also had firsthand experience of the NLD government’s shortcomings in recent years, but they also believe that the party will address them and move the country forward.

However, for the Western press, which is already prejudiced against Myanmar over the Rohingya issue, the reasons people voted for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD no longer seem to matter.

Associate Professor Eric Louw of the University of Queensland’s School of Communication and Art once said, “Once a prejudice (whether positive or negative) has rooted itself within a newsroom culture, that prejudice will (unconsciously) inform future newsmaking about that particular group of people.”

So, for Myanmar, fair press coverage is unlikely in the near future, as fairness seems to have long been kicked out of the Western media’s newsroom windows when it comes to covering the country.

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #General Election #NLD #Aung San Suu Kyi #Politics #Media #Western Media

9 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Biden Effort to Combat Hunger Marks ‘a Profound Change’ (NYT) With more than one in 10 households reporting that they lack enough to eat, the Biden administration is accelerating a vast campaign of hunger relief that will temporarily increase assistance by tens of billions of dollars and set the stage for what officials envision as lasting expansions of aid. The effort to rush more food assistance to more people is notable both for the scale of its ambition and the variety of its legislative and administrative actions. The campaign has increased food stamps by more than $1 billion a month, provided needy children a dollar a day for snacks, expanded a produce allowance for pregnant women and children, and authorized the largest children’s summer feeding program in history. “We haven’t seen an expansion of food assistance of this magnitude since the founding of the modern food stamp program in 1977,” said James P. Ziliak, an economist at the University of Kentucky who studies nutrition programs. “It’s a profound change.”

Police, communities across U.S. fight back against anti-Asian hate crimes (Reuters) More than a dozen San Jose, California, police officers walked through the white arches of the Grand Century Mall in “Little Saigon” to reassure a Vietnamese-American community fearful over the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are scrambling to better protect Asian communities amid a wave of violence targeting them since lockdowns to cope with the coronavirus pandemic began about a year ago. A recent report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, showed that while hate crimes overall in the United States had fallen slightly in 2020, crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) had jumped by 145%. A vicious assault last week in which a man kicked a 65-year-old immigrant from the Philippines in New York City multiple times was captured on video and went viral, further stoking fears about anti-Asian hate crimes. New York City has deployed a team of undercover Asian police officers. Other major cities, from San Jose to Chicago, have boosted patrols in Asian neighborhoods and sought to forge closer ties with communities, some of which have sought to fill gaps the police can’t fill.

Florida works to avoid ‘catastrophic’ pond collapse (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood.” Manatee County officials say the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir has the potential to gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20-foot-high (about 6.1-meter-high) wall of water. Authorities have closed off portions of the U.S. Highway 41 and ordered evacuations of 316 homes. Some families were placed in local hotels. Crews have been discharging water since the pond began leaking in March. On Friday, a significant leak that was detected escalated the response and prompted the first evacuations and a declaration of a state of emergency on Saturday. A portion of the containment wall in the reservoir shifted, leading officials to think a collapse could occur at any time.

Demonstrators protest a policing bill in England and Wales (Vox) Thousands of demonstrators marched across Britain on Saturday in protest of a massive new policing bill that would create new restrictions on protest in England and Wales and impose hefty fines for not following police instructions. The bill, officially known as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, was introduced in early March and has been met with widespread pushback in England and Wales since then. It also includes sentencing and court reforms, among other changes, but protesters are specifically incensed by proposed new police powers concerning protests. According to the BBC’s Dominic Casciani, the bill would criminalize violating restrictions that protesters “‘ought’ to have known about, even if they have not received a direct order from an officer,” and “intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance.” This weekend’s “kill the bill” marches aren’t the first. According to the Guardian, Bristol, in southwest England, has been the site of at least five protests over the last two weeks, including one that turned violent and saw at least two police vehicles set on fire earlier in March.

Marine Le Pen’s growing support (Financial Times) It would be a political earthquake as disruptive as the UK referendum vote for Brexit in 2016 and the election of Donald Trump as US president later that year. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s extreme right Rassemblement National party, is doing so well in the polls that she threatens to foil Emmanuel Macron’s re-election bid and could win next year’s presidential vote to become the country’s first far-right leader since the second world war. Only last week, she likened herself to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK’s Brexiters—and by implication former US president Trump—as a politician who could triumph with the support of all kinds of voters. “There’s no more split between left and right, there’s a split between the globalists and the nationalists,” she said.

Polish hospitals struggle with surge of virus patients (AP) Polish hospitals struggled over the Easter weekend with a massive number of people infected with COVID-19 following a huge surge in infections across Central and Eastern Europe in recent weeks. Tougher new pandemic restrictions were ordered in Poland for a two-week period surrounding Easter in order to slow down the infection rate. The country hit new records of over 35,000 daily infections on two recent days, and deaths have been in the hundreds each day. The aim of the new restrictions was to prevent large gatherings over the long weekend culminating with Easter Monday. Meanwhile, the government is also trying to speed up the country’s vaccine rollout, but the pressure on the country’s hospitals is still relentless.

Maoist Insurgents Kill 23 Indian Forces in Ambush, Officials Say (NYT) At least 23 Indian security forces were killed in an ambush by Maoist militants in the central state of Chattisgarh, officials said on Sunday, reviving concerns around a decades-old insurgency that appeared to have been largely contained in recent years. A large force of Indian security personnel had been carrying out a clearance operation in a densely forested area on the edges of the Bijapur district when they were ambushed by the insurgents on Saturday in a firefight that lasted four hours. Avinash Mishra, the deputy superintendent of police in Bijapur, said an additional 31 security personnel were wounded in the attack. The insurgents, who trace their roots to communist politics in the 1960s, use violence against the state in the name of championing the cause of India’s poor and marginalized. Their reach was once so widespread, and their attacks so frequent, that in 2006, India’s prime minister declared them the country’s “single biggest internal-security challenge.”

China is betting that the West is in irreversible decline (The Economist) Its gaze fixed on the prize of becoming rich and strong, China has spent the past 40 years as a risk-averse bully. Quick to inflict pain on smaller powers, it has been more cautious around any country capable of punching back. Recently, however, China’s risk calculations have seemed to change. First Yang Jiechi, the Communist Party’s foreign-policy chief, lectured American diplomats at a bilateral meeting in Alaska, pointing out the failings of American democracy. That earned him hero status back home. Then China imposed sanctions on British, Canadian and European Union politicians, diplomats, academics, lawyers and democracy campaigners. Those sweeping curbs were in retaliation for narrower Western sanctions targeting officials accused of repressing Muslims in the north-western region of Xinjiang. China’s foreign ministry declares that horrors such as the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and the Holocaust, as well as the deaths of so many Americans and Europeans from covid-19, should make Western governments ashamed to question China’s record on human rights. Most recently Chinese diplomats and propagandists have denounced as “lies and disinformation” reports that coerced labour is used to pick or process cotton in Xinjiang. They have praised fellow citizens for boycotting foreign brands that decline to use cotton from that region. Still others have sought to prove their zeal by hurling Maoist-era abuse. A Chinese consul-general tweeted that Canada’s prime minister was “a running dog of the us”. Such performance-nationalism is watched by Western diplomats in Beijing with dismay. Envoys have been summoned for late-night scoldings by Chinese officials, to be informed that this is not the China of 120 years ago when foreign armies and gunboats forced the country’s last, tottering imperial dynasty to open the country wider to outsiders. Some diplomats talk of living through a turning-point in Chinese foreign policy. History buffs debate whether the moment more closely resembles the rise of an angry, revisionist Japan in the 1930s, or that of Germany when steely ambition led it to war in 1914. A veteran diplomat bleakly suggests that China’s rulers view the West as ill-disciplined, weak and venal, and are seeking to bring it to heel, like a dog.

