Newsclick discusses with Satyajit Rath from the National Institute of Immunology the issue of Gene Patenting, in the background of Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy. The patenting of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes by Myriad Genetics is a classic case of a discovery permitted to be patented. Rath says allowing a company to own genetic information, is under no circumstances healthy. The Myriad Genetics patents restrict public interests unreasonably. The patents effectively mean privatising the results of public funded research.

Elections in Pakistan are over. Though the mandate is regional, as no party has shown a nation wide presence, PML-N has attained a majority in Pakistan’s national assembly after 18 independent candidates joined the party. D. Raghunandan of Newsclick.in discusses the factors governing the present political environment of Pakistan with the senior journalist Seema Mustafa.

As Newsclick turns four, we look back at the various videos we have done on several topics. We bring you snippets from a selection of our videos on "International Affairs". From Syria, to Libya to Palestine to the Red Shirt Rebellion in Thailand to Chavez's death, we have tried to get experts, from India and abroad, to give us an insight on all the major developments across the world.

Syria using chemical weapons and crossing of a “red line” painted by Obama is now being used to justify possible military intervention, or if not, at least direct weapons supplies to the Syrian rebels.

Let us be clear. The United States can verify absolutely nothing about the use of chemical weapons (CWs) in Syria. Any suggestion to the contrary is entirely false.

The Supreme Court's judgement throwing out Novartis’ attempts to secure a patent for the leukaemia drug Glivec has created a frenzy in the pink press – both in  India and abroad.

Newsclick discusses with Aijaz Ahmad the rising tensions concerning North Korea. Aijaz Ahmad says there have been provocative war games taking place every year involving South Korea, the United States and Australia to simulate an attack on North Korea. But, of late, there is a distinct escalation at the level at which the United States is posing this threat. It is in the interests of the US to whip up a war hysteria in order to create a popular demand for the return of its tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea which were withdrawn in 1991 as part of a bilateral agreement with North Korea. These moves are also aimed at building a new cold war against China. The only guarantee that North Korea has for its security is its nuclear power.
 

Earlier this week, the UN made history by adopting the first ever global

Newsclick discusses with Vijay Prashad the current developments on Syrian crisis. Arms supplies by the Western powers to the rebels have gone up and their allies are taking up more aggressive positions on Syria. There are attempts being made by the Western media to create an environment which would find a justification for a military intervention in Syria.