A man has been arrested in northern India after slashing his pregnant wife’s stomach with a sickle, leaving her critically ill and causing the death of their unborn baby boy, police and her relatives said.The woman was in intensive care in a hospital in the capital, New Delhi, said police in Budaun district in northern Uttar Pradesh state, following Saturday’s attack.Her brother said the attack took place because the husband wanted to know the baby’s gender. The couple already had five daughters.“He attacked her with a sickle and ripped her stomach saying that he wanted to check the gender...…A man has been arrested in northern India after slashing his pregnant wife’s stomach with a sickle, leaving her critically ill and causing the death of their unborn baby boy, police and her relatives said.The woman was in intensive care in a hospital in the capital, New Delhi, said police in Budaun district in northern Uttar Pradesh state, following Saturday’s attack.Her brother said the attack took place because the husband wanted to know the baby’s gender. The couple already had five daughters.“He attacked her with a sickle and ripped her stomach saying that he wanted to check the gender...WW…

Despite two major deadly mining disasters since 2015, Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA has not complied with a number of commitments signed with authorities to prevent a third disaster, federal prosecutor Edison Vitorelli told Reuters News Agency.Twenty-nine dams that Vale uses to store mining waste still present elevated safety risks, according to Vitorelli, who forms part of a task force of about two dozen federal and state prosecutors who pressed charges against the company after the most recent disaster which killed 270 people in January 2019.Some of the mines linked to the dams that...…Despite two major deadly mining disasters since 2015, Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA has not complied with a number of commitments signed with authorities to prevent a third disaster, federal prosecutor Edison Vitorelli told Reuters News Agency.Twenty-nine dams that Vale uses to store mining waste still present elevated safety risks, according to Vitorelli, who forms part of a task force of about two dozen federal and state prosecutors who pressed charges against the company after the most recent disaster which killed 270 people in January 2019.Some of the mines linked to the dams that...WW…

Street artist Banksy has lost a legal battle with a greeting card company along with a European Union trademark for one of their most iconic artworks.The cancellation division of the EU’s intellectual property office said in a ruling this week that Banksy’s trademark for “Flower Thrower” was filed in bad faith and declared it “invalid in its entirety”.Also known as”Love is in The Air, the graffiti artist created the work in Jerusalem in 2005. It depicts a young protester wearing a cap and with his face half-covered, throwing a bouquet of flowers.The decision, which can be appealed, followed...…Street artist Banksy has lost a legal battle with a greeting card company along with a European Union trademark for one of their most iconic artworks.The cancellation division of the EU’s intellectual property office said in a ruling this week that Banksy’s trademark for “Flower Thrower” was filed in bad faith and declared it “invalid in its entirety”.Also known as”Love is in The Air, the graffiti artist created the work in Jerusalem in 2005. It depicts a young protester wearing a cap and with his face half-covered, throwing a bouquet of flowers.The decision, which can be appealed, followed...WW…

When deadly wildfires tinted Western skies a Martian hue this week, homeowners with their own rooftop solar systems were able to tell with great precision just how much useful sunlight reached them through the gloom: next to none.Wednesday was “the worst generation day, ever,” said Mary Holstege, a retired software engineer in Cupertino, California, who went solar a year ago. Her system, which puts out 40 kilowatt-hours a day in the summer, barely dribbled out 1.65 — maybe enough to dry a load of laundry.Others fared worse. Bentham Paulos, an energy policy consultant in Berkeley,...…When deadly wildfires tinted Western skies a Martian hue this week, homeowners with their own rooftop solar systems were able to tell with great precision just how much useful sunlight reached them through the gloom: next to none.Wednesday was “the worst generation day, ever,” said Mary Holstege, a retired software engineer in Cupertino, California, who went solar a year ago. Her system, which puts out 40 kilowatt-hours a day in the summer, barely dribbled out 1.65 — maybe enough to dry a load of laundry.Others fared worse. Bentham Paulos, an energy policy consultant in Berkeley,...WW…

Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari has been executed after being convicted of stabbing to death a security guard, according to state media.Afkari was executed “this morning after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim”, head of the justice department in southern Fars province, was quoted as saying.Authorities accused Afkari, 27, of stabbing the water supply company employee in the southern city of Shiraz. Iran broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession last week.But Afkari said he was tortured into making a false confession,...…Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari has been executed after being convicted of stabbing to death a security guard, according to state media.Afkari was executed “this morning after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim”, head of the justice department in southern Fars province, was quoted as saying.Authorities accused Afkari, 27, of stabbing the water supply company employee in the southern city of Shiraz. Iran broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession last week.But Afkari said he was tortured into making a false confession,...WW…

