RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/March 2023

March 2023
 In literally the dumbest decision with the threats to democracy, Russia have rotated back as the head of the UN Security Council.  US Senate votes to repeal Iraq war authorizations.  UK Government to provide guidance regarding trans pupils (and teaching of the subject) for schools. Alas, The Grauniad fails to mention that said think tank is very opaque in goals and funding, that it nut-picked the sex-ed materials it complained of and that said government's 'concerns' have a strong 'parental rights' dogwhistle about them.  Finland is now cleared to join NATO, following approval from Türkiye. Poor Sweden still awaits Erdoğan's approval. Update: The 31st flag rises at NATO HQ.  The power struggle between an authoritarian demagogue and The Walt "Evil Inc." Disney Company has tipped in the megacorp's favor as [https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/30/desantis-disney-world-board-loophole an 11th-hour agreement effectively strips much of the oversight board’s power to regulate Disney World. The deal includes a “royal lives” clause that ensures its longevity.]  Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury  Jake Angeli, the QAnon Shaman, has been released from prison to a halfway house. You fools! Who knows what the mighty Shaman will do now?!  A company in Australia claims to have grown woolly mammoth meatballs in a lab using DNA. Top court suspends parts of electoral reform bill in Mexico. The controversial bill was passed by the ruling party's allies in Congress last month, leading to protests by tens of thousands of Mexicans who believe that it undermines democracy and tips the balance of power in favor of the ruling party.  Hong Kong's first legal protest in years took place under heavy police supervision, with protesters having to wear numbered badges, and the event capped to less than 100 people.  Nitrous oxide to stop being a 'legal high' in UK, due to the ruling Conservatives wanting to double-down on the scourge of... litter and teenagers being in parks. No, this isn't Drug War 'I'm harder than hard!' shite from a dying government without a clue on what to do on any of the serious problems plaguing the country.  Sturgeonite Humza Yousaf has been voted as the new leader of the Scottish National Party, narrowly beating conservative Kate Forbes and Salmondite Ash Regan. Notably, this would make him the first ethnic minority and Muslim First Minister of Scotland.  ‘Israeli democracy is at stake’: Thousands protest against Netanyahu’s government   TERF Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was allowed into New Zealand - but the people spoke, and they said eff-off - she is fleeing the country after LGBTQI supporters mobbed her rally in Auckland.  A principal in Florida is fired after works by Michelangelo were seen by middle-school art students. Parents complained it was "pornographic".  “We may be the last to produce oil in the world.” Head of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company says that Latin America’s largest producer should keep increasing fossil fuel output for decades to come. <vote poll=world3020933505349> Anti-Obamacare provisions in state constitutions backfire on conservatives; the "right to make [... health care decisions"] is interpreted by courts to cover abortion rights. <vote poll=world3020933505347> New research from Kings College London has found that antisemitism has more than doubled on Twitter since Elon Musk took over the platform. <vote poll=world3020933505348> The BBC has asked its employees to remove the social media app TikTok from their work phones, unless they have a justifiable editorial or business reason to have it. <vote poll=world3020933505346> Uganda passes bill making homosexuality punishable by death. <vote poll=world3020933505345> Legislation sponsored by Republican Rep. Stan McClain that's moving forward in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics before grade 6 (11-12 years old). Note that menstruation can begin as early as age 8 (grade 3). <vote poll=world3020933505344> One north Idaho city's only hospital can no longer deliver babies. They cite "bills that criminalize physicians for medical care" (e.g. abortion laws) as a reason, and add: "Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult". Can you say brain drain? <vote poll=world3020933505343> After TERF Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull's tour of Australia attracted local members of the far-right at her protest in Melbourne, NZ's prime minister Chris Hipkins has asked Immigration New Zealand to review her entry visa to Aotearoa, where she is planning to do two rallies. <vote poll=world3020933505342> Switzerland's largest bank UBS has said it is buying its embattled rival Credit Suisse for CHF 3 billion (USD 3.2 billion), together with governmental guarantee of CHF 9 billion (USD 9.7 billion) to avoid collapse of the bank and protect consumer confidence in Swiss banking. <vote poll=world3020933505341> Ex-President Donald Trump expects to be arrested on Tuesday and urges supporters to protest. Law enforcement has not yet confirmed if this is true. <vote poll=world3020933505340> The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they accuse of committing war crimes in Ukraine. <vote poll=world3020933505339> Gwyneth Paltrow, who has drawn scrutiny in the past for her unconventional health and wellness practices, spoke on the podcast about what it's like to feel misunderstood and judged for her lifestyle choices, like the one where she gets ozone blown up her ass. Therapeutically. <vote poll=world3020933505338> Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse, has received a CHF 50 billion (US$54 billion) lifeline from the country's central bank, the Swiss National Bank after concerns that the bank may collapse. <vote poll=world3020933505337> Russian authorities have committed a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in various regions of Ukraine, many of which amount to war crimes, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a new report. The war crimes include attacks on civilians and energy-related infrastructure, wilful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape and other sexual violence, as well as unlawful transfers and deportations of children. <vote poll=world3020933505336> Leaked texts and whistleblower testimonies demonstrate that BBC News has been extensively influenced by government pressure behind the scenes. For instance, the BBC allowed Conservative Party leaders to "on a very regular basis" direct how they wrote headlines. Additionally, the BBC left out the term "lockdown" in articles about the government's COVID-19 lockdowns, at the Boris Johnson