Black Immigrant Daily News

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The UN human rights chief on Monday welcomed the announcement from the Prime Minister of Singapore, that the city State would move to repeal a law known as 377A, which for decades has criminalized sex between men.

“This colonial era law has more broadly impacted and stigmatised the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people as a whole”, said High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

She stressed that everyone was entitled to the equal protection, respect and fulfilment of their human rights, including all in the LGBTIQ+ community.

Paving the way

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“Repealing Section 377A will help pave the way for constructive dialogue and greater understanding and acceptance of and safety for LGBTIQ+ individuals in Singapore”.

According to news reports, the decision announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, during a national televised address on Sunday, which in effect legalizes sexual relations between men, was a “win for humanity”.

However, Mr. Lee added that the Government would not seek any changes to the legal definition of marriage in Singapore, which will continue to be recognized only between a man and a woman. Furthermore, he said he would move to change the constitution to prevent any further challenges to the definition.

He did not indicate when the law would be repealed, which carries a sentence of up to two years in prison, although media reports say that it has not been enforced for more than a decade.

Recognize same sex unions

Ms. Bachelet said that plans to amend the constitution “to ensure the legal definition of marriage be limited to an act between a man and a woman, various UN human rights mechanisms have urged all States to legally recognize same-sex unions – whether by making marriage available to same sex couples or through other arrangements, such as civil partnerships – and have also called for the same benefits and protections for all.”

She added that it was essential for Singaporean law to protect the relationships “of all consenting partners, whatever their sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics.”

‘Expedite’ repeal

She called on the Government to “expedite the repeal process and take measures to protect the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, including enacting anti-discrimination legislation that covers discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”

The 377A law was introduced when Singapore was a British colony, and the city State chose to keep it on the statute books after independence in 1965.

According to news reports, there has been growing support for LGBTIQ+ rights in recent years, and a joint statement issued by rights campaigners in Singapore, described the news as a “hard won victory, a triumph of love over fear”.

However, some conservative and religious groups have voiced opposition to change, and the country’s broadcasting rules restrict content that promotes what they refer to as LGBTQ+ “lifestyles”.

‘Significant step’ – UNAIDS

The UN agency dedicated to ending the AIDS pandemic, UNAIDS, also applauded the promise to repeal section 377A.

“The end of the criminalisation of gay men is wonderful news, both for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Singapore, and for the country as a whole,” said Taoufik Bakkali, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific region.

“UNAIDS welcomes this as a significant step towards respecting the human rights of LGBT people in Singapore and creating a more open, tolerant and inclusive society where people can be who they are and love who they want without fear of being imprisoned. This vital change will save lives and benefit everyone, and will inspire other countries to follow. Other countries should join the growing group of nations who have turned away from criminalisation.”

Singapore joins a growing list of countries that have recently decriminalized same-sex relations, including Antigua and Barbuda, Botswana, Bhutan and Angola, UNAIDS pointed out in its statement on Monday.

The change in Singapore will at last reduce the number of countries in which consensual same-sex relations are still criminalized to below 70 countries worldwide. Decriminalisation is not the end point in tackling stigma and exclusion, but is a vital step forward, the agency added.

SOURCE: UN News/SLT

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Black Immigrant Daily News

El presidente de los Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, anunció que cancelará hasta $10,000 de los préstamos estudiantiles a nivel federal para los cualifiquen. Esto, como parte de su promesa de campaña. 

Además, el primer mandatario de la nación, informó que cancelará hasta $20,000 para los beneficiarios de la Beca Pell.

Según trascendió, las parejas que devengan $250,000 o menos anuales y rinden planilla juntos, cualifican. Si una persona gana menos de $125,000 al año, esto también le aplica.

En adición, Biden comunicó que la moratoria en el pago de los préstamos fue extendida una última vez hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2022. 

Joe Biden agregó que ofrecerá más detalles al respecto en horas de la tarde de hoy. 

In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.

I’ll have more details this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/kuZNqoMe4I

— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022

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Black Immigrant Daily News

RJR-Majority of Jamaicans believe buggery should remain a criminal offence.

This is according to the latest RJRGLEANER Don Anderson poll.

There have been calls in the past for Jamaica’s so-called “buggery law” to be repealed.

But Jamaicans continue to strongly oppose to this view.

Asked about the issue in the past, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said he believed Jamaica’s culture, people and even the church were evolving to have “multiple positions” on the issue.

He suggested that the country was “generally very liberal but more so very tolerant” and the state was focused on protecting the human rights of every citizen regardless of sexual orientation or inclination.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

China’s status as a valued partner in Guyana’s development was on Monday underscored at a China-Guyana investment opportunities seminar, where it was revealed that trade between the two countries for the first half of the year, totalled US$950 million.

During the seminar, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Zhang Shaogang further revealed that of that total figure, Guyana’s exports to China accounted for US$720 million. The US$950 million is, in fact, an over 200 per cent increase in trade between the two countries.

“In 2021, the trade volume between our two countries reached US$710 million… in the first six months of this year, bilateral trade US$950 million, a growth of 224 per cent, among which China imported US$720 million from Guyana, a growth of 459.9 per cent,” he said.

Meanwhile, referencing the multitude of projects, past, present and future, that Guyana has been embarking on, Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond described China as a valued partner in Guyana’s development. During her presentation at the China-Guyana investment seminar, Walrond listed some of the myriad investment opportunities and upcoming projects being spearheaded by the Government.

“As you know, we are already in negotiation with Chinese companies with respect to the construction of the new bridge across the Demerara River… we are proceeding with plans for the establishment of Silica City along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. This is to be a modern planned city and its realisation will require significant infrastructure investment.”

