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Contaminated Flint water among most expensive in the U.S.: report

(Reuters) – Residents of Flint, Michigan, one of the poorest cities in the United States, paid some of the nation's highest water bills even as the city failed to treat drinking water properly, leading to lead contamination, according to a report released on Tuesday. The annual water bill in Flint as of January 2015 was $864.32 for a household using 60,000 gallons a year, said Washington-based advocacy group Food & Water Watch. The rate remained high compared with many other cities even after a judge ordered Flint to reduce its rates by 35 percent and to stop charging a service fee.

U.S. regulator sued for withholding information on GMO crops

A food safety advocacy group sued an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, saying it illegally withheld public information on genetically engineered crops. The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) against the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), claims the regulator has routinely failed to respond as required to requests for records that relate to many concerns with the GMO crops. The lawsuit accuses the agency of violating the Freedom of Information Act dozens of times, unlawfully withholding information for more than 13 years.

Laws deny leprosy sufferers right to work, travel, marry: study

Leprosy sufferers worldwide face discriminatory laws affecting their right to work, travel and marry, according to an advocacy group which called upon governments to follow U.N. guidelines and abolish such legislation. Around 20 countries, including India, Thailand and Nepal, have or continue to pass laws that discriminate against people with leprosy, the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP) said ahead of World Leprosy Day on Sunday.