I thought this had to be a headline from The Onion, but apparently this is an actual, real-life news story:
The Somali terror group al-Shabaab, known for deadly attacks on thousands of people across east Africa, has banned plastic bags because of the threat they pose to the environment.
Al-Shabaab’s radio station, Radio Andalus, broadcast news of the ban was announced on Sunday, saying discarded plastic bags “pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of humans and animals alike.”
The jihadist group also issued an immediate ban on the logging of native trees, according to a Somali website that has voiced support for the group.
Mohamed Abu Abdalla, the group’s governor for southern Somalia’s Shabelle regions, said details of how the plan would be implemented would be announced later.
Raffaello Pantucci, counter-terror expert at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the move was designed to show the world that the group could govern.
Well I for one look forward to seeing how the enforcement regime unfolds, knowing that the next Democratic administration here will be looking close to emulate it at the EPA. Meanwhile, this has prompted some handy memes:
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s biggest supermarket chains are scrambling to combat “bag rage” as frustrated shoppers vent their anger over the removal of single-use plastic bags.
One man put his hands around a supermarket worker’s throat, the West Australian newspaper reported, while grocery stores are putting on more staff to help customers get used to the change.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.