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world news Diasabra 30 OctOber 2021

Myanmar court gives Suu Kyi confidante 20-year prison term

(AP) — A court in Myan- military’s takeover and was without permission under structions to carry out civil
mar found a close col- arrested on Feb. 4. Suu Kyi’s military rule, also reported disobedience,” he said, refer-
league of ousted leader party had won a landslide the court’s action. A text ring to a note posted on Face-
Aung San Suu Kyi guilty victory in a November 2020 message from the Informa- book attributed to her. There
of treason and sentenced general election. tion Ministry to journalists has been some dispute about
him Friday to 20 years in confirmed that Win Htein whether Suu Kyi was its ac-
prison, a member of their The army’s takeover was had received a 20-year prison tual author.
political party said. Local met with widespread peace- sentence but gave no other
media also reported the ful protests but the resistance details. Win Htein was able to in-
court’s decision. hardened after security forc- form the Myanmar-language
es used deadly force to put Win Htein was apparently ar- service of Britain’s BBC ra-
The sentence given 79-year- down the demonstrations, rested for remarks he made dio about his arrest before his
old Win Htein appeared to be and there is now an incipient just after the takeover. contact with the outside was
the most severe so far for any insurgency in many parts of cut off. imprisonment, was changed
of the top members of Suu the country. “The curse of the coup is shortly after his arrest by the
Kyi’s government and party rooted in our country and “They don’t like what I’ve newly installed military gov-
who were detained after the Kyaw Thiha, a member of the this is the reason why our been talking about. They are ernment.
military seized power on Feb. party’s Central Committee country still remains poor. afraid of what I’m saying,” he
1. Suu Kyi is being tried on and one of its elected mem- I feel sad and upset for our told the BBC in a phone call. It had originally criminalized
several criminal charges that bers of parliament, said he fellow citizens and for their attempts to “bring into hatred
her supporters say were fab- learned from a court source future,” Win Htein, who had Win Htein was charged un- or contempt, or excite or at-
ricated to discredit her. about the sentence and the been a political prisoner un- der Section 124(A) of the Pe- tempt to excite disaffection
judge’s order that Win Htein der a former military govern- nal Code, a statute that falls towards the government,”
Win Htein is a longtime con- be sent immediately to a pris- ment, said on Feb. 2. under the general heading of but was amended to also
fidante of Suu Kyi and a pa- on in the central city of Man- treason, though it is some- cover “Defense Services or
tron of her National League dalay. “All the voters who gave their times referred to as sedition. Defense Services Personnel,”
for Democracy party. He backing to us in the 2020 and the penalty was increased
publicly called for civil dis- Myanmar media, which general election should fol- The law, which had a maxi- to seven to 20 years’ impris-
obedience to oppose the are mostly operating online low Aung San Suu Kyi’s in- mum penalty of three years’ onment.

UK’s Johnson seeks ‘G20 bounce’ for key climate conference

(AP) — British Prime Minister tackle the impacts of climate change. spending from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%
Boris Johnson flies to a Group “We might not get the agreements because of the economic blow from
of 20 meeting in Rome on Friday “The biggest issue is ratcheting up that we need,” Johnson said during the coronavirus pandemic alarmed
with one big goal: to persuade ambition,” said Jared Finnegan, a a question-and-answer session with aid groups and undercut the U.K.’s
the leaders of the world’s biggest public policy expert at University children. commitment to developing nations.
economies to put their money College London. “Boris (Johnson) The British government said this
where their mouth is at the U.N. has been talking for some time about That may be a prudent lowering of week that cut will remain at least un-
climate summit in Scotland. how he expects the largest econo- expectations, but Johnson faces some til 2024.
mies, the G-20, to come forward with big obstacles. Britain’s leader is mis-
Johnson will deploy his ebullience more ambitious pledges than what trusted by many European leaders for The U.K.’s annual budget, an-
and his — admittedly divisive — countries put forward in 2015” when his role in Britain’s 2016 decision to nounced Wednesday, made scant
charm to try to extract cash and car- the landmark Paris climate agreement leave the EU and the years of rancor- mention of climate change while
bon-cutting commitments from the was struck. ous divorce negotiations that have slashing passenger taxes on domestic
G-20, which contains some of the followed. U.S. President Joe Biden flights and freezing taxes on automo-
world’s biggest carbon emitters, in- “Some countries have come forward has also been wary, seeing echoes in bile fuel.
cluding China, the United States, In- with that and played ball, other coun- Johnson’s crowd-pleasing antics of
dia and Russia. tries have not,” Finnegan added. Donald Trump’s populism. Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain,
Accounting for 75% of the world’s denied those measures undermined
trade and 60% of its population, the Major G-20 polluters, including Rus- Johnson insists that Brexit does not Britain’s environmental image or
G-20 has often been accused of being sia and Australia, have failed to im- mean a U.K. retreat from the world, net-zero target.
too big and diffuse to take strong col- prove on the carbon-cutting pledges and has championed his vision of an
lective action. And Johnson’s Brexit- made after the Paris conference. Nei- outward-looking “Global Britain” “I think anyone that’s been tracking
tinged global image means his arm- ther Chinese President Xi Jinping during the country’s presidency of our commitments on climate change
twisting power may be limited. nor Russian President Vladimir Pu- the Group of Seven wealthy indus- and net zero can see that the United
tin, leaders of two of the biggest car- trialized nations this year. A G-7 Kingdom is leading the way on this,”
The G-20 is meeting as the European bon emitters, plan to attend the G-20 summit in England in June was con- he said.
Union and ex-member Britain wran- or COP26 in person. sidered a modest success by Britain,
gle over trade rules, and amid a sim- even though environmental groups Pessimists might wonder — if G-20
mering U.K.-France spat over fishing The world is currently far adrift of said its climate commitments lacked can’t agree how to fight climate
rights in the English Channel. France the goal set in Paris of limiting global substance. change, what hope is there for the al-
is also incensed over a U.S.-U.K.- warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 most 200 nations who will gather at
Australia nuclear submarine deal that degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-in- Johnson makes a more credible green COP26 in Glasgow?
saw Australia cancel a multibillion- dustrial levels, considered a threshold messenger than some rich nations’
dollar contract to buy French subs. between manageable and disastrous leaders. The U.K. has promised to Yet Finnegan sees progress in the
climate change. Keeping “1.5 alive” is reach net-zero carbon emissions by fact that a Conservative British gov-
Those disputes are clouding John- the focus of the Glasgow meeting. To 2050, and has published a detailed ernment wants to be seen as a green
son’s hopes of a “G-20 bounce” to do it, Britain has honed in on a man- plan for getting there. Unlike Aus- leader, and in the way the global con-
build momentum for the 12-day tra of “coal, cars, cash and trees” — tralia, it is on course to eliminate versation on climate has shifted.
COP26 climate conference, which eliminating fossil fuels, switching to coal from its energy mix within a few
starts Sunday in Glasgow. He’s hop- clean vehicles, spending money and years. And unlike the United States, “Even the fact that we’re talking about
ing to leave Rome bearing a sheaf of stopping deforestation. there’s limited political opposition in net zero by 2050 -- that is something
global carbon-cutting pledges, a plan the U.K. to tougher climate rules. that just wasn’t on the table even five
to curb coal use and a long-promised, Johnson said this week it was “touch years ago,” he said.
never-delivered $100 billion a year and go” whether the climate summit But the British government’s de-
in aid to help developing countries would meet its goals. cision this year to cut foreign aid