EU votes for near-total ban on bee-killing pesticides
EU countries have voted for a near-total ban on insecticides blamed for killing off bee populations, in what campaigners called a "beacon of hope" for the winged insects.
EU opens in-depth probe into Monsanto-Bayer merger
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into a proposed 66-billion-dollar takeover of US agrochemical company Monsanto by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer over competition concerns.