#74: TRANS CLIMATE ACTIVIST DEMANDS TO BE SENT TO WOMEN'S PRISON
Italy scaling back universal basic income program + The assassination of Ecuador's centre-right presidential candidate + Outrage after UK arrest autistic teen for "hate crime" + MORE!
TRANS CLIMATE ACTIVIST WANTS TO BE SENT TO WOMEN’S PRISON
A Berlin transgender climate activist facing charges related to blocking an airport tarmac is demanding to be sent to a women’s prison because of the “transphobia” present in men’s penitentiaries.
32-year-old Penelope Frank was born a male and is identified as a male on official identification.
Earlier this year, Frank and a number of other Last Generation activists took to the Berlin Airport for a demonstration that resulted in the cancellation of dozens of flights.
Now Frank is facing charges of dangerous interference with air traffic – a charge that could come with a hefty prison term if Frank is convicted.
Facing the prospect of having to go to jail, Frank has put out a plea for donations to be put towards legal costs. According to Frank, she refuses to go to a male prison due to the inherent dangers of being a trans woman.
"For me as a trans woman, a prison sentence would directly mean a harsher consequence, in the midst of the increased transphobia in a male prison,” said Frank.
“Now I need your financial help to focus on my full-time activism. Especially after I almost ended up in men's prison at the last court hearing, because the public prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant because of my homelessness because of the risk of absconding."
ITALY TO ABOLISH UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME PILOT PROGRAM
The Italian government has abolished the national “citizen’s income” first introduced as a universal basic income pilot program by former prime minister Giuseppe Conte.
Two years later, Prime Minsiter Giorgia Meloni has shuttered the program as the government struggles to deal with Italy’s balooning national debt.
Payments began to end earlier this week to those who are able to work yet collect the “citizen’s income.” A total of 169,000 people with “reasonable” job prospects have been booted from the allowance.
Meloni hopes to cut the number of people on the program by 40% and to reduce spending on the basic income pilot by three billion euros.
Currently the program is costing the Italian government eight billion euros to operate.
WIND TURBINE COLLAPSES DUE TO WIND STORM
A wind turbine in Rostock, Germany collapsed on Monday as a result of a powerful wind storm.
Videos show the turbine buckling under the pressure of the strong gust and ultimately crashing to the ground.
Wind speeds reached 100 km/h as a result of the wind storm named “Zacharias.”
According to police reports, the incident caused no danger to the public.
The company which operated the wind farm has said that it will cost them about 50,000 euros to replace the broken turbine.
FBI TO INVESTIGATE ASSASSINATION OF ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
The assassination of centre-right presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio this week has rocked the nation of Ecuador as it prepares for a presidential election on Aug. 20.
Now the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has gotten involved after President Guillermo Lasso requested aid from the organization.
FBI agents have already arrived in Ecuador to assist authorities in their efforts to uncover the culprits.
Villavicencio was shot dead outside of a campaign event after he entered a vehicle in the nation’s capital of Quito. Nine others were injured in the incident.
A total of six people have been arrested in association with the planned murder. The gunman is alleged to have died following a shoot out with security and police according to the country’s Attorney General’s Office.
Ecuador’s Interior Minister Juan Zapata has indicated that those involved were foreign nationals from Columbia with ties to organized crime.
Police raids on associated properties turned up an arsenal of weapons, including grenades and machine guns.
OUTRAGE AFTER UK POLICE ARREST AUTISTIC TEEN FOR “HATE CRIME”
West Yorkshire Police said it’s investigating after a disturbing video went viral featuring police officers forcibly arresting an autistic teen girl for allegedly uttering a “homophobic remark” at a female police officer.
Social media posts by the girl’s mother show her autistic daughter in clear distress as police officers drag her away to be arrested.
According to the mother the girl had spoken about how “her nanna is a lesbian, she is married to a lesbian” and that “she didn’t aim (her comment) at the police officer.”
When the police officer was told that the girl was autistic, one can be heard saying that they “don’t care.”
According to Const. Oz Kahn, the police have “received a complaint” as a result of the arrest.
“We have received a complaint in relation to this incident which is currently being assessed by West Yorkshire Professional Standards Directorate,” Const. Kahn told the outlet Gript.
“While that ongoing process and the active criminal investigation limit our ability to fully discuss the incident in detail, we feel it is important for people to have some context about the circumstances.
