According to The Independent, both a Monsanto source and a Monsanto spokesperson revealed that the aspartame creation process did in fact involve genetically modified bacteria. “We have two strains of bacteria – one is traditionally modified and one is genetically modified,” said the source. “It’s got a modified enzyme. It has one amino acid different.” The process of genetic modification is one that leads to unpredictable consequences. When manipulating the very genetic coding of an organism, of which we do not even fully understand, it is foolish to think that there will be no adverse reactions. Genetically modified food has already been linked to sterility, infant mortality, and allergies.

“Increasingly, chemical companies are using genetically engineered bacteria in their manufacturing process without telling the public,” said Dr Erik Millstone, of Sussex University and the National Food Alliance. Today we see that companies are hiding the fact that their products are genetically modified more than ever before. With the FDA allowing genetically modified salmon to go unlabeled, and new genetically modified potatoes creeping in, the people are under a heavy health assault.

It is truly astounding that genetically modified ingredients have found their way into such a wide variety of products over the last few years, despite research highlighting its negative effects. The ultimate way to take a stand against genetically modified food is to simply not purchase it. Non-GMO is the fastest growing retail brand, which is a clear message to food manufacturers. Big brands will have to change their ingredient list if they want to maintain sales.

Read Original article:- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/worlds-top-sweetener-is-made-with-gm-bacteria-1101176.html

Guido Westerwelle's goals sound impressive. The German foreign minister wants to encourage the Palestinians to work toward a two-state solution in negotiations, say ministry officials in Berlin, noting that this dovetails with "the efforts to support direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians." It sounds as if the German foreign minister were bringing about peace in the Middle East.

The reality will be more mundane when Westerwelle and some of his fellow cabinet members receive a group of their Palestinian counterparts for consultations in Berlin on Wednesday. At the meeting of the so-called German-Palestinian steering committee, the German government will pledge €72.5 million ($96 million) for education, police and development projects - more of a drop in the bucket than a major diplomatic offensive.

But the reason for this isn't just the difficult situation in the Middle East. It is also partly the result of disagreement between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Westerwelle over how the German government should respond to it. Their conflict, which is hardly secret anymore, weakens German foreign policy in one of the world's most dangerous regions.

The discord is also dangerous because Berlin could possibly soon find itself confronted with a more precarious situation. If Israel attacks Iran to prevent the country from gaining nuclear weapons, the German government will have to take a position quickly. And if that happens, Germany will not be able to afford a feud between its chancellor and its foreign minister.

“We are studying measures such as tracking and shooting down [parts] of a North Korean missile in case it strays out of its normal trajectory” and violates South Korean airspace, said Yoon Won-shik, a spokesman at the South's Defense Ministry. He described the launch as a “reckless and provocative act that undermines peace on the Korean peninsula.”

Japan has also rattled the saber, saying it will shoot down the missiles with AEGIS warships if the rocket threatens their country. The international community has condemned the launch amid calls from the US and South Korea to abort the mission immediately. According to a UN resolution, ballistic missile launches by North Korea for any purpose are outlawed. Both the US and South Korean military are currently monitoring the situation for developments. Recent reports say that the rocket has been moved to the village of Tongchang-ri and is prepping for launch.

US President Barack Obama has called on Beijing, North Korea's only major ally, to try and persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Talking on the sidelines of an international nuclear summit in Seoul, Obama said that China's actions of "rewarding bad behavior (and) turning a blind eye to deliberate provocations" were obviously not working.

Professor Nickell is one of the independent experts brought in by George Osborne, the Chancellor, to make sure Britain’s economic estimates are robust. Asked whether he thought the euro was likely to fail, he told the Treasury Select Committee the department itself did not "attach probabilities". “I go and look at William Hill and they actually have the odds of these sorts of things," he said. “Last time I looked, the odds of Greece not using the euro by the end of the year were of the order of 40 per cent.”

Politicians expressed astonishment that the Government’s independent forecasters are relying on the opinions of people who place bets. Andrea Leadsom, a member of the committee, had to double check she had heard the economist correctly. “Are you saying we should use the Office of Budget Responsibility and William Hill when checking the economic forecasts?” she asked. Mr Nickell, an Oxford University academic, replied: “William Hill gives you a good indication of the average view across people who are thinking about these things and putting their money where their mouth is.”

The Korean launch could be the test for a new intercontinental ballistic missile or a new launching pad — or possibly both. Some Western countries think the new technology belongs to a different country, most likely Iran. North Korea plans to conduct the launch in mid-April, on the day marking the 100th birthday of Kim Il-Sung, the nation’s founder. Recently the North Korean regime reached an agreement with Western powers, stating that it would suspend its nuclear program in return for food and other aid packages.

