The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida have filed suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections, seeking a permanent injunction against a housing ordinance that, the ACLU alleges, makes normal life extraordinarily difficult for former sex offenders, and actually causes the former offenders to become and remain homeless, a … Read more
According to the largest study ever conducted treating near-death experiences, evidence suggests that there is consciousness after clinical death. A University of Southampton team spent four years examining 2,060 cardiac arrest patients at 15 different hospitals on three continents. The report, “AWAREness during CPR: Be careful with what you say!” was authored by Drs Edgardo … Read more
A nurse who had served on the team that treated a Spanish priest who contracted the disease in West Africa has become the first Ebola case in Europe. She is also the first person to have contracted the disease outside Africa, despite the highest level of precautions having been taken. The nurse tested positive for Ebola in two … Read more
According to a new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, just one short burst of weight-lifting can enhance long-term memory for young adults by around 10 percent. “Our study indicates that people don’t have to dedicate large amounts of time to give their brain a boost,” said Lisa Weinberg, a graduate student and … Read more
The Mona Lisa, painted in the early 16th century by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, is worth an estimated $2.5 billion, and the France’s media has suggested that the “priceless” painting could be sold to alleviate the nation’s debt, which has mounted to $200 billion. The sale of other works was also suggested as possible salable items, including … Read more
The UN will move toward a legal treaty that penalizes transnational corporations which violate human rights, after a vote at the 26th UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session last week. Key language included in the resolution includes a decision to “establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other … Read more
Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the worlds opium–which becomes heroin–and, although the crop is illegal in the country, it remains the main product of agriculture in large regions, especially in the south. Production in 2013 surpassed its previous record, which was set in 2010. The UN estimates that Afghanistan has produced almost $3 billion worth of opium … Read more
Amnesty International has revealed that Nigerian security forces received multiple advanced warnings about the raids that took place on the Chibok boarding school April 14-15, in which over 240 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram forces. Security forces were warned hours in advance, according to the rights group, who accused the Nigerian authorities of “gross … Read more
In Azerbaijan Tuesday, European Amnesty International members and activists gathered from 2.00 to 3.00 o’clock outside the Council of Europe Chairmanship ceremony to protest human rights abuses in Azerbaijan–the country that will assume the chairmanship of the human rights decision-making institution May 14. The demonstrators called on the Azerbaijani government to assume a leadership position … Read more
Polygamy has been legally approved by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. The bill was passed into law by the Kenyan parliament in a vote which caused female legislators to storm out of parliament in protest. The president signed the bill April 29. The office of the president released a statement about the law. “Marriage is … Read more
The IHR Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization met last week on the “extraordinary” international spread of wild polioviruses in 2014, and voted unanimously on measures to stem the resurgence of endemic and internationally exported polioviruses, which were thought to have been nearly eradicated in 2013. In the informational session of the meeting, affected States … Read more
A London doctor charged with female genital mutilation (FGM)–the first ever charge for the 28-year-old crime in a country where 170,000 women live with the scars of the procedure–appeared at court this weekend. But a top London gynecologist is saying the man should not be charged in this landmark case. The gynecologist, Katrina Erskine, a … Read more