“France's highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body "burkini" swimsuits that was imposed in a town on the Mediterranean coast.” (BBC)
“I agree with the French court decision today, but the burkini issue is really a symptom of a much deeper issue in France and Europe generally.”
—Morton Weinfeld
A strong earthquake in central Italy reduced three towns to rubble as people slept early Wednesday, with reports that at least 50 people were killed and hundreds injured as rescue crews raced to dig out survivors.” (CBC)
“An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has shaken central Burma, the U.S. Geological Survey says.” (CBC)
“The World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency committee on deadly yellow fever will meet on Aug. 31 to review outbreaks in Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, a spokesman said on Tuesday, as a major vaccination campaigns continues.” (Reuters and The Washington Post)
"To sleep - to sleep, perchance to dream”, these words made famous by William Shakespeare, in the play Hamlet are familiar to many of us. But did you know that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise for a healthy lifestyle?
"The world woke to the smell of burning floss last week, as thunderous applause met news reports that there was, after all, no evidence for dentists recommending flossing.
Hundreds of 2016 World Social Forum participants will meet to brainstorm new solutions to climate change on August 10 at Percival Molson Stadium.
This is the wild idea of Henry Mintzberg, internationally renowned management academic and professor of management studies at McGill University.
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. (WHO)
“South Africans are heading to the polls on Wednesday in what Barclays analysts have dubbed "the most important elections since the 1994 democratic transition" — back when Nelson Mandela was elected in the country's first elections post-Apartheid.” (Business Insider)
“Moon Express, based in Cape Canaveral, Fla., announced Wednesday that it had received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to set a robotic lander on the moon.” (The New York Times)
Professor Oxhorn is an expert in democracy, economic development and Latin American Comparative Politics. He can comment on social, political, and economic angles.
philip [dot] oxhorn [at] mcgill [dot] ca (English, Spanish)
"Turkey has banned all academics from leaving the country, cancelling their annual leave, as President Tayyip Erdogan's post-coup crackdown escalated to 'exceptional proportions'. One British academic at a state-run university in Istanbul told the Telegraph that foreign nationals had also been told to come back to work." (The Telegraph)
June is National Brain Injury Awareness Month. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children and adults from ages 1 to 44. Brain injuries are most often caused by motor vehicle crashes, sports injuries, or simple falls on the playground, at work or in the home.
"Transport Minister Jacques Daoust stood firm on his promise to regulate the ride-sharing service Uber and tabled Bill 100 on Thursday, which would effectively force Uber drivers to buy or rent taxi permits." (The Montreal Gazette)
The Quebec government has the intention to prohibit all accessory fees in health care. (La Presse)