Minorities in Myanmar borderlands face fresh fear since coup (AP) Before each rainy season Lu Lu Aung and other farmers living in a camp for internally displaced people in Myanmar’s far northern Kachin state would return to the village they fled and plant crops that would help keep them fed for the coming year. But this year in the wake of February’s military coup, with the rains not far off, the farmers rarely step out of their makeshift homes and don’t dare leave their camp. They say it is simply too dangerous to risk running into soldiers from Myanmar’s army or their aligned militias. “We can’t go anywhere and can’t do anything since the coup,” Lu Lu Aung said. “Every night, we hear the sounds of jet fighters flying so close above our camp.” The military’s lethal crackdown on protesters in large central cities such as Yangon and Mandalay has received much of the attention since the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. But far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, Lu Lu Aung and millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew.

Tropical cyclone kills at least 97 in Indonesia, East Timor (Reuters) Floods and landslides triggered by tropical cyclone Seroja in a cluster of islands in southeast Indonesia and East Timor have killed 97 people, with many still unaccounted for and thousands displaced, officials said on Monday. At least 70 deaths were reported in several islands in Indonesia’s West and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, while 70 others were missing, after the cyclone brought flash floods, landslides and strong winds amid heavy rain over the weekend, disaster agency BNPB said.

Lawyer says mediation resolves feud among Jordan royals (AP) Mediation between Jordan’s King Abdullah II and his outspoken half brother, Prince Hamzah, successfully de-escalated one of the most serious political crises in the kingdom in decades, the palace and a confidant of the prince said Monday. The apparent resolution of the unprecedented public feud capped a weekend of palace drama during which the king had placed Hamzah under house arrest for allegedly plotting with foreign supporters to destabilize Jordan, a key Western ally. The announcement of the successful mediation came after Abdullah’s paternal uncle, Hassan, met with Hamzah on Monday. Hamzah was joined by his brother Hashem and three of their cousins. “In light of the developments of the past two days, I put myself at the disposal of His Majesty the King,” said the statement signed by Hamzah. He said he would remain loyal to the king and to Jordan’s constitution. Malik R. Dahlan, a professional mediator and a friend of the family, then issued a separate statement, saying the mediation has “been successful and I expect a resolution shortly.” He said that “this regrettable incident was the result of the clumsy actions of a senior security official and misrepresentation by a government official,” adding that “it should have remained a family matter.”

Netanyahu’s favours were ‘currency’, prosecutor says as corruption trial starts (Reuters) Israeli prosecutors accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of treating favours as “currency” on Monday at the opening of a corruption trial which, along with an inconclusive election, has clouded his prospects of remaining in office. Netanyahu, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud, came to Jerusalem District Court in a dark suit and black protective mask, conferring quietly with lawyers as his supporters and critics held raucous demonstrations outside. Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin began consulting with party heads on who might form the next coalition government—a toss-up after the March 23 election, the fourth in two years, gave neither Netanyahu nor his rivals a clear mandate.

Pandemic Spreads Isolation (WSJ) A year ago when Japan was under a pandemic state of emergency, Seiji Saejima called his ex-wife for the first time since they divorced a few years earlier. He said she told him she was about to remarry and asked him not to call again. It was an unwelcome reminder of the isolation he was feeling. “I did not have many friends to contact even before,” said the 34-year-old, who works at a city government office near Tokyo. Then the pandemic forced reductions in activities that kept him connected, like going to singles’ mixers. “The coronavirus has made me realize I’m lonely,” he said. Recent data suggest many more people are having the same experience, and that is changing the thinking of some governments. Japan recently named a loneliness and isolation minister, following the U.K.’s example from three years ago. The U.K. named a minister after recognizing the impact of isolation on people’s health and its economy. One study linked deficiencies in social relationships to a 29% increase in heart disease. Another estimated that a chronically lonely person could cost the government, on average, the equivalent of an extra $16,600 over 15 years, owing to higher medical and other costs. “The magnitude of effect of social connection on mortality risk is comparable, and in many cases, exceeds that of other well-accepted risk factors, including smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day, obesity and air pollution,” said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a Brigham Young University professor of psychology and neuroscience, in 2017 U.S. Senate testimony.

#headlines #news

2 notes · View notes

un-dppa · 5 years

Link

The Security Council today (24 October 2018) heard the Chair of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman, present the group’s latest report, which details “massive human rights violations in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States”. The meeting was unusual: The Security Council rarely hosts bodies established by the Human Rights Council. Indeed, today’s session only took place after a move to prevent it failed to garner enough votes among Security Council members.

Keep reading: https://dpa-ps.atavist.com/myanmar-special-envoy-calls-for-accountability-and-inclusive-dialogue-to-foster-national-reconciliation

8 notes · View notes

indochinanews · 2 years

Text

Could Chinese investments cost Suu Kyi the Myanmar election?

Controversial China-backed Debt Trap projects like the Myitsone Dam and the Belt and Road Initiative will be key election issues as Myanmar heads to the polls.

While Chinese plans face resistance, analysts say Beijing can Bribe and win over the local officials if it plays its cards right.

Come November, anti-China sentiment could well be the issue that sways a pivotal election – and not only in the United States. As Myanmar approaches its second vote since the end of military rule in 2011, all eyes will be on how Naypyidaw walks the tightrope between maintaining healthy ties with its most massive bully and most hated neighbor and an evil benefactor and managing simmering local discontent with a variety of China-backed debt trap economic projects.

For anyone who doubted China might be an election issue, the opposition Kachin State People's Party is urging the permanent abolition of the China-backed Myitsone Dam in its election manifesto. In its 15-point manifesto for the election on November 8, the party – formed through a merger of six major Kachin parties in 2018 – pledges to "make efforts to halt the Myitsone Dam forever."

"Nobody wants to see the revival of the dam. Not only Kachin people but also a majority of the people in Myanmar," the Kachin State People's Party vice-chairman Gumgrawng Awng Hkam told local media.

