The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned a US-funded vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau, Africa, as unethical on Friday, citing its decision to withhold a safe and potentially life-saving hepatitis B vaccine from some newborns. The trial, which has drawn widespread criticism since its funding was announced in December, is inconsistent with established ethical and scientific principles, according to the WHO.
The WHO's formal statement detailed several reasons for its condemnation, including concerns about the trial's potential harm and low quality. The trial's design involves withholding the established vaccine from some newborns, a practice that has been widely criticized by health experts.
In other news, Palestinian protester Leqaa Kordia described her experience in ICE custody as "dehumanising," according to Al Jazeera. Kordia, a Columbia protester, said she was chained to a hospital bed after a seizure and was denied access to her lawyers and family for days. Advocates have expressed concerns about the lengths authorities are going to in order to detain her.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has been increasing its scrutiny of social media accounts critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to The New York Times, the department has been sending hundreds of subpoenas to tech companies to identify the owners of these accounts. This follows reports of Homeland Security seeking to unmask owners of anonymous Instagram accounts, with some subpoenas being withdrawn after the account owners sued. The Washington Post reported on the growing use of administrative subpoenas, which do not require judicial approval, to target Americans.
In Lyon, France, a young man, Quentin D, died in the hospital from a traumatic brain injury after being violently attacked on Thursday. The attack occurred on the sidelines of a conference held by LFI MEP Rima Hassan at the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), the Lyon prosecutors office told AFP. Quentin was a member of the security team for a right-wing group.
In a separate incident, federal agents tackled Alex Pretti, as seen in an eyewitness video analyzed by The New York Times. The video showed an agent appearing to remove a gun from Pretti's hip before another agent fired a shot.
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