Crop breeders increasingly are using radiation and gene-altering chemicals to mutate seeds, creating new plant varieties with better yields -- all without regulation.
The United Nations’ Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture program has received 39 requests this year for radiation services from plant breeders in dozens of countries, the most since records began in 1977, according to program head Pierre Lagoda. The group in Vienna promotes developing more “sustainable” crops by irradiating them to resist threats like drought, insects, disease and salinity.
Mutant Crops Drive Seed Sales Where Monsanto Is Denied
Tepco to start fuel removal from Fukushima reactor 4 pool Monday
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will start removing nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pool of the reactor 4 building at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant from Monday.
“Full-scale removal (from the accident-stricken unit) is a very important process in moving ahead with the plant’s decommissioning,” Tepco spokesman Masayuki Ono told a press conference, adding that the experience will be useful in dealing with the three other units that were damaged in the 2011 nuclear crisis.
Protests in 263 Cities Around the World as 'Arctic 30' Mark 2 Months in Prison
Protests are being held in 263 cities around the world Saturday to mark two months since Greenpeace's 'Arctic 30' were jailed in Russia for demonstrating against Arctic drilling.
In a case that has sparked an international outcry, the crew-members of Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship were detained on September 18 after several of them scaled an oil platform run by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
Amnesty International: Qatar failing to enforce its own labor laws
Amnesty International's new report on labor conditions in Qatar is not the first time the emirate has been accused of failure to protect workers' rights. But the report released Sunday offers a more detailed account of conditions that some have called abusive.
Amnesty International said that many of the approximately 1.4 million migrant workers helping to build infrastructure in Qatar’s booming economy are being denied such basic rights as adequate pay, comfortable sleeping quarters and the ability to change employers or even leave the country. Qatari authorities had promised, after allegations over labor conditions were published last month, to assign more inspectors to ensure that international standards are observed. Qatar also appointed an international law firm to investigate allegations of forced labor.
But critics say little has changed despite these undertakings.
2 killed, 20 injured in Colorado mining accident
Two workers were killed and 20 others were injured in a mining accident near the southwestern Colorado town of Ouray.
Ouray County spokeswoman Marti Whitmore says the sheriff's office was called to the Revenue Virginius mine at about 7:20 a.m. Sunday. The miners were trapped underground, and they were confirmed dead Sunday afternoon.
Nobel prize-winning author Doris Lessing dies aged 94
Doris Lessing, the Nobel prize-winning author of The Golden Notebook and The Grass is Singing, among more than 50 other novels ranging from political to science fiction, has died aged 94.
Twitter reacted quickly to the news, a shock to many despite her great age. The author and critic Lisa Jardine described it as "a huge loss"; the agent Carole Blake described her as an "amazing writer and woman"; and the writer Lisa Appignanesi wrote: "One of our very greatest writers has left us this past night, RIP."
Tornado hits Illinois as Midwest under high storm threat
Intense thunderstorms and tornados swept across a number of Midwestern states Sunday, and officials were raising the alarm to warn people -- including fans heading to some NFL games -- might be caught off guard by such severe weather at this time of year.
The National Weather Service confirmed tornados have touched down in several Illinois communities by early afternoon. Meanwhile in Chicago, fans at Soldier Field watching the Chicago Bears host the Baltimore Ravens were cleared from the stands and players and coaches left the field around 12:30 p.m. as wind and rain moved in.
Climate change pledges: rich nations face fury over moves to renege
Developing nations have launched an impassioned attack on the failure of the world's richest countries to live up to their climate change pledges in the wake of the disaster in the Philippines.
With more than 3,600 people now believed to have been killed by Typhoon Haiyan, moves by several major economies to backtrack on commitments over carbon emissions have put the world's poorest and most wealthy states on a collision course, on the eve of crucial high-level talks at a summit of world powers.
At least 50 feared dead as passenger jet crashes in central Russia
At least 50 people died as a passenger Boeing crashed while landing in the city of Kazan in central Russia on Saturday, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
The passenger aircraft Boeing 737-500 operated by the regional Tatarstan airline exploded after crash-landing in the airport of Kazan at 15:25 GMT, according to Interfax. The jet’s nose reportedly hit the ground during touchdown. Flight U363 was coming from Moscow Domodedovo airport.
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