🌏 Thailand Votes Out Its Military Government, Argentine Actress' Historic #MeToo Case Rejected And More

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People in Thailand have voted out the military government and elected a young, progressive party to lead.

Thailand has been ruled by a military government since it ousted the democratically elected government in a coup in 2014.

But in a stunning moment on Sunday May 14, Move Forward, a young and progressive opposition party, secured 36.23% of the votes, the most out of any party in the general elections.

Frontrunner Pheu Thai, Thailand’s largest opposition party – founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in another coup in 2006 – came second with 27.66% of the votes.

Former junta leader and incumbent prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s military United Thai Nation party secured only 11.90% of the votes.

Voter turn out was a record 75.20%.

Move Forward, led by 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, had run on a campaign of promoting democracy, removing the military’s influence on politics and revising the lèse-majeste law, which makes it illegal for people to insult the monarchy, with sentences of three to 15 years in prison.

Move Forward and Pheu Thai said on Monday May 15 that they had agreed to form a coalition government with other opposition parties.

However, it is not certain whether Pita will become the new prime minister as his nomination still need to be confirmed in July by the full National Assembly, which includes the unelected, military-appointed senate.

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A court in Brazil has rejected a historic #MeToo case by an Argentine actress against her co-star.

29-year-old Thelma Fardin said in 2018 she was raped by her co-star Juan Darthés in 2009 when she was 16 and he was 45.

Fardin said Brazilian-born actor Darthés had lured her back to his hotel room in Nicaragua during the international tour of their film, “Patito Feo” or “Ugly Duckling”.

She said he had raped her after he forced her to touch his erection and said “look at what you do to me”, as if it was her fault.

Fardin’s story went viral and sparked a #MeToo movement in Argentina.

Months earlier, three other actresses had also come forward to say Darthés sexually harassed them.

Darthés denied the allegations and moved back to his home in Brazil, where Fardin then sued him.

On Sunday May 14, the court acquitted Darthes over “insufficient evidence”.

“The court asks for proof… What are they asking the youth? I was a 16-year-old girl… What is justice demanding from the youth? That they film themselves when they are abused?,” Fardin said after the ruling. “I want to ask all those who dared to speak out, following the conference in 2018, don’t let the verdict indoctrinate you. It doesn’t indoctrinate me, and it shouldn’t indoctrinate the individuals going through this, either.”

The acquittal does not mean that the event did not happen, but that the judge simply did not find enough evidence to prove the rape, according to Amnesty International.

Fardin said she will appeal.

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In a historic moment, Taiwan will now allow married same-sex couples to jointly adopt non-biological children.

In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

However, the law only allowed same-sex couples to adopt children who are biologically related to one parent.

This meant that if a same-sex couple wanted to adopt a non-biological child, only one partner could be the child’s legal parent.

On Tuesday May 16, Taiwan’s parliament passed an amendment that allows same-sex couples to jointly adopt children, further moving the country towards achieving full marriage equality.

Earlier in the year, the country also began allowing Taiwanese people to marry a same-sex partner from another country, even if that country does not recognize same-sex marriage.

More Good News For Your Week

🇯🇵 Japan held a "crying baby sumo festival" where babies had to compete to be the first one to cry.

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