Myanmar protests escalate
Police shooting aimed at protesters against the Myanmar military coup has so far claimed at least 20 lives. Security forces recently began a violent crackdown against opposition to the coup, and rallies have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and in some cases live ammunition. The situation and response has widely been condemned by politicians internationally, and the Prime Minister of Singapore described it as ‘tragic’, criticising the use of excessive violence against unarmed protesters. A BBC News Asia account from Burmese protester Hannah said that most campaigners are young, aged 17 or 18, and they are determined to ‘fight for democracy and the future’. ‘Me and my fellow protesters will fight until we get our leaders back’, she stated.
Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy sentenced to jail
The President of France from 2007 to 2012 has been sentenced to jail for corruption, declaring days after that he will take the battle to clear his name to the European Court of Human Rights if he does not win on appeal. Sarkozy described his three year sentence for corruption and influence peddling as ‘profoundly and shockingly unjust.’
He was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014, after he had left office, by suggesting he could secure a prestigious role for him in return for information about a separate legal case. Sarkozy is the first French president to get a custodial sentence, with the judge Christine Mée declaring that the conservative politician ‘knew what he was doing was wrong’. She added that the case has given the public ‘a very bad image of justice.’
Brazil COVID variant hits U.K.
The search for the mystery case of the Brazilian coronavirus variant has narrowed to 379 households, and is one of six cases reported in February. This strain of the virus is thought to be more contagious and capable of evading immunity provided by past infection. Though the current UK vaccines have not been tested against this variant, work is already under way to tweak the vaccines to make them a better match for some of these new ‘variants of concern’. Updated vaccines could be ready within months, enabling people to get a booster jab in the autumn. This specific variant emerged in Brazil back in November, causing a second wave of infections in the city of Manaus, despite ¾ of the population already having been infected during the first wave. An Imperial College London study suggested that the P.1. Variant, as it is named, can reinfect between 25-61% of people with immunity to other variants. However, these findings are specific to Manaus, and therefore don’t necessarily result in greater spreading in places with different existing variants and immunity.
Japanese billionaire seeking eight volunteers to fly to the moon – anyone up for it?
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has invited eight members of the public to join him for a trip around the Moon on Elon Musk’s SpaceX flight. On a video published via Twitter, he said he ‘wanted people from all kinds of backgrounds’ to join him, and has said he will pay for the journey, so everyone onboard will fly for free! This mission, dearMoon, is set to fly in 2023. The only requirements for applicants are that they should advance “whatever activity” they are in to “help other people and greater society in some way”, and are “willing to support other crew members who share similar aspirations”. Mr Maezawa, a fashion mogul and art collector, previously said that he planned to invite “artists” for the voyage on the Starship rocket, but the adjusted project “will give people from around the globe the chance to join this journey”.
Pandemic recovery plans revealed in Chancellor’s U.K. budget
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out the country’s economic recovery path from the coronavirus pandemic in his budget statement. He has stated it will take the U.K. a ‘long time to recover’ but he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to re boost the economy. As part of this, he has confirmed that the furlough scheme, covering 80% of employees’ wages, will be extended until the end of September. Though this will be welcome news for many, the overall economic status is still dire. Since March, 700,000 people have lost their jobs and the economy has seen its biggest fall in 200 years. It is expected that the economy will return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of 2022, six months earlier than predicted in November. On the flip side, it is also forecast that over the next five years the economy will be 3% smaller than it would have been otherwise.
