The list of US governors who reject the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states, citing security concerns after last week’s attacks in Paris, has grown to at least 27. But a few states—including Utah, California, and Vermont—have said they will welcome Syrian refugees.
What to watch for today
Gay marriage is now legal in the Republic of Ireland. The law that went into effect today (Nov. 16) comes after the nation overwhelmingly voted yes on a referendum, becoming the first country to move to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.
This post has been updated.
Selfie sticks are useful for more than just taking pictures of yourself. A Russian martial arts center is now offering selfie-stick-based self-defense lessons for tourists.
A Utah judge has reversed his order to remove a foster child from the home of a lesbian couple.
Customs officials in Saudi Arabia seized 48,000 cans of Heineken beer yesterday (Nov. 12), after a smuggler tried sneak the contraband into the country, where alcohol is forbidden, disguised as Pepsi sodas.
Seven olive oil companies are accused of selling ordinary olive oil as “extra virgin,” a label reserved for olive oils of the highest quality.
US legislator Nancy Pelosi led an unannounced congressional delegation to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa during a visit to China this week.
Your body mass index (BMI) is a helpful tool to measure how under- or overweight you are—but may be of little use when it comes to determining potentially serious health risks. Researchers have found that individuals with a normal weight BMI, but a higher waist-to-hip ratio, face a higher risk of death—especially death from a cardiovascular disease.
Norwegian authorities say that Russians are blackmailing government workers, including MPs, into revealing state secrets by tricking them with duplicitous gifts like vodka and attractive women—a well-known strategy from the Cold War era.
A US federal judge ruled yesterday (Nov. 9) against the National Security Agency for its bulk collection of phone call records, first disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013. It’s a largely symbolic win against the agency, but one still celebrated by Snowden and other opponents of mass surveillance.
This post has been updated.
The unprecedented number of asylum seekers in Europe is taking a toll on local IKEA stores.
A Baltimore judge has granted a motion to hear new evidence in the case against Adnan Syed, the man convicted of the 1999 murder of his high school classmate and ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The case was dissected in the first season of the popular podcast Serial.
McDonald’s french fries are back on the menu in Venezuela, after a ten-month hiatus due to a massive currency devaluation that made it prohibitively expensive to import foreign-grown potatoes.
Berlin is erecting a fence around the Berlin Wall. City officials announced Nov. 5 that a historic length of wall known as the East Side Gallery (link in German) will soon be surrounded by another barrier, in order to protect it from tourists.
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of personal marijuana use today—a significant shift in the country’s historically conservative drug laws.
The US Transportation Security Administration came under renewed fire yesterday (Nov. 3) from Congress, for its inability to detect weapons and other contraband during security screenings.
Philippine officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila have been accused of planting bullets in passengers’ bags as they go through security, in a plot to extract hefty fines from tourists and other travelers.
Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart has signed a four-year deal with HBO to produce short-form content for the premium cable channel’s online outlets, including HBO Now and HBO Go.
Kogalymavia, the Russian company whose charter plane crashed in Egypt last weekend, killing all 224 people on board, had not paid its staff in two months, according to employment watchdog group Rostrud (link in Russian) and local media reports.
Guinness will soon offer a vegan-friendly version of its classic stout. The brewery is moving to replace a step in the clarification process done at its flagship St. James’s Gate Brewery that uses isinglass, a gelatin obtained from dried fish bladder, with an alternative method completely free of animal products.
A Saudi prince and nine other individuals have been charged with drug smuggling by Lebanese authorities, Reuters reported, a week after authorities intercepted two tons of illegal drugs at the Beirut airport. Authorities have also referred the case to a local judge for further investigation.
