Thai scandal: Proposal to prosecute women for sex with monks sparks misogyny claim
At least nine monks have been disrobed for allegedly having sex with a woman accused of subsequently extorting them for millions.
A committee in the Senate has proposed
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NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Thai scandal: Proposal to prosecute women for sex with monks sparks misogyny claim
Women should be prosecuted for having sex with monks, Thai politicians have proposed, after a nationwide scandal over an alleged 'blackmailing seductress'. At least nine monks have been disrobed for allegedly having sex with a woman accused of subsequently extorting them for millions. A committee in the Senate has proposed
1News
18 hours ago
- 1News
Senate passes Trump's $15b spending cuts to broadcasting, foreign aid
The Senate has passed about NZ$15 billion (US$9 billion) in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president's top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have a tiny impact on the nation's rising debt but could have major ramifications for the targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to US food aid programmes abroad. It also could complicate efforts to pass additional spending bills this year, as Democrats and even some Republicans have argued they are ceding congressional spending powers to Trump with little idea of how the White House Office of Management and Budget would apply the cuts. The 51-48 vote came after 2am Thursday after Democrats sought to remove many of the proposed rescissions during 12 hours of amendment votes. None of the Democratic amendments were adopted. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Republicans were using the president's rescissions request to target wasteful spending. He said it is a 'small but important step for fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.' ADVERTISEMENT But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the bill 'has a big problem — nobody really knows what programme reductions are in it.' Collins and Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Democrats in voting against the legislation. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader, had voted against moving forward with the bill in a Tuesday procedural vote, saying he was concerned the Trump White House wanted a 'blank check," but he ultimately voted for final passage. The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending comes after Republicans also muscled Trump's big tax and spending cut bill to approval without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase future federal deficits by about NZ$5.5 trillion (US$3.3 trillion) over the coming decade. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a Wellington house fire, the UK lowers the voting age, and the Obamas joke about divorce rumours. (Source: 1News) Lawmakers clash over cuts to public radio and TV stations Along with Democrats, Collins and Murkowski both expressed concerns about the cuts to public broadcasting, saying they could affect important rural stations in their states. Murkowski said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday that the stations are "not just your news — it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert.' ADVERTISEMENT Less than a day later, as the Senate debated the bill, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground. The situation is 'a reminder that when we hear people rant about how public broadcasting is nothing more than this radical, liberal effort to pollute people's minds, I think they need to look at what some of the basic services are to communities," Murkowski said. The legislation would claw back nearly NZ$1.8 billion (US$1.1 billion) from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it's due to receive during the next two budget years. The corporation distributes more than 70% of the money to more than 1500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Senator Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some funding administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidise Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states. But Kate Riley, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was 'at best a short-term, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save, while leaving behind all other stations, including many that serve Native populations.' Slashing billions of dollars from foreign aid ADVERTISEMENT The legislation would also claw back about NZ$13.5 billion (US$8 billion) in foreign aid spending. Among the cuts are NZ$1.5 billion (US$800 million) for a programme that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those who flee their own countries and NZ$839 million (US$496 million) to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a NZ$7 billion (US$4.15 billion) cut for programmes that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations. Democrats argued the Trump administration's animus toward foreign aid programmes would hurt America's standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill. Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the amount of money it takes to save a starving child or prevent the transmission of disease is miniscule, even as the investments secure cooperation with the US on other issues. The cuts being made to foreign aid programs through Trump's Department of Government Efficiency were having life-and-death consequences around the world, he said. 'People are dying right now, not in spite of us but because of us,' Schatz said. 'We are causing death.' After objections from several Republicans, GOP leaders took out a NZ$677 million (US$400 million) cut to PEPFAR, a politically popular program to combat HIV/AIDS that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under then-President George W. Bush. Looking ahead to future spending fights ADVERTISEMENT Democrats say the bill upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nation's priorities. Triggered by the official recissions request from the White House, the legislation only needs a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes usually required to break a filibuster, meaning Republicans can use their 53-47 majority to pass it along party lines. The Trump administration is promising more rescission packages to come if the first effort is successful. But some Republicans who supported the bill indicated they might be wary of doing so again. 'Let's not make a habit of this,' said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, who voted for the bill but said he was wary that the White House wasn't providing enough information on what exactly will be cut. Wicker said there are members 'who are very concerned, as I am, about this process.' North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis echoed similar concerns and said Republicans will need to work with Democrats to keep the government running later in the year. 'The only way to fund the government is to get at least seven Democrats to vote with us at the end of September or we could go into a shutdown,' Tillis said. Republicans face a Friday deadline Collins attempted to negotiate a last minute change to the package that would have reduced the cuts by about NZ$4.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) and restored some of the public broadcasting and global health dollars, but she abandoned the effort after she didn't have enough backing from her Republican colleagues in the Senate and the House. The House has already shown its support for the president's request with a mostly party line 214-212 vote, but since the Senate amended the bill, it will have to go back to the House for another vote. The bill must be signed into law by midnight Friday for the proposed rescissions to kick in. If Congress doesn't act by then, the spending stands.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Thai police charge woman with seducing and blackmailing Buddhist monks
Police in Thailand arrested a woman today who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy. The possible violation of the celibacy rule for monks has rocked Buddhist institutions and gripped public attention in Thailand in recent weeks. At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of the capital Bangkok on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Police said they traced money transferred to her by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand. Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest and it was unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to local media before her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and said she had given money to that monk. Scandals involving monks surfaced a few times a year in Thailand but usually didn't involve senior members of the clergy. The case also put a spotlight on the large sums of money donated to temples controlled by abbots, which was in marked contrast to the abstemious lives they were supposed to lead under their religion's precepts. ADVERTISEMENT Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks for financial gain, police said, noting they found several monks had transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them. Wilawan's bank accounts received around 385 million baht (NZ$19.85 million) in the past three years, but most of the funds were spent on gambling websites, police said. Buddhist monks (file image). (Source: Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said the investigation began last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood. Investigators found the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship. She told the monk she was pregnant and asked him to pay 7.2 million baht (NZ$370,000) in financial assistance, Jaroonkiat said at a news conference in Bangkok today. Police believed "this woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible', Jaroonkiat said. Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail. ADVERTISEMENT Thai monks were largely members of the Theravada sect, which required them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said today. The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Jaroonkiat said. 'We will investigate monks across the country,' he said. 'I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.'
