🌏 Uganda's President Rejects Anti-LGBTQ Bill, Chinese Actress Speaks Out About Upskirting And More

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Uganda’s president has rejected a bill that would make it a crime to be LGBTQ.

Under the bill, those who are found guilty of having gay sex could face life imprisonment, and just attempting same-sex relations could result in seven years in prison.

People who commit “aggravated homosexuality”, which involves having gay sex while being HIV positive or with people under the age of 18, could face the death penalty.

People under 18 who are found to be LGBTQ could be jailed for three years and have to undergo a period of “rehabilitation”.

Friends, family and members of the community also have a duty to report people in same-sex relationships to the authorities.

But on Thursday April 20, president Yoweri Museveni declined to sign the bill into law and sent it back to parliament for reconsideration.

It’s not clear if Museveni, who has a record of being anti-LGBTQ, sent the bill back to make it even tougher.

A spokesperson said the president had wanted lawmakers to reconsider the issue of “rehabilitation”.

Also Happening Around The World

🇰🇷🇺🇸 South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol met US president Joe Biden and serenaded Don McLean’s “American Pie” for him.

🇪🇨 Scientists have discovered a rare and ancient coral reef near Ecuador’s Galapagos’ Islands.

Chinese actress Jiang Mengjie spoke out about being upskirted and blackmailed and is gaining praise for her bravery.

33-year-old Jiang said in a viral Weibo post to her eight million followers on Wednesday April 19 that the incident, when someone took an upskirt video of her, happened years ago.

She said she first learned about it when her staff noticed comments about “secret footage of her” under her Weibo posts.

Afterwards, her friend sent her the video, which she said left her and her team feeling “angry, disgusted and subsequently powerlessness.”

She said in her post that she then started to receive private messages blackmailing her.

The messages threatened to send the explicit video to paparazzi, adult sites, TV and film companies, as well as brands she was working with, according to screenshots she shared.

She said she eventually brought the case to the authorities, who have detained the suspects in her case.

She said she decided to come forward because she hopes she can help more people become aware and pay attention to the issue.

“I hope others who have also become victims of similar types of incidents won’t be afraid, nor ashamed to fight,” she wrote. “It is not our fault that we have been secretly photographed.”

More Women You Should Know About

🇻🇦 Women can now vote at a major meeting of bishops about the future of the church for the first time after a decision from Pope Francis.

🇺🇸 Mattel has introduced its first Barbie with Down syndrome in an effort to diversify its famous doll line.

After the garden of a woman who helped feed more than 1,600 people through the cost of living crisis in the UK was vandalized, people on TikTok stepped in to help.

Carly Burd, a woman in the UK who has fed more than 1,600 people through the cost of living crisis, found her garden vandalized with salt on April 12.

Burd launched her project, “A Meal On Me With Love”, around July 2022 as inflation hit record highs in the UK, leaving many in risk of hunger and homelessness.

Based in Harlow, England, Burd had transformed her garden into an allotment, where she grew and donated organic fruit, food and other essentials to those in need with the help of her three children and other volunteers, despite struggling with multiple sclerosis and lupus herself.

She took the story to TikTok, where her video quickly went viral gaining almost 5 million views, and people flooded her post with offers of funds, advice and support.

With the help of volunteers, she has now dug up much of the salt and is now trying to restore the land.

Her GoFundMe page also saw an influx of donations.

More Good News For Your Week

🇬🇧 Also in the UK, a zoo in hiring people to be “human seagull deterrents” and you can apply today.

🇦🇪 Sultan Al Neyadi, one of United Arab Emirates’ first two astronauts, sent a wholesome Eid al-Fitr greeting from space, where he is currently on the country’s first long duration mission.

🇵🇹 A visitor to an aquarium in Portugal was left otterly devastated after they dropped their iPhone and was forced to watch as an otter smashed it like a clam.

🇹🇼 Meanwhile, Taiwan built a giant oyster mascot statue on an offshore island and it’s weirdly adorable.

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