administration's request. <vote poll=world3020933505334> The new, far-right Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni rolls back parental rights for gay couples. As a reminder, Meloni was in a neo-fascist party in her youth, and her current party (Brothers of Italy) counts descendants of Mussolini as high-profile members. <vote poll=world3020933505333> Michigan will repeal its "right-to-work" law, precluding an unlikely veto on the behalf of Governor Whitmer. The Michigan House and Senate have approved. This would make it the first state in almost 60 years to repeal its right-to-work law. <vote poll=world3020933505332> Silicon Valley Bank collapses after a failed bank run in the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history since the. Tens of thousands are left unable to withdraw money from the bank. Other large technology companies, media companies, and wineries that use the bank have also been affected. <vote poll=world3020933505331> A new poll released by USA Today offers insight into U.S. culture wars. Americans associate "woke" more with opposing social injustice than being "politically correct". Respondents were even more nonplussed by the GOP's book bans in schools and libraries — even Republican respondents disapprove. All's not rosy, however: people tend to disapprove of singular they usage, and their support or opposition for teaching the effects of racism in schools appears to hinge on framing. <vote poll=world3020933505330>The UK approves increased submarine-related exports to Taiwan, risking angering China. <vote poll=world3020933505329> The Green Party of England and Wales has voted in its spring conference to abandon its long-held position of leaving NATO in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. <vote poll=world3020933505328> Police in little Moldova say they have thwarted a ring of Russian-backed interlopers paid to cause "mass disorder" in the country's capital. The U.S. reckons that Russia wants to topple the Moldovan government. <vote poll=world3020933505327> The government of India, headed by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, formally opposes legal recognition for same-sex marriages, it says in a filing to the country's Supreme Court. India decriminalized homosexuality in 2018, repealing a ban on gay sexual relations dating to the British colonial era. <vote poll=world3020933505326> Pope Francis attacks "gender ideology", says that "it blurs differences and the value of men and women" and is "diluting the differences and making the world the same, all dull, all alike". <vote poll=world3020933505325> South Korea proposes a 69-hour workweek, up from an already long 52. <vote poll=world3020933505324> Amidst Florida's anti-drag hysteria, the state's Nazis (also known to frequently project gigantic swastikas and far-right propaganda onto large, highly-visible buildings in Jacksonville) see a recruitment opportunity. <vote poll=world3020933505323> Massive pro-EU, anti-Russia protest erupts in Georgia <vote poll=world3020933505322> Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs law allowing for children under the age of 16 to get a job without permission from the state's Division of Labor. <vote poll=world3020933505321> Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement, hosted by China, to restore diplomatic ties after a seven-year split. The countries will reactivate a lapsed security cooperation agreement and older trade, investment, and cultural pacts, and reopen embassies within two months. The agreement follows years of Iranian proxies targeting Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks. China’s role in hosting the talks highlights its growing economic and political importance in the Middle East, which has long been shaped by the military and diplomatic involvement of the United States. The Israeli foreign ministry has declined to comment on the news, which complicates Israel's assumption that shared fears of a nuclear Iran would help it forge formal ties with Saudi Arabia. <vote poll=world3020933505320> Przemysław Czarnek, the education minister in Poland, blames an increase in suicides among Polish children on "LGBT ideology", neoliberalism, atheism, and Marxism. Proposes church attendance and reinforcement of tradition as a solution. He has also previously blamed sex education for child suicides. <vote poll=world3020933505319> The European far-right praises the UK's new 'Illegal Migration Bill' as part of the Conservative government's drive to go all-in on 'culture war' shite. <vote poll=world3020933505318> How/why American far-right terrorists are targeting the power grid. <vote poll=world3020933505317> A whole lot of emails leak between conservative activists showing how they collaborated to push anti-trans legislation. Groups involved include the Alliance Defending Freedom, the American Principles Project, Liberty Counsel, American College of Pediatricians, and Women's Liberation Front (an increasingly obvious astro-TERF front). Note: the source of the leak is an 'ex-detransitioner'. <vote poll=world3020933505316> Police riot in Atlanta threatens to kill festival-goers with no connection to the protests against the "Cop City" planned to be built in the last parkland in Atlanta. To give context, in January a protestor against the Cop City project was murdered by police. This has sparked riots by outraged protestors. 35 have been arrested by police so far. According to the Defend the Forest collective those who were arrested were peaceful protestors at the aforementioned festival. 23 of those arrested have been charged with domestic terrorism; the police allege the people charged had burned police and construction vehicles, thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails, and shot fireworks at police, although it must be noted that the attacks on the police were on the opposite side of the park from where the festival and accompanying police riot took place. <vote poll=world3020933505315> A large survey taken across 140 countries finds that Catholic women overwhelmingly want the church to reform its stances on LGBT issues, contraception, and women's issues. The study's results will be presented at the Vatican on International Women's Day. (Non-Paywall version.) <vote poll=world3020933505314> After two decades of consideration and talks, a treaty has been finalized to protect the oceans outside of territorial waters. <vote poll=world3020933505313> Walgreens will refuse to dispense abortion pills in several Republican-controlled states despite its legality there, following GOP and anti-abortion activist pressure. <vote poll=world3020933505312> US authorities believe it is "very unlikely" that a mysterious illness dubbed "Havana Syndrome" is caused by a hostile foreign power