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BBC

The Latest: Myanmar Protests, Glacier Burst, Annual COVID Shots

Myanmar saw one of its largest protests in more than a decade yesterday as tens of thousands demonstrated in Yangon against the military coup
Myanmar saw one of its largest protests in more than a decade yesterday as tens of thousands demonstrated in Yangon against the military coup

Welcome to Monday, where South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccine after poor results on local variant, 180 are feared dead in India glacier collapse, and Tom Brady makes Super Bowl history. We also look at the unlikely feud involving Indian farmers, top cricket stars — and Rihanna.

COVID-19 latest: South Africa halts use of AstraZeneca vaccine after a clinical trial showed "disappointing" results on the coronavirus variant first detected in the country. Israel has begun easing its third strict nationwide lockdown amid the world's fastest per-capita vaccination campaign.

Mass protests in Myanmar: Tens of thousands protested in Myanmar yesterday, a week after a military coup and the arrest of charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Himalayan glacier collapse: At least 170 people are missing after a massive glacier broke in the Himalayan mountains of northern India.

Netanyahu in court: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleads not guilty to corruption charges as his trial resumes six weeks before voters again head to the polls in national elections.

Trump impeachment trial: The U.S. Senate trial begins tomorrow of the second impeachment charges of former President Donald Trump, accused of inciting the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and preventing the peaceful transfer of power after his election loss to Joe Biden.

China arrests Australian journalist: TV anchor Cheng Lei has been formally arrested after having been detained since August without charge. Chinese authorities have now charged the Chinese-born, Australian-raised journalist on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.

Super Bowl legend: At the age of 43, legendary quarterback Tom Brady won his record 7th Super Bowl, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Kansas City Chiefs.


Ecuador's daily El Universo reports on the first-round results of the country's presidential election, which will head to a second round after 36-year-old economist Andrés Arauz fell short of the 40% threshold to avoid a run-off.

Indian Farmers' Protests: Cricket, Bollywood Icons v. Rihanna

Pop singer Rihanna's recent tweet about Indian farmers' protests prompted backlash from the government with the support of several Indian actors and cricketers, "patriots' vs "external forces' trying to "divide the country." Anushka Deepak, writing in The Wire, questions the influence of celebrities in India, and beyond.

The Ministry of External Affairs released a statement using particular hashtags at the end of the document, as if they were indicating anyone who loves his country to create a social media trend that can, with just a tweet from an influencer, take the attention off of the past 70 days of struggle. From Sachin Tendulkar to Akshay Kumar, there was a similar pattern which was followed in the tweets trying to unite the "Indians' and bringing #IndiaTogether while we scream #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.

Ironically, these were the same influencers who announced #BlackoutTuesday and supported #BlackLivesMatter to voice their support towards ending systemic racism in the U.S. As much as it seems like we're not bothered by their stand, we do treat our actors and cricketers like no less than God himself. And when God goes against the people of this country, those people who made him God, it hurts. It hurts because this is exactly the kind double standards we didn't expect from them, considering they did support a good cause in the past which was someone else's "internal matter".

The only people who spoke even then and now are those celebs who would never get to take a group selfie with the prime minister of India. It seems like those whom we thought were above politics and chose to stay away from topics which are not of their expertise, did end up choosing a side. The day we decide to start treating these influencers like just another human being, we'll understand what made them do what they did and what we need to do.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com


Hiding the dough: Woman caught smuggling €70,000 in pasta

Italy, as everyone knows, is the place for pasta. And so it goes without saying that visitors to the country often head home with a package or two in their duffels or suitcases.

The woman in this story was no exception, in that regard. And yet, there was something about her that must have puzzled authorities when she showed up recently at customs controls in Milan Malpensa airport.

The Italian dailyCorriere della Serareports that the woman — who has not been identified by name but is said to have Nigerian origins and been living near Turin, in the country's northwest — was boarding a connecting flight to Istanbul, Turkey, with final destination Lagos.

At customs control, when asked if she was carrying cash, bonds, or other valuables out of the country, she declared she had less than 10,000 euros in cash — the maximum amount that can be taken out of the country without notifying authorities according to Italian law.

Something about the woman didn't sit right, though, and so after a routine check on the spot, the officers decided to search the woman's checked luggage. That's when they found several paper boxes of penne, rigatoni and pipe rigate. Hmmm....

Intrigued, the officers then decided to open the boxes, and that's when they discovered — hidden under the different types of pasta — various wads of 20-, 50- and 100-euro notes. Oh, mamma mia!

Italian authorities report that in total the woman had some 70,240 euros with her, at least 60,000 of which were in the pasta packets. According to the news report, they seized half of the undeclared cash but did not say whether the woman was allowed to travel on to Istanbul and Lagos.

Also unclear is whether she was able to keep her valuable pasta.

➡️ Keep up with all the planet's police reports and plot twists on Worldcrunch.com


32 billion

According to French customs data, France forked out 6 billion euros to import 126,000 tons of face masks in 2020 — which business daily Les Echos estimates to amount to 32 billion masks.

We see ... probably an annual shot, in the way we do with flu vaccinations where you look at what variant of virus is spreading around the world.

— Britain's vaccine deployment minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said on Sunday that annual coronavirus vaccinations are highly possible.

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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