Myanmar and U.N. announce deal for safe return of Rohingya
United Nations says staff will visit Rakhine state in first step towards repatriation of 700,000 refugees camped in Bangladesh
Nations
Chile set to become first American country to ban plastic bags
In a historic decision, Chile’s House of Representatives voted this Wednesday to ban the usage of plastic bags in all types of shops across the entire territory, making it the only country to prohibit them in the American continent.
India approves massive new 5,000 megawatt solar farm
India’s federal government recently gave the go-ahead for development of the country’s largest solar power park in the state of Gujarat.
South African parliament approves national minimum wage bill
South Africa’s parliament passed a national minimum wage bill by an overwhelming majority to tackle strikes and wage inequality.
Ireland votes to end abortion ban
Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church.
Scotland sets target of cutting greenhouse gases by 90% by 2050
The Scottish government also said it would have a new interim target for 2020 of a 56 per cent cut compared with the existing goal of 42 per cent.
Cheap renewable energy is killing India’s coal-based power plants
Renewable energy prices in India are crashing, leaving coal-based power plants in the country financially unviable in their wake.
Nepal eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
The country becomes the first in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.
America’s incarceration rate is at a two-decade low
The nation’s incarceration rate has declined every year since 2006 and is now at its lowest point since 1996.
Brazil’s solar capacity expected increase by 358% in 2018
Brazil now has 320 MW of distributed solar generation, a sector which grew 270% in 2016, 304% in 2017, and is expected to increase by 358% in 2018.