First US nitrogen-gas execution may constitute torture – UN rights office
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The UN human rights office on Tuesday called on the US state of Alabama to halt its first planned execution of a prisoner by nitrogen gas asphyxiation this month, saying it could amount to torture and violate US commitments under international law. Kenneth Smith, convicted for a murder-for-hire committed in 1988, is […]
A Sustainable Life: Laundry is a top source of microplastic pollution – here’s how to clean your clothes more sustainably
In an article first published on The Conversation, JUDITH WEIS provides some tips on how to reduce microfibre shedding from your laundry… Microplastics are turning up everywhere, from remote mountain tops to deep ocean trenches. They also are in many animals, including humans. The most common microplastics in the environment are microfibres – plastic fragments shaped like […]
Comoros’ President extends rule after latest poll victory
Moroni, Comoros Reuters Comoros’ President Azali Assoumani won a fourth five-year term after being declared by the country’s electoral body on Tuesday as the winner of Sunday’s election in which he contested against five opponents. Assoumani has been ruling the Indian Ocean archipelago nation since 1999 when he first came to power through a coup. […]
StrangeSights: “World’s oldest dog” title under review; an ice-encrusted marathon; and, Yampil the bear finds a new Scottish home…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Lithuania broke human rights laws in case tied to CIA detention program, European court rules
Washington DC, US Reuters Lithuania broke European human rights laws by allowing the CIA to subject an alleged 9/11 suspect to “inhuman treatment” in a secret interrogation centre in the Baltic country, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday. In a press release issued on Tuesday, the court said Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi […]
Icelandic volcano eruption eases, but risk remains
Reykjavik, Iceland Reuters A volcanic eruption in Iceland that had threatened to engulf a seaside town appeared to subside on Tuesday, although authorities and geologists warned that danger still persisted. A flow of red-hot lava on Sunday reached the outskirts of Grindavik, a fishing town of some 4,000 residents, setting three houses ablaze but causing […]
UK PM Sunak’s authority faces test in showdown over Rwanda asylum plan
London, UK Reuters British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a major parliamentary showdown on Wednesday over his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, with many of his own lawmakers threatening to rebel after they lost an initial bid to toughen his proposed law. The government comfortably defeated amendments to strengthen the bill late on […]
Arctic blast ends New York snow drought, brings record cold to West
New York City, US Reuters Millions of Americans awoke on Tuesday to snow, freezing rain and frigid temperatures as an Arctic blast gripped much of the United States, ending a nearly two-year “snow drought” in New York City and putting much of the West into a deep freeze. Record-breaking cold was expected across the Rocky […]
The richest one per cent own 43 per cent of global assets, Oxfam study says
London Thomson Reuters Foundation The world’s wealthiest one per cent of people own nearly 43 per cent of all global financial assets and emit as much carbon as two-thirds of the planet’s poorest, according to an Oxfam report published on Monday. Heads of state are joining chief executives, business leaders and other prominent figures this […]
Seeking asylum in the US: Fuelled by unprecedented border crossings, a record three million cases clog US immigration courts
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports on the huge backlog of cases in US immigration courts…