Pyongyang said the satellite is a peaceful one, and therefore doesn’t contravene the agreement, but countries across the globe, led by the US and Russia, are saying such a move is problematic and disruptive. Tensions between the two Korean countries are high, and South Korea threatened to shoot down the rocket if it entered its airspace. According to Yoav Limor, senior military correspondent for Yisrael Hayom and Channel 2, recent assessments by intelligence agencies now believe that placing another satellite in orbit is only a minor goal for North Korea, while the testing of new missile capabilities is the main objective of the planned launch.

Iran has missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, and in February Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said Iran was testing a missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers.

The panel was chosen at a meeting of the upper and lower chambers in parliament which is itself dominated by Freedom and Justice, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, and by Nour, an ultra-conservative Islamist party.

Last week parliament voted that half the members of the panel should come from within its ranks – a move which was criticised by secular groups who fear that the constitution will reflect Islamist preferences rather than the broad range of opinion in Egyptian society. Six women and six Christians are on the list, but more than two-thirds of the members represent Islamists, according to local media.

The constitution is intended to provide a blueprint for the political order after former President Hosni Mubarak was removed from power by a popular uprising 13 months ago. It will decide contentious issues such as the relationship between Islam and the state and the role of the army in the post-Mubarak era. The charter will define the powers of the president and parliament and the rights of the Christian minority, which fears a rise in discrimination under Islamist rule.

Freedom and Justice has said it wants to reduce the powers of the president and increase those of parliament, while Nour, made up of ultra-conservative Salafis, has made it clear in recent months that it entered politics because it feared the role of religion might be diluted in the constitution. It wants to push for a strict adherence to Islamic law.

In the book’s opening pages, it is written that “it might be necessary to restrain her with strength or even to threaten her.” Later, its author advises that “the husband should treat the wife with kindness and love, even if she tends to be stupid and slow sometimes.” Page 45 contains the rights of the husband, which include his wife’s inability to leave “his house without his permission,” and that his wife must “fulfil his desires” and “not allow herself to be untidy ... but should beautify herself for him.”

In terms of physical punishment, the book advises that a husband may scold her, “beat by hand or stick,” withhold money from her or “pull (her) by the ears,” but should “refrain from beating her excessively.” Moderate Muslim voice Tarek Fatah says the shopkeeper should be charged for selling such a book. “I wouldn’t say it’s hate, but it is inciting men to hit women,” said Fatah, who identified the book’s author as a prominent Islamic scholar.

“This is new to you, but the Muslim community knows that this is widespread, that a woman can be beaten. Muslim leaders will deny this, but... ” Male dominance over women has been making headlines for some time, with the recent lengthy trial and conviction of the Shafia family.

Those caught watering their lawns and flower beds or filling paddling pools with a hosepipe after April 5 will be handed £1,000 fines. The measures follow several days of unseasonably warm weather across Britain, which saw millions flock to beaches and parks to soak up the sunshine over the weekend.

The highest temperature yesterday was at Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire, where the mercury rose to 73F (22.8C) – the hottest March temperature ever recorded in Scotland. Much of the country basked in temperatures over 68F (20C) – hotter than Barcelona and Nice – but forecasters said last night that the best of the weather is yet to come.

But those days are gone and the Church has taken a bigger role in Cuban society since the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998, said 68-year-old Erick Osio, who remembers standing outside the cemetery chapel. "Things relaxed and that taboo ended. Everything has changed for religion in Cuba since then," said the retired army colonel who now works as a parking attendant. "John Paul began a different evolution here that opened things up for believers."

Fourteen years after John Paul's epochal trip to Cuba, Pope Benedict will come to the island on Monday after a three-day stop in Mexico, on a visit that was not predicted to be as groundbreaking, but has sparked hopes for more economic and political change among some Cubans.

He may have signaled more ambitious aspirations than expected, and jarred the Cuban government on Friday when he told reporters the Caribbean island needed a new economic model because communism had failed.

"Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality," the pope said on the flight to Mexico, where he landed on Friday afternoon. "In this way we can no longer respond and build a society. New models must be found with patience and in a constructive way," he said, extending the Church's offer to help with a transition in one of the world's last communist countries.

They chanted anti-war slogans, and waved posters with messages such as “Talk, Don’t Bomb”. Demonstrators said they were afraid an attack on Iran could unleash a broader war with devastating consequences. “I don’t think we should attack Iran,” said Dalia Kraid, a protester. “If we strike, instead of preventing a nuclear war we might start one,” she added. Ifat Zvirin, another demonstrator, said: “We are afraid, like most of the people in the country who are against a war with Iran. We want all the Middle East to become a nuclear weapon-free zone, and that includes Israel.”

