Elderly activist to spend Christmas in prison because tag does not fit | Prisons and probation newsthirst.

A 77-year-old environmental activist will spend Christmas in prison despite having been released on an electronic tag, because the authorities cannot find an electronic device small enough to fit her wrists. Gaie Delap, a retired teacher and a Quaker from Bristol, was jailed in August, along with four co-defendants, for her part in a campaign…

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Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas accuse RSPCA of ‘legitimising cruelty’ | Animal welfare newsthirst.

The BBC presenter Chris Packham and the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas have resigned from the RSPCA animal-welfare charity, accusing the organisation of “legitimising cruelty”. It comes after an undercover investigation from Animal Rising, which campaigns for a plant-based food system, used hidden cameras to reveal animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs. Packham, who was…

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Myanmar rebels claim control over major western military headquarters | Myanmar newsthirst.

A rebel army in Myanmar said it had captured a major military headquarters in the country’s west, marking the fall of the junta’s second regional command as it faces mounting setbacks against a nationwide armed resistance movement. The Arakan Army (AA) said the western military command in Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, fell on Friday…

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UK to ban bee-killing pesticides but highly toxic type could still be allowed | Bees newsthirst.

Bee-killing pesticides are to be banned by the UK government, as ministers set out plans to outlaw the use of neonicotinoids. However, the highly toxic neonicotinoid Cruiser SB could be allowed for use next year, as ministers are considering applications from the National Farmers’ Union and British Sugar. This powerful pesticide poisons bees by destroying…

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Sara Sharif told social worker ‘they don’t hit me’ four years before her murder | Child protection newsthirst.

Sara Sharif told a social worker she felt safe living with her father and stepmother because “they don’t hit me”, four years before she died from their brutal campaign of torture. The schoolgirl’s haunting words are buried in hundreds of pages of private family court papers that were disclosed after an application by media organisations,…

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Sydney commuters warned of more than 350 cancelled trains due to industrial action across network | Sydney newsthirst.

The New South Wales transport minister is calling on rail unions to end industrial action amid hundreds of cancellations across the train network on Saturday, saying “no level of disturbance or disruption” over the new year period is “tolerable”. Close to 40% of train services were expected to be cancelled or delayed on Saturday, Jo…

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