After a series of 7 public hearings on Bt Brinjal, on February 9 2010, the then minister of state for Environment of the Govt of India announced an indefinite moratorium on introducing Bt brinjal—the first genetically modified food crop that would have been introduced for mass production in India.
Prof. Vandana Shiva
In June 2019, Monsanto lobbyists announced that farmers will illegally plant Bt Brinjal as a “Satyagraha”.
This is outright criminal action. As Kishore Tiwari, Chair of the Maharashtra Govt commission on agrarian distress has clearly stated, farmers acting on behest of Monsanto are criminals and will be treated as such.
By UN News* — A presidential pardon for two United States soldiers accused of war crimes, and a sentence reduction for a third, “run against the letter and the spirit of international law which requires accountability for such violations”, the United Nations human rights wing said on Tuesday [19 November 2019].
UN Photo | Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
As the West questions damaging austerity policies, it is becoming the new normal for the rest of the world, risking achievement of sustainable development goals.
WASHINGTON DC and LONDON, Nov 25 2019 (IPS)* –– After years of austerity, a number of Eurozone countries are now considering expansionary fiscal policies. And in the UK, government spending is set to return to levels last seen in the 1970s. But austerity abounds elsewhere in the world, including in some of the poorest countries.
Today there is a deep split in public opinion in the United States. Democratic institutions are in danger from racism and neofascism.
Progressives are fighting to save the values and institutions on which their country was founded. They are fighting to save America’s soul.
Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia
Progressives today would like to eliminate all forms of discrimination, whether based on race, religion, ethnicity, or gender.
They are opposed by white nationalist groups, especially in rural areas and among white industrial workers and evangelicals, who fear that their own groups will soon be outnumbered by those who differ from them in ethnicity, race or religion.
25 November 2019 (FAO)* — For many people around the world, cotton is a safety net. As a crop resistant to climatic changes, it can be planted in dry and arid zones and represents a real economic lifeline in rural areas where there are high levels of poverty.
Geneva, 26 November 2019 (UN Environment)* — On the eve of a year in which nations are due to strengthen their Paris climate pledges, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report warns that unlessglobal greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will miss the opportunity to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.
26 November 2019 (UN Environment)* — The newly launched Emissions Gap Report tracks the gap between where greenhouse gas emissions are heading and where they need to be. Are we meeting goals of the Paris Climate Agreement?
Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday [26 November 2019]. (*).
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UN Photo/Kibae Park | Emissions at a manufacturing complex in Toronto, Canada. (file)
25 November 2019 (UN Environment)* — Our health and what we eat are inextricably linked. A balanced, nutritious diet gives us energy, keeps us focused and keeps many medical conditions at bay.
Geneva, 25 November 2019 (World Meteorological Organization)* — Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 