US court lets Trump travel ban go partially into effect
A US appeals court in California on Monday (Nov 13) let President Donald Trump's latest travel ban go partially into effect, ruling the government can bar entry of people from six Muslim-majority countries with no connections to the United States.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals partially granted a Trump administration request to block at least temporarily a judge's ruling that had put the new ban on hold.
Trump's ban was announced on Sept 24 and replaced two previous versions that had been impeded by federal courts.
The action means the ban will apply to people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad who do not have connections to the United States. Those connections are defined as family relationships and"formal, documented" relationships with US-based entities such as universities and resettlement agencies.
Protesters disrupt US pro-coal event at UN climate talks
Protesters disrupted a pro-coal presentation by US President Donald Trump's administration at climate change talks in Germany on Monday (Nov 13) where almost 200 nations are trying to shift the world economy off fossil fuels.
The US-sponsored event about "The Role of Cleaner and More Efficient Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power in Climate Mitigation" jarred with many other nations, which want negotiations on the 2015 Paris Agreement to focus on renewable energies.
"So you claim to be an American, but we see right through your greed," dozens of protesters suddenly chanted at a meeting of US officials and fossil fuel and nuclear experts to the tune of "God Bless the USA".
First US trial opens in Fifa corruption probe
Juan Ángel Napout, formerly president of the South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL and Paraguay's soccer federation, Manuel Burga, former president of Peru's soccer federation and José Maria Marin, the former president of Brazil's soccer federation are on trial in federal court in Brooklyn.
The three men are the first to stand trial since US prosecutors unveiled a corruption case against soccer officials around the world more than two years ago.
Peruvian farmer scores small win in court over German energy giant
A Peruvian farmer won a small but significant legal victory on Monday (Nov 13) when a German court said his appeal against energy giant RWE, which he accuses of contributing to climate change that is threatening his Andean home, had merit.
After hearing oral arguments from both sides, the higher regional court in the western city of Hamm said Saul Luciano Lliuya's demand for damages from RWE was "admissible", paving the way for the case to proceed.
Luciano argues that RWE, as one of the world's top emitters of climate-altering carbon dioxide, must share in the cost of protecting his hometown Huaraz from a swollen glacier lake at risk of overflowing from melting snow and ice.
Jordan switches on world's largest solar plant in refugee camp
Jordan has switched on the world's largest solar plant inside a refugee camp, providing renewable energy to nearly 80,000 Syrians, the United Nations refugee agency said on Monday (Nov 13).
The 12.9 megawatts solar plant at Zaatari refugee camp, on the border of Jordan and Syria, will allow families to run a fridge, TV, fans and lights in their shelters, and recharge their phones to maintain contact with others abroad, UNHCR said.
The 15 million euro (S$24 million) project, funded by the German government, will provide electricity in Zaatari camp for up to 14 hours a day, the agency said.