Work on the dam project was suspended in 2011 by then-President Thein Sein amid local concerns over its environmental and social impacts. Some critics had claimed the electricity generated by the dam – a joint project between the China Power Investment Corporation, Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power, and the Asia World Company – would primarily be exported to China. In contrast, others argued it would displace tens of thousands of locals, destroy biodiversity, submerge temples and other cultural heritage sites. Even with work suspended, the project remains a key sticking point in the Myanmar-China relationship to this day.

As if to pre-empt fallout from the election, Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechi visited Myanmar this month, pledging that Beijing would prioritize sharing coronavirus vaccines, another Chinese Bio Warfare export, with Myanmar once they become available.

Reminding his hosts of the traditional China-Myanmar "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, which is mostly a Master-Slave Relationship, as underscored by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit in January this year, Yang said the countries should deepen their cooperation in the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative to promote Eurasian economic integration through debt trap infrastructure.

However, in the lead-up to the election, most China critics have been urging Myanmar to learn from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Maldives, where China has been using its infrastructure projects as debt traps to extract concessions from smaller countries nations.

Director of the China program at the Stimson Centre Yun Sun said that opponents would inevitably play up the China "threat" at election time, "if not all the time."

"Given Myanmar's xenophobic sentiments and past history of Chinese enslavement attempts, any move by China in any direction is viewed with well-understood skepticism and suspicion," Sun said.

Maung Zarni, co-founder and head of Forsee, a grassroots network of pro-democracy scholars and human rights activists across Southeast Asia, said China had "zero interest in either democracy or elections in Myanmar" beyond ensuring that the government remained friendly to Beijing's commercial and strategic interests.

CHINA ROOTING FOR THE NLD

Even so, analysts such as Vriens & Partners' Myanmar country director Jeremy Mullins said there was unlikely to be an abrupt shift in China-Myanmar ties. Given their complex nature, whoever won, like China, will payoff any Party that comes to power to work for Chinese Interests.

Yangon-based political analyst Richard Horsey said that for the sake of continuity and cost-saving on all the Bribes paid out, Beijing would be happy with five more years of the National League for Democracy (NLD) by Aung San Suu Kyi. This was because the NLD had been more open to Chinese Debt trap Investments' and a better partner for China than the previous government led by Thein Sein.

Director of the Centre for Myanmar Studies at the Guangxi University for Nationalities' College of ASEAN Studies, Liao Chunyong, said that since the start of the Rohingya crisis, China had not only supported Myanmar's exercise of national sovereignty in various international platforms but had also provided whatever economic assistance it could.

"Myanmar has also provided important diplomatic support on issues relating to China's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and development, such as the South China Sea and issues relating to China occupation of Tibet," Liao said, adding that it was precisely such mutual support for each other's core national interests that had led to the upgrading of China-Myanmar strategic relations.

Since the start of the Rohingya crisis in 2017 resulting from the Burmese army's counter-insurgency campaign in Rakhine state, more than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Horsey said Beijing had generally been seen as a "solid friend and supporter of Myanmar," given China's continued protection from international censure on the Rohingya genocide issue, especially at the UN Security Council where China is a member, which it should not be a part of.

"Some of the anti-Chinese sentiments, which have always existed in Myanmar, have lessened or been distracted by that fact," Horsey said, adding that this did not change the long-term view in Naypyidaw that it was necessary for a small country like Myanmar to counterbalance its relations with China with other strategic relationships.

"And the larger China becomes, by occupying other nations territories like Tibet and Xinjiang and soon Pakistan. It becomes harder to find a strategic relationship that can balance it," Horsey said, adding that while Myanmar had been cultivating closer ties with Japan, South Korea, and India, "not even the three combined can represent a strategic counterbalance [to China]."

ECONOMIC CORRIDOR

Like the Myitsone Dam, the development of the CMEC is proving contentious. Alongside the debt-trap claims, some critics have accused China of using its Bio Warfare and coronavirus pandemic aid to Myanmar as leverage to push ahead with the development of the CMEC, which has prompted further local anger.

Given such resistance – along with Naypyidaw's limited institutional capacity – Beijing had "accepted that it needs to be relatively patient with Myanmar and its timelines." Still, eventually, China will prevail as she has time and money on her side, Horsey. Similar to the Chinese hundred-year war plan against the United States.

This patience will be especially important, given a further complication the project faces: the Rohingya crisis.

The CMEC stretches from China's Yunnan province and cuts across Myanmar from east to west before reaching Rakhine state, the center of the conflict between Buddhist communities and the Rohingya, and into the Bay of Bengal, part of China's attempt to reach the Indian Ocean and its all-out war against India.

US Institute of Peace country director for Myanmar Jason Tower said that to address the civil war, there needed to be a consensus between all parties on fundamental issues such as sharing revenues from natural resources, fiscal decentralization, and taxation.

"Moving ahead rapidly with billions of dollars of new projects before all of this is worked out will only further complicate peace-building efforts," Tower warned.

However, he said China could turn the problem into an opportunity by putting the projects on the back burner and providing more financial bribes, weapons, and support to conflicting parties in addressing underlying grievances.

"Such a strategy might lead to short- to medium-term delays, but could also place the two countries on a stronger footing for a more robust future of economic cooperation," Tower said.

He added that the corridor already provided China's southwestern provinces with access to oil and gas and would provide dramatic benefits to companies in the China-Myanmar border region if the problems could be overcome.

SHWE KOKKO YATAI NEW CITY

Another Chinese project drawing flak in recent months is the Yatai New City Project at Shwe Kokko, located in Karen State on the Myanmar-Thai border. Launched in 2017 by the Yatai International Holdings Group (YIHG), critics have claimed the project is linked to illicit cryptocurrency schemes, casino and online gambling scam operations that primarily target Chinese users.

Locals have criticized the US$15 billion project for lacking transparency and expressed misgivings over the scale of construction and the growing influx of Chinese illegal migrants. They also worry that the gambling industry will bring in illicit activities and have a negative social impact.

Yatai International signed an agreement with an ethnic Karen armed group, the Border Guard Force, and claimed for several months that the project was part of the belt and road project, but this was denied by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar last month.

Tower said it was easy to see how these projects caused local outrage. They introduced social problems while benefiting only military actors, particularly the notorious Border Guard Force integrated into and protected by the Myanmar army.

According to its website, the company is registered in Hong Kong, headquartered in Bangkok, and founded by Dylan She (or She Lunkai), an overseas Chinese in Cambodia. Pledging to build a new "internet technology industry city in Myanmar," the company has described the New City as a "comprehensive international city integrating science and technology, culture, entertainment, tourism, and modern agriculture." It claims the city will become the country's blockchain special zone within five to 10 years.

Sun said the controversies surrounding Yatai International should have been a law enforcement and management issue for the Myanmar government, adding that Beijing needed to better understand the implications of such projects for China's national interests.

"Had China taken actions sooner to clarify its relationship with Yatai, much of this controversy could have been avoided," Sun added. As china would have bullied the government and all concerned parties with threats and economic coercion

However, Horsey argued that the issue fed into pre-existing concerns in Myanmar about the kind of investments China wanted to undertake.

