$180bn investment in plastic factories feeds global packaging binge
Colossal funding in manufacturing plants by fossil fuel companies will increase plastic production by 40%, risking permanent pollution of the earth
The global plastic binge which is already causing widespread damage to oceans, habitats and food chains, is set to increase dramatically over the next 10 years after multibillion dollar investments in a new generation of plastics plants in the US.
Fossil fuel companies are among those who have plooughed more than $180bn since 2010 into new “cracking” facilities that will produce the raw material for everyday plastics from packaging to bottles, trays and cartons.
The new facilities – being built by corporations like Exxon Mobile Chemical and Shell Chemical – will help fuel a 40% rise in plastic production in the next decade, according to experts, exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis that scientist warn already risks “near permanent pollution of the earth.”
Topless Femen activist arrested trying to snatch Jesus statue from Vatican nativity scene
Ukraine-founded group say their aim is 'complete victory over patriarchy'
A topless activist from the feminist group Femen tried to snatch the statue of the baby Jesus from the nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square on Monday but was stopped by police as she grabbed it.
A Reuters photographer said the woman jumped over guard rails and rushed onto the nativity scene shouting “God is woman”. She had the same slogan painted on her bare back.
A Vatican gendarme stopped her from taking the statue and she was detained. The incident happened about two hours before Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message to some 50,000 people in the square.
Indian 'spy' on Pakistan death row meets wife and mother
Pakistani authorities allowed the imprisoned Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet his family amid tight security. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April on espionage charges.
Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav met with his wife and mother on Monday in Islamabad. He spoke with his family through a glass barrier, pictures issued by Pakistan's foreign ministry showed.
In a video released by Pakistani authorities, Jadhav thanked Pakistan for the "grand gesture."
Foreign office spokesman Muhammad Faisal said the meeting lasted around 40 minutes.
"They spoke openly during the meeting," Faisal told media after the meeting. "We fulfilled the promises we made to them [Indians]."
Thousands protest pardon of Peru's jailed ex-president Fujimori
Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets on Monday to protest the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori, with many calling it part of a backroom deal struck to protect the current president from impeachment on corruption charges.
The Sunday pardon came three days after abstentions by lawmakers from a party led by Fujimori's children caused the failure of a vote to impeach President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. Fujimori, 79, was serving a 25-year sentence for the killings of 25 people in a campaign against the leftist Shining Path terrorist group.
Roughly 5,000 people protested across the country carrying posters with elder Fujimori's face and the words "murderer" and "thief."
Chinese firm clones gene-edited dog in bid to treat cardiovascular disease
Updated 0520 GMT (1320 HKT) December 26, 2017
With his black, brown and white fur, Longlong looks like most beagles. But the puppy has been sick with a blood-clotting disorder since birth — exactly what scientists in China had wanted.
The pup was cloned from Apple, a different dog whose genome was edited to develop the disease atherosclerosis.
With that genetic information now coded in, the disease -- a leading cause of stroke and heart sickness -- was passed along to Longlong, who scientists will use to study the condition and its possible cures.
Ahed and Nariman Tamimi's detentions extended
by Jaclynn Ashly
On a day when millions of people around the world spent time with their families, laughing and exchanging gifts, Bassem Tamimi sat for hours in an Israeli court anticipating the fate of his daughter, wife and niece.
For the second time in less than a week, the Tamimi women's detentions were extended for another four days as the police prosecution continues an investigation into a case that has attracted worldwide attention.
Bassem told Al Jazeera that the court sessions, held in Israel's Ofer detention centre in Ramallah, went on for more than six hours on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment