Thousands Rally in Malaysia Demanding PM Anwar's Resignation
The protesters, numbering at around 20,000 and led by opposition parties, gathered around Kuala Lumpur's iconic independence square braving rain on Saturday. While they are expected to disperse after about two hours, it marks the first major rally targeting Anwar since he took office in 2022, and the first mass protest since 2018.
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Video shows Kenya protests, not mass runaways from Cambodia's internet sweatshops
Cambodian authorities arrested thousands in raids on internet scam compounds in July, but a video showing people running along a highway does not show them fleeing scam centres. The clip was actually filmed during a demonstration in Kenya, where protesters held running battles with police. "Mass escape from scam parks in Cambodia," reads the simplified Chinese text over the clip shared on July 19 on Red Note. The 45-second video showed a group of people running on a highway. It surfaced after Cambodian authorities said 2,000 people were arrested in raids, including at least 226 Chinese nationals, after Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered law enforcement and the military to clamp down on scam centres in the country in July (archived link). Workers at the centres typically use romance or business cons to defraud web users of an estimated $40 billion annually, but many say they were trafficked or lured there under false pretences. The false claim also spread elsewhere on Bilibili. Some users appear to believe the clip was filmed in Cambodia. "They are all victims," one user wrote. Another commented, "The cyber-fraud is finally over." A reverse image search on Google showed a clip showing the same scene was uploaded on TikTok on June 26 with hashtags that read "maandamano" -- or "protest" in Swahili -- and the date June 25 (archived link). The clip was shared after protesters held rallies on the day to mark a year since massive anti-government demonstrations before they turned violent, with eight killed and at least 400 injured as protesters held running battles with police (archived link). Google Street View imagery also showed the clip was filmed along Thika Road in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi (archived link). AFP has also previously fact-checked the same video. Several Kenyan media outlets mentioned the thoroughfare as one of the protest sites in their reporting, including Citizen TV Kenya (archived here). The Daily Nation published photos where the four-lane highway can be seen several times (archived link). AFP has debunked another false claim about scam centres in Cambodia here.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
North Korea Rejects New South Korean Leader's Peace Overtures
North Korea on Monday rejected the new South Korean president's proposal for talks, saying that his policy toward the North was no different than that of his ousted predecessor, under whom relations had plunged to the lowest point in years. Since taking office on June 4, President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea has repeatedly said that he wanted to ease tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula by improving ties that deteriorated under his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol. As gestures of good will, Mr. Lee banned anti-North Korean activists from sending leaflets into the North by balloon. He also stopped the loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border that had long angered Pyongyang. Earlier this month, South Korea even switched off shortwave radio broadcasts that had carried similar propaganda for over a half century. But such efforts by Mr. Lee were 'not the work worthy of appreciation,' said Kim Yo-jong, who speaks for her brother, Kim Jong-un, the top leader of North Korea, in a statement carried in North Korean state media on Monday. 'No matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed with the ROK,' Ms. Kim said, using the acronym for the South's official name, Republic of Korea. She cited the South Korean government's ongoing alliance with the United States and the countries' plans to continue holding annual joint military drills as evidence of little change under the new administration. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Head of China's Shaolin Temple removed over embezzlement claims
The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for "extremely" bad behaviour, Beijing's top Buddhist authority said Monday, after allegations of embezzlement saw him placed under investigation. The Shaolin Temple said on Sunday that Abbot Shi Yongxin, known as the "CEO monk" for establishing dozens of companies abroad, was suspected of "embezzling project funds and temple assets". The monastery said Shi had "seriously violated Buddhist precepts", including by allegedly engaging in "improper relationships" with multiple women. "Multiple departments" were conducting a joint investigation, it said in a statement on WeChat. In response, the Buddhist Association of China, overseen by the ruling Communist Party, said Monday it would cancel Shi's certificate of ordination. "Shi Yongxin's actions are of an extremely bad nature, seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community, hurting the image of monks," the association said in an online statement. The association "firmly supports the decision to deal with Shi Yongxin in accordance with the law". Shi had previously been accused by former monks of embezzling money from a temple-run company, maintaining a fleet of luxury cars and fathering children with multiple women. China's government exercises authority over the appointment of religious leaders, and "improper" conduct is often grounds for removal from office. A hashtag related to the temple scandal had been viewed more than 560 million times on social media platform Weibo as of Monday morning. The last post to the abbot's personal account on Weibo declared: "when one's own nature is pure, the pure land is here in the present". Shi faced similar allegations in 2015 which the temple called "vicious libel". Shi, 59, took office as abbot in 1999 and in the following decades expanded Shaolin studies and cultural knowledge overseas. He helped the temple establish dozens of companies -- but received backlash for commercialising Buddhism. The temple, established in AD 495, is known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Chinese kung fu. Shi was first elected vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of China in 2002 and has served as a representative to the National People's Congress, the country's top lawmaking body. mya/oho/mtp Solve the daily Crossword
