Bhumjaithai Party exits Thailand's coalition government
The party, the second largest party in the alliance and holder of 69 seats in parliament, said its departure was due to the impact on the country of a leak of a phone call on Wednesday between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, the influential former premier of Cambodia, with which Thailand is involved in a border dispute.
"Bhumjaithai will work with all Thai people to support the army and officials who safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests of Thailand in all ways," it said in a statement.
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The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Myanmar army detaining two-year-olds as proxies for parents, witnesses tell UN
Children as young as two years old have been detained by Myanmar's military, often as proxies for their parents, and held in prison facilities where there is systematic torture, UN investigators have warned. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which was set up to document and share evidence of abuse with national, regional and international courts, said in a report that the 'frequency and brutality' of atrocities inside the country had continued to escalate, more than four years after the military seized power in a coup in February 2021. The IIMM said it had collected evidence from witnesses indicating that children aged from two to 17 had been detained, often in lieu of their parents. The military and police may detain children in cases where parents who are perceived to be associated with opposition movements cannot be found to arrest. Some of the detained children had been subjected to torture, ill treatment or sexual and gender-based crimes, the report said. The military has conducted mass arrests since the coup, detaining almost 30,000 people, including political opponents, journalists and activists accused of resisting junta rule, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a local group that tracks arrests. The IIMM said it had gathered significant evidence that there was systematic torture inside prison facilities, including beatings, electric shocks, strangulation, torture by pulling out fingernails with pliers, and forms of sexual violence, including rape and gang-rape. Torture had resulted in death, the report said. Investigators had made progress in identifying specific members and units of security forces 'involved in operations at identified detention facilities', the report added, including direct perpetrators of sexual and gender-based crimes as well as high-level commanders. They had also gathered evidence of the identity of individuals – in the security forces and opposition armed groups – who had perpetrated summary executions, the IIMM report said. 'It's very important that perpetrators believe that somebody is watching, somebody is collecting evidence,' said Nicholas Koumjian, the head of IIMM, who said the conflict that had gripped Myanmar since the coup had become 'more and more violent'. It was crucial that there was 'commitment from the international community to see justice is done – not just for the people of Myanmar but as an example to the rest of the world also', said Koumjian. The IIMM report, based on the period July 2024 to June 2025, warned that an unprecedented funding crisis was threatening investigators' ability to collect and analyse evidence. It said funding constraints had affected the ability of investigators to travel, train and buy the necessary software to conduct their work. Staff positions would be reduced by 20% next year, it added. 'These financial pressures threaten the mechanism's ability to sustain its critical work and to continue supporting international and national justice efforts,' the report said. The UN is pursuing a cost-cutting drive, asking dozens of agencies, offices and operations to cut 20% of their staff, as it faces funding challenges. The IIMM is funded by the UN regular budget, as well as through grants from individual donor countries. Two US funding grants were terminated this year, though one continued, Koumjian said. The Trump administration has dismantled the US Agency for International Development, a major funder of humanitarian aid programmes around the world, and withdrawn from some UN agencies and ordered a broader review of US participation in the agencies. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has previously said efforts to cut back UN costs were due to a liquidity crisis, as member states were failing to pay their annual dues on time or in full. The IIMM has made more than two dozen requests to the Myanmar military, including for information relating to alleged crimes and for access to the country, but received no response. The military could not be reached by the Guardian for comment. It has previously denied atrocities have taken place and said its operations were in response to 'terrorists' who were causing unrest.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Even liberal John Oliver is growing tired of Chuck Schumer's eyebrow-raising anti-Republican antics
Liberal late-night TV host John Oliver didn't hold back in his recent roast of a top elected leader in the Democrat party. Oliver called out New York Senator Chuck Schumer for his decades-long charade of pointing to two fake right-leaning voters numerous times over the course of his political career. The duo is allegedly a middle-class pair from Massapequa, New York, who have been fiscally concerned but socially moderate. 'Schumer first introduced the world to the Baileys in his 2007 book, Positively American, winning back the middle-class majority, one family at a time,' Oliver said. 'In it, he mentions the Baileys, an astonishing 265 times in 264 pages. He's apparently been talking about them for years before the book was published.' The host doubled down on his revelation that the Baileys are just figments of Schumer's imagination. 'They don't exist.' Oliver continued in his monologue. 'Seriously, he invented them,' the comedian stated, mocking the senator further before adding: 'That is a J.R.R. Tolkien-level of gratuitous backstory, and I don't say that lightly.' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, speaks during a press conference after weekly Senate caucus luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 The show then cut to a sketch with two new characters, supposed to be the real-life version of Schumer's fictional Baileys. 'We're Republicans, Chuck. We're super Republican,' the actors claimed, they were revealed to have both voted for President Trump, Joe thrice, and Eileen twice. Oliver's producers then doubled down on their portrayal of grotesque Republican stereotypes. 