THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) – Dutch environmentalists said Tuesday they are suing the government over poor air quality, saying people’s “fundamental” rights to good health were being infringed. In a lawsuit filed on Monday, the Milieudefensie group alleged “the Netherlands exceeds the legal standards for air quality and is violating fundamental human rights by doing too little to combat air pollution.” “This pollution causes thousands of deaths every year, and leaves tens of thousands of people […]
Other News
Olympics: IOC chief slams ‘contemptuous’ doping as Russia appeals mount
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Russian appeals against Olympic bans were piling up Tuesday as IOC president Thomas Bach slammed what he called the “contemptuous” doping system blamed on the Moscow government. Bach said the Russia scandal along with Brazil’s political and economic crises had made the runup to the first Olympics in South America “challenging”. An investigation by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren which revealed state-organised doping in Russia, has overshadowed the buildup to […]
Anger as Hong Kong pro-independence leader barred from polls
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – A high-profile Hong Kong pro-independence leader said Tuesday he had been barred from standing in upcoming parliamentary elections — the latest candidate backing separation from mainland China to be disqualified. The apparent ban for Edward Leung, of the Hong Kong Indigenous party, from the September vote came despite him signing a controversial new form declaring Hong Kong is an “inalienable” part of China. Critics have slammed the new stipulation by electoral […]
Turkey issues arrest warrants for 100 staff at Ankara hospital: official
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – Turkey on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 100 staff, including doctors, at the main military hospital in Ankara as part of an investigation into last month’s failed coup, a Turkish official and reports said. Police were searching the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital in the capital, the private NTV television reported. It was not immediately clear if any suspects had been detained. The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed […]
Vets, Republicans repudiate Trump clash with hero’s family
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Veterans groups and Republicans Monday savaged Donald Trump’s war of words with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier, the latest example of the presidential nominee making statements considered beyond the pale. The feud has shaken the US presidential campaign, becoming a flash point 99 days before the November election that pits the Republican against Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom Trump on Monday called “the devil.” Criticism […]
Coup costs Turkey economy $100 billion: minister
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — The foiled coup attempt seeking to unseat the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cost the Turkish economy 300 billion lira ($100 billion/90 billion euro), the trade minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Customs and Commerce Minister Bulent Tufenkci was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet newspaper the heavy price tag may even go up but insisted that Turkey’s economic fundamentals were solid. “Warplanes, helicopters, weapons, bombs, buildings: 300 billion […]
Domestic liquidity sustains expansion in June
QUEZON CITY, Aug. 2 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said preliminary data show that domestic liquidity (M3) grew by 12.4 percent year-on-year to P8.7 trillion in June. BSP noted that this was a slight deceleration from the 13.5-percent expansion recorded in May. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, M3 decreased by 0.3 percent. Money supply continued to expand due largely to sustained demand for credit. Domestic claims grew by 16.9 percent in June from 18.7 […]
China’s ‘mosquito factory’ aims to wipe out Zika, other diseases
GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) – Every week, scientists in southern China release 3 million bacteria-infected mosquitoes on a 3 km (two-mile) long island in a bid to wipe out diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and Zika. The scientists inject mosquito eggs with wolbachia bacteria in a laboratory, then release infected male mosquitoes on the island on the outskirts of the city of Guangzhou. The bacteria, which occurs naturally in about 28 percent of […]
Sao Tome and Principe eyes tourism boost to economy
Situated off the Atlantic coast of Africa, the twin archipelago Sao Tome and Principe was once the world’s leading producer of cocoa. Today the island nation is promoting itself as a tourist destination and its numbers of visitors are, slowly, rising. https://youtu.be/yYvOvlPSVFU
Beijing tightens maritime rules after S. China Sea case
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday announced penalties for “illegal” fishing in its waters, including those it claims in the South China Sea, weeks after an international tribunal ruled that those claims have no legal basis. The Supreme Court defined penalties for boats operating in areas, including the disputed region and its contiguous economic zones, in a move that could raise regional tensions The decision appears to be an attempt to strengthen Chinese rules […]
Mexican inmates use tattoo skills for purse designs
Using homemade tattooing equipment, inmates of six Mexican prisons take part in a rehabilitation project called Prison Art, which pays them to draw designs for purses that sell for $400 at high-end stores in Mexico City and other towns. https://youtu.be/CMJQjJFG-ZE
Rare ‘corpse flower’ blooms again in New York after 80 years
Visitors flood into New York Botanical Garden to see a blooming “corpse flower”, a rare, gigantic plant famous for its stench. The last bloom occurred in the city in 1939, the phenomenon being so rare that witnessing it is “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, according to botanist.
