The Beachcomber’s weekly offering of noteworthy, non-Vashon news stories from around the world and closer to home, that you might have missed in the noise of the latest media melt down.

INTERNATIONAL TIDBITS

Northern Ireland: The perpetually tenuous collaboration of Northern Irish political powers collapsed earlier this week, leading to a call for new elections in March. This leaves the province in some murky waters both politically and economically, as Britain looks to begin negotiations for its exit of the EU at the same time. Reuters has the story here.

Japan: The BBC and Sea Shepherd Australia are reporting that Japan has renewed its whale hunting activity in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean, despite an International Court of Justice decision that should have halted the practice in 2014. For a good look at some history on the subject, as well as an exploration of why Japan chooses to defy both the law and global opinion on the matter, check out this Feb. 2016 story, also from the BBC.

India: Air India has begun offering female-only rows of seating after two incidents in the past month of male passengers groping female passengers and cabin staff. According to the Guardian story, there will be no extra cost to be seated in the designated rows, which are being offered on interal flights initially, and will be extended across the airlines’ network of flights throughout the rest of the year.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE U.S. …

Department of the Treasury: The U.S. Mint announced last week that its new, $100 gold coin will feature an African American Lady Liberty. The coin, to be released in April, is just the first in a series that will feature Lady Liberty as an Asian American, Hispanic American, Indian American and others to reflect the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity.

And while we are purposely avoiding any Trump related news as that is not hard to miss these days, this Vox piece on the President Elect and his speaking style from a linguistics point of view offers some interesting insights.

AT HOME IN THE EVERGREEN STATE

On the heels of last week’s news of Gov. Inslee’s first reprieve for a death-row convict, comes the announcement of bipartisan legislation to abolish the death penalty in Washington State. KIRO 7 has the story here.

KING COUNTY/SEATTLE

Two openly transgender members of local law enforcement organizations are featured in an HBO documentary. As reported in the News Tribune, officer Tori Newburn of the Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Deputy Jamie Deer, were interviewed for a segment titled “Trans Law Enforcement” on HBO’s VICE News Tonight which premiered last Thursday.

The recent relocation of Tent City 3 to the University of Washington campus means more than just a parking lot to sleep in for the 60 or so residents, as the coming weeks will see teams of students from the UW’s schools of social work, nursing, medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, as well as its physician-assistant and physical-therapy programs, offering aid and services. See how Seattle’s three universities are making an impact on homelessness — and vice-versa — in this Seattle Times story.