'I think they're putting litter boxes in schools,' Joe says, before his wife Eileen responded: 'Every time a celebrity dies, I tweet, vaxxed.' The fictional duo then continued: 'I take Ivermectin, every day, out of spite,' rail against store clerks who 'don't say Merry Christmas, even in June,' and demand, 'Where's my straight pride parade?' At the end of the segment, the pair notes: 'Our own kids don't even speak to us, Chuck. You shouldn't either.' A representative for Schumer did not immediately reply to the Daily Mail's request for comment. Despite his formal position as Minority Leader of the United States Senate, Schumer isn't immensely popular, both among his own constituents and the general public. A Sienna College Poll released Tuesday found that only 39 percent of Schumer's constituents had a favorable view of the lawmaker. Forty-six percent of respondents had a negative view of the Senator. The top Senate Democrat ranked 26th out of 29 high-profile Democrats on the latest DailyMail+ Power List released Tuesday. Based on exclusive polling, the Mail's Power List captures public sentiment around likeability, trustworthiness, perceived bias, and knowledge among key figures. The data reveals who Americans like and trust and who they don't, and the verdict is as damning as it is surprising. The top five names on the list were all celebrities. Schumer's Senate colleague and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders took the spot of the top elected official on the list at number six, with Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman coming seventh right behind Sanders. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker also appeared on the list ahead of Schumer, raking in ninth place. Last month, DailyMail+ launched the Power List by revealing the best-loved (and most loathed) morning-show hosts and news media stars. We also ranked the sports analysts who divide the opinion of millions of fans across the country and revealed the nation's most beloved NFL quarterback. Our standings of the leading figures in Trump's inner circle revealed who holds the most influence.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Nicola Sturgeon launches furious defence of gender crusade – just days after hinting at climbdown
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon sparked a fresh war with feminists, including JK Rowling — just days after saying she wished she'd paused her gender crusade. The ex-First Minister hit out at critics and said her position on self-ID 'hasn't changed'. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 4 Nicola Sturgeon launched a defence of her gender crusade Credit: BBC 4 She insisted her position on self-ID hasn't changed Credit: Splash 4 It comes after the former SNP leader admitted mistakes in her handling of the party's gender laws Credit: Getty 4 She took a swipe at JK Rowling who then hit back Credit: EPA But her comments were slammed by women's rights campaigners, who said the former SNP leader 'still doesn't get it'. It emerged that Ms Sturgeon's new book, Frankly, includes a blast at JK Rowling. It accuses the Harry Potter author of stoking 'vile' attacks on her following a social media post in October 2022 in which she wore a T-shirt that had a definition of Ms Sturgeon as 'destroyer of women's rights'. The politician claimed the stunt was 'the point at which rational debate' on the trans issue 'became impossible and any hope of finding common ground disappeared'. Ms Sturgeon said the description of her 'wounds me deeply', adding that the personal attacks that followed 'made me feel less safe and more at risk of possible physical harm'. Ms Rowling hit back as she posted photos of her penning notes in the book. The billionaire novelist said: 'Watch my website for my review of Frankly, the memoir of Scotland's (checks notes) most persecuted, misunderstood, self-critical, open-to-debate, feminist-to-her-fingertips ex-First Minister.' Ms Rowling highlighted a passage about the #MeToo movement. In her book, Ms Sturgeon wrote: 'We have such a long way still to go to make the public sphere safe for women and girls.' Ms Rowling shared a picture of the page where she had written: 'Are you f*****g kidding me???' Nicola Sturgeon admits mistake on gender ID battle in bombshell TV interview Earlier, the ex-Nats supremo was asked in a BBC interview whether she'd debate trans rights issues with the author. She eventually said: 'I'll debate with anybody,' adding, 'I don't think JK Rowling would be willing to do that.' Ms Sturgeon was also criticised by For Women Scotland, the group behind the legal case which ended with the UK Supreme Court's landmark ruling that 'woman' in equality law means 'biological woman'. Campaigner Susan Smith said: 'She still doesn't get it. 'Nicola Sturgeon wrings her hands now about the tone of the debate but she refused to meet women, including in the SNP, to talk through valid concerns. 'The failure of this policy is on her and we are only sorry that she put many women through hell before we got here.' Ms Sturgeon also refused to say sorry for pushing the Gender Recognition Reform bill through Holyrood. "I will never apologise for standing up for the rights of one of the most stigmatised minorities in the country." Nicola Sturgeon Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme she said: 'The assault we're seeing on trans people now, which goes way beyond debates about the process of gender recognition, is appalling. 'I will never apologise for standing up for the rights of one of the most stigmatised minorities in the country.' The bill was passed by MSPs in December 2022 but the then-Tory UK Government blocked it from becoming law. The proposals stripped away protections around trans rights, including the need for a medical diagnosis before people could legally change sex. It planned to lower the age limit from 18 to 16. The former First Minister had appeared to make a climbdown in an ITV interview on Monday, saying she should have 'paused' it due to feminists' concerns. But she insisted: 'My position hasn't changed.' She conceded only that her communication skills had 'deserted' her — particularly around the case of trans double rapist Isla Bryson. There was fury after the fiend, previously called Adam Graham, claimed to be transitioning and was initially sent to a female nick in January 2023. Ms Sturgeon finally said on ITV she considered Bryson a 'biological male'. But she claimed anything she said about the monster would be 'taken to apply to every trans person'. She said: 'We deal with the bad people — we don't taint the entire group.' Scots Tory leader Russell Findlay said it was clear Ms Sturgeon had 'not moved one inch'. He said: 'She still believes any man should be accepted as a woman regardless of the impact on women's rights.' Elsewhere in her book, Ms Sturgeon claimed Alex Salmond had been 'implacably opposed' to moves to legalise gay marriage — until she convinced him.
