The US embassy in Accra held a roundtable on biotechnology this month. The discussion, designed to promote candid dialogue between biotechnology supporters and sceptics, was attended by experts and campaign groups on both sides of the GM foods debate.

But one Ghanaian campaign group refused the invitation. “Our call for a moratorium on GM foods was met with an invitation to a closed-door discussion,” said Duke Tagoe, of Food Sovereignty Ghana, which campaigns for greater transparency …

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US congressmen have forced a vote that could cut funding for the National Security Authority (NSA) and limit the scope of its vast surveillance activities.

The vote, which could come as early as Wednesday in the House of Representatives, will be the first held on limiting NSA spying since Edward Snowden leaked documents detailing the agency’s extensive secret surveillance programme known as Prism.

Republican congressman Justin Amash tabled an amendment to a wider defence bill, which “ends …

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KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Rebels from Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region launched a new assault on the country’s once placid heartland on Wednesday, attacking an army base and sending civilians running for cover, rebels and witnesses said.

Residents in al-Rachad, in the central North Kordofan state, home to much of Sudan’s production of gum arabic, an additive used in soft drinks, said they could hear explosions and intense gunfire outside the nearby town of Jebel al-Dayer.

“People have arrived …

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the nation’s toughest set of abortion restrictions into law Thursday, declaring a major victory for abortion opponents after weeks of divisive political debate.

The bill passed over the strong protests of Democrats and abortion-rights supporters. Abortion-rights activists and clinic operators say the measure will force the closure of all but five of the state’s 42 abortion providers.

In a signing ceremony at the state Capitol …

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WASHINGTON — Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong.

Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement of every vehicle with a license plate, according to a study published Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. Affixed to police …

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A white man named Michael Dunn shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Jordan Davis in Florida last year after a brief dispute. The prosecutor overseeing the case is Florida state attorney Angela Corey. Dunn, who will be tried for murder, claims the shooting was in self-defense. Sound familiar?

Now that the state’s nationally televised and notorious self-defense case has ended with the acquittal of defendant George Zimmerman, a next potentially high-profile test of the …

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The Central Intelligence Agency is funding a scientific study that will investigate whether humans could use geoengineering to alter Earth’s environment and stop climate change. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will run the 21-month project, which is the first NAS geoengineering study financially supported by an intelligence agency. With the spooks’ money, scientists will study how humans might influence weather patterns, assess the potential dangers of messing with the climate, and investigate possible national …

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Barclays must pay $435m within 30 days, while one trader must pay $15m and three others $1m each.

Barclays must also forgo $34.9m in profits, which will be distributed to low-income aid programmes in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.

Barclays said it intended to “vigorously defend this matter”.

The fines were first proposed by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last October, and have now been upheld by the body’s board of commissioners.

FERC accused Barclays of …

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BP has set up a “snitch line” to reward people who inform the oil giant about fraudulent claims related to 2010’s massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The hotline promises that “tips that lead directly to an indictment, a recovery of money paid, or the denial of a claim because of fraud or corruption may entitle the reporter to a reward”.

The move comes after BP appealed to a New Orleans court to reassess the terms of its …

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LONDON (AP) — Britain has legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told lawmakers that the royal assent had been given Wednesday — the day after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales cleared Parliament.

The queen’s approval was a formality. It clears the way for the first gay marriages next summer.

The bill enables gay couples to get married in both civil …

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