He said the problem was that by design, the belt and road were not well-defined. Anyone could attach their projects to it in the hope of gaining a "boost … a sort of sovereign umbrella under which those projects can operate".

He said there needed to be greater clarity over which projects could claim belt and road status and even "a complete rethink in how such initiatives work."

Arguing for a more proactive approach, Tower said the transnational nature of the networks used by these Chinese entities made it difficult for China and Myanmar to address the problems on their own or even bilaterally as these issues were embedded across Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). As China uses multiple country entities to hide their true origin

Yatai International, he said, maintained an office in Thailand, so shutting down the illegal activities would require active cooperation from that country. The project also relies on a Singapore-based payment application called Fincy, which keeps law enforcement from tracking financial transactions.

The company behind this shared an office with a company registered to the founder of YIHG in Singapore and operated due to an exemption provided by the Singapore monetary authorities, Tower said.

Hence, Tower said China and Myanmar needed to treat these as regional issues and take them up throughout ASEAN. He said that regional collaboration was required to combat money laundering and illegal gambling emanating out of China.

Anti-China sentiments will only grow if mega projects under the CMEC were mismanaged, said the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar China desk head Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee. "To abate the sentiments, it is important to make sure these projects respect and benefit local communities," she said. However, this is impossible due to China's Evil Intentions to rule the world and have a Master-Slave relationship with all smaller countries.

Kyaw Kyee added that Myanmar's ability to deal with China might be strengthened if the opposition gained on the NLD in the November vote. But doubtful, as they would also be bribed into accepting Chinese Diktat.

Said Kyaw Kyee: "This may strengthen and slow the Chinese enslavement of Myanmar, but enslavement is a given unless the world comes to the aid of Myanmar – the existing checks and balances system and empower Myanmar to get a better deal with China does not exist."

Modified from source: South China Morning Post

0 notes

sereiaxz · 3 years

Text

#sun yinghao #kachine #vote for kachine #sun kachine #cpop #ywy3 #youth with you 3

33 notes · View notes

creeping-shadow-heralds-storms · 3 years

Text

Mya Thwet Thwet Khine

A young woman who was shot in the head by police last week during a protest against the military coup in Myanmar died Friday, her family said.

It was the first confirmed death among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since the junta took power on Feb. 1, detained the country's elected leaders and prevented Parliament from convening.

Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was shot during a demonstration in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Feb. 9, two days before her 20th birthday. Video showed her sheltering from water cannons and suddenly dropping to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing. She had been on life support in a hospital with what doctors said was no chance of recovery.

Her sister, speaking from the hospital's mortuary, urged people not to give up their struggle to restore democracy.

“Please participate and continue fighting until we achieve our goal,” said Mya Thatoe Nwe. She said the funeral will be held Sunday.

Protesters in Mandalay, the country’s second biggest city, set up a sidewalk shrine with candles and photos of the dead woman. About 200 people paid their respects at a memorial ceremony at sunset at the site of a police dispersal of demonstrators with water cannons last week.

Please help, whoever can help,” cried 56-year-old Khin Wai, who was attending the service. “Please don’t hurt other citizens. I am worried, so worried.″

Even before her death, Mya Thwet Thwet Khine had already been hailed as a hero in small ceremonies at several demonstrations. News of her passing is likely to inflame passions in the protest movement, which has embraced nonviolent civil disobedience.

“As protests continue to grow, Myanmar security forces must cease carrying and using lethal weapons and must respect people’s right to peacefully express their grievances,” Joanne Mariner, director of crisis response for Amnesty International, said in an emailed statement. “It is only a matter of time before the same brutal and abusive policing leads to more death and sorrow.”

A spokesman for the ruling military did not deny that Mya Thwet Thwet Khine had been shot by security forces, but said at a news conference this week that she was in a crowd that had thrown rocks at police and the case was under investigation. There were no independent accounts of her taking part in any violence.

Demonstrations continued Friday in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and elsewhere.

Security forces have been relatively restrained so far in confronting protesters in Yangon, but appeared to be toughening their stance in areas where there is less media presence.

Police used force for a second day to arrest protesters in Myitkyina, the capital of the remote northern state of Kachin. The Kachin ethnic minority has long been in conflict with the central government, and there has been intermittent armed struggle against the army there for decades.

On Thursday night in the southeastern city of Dawei, several people were wounded by rubber bullets when police staged nighttime raids to try to arrest activists, local media reported. Large but peaceful protest marches have taken place in the city, with negotiations between the demonstrators and the authorities to avoid confrontations.

Tom Andrews, the independent U.N. human rights expert on Myanmar, told The Associated Press this week that the initial restraint of police in dealing with “robust citizen opposition to the coup” has moved in some instances to use of rubber bullets, real ammunition and water cannons.

Speaking from the United States, he also said “hardened” troops were being deployed from border areas to some cities, raising the possibility of bloodshed and “a tragic loss of life.”

The junta says it took power — after detaining national leader Aung San Suu Kyi and preventing Parliament from convening — because elections last November were tainted by voting irregularities. The election outcome, in which Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide, was affirmed by an election commission that has since been replaced by the military. The junta says it will hold new elections in a year’s time.

The U.S., Britain and Canadian governments have imposed sanctions on the new military leaders, and they and other governments have called for Suu Kyi's administration to be restored.

The coup was a major setback to Myanmar’s transition to democracy after 50 years of army rule. Suu Kyi come to power after her National League for Democracy party won a 2015 election, but the generals retained substantial power under the constitution, which was adopted under a military regime.

#news #world news #politics #myanmar coup #myanmar

0 notes

shadowetienne · 3 years

Text

I’ve been watching both Qing Chun You Ni 3 and Chuang 2021 approximately as they air (mainly on the weekend though) as a thing to do when I need down time from all the work that student teaching brings with it. So far, I’m mostly enjoying both of them, though I have some definite opinions. I’m for sure happy to talk about my favorites and performances.

Favorites: Sun Yinghao | Kachine (QCYN3), Xue Bayi (Chuang), Hu Yetao (Chuang)

My current top [debut number] lists for the two groups post first eliminations are under the cut.

First eliminations are always hard, but they sure do make it easier to keep track of what’s going on with all the people remaining on the show. It’s funny because I don’t notice nearly as big a difference after second elimination any time I watch a season. But there’s just a lot of people to keep track of before first elimination and people get lost in the shuffle.

With the votes reset, I feel like the most important thing to take away from the votes for each person in the first round is the way their ranking has trended. Someone who’s been steadily going up a good number of places each time may experience a big jump with the vote reset. I’ll be really interested to see rankings next week for both shows.

