ISAAA releases the revised series Biotech Country Facts and Trends. The first set in the series features the top five developing biotech countries of Brazil, Argentina, India, China, and Paraguay. Biotech Country Facts and Trends are concise summaries highlighting the commercialization of biotech crops in specific countries.Data on biotech crop commercialization (hectarage and adoption), approvals and planting, benefits and future prospects for each country are presented in a brief and easily understandable manner. The contents are based on ISAAA Brief 51, 20^th Anniversary (1996 to 2015) of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech Crop Highlights in 2015, authored by Clive James, Founder and Emeritus Chair of ISAAA.

Lalani-Shariff joins IRRI from Calgary, Canada, where she worked as the Change Management Lead for Plains Midstream Canada. As a bilingual communications professional, she brings to IRRI more than 15 years of experience in building global brands and advocacy programs. Passionate about education and its potential to positively impact communities, Lalani-Shariff has worked with the University of Calgary, Bow Valley College, the Aga Khan University, Crossroads International, imagineCalgary, and other civil society organizations

One of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa will start in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo this week as WHO and partners work to curb a yellow fever outbreak that has killed more than 400 people and sickened thousands more. Working with Ministries of Health in the 2 countries, WHO is coordinating 56 global partners to vaccinate more than 14 million people against yellow fever in more than 8000 locations.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) of New Zealand released the results of their Review of Evidence Relating to Glyphosate and Carcinogenicity. According to the report, "glyphosate is unlikely to be genotoxic or carcinogenic to humans and does not require classification under HSNO as a carcinogen or mutagen." The results are based on the weight of available evidences, taking into consideration the quality and reliability of available data.

In an event organized by the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center (PABIC), the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said that Pakistan has taken a number of bold steps regarding biotechnology in spite of many challenges. The two-day event entitled Capacity Building Sessions with the Biosafety Regulators, was organized in collaboration with Pakistan's Department of Agriculture, U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service in Islamabad

Biotechnology students from different Egyptian universities started a group last year called BioTeam to share knowledge about biotechnology through a series of talks called Egyptian Biotechnology Era Seminars (EBES). On July 30, 2016, they organized an event at Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine, attended by more than 200 students. Three presentations were given during the event: Innovative Ideas not yet Invented presented by Dr. Tahsin Shoala

Better access to improved, quality rice seed is essential for farmers to raise their productivity, particularly under unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change. On 12 August, the Next-Gen Project, Accelerating the development and adoption of next-generation rice varieties for the major ecosystems in the Philippines,

The GIGANTEA (GI) gene plays an important role in photoperiodic flowering and has been shown to contribute to multiple environmental stress responses. Jin A. Kim of the National Academy of Agricultural Science in South Korea, together with other researchers from various institutions and universities, reported how the GI gene in polish canola (Brassica rapa), BrGI, is similar to Arabidopsis GI in terms of expression pattern and function. BrGI, when expressed in the Arabidopsis GI-loss-of-function mutant, rescued its late-flowering phenotype, indicating that BrG1 also has a role in photoperiodic flowering. Meanwhile, RNAi-mediated suppression of GI expression in Arabidopsis and in polish canola increased salt stress tolerance in both plants.

The Australian Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) invites written submissions from the public to assess license application DIR 143 from Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd for the commercial release of two types of GM cotton: GlyTol^® cotton and GlyTol TwinLink Plus^® cotton.

With this year's main planting season winding down in Ethiopia, there is still a small window of opportunity in September for farmers to plant the last set of crops this year and grow food for millions facing hunger, provided the necessary support arrives on time. The newly released Mid-Year Review of the Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) - developed jointly by the Government of Ethiopia and UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other development partners- indicates that 900 000 additional households need urgent agricultural support bringing the total number to 2.9 million in August.