“We had a successful bidder for the Linden to Mabura Hill and the Georgetown to Lethem Road. And the remaining segments of the Mabura Hill to Lethem is one of the projects on our agenda. That road, of course, will be linked to a deep-water port which of itself is a major undertaking,” Walrond explained.

Another investment opportunity Walrond referenced is the development of a high-end all-inclusive resort. According to the Minister, this project will be specific to the tourism sector and will be highly incentivised by the Government.

She also spoke of other past and ongoing projects, such as the upgrade of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the construction of a high-speed Long-Term Evolution (LTE) 4G network and road upgrades such as the Sheriff-Mandela Road upgrade.

“As we look to the future with our development plans and programmes, we believe that there is substantial scope for deepening the cooperation between our two countries. Government is actively pursuing a transformational development programme in which major infrastructural work will be required.

Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Peter Ramsaroop also lauded the trade relations between the two countries, while also going into further details on the investment opportunities Guyana has to offer.

“We will continue to work with companies from China, to offer incentives to Guyana and to build the relationship between Government, private sector and the China companies. Our honourable Minister has described some of our larger national projects that are continuing in our country. And that will continue to attract larger investments from China,” Ramsaroop said.

“We are excited to continue that relationship. There have been significant investments in Guyana from China, and we are looking forward to building stronger relationships in many of our projects coming up,” Ramsaroop said.

Among the pitches that Ramsaroop made to Chinese investors, was for a glass factory and an aluminium plant that would utilise Guyana’s rich bauxite resource. And with an upcoming deep-water port, he noted the potential for Guyana to serve as a transhipment point for Chinese trade with Northern Brazil.

This year marks 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guyana and China. In fact, Guyana was the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to do so. The seminar was a joint effort between the China Chamber of International Commerce in collaboration with the CCPIT and the Chinese Embassy in Guyana.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Twitter tiene serios problemas de seguridad que representan una amenaza para la información personal de sus usuarios, para sus accionistas, así como para la seguridad estadounidense y la democracia, afirmó un exjefe de seguridad de la compañía, citado por CNN.

La información proporcionada el mes pasado por Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko fue enviada al Congreso de EE.UU. y a las agencias federales y expone “un ambiente caótico e imprudente en una empresa mal administrada que permite que demasiados miembros de su personal accedan a los controles centrales de la plataforma y a la información más confidencial sin la supervisión adecuada“, publica el medio. 

Zatko denuncia que algunos ejecutivos de Twitter intentaron encubrir las graves vulnerabilidades que ocurrían en la empresa e incluso llegaron a engañar a la junta y a los reguladores gubernamentales sobre los problemas de seguridad, algunos de los cuales supuestamente estarían relacionados con el espionaje, la piratearía y las campañas de desinformación. De hecho, Zatko sostiene que uno o más empleados actuales podrían estar trabajando para un servicio de inteligencia extranjero.

Según el exdirectivo, Twitter no elimina de manera confiable los datos personales de los usuarios que han borrado sus cuentas, a veces porque directamente pierde el rastro de esa información. Asimismo, los ejecutivos de la empresa tampoco disponen de los recursos necesarios para poder saber con certeza la cantidad real de ‘bots’ presentes en la red social. 

Despedido de Twitter 

Zatko es un conocido ‘hacker ético’ que se convirtió en un experto en seguridad cibernética que llegó a ocupar altos cargos en Google y el Departamento de Defensa estadounidense en la Administración Biden. En 2020, fue contratado por Twitter después de que se produjera un importante hackeo de cuentas de celebridades, políticos y empresarios.

Al entrar en la empresa, Zatko afirma haberse encontrado con unas prácticas de seguridad extraordinariamente deficientes. Su revelación, que consta de una 200 páginas, describe “deficiencias atroces, negligencia, ignorancia deliberada y amenazas a la seguridad nacional y la democracia”. 

En enero de este año fue despedido de su cargo ejecutivo senior en Twitter, según la compañía por su “liderazgo ineficaz y desempeño deficiente”. Sin embargo, Zatko considera que su despido fue una represalia por haber sacado a la luz los numerosos problemas de seguridad de la compañía. El exempleado explicó que decidió realizar su denuncia pública después de intentar varias veces sin éxito mostrar a los directivos de Twitter la existencia de esas fallas y proponerles su ayuda para corregirlas. 

Por su parte, un portavoz de la compañía afirmó que las declaraciones de Zatko son “una narrativa falsa sobre Twitter y sus prácticas de privacidad y seguridad de datos, están plagadas de inconsistencias e imprecisiones y carecen de un contexto importante”. “Las acusaciones del señor Zatko y el momento oportunista parecen estar diseñados para captar la atención e infligir daño a Twitter, sus clientes y sus accionistas. La seguridad y la privacidad han sido durante mucho tiempo prioridades de toda la empresa en Twitter y seguirán siéndolo”, aseguró.

¿Qué supone la denuncia para Zatko y para Twitter?

Haber presentado la denuncia y haber expuesto las irregularidades de Twitter podría darle a Zatko la oportunidad de ser elegible para un premio monetario. Desde 2012, la Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de Estados Unidos ha recompensado con más de mil millones de dólares a casi 300 denunciantes.

Mientras tanto, su revelación también podría generar multas de miles de millones de dólares a Twitter si se confirma que la empresa ha violado sus obligaciones legales, señaló Jon Leibowitz, expresidente de la Comisión Federal de Comercio de EE.UU.     

Noticia original de RT en Español. 

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