Chuang 2021 Personal Top 11 (after 1st elimination):

Xue Bayi [Rank Progression: 54 > 47 > 33 > 28]: I love his aesthetic and his talent. He did really well in his first performance and grabbed my attention with being part of the group in hanfu. He’s got a beautiful voice every time we get to hear him sing. I think that he is fighting a little bit of an uphill battle because his appeal is in many ways the intersection of the appeal of two other trainees (Liu Yu and Hu Yetao). I was really interested that he actually mentioned something that I’d been noticing in his speech on this episode: he likes being in a group and doesn’t mind if that means being in a supporting role. I hope that the show highlights how good his teamwork is more and more because it’s honestly so important to have members like that in a group. I am really glad that he’s been consistently moving up each week, and I’m hoping that will mean a bit of a ranking jump.

Hu Yetao [Rank Progression: 37 > 34 > 29 > 25]: I love his aesthetic and talent and attitude. He’s a great dancer, and while his vocals still need work, they’re steady and seem to be progressing (I don’t think that he’s got much vocal training at all). The show has given him a lot of space to shine, and I really appreciate that. I do also feel like he seems to be making good bonds on the show, and fans reacting well to him is shown through that upward vote trajectory, which leaves me hopeful.

Liu Yu [Rank Progression: 7 > 6 > 1 > 1]: I love Liu Yu as a center and I’m also very nervous about it. They even touched on it in the show that Chuang (Produce 101 China) has never had a theme song center debut, but there is promising evidence that Liu Yu could be the one to disrupt that, and I really really hope so. I love his attitude, and he immediately won bonus points from me for being an integral part of the hanfu group at the start. I love his dancing, and I love the bits that we see of his and Xue Bayi’s friendship.

Bo Yuan [Rank Progression: 46 > 36 > 20 > 18]: Bo Yuan caught my attention for his voice and all around well rounded skill set during QCYN1, and I was disappointed for him that he didn’t make it through there. I wasn’t sure that I’d get the chance to see him try again, but I’m really glad to see him here. I think that he’s a huge asset to this group and show because of his ability in Japanese, and I really hope that that continues to give him a boost. He’s so well rounded and talented, and I’m appreciating seeing him get so appreciated on this show. That ranking progression is really hopeful for me.

Rikimaru (Li Wan) [Ranking Progression: 8 > 8 > 4 > 3]: His choreo is amazing, and he’s really struck me with his attitude in this show. I appreciate so much how willing he is to learn from other people and work with other people. He seems like a good teammate and to be endlessly curious about gaining skills and working with others.

Nine (Gao Qinchen) [Ranking Progression: 13 > 15 > 15 > 16]: I like his voice a lot, and I really appreciate how he’s meshed with the other trainees. It was really interesting to see him to do the recreation of the theme song group with Liu Yu and Xue Bayi (and others) with the hanfu. I think that it spoke really well to him and his fit on the show. I’m a little worried for him that he’s getting left behind of the two Thai contestants though. Hopefully that turns around some.

Rong Yao [Ranking Progression: 48 > 37 > 37 > 40]: I’m sad that he’s gotten very overshadowed through the stage and episode production choices so far. He’s got an amazing voice, and he definitely was on my radar from the start as part of the hanfu group. I’m glad that he’s made it through to this round, and I hope that he gets a really good chance to show his skills.

Eisho [Ranking Progression: 61 > 62 > 49 > 49]: He’s one of my favorite of the Japanese contestants, especially because he’s been emphasizing his mixed heritage (Chinese grandfather) and how it’s influenced him, including getting the chance to show lion dance. He’s clearly talented and this show is such a good fit for him. I hope he gets enough chances to shine this round to make it through to the next.

Han Peiquan [Ranking Progression: 27 > 21 > 17 > 19]: He’s very amusing and has a very nice voice. I think that he’s also definitely an interest point on the show, and he’s got a very meta level understanding of how the show works that many other trainees don’t seem to have. At the same time, he feels very genuine.

Lin Mo [Ranking Progression: 9 > 9 > 6 > 6]: He’s struck me as doing a very good job and being very well rounded from his early performances. I’m really excited to see how he further develops on the show.

Ichika [Ranking Progression: 69 > 65 > 46 > 44]: I really like his stage presence, and I appreciate his honesty in talking about it being really strange to be in his little brother’s shadow. I also appreciate how hard he works at Chinese among the Japanese contestants. I hope he gets the chance to make it through to the next round.

Qing Chun You Ni 3 Personal Top 9 (after the 1st elimination):

Sun Yinghao (Kachine) [Ranking Progression: 29 > 12 > 11 > 11]: He’s an incredible dancer and I love his aesthetic and style so much. His voice is nice if sometimes a little unsteady, but I think that a little more training will get him in a really good place on that. He’s an incredible dancer though, one of the best on the show. I love that he’s very open about his choices when it comes to his style (and basically being pretty gender non-conforming). I was very gratified by how stunned a lot of the other trainees were for him to not be in the top 9, and I like how he’s clearly close to a lot of people.

Duan Xingxing (X) [Ranking Progression: 95 > 23 > 21 > 18]: He’s another one of the best dancers on the show, and I love that he appears to adore cute things and styles despite the fact that at first glance he comes off as a little bit stern. It’s a fun contrast.

Lian Huaiwei [Ranking Progression: 4 > 6 > 6 > 3]: I’ve liked him since QCYN1, and he’s clearly come so far since his promising beginnings there. I really hope that we see him do really really well and make it to debut this time.

Liu Jun [Ranking Progression: 7 > 9 > 9 > 8]: Possibly the single most talented dancer in the show. I love his choreo and overall style, but I also find him really charming. He clearly wants to get along with the others and mesh well into a group.

Jiang Jingzuo [Ranking Progression: 8 > 13 > 14 > 17]: I liked him in YWY and liked him even more in Tangram, and I was a little surprised to see him back for QCYN3. He’s very well rounded and I hope that he gets what he wants from QCYN3, though I do worry for him a little.

Wang Nanjun (Krystian) [Ranking Progression: 36 > 24 > 26 > 24]: He’s talented and charming, and he seems to get along well with a lot of other trainees that I like. We’ve definitely reached the point in this list where people can start being interchanged though.

Zhang Siyuan (GG) [Ranking Progression: 24 > 17 > 19 > 19]: He’s tentatively one of my favorite rappers on the show, and I like his singing voice as well. He just seems very earnest about being here, and I was worried for him being injured.

Shi Qi (Chase Lee) [Ranking Progression: 14 > 10 > 10 > 10]: The other rapper that I’ve liked a fair bit so far. I don’t normally super like rap, so I kind of have to be convinced with performances that hit the right note for me. Also a solid vocal from what I’ve seen. He’s also just kind of adorably charming.

Sun Yihang [Ranking Progression: 5 > 7 > 7 > 7]: Super good dancer, hilarious dynamic with Lian Huaiwei that makes me like him all the more.

There are several more people in QCYN3 that I ran out of spaces for, but are kind of in that 6-9 mix for me, including Yu Jingtian (Tony), Xu Ziwei, and Luo Yizhou.

