UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, leads tributes to Maj Kevin McCool saying his death is ‘tragic loss’A British soldier has died while off duty in Kenya, the Ministry of Defence has said.Maj Kevin McCool, 32, was reportedly on a motorcycle trip off base when he was attacked. The MoD said he died on 29 November but that it would not be releasing any more details. His next of kin have been informed. Continue reading...
Only 17 out of 82 companies investigated were found to use suppliers that paid cocoa farmers enough to live onLeading chocolate brands have been criticised for having “inadequate” ethical standards in their cocoa supply chain in a report from Ethical Consumer. Only 17 out of 82 brands investigated by the consumer organisation were judged to be using chocolate from suppliers that ensured farmers were paid enough to live on.As a result, there is a risk that Advent calendars, chocolate Santas and other Christmas treats will have been produced with child labour. About 60% of the world’s cocoa come[...]
Continent must have more resilient health systems and local vaccine manufacturing to prevent next pandemic, says public health bodyAfrica’s leading public health body is using the first ever health day at Cop on 3 December to call for increased funding to fight the health impacts of the climate crisis on the continent and create more resilient systems to ensure it is prepared for the next pandemic.The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched the second phase of its three-year, $1.5bn Saving Lives and Livelihoods drive this week, but its director general, Dr Jean [...]
Anti-LGBTQ+ laws lead to stigmatism and deny access to lifesaving drugs and servicesAnti-homosexuality laws stop people from accessing lifesaving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV, a senior UN official has said.Sixty-seven countries have laws that criminalise gay sex, and nearly half are in Africa, the continent most affected by HIV. In those countries, prevalence rates are about five times higher among gay men than in countries where same-sex relations are not criminalised, according to figures from UNAids. Continue reading...
Centrist Tories urge PM not to abandon UK’s human rights commitments, but Sunak said his patience ‘worn thin’ by delaysUK politics live – latest updatesRishi Sunak has promised not to allow foreign courts to stop Britain sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, even as a group of more centrist Conservative MPs urges him not to abandon Britain’s international human rights commitments.The prime minister said on Friday his patience was being “worn thin” by delays to the Rwanda plan, which was ruled illegal under domestic and international law by the supreme court last month. Continue reading...
Vessel was near Andalucían shore when passengers, believed to be from north Africa, were apparently pushed overboardSpanish police have opened an inquiry after four people were killed as a result of being forced out of a moving speedboat into the sea just metres from the southern shores of Andalucía.In a tactic the EU border agency has said is becoming increasingly common, the people who died on Wednesday were among 27 passengers apparently forced off the fast-moving vessel by its drivers near Camposoto beach in the province of Cádiz, officials said. Another eight were left near Sancti Petri b[...]
Guyana considers poll on Essequibo by Nicolás Maduro’s government a step toward annexationVenezuelans are voting in a referendum to supposedly decide the future of a large swath of neighbouring Guyana of which their government claims ownership, arguing the territory was stolen when a north-south border was drawn more than a century ago.Guyana considers the referendum a step toward annexation and the poll has its residents on edge. It asks Venezuelans whether they support establishing a state in the disputed territory known as Essequibo, granting citizenship to current and future area residents[...]
Indigenous and environmental leader was shot in 2016 after campaigning to stop construction of an internationally financed damAuthorities in Honduras have issued an arrest warrant for the alleged mastermind in the case of the murdered Indigenous environmental leader Berta Cáceres.Cáceres was gunned down in her home in March 2016 in retaliation for leading a campaign to stop construction of an internationally financed hydroelectric dam. Continue reading...
‘Nervous’ government has cracked down on celebrations for Sheynnis Palacios in country where ‘repression is absolute’When Sheynnis Palacios was recently voted Miss Universe, it came as a bolt of good news in Nicaragua. Joyous crowds took to the streets of Managua for the first time since mass protests in 2018 that were put down with lethal force.The Nicaraguan regime, paranoid about any hint of dissidence, initially congratulated Palacios, but has since cracked down on celebrations – not least because Palacios herself took part in the 2018 demonstrations, and opponents of the regime have taken[...]
Brazilian president’s plans to approve new fossil fuel projects sit awkwardly with pledge to meet 1.5C targetThe Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has roared into Cop28 with a mega-delegation of more than 2,000 people and grand ambitions to address inequality and protect the world’s tropical forests.Lula, as he is known, said his country was leading by example: “We have adjusted our climate goals, which are now more ambitious than those of many developed countries. We have drastically reduced deforestation in the Amazon and will bring it to zero by 2030,” he said. Continue readin[...]
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