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France adopts law upholding ban on bee-killing pesticide
France adopts law upholding ban on bee-killing pesticide

France 24

time12-08-2025

  • Politics
  • France 24

France adopts law upholding ban on bee-killing pesticide

French President Emmanuel Macron signed into law a modified bill that bars a bee-killing pesticide from being reintroduced after a petition signed by more than two million people. The legislation has been at the heart of a major debate in France and sparked a student-initiated petition that was wildly successful. Critics of the bill, adopted in July in a fractured lower house of parliament, say it was rushed through without proper debate. The law was published in the government's official journal on Tuesday after the Constitutional Council, the country's highest court, struck down the contested provision about the reintroduction of acetamiprid. The court said that the insecticides known as neonicotinoids posed "risks to human health" and was unconstitutional as it undermined the right to live in a balanced and healthy environment as guaranteed in the country's environmental charter. Banned in France since 2018, acetamiprid is legal in the European Union and proponents say French farmers need it to help them compete with their European counterparts. The main farmers' union has railed against the court ruling while also welcoming its approval of most of the legislation, including steps to simplify planning permission for livestock buildings and water reservoirs for irrigation. Supporters of the petition said their frustration with the legislation went beyond environmental concerns. They had argued that acetamiprid is authorised elsewhere in Europe, as it does not pose the same risks as other neonicotinoids banned at EU level, and without it crops like sugar beets and hazelnuts face severe disease losses. Commentators have said the petition may have been a sign of exasperation with deadlock in a hung parliament and a desire to have a greater say in political matters. After the ruling, Macron had said he intended to quickly enact the law and rejected further parliamentary debate. The controversial legislation has been dubbed the Duplomb law, after its author, Laurent Duplomb, a senator for the right-wing Republicans party. French Health Minister Yannick Neuder has called for a European reassessment of the impact of acetamiprid on human health.

Death of Prince William's businessman pal who 'collapsed after swallowing a bee' sparks a £3billion inheritance row
Death of Prince William's businessman pal who 'collapsed after swallowing a bee' sparks a £3billion inheritance row

Daily Mail​

time12-08-2025

  • Business
  • Daily Mail​

Death of Prince William's businessman pal who 'collapsed after swallowing a bee' sparks a £3billion inheritance row

The death of an Indian billionaire and friend of Prince William who swallowed a bee has triggered a feud over a £3 billion inheritance. Sunjay Kapur, 53, collapsed in front of horrified teammates during the game at Guards Polo Club in Windsor. Indian-born Mr Kapur was thought to have suffered a fatal heart attack after being stung in the mouth, potentially triggering anaphylactic shock. Kapur was the heir too the global car parts giant Sona Comstar, a £2.7 billion business founded by his father. Now the company has been plunged into a bitter succession battle, between the businessman's mother Rani Kapur and the firm's board of directors, The Telegraph reported. Rani Kapur reportedly wrote to the board on July 24 saying her son had died in 'suspicious and unexplained circumstances'. It came just a month after the board unanimously appointed a new chairman on June 23. In the letter, she reportedly accused people in the company of exploiting the family's grief to 'wrestle control' of the company. She said she had been forced to sign documents behind locked doors while under emotional distress. Mrs Kapur claimed she had been blocked from accessing her bank accounts and did not authorise appointments to represent her family. In her letter, which was also sent to India's market regulator, she claimed her late husband, who died in 2015, made her the sole beneficiary of his estate as well as majority shareholder of the Sona Group. The company said Mrs Kapur had not been a shareholder for six years and said she was not majority shareholder of the group. Sunjay Kapur's widow Priya Sachdeva also appears to have sided with Sona Comstar. Ms Sachdeva was appointed as a non-executive director at the company's annual meeting on July 25, despite Ms Kapur's objections and request to delay the meeting. Her office last week shared the coroner's report which confirmed that her husband had died of natural causes. The report said he died from ventricular hypertrophy and ischaemic heart disease and the investigation was closed. Ms Kapur wrote to the UK authorities calling for an investigation into his death, which was rejected. Mr Kapur's sister Mandhire Kapur has also been dragged into the dispute. In an Instagram post, she shared a photograph with her brother and mother saying she would 'protect what you would have wanted, and what Dad dreamed' Mrs Kapur claimed there was a conspiracy to take control of the company away from her family. Vaibhav Gaggar the senior advocate who represents Ms Kapur, told The Telegraph: 'It quite clearly reinforces what she's been saying, that her entire legacy is being usurped and no one is willing to look into the cause of death.' 'It may all be very well interlinked and she has quite unequivocally said there is a conspiracy behind her son's death.'

Emma Stone breaks down her viral moment with Pedro Pascal and that bee
Emma Stone breaks down her viral moment with Pedro Pascal and that bee

Yahoo

time27-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

Emma Stone breaks down her viral moment with Pedro Pascal and that bee

Remember that viral Cannes footage of Eddington stars Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, and Austin Butler contending with a bee on the red carpet? Well, in the Jimmy Kimmel Live clip above, guest host Diego Luna tries to get to the bottom of the story, even going so far as to suggest that Butler may have brought the bee himself, given that it appears from one angle that he's blowing the insect directly at Stone's face. "I almost guarantee you, if anyone brought the bee, it was Pedro," responds Stone. "He probably brought the bee, he probably unleashed that bee." What follows is a quick discussion about how Pascal is absolutely everywhere at the moment, which prompts Stone to give the following, jokily reluctant appraisal. "He's talented, he's gorgeous, he's nice, he's funny," she says. "F*** him."

Billionaire friend of Prince of Wales dies after ‘swallowing a bee'
Billionaire friend of Prince of Wales dies after ‘swallowing a bee'

Telegraph

time13-06-2025

  • Automotive
  • Telegraph

Billionaire friend of Prince of Wales dies after ‘swallowing a bee'

A billionaire friend of Prince William has died aged 53 after swallowing a bee, it has been claimed. Sunjay Kapur, an Indian businessman, reportedly collapsed while playing polo yesterday in England. Mr Kapur, who was chairman of global car parts giant Sona Comstar, had paid tribute to the victims of the Air India plane crash on Thursday hours before he died. He posted: 'Terrible news of the tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad. My thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected. May they find strength in this difficult hour.' Reports have suggested he was stung by a bee in the mouth, potentially sparking an anaphylactic shock causing a heart attack. In a tribute posted on X, Mr Kapur's school said they were 'deeply saddened' by his death. The billionaire attended the Doon School in Uttarakhand, a 90-year-old boarding school in northern India, and later served on its board of governors. The school, which was modelled on the British public school and charges £13,406 per year for Indian students, described Mr Kapur as a 'passionate fitness and sport enthusiast and a learner for life'. They added: 'He worked to make polo more accessible beyond its traditional roots. 'Mr Kapur's enduring commitment to excellence, service, and community leaves a lasting legacy.' Mr Kapur was once married to Bollywood star Karisma Kapoor, 50, but the couple divorced. In an interview about her marriage in 2016, Ms Kapoor claimed Mr Kapur once left her to look after their child to play polo with William. Kapoor claimed: '[Sunjay] decided to carry on, leaving me behind to take care of our sick four-month-old son, just to play a Polo match with Prince William.'

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