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Economists urge G20 finance ministers to support Tobin tax to fund global development

One thousand economists have signed a letter calling on G20 finance ministers, who are meeting in Washington this week, to support the "so-called 'Robin Hood tax' or Tobin tax on transactions in financial markets," the Guardian reports.

15 Apr 2011

Great Place to Work Institute honors Genencor with prestigious award

Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, announced today that the company was ranked #7 on the list of The Netherlands Great Places to Work 2011 in the category of "Large & Multinational Companies" by the Great Place to Work Institute.

15 Apr 2011

Genetically modified bacteria filters out toxic pesticide vapors

Genetically modified bacteria could be used in air filters to extract pesticide vapors from polluted air thanks to work by researchers in China published this month in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.

15 Apr 2011

Experts suggest Fukushima clean-up workers store blood cells for future use

As Japan still reels with the after effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and radiation exposure, plant workers are working to control the radiation leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Experts note that the work there will take years, posing a risk of accidental exposure.

15 Apr 2011

Opinions: Traditional aid groups' roles; 'smart power' foreign policy; funding for MDGs

In a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog," Joel Charny, vice president for humanitarian policy and practice at InterAction, highlights the role traditional aid groups play in disasters around the world, refuting the idea that the 2010 earthquake in Haiti showed that established groups "were becoming irrelevant in the face of a vast array of new aid providers, including corporations, celebrities, citizens groups and the military."

15 Apr 2011

Northern Territory alcohol purchasing laws tighten

According to new laws nearly 11,000 people in Alice Springs and Katherine have to obtain other forms of identification to buy alcohol later this year. Some residents in the towns now use Tangentyere identification or other cards to meet a photo ID requirement. The Northern Territory Government is changing its ID scanner system and will only accept driving licenses, proof-of-age cards and passports.

13 Apr 2011

Active efforts towards happiness

Now the world's first membership organization dedicated to spreading happiness has been officially launched. It is called “Action for Happiness” and claims to have 4,500 members in more than 60 countries.

12 Apr 2011

UMMC Professor receives American College of Physicians' highest honor

Dr. Joe Files, professor of medicine and director of the Division of Hematology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has received his mastership from the American College of Physicians, joining a select group of Mississippi physicians who have received the national organization’s highest recognition.

11 Apr 2011

Research looks at impact of life expectancy on religiosity

Churches will continue to attract older congregations as increasing life expectancy encourages people to put off involvement in religion, according to new research.

11 Apr 2011

Officials ask for U.S. to continue support for U.N. in Capitol Hill meetings

The U.N. needs the U.S. to continue providing strong financial support, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told U.S. lawmakers in Washington on Thursday, "as President Barack Obama and Congress negotiate federal budget cuts to try to avoid a government shutdown," Reuters reports. "We need to have robust financial support from the United States," Ban said.

11 Apr 2011

Best Buy's ROWE initiative can help improve work-family fit and time adequacy

New research from the University of Minnesota finds that a workplace environment that allows employees to change when and where they work, based on their individual needs and job responsibilities, positively affects the work-family interface and reduces turnover.

8 Apr 2011

House Budget Chair's FY12 budget proposal would significantly cut foreign affairs, foreign aid budgets

House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan's budget blueprint, which was released earlier this week, would significantly cut the international affairs and foreign aid budgets for FY12 and increase those cuts over the next four years, Foreign Policy's "The Cable" reports, noting that Ryan's budget also would increase "the defense budget by 14 percent over the same timeframe".

8 Apr 2011

New study: Warning labels on junk food more effective than 'fat' tax

Warning labels on junk food would be more effective than a "fat" tax for deterring overweight people from making unhealthy purchases, a new University of Alberta study has found.

8 Apr 2011

OECD nations gave more foreign aid in 2010 than ever before, but failed to meet G8 commitments, report says

Developed countries "gave more aid to poorer countries than ever before in 2010, despite facing big budget gaps and rising debt levels," according to data released on Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Apr 2011

U.N. officials to testify on Capitol Hill as lawmakers propose cutting U.S. funding for U.N.

High-level U.N. officials are scheduled to testify this week on Capitol Hill, "where they will argue against initiatives to pare back U.S. funding and shake up the way the United Nations does business," CQ reports.

7 Apr 2011

Study finds high PCB levels in western coast of Africa

"We were not expecting to find such high levels of PCBs, highly toxic compounds that are considered as priority compounds by European legislation, in a region such as the western coast of Africa", Ailette Prieto, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country and co-author of a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, tells SINC.

7 Apr 2011

Cigarette packaging in olive green to deter smokers

In a bid to reduce smoking rates in Australia, all cigarette packs will be packaged olive green. Under the new laws to be proposed in federal parliament, all logos will be removed from cigarette packs and brand names displayed in a specific font.

6 Apr 2011

Scouts soon to receive sex education

The Scout Association is planning to commence on the first ever national initiative of its kind to its 14 to 18-year-old members. Scouts will benefit from new sex education initiative.

5 Apr 2011

Fraud epidemic robs taxpayers of $600 million: Report

Figures reveal that welfare cheats, tax rorters and crooked public servants – in short people who thrive on fraud, are robbing more than $600 million a year as part of a fraud epidemic across Australia.

5 Apr 2011

Study reveals complex influences of different family relationships on child's happiness

Young people's satisfaction with their family situation is clearly related to the quality of relationships with parents and especially their mother's happiness. The research findings come from the first findings from Understanding Society, the world's largest household panel study managed by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

4 Apr 2011