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Modern Slavery Act is having unintended consequences for women’s freedom in Sri Lanka

Sandya Hewamanne, University of Essex for The Conversation The Modern Slavery Act was seen as a big achievement for combating the issue of forced labour. But since it was passed by the UK government in 2015, many have pointed out…

Stop Killer Robots before it is Too Late!

On June 6, 2019 a kick-off meeting was held at CEU in Budapest organized by CELAB and activists of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots – Hungary, to raise awareness on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) or killer robots. Machines…

After alleged UK tanker incident in Persian Gulf, EU powers threaten Iran

By Alex Lantier US and UK military sources claim that Iranian boats intercepted a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, before a British warship, the HMS Montrose, chased them off. None of the reports about this incident can…

Exaggerating how much CO2 can be absorbed by tree planting risks deterring crucial climate action

Duncan McLaren, Lancaster University for The Conversation Planting almost a billion hectares of trees worldwide is the “biggest and cheapest tool” for tackling climate change, according to a new study. The researchers claimed that reforestation could remove 205 gigatonnes of…

Trump threatens new sanctions amid farcical indictment of Iran

By Bill Van Auken US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to ratchet up once again the punishing US “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran. In an ignorant and lying tweet, the US president stated: “Iran has long been secretly ‘enriching’, in…

Moving mindfulness from ‘me’ to ‘we’

If mindfulness is to become a force for social and political change it needs to radically expand its scope beyond individual therapy. Ronald Purser for openDemocracy Mindfulness provides important psychological and emotional benefits for individuals, but caring for our own…

Assange, Democracy, and the People’s Internet

By Sally Burch for bot populi The arrest of Julian Assange in London and his indictment by the US government highlight one of the main contradictions of our digitalized societie. The democratic principles of defending human rights and official transparency…

The African continent prepares for the Second World March for Peace and Nonviolence

After leaving Madrid on October 2, 2019, the march will continue towards southern Spain until reaching the African continent through northern Morocco on October 8. Several countries are already preparing to receive the core team that will showcase their initiatives……

Reforesting an area the size of the US needed to help avert climate breakdown, say researchers – are they right?

Mark Maslin, UCL and Simon Lewis, UCL for The Conversation Restoring the world’s forests on an unprecedented scale is “the best climate change solution available”, according to a new study. The researchers claim that covering 900m hectares of land –…

Heat spike to cost global economy $2.4 trillion a year, says ILO

The total cost of losses due to temperature rise will be $2.4 trillion a year, said the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Working on a warmer planet: The impact of heat stress on labor productivity and decent work report. This prediction has been made…

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