Today's News
Abducted and tortured by the Russians, Kherson’s survivors tell their stories
Three torture survivors from Kherson, Nova Kakhovka and Kakhovka told openDemocracy what happened to them Source: OpenDemocracy: Abducted and tortured by the Russians, Kherson’s survivors tell their stories
Israel/OPT: Deporting Salah Hammouri would constitute a war crime
On Sunday 4 December, the Israeli authorities plan to deport French-Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hammouri, who has also had his Jerusalem residency status revoked. Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said: “Salah Hammouri has already spent nine months in administrative detention without charge or trial this year, in retaliation for his tireless campaigning for an end to Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians. These latest plans are not only a shameless attempt to hinder Salah’s human rights work, they are also an expression of the Israeli authorities’ chilling long-term policy aim of reducing the…
Anti-abortionists and ‘gender criticals’ are using equality law to punch down
OPINION: When those who oppose people’s rights turn to the law for protection, we should ask questions about power
Onshore wind rebellion reveals fractious climate politics within the Conservative party
Onshore wind rebellion reveals fractious climate politics within the Conservative party Dave Head / shutterstock Campaigners have sought to overturn planning restrictions banning onshore windfarms ever since then UK prime minister David Cameron introduced them in 2015. This year, however, there have been signs of movement. Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson reportedly wanted to allow more onshore wind farms via the April 2022 energy security strategy, but was forced to water down his plans in the face of last-minute backbench and cabinet opposition. Under another former prime minister, Liz Truss, the short-lived growth plan included a relaxation of onshore…
Experimental Alzheimer’s drug shows promise – but there are many hurdles still to overcome
Experimental Alzheimer’s drug shows promise – but there are many hurdles still to overcome Lightspring/Shutterstock The first drug that can slow the rate of decline in Alzheimer’s patients has been found. The experimental drug, called lecanemab, is an antibody that targets the toxic clumps of amyloid protein associated with the mind-robbing disease. While these results are cause for celebration, there are still significant questions about its safety and rollout. The full results of the phase 3 lecanemab drug trial (the final stage of testing in humans) have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial showed that…
Lost and found: twitchers delight at sweet song of the black-browed babbler
Since the bird was ‘rediscovered’ by accident in Borneo in 2020, ornithologists have returned to study the melodious species last documented more than 170 years agoFor more than 170 years, and despite its name, scientists and birdwatchers heard no babbling, chirping, tweeting or any other sounds from the black-browed babbler. The bird was long assumed to be extinct, until an accidental discovery by two local men, Muhammad Suranto and Muhammad Rizky Fauzan, in the forests of Borneo’s South Kalimantan province.“I was out looking for forest products at the limestone hill just behind my home,” recalls Suranto. “I often look for……
Scientists develop smartwatch-like health trackers for cows
Wearable devices powered by kinetic energy of cows will gather data to help track cattle wellbeingCows on farms could soon have their health, reproductive readiness and location monitored by smart technology powered by the kinetic energy of the animal’s movements.Devices that monitor the health of each cow or keep them within invisible fences are already used on farms but these smart tools are often powered by chemical batteries, which add to energy used by an emissions-intensive industry. Continue reading… Source – Full Article Scientists develop smartwatch-like health trackers for cows
NDN Collective Announces 2022 Community Self-Determination Grantees
Rapid City, SD – Today, NDN Collective announced recipients of the Community Self-Determination Grant, an unprecedented grant opportunity which will support and invest in the long-term visions, priorities, and power building of Indigenous Nations, communities, and Peoples. The 65 recipients, who will receive grants of up to $100,000 annually for up to two years, are Indigenous-led organizations… Source Source: Full Article: NDN Collective Announces 2022 Community Self-Determination Grantees
EU: New business sustainability law risks being undermined by glaring human rights loopholes
The exclusion of banks and financial institutions, as well as waivers for companies that sell high-risk security equipment and surveillance technologies, undermine a proposed new European Union law governing human rights and businesses, Amnesty International said. The legislation, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, for which Member States agreed a Council position today, seeks to compel EU businesses to respect human rights and the environment but looks set to fall far short of meeting this objective. “Member States want to exclude the use of companies’ products from their obligations to tackle human rights and environmental harm which means that…
COVID vaccines: should people under 50 in the UK be offered a fourth dose?
COVID vaccines: should people under 50 in the UK be offered a fourth dose? Studio Romantic/Shutterstock It’s been nearly two years since Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive an approved COVID vaccine at a clinic in Coventry on December 8, 2020. Since then, almost 13 billion doses of various COVID vaccines have been administered globally. And they are estimated to have prevented millions of deaths. The UK government reports that nearly 54 million British people have received their first dose, almost 51 million a second dose, and more than 40 million a third dose or…
Ukrainians on the front line face a winter without warmth or light
Zaporizhzhia, a once 700,000-strong city 40km from Russia’s front lines, remain defiant – but life is hard Source: OpenDemocracy: Ukrainians on the front line face a winter without warmth or light
Nature positive and 30×30 – just soundbites or the foundations of a Cop15 deal?
As participants arrive in Montreal to negotiate this decade’s targets for protecting biodiversity, two themes are getting the lion’s share of attentionAfter more than two years of delays, Cop15, the once-in-decade global biodiversity summit, is about to begin. More than 10,000 participants from across the planet will start arriving in Montreal at the weekend to negotiate crucial goals for protecting biodiversity.There has been a coordinated push behind some targets, namely from a group of countries that want to protect 30% of land and sea for nature (30×30) by the end of the decade. The idea of “nature positive” is another……