Chile fights GMO in national protest against ‘Monsanto law’

Thousands of Chileans have rallied against a bill dubbed the “Monsanto law” that would let multinationals patent GMO seeds. Activists say it will not only compromise food sovereignty in Chile, but will also harm consumer health.

Mass protests were held in at least nine cities across the Latin American country to protest the bill that would allow for the development of genetically modified seeds. Activists carried banners emblazoned with slogans such as “Monsanto kills” and “Monsanto will patent your life.” 

Other protesters dressed up as bees and zombies to illustrate their fear that the new legislation could lead to the degradation of Chile’s biodiversity. The legislation, which was proposed by ex-President Michelle Bachelet, is currently being discussed by the Chilean Senate and has already been approved by the House of Representatives. The law’s official name is the Plant Breeders Act, but it was branded the “Monsanto law” for the multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation.

The patent would mean large corporations would set the price of seeds and who can use them, protesters claim.

“This law puts seeds into the hands of a few transnational companies,” said Ivan Santandreu, a member of Chile Sin Transgenicos (Chile without GMOs) on Radio Universidad de Chile. “This measure does not contribute to the innovation and wellbeing of independent farmers at all. What it does is put food sovereignty at risk by making it dependent on big corporations.”

Santandreu said that if the law is passed, companies like Monsanto will exert their monopoly on the seeds market and introduce their own genetically modified products.

Monsanto has been the target of mass protests recently over the safety of their genetically modified products. In spite of the fact the transnational maintains its products are all perfectly safe, serious doubts have been raised. The transnational has been trying to expand into Europe, but has been thwarted by bans on GMO products in France and Germany.  

The company said it had dropped its bid to get its crops cultivated in the EU in July because of strong opposition.

“We will no longer be pursuing approvals for cultivation of new biotech crops in Europe. Instead, we will focus on enabling imports of biotech crops into the EU and the growth of our current business there,” the US-based company said in an e-mailed statement.

However, EU officials told RT that the approval of genetically modified SmartStax maize was in the cards. 

“The approval of SmartStax maize is expected in September or October,” a spokesman for EU health and consumer policy commissioner, Tonio Borg, told RT.

Brotherhood supporters hit the streets as army vows to confront violence

Muslim Brotherhood supporters took to the streets of Egypt, despite reports that Sunday protests were called off. The army said it will not tolerate violence amid news that thousands of Morsi loyalists were allegedly arrested and facing terrorism charges.

Several marches of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi kicked off on Sunday evening in Cairo districts, media reports stated. The number of people taking part was not immediately clear, but they were all said to be heading to the Constitutional Court. 

Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters could be also seen marching in Giza, located some 20 kilometers from Cairo. According to reports, the demonstrators are headed to the capital to join others. 

Conflicting reports said that the Brotherhood canceled its Sunday rallies, including the march to the the Constitutional Court, due to security concerns. Brotherhood officials, quoted by Al Jazeera, said they were calling off their planned protest marches due to “the presence of army snipers on buildings along the routes.”  

AFP also quoted spokeswoman for the Brotherhood-led Anti-Coup Coalition, Yasmine Adel, who said that only “several” Cairo marches were canceled, while the others are still taking place. 

The rally was planned as the first in a series of daily protests in response to this week’s violent crackdown on Brotherhood sit-ins, which resulted in more than 700 deaths. The Islamist group has dubbed the action the “The Putschists’ Departure week.”

UK detains Greenwald’s partner under Terrorism Act, confiscates electronics

The partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald was held at Heathrow airport under the UK Terrorism Act for the maximum time allowed before pressing charges. Amnesty International dubbed the move an unwarranted revenge after Greenwald revealed NSA spy programs.

David Miranda was passing through London en route from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro, where he lives with Greenwald - the Guardian journalist who in a series of articles helped Edward Snowden to reveal the scale of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs. 

Miranda was detained for questioning by security officers at Heathrow around 8am local time, under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Officials held him for almost nine hours without pressing any charges, which is the maximum amount of time that a person is allowed to be held under the controversial law. 

Officers released him after confiscating all of his electronic equipment. According to the Guardian, officers confiscated Miranda’s mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs, and even his gaming console.  

Beijing professor builds illegal mountain villa on rooftop of apartment block

A bizarre mountain retreat built on top of a 26-floor Beijing residential building faces demolition after complaints by residents.

The rooftop structure is covered by fake rocks, trees and bushes, and can be clearly seen from one of Beijing's busiest commuter roads in one of the city's more upmarket areas.

A CNN crew who visited the building on Tuesday saw an official government order stuck to the door giving the owner 15 days to demolish 800 square meters of the structure that have been deemed illegal.

No one answered when they knocked.

Locals say the unusual high-rise retreat has been slowly taking over the rooftop for years -- construction is said to have started in 2007 -- but is only now receiving attention after images of the unlikely extension went viral on social media.

World's tallest building bring China to its knees?

"A lot of people have moved out from the top floors. They were afraid. They sold their apartments and got out," said Zhang Li, who lives in an apartment on the 25th floor -- one floor below the construction.

The owner of the rocky outcrop has been identified as Professor Zhang Biqing, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine who owns a national chain of acupuncture clinics, and is a former member of a district People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), according to the South China Morning Post.

"I used to worry that the house might be too much but I never expected this much attention," Zhang is reported to have told The Beijing News.

His neighbor, Zhang Li, said residents had complained many times to officials, but nothing was done to stop construction.

China bans building projects to curb Versailles-esque excesses

"It's very noisy and they are always bringing rocks and things up the elevator," she said. "It's definitely not safe. With all those boulders up there, what would happen if there was an earthquake?"

