- New riot laser for police
- European anti-blacklisting law passed despite Tory opposition
- Top 20 “climate killer” banks named

New riot laser for police

A new laser weapon designed “to temporarily blind people” is being tested by UK police forces for use during riots and other mass protests. Unlike tasers and CS gas, which only work at close quarters, the laser can be used over much longer distances. Called SMU 100, this new weapon sends out a three-metre 'wall of light' up to 500 metres, and leaves anyone caught in it unable to see for a short period of time. It was designed by Clyde-based Photonic Security Systems and costs £25,000.

Similar devices have already been used by British and American troops in Afghanistan. According to the company, SMU100 was originally developed for use against pirates in Somalia.

Photonic Security Systems describes itself as a “specialist in cutting edge security”. The company lists SMU100 on its websites as one of its products that is “in the final stages of development and tests”.

Link: www.photonicsecuritysystems.com

European anti-blacklisting law passed despite Tories opposition

The European Parliament has passed legislation on workplace health and safety that includes provision for supporting whistle-blowers and specifically calling for an end to the black-listing of workers who speak out. Tory MEP's voted against the law.

Ending black-listing has been a central demand of the ongiong electricians' industrial action across the UK. Brian Higgins, a black-listed bricklayer and spokesperson for the Blacklist Support Group said: "This is fantastic news! The struggle for justice continues but this is a really important step in the campaign to put a stop to the evil of blacklisting once and for all."

Link: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

The top 20 'climate killer' banks

A new report by German environmental group Urgewald, the international NGO network BankTrack, Groundwork and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, has identified the top 'climate killers' in the banking world.

The study examines the portfolios of 93 of the world's leading banks and rates them according to their investment in coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation. Investment in the coal industry was chosen as the main criterion as it represents the prime source of global CO2 emissions.

The top 20 “climate killers”, as ranked by the study, are:
1 – JPMorgan Chase
2 – Citi
3 – Bank of America
4 – Morgan Stanley
5 – Barclays
6 – Deutsche Bank
7 – Royal Bank of Scotland
8 – BNP Paribas
9 – Credit Suisse
10 – UBS
11 – Goldman Sachs
12 – Bank of China
13 – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
14 – Crédit Agricole / Calyon
15 – UniCredit / HVB
16 – China Construction Bank
17 – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
18 – Société Générale
19 – Wells Fargo
20 – HSBC.