Euthanasia age restrictions lowered in Belgium
Belgium lowered euthanasia law to include children under the age of 18. On Feb. 12, the Belgian parliament passed the new bill 86 to 44 and it is now waiting for the signature of King Philippe.
The bill will allow children suffering from terminal illness to choose euthanasia. The decision must be approved by the child’s parents, doctors, and a psychiatrist who says the child is aware of the implications of the decision.
The bill was opposed by some and they proposed 13 amendments for the bill, which were all denied, the Hindu reports. Independent House member, Laurent Louis said, “A child is to be nurtured and protected, all the way to the end, whatever happens. You don’t kill it.”
The Royal Family reaches out to Datchet
The Royal Family gave back to the town of Datchet this Valentine’s Day. Prince Harry and Prince William gave back to the area, which according to the Telegraph, recently suffered from flooding. The princes helped the community and the Household Cavalry unload sandbags from the back of trucks and passed them down a human chain in order to help the relief effort.
The two princes weren’t the only ones to help relief efforts. The Queen donated food from the royal farms and bedding to the local farmers of Somerest. The Duchess of Cambridge was in north west London visiting a school which recently received an art studio supported and run by The Art Room Charity, which the Duchess has actively supported over the past several years, reports the Telegraph.
Windstorm in Britain results in two deaths
A windstorm swept through Britain killing two people. A large wind swept through Britain causing masonry to fall off of a building and crush a taxi driver. ABC reports that the taxi driver was 49 year old Julie Sillitoe. The report says that Sillitoe’s passengers did not suffer from any life threatening injuries.
The second man died after a wave created by the windstorm caused several issues for commercial cruise ships in the English Channel. The 85 year old man died before the life flight was able to reach the ship, and the cause of has not yet released, according to the ABC report.
Syria delaying peace talks
Syria has no date set for peace talks. The inability to come to beneficial peace talks has come from the unwillingness of the Syrian government to talk about moving away from Assad’s ruling. The two sides could not come to an agreement on what should be discussed and when it would be discussed. The Syrian government refused to speak on anything until they completely discussed the terrorism the country is facing, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report says that this lack of interest in conducting peace talks sends up a red flag, meaning there is speculation that the government may actually not be looking to transition at all.