A French draft law, passed Monday, would let citizens vote in local elections after 10 years' residency in New Caledonia, prompting opposition from independence activists worried it will dilute the representation of indigenous people. The violent demonstrations that have ensued in the South Pacific island of 270,000 have killed at least five people and injured hundreds.
In response to the protests, the government suspended the popular video-sharing app — owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and favored by young people — as part of state-of-emergency measures alongside the deployment of troops and an initial 12-day curfew.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal didn’t detail the reasons for shutting down the platform. The local telecom regulator began blocking the app earlier on Wednesday."
John Woodcock, whose review proposes bans for protest groups, has lobbying links to firms in arms and fossil fuel sectors.
Conflict of interest? Really? No doing the wishes of the #Conservative#maladministration and their corporate sponsors. New party slogan ‘bugger the environment’.
Tien is head of policy & legal affairs at the #Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and director of the Institute for #Workers & Trade #Unions, the group said.
#Germany#Democracy#FreedomOfSpeech#GermanConstitution: "Just five years ago, the 70th anniversary of the birth of the post-war German democratic state was accompanied by euphoric celebrations across the country. This week, by contrast, few Germans were in the mood to party. Aside from the Federal Republic of Germany’s economic woes, the prevailing opinion is that German democracy isn’t in very good health.
Who is to blame? The liberal-centrist consensus is that the country is facing an unprecedented threat from nefarious populist and far-Right forces — most notably the AfD, which aims, according to the country’s vice-chancellor, to “turn Germany into an authoritarian state”. But one may very well argue that Germany is already displaying worrying signs of authoritarianism, at the hands of those very same liberal-centrist forces that claim to be defending democracy from the barbarians at the gate."
“Speaking at the university's graduation ceremony, [Shruthi] Kumar … criticized the university administration's stance on Gaza.
“Kumar, who is of South Asian origin, noted that their messages of freedom of expression and solidarity with Gaza were penalized shortly before graduation, saying: ‘I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and the right to civil disobedience on campus.
“‘The students had spoken. The faculty had spoken.’
"’Harvard, do you hear us?’ she further said, receiving a standing ovation.”