Latest news & blogs

In a scramble for votes in the recent elections, both Republican and Democratic parties have been found to have sent indiscriminate unsolicited email campaigns.

Negotiations to release 48 orangutans from a Thai amusement park have succeeded after tests disproved claims that they had been bred in captivity. However, rescue centres in Borneo are now overcrowded and unable to release animals back into the wild, say Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK.

BP built a drilling platform on the Oenga family's land, producing $1.6 billion of oil. The US Government is alleged to have mismanaged negotiations with BP on behalf of native Americans, securing just $670,000.

Parents and teachers have expressed concerns that microwaves from computer systems, like mobile phones, may affect children's health and behaviour and even cause cancer, leading several schools to switch back to cabled networks.

The US Congressional elections showed that the pro-gun lobby there is not as powerful as it claims. Around 95% of the candidates endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence won their seats.

Sudan's president has said he welcomes the United Nations support for the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur, following reports of a deal. However, there is no mention of an agreement to set up a hybrid UN-AU force.

Reporters Without Borders again congratulates the managers of Wikipedia, who have always refused to go in for self-censorship and called on other Internet giants present in China to follow their example. Access it here (in chinese characters).

The Natural History Museum in London is to return the remains of 18 aboriginal people to the Australian Government. The data collection process, to begin in January, will include imaging, measurements and DNA analysis.

The government is facing demands to recall 3m micro-chipped biometric passports after a Guardian investigation which found that they could be electronically attacked and cloned with a £174 microchip reader. See the 'Cracked it' report and the press release from the NO2ID campaign.

“The internet can only be a tool to empower the peoples of the world if a number of crucial rights are recognised, protected and respected,” states Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in a new charter for internet rights - an essential reference for anyone concerned about the freedom of the internet and 'internet access for all' nationally and internationally. Read the “APC Internet…