South Korean marines on board an US helicopter during a joint exercise. Photo: Ministry of National Defense, Korea)

South Korea postponed last week at the last minute the signing of a major military agreement with Japan. Watchdog group Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, focal point of Social Watch in the Republic of Korea, said it would help Japan's rearmament and pave the way for its troops to set foot on the peninsula, reported AFP news agency and several media.

Press conference in Cairo. (Photo: CIHRS)

Seventeen human rights non governmental organizations launched on Wednesday officially launched their “Human Rights in 100 Days” campaign to pressure new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to follow through on rights of Egyptian citizens.

“Reclaiming Multilateralism: For People, Rights and Sustainable Development,” the latest United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) publication, is an analytical think piece that looks at the evolution of the multilateral system in the context of the various challenges posed by the global economic and environmental crises.

The publication, authored by Barbara Adams and Gretchen Luchsinger, seeks to engage all stakeholders – whether government, multilateral, regional, and sub-national institutions, civil society and social movements – in an open debate on a “new multilateralism” or rather what kinds of development and governance models the multilateral system should be endorsing that would balance and regulate the political, economic and social shifts brought by globalization and bring the promises of justice, equity and sustainable development to fruition.

Ellen Russell (CCPA)

Canada is not immune to the banking problems we see abroad, cautions “No More Swimming Naked”, a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) written by Ellen Russell, that examines how banks work, why they are inherently prone to instability, and how banking crises spread—even to banks and banking systems that appear to be stable. Russell warns that current regulations did not eliminate problems with risk-taking and overconfident behavior among banks.

Caterpillars of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, feed on many different plants and pose a serious threat to cotton farming. (Photo by Gyorgy Csoka)

Pests are adapting to genetically modified crops in unexpected ways, researchers have discovered. The findings underscore the importance of closely monitoring and countering pest resistance to biotech crops, reported Daniel Stolte on the web site UANews (University of Arizona Office of Communications).