Quickies

Global Quickies: Poland Rejects Anti-Abortion Bill, Honor Killing Loophole Closed, and Antivaxxers in Romania

POLAND
“Poland’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to reject a controversial citizens’ bill for a near-total ban on abortion. The government said that protests against the bill had given ministers “food for thought”. Poland already has among the tightest abortion laws in Europe, and the proposal sought to ban all abortions unless the mother’s life was at risk.”

UK
“The plight of a four-year-old boy who nearly died after his parents gave him 12 alternative medicines has prompted doctors to warn against the treatments.”

KENYA
“The European Union is collaborating with Kenya for alternative methods that will have more women elected in the next elections.”

UGANDA
“A group of 37 non-government organisations dealing in the promotion of girl-child rights have asked President Museveni to honour his campaign pledge and deliver the sanitary pads he promised during the presidential campaigns early this year.”

IRAN
“One of Iran’s most respected chess players has hit back at calls to boycott next year’s women’s world championship in Tehran over rules about the wearing of the hijab. A number of chess players, including the US women’s champion, Nazí Paikidze, have called for a boycott of the February 2017 games over concerns that they will have to comply with the Islamic republic’s compulsory headscarf law.”

SPAIN
“Following a campaign on Spain’s social networks by a Catholic anti-abortion organization, the country’s leading department store, El Corte Inglés, has removed an advertisement from its YouTube channel featuring a gay couple readying their adopted child for the return to school after the long summer break”

MYANMAR
“A Myanmar court has sentenced a Dutch tourist to three months in prison for pulling the plug on a late-night sermon he said was disturbing his sleep. He’s the latest foreigner legally sanctioned for slighting Buddhism.”

PAKISTAN
“Pakistani lawmakers have passed a legislation closing the loophole that allowed “honor killing” perpetrators to avoid a sentence. The country’s powerful clerics opposed the bill as “anti-Islamic.””

IRAN
“Iranian judges have ordered a young female writer and activist to serve a six-year jail term for writing an unpublished fictional story about stoning to death in her country.”

NIGERIA
“A leading Nigerian actress has been banned from the Hausa-language film industry because of her “immoral” behaviour, the main industry body says. Rahama Sadau caused offence by “hugging and cuddling” pop star Classiq in a video, it added.”

MEXICO
An evangelical pastor has been arrested for raping an 8 year-old girl. The authorities of the rural community had let him free after paying a fine of two twelve packs of beer.

ROMANIA
“Romania has reported 675 cases of measles in the first eight months of 2016. Two children have died and a third death is being investigated to determine whether it was directly caused by the measles virus.
(…) health authorities in Romania say ‘anti-vaccination’ campaigners have spread myths about the vaccine’s safety, leading some parents to opt out of the recommended childhood immunisation programme.”

CHINA
“A number of African countries have banned China from buying their donkeys, saying demand for the four-legged creatures has become unsustainable. Niger announced a ban on the export of donkeys this month after trade of the animals increased by three times in the last year, mainly to Asian countries. And Burkina Faso has also put a stop to the export of donkey skins, which are boiled to produce gelatin, a key ingredient in the traditional Chinese remedy ejiao – believed to improve blood circulation and cure conditions including dizziness, irregular menstruation and insomnia.”

 

Featured image by Rylee Isitt

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button