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February 8, 2012

Bayer Crop Science told to compensate Maharashtra farmers for poor BT cotton yields
PUNE: The Maharashtra government has ordered the Indian unit of Bayer Crop Science, the world's largest agrochemicals company, to pay 45 lakh as compensation to 164 farmers as one of its BT cotton hybrids did not deliver the promised yield, the first instance of a seed company being asked to make good farmers' losses.
Read article on the Economic Times website

January 13, 2012

Study: GM mozzies survive even in a lab
Manufacturer of genetically modified mosquitoes are accused of not coming clean with information on the survival rate of the insects.
PETALING JAYA: Oxitec, the manufacturer of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, withheld crucial information with regard to the survival rate of the insects, claimed several environmental groups. In a joint press statement, the groups revealed results of a study that showed the GM mosquitoes had a three percent survival rate even in a controlled laboratory setting. “In the open field where thousands of these mosquitoes are released continuously, the number of the surviving insects would be high,” the statement said.
Read article at freemalaysiatoday.com (Malaysia)

January 11, 2012

Japan: “Goodbye, nuclear power!” Labor lends its weight to mounting protests
On Sept. 19, 2011, 60,000 people gathered in Tokyo's Meiji Park to say “Goodbye, Nuclear Power Plants.” This demonstration was the biggest in Japan since the 1960s protests against the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, a military pact strongly tying Japan to U.S. Cold War policies. Among those marching through the bustling metropolis were mothers from the Fukushima district, unionists from within and outside the large labor federations, members of all opposition parties, environmentalists, students, anti-war activists, and religious protesters. Busloads of people came down from Fukushima, and there were even homeless workers from Osaka, who were recruited as day laborers to clean up the nuclear mess. Police delayed the march for several hours, keeping the many thousands of people crammed together in a tight space with limited access to water and bathrooms, hoping people would give up and go home. But the demonstrators would not be deterred.
Read article on the Centre for Research on Globalization website

January 11, 2012

Doomsday Clock moves one minute closer to midnight
The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic gauge of nuclear danger, has moved one minute closer to midnight because of “inadequate progress” on nuclear and climate issues. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced the move - to five minutes before midnight - on Tuesday. The clock last moved one minute back in 2010. BAS said the failure of multiple nations to control the spread of nuclear weapons was a cause for worry.
Read article on the BBC News website (UK)