Harvey Weinstein indicted on three additional charges of sexual misconduct and Justin Trudeau washes hands of alleged sexual harassment incident.
Thai teen football team and their coach found alive after 9 days
After being trapped in the Tham Luang caves for nine days, 12 boys and their football coach have been found alive, reports the BBC.
Hooyah…..ทีมหมูป่าพบเยาวชนทีมหมูป่าบริเวณหาดทรายห่างจาก Pattaya beach 200 เมตร โดยนักดำน้ำหน่วยซีลดำน้ำวางไลน์เชือกนำทาง ร่วมกับนักดำน้ำจากประเทศอังกฤษ ระยะทางจากห้องโถง 3 ยาว 1,900 เมตร เมื่อเวลา 21.38 น. คืนวันที่ 2 กรกฎาคม 2561#ThainavySEAL
Thai NavySEAL यांनी वर पोस्ट केले सोमवार, २ जुलै, २०१८
Health officials confirmed that all were alive and safe, though their exact physical condition was not yet known.
However, rescue still remains a challange with rising water and mud hindering access and the health of the group being a major concern.
The Thai army is considering several options, such as diving, drilling, and pumping mud and water out of caves, but each poses a problem that may compromise the lives of the trapped group.
In a press conference, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said they would continue to drain water out of the cave while sending doctors and nurses in to check the health of the boys and their coach, reports the BBC.
Aged between 11 and 16, the boys went to explore the caves with their coach on 23 June, only to get trapped amid heavy rains.
The Bangkok Post reports that two British cave explorers were the first to reach the group. “A dramatic video stream from the Pattaya Beach area deep inside the cave showed an English cave explorer was the first to reach the boys. His video showed all 13 members of the team moving, alert and with questions: “How long have we been here?” and “When will we get out?”
More indictments for Weinstein
On Monday, the Manhattan district attorney announced that disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, allegations against whom led to the #MeToo movement, has been indicted on three additional felony charges of sexual misconduct. The new charges are in connection with a third victim, and two of them carry a potential life sentence, reports The New York Times.
“The updated indictment accuses Mr. Weinstein of forcing a third woman to have sex with him. The additional charges include two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life,” the report adds.
Weinstein was arrested in May on charges that he assaulted two women, in 2004 and 2013. He denied the charges and pleaded not guilty, and was released on $1 million bail to await trial.
Justin Trudeau says he doesn’t remember incident of alleged sexual misconduct
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he “does not remember any ‘negative interactions’ during an event he attended 18 years ago in British Columbia – acknowledging for the first time allegations of sexual misconduct that recently resurfaced about him at the event”.
According to The Globe and Mail, Trudeau told reporters that he remembers attending the music festival in 2000, but doesn’t recall anything bad happening.
“I remember that day in Creston well, it was an Avalanche Foundation event to support avalanche safety. I had a good day that day. I don’t remember any negative interactions that day at all,” Trudeau said.
However, days after the alleged incident took place in 2000, an editorial was published in the Creston Valley Advance that claimed Trudeau had apologised to a female reporter for “groping” her at the event. The same editorial resurfaced recently, leading to calls for his resignation.
The most sexist football World Cup yet?
In The Guardian, reporter Alexandra Topping writes that though football seemed to have progressed, with female presenters and pundits on our screens and women fans participating in the World Cup in unprecedented numbers, the rate of sexual harassment and assault at stadia told a different story.
“If sexism has been kicked out of the game, someone has forgotten to tell large swathes of its followers,” she writes. Male fans have been harassing female fans, and women journalists are being treated even worse, with at least three reporters assaulted while working.
Women commentators have faced abuse for being “too high-pitched” and have been accused o not being as well-informed on the game as their male counterparts. Getty Images posted a gallery of the “World Cup’s hottest fans”, for which it was forced to apologise.
“Are these the last gasps of unreconstructed sexists who ultimately know their time is up? Because one thing is certain; the odd feminists – or women, as they are otherwise known – aren’t going anywhere,” she writes.
The Chinese should ‘dare to dream’
President Xi Jinping told young Chinese people to “dare to dream”, reports Xinhua. The remarks were made during an interaction with the central committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC).
President #XiJinping Monday told young Chinese to dare to dream, and work courageously and diligently to realize their dreams during a talk with the new leadership of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) Central Committee pic.twitter.com/mWEJ0tIDoy
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) July 2, 2018
“Xi stressed that the CYLC must focus on three fundamental issues: Nrturing socialist cause builders and successors; consolidating and expanding the basis of the party’s governance among the young people; and focusing on the central task and serving the overall interests of the country,” Xinhua reports.
“A country will have a great tomorrow, and a nation will be full of hopes, when the younger generations have ideals, ability and a strong sense of responsibility,” Xi said. “The Chinese dream of national rejuvenation will be realised ultimately through the endeavours of young people, generation by generation.”
Rare animals are apparently being exported from Congo to China
“Mountain gorillas and other endangered species from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are at risk of being taken from the wild and exported to Chinese zoos,” reports The Guardian.
The allegations are based on a leaked letter from the DRC’s environment minister to a Chinese company, which apparently refers to a request for a number of rare species and sparked outrage among wildlife charities and conservation groups.
“The correspondence, posted on Twitter by an environmental activist, refers to a request for a dozen mountain gorillas, 16 pygmy chimpanzees or ‘bonobos’, 16 chimpanzees, eight African manatees and 20 okapi. The animals, all of which belong to species threatened by extinction, were apparently requested for Taiyuan zoo, in the northern province of Shanxi, and Anji Zhongnan zoo in eastern China,” the report adds.
“The DRC has no captive breeding programmes, so it is understood that any agreement would necessitate the animals being captured from the wild,” The Guardian reports.