San Francisco decriminalizes psychedelics
City lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca.
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Hawaii shuts down its last coal-fired power plant
In 2020, Hawaii’s Legislature passed a law banning the use of coal for energy production at the start of 2023.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court strikes down ban on buggery
The Offenses Against the Person Act, imported from England, criminalized “unnatural offenses” and carried a maximum penalty of 10 years with hard labor.
Singapore to repeal colonial-era law against sex between men
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced the repeal of the colonial-era Section 377A of the penal code, under which sex between men is punishable by up to two years in prison.
Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners’ rights
Sierra Leone’s parliament has passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.
New study offers hope that pill can cut hereditary cancer risk by 60 percent
The double-blind longitudinal study followed nearly 1,000 patients with Lynch Syndrome, an inherited genetic condition that increases the individual risk of several cancers, for almost 20 years.
Indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador wins decades-long battle to protect land
Ecuador’s National System of Protected Areas now includes the 13,583-acre ancestral Tiwi Nunka Forest in the country’s south.
U.N. General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right
The resolution, based on a similar text adopted last year by the Human Rights Council, calls upon States, international organizations, and business enterprises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment for all.
New sensor detects Alzheimer’s up to 17 years in advance
The Bochum researchers hope that an early diagnosis based on the amyloid-beta misfolding could help to apply Alzheimer’s drugs at such an early stage that they have a significantly better effect.
U.S. to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests
The Forest Service plans over the next couple years to scale up work from about 60,000 acres replanted last year to about 400,000 acres annually.