<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-threatens-france-with-100-tariffs-on-goods-over-digital-tax-265818">French authorities</a> on Wednesday banned&nbsp;two&nbsp;US&nbsp;pesticides&nbsp;which ecologists deem harmful to&nbsp;bees.

A court in Nice, ruling in a case brought by&nbsp;two&nbsp;ecological associations, banned the products from US group Dow AgroSciences, on the grounds that their containing sulfoxaflor was harmful to&nbsp;bees' nervous systems.

The court said sulfoxaflor was liable "to present a major&nbsp;risk&nbsp;of toxicity" to pollinators.

The court had already suspended the Transform and Closer brands products from sale in 2017 after they had received initial clearance from the French food and safety agency Anses.

Sulfoxaflor is designed to help protect fruit and vegetables against greenfly but some studies have suggested it can cause harm to&nbsp;bees&nbsp;-- whose declining numbers are already a cause of concern in numerous countries,&nbsp;affecting their central nervous systems and disorientating them.

The maker of the products concerned in 2017 rated the sulfoxaflor-containing product lines as less harmful to biodiversity than a range of other&nbsp;pesticides&nbsp;which European authorities have increasingly restricted over the&nbsp;risk&nbsp;they are feared to pose to bee wellbeing as well as to aquatic life and fish.&nbsp;

Dow AgroSciences is now known as Corteva after Dow Chemical and DuPont merged&nbsp;two&nbsp;years ago.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-will-be-pugnacious-over-new-us-tariff-threat-minister-265915">The Nice court</a> found that measures to reduce any&nbsp;risk&nbsp;to&nbsp;bees&nbsp;by for example not applying the pesticide during the blossoming season were not sufficient to permit its use,&nbsp;citing&nbsp;previous concerns highlighted by EU authorities.

The court also ruled that Dow AgroSciences and Anses should pay both the associations who brought the legal action 1,500 euros ($1700) and urged tighter oversight for the authorisation of products which Francois Veillerette, director of Generations Futures, one of the bodies who brought the case, said could be "disastrous for biodiversity or human health."

French authorities on Wednesday banned two US pesticides which ecologists deem harmful to bees. A court in Nice, ruling in a case brought by two ecological associations, banned the products from US group Dow AgroSciences, on the grounds that their containing sulfoxaflor was harmful to bees' nervous systems.

French authorities on Wednesday banned two US pesticides which ecologists deem harmful to bees. A court in Nice, ruling in a case brought by two ecological associations, banned the products from US group Dow AgroSciences, on the grounds that their containing sulfoxaflor was harmful to bees' nervous systems. The court said sulfoxaflor was liable "to present a major risk of toxicity" to pollinators. The court had already suspended the Transform and Closer brands products from sale in 2017 after they had received initial clearance from the French food and safety agency Anses. Sulfoxaflor is designed to help protect fruit and vegetables against greenfly but some studies have suggested it can cause harm to bees -- whose declining numbers are already a cause of concern in numerous countries, affecting their central nervous systems and disorientating them. The maker of the products concerned in 2017 rated the sulfoxaflor-containing product lines as less harmful to biodiversity than a range of other pesticides which European authorities have increasingly restricted over the risk they are feared to pose to bee wellbeing as well as to aquatic life and fish. Dow AgroSciences is now known as Corteva after Dow Chemical and DuPont merged two years ago. The Nice court found that measures to reduce any risk to bees by for example not applying the pesticide during the blossoming season were not sufficient to permit its use, citing previous concerns highlighted by EU authorities. The court also ruled that Dow AgroSciences and Anses should pay both the associations who brought the legal action 1,500 euros ($1700) and urged tighter oversight for the authorisation of products which Francois Veillerette, director of Generations Futures, one of the bodies who brought the case, said could be "disastrous for biodiversity or human health."

France bans two US pesticides, citing risk to bees

An alternative form of therapy where people lie on beds over beehives is creating a buzz in Lithuania. "Bee-therapy" claims to soothe pain and treat ailments with the energy created by bees flapping their wings. Users of the unusual treatment believe the air around a beehive can lower blood pressure and ease breathing difficulties. Zidrunas Japertas who runs a bee-therapy centre in Kaunetiskes Village, in northern Lithuania, says he became a convert to the treatment seven years ago after using it to ease his own back pain. Despite his friends initially being sceptical of his therapy centre, Japertas says some 500 clients visit between May and September each year.

