Environment

A group of farmers in Nebraska who have all been diagnosed with cancer are suing agrochemical giant Monsanto. The four farmers have claimed that glyphosate, in the the popular Monsanto herbicide brand Roundup, caused them to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and that the company intentionally misled the public about its dangers. Activist Post reports: The lawsuit was filed last Wednesday in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska. The farmers are seeking punitive damages, alleging defective design, failure to warn, negligence and breach of warranty.

Submitted by Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

Greek Pipeline Breakthrough To Challenge Russian Gas Dominance

After years of debate, political jockeying and acrimony, a major pipeline project to bring natural gas to Southern Europe has broken ground.

A UN panel that ruled this week that the herbicide glyphosate was probably ‘not carcinogenic to humans’ has become embroiled in a bitter row about potential conflicts of interests. It has emerged that two people on the UN panel have ties to groups that have accepted over $1 million from Monsanto and another industry group representing agrochemical giants.

An eruption at Guatemala’s Volcan de Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in Central America, has prompted an evacuation of the area surrounding the peak. On Wednesday, volcanologists also observed explosive activity at the Santiaguito volcano in Quetzaltenango. RT reports: Guatemala’s National Institute for Seismology and Vulcanology are reporting that an ash column reaching 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) above sea level has emerged, while “moderate” lava flow is pouring out of the mountain.

The U.N. is warning that millions of Yemeni civilians are threatened by famine:

The director of U.N. humanitarian operations warned Tuesday that 7.6 million people in conflict-torn Yemen face severe food shortages and are ”one step” from famine.

John Ging, who just returned from Yemen, told a news conference that there has been ”a shocking fall off” in support from the donor community over the last few months for the millions of Yemenis who need food, clean water and basic health care.