US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, an official said Tuesday — a historic shift that would bring federal policy more in line with public opinion. The US attorney general sent a proposal to the White House on Tuesday to “reclassify marijuana,” Justice Department spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa… Continue reading US to reclassify cannabis as low-risk drug
Skin colour should be no more socially relevant than webbed feet or earwax production Over a third of people who are not white have experienced racial assault, and 77% of Black people have been racially abused in the UK. So, acting as a helpful reminder, it’s vital for universal acknowledgment among intolerant racists that every… Continue reading Skin colour is as arbitrary as melanin production
On 26 July 2023, the presidential guard commander of President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, detained the president and declared himself in charge of the country via a new military junta. As a result, the military forces closed all borders, suspended the government and put in place a curfew. Although the coup was… Continue reading Niger — the politics racking the country
The ancient philosophers had a lot to say back in the day, and even now they’re still communicating with us. It’s one thing to have your parents and grandparents lecture you about your dating life, but when the long-dead philosophers start with the judgement, time to roll your eyes and say “alright, let’s have it”.… Continue reading Ancient philosophers talk modern technological dating
Heavy rains and flash flooding have driven Australian wildlife to seek higher ground, creating a terrifying reality for residents in New South Wales and Queensland: the rise of the toilet snake. As floodwaters inundate roads and isolate towns, reptiles are seeking refuge in the driest places they can find — often inside human homes. While… Continue reading Terror from below — why snakes are invading Australian toilets
Gold, platinum and rhino horn are among the world’s most valuable materials, with rhino horn being the most expensive. According to National Geographic, late in 2011, it fetched from $33 to $133 a gram on the streets of Vietnam. Samuel Wasser, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle’s Department of Biology, described rhino… Continue reading Dye and poison are being used to stop rhino poachers
Worldwide, air pollution is second only to tobacco as the leading cause of lung cancer. Delhi customarily sits atop lists of the world’s most polluted capitals. Pollution season in Delhi commenced earlier than usual this year on account of lower rainfall than normal. The problem always worsens in winter, when farmers living in neighbouring states… Continue reading Pollution in Delhi so bad people are getting smokers’ lungs
The section of the Seine running through Paris garnered unusually good headlines in 2009 when salmon were caught there for the first time in decades. The river, polluted by industry since the beginning of the 20th century, boded well for Paris’s ecological recovery and since swimming has been formally banned in the river since 1923,… Continue reading Swimmers to return to the Seine for the first time in a century
It used to be that when deaf people wished to discuss “carbon footprint” or “greenhouse gases”, there was a necessity to spell out long complicated scientific terms, one letter at a time. Now, however, they are some of the 200 scientific terms related to the environment granted new official signs in British Sign Language (BSL).… Continue reading How sign language is changing in response to climate change
The London neighbourhoods of Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Chelsea and Kensington have become so exclusive that owners have become visitors London is known to be one of the wealthiest cities in the world, however, amidst its wealth and abundance, there is a curious phenomenon – the abundance of empty houses in wealthy places. Over the last… Continue reading The empty houses of SW1
