Last week, Archbishop Roberto González—the leader of the Archdiocese of San Juan, the Secretary General of the Puerto Rico Bible Society—Reverend Heriberto Martínez and the island's Catholic Charities head, Reverend Enrique Camacho released a statement urging solidarity with countries wrestling with debt crisis and economic challenges. read full story / add a comment

What's going on in the "animal rights movement," and does social movement theory inform the history and structure of the vegan social movement? read full story / add a comment

In an open letter, over 340 civil society organisations are demanding that the European Union immediately halt free trade agreement negotiations with the Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) on the grounds of deteriorating human rights and environmental conditions in Brazil. The letter is addressed to presidents of the EU institutions ahead of the ministerial-level meeting next week in Brussels where EU and Mercosur foreign ministers aim to finalise the negotiations. read full story / add a comment

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Archbishop Roberto González, the Secretary General of the Puerto Rico Bible Society Reverend Heriberto Martínez and the island's Catholic Charities head, Reverend Enrique Camacho released a statement calling for support of pension agreements and debt and disaster relief for the island on Friday.
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In this article I explore the claims that microwaves were responsible for diplomats injuries in Cuba. read full story / add a comment

Americans abroad cannot be blamed for not knowing what they are not told about read full story / add a comment

President Trump signed a disaster relief bill Thursday that will provide of $1 billion in aid to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. read full story / add a comment

After repeated blocks by Republicans in the House of Representatives, a disaster relief bill is finally on its way to be signed by President Trump. read full story / add a comment

The disaster relief bill with support for Puerto Rico failed for a third time in the US House of Representatives. Eric Lecompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA, responded. read full story / add a comment

On Thursday, the Senate passed a $19.1 billion disaster relief plan to aid Americans recovering from natural disasters in US Territories like Puerto Rico and States including Iowa. The House of Representatives and the White House are expected to approve the Senate plan. read full story / add a comment

The last season of the Game of Thrones has prompted public outcry and culminated in a petition (signed by almost 1 million outraged viewers) to disqualify the entire season and re-shoot a new one. The ferocity of the debate is in itself a proof that the ideological stakes must be high. read full story / add a comment

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed disaster relief legislation to benefit US States, Territories and municipalities recovering from wildfires, floods and hurricanes. read full story / add a comment

The threatened extradition of Julian Assange reminded me of the trial of escaped H-Block prisoner Jimmy Smyth in a San Francisco courtroom in the 1990s. read full story / add a comment

https://youtu.be/GqstwfKGzPI

pass the message about the truth of fluoride read full story / add a comment

Summary: The UK is shamed by the jailing of Julian Assange read full story / add a comment

Category-4 Cyclone Kenneth hit Mozambique Thursday night, the second severe storm to hit the country in six weeks. read full story / add a comment

Overinvestment in oil and gas creates risks for investors, regardless of whether the world is effective in tackling climate change. Either investors face assets being stranded as demand for fossil fuels falls in a transition to a low carbon economy, or the overinvestment contributes to excess emissions from fossil fuels, the failure to transition and the financial costs of a dramatically changed climate. read full story / add a comment

UN to consider the Armenian Genocide read full story / add a comment

After months of negotiations and four days of formal meetings, the United Nations voted on development policies at the fourth UN Financing for Development Forum. The UN meetings convene world leaders, ministers, governments, the IMF, World Bank and development groups. The annual process attempts to implement the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, an international agreement that includes policies on debt, tax, trade, transparency and aid. read full story / add a comment

Tomorrow the European Parliament will vote on a 13 billion military research and development fund, the so called European Defence Fund. One thousand researchers, scientists and academics from twenty-five European countries call on the Parliament to vote against the Fund. They argue that the EU should tackle the root causes of conflict instead of funding military research.

On Thursday the European Parliament votes on a ‘compromise text’ on the European Defence Fund. This would be a significant break with past European policies, as military funding has until now been excluded from the EU budget.

The 1000 researchers warn of the consequences of an R&D programme for new arms technology. "The establishment of an EU military research programme points towards an unprecedented acceleration in the militarisation of the EU," says Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility. "Investing EU funds in military research will not only divert resources from more peaceful areas, but is also likely to
fuel arms races, undermining security in Europe and elsewhere". read full story / add a comment