Hundreds of British firms operating abroad may be implicated in severe human rights abuses such as modern slavery, poverty-level wages, beatings, killings and environmental damage, an international NGO warns. The NGO probed one such British firm, Glencore, regarding its conduct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A report released by the Business and
Read more: British firms linked to severe human rights abuses
As Iran talks appear to be coming to a close with a successful agreement that would both lead to the lifting of international sanctions and restrictions that would prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons, most in the international community are relieved. Yet Republicans have teamed up with their counterparts in the Israeli political system
Read more: Senator McCain suggests Israel ‘go rogue’ against Iran
Jewish comedy fans had the same reaction Monday morning when it was announced that Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old South African standup comedian who is relatively unknown in the United States, will replace Jon Stewart as the next host of “The Daily Show”. Amid all of the anticipation surrounding Noah’s surprise appointment, Jews are already keenly
A rabbi in the city of Toulouse has filed a complaint for discrimination after a polling clerk told him he would have to remove his kippa, or Jewish skullcap, before voting in local elections. The incident, indicative of the sometimes complex interpretation of France’s strict secular rules, took place on Sunday during the first round
Read more: Rabbi asked to remove kippa at French polling station
Former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria’s presidential poll by 2.57 million votes, the country’s electoral commission announced on Wednesday, ending Jonathan’s rule of Africa’s most populous nation. Three decades after seizing power in a military coup, Buhari became the first Nigerian to oust a president through the ballot box, putting
Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday on high hopes for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and increased Iranian crude-oil exports. Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled down 0.48% at $47.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, slid 0.14%, to $56.13 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Both
Grand plans have been outlined for the BRICS emerging market nations as Russia begins its presidency of the group on Wednesday. Transforming the BRICS assembly of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa into “a full-scale mechanism of strategic interaction on key issues of global policy and economics” is a “top priority” for Russia’s presidency,
The P5+1 group and Iran agreed on all key aspects and are due to start drafting preliminary deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. “We can quite certainly say that on all the key aspects of final settlement of this problem, the ministers have reached principal consent that will be,
Read more: Nuclear deal with Iran reached says Russian diplomat
A bus driver was shot and wounded when he tried to protect his passengers during an armed robbery on the bus in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, on Wednesday, News24 reported. Metrobus spokesperson Esther Dryer said a group of six armed men jumped onto the bus when it stopped on the corner of Hendrik Potgieter and
According to an Australian newspaper, the South African cricket team was forced to include an injured Coloured (mixed-race) player in their line-up for the Cricket World Cup in order to adhere to the government’s racial quotas for sports. This may have cost the country, one of the world’s foremost cricketing and rugby nations, the championship
Read more: Cricket: South Africa forced to select injured Coloured player for World Cup
A three-day lockdown in Sierra Leone has exposed hundreds of potential new cases of Ebola, aiding efforts to bring to an end an epidemic that has already killed 3,000 people in the country. Officials ordered the country’s 6 million residents to stay indoors or face arrest during the period that ended late on Sunday as
Read more: Hundreds of new Ebola cases suspected in Sierre Leone
Perhaps it’s not too much of a surprise to learn that there’s a strong correlation between spending time in not-particularly-clean water and exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This is the revelation of a study presented Monday at the Society for General Microbiology’s Annual Conference, which estimates that swimmers, surfers, and other folks splashing around in the
Read more: Surf’s up: Antibiotic-resistant E.coli invading UK beaches
Ex-Monsanto employee Richard Goodman has been removed from the Editorial Board of the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology. Goodman was appointed Associate Editor shortly before the Seralini study was retracted by the journal. Former Editor-in-Chief, A. Wallace Hayes will be replaced by someone else as well. It looks like one scientific journal has decided
Read more: Ex-Monsanto employee fired from scientific journal
The skipper of a fishing boat says he was fired upon by a warship during a naval exercise near Cape Agulhas. The Task Group comprises the flagship Hessen and frigates Karlsruhe and Brandenburg about 20 nautical miles offshore. The Brandenburg is essentially a supply ship. Built in 1984, the Karlsruhe is a Bremen-class frigate and
