Thursday, 13 December 2018

*'Yellow Vest'✊ Protester Dies⚰ in France ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ทAfter Being Struck by Truck*

France has seen a wave of mass protests since mid-November when the so-called yellow vest protesters took to the streets to rally against fuel tax hikes. A protester has died in France after being hit by a truck, according to the prosecutor's office.

The incident follows a deadly attack close to Strasbourg's Christmas market where a gunman opened fire killing two people with a third person listed as being brain-dead and injuring 12 people. The "yellow vest" rallies in France have been marked by violent clashes between the police and protesters, some of whom were torching cars and looting shops in Paris.

*Trump Moves ๐Ÿ‘€ to Deport Vietnam War Refugees❗*

The Trump administration is resuming its efforts to deport certain protected Vietnamese immigrants who have lived in the United States for decades—many of them having fled the country during the Vietnam War.

This is the latest move in the president’s long record of prioritizing harsh immigration and asylum restrictions, and one that’s sure to raise eyebrows—the White House had hesitantly backed off the plan in August before reversing course. In essence, the administration has now decided that Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in the country before the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and Vietnam are subject to standard immigration law—meaning they are all eligible for deportation.

The new stance mirrors White House efforts to clamp down on immigration writ large, a frequent complaint of the president’s on the campaign trail and one he links to a litany of ills in the United States.

*Weather Agency Chief: I’ve Never Briefed Trump on Warming❗*


The head of the government agency that monitors climate change says that in nearly two years he has never discussed the issue with President Donald Trump.

Acting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Adm. Timothy Gallaudet said in a press conference at a scientific meeting this week, “I personally have not briefed the president on climate change.”

Gallaudet says he doesn’t know if others had briefed the president. He does note that he was in the room when Trump signed a bill aimed at keeping plastic trash out of the ocean.

Trump has dismissed his administration’s warnings about the impact of climate change, including a recent government forecast that it could lead to economic losses of hundreds of billions of dollars a year by the end of the century.

*WWF Announces ๐Ÿ”‰ Discovery of 157 New Species in Southeast Asia❗*

A bat which looks like *NSYNC's Lance Bass, a gibbon named for Luke Skywalker, and a toad which seems to have come "from Middle Earth," are among 157 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region last year, according to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund.

Three mammal, 23 fish, 14 amphibian, 26 reptile and 91 plant species were found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, in some of the region's most impenetrable terrain, such as remote mountainous and dense jungle areas, as well as isolated rivers and grassland. 
However, experts warned that many more undiscovered species will be lost due to deforestation, climate change, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade.

"There are many more species out there waiting to be discovered and tragically, many more that will be lost before that happens," Stuart Chapman, WWF's Asia-Pacific Regional Director for Conservation Impact, said in a statement. "It doesn't have to be this way. Ensuring that large reserves are designated for wildlife, along with increased efforts to close illegal wildlife trade markets, will go a long way to conserving the extraordinary wildlife diversity in the Mekong region."

*Former ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธPresident๐Ÿ•ด๐Ÿป George H.W. Bush ⚰Dead at 94*

George Herbert Walker Bush, the president who managed the end of the Cold War and forged a global coalition to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, has died at age 94. In a political career that spanned three decades, he lost his bid for re-election and lived to see his son win the Oval Office.The death of Bush — nicknamed "41" to distinguish himself from son George W. Bush, "43" — was announced in a statement released late Friday.

"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died," his son, former President George W. Bush, said in a statement released by family spokesman Jim McGrath. "George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens." Bush's death comes months after the passing of his wife of 73 years, Barbara.

*Tanzanian Girls' Rights Activist Wins ๐Ÿ‘ the UN Human Rights Prize ๐Ÿ†*

At just 31 years old, Rebeca Gyumi has a list of accomplishments anyone twice her age would be proud of. She has successfully challenged her country's legal system, winning a landmark ruling in 2016 to raise the age of child marriage for girls in Tanzania from 14 to 18; started a foundation to advocate for girls' education; won the UNICEF Global Goal Award and was named 2016 Woman of the Year by New Africa Magazine. Now, she's on her way to New York to collect the 2018 Human Rights Prize awarded by the United Nations.

"I was pretty much shocked. So shocked and caught unaware that I was even considered for such a prestigious prize," she tells CNN.

It wasn't until she was in university studying law that she learned about the Law of Marriage Act of 1971 and saw the potential in trying to mount a legal challenge against it.

In 2016, with a couple of years as a lawyer under her belt, Gyumi and her colleagues decided to do just that. They started work on a legal case to petition against the Marriage Act, compiling reports to prove that child marriage for girls was an issue nationwide and why it needed to be stopped.

According to the country's national demographic and health survey of 2015/16, two out of every five girls marry before their 18th birthday with a prevalence rate of 37% nationwide, giving Tanzania one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world.

"Lots of people were not amused and thought we were disruptive, saying 'young people have tried before and failed.' But when we started attending sessions in court with a positive outcome, organizations came back and said they were willing to work together with us."

Gyumi and her colleagues persevered and in 2016, at the age of 29, she was victorious. Tanzania's High Court ruled that sections 13 and 17 of the Marriage Act were unconstitutional and that the age for girls to legally marry should be raised to 18.

"I was so happy that day for the fact that a girl child had won. I was overwhelmed with joy," she says.