Democracy & Civics

Women on Top in Rwandan Parliament

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Women will form the majority in Rwanda’s national parliament, making it the first country in the world to have more female legislators than men. According to the Independent, women have won around 56 percent of the seats in parliament after four days of peaceful elections. Women will have at least 44 of the 80 total seats. “The problems of women are understood much better, much better by women themselves,” one female voter said. President Paul Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front secured a majority in the elections — only the second since the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people there.

Economy

'Fair Trade' Cola Gains Ground in Europe

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A British cola called Ubuntu is said to be the first of its kind to follow “fair trade” practices, including ecological sustainability, equal market prices and improved work conditions for bottom-rung producers and laborers. Africa’s Business Daily reports that the soft drink, named after a Bantu word meaning “humanity,” has had success in cafes, shops and grocery stores throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway. “Our mission is to propel fair trade into iconic and mainstream markets,” said co-founder Miranda Walker. The fair trade label, often found on basic commodities like tea and coffee, has become increasingly popular in recent years and appeals to consumers who want to buy ethically — something seven out of ten Europeans say is important to them at least part of the time. Ubuntu Trading Company will use fair trade sugar sourced from Africa, and says it plans to invest some of its profits back into sugar-producing communities.

World

Slight Freedoms for Suu Kyi

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Myanmar’s military junta recently gave the imprisoned opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi access to letters from her family and some international news magazines. According to the International Herald Tribune, for the past three weeks Suu Kyi has refused food deliveries to the villa where she is under house arrest, leading to speculation she may have mounted a hunger strike. Her National League for Democracy — which won a landslide election in 1990 but was shut out of power by the military junta — said she rejected the food “to denounce her continuing detention, which is unfair under the law.” Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest, will be allowed to receive mail from her two sons and to read magazines like Newsweek and Time. The junta will also loosen limitations placed on Suu Kyi’s daughter and housekeeper, the article said.

Democracy & Civics

U.K. Takes Cue from U.S. Sex Offender Law

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Four communities in England will start running background checks on possible sex offenders, similar to “Megan’s Law” in the U.S.
The BBC reports that Warwickshire, Cambridgeshire, Cleveland and Hampshire will initiate one-year pilot programs allowing parents, guardians and caretakers to learn from police about any histories of abuse for people who have access to their children. The program was inspired by the murder of Sarah Payne, an eight- year-old who was kidnapped and killed by a convicted sex offender in 2000. Under the program, police must provide a background check between 24 hours and 10 days, depending on the urgency of the request, and will refer cases to other law enforcement agencies if prior convictions are discovered. If a convicted offender is found to be no longer a risk, authorities have the option to not disclose prior abuses. Only people directly responsible for a child may access such information and they are prohibited from spreading it around.

Democracy & Civics

"Transition Towns" Tackle Climate Change

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Transition towns — part of a grassroots movement to help communities adopt carbon-neutral lifestyles — are slowly spreading from England, where they number in the scores, to America, New Zealand and elsewhere. The Christian Science Monitor reports that the “transition movement” helps equip communities with tools for living in a world of climate change and declining oil reserves. The concept was born three years ago when permaculture professor Rob Hopkins and his students came up with a plan for community-wide sustainable living in his hometown of Totnes, United Kingdom. Since then more than 100 communities worldwide have joined in, three of which are in the United States: Boulder, Co., and Sandpoint and Ketchum, Idaho. A few of the towns in England even use their own currency, the article reports, to “stimulate the local economy and help insulate it from the vagaries of the national and global markets.’

World

'English Only' No Longer Par for the Course

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The leading women’s golf association is backtracking on a policy mandating that foreign golfers must speak English at tour events. The California-based newspaper AsianWeek reports that the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association is rescinding a policy after two California lawmakers threatened legal action. Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Ted Liu (D-Los Angeles) decried the English-only policy as discriminating against Korean golfers, 45 of whom play on the circuit. They vowed to challenge the legality if the policy were found to violate state or federal anti-discrimination laws. Initially, the LPGA announced that effective next year, English would be required for media interviews, pro-am events and acceptance speeches, and players would be fined or suspended if they fail an oral English exam.

Economy

Mind the (Wealth) Gap in the U.K.

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A Cambridge University professor said economic disparity between London and the rest of Great Britain is at its widest since World War II, the Telegraph reports. Citing a recent study, Prof. Ron Martin announced at the Royal Geographic Society that household income levels in the London area are 25 percent greater than the rest of the country. This contrasts with the rest of Europe, where he wealth gap has been narrowing. Martin indicts the ruling Labour Party for not living up to its promise to correct these inequalities. He also said the north lagged far behind in boom times and is doing worse since the housing market failed.

Economy

India: Farms or Factories?

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Tata Motors Ltd., which plans to build the world’s cheapest car, said work on a new factory in India’s West Bengal state would not resume even though long-term protests that halted construction recently ended. As reported in the Christian Science Monitor, the state government finally reached a compromise over farmland that protesters say was taken forcibly from local farmers to make way for the factory. While some farmers agreed to sell their land, the communist-led state of West Bengal forcibly removed others as a way to lure new business to the state. Under the compromise, the government agreed to give farmers more compensation and to return some of the land that was forcibly taken. Tata planned to begin construction of the $2,500 Nano car in October, but company officials said they would not reopen the plant because of “limited clarity on the outcome of the discussions between the state government of West Bengal and the representatives of the agitators.”

Democracy & Civics

The State Claims Your Raindrops

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Rainwater harvesting for domestic use or irrigation is a sustainable practice that may be against the law in the state of Washington. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, rainwater is a “resource of the state, which regulates the use of public waters through an allocation process that can take years to navigate.” So far Washington allows individuals and small farms to harvest modest amounts of rainwater permit-free, but the Department of Ecology’s water resource section are concerned people will collect too much if clear limits aren’t set. City developers harvest rainwater for irrigation and to flush toilets, and use greywater diverted from sinks to conserve drinking water in urban areas. These are practices that can prevent sewer overflows, and have inspired Seattle to legalize rainwater harvesting for most of the city.

World

Bottled Water May Be Tapped out in Toronto

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Toronto, Canada, is considering a ban on the sale of bottled water in city-run buildings, community centers and arenas in order to reduce the amount of garbage in local landfills. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Toronto Mayor David Miller said the city’s water is just as safe as bottled water, and tap water is far more economical. At the center of the issue are environmental concerns about the fossil fuels used to produce and transport plastic bottles, and the overall impact on local landfills. But many companies in the refreshment industry argue that such a ban could be a step backwards in terms of recycling, and would lead consumers to buy other beverages other than water. “So they’ll have the same amount of plastic to recycle,” Elizabeth Griswold, spokeswoman for the Canadian Bottled Water Association, told the news service.