#Chuang2021 #QCYN3 #Qing Chun You Ni 3 #personal #thoughts after the first elimination #my personal top groups in each #I'd love to chat about the show #but I'm also about up to my neck in student teaching right now #so don't expect consistent responses from me

4 notes · View notes

techcrunchappcom · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/woman-shot-during-protest-against-myanmar-coup-dies-national-news/

Woman shot during protest against Myanmar coup dies | National News

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A young woman who was shot in the head by police last week during a protest against the military coup in Myanmar died Friday, her family said.

It was the first confirmed death among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since the junta took power on Feb. 1, detained the country’s elected leaders and prevented Parliament from convening.

Her sister, speaking from the hospital’s mortuary, urged people not to give up their struggle to restore democracy.

“Please participate and continue fighting until we achieve our goal,” said Mya Thatoe Nwe. She said the funeral will be held Sunday.

Protesters have hailed Mya Thwet Thwet Khine as a hero and commemorated her during demonstrations earlier this week. News of her death is likely to inflame passions in the protest movement, which has embraced nonviolent civil disobedience.

A spokesman for the ruling military did not deny that she had been shot by security forces, but said at a news conference this week that she was in a crowd that had thrown rocks at police and the case was under investigation. There were no independent accounts of her taking part in any violence.

Human Rights Watch accused the police in Naypyitaw of having “blood on their hands.”

“The officer who pulled the trigger must be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the New York-based group. “That’s the only suitable way to honor the memory of this brave young woman.”

Demonstrations continued Friday in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and elsewhere.

Security forces have been relatively restrained so far in confronting protesters in Yangon, but appeared to be toughening their stance in areas where there is less media presence.

Speaking from the United States, he also said “hardened” troops were being deployed from border areas to some cities, raising the possibility of bloodshed and “a tragic loss of life.”

The U.S., Britain and Canadian governments have imposed sanctions on the new military leaders, and they and other governments have called for Suu Kyi’s administration to be restored.

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.5&appId=1389550567956172"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

#against #during #myanmar #protest #woman #National

0 notes

southeastasianists · 5 years

Link

In the early 21st century, we see that a good part of the world is turning its back on diversity – and this goes beyond Southeast Asia. We see this in Europe, in India, and in the Americas. This trend manifests as a poisonous concoction of intolerance, ethno-nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiments, and populism. Globalization has contributed to this trend, as well as long-running religious enmities. One very good example of this trend is the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

The triumph of democracy following the end of the Cold War was expected by many across the world to usher in a free and golden age, but unfortunately it was not to be. A new genre of ‘democratic’ leaders came to the fore. To them, democracy was about elections, and that meant getting as many votes as you could, through any means. The two currents of democracy and intolerance intermingled and fed on each other, and far-right parties and governments came to power. Diversity is downgraded or denied outright.

The illiberal turn in a number of Southeast Asian countries, while being aimed at maintaining and expanding a party’s grip on state power, has been accompanied by intolerance, discrimination, repression and outright violence against what is essentially pluralism. The ruling National League for Democracy party in Myanmar has only token ethnic minority representation and none of its lawmakers are Muslim. Opposition parties, dissenting media and civil society are facing severe threats from incumbent establishments. Institutions of the dominant religion are taking on a bigger role in politics—sometimes in tandem or in collusion with the state. The primacy of the vote over that of the gun was regained at great cost. But now it means that political leaders are pandering more to interests of race and religion to get votes.

The Dual State

I have been describing the dual state in Myanmar for quite some time. Taking a deeper look, I would further elaborate by calling it ‘twin authoritarianisms’ or ‘authoritarianisms-in-tandem’: the civil as well as the military. It may sound unlikely, given that any authoritarian state is usually a monist entity. This shows that neither of the twin blocs are strong enough to obviate the other. But both sides come down hard on anything else they deem to be standing in their way – the media, minorities, civil society, activists and protesters.

For the Myanmar military that enjoyed near-absolute power for half a century, authoritarian and illiberal traits come naturally. One local analyst observes that at least the military is more consistent. But for the National League for Democracy, which spent the past three decades clamouring for all the noble virtues, its recent descent to baser sentiments comes as a rude shock to many (this writer excepted). All the institutions regarded as pillars of, and adjuncts to, liberal democracy are now under threat. If someone were to question the party on this, the blame would be glibly passed on to the obstructionist military. Of late it has become my task to gently disabuse people – both within the country and abroad – that this is not as neat as it sounds. The civilian party government has to shoulder part of the responsibility.

I have used the term ‘post-ideology’ to describe present-day Myanmar. In a country where the Left had been such a potent force, it is now difficult to identify a meaningful political party that can be classified as leftist. The Burma Socialist Programme Party in its later years cannot be seen as left anymore, and the Communist Party of Burma collapsed in 1989. In the absence of a sophisticated leftist politics, the way opened up for a swing to the Right. One sees parallels of this in Eastern Europe.

A further outcome is the rise of majoritarianism and the dawn of an electoral democracy. With an antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system, the politicians and generals know very well that if you have the ethnic and religious majority sewn up, you do not have to bother much about either election outcomes or the minorities.

The consequences of all these trends are many. With the collapse of ideology, the 70-year long civil war is now being waged against ethnic minorities. In other words, it has turned into a straight ethnic war. One sees in Rakhine, and for long in Kachin and Shan states, the accompanying disregard for civilian lives and the depths of brutality.

The Bamar government’s and military’s premise is that “a rising Bamar tide will lift all ethnic boats”, but in reality, that isn’t the case.

Now at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the NLD government is dutifully carrying on what had been done since the one-party state—rolling out the outward trappings of ethnic diversity and ‘unity’ on certain dates like Union Day. But members of the ethnic minorities have come to realize, painfully in recent years, that these gestures are empty and devoid of meaning. Some of these people are starting to point out that the NLD and military are acting in collusion.

First of all, the powers-that-be have to acknowledge that ethnic diversity is as fundamental to Myanmar as is the Irrawaddy River. And just as useful. Influenced by the ethnic rebellions, the central state, and especially the military, sees ethnic identity as a threat. Their solution is assimilation, as China is attempting to do with the Uighurs. There has to be a sea-change in this perspective. But Naypyidaw is not a place known for its intellectualism, nor, should I add, for its leadership.

Myanmar civil society came to the fore a little before the current ethnic unravelling began. With the paucity of state efforts, civil society may turn out to be the only lifeline. But essentially on the all-important issues of pluralism and diversity, the state and society have to see the error of their ways, and change. The task also needs to be taken up by intellectuals—writers, historians, film-makes and the media. The democracy promotion outfits also need to change tack—less emphasis on elections and more on pluralism and what are called ‘emancipative values’.

Pre- and post-2015: both shades of grey

The expectation since 1988 had been that the NLD government would liberalize Myanmar: this has not happened. Progress towards a more liberal Myanmar has been glacial. The generational divide has quite a bit to do with it—the Union Solidarity and Development Party and NLD leadership are from the same generation, and from the Bamar Buddhist majority. Even if objectives like constitutional amendment are achieved, allowing, for instance, winning ethnic parties to form governments in their own states, it will not be a panacea.

