The Gambia banned all timber exports, and permanently suspended export licenses of wood on Friday. The West African nation is trying to curb the illegal smuggling of endangered rosewood.

“All existing permits issued for the export/re-export of timber are permanently revoked,” the information ministry said in a statement. The government instructed port authorities to oversee and prevent any loading of logs onto any vessels. Authorities will also carry out random searches of containers.

Trafficking of timber is rampant in the country because the high demand for rosewood in China.

Behind the ban

In 2012, the West African rosewood tree was declared nearly extinct in Gambia. But even then, the country has remained one of the largest exporters of the species to China, along with its neighbors Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.

Source: Gambia bans all timber exports to curb rosewood smuggling | News | DW | 02.07.2022

I will not ever accept this decision to go back against myself, my body and all the years of our bloodily fought-for freedoms. I know there are multitudes who feel the same. I don’t have the answers but I have questions. I believe in questions.

Will we be passive, obedient followers of unjust laws. Will we be more concerned with formality than justice, acquiesce to corrupt and delegitimised institutions – rather than devotion to conscience and each other?

Will the magnitude of our joining forces catalyse our imaginations, our ferocity and solidarity, and emerge with a collective vision – a series of surprising, successful actions?

Will we finally agree to understand that the struggle for abortion rights is the struggle against white supremacy, is the struggle to end gender oppression and patriarchy, so that we stand by each other when they come to each of our doors?

Will we finally be able to release our self-delusions, which have obscured the supreme court’s historically racist and inherently patriarchal practices, and stop turning our lives and will over to these institutions run mainly by white men who work against the majority, the vulnerable and oppressed?

Will we trust our bodies and defend their sovereignty against church and state?

Will this be the moment when we finally come to celebrate that not one of us has the answer or will ever write the definitive piece, but when we choose to line up side by side in the same direction with the uniqueness each of us has to offer, the way forward will be revealed?

Is this the moment we’ve been waiting for?

Is it called Revolution?

Could it happen with love?

Source: I reject the US abortion ruling. I vow to defend the sovereignty of women’s bodies | V (formerly Eve Ensler) | The Guardian

Women in England and Wales who have suffered miscarriages or stillbirths are being investigated by police on suspicion of having illegal abortions, with some forced to hand over their phones and laptops for invasive “digital strip searches”.

In one case in 2021, a 15-year-old girl who had an unexplained early stillbirth was subjected to a year-long criminal investigation that saw her text messages and search history examined. Police dropped the case after a coroner concluded the pregnancy ended because of natural causes.

The teenager was investigated under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which says it is unlawful to procure a miscarriage using “poison”, “an instrument” or “other means whatsoever”, and that those found guilty can be jailed for life.

Source: Women accused of illegal abortions in England and Wales after miscarriages and stillbirths | Abortion | The Guardian

Source: French authorities ‘encourage’ mask use as COVID cases surge | Euronews

Adele told fans she was “so happy” to be back on stage at the start of her first public concert for five years.

The pop superstar’s composure momentarily cracked as she took in the huge audience in London’s Hyde Park during the opening lines of Hello.

She quickly resumed singing and went on to play a crowd-pleasing two-hour set for 65,000 fans in her home city.

Source: Adele performs first public concert in five years – BBC News

Source: Open Border | Filosofa’s Word