Cambodian PM out to discipline critical media over taxes
A few months ago, Cambodia’s prime minister had said that both he and Trump view the media as “anarchic” troublemakers. Now, Hun Sen’s government has slapped a bill of $6.3 million for back taxes on an independent, English-language newspaper in the country, failing to pay which within 30 days, the newspaper will have to pack up.
Escalating the government’s attack on media outlets and NGOs, the premier called the Cambodia Daily a “chief thief” for not paying taxes for over a decade. “It is too much and the ‘chief thief’ does not pay the tax to the state for about 10 years. If you want to stay, please pay the tax to the state…If you do not want to pay the tax to the state, please pack up your things and leave,” he said as he lashed out at the English daily, which has been a source of trouble for the government.
Angola to have a new president after nearly four decades
Over the last 38 years, Angola has had one constant through all its elections – its president. But after nearly four decades, the country known for its oil-rich billionaires held an election for the first time in which 74-year-old José Eduardo dos Santos was not a candidate. In a continent that has seven of the world’s ten longest-ruling, nonroyal leaders, the significance of this election can simply not be disputed.
Yet, it is not as though dos Santos’ political influence would immediately cease to be. It is nearly a given that his party led by the country’s defense minister would come to power. Besides, his children remain in key positions in the government. However, his departure gives a fascinating glimpse into how succession plays out in country surrounded by Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Uganda – all countries with rulers who have been in power for at least 30 years.
Australia’s gay marriage vote comes with homophobia galore
“Homosexuality is a curse of death in terminating the family line and without decedents!” reads just one of the fliers circulated in Australia in the run-up to the country’s vote on legalising gay marriage. The Catholic Church, for its part, has threatened to fire anyone marrying a same-sex partner should gay marriage be legalised.
As the country wraps up a non-binding vote on the future of gay marriage, both proponents and critics of same-sex unions are wary of the outcome. “This $122 million exercise is an amazing waste of money…And it will trigger and give license to some really horrible things to be said,”the leader of the opposition Labor Party said. Former prime minister Tony Abbott, on the other hand, simply cites threat to religious freedom as a consequence of legalization. Even as the prime minister has jumped to the defense of the LGBT community, with the vote having no binding force, it remains unclear why the community is being exposed to “a bruising campaign for no good reason”.
Jared Kushner’s Middle East trip isn’t going too well
Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasised that he could secure the “ultimate deal” for the Israel-Palestine conflict. But the son-in-law would know only too well that a deal, let alone an “ultimate” one, is easier said than done. With a political crises simmering on both sides, Jared Kushner’s ability to start talks has been severely affected.
“Both leaders are focused on their domestic political survival…That makes aspirations to launch a genuine peace process a bit unrealistic. (Mahmoud) Abbas is in a situation where he cannot deliver the deal that he talks about, and (Benjamin) Netanyahu is not even able to describe the deal that he wants,” says a former Israeli peace negotiator. It’s not just Israel and Palestine, there is bad news for Kushner, who is on a diplomatic trip to the Middle East, from Egypt too. Soon after the US decided to withhold millions of dollars in aid, Cairo just called off a scheduled meeting between its foreign minister and Kushner.
Even the UN thinks Trump’s response to racism is not good enough
The UN just stopped short of openly criticising Donald Trump. But in a rare warning, it called on the leadership in the US to “unequivocally and unconditionally” condemn the “alarming” racism in the country. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said that it was “disturbed by the failure at the highest political level” to reject the racist demonstrations in Charlottesville.
Only two days ago, Trump had defended his suggestion that “both sides” are to be blamed, by arguing that a “very dishonest media” mischaracterised his comments in the aftermath of the violence. But even as the president continues to draw flak for his equivocal response, news emerged of an Indian origin CEO of being abused by a woman, calling him an “Indian pig”.