Month: October 2020

In what is being claimed as a victory for “anti-imperialists,” President Evo Morales on Sunday was elected to his third term as Bolivia’s president. Morales, who in 2006 became the country’s first indigenous leader, won a landslide 61 percent of the vote, according to exit polling. His closest rival, businessman Samuel Doria Medina, had 24Read moreRead more

What happens when the drugs used to treat humans and animals are disposed? Scientific studies published Monday in a special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B reveal that pharmaceuticals, when flushed into land and water ecosystems, could pose risks to wildlife, from altering species’ behavior to changing fertility rates toRead moreRead more

Amnesty International has accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes over the summer in its attack on Gaza, noting eight instances in which the army targeted houses full of families without warning. In its report published Wednesday, Amnesty also called on Israeli and Palestinian officials to give the International Criminal Court (ICC) authority toRead moreRead more

The polar bear—stranded on a shrinking ice floe and struggling to survive as global warming melts its Arctic habitat and limits its access to prey—has become one of the iconic symbols of climate change. But beyond the poignant symbolism, the truth remains this: the polar bears are in big trouble. According to a new studyRead moreRead more

Large multinational corporations are behind the majority of documented bribes worldwide, with most payers and takers hailing from rich nations, according to a study released Tuesday by the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The report, which evaluated data obtained from 427 bribery offense cases spanning the past 15 years, found that 57Read moreRead more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday blocked Arizona from enforcing a law that would severely restrict patient access to medical abortion pills. By refusing to hear (pdf) the state’s appeal, the Court will prevent the law from going into effect, although the legislation will remain intact. Arizona’s abortion pill limits are the strictest in theRead moreRead more

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a hearing next week to discuss the Keystone XL pipeline. The hearing will take place on January 7, once Republicans retake control of the Senate. The committee will consider legislation that, if approved, would push the controversial $7 billion project forward after yearsRead moreRead more

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, on a quest to become the world’s first sustainable island state, has taken a giant leap in its programme to cut energy costs. Last week, the government broke ground to construct the country’s second solar farm, and Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas toldRead moreRead more

At the invitation of Republican House Speaker John A. Boehner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington in March to directly address Congress on Iran, side-stepping the White House in a maneuver that analysts say is aimed at sabotaging diplomatic talks. If negotiations are torpedoed, critics warn, this would likely ratchet up escalationRead moreRead more

At least 25 people are now confirmed dead. A TransAsia Airways flight in Taiwan clipped a highway bridge and then tumbled into the Keelung River on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people. The incident was captured by the dashcam of a vehicle that was on Taipei’s Nanhu Bridge at the time of the crash. TheRead moreRead more