Two million Karachiites face cancer threat

 ISLAMABAD: A personal loss has unfolded a collective tragedy in Karachi where a factory dumping site in Gadap Town exposes over two million residents to cancer-causing chemicals (Chrysotile asbestos) that annually take 100,000 lives at the global level resulting in its ban in 52 countries. This has been revealed in a report of the commission formed on the petition of a citizen, Syed Haroon, whose brother, an employee of Dadex Eternet Limited, died of cancer allegedly due to asbestos poisoning. Read More:

India's poor 'duped' into clinical drug trials

A petition filed by the family in India's Supreme Court alleges that the drug tested on him was Atopaxar, developed by Japan-based pharmaceutical company Eisai and supposed to treat anxiety disorders. His family and health rights group Swasthya Adhikaar Manch (Health Rights Platform) say that he would never have enrolled for the trial had he known that an untested drug would be administered. The family also claims that the side-effects of the drug left Pathak suffering from dementia.Read more:

Are Indian factories really safer than those in Bangladesh?

NEW DELHI, India — The death toll from the collapse of a Mumbai-area garment factory mounted on Friday, as rescue workers continued to sift through the wreckage.

So far, six people have died and around 40 have suffered serious injuries, following the collapse of a two-storey factory in Bhiwandi, an urbanized village in the Thane district, on the outskirts of India's financial capital.Read More

Justice Still Elusive in Factory Disasters in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Inside Courtroom 21, the two judges peered down from high wooden chairs as lawyers in formal black robes presented their motions. Activists and victims watched from the back. And a few steps away, a portly man with a thick black beard remained silent. He was the suspect. He did not seem especially nervous. Read More: