ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS HEADLINES

April 10, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

NATIONAL

• Monsanto’s next target: democracy (Alternet)
• Obama’s budget proposal: Cut Medicare, cut Social Security (Common Dreams)
• Kansas set to enact life-starts-"at fertilization" abortion law  (Reuters)
• As VA Backlog Grows, ‘Baffled’ Veteran Allies Begin To Turn On President (Daily Beast)

WORLD

• Former UK Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher dies at 87 (CBS)
• North Korea warns embassies of conflict risk as missiles move(Reuters)
• "We are broke," U.N. says as Syria refugee funds dry up(Reuters)
• Palestinians simmer with anger ahead of Kerry visit (Reuters)
• Report points to worldwide rise in anti-Semitic incidents (Christian Science Monitor)

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

• Proposed FDA safety rules frustrate tree farmers (Washington Post)
• U.S. judge lifts ‘morning after pill’ age limit (BBC)
• Human Cases Of Bird Flu In China Draw Scrutiny (NPR)
• The reef that regenerated (Daily Mail)

Scroll down to view excerpts and links to full stories.

NATIONAL

Monsanto’s next target: democracy (Alternet)

Big Food’s greatest fear is materializing. A critical mass of educated consumers, food and natural health activists are organizing a powerful movement that could well overthrow North America’s trillion-dollar junk food empire. Savvy and more determined than ever, activists are zeroing in on the Achilles heel of Food Inc. -- labeling.  But as consumers demand truth and greater transparency in labeling, it isn’t just Big Food whose empire is vulnerable. The biotech industry, which makes billions supplying junk food manufacturers with cheap, genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, has even more to lose. Monsanto knows that if food producers are forced to label the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their food products, they’ll reformulate those products to meet consumer demand for GMO-free alternatives.

Obama’s budget proposal: Cut Medicare, cut Social Security (Common Dreams)

President Obama's budget proposal to be unveiled next week will include cuts to Social Security and Medicare, according to media reports Friday morning.

Kansas set to enact life-starts-"at fertilization" abortion law  (Reuters) - Kansas is set to enact one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation which defines life as beginning "at fertilization" and imposes a host of new regulations./ In addition to the provision specifying when life begins, the bill prevents employees of abortion clinics from providing sex education in schools, bans tax credits for abortion services and requires clinics to give details to women about fetal development and abortion health risks. It also bans abortions based solely on the gender of the fetus.

As VA Backlog Grows, ‘Baffled’ Veteran Allies Begin To Turn On President (Daily Beast)

As the benefits system for veterans has bogged down on Obama's watch, in spite of his promises to fix it, advocates who had been allies are running out of patience with the president, reports Jamie Reno.

WORLD

Former UK Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher dies at 87 (CBS)

 Margaret Thatcher, the first female British prime minister referred to by both ardent supporters and critics as "The Iron Lady," died Monday. She was 87.

North Korea warns embassies of conflict risk as missiles move

(Reuters) - North Korea has asked embassies in Pyongyang that might wish to get staff out if there is a war to submit plans to it by April 10, Britain said on Friday, as it upped the pressure as part of a war of words that has set the Korean peninsula on edge.  The requests came on the heels of declarations by the government of the secretive communist state that real conflict was inevitable, because of what it termed "hostile" U.S. troop exercises with South Korea and U.N. sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear weapons testing.  

"We are broke," U.N. says as Syria refugee funds dry up

(Reuters) - The United Nations gave its starkest warning yet on Friday that it would soon run out of cash to cope with the vast influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan and other neighboring countries.  "The needs are rising exponentially, and we are broke," Marixie Mercado, spokeswoman for the U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF, told a U.N. news conference in Geneva.

Palestinians simmer with anger ahead of Kerry visit (Reuters)

 Islamist group Hamas on Friday urged a United Nations agency to resume its operations in the Gaza Strip, accusing the world body of over-reacting by shutting down after its headquarters was stormed by demonstrators.  

Report points to worldwide rise in anti-Semitic incidents (Christian Science Monitor)

A report by Tel Aviv University and the European Jewish Congress found a 30 percent jump in anti-Semetic violence and vandalism in 2012. Researchers saw a correlation between extreme right-wing parties and high levels of anti-Semitic incidents in certain countries. / ... the annual report on worldwide anti-Semitic incidents recorded 686 attacks in 34 countries, ranging from physical violence to vandalism of synagogues and cemeteries, compared to 526 in 2011

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

Proposed FDA safety rules frustrate tree farmers (Washington Post)

Blueberries and bananas are in, but black-eyed peas are out. Papaya is in, but plantains and pumpkins are out. Spinach and summer squash, in. Sweet potatoes and winter squash, out. Artichokes? Out. Apples? In. And many apple farmers, as it turns out, aren’t too thrilled about that.  The Food and Drug Administration, wrestling to put in place a massive overhaul of the nation’s food safety system, drew a line this year when proposing which fruits and vegetables would be subject to strict new standards: Those usually consumed raw would be included, while those usually cooked or processed would be exempt.

U.S. judge lifts ‘morning after pill’ age limit (BBC)

A US federal judge has ordered the government to make the "morning after" pill available over the counter to girls of all ages within 30 days.

Human Cases Of Bird Flu In China Draw Scrutiny (NPR)

Sixteen cases of a new flu in China have touched off a major effort to determine what kind of threat it might be. Flu experts want to know where the H7N9 virus is coming from and how it gets around.

The reef that regenerated (Daily Mail)

A coral reef in Northern Australia severely damaged by warming seas has managed to completely heal itself in just 12 years, stunned researchers have found. The team found that being left alone to breed on its own was key. The discovery raises hope that other damaged reefs could 'regenerate'.