Monday, July 25th top stories
Hello! I hope your weekend went well. I’m Renca, and I will be subbing for Alex for this week’s top news. Today is Monday, July 25th and here are the top stories.
Four activists in Myanmar executed
In Myanmar, today, four democracy activists were executed, and it affected a widespread shock as it is said that it has been the first use of capital punishment in the Southeast Asian region since 1988.
In 2021, the military seized power over the country which rose up democracy protestors. The four activists were arrested and sentenced to death this recent January in a closed-door trial by the military government. They were convicted for “giving directives, made arrangements, and committed conspiracies for brutal and inhumane terror acts.” It is not said what the execution was, but the news reports that based on the history of Myanmar’s executions, it is usually by hanging.
Two of the four activists were a former lawmaker and a hip-hop artist. A regional director of the rights group Amnesty International said that these four had a highly secretive and deeply unfair trial. Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) condemned the reported executions. It is reported that the four of them did not have any legal counsel so a representative from the United Nations said this is a violation of the international human rights law.
One of the mothers of the four mentioned that she was not aware when they would be executed. She just saw her son this Friday on Zoom and said he looked healthy and smiling. Then Monday (today) he got executed. All of the families of the four applied to get information about the execution. Nobody was told when the execution would happen so this came suddenly.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) keeps a toll of those who have been killed or jailed by the military in Myanmar since the military seized power, they said 2,114 people had been killed by military force and 115 people have been sentenced to death.
Oak Fire breaks out in Yosemite National Park
In California, another wildfire broke out this recent Friday called Oak Fire. This fire is west of Yosemite National Park. With the extreme heat and low humidity and dry trees, the fire moved very fast. By yesterday, the fire had consumed 15, 603 acres. To give you a picture, 15, 603 acres is more than half of Paris. About 3,800 people had to be evacuated. The California Fire Officials said that they did send a team early on in the hope of stopping the Oak Fire, but the fire progressed quickly. Another wildfire, the Washburn Fire, broke out on July 7th on the eastern part of the Yosemite National Park. After two weeks, the Washburn Fire was contained by 87%, but for this Oak Fire, 0% of the fire has been contained so far.
Shooting kills family at campground; son survived
This recent Friday morning, a family was found dead in a tent at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campgrounds in Iowa. Both of the parents were 42 years old, and their daughter was 6 years old. They also had a son who was 9, the sole survivor. The suspect, Anthony Sherwin (23), was found dead in nearby woods and the news reported that he died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation reports that there is no relationship or connection between the family and Anthony (the shooter). It is believed that it was just a “random” act that the shooter killed the family in the tent and shot himself afterwards. The report did not mention where that 9 years old son, named Arlo, was during the time of shooting. Right now there is a GoFundMe page to support Arlo since he lost his parents and sister to an act of violence during a camping trip. The Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said that she is horrified by this and is praying for the family members affected.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
——
[Advertisement from Disaster Distress Helpline]
After a disaster, you may be at risk for emotional distress. Warning signs can include feeling isolated, anxious, having trouble sleeping and more. If you or someone you know is Deaf or hard of hearing, the Disaster Distress Helpline offers a direct videophone option.
This free service for ASL users is answered 24/7 by trained crisis workers fluent in ASL and can be accessed using any videophone-enabled device and dialing 1-800-985-5990 or at disasterdistress.samhsa.gov.
———
Robot breaks boy’s finger in a Chess match
A Moscow Chess Open tournament was hosted last week in Moscow, Russia. There was a chess-playing robot that played against actual human chess players. One of them was a 7 years old boy. Apparently, that child made a move then it was the robot’s turn, but the robot was not finished while the child hurried to make his move- the robot grabbed his index finger and squeezed it so hard causing it to be fractured. The president of the Moscow Chess Open mentioned that the robot was rented and this robot has been used in many different places for a long time. Apparently, the operators overlooked some flaws in the robot. In several articles, they mentioned that Chess AI (artificial intelligence) has become stronger in the past years.
Sailfish stabs woman in the groin
A 73 years old woman, Katherine Perkins, from Maryland, went fishing with a few people off a coast in Florida. A sailfish leaped out of the water and stabbed her in the groin area. A sailfish is a large fish that can be up to 100 to 200 pounds, has a large dorsal fin, and a pointy and sharp mouth. Apparently, someone on the boat caught the sailfish with a fishing line, but this fish began to charge at the boat and then jumped out of the water and stabbed Katherine. The two men onboard with Katherine put pressure on the wound then Katherine was flown to a nearby hospital. Katherine mentioned that she had no time to react as everything happened so fast. Sailfish is the fastest fish in the sea and can go up to 68 miles per hour.
That’s all for now, see you tomorrow! Stay with the light.
Myanmar: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62287815
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/myanmar-junta-executes-4-democracy-activists-rcna39778
Sailfish: https://www.today.com/news/100-pound-sailfish-stabs-woman-rcna39806