US study says nerve agent causes Colony Collapse Disorder

Worldwide declines in bee colonies, threatening much of global agriculture, may be caused by a new generation of nerve-agent pesticides, two new studies strongly suggest.

Twice in the past three years, the Government has been asked, on the basis of compelling evidence, to suspend the use of the new generation of neonicotinoid pesticides, until the increasingly worrying evidence that they are extremely harmful to bees and other pollinating insects has been shown to be unfounded.

Two studies confirm dangers of 'nerve agents' used on one-third of all British cropland

Rentokil Initial; Hornby

Conservationists have embarked on a three-month trip to one of the remotest places on Earth in a bid to eradicate rats from a Polynesian island where they threaten to drive an endangered seabird to the edge of extinction.

A team of international toxicologists has been called in to investigate the sudden deaths of five foreign tourists in the Thai city of Chiang Mai, after doubts were cast over claims made by local authorities that the deaths were coincidental, and potentially caused by food poisoning.

India's Supreme Court has ordered a two-month ban on the production and sale of a widely used pesticide that can cause nerve damage to humans and wildlife.

The Government is being asked to investigate a possible link between a new generation of pesticides and the decline of honey bees. It is suspected that the chemicals may be impairing the insects' ability to defend themselves against harmful parasites through grooming.

Growing concern about the new generation of pesticides used on 2.5 million acres of UK farmland has led one of the Government’s most senior scientific advisers to order a review of the evidence used to justify their safety.

An inquisitive fox was discovered living the high life at the top of the UK's tallest skyscraper.

The chief executive of Rentokil, the pest control to property services group, has accused former management at City Link of "losing the plot", as its parcel delivery unit caused a sharp drop in profits last year.