Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects to be released

Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations.

The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus.

The green-lighting of a pilot project after years of debate drew a swift outcry from environmental groups, who warned of unintended consequences.

One group condemned the plan as a public "Jurassic Park experiment".

Activists warn of possible damage to ecosystems, and the potential creation of hybrid, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

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Would it be wrong to eradicate mosquitoes?



The mosquito is the most dangerous animal in the world, carrying diseases that kill one million people a year. Now the Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, has been linked with thousands of babies born with brain defects in South America. Should the insects be wiped out?

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Poland

Council of Europe 'alarmed' at Poland's plans to leave domestic violence treaty



The Council of Europe has said it is alarmed that Poland’s rightwing government is moving to withdraw from a landmark international treaty aimed at preventing violence against women.

Poland’s justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, said on Saturday that he would begin preparing the formal process to withdraw from the Istanbul convention on Monday. The treaty is the world’s first binding instrument to prevent and tackle violence against women, from marital rape to female genital mutilation.

A previous centrist Polish government signed the treaty in 2012 and it was ratified in 2015, when Ziobro called it “an invention, a feminist creation aimed at justifying gay ideology”.

The treaty was spearheaded by the Council of Europe, the continent’s oldest human rights organisation, and its secretary general, Marija Pejčinović Burić, condemned the rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) government’s plan to withdraw.

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European Union funding withheld from six Polish towns boasting abhorrently homophobic ‘LGBT-free zones’




Six towns in Poland that adopted ‘LGBT-free’ zones are facing financial consequences for their homophobic policies after the EU rejected their application for funding.

The towns, which all signed pledges opposing acts of tolerance towards the LGBT+ community, had applied to the EU’s town twinning programme.

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Kyrgyzstan's rights activist Azimzhan Askarov dies at 69

MOSCOW (AP) — Azimzhan Askarov, a human rights defender in Kyrgyzstan who was serving a life term on charges of involvement in ethnic violence that were widely criticized as trumped-up, has died in a prison clinic. He was 69.

The U. N. Human Rights Committee and leading international human rights organizations have repeatedly urged the Central Asian nation's authorities to release Askarov, noting his deteriorating health.

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Sudan Allows Alcohol Consumption After 30 Years of Islamic Law

Sudan abolished a law against apostasy that carried the death penalty  and loosened prohibitions on drinking alcohol, removing some of the  most notorious restrictions of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir’s Islamist  rule.

Authorities have also officially outlawed female genital  mutilation, a step previously announced, Justice Minister Nasur Aldin  Abdul Bari said Saturday in an interview on state TV. It was the first  widely publicized explanation of the amendments made last week.

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What’s the Deal With Parler and its Rising Popularity?

Examining the “free speech”–centric, far right–friendly alternative to Twitter.

The  basic idea of Parler is an awful lot like Twitter. But instead of  tweets, users post “Parleys”. Instead of retweets, there are “echoes.”  And upon registering, the suggested accounts to follow include new  outlets such as Breitbart, the Epoch Times, and the Daily Caller, as well as the political accounts for Rand Paul, Mark Levin, and Team Trump.

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Hagia Sophia: World Council of Churches appeals to Turkey on mosque decision

The World Council of Churches has called on Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to turn the celebrated Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque.

In a letter to Mr Erdogan, the Council, which counts 350 churches as members, said the move would sow division.

The Unesco World Heritage site in Istanbul has been a museum since 1934.

The president announced his decision on Friday following a court ruling which annulled its museum status.

The Hagia Sophia was built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453.

It was converted to a museum on the orders of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern, secular Turkey.

Since then religious services have been banned at the site, but devout Muslims have long campaigned for worship to be allowed.

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hamster

Minneapolis police department pulls out of union contract negotiations

Minneapolis police department pulls out of union contract negotiations

Police chief says the contract needs to be restructured to provide more transparency and flexibility for true reform


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RIP George Floyd. Your life mattered.

LGBTQ News

Hungary votes to end legal recognition of trans people


Activists say new law will increase discrimination, especially as Hungarians must often display their ID cards

Hungary’s parliament has voted to end legal recognition for trans people, passing a bill that rights activists say pushes the country “back towards the dark ages”.

The new law defines gender as based on chromosomes at birth, meaning previous provisions whereby trans people could alter their gender and name on official documents will no longer be available.

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Baghdad demands apology after EU embassies raise 'LGBTQ rainbow flag' in Iraqi capital


An LGBTQ flag that was raised by western diplomats in Iraq's capital Baghdad prompted a swift backlash online, forcing the missions to U-turn on the move.
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hamster

Indigenous peoples among those suffering disproportionate Covid 19 toll

Native Americans look to future amid grim coronavirus numbers

A programme in the Utah Navajo Nation hopes to provide sustainable aid to elders as tribes worry virus could spread.


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Pete Sands and volunteers stand with supplies to be delivered in the Utah section of the Navajo Nation
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hamster

US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO

US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO

Security council had spent weeks seeking resolution but Trump administration opposed mention of organization


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French diplomats had thought they had addressed the US’s concerns by making the reference to the WHO indirect
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