The Tel Aviv demonstration was small even by the standards of Israel’s much-diminished peace movement. However, as several protesters were quick to point out, the marchers appeared to be echoing widely-held concerns.

Recent opinion polls have shown that, despite the overwhelming concern over Iran’s nuclear programme, only a minority of Israelis are in favour of an attack. According to a survey published earlier this month by Dahaf, an Israeli polling institute, only 19 per cent of Israelis support a unilateral strike on Iran. The poll found that more than a third of respondents were against a strike under any circumstances, while 42 per cent said they would back a strike only as long as it was supported by the US.

"NATO and the United States should change their policy because the time when they dictate their conditions to the world has passed," Ahmadinejad said in a speech during a conference on Afghanistan's economy in the capital of neighboring Tajikistan. "Relations between NATO and Pakistan, their unsteadiness and instability, will only grow," he said.

Residents in Chile's capital, Santiago, fled their homes as the tremor rattled television sets, kitchen cabinets and tables, and a mayor in the town of Parral in south-central Chile told local radio a 74-year-old woman died of a heart attack due to the quake. There were no reports of serious casualties.

The 7.1 magnitude quake struck 16 miles north-northwest of the town of Talca at a depth of 22 miles at 7:37 pm local time (5.47 pm EDT), the US Geological Survey said, revising down an initial magnitude of 7.2. The tremor struck 136 miles from Santiago, home to about a third of Chile's population of 17.2 million people.

It was one of the strongest quakes to hit Chile since a massive 8.8 temblor devastated the south-central region in early 2010, which triggered tsunamis, killed about 500 people and hammered roads and infrastructure. The government lifted a preventive evacuation order just before midnight, after about 7,000 people were ordered to evacuate the Maule region's coast due to signs the sea had retreated a bit, Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said. No tsunami alert was issued.

Quakes of magnitude 7 or above are capable of causing major damage. The 2010 quake caused roughly $8 billion in insured losses and economic losses of at least twice that. In the past two years, earthquakes have been a scourge of the insurance industry. In addition to Chile, quakes in Japan and New Zealand in 2011 caused record-breaking losses in the tens of billions of dollars.

He spent more than three hours exploring the ocean floor, before a speedy ascent back to the surface. His craft was kitted out with cameras and lights so he could film the deep. This is only the second manned expedition to the ocean's deepest depths - the first took place in 1960.

Cameron spent the last few years working in secret with his team of engineers to design and build the craft, which weighs 11 tonnes and is more than 7m (23ft) long. He describes it as a "vertical torpedo" that slices through the water allowing him a speedy descent. The tiny compartment that the filmmaker sits in is made from thick steel, which is able to resist the 1,000 atmospheres of pressure he will experience at full ocean depth. The rest of the vertical column is made from syntactic foam, giving it enough buoyancy to float back up.

The sub has so many lights and cameras that it is like an underwater TV studio - with Mr Cameron able to direct and film the action from within. He intends to release a documentary. Mr Cameron's multi-million-dollar expedition, which has been financed by the filmmaker himself, Rolex and National Geographic, is the first manned effort to the deep for half a century.

A survey of 1,018 families with children suggests 53% experience serious conflict on a regular basis. It also suggests an increase in child-on-parent violence. The report, The Enemy Within, suggests family violence is more widespread than was previously thought. And financial worries appear to be a significant factor, with a fifth of families having serious or frequent conflicts over money.

Many families (17% of those surveyed) disagree over how to discipline their children and the same proportion fall into conflict over sibling rivalry between children. A further fifth of families say they have frequent or serious arguments with teenage children. Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said that while domestic violence between a couple was often highlighted, family violence can be hidden from view.

She said: "Conflict need not turn to violence if families get the help they need. Violence within the family threatens lives, breaks up families and has severe ongoing psychological and physical effects on hundreds of thousands of parents and children every year. Even more worryingly, children who face or witness family violence in the home are significantly more likely to commit other crimes in later life. Up to 79% of those identified as the most troubled families in some authorities are living with domestic violence and, in some areas, three-quarters of children on child protection orders are on the registers because of concerns over domestic violence in the family."

CRB checks have prevented more than 130,000 unsuitable people from working with children or vulnerable groups. The Association of School and College Leaders says the number of offenders who apply to teach is "very small". It also said it is extremely encouraging that the system is picking up people with convictions.

Last year more than 263,000 people who applied to become teachers had Criminal Records Bureau checks. This led to just over 1.5% of them being turned down on the grounds of their previous behaviour. Those who were rejected had almost 9,500 previous offences between them, including 50 sex offences, 11 for arson and two for making threats to kill.

Separate figures also show that sex offenders and hundreds of violent criminals applied to work in nurseries last year.