Free Republic

The European Union has become the first international body to criminalise the most serious cases of environmental damage that are “comparable to ecocide”. Ecosystem destruction, including habitat loss and illegal logging, will be punished with tougher penalties and prison sentences under the EU’s updated environmental crime directive. In a vote in the European Parliament on Tuesday, EU lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the move with 499 votes in favour, 100 against and 23 abstentions. Member states now have two years to enshrine it in national law. Here’s what you need to know about the updated law, which experts are calling revolutionary. Environmental...

The introduction of biometric digital identity cards could be used by governments to track “who actually got a vaccination or not,” Queen Máxima of the Netherlands said at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos this week. Queen Máxima, a longtime social justice campaigner who has served as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) since 2009, urged for the wider adoption of biometric digital ID cards globally during a WEF panel discussion titled “Comparing Notes on Financial Inclusion” on Thursday. “When I started this job, there were actually very little countries in Africa...

On Thursday, a panelist at the World Economic Forum's Davos conference suggested creating "exclusion lists" to demonetize sources sharing so-called "disinformation," the Daily Caller News Foundation reported. Jeanne Bourgault, the president and CEO of Internews, an international nonprofit that provides "support" to independent media outlets in more than 100 countries, addressed how to prevent the spread of what she considers inaccurate information during a Davos conference panel titled "Defending Truth." "Global trust in institutions is eroding, reflected in how 40% of people consistently trust news. Empowering internet users with media information literacy, advancing information integrity and enhancing transparency are vital...