The Trump administration on Monday gave American Airlines Group Inc. emergency approval to deploy a new weapon against Covid-19: a surface coating that kills coronaviruses for as many as seven days.The Environmental Protection Agency issued the emergency declaration for Allied BioScience Inc.’s SurfaceWise2 product, allowing it to be used in some American Airlines planes and airport facilities, as well as two Texas locations of Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine. All three companies are based in Texas, which sought the exemption.“This is a major, game-changing announcement for our efforts...…The Trump administration on Monday gave American Airlines Group Inc. emergency approval to deploy a new weapon against Covid-19: a surface coating that kills coronaviruses for as many as seven days.The Environmental Protection Agency issued the emergency declaration for Allied BioScience Inc.’s SurfaceWise2 product, allowing it to be used in some American Airlines planes and airport facilities, as well as two Texas locations of Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine. All three companies are based in Texas, which sought the exemption.“This is a major, game-changing announcement for our efforts...WW…

Rio Tinto is parting ways with its CEO and two senior executives, bowing to mounting shareholder criticism of the destruction of two significant Aboriginal rock shelters and the global miner’s limited initial response.Chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who has led Rio since 2016, will step down by March 31 next year, the company said on Friday, after shareholders expressed concerns about executive accountability.The head of iron ore, Chris Salisbury, and Simone Niven, head of corporate relations, the unit responsible for dealing with Indigenous communities, will also depart.The move...…Rio Tinto is parting ways with its CEO and two senior executives, bowing to mounting shareholder criticism of the destruction of two significant Aboriginal rock shelters and the global miner’s limited initial response.Chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who has led Rio since 2016, will step down by March 31 next year, the company said on Friday, after shareholders expressed concerns about executive accountability.The head of iron ore, Chris Salisbury, and Simone Niven, head of corporate relations, the unit responsible for dealing with Indigenous communities, will also depart.The move...WW…

PSkies were so dark it appeared more night than day at times, while in some places ash fell like snow.Dark skies blocking the sun lowered temperatures at what has historically been the warmest time of year in San Francisco.“Geo-color imagery shows a very thick multilevel smoke deck over much of California,” the US National Weather Service said in a tweet.“This smoke is filtering the incoming energy from the sun, causing much cooler temperatures and dark dreary red-shifted skies across many areas.”What were being described as “unprecedented” wildfires, fuelled by strong winds and searing...…PSkies were so dark it appeared more night than day at times, while in some places ash fell like snow.Dark skies blocking the sun lowered temperatures at what has historically been the warmest time of year in San Francisco.“Geo-color imagery shows a very thick multilevel smoke deck over much of California,” the US National Weather Service said in a tweet.“This smoke is filtering the incoming energy from the sun, causing much cooler temperatures and dark dreary red-shifted skies across many areas.”What were being described as “unprecedented” wildfires, fuelled by strong winds and searing...WW…

AstraZeneca has “voluntarily paused” late-stage trials of the highly-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford after one of the study volunteers developed an unexplained illness, the company said on Wednesday.The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is seen as one of the most promising of vaccine candidates currently under development.“As part of the ongoing randomized, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee,”...…AstraZeneca has “voluntarily paused” late-stage trials of the highly-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford after one of the study volunteers developed an unexplained illness, the company said on Wednesday.The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is seen as one of the most promising of vaccine candidates currently under development.“As part of the ongoing randomized, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee,”...WW…

The United States on Tuesday will move to block imports of cotton and tomato products from western China’s Xinjiang region due to allegations that they are produced with forced labour, officials with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Reuters News Agency.The actions, which hit two of China’s major commodity exports, are expected to be formally announced later on Tuesday by CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, along with five other import bans involving Xinjiang forced labour abuses in an unprecedented move that is likely to stoke tensions between the world’s two largest...…The United States on Tuesday will move to block imports of cotton and tomato products from western China’s Xinjiang region due to allegations that they are produced with forced labour, officials with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Reuters News Agency.The actions, which hit two of China’s major commodity exports, are expected to be formally announced later on Tuesday by CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, along with five other import bans involving Xinjiang forced labour abuses in an unprecedented move that is likely to stoke tensions between the world’s two largest...WW…