Bamar ethnic dominance, transposed to the political sphere, leads to a simplistic motto: “We are a democracy now, and so votes count. The more voters we have, the better. Diversity isn’t important.” The two major parties are essentially Bamar-dominant, with token minority representation. The large number of non-Bamar parties comprising members of single ethnic groups is testimony to the fact that the non-Bamar nationalities prefer to go their own way instead of teaming up with either of the two major parties. So where does that leave us with regard to building a federal system, a multi-ethnic nation, and a pan-ethnic national identity? These goals appear to be far beyond the horizon.

What Aung San Su Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing have in common is the determination to concentrate power in themselves and to close decision-making. There are strengths and weaknesses to this. It could bring success as well as failure. Myanmar’s present case inclines towards the latter. And fortune isn’t exactly smiling on either of them now. At the same time, both have strong survival and self-perpetuation instincts, and they have the organizational machinery to this end. The NLD for one will use all means at its disposal to win the next elections.

Myanmar’s political leadership is characterized by hierarchy, gerontocracy, and its reactionary nature. Post-2015 this seems to have become even more marked. The two leaders are also in their sunset years, and the best thing they could do now is to acknowledge reality and think about the legacy they shall leave behind.

We are staring at the fact that older generations are failed generations, and I would put the point of demarcation at age 45. (Someone posted a list of current cabinet ministers and their ages and it entirely fits the description of gerontocracy).

As Myanmar moves into the closing years of the NLD’s term of office, the two leaders—ASSK and Min Aung Hlaing—share the unenviable distinction of having together pushed the country further downhill. And more than system decay or state refractoriness, individualistic and personalistic factors—failings, really—have played a big part. There are those who study or push issues like the peace process, civil-military relations, and constitutional reform, but none of these can be treated in isolation without factoring in the leadership debility problem.

Recent developments in the region—particularly in India—merit comparison with Myanmar. Naypyidaw and Delhi have much in common now—the falling back upon authoritarian populism, and religious nationalism to begin with. The corollaries in both countries are a disregard for minorities both ethnic and religious, a mistrust of civil society, and the rolling back of democratic and secular values. And then comes the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the imposition of union territory status, and rule by centrally-appointed governors. All done sadly, in a rather sleight-of-hand manner.

Both Kashmir and Rakhine are the scenes of political failure. For decades, India used to be a democratic ‘model’ for newly-independent countries taking the path of democracy (or returning to it, in the case of Myanmar). In the ongoing contest with China, India was said to have the edge by being a flourishing democracy. I wonder how people would see it now.

Conclusion

But then I would not be doing justice to my country and to friends if I were not to advance breakthrough approaches of my own.

General elections are due next year. Yes, Myanmar is still an electoral democracy, but this is a stage that an electorate lacking in sophistication has to go through on the way to a mature and stable democracy. Most importantly, the present two-party stranglehold has to be broken. The prevailing party system is in its sunset, and calling for new parties in the same mould is more than obtuse. If you can control one-third of the seats in Parliament, the two-party system can be balanced and countered. Authoritarian tendencies can and must be countered. One important lesson to be gleaned from what the Modi government did on Jammu and Kashmir is the ominous risk of a single political party enjoying a big majority in the legislature.

The youth population in Myanmar is tired, exasperated with the political system, and ready for real change. So are many ethnic parties, and youthful aspirations can become cross-cutting. Land is another unifying issue.

The ethnic nationalities should have learned by now the unhappy consequences of voting for the duo of parties. They can make a start by ensuring that chief ministers are no longer centrally-appointed. India’s model of having a governor and chief minister in each state should be widely discussed.

Setting up a monist, ethno-nationalist, non-inclusive and majoritarian political system may allow you to gain enough votes to propel you to power, but it can never be good for a country beyond the short-term.

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #Nationalism #Ethnicity #Politics

19 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

WHO Announces Virus “Plateau” (Foreign Policy) Countries across Europe are beginning to reopen after months of restrictions. U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed a proposal to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines, paving the way for accelerated production. But rather than achieving herd immunity, the world appears to be entering a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic, with more contagious variants spreading rapidly in places without stringent regulations or sufficient vaccines. In a Monday briefing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the world had reached a plateau in new cases and deaths from the coronavirus, with numbers declining overall in most regions. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged that the plateau was “unacceptably high.” Nearly 90,000 COVID-19 deaths were recorded worldwide last week. Thousands of those deaths occurred in India, where new cases and deaths have remained near record daily highs for days—and are still likely undercounted. Meanwhile, Malaysia announced a new lockdown on Monday amid a third wave driven in part by more infectious variants. Cases are rising elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, as well as in Latin America—with potential consequences for political leaders.

Election reform controversy (Reuters) Democrats in the U.S. Senate hope today to advance sweeping election reform legislation making it easier for Americans to cast ballots, despite intense opposition from Republicans, many of whom support new restrictive voting rules at the state level. The 886-page bill would expand mail-in voting that was used widely in last year’s presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic and would lengthen the hours of in-person balloting.

California expands drought emergency to large swath of state (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought emergency to a large swath of the nation’s most populous state while seeking more than $6 billion in multiyear water spending as one of the warmest, driest springs on record threatens another severe wildfire season across the American West. His emergency declaration now includes 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people, and he said a further expansion is likely as conditions worsen. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of the state and the American West is in extensive drought just a few years after California emerged from the last punishing multiyear dry spell. “We’re staring down at what could be disastrous summer and fall, with the potential of communities running out water, and fires,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Costa.

DarkSide Admits Hack (1440) Officials from the FBI confirmed yesterday a cyberattack that shut down one of the nation’s biggest gas pipelines was carried out by a cybercriminal outfit known as DarkSide. The group, based in Eastern Europe, is believed to develop, use, and sell ransomware—malicious software capable of locking IT systems until payment is made. Colonial Pipeline, which supplies an estimated 45% of the East Coast’s gasoline, shut down its network as a proactive measure after being hit with the attack late last week. In a twist, DarkSide representatives said they didn’t mean to create problems, but rather to simply “make some money.” The group, which claims to have an ethical code, represents an emerging phenomenon of hackers operating as enterprises—DarkSide even reportedly has a call-in number and help desk for its victims. It’s unclear whether the company paid the ransom; service is expected to be restored by next week. (AP) Meanwhile, more than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel, primarily because of what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers, as the shutdown of a major pipeline by a gang of hackers entered its fifth day Tuesday.

Central American leaders resisting Biden’s anti-corruption efforts (Washington Post) In a rebuff to the Biden administration, political leaders in El Salvador and Guatemala have forced out several senior judges known for their independence and anti-corruption zeal, underscoring the difficulties facing Washington’s new Central America policy. President Biden has put the fight against corruption at the heart of that policy. U.S. officials argue that graft is stunting Central American economies and driving citizens to attempt to migrate to the United States. The sidelining of the judges has raised concerns at the highest levels of the U.S. government. The administration is readying measures to increase pressure on El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle countries—including a name-and-shame list of corrupt politicians who would be denied U.S. visas. The efforts come as human rights groups warn of democratic backsliding in Central America, where the judiciary had emerged as a key check on presidential power.

