Chinese activists face allegations of sexual harassment, and a ‘cleansing ritual’ for rescued Thai football team.
Backlash against ‘President of the rich’ after guard’s attack on protester
French President Emmanuel Macron has only been President for more than a year, and his waning popularity has just taken another hit — his security chief, Alexandre Benalla, was caught on video beating up a May Day protester, and Macron’s silence seems to have enforced his image as the “President of the rich”, reports The New York Times.
Politico reports that France’s conservative Les Républicains party announced plans Tuesday to move a motion of no-confidence against Macron’s government because of the video.
Several questions have been asked since the video surfaced, after which Benalla was fired from his job as Macron’s top bodyguard. “Why was Mr Benalla (initially) allowed to keep his position and given a mere 15-day suspension? Why was he riding in the bus with the victorious French national soccer team as recently as a week ago? Why weren’t judicial authorities immediately informed of his violent acts? Why did the Macron government shield Mr Benalla, until Le Monde’s scoop last week made it impossible for officials to do so?” the NYT report states.
“To the critics of the President, the Benalla affair — and his silence about it — says much about Mr Macron’s distant style, which had never been put to the test of an election until he unexpectedly gained the presidency last year,” the report adds.
A ‘spiritual cleansing ceremony’ for rescued Thai football team
Most members of the Thai football team rescued from a flooded cave in a dramatic rescue earlier this month have been ordained in a Buddhist ceremony, reports the BBC.
Only one boy, a stateless Christian from Myanmar, did not join the ceremony. The coach of the team, the Wild Boars, is also receiving monk’s orders. The group will live in a monastery for nine days, the same length of time they spent in the caves. “Buddhist males in Thailand are traditionally expected to enter the monkhood, often as novices, at some point in their lives to show gratitude, often toward their parents for raising them. It is believed that once a person is ordained they gain merit that is also extended to their parents. The boys will donate their merit to the memory of Saman (the Thai Navy diver who died in the rescue operation),” a report in The Guardian added.
Prominent Chinese activists confess to sexual harassment
“Two prominent Chinese charity activists have admitted to sexual harassment and misconduct accusations amid an online uproar,” reports Global Times.
Feng Yongfeng, founder of an NGO dedicated to environmental protection, apologised for sexually harassing female colleagues after an anonymous article accusing him of such behaviour surfaced online Monday. His apology followed fellow activist Lei Chuang’s.
Both activists apologised on their WeChat accounts. “Thousands of netizens slammed the two, accusing them of doing the wrong thing in the name of charity. Others said their public confessions were a positive sign,” the Global Times report states.
Several dead after Laos dam collapse
“Hundreds of people are reported missing with several dead after a hydro-power dam under construction in southern Laos collapsed causing flash-flooding that swept away villages,” reports Al Jazeera.
The dam collapsed Monday, forcibly displacing over 6,600 people who are now homeless. Local authorities are still “struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster”.
Hydro-power is a big source of income for Laos, a landlocked country that has come to be referred to as the “Battery of Asia” for selling power to neighbours.
Zimbabwe’s holding its first post-Mugabe election
“The legitimacy of Zimbabwe’s first election since Robert Mugabe quit after leading the nation for almost four decades has come under attack even before voters line up to cast their ballots, raising fears of a disputed result,” reports Bloomberg.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa replaced Mugabe in November, and scheduled an election for 30 July. The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says the “necessary preconditions don’t exist and it’s threatened to prevent the election from going ahead, without specifying what action it will take”, the report adds.
A failure to hold a credible election will thwart Mnangagwa’s efforts to rebuild Zimbabwe’s economy, which was ruined by Mugabe’s rule, defined by an unemployment rate of over 90 per cent.
Ivanka Trump is shutting down her fashion label
Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, is “shutting down her namesake fashion brand more than a year after stepping away from the company amid concerns over how Mr Trump’s family might profit from his presidency”, reports The New York Times.
In her statement, she said the move was driven by her “commitment” to her father’s administration.
“Ms Trump’s decision comes as the Trump administration threatens to escalate its trade dispute with China, where many of her products are manufactured,” The New York Times reports.
Clothing items are among the $200 billion in imported Chinese goods that the White House is placing tariffs on from Sepember. The president of Ivanka’s brand said the prospect of tariffs had not played a role in her decision to shut down the company.