'Bee-therapy' creates a buzz in Lithuania

In war-torn Afghanistan, honey is regarded as a traditional cure-all but for one schoolgirl, the sticky commodity has also created sweet opportunities to work and own a business in a country where few women do so.

Three years ago, Frozan, now 19-years-old, obtained a small loan, bought two beehives and learned about apiculture from Hand in Hand International, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on poverty.

The bees collected nectar from flowers growing near her home in the Marmul district in the northern Balkh province. Their first harvest produced about 16kg (35lb) of honey, which enabled Frozan to pay back her loan and still have money left over.

She now has 12 beehives and last year collected 110kg of honey, which earned her 100,000 Afghanis ($1,450) in a country where GDP per capita is only about $600.

“The village I live in is a traditional village and women are not allowed to work outside,” says Frozan, who goes by one name. “But when I started beekeeping I realised that it’s an easy task. I told the people about beekeeping and then they accepted it.”

Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the lives and status of women in society have improved significantly. But traditions, insecurity and recently a decline in international donors, have slowed progress.

A Human Rights Watch report, quoting government officials, says 85 per cent of the 3.5 million children who don’t go to school are girls. Only 37 per cent of adolescent girls are literate compared with 66 per cent of adolescent boys.

Frozan is now in her final year of school and would like to study economics and grow her business, goals that may now be possible for her and her three siblings thanks to her income stream.

She says looking after tens of thousands of bees can easily be done between studies and household chores and her father, Ismail, who is a farmer like much of Marmul’s population, supports his daughter’s enterprise.&nbsp;

“It has been my dream to have a daughter who could find a job like this and make a future for herself,” he says.

Every few weeks, Ismail takes the fresh honey to Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital, more than 50km away, where it’s sold to shops and consumed mainly by local customers.

While industry data is scant, local media citing government officials say Afghanistan’s honey production has risen in recent years, hitting 2,000 tonnes in 2015. Several varieties such as acacia, almond flower, and basil are now available.

However, infrastructure constraints mean most of this honey never leaves Afghanistan.

Afghan schoolgirl Frozan, has 12 beehives and last year collected 110kg of honey, which earned her 100,000 Afghanis ($1,450) in a country where GDP per capita is only about $600

In war-torn Afghanistan, honey is regarded as a traditional cure-all but for one schoolgirl, the sticky commodity has also created sweet opportunities to work and own a business in a country where few women do so. Three years ago, Frozan, now 19-years-old, obtained a small loan, bought two beehives and learned about apiculture from Hand in Hand International, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on poverty. The bees collected nectar from flowers growing near her home in the Marmul district in the northern Balkh province. Their first harvest produced about 16kg (35lb) of honey, which enabled Frozan to pay back her loan and still have money left over. She now has 12 beehives and last year collected 110kg of honey, which earned her 100,000 Afghanis ($1,450) in a country where GDP per capita is only about $600. “The village I live in is a traditional village and women are not allowed to work outside,” says Frozan, who goes by one name. “But when I started beekeeping I realised that it’s an easy task. I told the people about beekeeping and then they accepted it.” Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the lives and status of women in society have improved significantly. But traditions, insecurity and recently a decline in international donors, have slowed progress. A Human Rights Watch report, quoting government officials, says 85 per cent of the 3.5 million children who don’t go to school are girls. Only 37 per cent of adolescent girls are literate compared with 66 per cent of adolescent boys. Frozan is now in her final year of school and would like to study economics and grow her business, goals that may now be possible for her and her three siblings thanks to her income stream. She says looking after tens of thousands of bees can easily be done between studies and household chores and her father, Ismail, who is a farmer like much of Marmul’s population, supports his daughter’s enterprise. “It has been my dream to have a daughter who could find a job like this and make a future for herself,” he says. Every few weeks, Ismail takes the fresh honey to Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital, more than 50km away, where it’s sold to shops and consumed mainly by local customers. While industry data is scant, local media citing government officials say Afghanistan’s honey production has risen in recent years, hitting 2,000 tonnes in 2015. Several varieties such as acacia, almond flower, and basil are now available. However, infrastructure constraints mean most of this honey never leaves Afghanistan.

19-year-old Afghan schoolgirl earns more than country's average per capita income

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