unique protest: In a potent symbolic gesture equating a dangerous pesticide with the atom bomb, a Quit India Endosulfan march was organised in Kerala on August 6 -- the date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. The protestors want endosulfan banned and demand compensation for its victims. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, V S Achuthanandan, led the march. Endosulfan has been held responsible for causing several ailments among people in Kerala's Kasaragod district (see: 'Lies, Damn Lies and Endosulfan', Down To Earth, April 15, 2004).
hard nut: The World Bank has rejected an extractive industries review (EIR) commissioned by its president, James Wolfensohn, to anlayse the impacts of investments in mining and extractive industries sectors. The EIR advised phasing out investments in oil and coal mining in developing countries and investing in renewable energy projects instead. But the Bank's management has indicated that it would continue these investments as they help poor nations. This, despite the Bank saying in a statement that it broadly agreed that it [the EIR review] represented a balanced way forward for the Bank Group.
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