Activists petition EPA for tougher rules to protect children from pesticides

September 11th, 2009 EPA puts limits on 3 pesticides to protect salmonSEATTLE — The Environmental Protection Agency revealed new limits Friday on three pesticides commonly used on western farms to protect endangered and threatened Pacific salmon. The restrictions announced Friday apply to the use of chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion near salmon waters in Washington, California, Oregon and Idaho.

August 19th, 2009 SYDNEY - The Australian government is bringing in tougher rules to protect international students from dubious operators, a minister told parliament Wednesday. The move follows a string of attacks on Indian students and reports of overseas students being exploited.

August 17th, 2009 TORONTO - Well-known herbs rosemary, thyme, clove and mint are now becoming killer weapons against pests as the industry tries to satisfy demands for fruits and vegetables produced in more natural ways. These substances represent a relatively new class of natural insecticides that show promise as an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic chemical pesticides.

August 3rd, 2009 Judge names Katherine Jackson permanent guardianLOS ANGELES — A judge says Michael Jackson's mother should raise the King of Pop's children. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff appointed Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of the singer's three children during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.

July 31st, 2009 ACLU: Calif. heat rules don't protect workersFRESNO, Calif.

July 28th, 2009 Lesbians in China petition to donate bloodBEIJING — Lesbians in China have organized an online petition calling for gay people to be allowed to donate blood, state media reported Tuesday. The petition, asking the government to remove a law enacted in 1998 banning the gay community from donating blood, has drawn 540 signatures from lesbians and aims to reach 1,000, the official China Daily reported.

July 22nd, 2009 Study: Pesticides travel far, harm Sierra frogsFRESNO, Calif. — A new study shows frogs in the Sierra Nevada mountains are threatened by airborne pesticides that drift eastward from California's Central Valley.

July 8th, 2009 Group will sue EPA over pesticides in polar bearsANCHORAGE, Alaska — An environmental group said Wednesday that it plans to sue the federal government to stop approving pesticides that end up in food eaten by polar bears. The Center for Biological Diversity gave 60-day notice it will sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to consider the effects of pesticides on polar bears, a threatened species, and their Arctic habitat.

June 29th, 2009 EPA proposes tougher clean air ruleWASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Monday proposed to strengthen a key air pollution health standard to better protect children and people with respiratory illnesses. The Environmental Protection Agency said it wants to tighten the air quality requirement for nitrogen dioxide that is released from motor vehicles, coal burning power plants and factories.

April 27th, 2009 LONDON - A petition on 10 Downing Street's own website calling for Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister has passed the 10,000-signature mark.y 7.00 last night nearly 10,000 people had signed a petition on the Downing Street website calling for the prime minister to resign. The petition simply states: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to resign." Dr Kalvis Jansons, an academic mathematician, who describes himself as a disillusioned "traditional Labour supporter", posted the petition.

April 21st, 2009 US biologists say 3 pesticides harm salmonSEATTLE — Federal biologists say three pesticides commonly used by farmers threaten the survival of many Pacific salmon and steelhead listed as threatened or endangered species in the West. The National Marine Fisheries Service said Tuesday it is recommending labeling restrictions, buffer zones between fish habitat and areas that are sprayed, and a ban on using the pesticides in windy weather.

April 1st, 2009 ALUVA - A Kerala court Wednesday asked the police to probe People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nasir Maudany's wife for her role in burning of a bus by party activists in 2005. Maudany was jailed in 1998 for his alleged involvement in serial bomb blasts in Coimbatore targeting Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K.

March 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and deposed Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif have filed a petition in the Supreme Court pleading to the apex court to make them parties in the disqualification revision petitions' hearings. Advocates Abid Hassan Manto and Khawaja Haris filed the petition on behalf of the leaders, and also urged the court to declare the earlier ex-party decision as obsolete.

March 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging the apex court's verdict which disqualified the former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections. According to The News, the petition was filed by the Attorney General of Pakistan, Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa.

March 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A review petition will be filed on the disqualification case of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother following the government's decision to reinstate deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Pakistan's Attorney General Latif Khosa has directed the deputy attorney general to file a review petition in the Sharif brothers' eligibility case, Geo TV channel said.