Welcome to the Australian Island That Spawned America's Opioid Crisis
How a genetically modified super poppy from Tasmania provided enough opiods to flood America.
Global Conflicts
How Low Traffic Neighbourhoods Caused an Unlikely War on British Streets
Of all the recent coronavirus restrictions, the introduction of car reduction schemes by some local councils has caused the most dissent.
Environmental Activists Keep Getting Murdered in Honduras
Arnold Joaquin Morazán Erazo, killed this week, was the latest activist murdered in one of the region’s most violent nations, where corruption and drug trafficking are rife.
Right-Wing Trolls Made an Indian Brand Withdraw its Ad on Interfaith Couple
Critics of the ad accused it of promoting “love jihad”, an Islamophobic conspiracy theory. The company called the outrage saddening.
Extremism
Critics Question France's Response to the Beheading of a Teacher
The government has vowed to accelerate a crackdown on fundamentalists.
Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party Leaders Sentenced to 13 Years in Jail
The court in Greece also handed down a life sentence to Golden Dawn member Giorgos Roupakias for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas
Greece’s Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party Have Been Ruled a Criminal Organisation
Former MPs and a current Member of the European Parliament were convicted.
Politics
Socialist Party of Bolivia's Embattled Ex-President Is About to Win a Landslide Victory
The leftwing MAS party of Evo Morales was forced out amid violent protests a year ago.
Thai Protests Are Looking More and More like Hong Kong's Democracy Movement
Inspired by peers in Hong Kong, youth activists in Thailand are applying similar tactics to their own movement.
Voters Brace for Violence in Hyper-Polarized Bolivian Presidential Elections
The vote comes after a year of rule by a conservative interim government that is accused of human rights violations.
Climate
How Climate Change and COVID-19 Threaten the Livelihoods of Filipino Seaweed Farmers
A local farming tradition struggles to weather the winds of climate change.
Environmental Activists Keep Getting Murdered in Honduras
Arnold Joaquin Morazán Erazo, killed this week, was the latest activist murdered in one of the region’s most violent nations, where corruption and drug trafficking are rife.
Half the Great Barrier Reef’s Coral has Died in the Past 25 Years
Experts are blaming human-induced climate change and mass bleaching events for the devastating loss of the world's largest coral reef.
Privacy
The Netherlands Is Becoming a Predictive Policing Hot Spot
'Predictive policing projects like these are explicitly biased and prejudiced and rely on data that is explicitly biased and prejudiced, but nobody does anything about it.'
Hospitals Have Become 'Prime Targets' for Crippling Ransomware Attacks
Multiple hospitals have already been extorted in cyber-attacks. Experts warn that their defence strategy could actually make the situation worse.
Facial Recognition at the Border Is Fueling Other Forms of Surveillance, Report Says
Facial recognition images taken at border crossings can be repurposed by government agencies and private companies, threatening human rights, the report warns.
Drugs
The DEA Just Arrested Mexico's Ex-Defense Chief in Los Angeles
Drug trafficking and money laundering charges against the former military chief, who answered only to the president, accuse him of working with, rather than against, Mexico’s powerful cartels.
Second Largest Police Force to Stop Criminalising Drug Users
West Midlands joins four other police forces to offer help rather than a criminal record to some people caught with drugs
Weed Executives Are (Still) Overwhelmingly White
Two years after recreational cannabis became legal in Canada, little progress has been made.
Coronavirus
QAnon Presence Grows at UK Anti-Lockdown Protests
Protesters holding "Save Our Children" and "Say No to Bill Gates" signs were seen at the StandUpX march this weekend.
Millions of Venezuelan Migrants Are Trapped Between COVID and a Hostile Homeland
Since the pandemic hit, many have headed home, but conditions there are prompting them to leave again.
‘A Divide Between North and South’ – Manchester Reacts to Tier 3 Lockdown Plans
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham refuses to accept a local lockdown without extra financial support. Many local business owners are in agreement.
Hong Kong
Asian Financial Hubs Hong Kong and Singapore Announce 'Travel Bubble'
No controlled itineraries or quarantine on arrival, like it's 2019.
12 Hong Kongers Who Fled by Speedboat to Face Trial in China
Aged between 17 and 33, they were denied access to family and lawyers.
Hong Kong Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Arrested Again
His latest arrest comes months after China passed a dreaded National Security Law for Hong Kong
Black Lives Matter
Colombia Wants Protesters Against Police Brutality to Register With the Police First
A controversial proposal by President Iván Duque could fuel protests against police violence, and their violent repression.
A Severely Autistic Man Faces 'Potentially Life-Threatening' Deportation
Osime Brown is to be sent from the UK to Jamaica, where he has no support network, in what a specialist calls an act of "pure folly".
'The Blood’s Gone, the Bullets Are Gone': Massacre Survivors Fear Bolivia's Military Will Get Away With Murder
Interim President Jeanine Áñez has ruled herself out of running for president in Bolivia's upcoming elections, but she oversaw atrocious human rights violations during her year in power.