Inside: A Taiwanese horror movie, Somali poetry and Argentinian classical music

This issue includes Somali poetry, Janet Jackson and Argentinian classical music. The vice-president of Argentina is on trial, a British museum gave back stolen art to Nigeria, and India's far-right nationalists are becoming violent in Australia. Plus, retweeting dissidents in Saudi Arabia can get you 34 years in prison, Chongqing in China has never been this hot, William Ruto is Kenya's new President, an American-Venezuelan family is making history, a Taiwanese horror movie recommendation, and so much more.

The trial against Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is still ongoing --

A status update

Since May 2019, the country's Vice-President (and former President) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been on trial for corruption. Here's a status update on the high-profile trial of the most-talked about politician in Argentina.

Why this matters:
Some 46 million people live in Argentina, the third-largest economy in Latin America.

Tell me more:
She is accused of accepting millions, if not billions, of U.S. dollars in bribes when she was President from 2007 to 2015. Further, together with her late husband Nestor (he died in 2010), who also was President from 2003 to 2007, the prosecution has reason to believe that they were The Girl Bosses of a mafia-like organization that did a lot of shady sh*t such as giving public works contracts to a friend and businessman, Lazaro Baez, in her home province of Santa Cruz. Prosecutors say Baez overcharged for the projects, some of which are not even finished.

How did this even become known?
Thank Oscar Centeno, the driver for a public works official- Between 2005 and 2015, he kept notebooks. Eight of them were passed to La Nación newspaper in 2018 and its journalists worked on a story secretly for months before passing them on to judicial authorities. In his notebooks, Centeno wrote about delivering bags (!) of cash from construction bosses to government officials, which prosecutors say were worth around US$160 million. (BBC)

What's her defense?
She denies everything, of course. CFK claims the trial is politically motivated and that the (right-leaning) judicial system wants to punish her (center-leftist) political coalition with President Alberto Fernandez. Basically, CFK, like formerU.S. president Donald Trump, believes that everyone is trying to bring her down. (Buenos Aires Times) Actually, they have a lot in common, James Neilson writes for Buenos Aires Times. "Both former presidents are born authoritarians who expect their supporters to obey their every whim and take as gospel their most casual remarks."

What's the latest trial update?
She tried to get the investigating prosecutor Diego Luciani disqualified. It's a whole thing. Now, and for the next three weeks, it's the prosecution's turn to present its closing arguments over nine sessions, after which it will be CFK's turn. So, to be continued. (France24)

Other news

One of the three best authors of classical music today comes from Argentina.
Composer, Rod Schejtman, was announced to be one of the finalists of the WorldVision Composers Contest (an international music competition). Listen to his stuff here. (Buenos Aires Times)

There was another very important trial going on in the country that I think you should know about: The Truth Trial.
It's been almost 100 years since the Napalpí Massacre took place. On July 19, 1924, between 400-500 Qom and Moqoit in the Chaco Province (Northeast Argentina) were violently attacked by police and ranchers. There has never been justice, until May. This year in the Truth Trial, a very unique trial, prosecutors finally said that the state committed crimes against humanity. (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) The last known survivor of the Napalpí Massacre is Rosa Grillo. She is 114 years old. (Diario Primera Línea)

A British museum is giving some stolen art back to Nigeria

The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London, United Kingdom plans to hand over 72 historic objects that were stolen from Benin City in southern Nigeria during a British military invasion in 1897. (The Guardian)

Why this matters:
Nigeria has been attempting to get the artifacts back since the country gained its independence in 1960.

Zoom out:
This is just the tip of the iceberg. According to reports, the British military stole about 10,000 objects when they burned Benin's royal palace and confiscated all its treasures in 1897. The Oba, or king, had decorated the palace walls with the metal plates. Many of them were auctioned to 165 museums all over the world. The British Museum has the largest collection of Benin objects in the world --- about 900 pieces. (Atlanta Black Star)

Good to know:
Benin City was part of the kingdom of Benin, an ancient region but don't confuse it with modern-day Benin.

Tell me more:
Nigeria's National Commission for Museum and Monuments, short NCMM, (responsible for preserving the country's historic and cultural properties) requested their return in January. The Horniman then "carefully researched the objects," writes NPR. The Board of Trustees then decided, "The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired through force, and external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria." (Horniman) "Maybe we'll let you borrow it sometime," Abba Tijani, NCMM's director-general, said in the news...