Articles
Latvia: state of emergency at Belarus border
12 Aug 2021
Latvia has declared a state of emergency at its Belarus border, authorising border guards, armed forces and police to use physical force to return migrants to the country from which they came. Latvia, like neighbouring Lithuania,…
Climate change report ‘massive wake-up call’
12 Aug 2021
A UN scientific report states that human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways. The landmark study warns of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken…
Iran / Israel: rockets and threats
12 Aug 2021
19 rockets fired by Hezbollah into northern Israel on 7 August sent local residents into the towns’ shelters. These barrages, the first since the 2006 second Lebanon War, followed similar attacks the previous day. More provocations…
General Min Aung Hlaing, who led Myanmar’s coup, declared himself prime minister and said military rule and a state of emergency will continue until 2023; then the country will hold elections. This contradicts his earlier claims…
India: single-dose vaccine?
12 Aug 2021
India has ramped up its coronavirus vaccine production and approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine for emergency use amid warnings of a third wave. The vaccine, with 85% efficacy, will be introduced through a supply agreement…
Wildfires around the world
12 Aug 2021
The smoke plume of California’s Dixie Fire (the largest in US history) is so thick, only the red light of the sun can pierce the smoke particles, in a scene that looks like Mars. Over a…