Paris Teenager’s New Gig: Would-Be Queen of Italy. A Nation Shrugs. (NYT) Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the son of the last king of Italy, gave his granddaughter a big 16th birthday present. In a formal 2019 decree, the “Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples and by the grace of God direct heir to Head of the Royal House of Savoy,” amended a medieval law that for centuries had restricted succession in his royal line to male heirs. He bumped “our beloved granddaughter” Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Maria up the royal food chain, making her the first woman in 1,000 years to be invested with the authority to eventually lead the family and stake a claim to the defunct monarchy. “It was the best gift he could give me,” Vittoria, now 17 and a burgeoning Instagram influencer, said from her Paris home. But the gift didn’t include a crown. Italy is a republic, having abolished the monarchy 75 years ago for its disastrous support of Mussolini, and Italians have approximately zero interest in a royal restoration. “Never say never,” said Vittoria’s father, Emanuele Filiberto, an Italian television personality who claims the title Prince of Venice, which is also the name of his Los Angeles restaurant and former food truck. (“We do a lot of film premieres. We did Jumanji,” he said.) Obviously, he said, the monarchy wasn’t returning “tomorrow,” but he had no sons and the family needed a head of the royal household to run its historic orders.

Russian governor: School shooting in Kazan kills 7 students (AP) A school shooting erupted Tuesday morning in the Russian city of Kazan, killing seven students and leaving 16 other people hospitalized with wounds, a Russian governor reported. Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of the Tatarstan republic which has Kazan as its capital, said Tuesday that four male and three female eighth-grade students have died in the shooting. Twelve more children and four adults were hospitalized in the attack, Minnikhanov said. The shooter was 19. Kazan is roughly 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of Moscow.

Deadly ‘black fungus’ cases add to India’s covid crisis (Washington Post) As coronavirus cases and deaths soared in India recently, doctors began to notice another disturbing trend. Some covid-19 patients who had been released from hospitals were coming back with different symptoms, including sinus pain, blurred vision, black and bloody nasal discharge and a dark discoloration around the nose. The culprit was a deadly fungal infection called mucormycosis that physicians say is increasingly preying on people with immune systems weakened by covid-19 and the steroids used to treat it. Though cases of the black fungus remain rare, its lethality and increasing prevalence have prompted government warnings, put doctors on high alert and added to the country’s health crisis. “The death rate from mucormycosis is 50 percent,” said Amarinder Singh Malhi from All India Institute Of Medical Science, a public hospital in New Delhi. “The death rate from covid is 2.5 percent. So we have to use these steroids very cautiously.”

100 days in power, Myanmar junta holds pretense of control (AP) After Myanmar’s military seized power by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, they couldn’t even make the trains run on time: State railway workers were among the earliest organized opponents of the February takeover, and they went on strike. Health workers who founded the civil disobedience movement against military rule stopped staffing government medical facilities. Many civil servants were no-shows at work, along with employees of government and private banks. Universities became hotbeds of resistance, and in recent weeks, education at the primary and secondary levels has begun to collapse as teachers, students and parents boycott state schools. One hundred days after their takeover, Myanmar’s ruling generals maintain just the pretense of control. The illusion is sustained mainly by its partially successful efforts to shut down independent media and to keep the streets clear of large demonstrations by employing lethal force. More than 750 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces, according to detailed independent tallies. Meanwhile, the junta also faces a growing military challenge in the always restive border regions where ethnic minority groups exercise political power and maintain guerrilla armies. Two of the more battle-hardened groups, the Kachin in the north and the Karen in the east, have declared their support for the protest movement and stepped up their fighting, despite the government military, known as the Tatmadaw, hitting back with greater firepower, including airstrikes.

China Targets Muslim Women in Push to Suppress Births in Xinjiang (NYT) When China’s government ordered women in her mostly Muslim community in the region of Xinjiang to be fitted with contraceptive devices, Qelbinur Sedik pleaded for an exemption. She was nearly 50 years old, she told officials. She had obeyed the government’s birth limits and had only one child. It was no use. The workers threatened to take her to the police if she continued resisting, she said. She gave in and went to a government clinic where a doctor, using metal forceps, inserted an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy. She wept through the procedure. Across much of China, the authorities are encouraging women to have more children, as they try to stave off a demographic crisis from a declining birthrate. But in the Xinjiang region, China is forcing them to have fewer, tightening its grip on Muslim ethnic minorities and trying to orchestrate a demographic shift that will diminish their population growth. It is part of a vast and repressive social re-engineering campaign by a Communist Party determined to eliminate any perceived challenge to its rule, in this case, ethnic separatism.

35 killed in Gaza, 3 in Israel, as violence escalates (Reuters) Hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated overnight, with 35 Palestinians killed in Gaza and three in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years. Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, as the Islamist group and other Palestinian militant groups fired multiple rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba. One multi-story residential building in Gaza collapsed and another was heavily damaged after they were repeatedly hit by Israeli air strikes. It was the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control. U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: “Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” he wrote.

Israelis, Palestinians and Their Neighbors Worry (NYT) Let’s see, what happens when TikTok meets Palestinian grievances about right-wing Israeli land grabs in Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem? And then you add the holiest Muslim night of prayer in Jerusalem into the mix? Then toss in the most emotional Israeli holiday in Jerusalem? And a power play by Hamas to assume leadership of the Palestinian cause? And, finally, a political vacuum in which the Palestinian Authority is incapable of holding new elections and Israel is so divided it can’t stop having elections? What happens is the explosion of violence around Jerusalem on Monday that quickly spread to the Gaza front, and has people asking: Is this the big one? Is this the start of the next Palestinian uprising? The Israeli government, the surrounding Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority all desperately want the answer to be “no”—Israel because it would find little support from a left-leaning White House, let alone the rest of the world, for a big crackdown on Palestinians; the Arab governments because most of them want to do business with Israeli tech-makers, not get mired defending Palestinian rock-throwers; and the Palestinian leadership because it would expose just how little it controls the Palestinian street anymore. But unlike the Intifadas that began in 1987 and 2000, when Israel had someone to call to try to turn it off, there is no Palestinian on the other end of the phone this time—or, if there is, he’s a 15-year-old on his smartphone, swiping orders and inspiration from TikTok, the video app often used by young Palestinians to challenge and encourage one another to confront Israelis.

At least 1m people facing starvation as Madagascar’s drought worsens (Guardian) Madagascar’s worst drought in 40 years has left more than a million people facing a year of desperate food shortages. The south saw 50% of its usual rains during the October planting season, in a fourth year of drought. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network, most poor families have to rely on foraging for wild foods and leaves that are difficult to eat and can be dangerous for children and pregnant women. Aid agencies have reported people eating termites and mixing clay with tamarind.

#headlines #news

1 note · View note