Other residents claimed the retreat had caused cracks in their walls which leak when it rains.

CNN spoke to a number of people on the street who sympathized with Zhang's neighbors and suggested the professor was allowed to build with impunity because of his links to influential officials.

"It's obvious he is powerful, there's no way he could do illegal building like that without knowing people," one said. Another added,"If I had that kind of money, I would do it too."

"It doesn't just take money," Zhang Li said. "Even with money, but no connections, you wouldn't be allowed to build things like this."

Zhang is reported to have said he would demolish the villa if requested.

25 of mankind's greatest engineering achievements.

Is Lundy Britain's most idyllic island?

In London, nights are accompanied by the rumble of cars and the glow of the city creeping through the curtains: reminders that life continues even when you’re asleep.

On Lundy, there’s nothing.

With the island’s generator off between midnight and six, you lie in bed in utter darkness, feeling as if you’re the only person left on Earth.  

A few days into my stay on this remote granite outcrop off the coast of southwest England, I decided that if I did end up living the solitary life of my first night's storm-induced imaginings, then spending it on Lundy might not be too much of a hardship. 

Although it'd take a bit of getting used to. 

Lundy is just four kilometers long, half a kilometer wide and a choppy 16-kilometer boat ride from Bideford or Ilfracombe, Devon, on the mainland.

If the tides aren't right or the sea is too rough, you can't sail.

In winter, the only way to get there is by helicopter.

In summer it's the local supply ship. 

I sit in the latter among crates of beer for the tavern, ice cream for the only shop and guttering for a family repairing their house.

Then we travel back in time.

Our destination has no roads, cars, cell phones, Internet or TV. It's a place where the outside world and the demands it makes are held at bay.

Here, all that’s expected is that you enjoy the scenery and sense of space. 

Meet India's Red Brigade: The teens fighting back against rape

In a dusty, run-down neighborhood on the outskirts of Lucknow, the capital of one of India's poorest and most conservative states, Uttar Pradesh, a vigilante group is making a name for itself.

But these are no ordinary vigilantes.

They're girls -- mainly teenagers -- who patrol their local streets protecting women and girls from sexual harassment. In their matching black and red black salwar kameez -- the traditional garb worn by women across South Asia -- they target offending males who have over-stepped the mark.

READ: Keeping chivalry alive in India: Men respond to rape crisis

The punishment? Humiliation, sometimes worse.

No life for a child: The grim reality of Nepal's child laborers

To see her playing with her friends, Maya Lama seems much like any other child.

But until last year, the 12-year-old Nepalese girl led a very different existence, forced to work grueling 16-hour shifts in a carpet factory in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

Maya's ordeal began in 2011 when, as a 10 year old, she came to the city for a visit with her uncle. Little did she know he would force her into becoming one of the country's estimated 1.6 million child laborers, putting her to work in exchange for money to give her parents.

For the next year, instead of going to school, she said she was made to work from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday, with barely any breaks.

Like Maya, Yangzee Sherpa from Taplejung in northeastern Nepal was also coerced to join the workforce at an early age. She said her grandfather brought her to the capital to work because the family needed money.

"My father was an alcoholic and my mother couldn't take care of me," said the 12 year old. "I don't know why they sent me to work while my two brothers went to school."

Though child labor is illegal in Nepal, an estimated 1.6 million children between the ages of five and 17 years are in the work force, according to the National Child Labor Report.

About three-quarters of them are under the age of 14, and most are girls.

Child workers are a frequent sight on Kathmandu's streets, whether cleaning dishes in local restaurants or making a living as conductors on the city's public transport.

Many are employed in the carpet, brick and garment industries, or in private homes as domestic workers.

Employers typically see the relationship as a mutually beneficial arrangement, providing the children accommodation and education, as well as a salary that supports their families, said Krishna Hari Pushkar, director general of Nepal's Department of Labor.

Though working as underage domestic help is defined as child labor, there is a mutual agreement between the children, their parents and the employers, Pushkar said, referring to it as "social adoption."

Rescued from forced labor

Thousands of children continue to work as breadwinners for their families. Maya and Yangzee are some of the lucky ones. They were rescued by Nepal Goodweave Foundation, a local non-governmental organization that works to eradicate child labor within the carpet industry.

Today, they live with more than 30 other children, all under 14, at the foundation's transit home in Kathmandu.

A regular day at this hostel-like facility is filled with children chattering, playing and attending classes. But when they sit and share their past, an eerie hush falls over the room.

While Nepal's Interim Constitution of 2007 guarantees the rights of children, and the country has signed major international conventions against child labor, enforcement is weak. Under its National Master Plan on Child Labor, the country has identified the worst forms of child labor -- bonded labor, domestic child labor and carpet weaving among them -- and aims to eliminate them by 2016. It hopes to eliminate all other forms of child labor by 2020.

In a recent address during World Day Against Child Labour, Hanaa Singer, country representative of the United Nations Children's Fund to Nepal, said that addressing the issue should be a priority. However, she said the country lacks the number of labor inspectors necessary to effectively monitor child labor practices in illegal factories, or in residential situations where children are often employed as domestic helpers.

Recently, protests rocked Nepal's capital following the death of a 12-year-old girl who was working as a domestic helper in the neighboring district of Lalitpur.

Srijana Chaudary, a former kamlari or bonded laborer, self-immolated in March because of her perceived academic failures, according to her employers' testimony to the police.

While police ruled her death a suicide, activists argued that the girl was ill-treated and her employers should be held accountable for her death. In response to the public outcry, the government agreed to form a committee to investigate the case. Its report is still to be released.