SABINE VOLLMER: Bayer CropScience is facing scrutiny because of the effect one of its best-selling pesticides has had on honeybees. A German prosecutor is investigating Werner Wenning, Bayer's chairman, and Friedrich Berschauer, the head of Bayer CropScience, after critics alleged that they knowingly polluted the environment. The investigation was triggered by an Aug. 13 complaint filed by German beekeepers and consumer protection advocates, a Coalition against Bayer Dangers spokesman, Philipp Mimkes, said Monday. The complaint is part of efforts by groups on both sides of the Atlantic to determine...

ARI RABINOVITCH: Paralyzed for the past 20 years, former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof now walks down the street with a dim mechanical hum. That is the sound of an electronic exoskeleton moving the 41-year-old's legs and propelling him forward -- with a proud expression on his face -- as passersby stare in surprise. "I never dreamed I would walk again. After I was wounded, I forgot what it's like," said Kaiof, who was injured while serving in the Israeli military in 1988. "Only when standing up can I feel how tall I really am and speak to people eye to eye , not from below."...

DAVID FAHRENTHOLD (WP): The Bush administration yesterday proposed scaling back protected zones for endangered whales in the Atlantic Ocean , yielding to cargo companies' concerns about new speed limits for ships in these areas. The proposal, unveiled yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , could end more than a year of wrangling between federal fisheries scientists and the White House over new measures to protect the North Atlantic right whale. About 300 of the whales remain, and researchers say their tiny population has been reduced further by fatal collisions with...

INDEPENDENT: Beneath the anonymity of the sky-blue burqa, Saliha's slender frame and voice betray her young age.Asked why she was serving seven years in jail alongside hardened insurgents and criminals, the 15-year-old giggled and buried her head in her friend's shoulder. "She is shy," apologised fellow inmate Zirdana, explaining that the teenager had been married at a young age to an abusive husband and ran away with a boy from her neighbourhood. Asked whether she had loved the boy, Saliha squirmed with childish embarrassment as her friend replied: "Yes." Ostracised from her...

IRIN: MANILA, 25 August 2008 (IRIN) - UN agencies have appealed for peace in the southern Philippines, where fighting between government forces and Muslim separatist rebels has escalated over the past two weeks and the number displaced is now over 270,000. In a 22 August statement, the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said civilian lives were at risk as a result of fighting between the army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been attacking, and trying to take control of, civilian communities in the southern island of Mindanao. "It is with great concern that we...

DEMFROMCT (DAILY KOS): Ever wonder if the US is still capable of technological innovation? Follow me here, and you might be surprised at what's happening behind the scenes of something as non-technological as philanthropy. Can a company as wildly successful as Google leverage their tech wizardry to do good by doing well? In this Jan '08 article by Julie Fagnani for the onPhilanthropy blog, the question is addressed: In 2004, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin made a commitment to address some of the world's most significant challenges. The commitment included a considerable contribution...

SETH WEINTRAUB: Is the great firewall of China really blocking foreign users in the country from accessing the iTunes music store? According to many iTunes users in China (Apple China doesn't have a domestic iTunes store) they were cut off from iTunes store since Monday. Appleinsider forum poster jenjen2008 says: "I am in Shanghai and have been able to use iTunes for 3 years now with no problems, but for the past two days I get an immediate message that the 'network connection was reset,'" Others say that they can access iTunes without issue - perhaps all of the global Olympics traffic...

SIMON JOHNSON: Best Western has confirmed an investigation is underway into how the chain's computer defences were breached on Thursday night. Details of how to access the information - which included home addresses, place of employment and credit card details - were sold through an underground network operated by the Russian mafia. The attack scooped up the personal details of guests who stayed at Best Western hotels during the past year, potentially eight million people. Tim Wade, head of marketing for Best Western GB, said it was "unlikely" that whoever was responsible got hold of...

GINNY HILL: Two months ago, at the start of the school vacation, 12-year-old Reem was forced to marry her 30-year-old cousin. "While my hair was styled for the ceremony, I thought of ways to set fire to my wedding dress," she says. "When I protested, my dad gagged me and tied me up. After the wedding, I tried to kill myself twice." Reem is the latest child bride to run from her husband's arms into the media spotlight. But she is not the youngest girl to escape from domestic violence and sexual abuse in recent months. This spring, 9-year-old Arwa and 10-year-old Nujood became...

JONEL ALECCIA: Skeptical of government mandates and leery of feared links to disorders from asthma to autism, parents say they’re exercising their rights to protect their kids from risk. But health officials say there’s no question that the risk of vaccination is far outweighed by the benefits of inoculation, and that those who don’t immunize endanger not only their own kids, but also the collective resistance that keeps everyone else safe, too. “When more than 10 percent of a community opts out of vaccinations, it leaves the entire community at risk because germs have a...