Interesting News from Around the World

Cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/12938714

A strong statement emerged from Volker Turk, the current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who, during a global update to the U.N. human rights council a few weeks ago, directly challenged the Chinese government to accompany poverty alleviation with “reforms to align relevant laws and policies with international human rights standards.”

The U.N. has been roundly criticized in recent years for its failure to achieve much in China other than more effective methods of smothering dissent, in part because it seems institutionally compromised by the Chinese Communist Party regime. Turk’s comments do at least acknowledge that crimes are happening, but more than just words are required for change to be expected.

Cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/12934557

Taiwan on Thursday condemned China as “shameless” after Beijing’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations thanked the world for its concern about a strong earthquake on the island.

China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and also claims the right to speak for it on the international stage, to the fury of Taipei given Beijing’s communist government has never ruled the island and has no say in how it chooses its leaders.

On Wednesday, after the 7.2 earthquake hit eastern Taiwan, killing 10 people, China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., Geng Shuang, mentioned at a meeting about children’s rights that another speaker had brought up the quake in “China’s Taiwan”. China is concerned about the damage and has expressed condolences to Taiwan and offered aid, he said, according to a transcript of his remarks carried on the Chinese mission to the U.N.’s website.

“We thank the international community for its expressions of sympathy and concern,” he added.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry expressed anger at the remarks.

The ministry “solemnly condemns China’s shameless use of the Taiwan earthquake to conduct cognitive operations internationally”, it said, using Taiwan’s normal term for what it views as Chinese psychological warfare.

This shows China has no goodwill towards Taiwan, the ministry added.

Taiwan’s government has already thanked governments and leaders around the world for their messages of concern and offers of support, including from the United States, the island’s most important international supporter despite the lack of diplomatic ties.

Cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/12932045

In a letter to the prime minister, they said exports must end because the UK risks breaking international law over a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza.

PM Rishi Sunak is already facing growing cross-party pressure after seven aid workers were killed in an air strike.

Landfills are the third-biggest source of U.S. methane emissions. But leaks of the potent greenhouse gas are often undetected due to monitoring blindspots.

A landfill is a place of perpetual motion, where mountains of garbage rise in days and crews race to contain the influx of ever more trash. Amid the commotion, an invisible gas often escapes unnoticed, warming the planet and harming our health: methane.

Last week, the climate-data sleuths at Carbon Mapper published a study in Science that shows U.S. landfills emit methane at levels at least 40 percent higher than previously reported to the Environmental Protection Agency. At more than half of the hundreds of garbage dumps surveyed — in the largest assessment yet of such emissions — most of the pollution flowed from leaks, creating concentrated plumes. The researchers found these super-emitting points can persist for months or even years, and account for almost 90 percent of all measured methane from the landfills. Tackling these hotspots could be a huge stride toward lowering emission rates, but blindspots in current monitoring protocols mean they often evade detection.

“It’s a very hard problem to get totally right without any leaks at any place,” said Daniel Cusworth, an atmospheric chemist and project scientist for Carbon Mapper, a nonprofit that provides data to inform greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Sometimes Cusworth conducts aerial surveys of landfills and is relieved to find nothing. ​“And then other times, you know, I’ll see a massive billowing plume that’s three kilometers long.”

read more: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/emissions-reduction/us-landfills-emit-way-more-methane-than-previously-thought

Michael Macartney, 50, confessed to the BBC his role in an extreme monkey torture network.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/RfM6D

The procedure was hailed as a historic step as doctors tackle a widespread organ donor shortage.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/65TrN

Iran and Syria claimed in the UN Security Council that the US is equally responsible for the Israeli attacks inside Syria but asserted that no amount of attacks can dissuade them from supporting Palestine

Archived version: https://archive.ph/OBZt8

The defence aid package provided to Ukraine by Helsinki is worth 188 million euros

Archived version: https://archive.ph/Mvfxv

President of amnesty commission investigating crimes of 1964-85 regime makes first-ever apology to Indigenous leader

Archived version: https://archive.ph/BDqyA

High court members allege ISI put cameras in their bedrooms and tortured a relative to make them hear an appeal against ex-PM

Archived version: https://archive.ph/RaDos

Fifteen young billionaires are among the first wave of a $5.2tn transfer of wealth by the ageing super-rich

Archived version: https://archive.ph/q4kD1

Justin Trudeau says allegations ‘extremely troubling’ after officers arrested First Nations men and confiscated their boots and phones

Archived version: https://archive.ph/n22cE

Emmerson Mnangagwa says country needs $2bn of aid as severe dry spell caused by El Niño afflicts southern Africa

Archived version: https://archive.ph/mjZVD

A woman, 68, has been diagnosed as having Noah syndrome, a condition associated with animal hoarding.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/IGRvh

World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés says Israel's deadly strike in Gaza on Monday was not a mistake.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/U4FnP

The fish were due to be released into another waterway, but now the salmon population of a creek has been boosted instead.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/tEotA