The administration of President Joe Biden on Friday announced it would restore protections under the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with saving iconic animals like the gray wolf and bald eagle, which were loosened by his predecessor Donald Trump. Conservation groups welcomed the move but said they were concerned about how long the reversal might take. “The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is committed to working with diverse federal, Tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover America’s imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st century challenges,” said the agency’s Martha Williams. The FWS now proposes to undo those changes, saying it would formulate new rules in the coming months.
Nigeria ‘indefinitely’
suspends Twitter
Nigeria’s government said on Friday it was suspending Twitter’s operations indefinitely, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules. Twitter was still working in Africa’s most populous country soon after Friday’s statement, which triggered immediate criticism from rights groups and analysts about freedom of expression. The information ministry announced the suspension on its own Twitter account though it gave no details on when the decision would take effect or what form the suspension would take. Buhari in his tweet criticised a segment of people for unrest in the country’s southeast. The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to those “misbehaving” in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and election offices. Minister of Information Lai Mohammed on Wednesday accused Twitter of ignoring violent messages from a separatist leader and also referred to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s support for the #EndSARS protests last year in Nigeria against police brutality.
US judge overturns California assault weapons ban
A US judge overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons Friday in a move swiftly condemned by the state’s governor Gavin Newsom as gun-related homicides surge across America. In a 94-page decision, federal Judge Roger T Benitez described California’s assault weapons ban -- in place in 1989 -- as unconstitutional and defended the right of Americans to own semi-automatic rifles. “Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,” he wrote. Benitez said he would give the state 30 days to appeal the decision, which Governor Newson said posed a “direct threat to public safety” and which he vowed to challenge. The decision comes as gun violence surges across the United States. Mass shootings have taken place in Florida, Indiana, California, Colorado and Georgia, in a surge in violence that President Joe Biden has branded an “epidemic.”