-FoodFirst.org NEW YORK CITY-Five innovative grassroots groups from across the globe working for democratic access to land, seeds, water and food have been honored with the 2013 Food Sovereignty Prize, the US Food Sovereignty Alliance announced today. Winners of the fifth annual Food Sovereignty Prize were chosen from among more than 40 inspiring projects creating on-the-ground solutions to hunger and poverty, said the alliance, a network of food justice, anti-hunger, labor, environmental,...

-The Hindu     Genetically modified crops, whose ecological effects are irreversible, could become a mainstay of Indian agriculture thanks to collusion between the government and the biotech industry The final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on field trials of genetically modified crops is packed with revelations on what is wrong with institutional governance and regulation in India when it comes to GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). The report's release late last...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as the government plans to seek a review of the Supreme Court order disqualifying MPs/MLAs immediately upon their conviction, the Election Commission has moved to operationalize the judgment by asking all the states and Union territories to track and promptly report conviction of MPs/MLAs to Speaker or chairman of the concerned House and to the poll panel. The EC, in a communication sent to chief...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ticked off the government for "dilly dallying" on an affordable drug pricing policy, following a petition that said the delay was aimed at pushing through suggestions of the powerful manufacturers' lobby. A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and Gopala Gowda asked the Centre to respond within six weeks. The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) had filed the application saying the government was delaying a...

-The Hindu Per capita entitlements under the food security bill will not cover beneficiaries as comprehensively as household entitlements The government hopes to secure in this session of Parliament, approval for the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) so that it can replace the food security ordinance. The NFSB, on which the ordinance is based, guarantees supplementary nutrition services through anganwadis for all children under six, midday meals for schoolchildren, and, very importantly, maternity...