Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Sept 21, 2020 Harassed and placed under investigation by religious authorities – activist Maryam Lee is a highly controversial figure in Malaysia. Her crime? Speaking out about her decision to stop wearing the hijab and criticising what she sees as institutional patriarchy in Islam. Most in Muslim-majority Malaysia follow a moderate form of the religion and wearing a headscarf, known locally as … Continue reading Unveiling: Malaysian activist fights for hijab freedom

Paris (AFP) Sept 18, 2020 Organisations representing hundreds of millions of people and hundreds of firms issued a joint call Friday for governments to act to save nature, following dire scientific warnings of humanity’s destruction of our planet. On the eve of the high-level section of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, more than 1,000 signatories joined the demand for a more sustainable … Continue reading Hundreds of groups demand leaders ‘act on nature’

Hanoi (AFP) Sept 18, 2020 Tropical Storm Noul pounded Vietnam on Friday, killing one person and injuring dozens more as it unleashed heavy rains and high winds on the country’s central coastal region, authorities said. Images on state-run Vietnam Television showed damaged houses and trees, and power poles pulled from the ground as the country’s biggest storm of the year made landfall in Hue, Vietnam’s … Continue reading One dead, dozens injured as tropical storm Noul hits Vietnam

Paris (AFP) Sept 18, 2020 China’s coronavirus response has been both hugely efficient and chillingly inhumane, says artist and activist Ai Weiwei after releasing a documentary about the world’s first virus lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Ai, a dissident who left China five years ago, directed and produced the film “Coronation” from Europe, where he now lives, using footage shot often in secret … Continue reading Ai Weiwei’s Covid lockdown film traces China’s ruthless efficiency

Sydney (AFP) Sept 21, 2020 Around 70 whales are stranded in a bay on the Australian island of Tasmania, officials said Monday, with marine experts now mobilising to see if a rescue is possible. The whales are in Macquarie Harbour, on the island’s rugged and sparsely populated west coast, where they are believed to be stuck on a sandbar. Police are on site and marine … Continue reading Up to 70 whales stranded in southern Australia

San Francisco CA (SPX) Sep 21, 2020 MethaneSAT has reached an important new milestone with completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase for both the mission’s remote sensing instrument and the spacecraft platform “bus” that will provide power and maneuvering, and transmit the vast stream of data from the high resolution sensors to ground stations. Completion of the CDR means that MethaneSAT is now … Continue reading MethaneSAT completes critical design review, moves into production phase

Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Sep 21, 2020 Research has found a proposal to regulate mining of Indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest could affect more than 863,000 square kilometres of forest and harm the nation’s economy. Led by University of Queensland visiting PhD student Juliana Siqueira-Gay, an international collaboration has warned that President Jair Bolsonaro’s 2020 bill to mine inside recognised Indigenous Lands whttp://dlvr.it/Rgz94F Continue reading Bolsonaro’s Indigenous land mining policy a billion-dollar backfire

Robocalls, spam and call spoofing have all but destroyed Americans’ trust in telephone calls — to the point that many individuals have essentially stopped answering the phone. Here are seven steps that organizations can take to combat erroneous call blocking and increase answer rates. These measures will help businesses optimize contact operations, increase call performance, and protect and promote their brands by restoring trust in … Continue reading 7 Steps to Restoring Trust in Business Telephone Calls

Hanoi (AFP) Sept 17, 2020 Vietnam is planning to evacuate more than one million people as a severe tropical storm bears down on its central coastal region, threatening flooding and landslides, authorities said Thursday. Tropical Storm Noul is forecast to make landfall around 1:00 pm (0600 GMT) Friday in the central province of Thua Thien Hue, carrying winds of up to 110 kilometres (70 miles) … Continue reading Vietnam plans to evacuate one million people as storm Noul approaches

Pensacola, United States (AFP) Sept 17, 2020 Shellshocked residents were cleaning up on Thursday after Hurricane Sally left a trail of destruction in US coastal towns stretching from Alabama to the top of the Florida panhandle. Sally, which made landfall Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane, turned streets into rivers, toppled trees and downed power lines. “Our house had windows blow out,” Matt Wilson of … Continue reading Sally leaves trail of destruction across Gulf Coast