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FILE PHOTO: The X account of Elon Musk in seen blocked on a mobile screen in this illustration after Brazil's telecommunications regulator suspended access to Elon Musk's X social network in the country to comply with an order from a judge who has been locked in a months-long feud with the billionaire investor, Sao Paulo, Brazil taken August 31, 2024.
Hard Numbers: X marks the spot in Brazil again, China stocks plummet on stimulus worries, Cameroon insists on presidential signs of life, Hungary embraces the olive
5: X was officially reinstated in Brazil, ending a five week ban of the social media platform, which had failed to comply with court orders to remove accounts that were spreading disinformation. X owner Elon Musk had initially defied the orders and refused to pay related fines, styling himself as a defender of free speech. In the end, Musk and X caved as the ban had caused Brazil’s 40 million X users to start using other sites instead.
7: Mainland China’s benchmark stock index plummeted 7% on Tuesday, in the largest single day drop since February 2020, a time when COVID was first spreading rapidly in the country. Analysts suggested the drop, which snapped a 10-day streak of gains, reflected fading optimism that the Chinese government’s current stimulus policies will be enough to perk up a sluggish economy.
31: He is not dead. Repeat. Not dead. That’s the official word from the Cameroonian government about 91-year old president, Paul Biya, who has not been seen in public in 32 days. Biya, who has held power since 1982, was last spotted leaving a China-Africa summit in Beijing on Sept. 8. Since then, he has missed a number of high profile events, including the entire UN General Assembly in New York.
12.35: Hungary is known for the delicacy of its goulash, the harmonies of Franz Liszt, and the architectural beauties of Budapest. But olive oil? Too chilly right? Not any more. Hungarian farmers are increasingly planting olive trees as climate change shifts the temperate zones of Europe northward and inflicts more frequent droughts on traditional Mediterranean olive habitats like Spain. A mere tenth of a liter of the stuff from Hungary now fetches $12.35 in neighboring Slovenia.Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari(L) walks with Cameroon's President Paul Biya(R) as he arrives on an official visit to Cameroon in Yaounde July 29, 2015.The leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon pledged on Thursday to improve the exchange of intelligence and security cooperation along their border in a bid to tackle Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram.Picture taken July 29, 2015.
Cameroon’s first daughter comes out, could face jail
Brenda Biya, daughter of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, came out as a lesbian this week by posting a photo in which she is kissing her girlfriend Layyons Valença.
What’s the big deal?
Under Section 347-1 of Cameroon’s penal code, anyone in the country who “has sexual relations with a person of the same sex” faces a penalty of up to five years in prison. Biya, who lives abroad but still visits home, said she hopes her coming out will help change the “unfair” law.
The criminalization of homosexuality in the central African country was written into law before her father’s ascension to power in 1982, but don’t expect any major shifts anytime soon. In 2013, President Biya said that a “change of mind” on homosexuality was happening in Cameroon, but his government made no changes to the law or its enforcement.
And a change in leadership isn’t likely anytime soon either. Biya’s legacy is marred by the authoritariancharacteristics of his regime, and while he faces an election in 2025, he looks set to hold on to power indefinitely.
His ruling party just moved the election season around byextending the term of parliament members by a year through 2026. Opposition lawmakers called the move undemocratic since it will affect voting momentum and even candidates’ eligibility for a presidential run next year – since the electoral code requires candidates to be part of a party with government representation (or to be recommended by at least 300 dignitaries). Biya’s main opposition in the last election was Maurice Kamto, whose party currently lacks government representation after it boycotted the last municipal and legislative elections to protest for electoral reform.
If/when reelected, Biya will extend his rule to 2032 – at which point, he’ll be 98 years old (take that Joe Biden).
President Biya and the first lady have not commented on their daughter’s announcement, which will likely affect her ability to return to her home country. Activists have already filed a complaint against her to the public prosecutor,saying “no one is above the law.”
Except her father, of course.
Wild geese fly over the Elbe meadows in the light of the setting sun on November 4, 2020, in Brandenburg, Wittenberge.
Hard Numbers: Migratory species face extinction, Dutch court halts shipments of F-35 parts to Israel, RFK’s Super Bowl ad debacle, Suspected separatist attack in Cameroon
22: A new report from the UN warns that over a fifth (22%) of the world’s migratory species are at risk of extinction due to climate change and human encroachment. The report, which focuses on 1,189 kinds of animals, emphasized that 44% have already declined in number.
7: An appeals court in the Netherlands on Monday ruled the government must halt shipments of F-35 jet components to Israel within seven days, citing concerns that they could be used to commit war crimes in Gaza. The Netherlands is home to a large warehouse of F-35 parts that are exported to countries that operate the US-made jet. The Dutch government said it will comply with the ruling but that it has appealed because these exports are a matter of foreign policy, which is up to the state.
7,000,000: Robert Kennedy Jr., who is running for US president in 2024 as an independent, on Monday apologized to family members for a campaign ad that ran during the Super Bowl. The commercial drew from a 1960 campaign ad for Kennedy’s assassinated uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and cost an estimated $7 million. Kennedy tweeted the ad was created by a Super Pac without his involvement or approval — but the 30-second commercial was simultaneously pinned to his profile on Monday.
1: At least one person was killed and dozens more injured by an explosion at a children’s Youth Day celebration in Cameroon on Sunday, as the Central African country continues to contend with separatist violence in its English-speaking regions. The unrest is linked to longtime Anglophone grievances alleging discrimination by the Francophone majority.