Former Commissioner McCarter dead at 71 (Athens Banner-Herald) States McCarter, 71, a hardworking, outspoken and sometimes enigmatic former Athens-Clarke commissioner, died Monday. [News Source]

OIE eases Japan’s status on ‘mad cow’ disease (San Diego Union-Tribune) The world animal health body OIE said on Tuesday it had eased Japan's status on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease to “controlled risk,” a move that should boost meat trade with the Asian country. [News Source]

Russian watchdog stands by bans on US meat (TVNZ) Russia's farm produce watchdog said it will not yield to US attempts to make it lift health-related import bans on meat imports, saying the measures stem from real safety concerns, not politics [News Source]

Russian watchdog stands by bans on U.S. meat (AlertNet) Source: Reuters * Russian vets will not yield to enforcement of U.S. rules * U.S. meat safety should be discussed with business, vets (Adds details, quotes, background) By Aleksandras Budrys MOSCOW, May 26 ... [News Source]

World animal health body eases Japan’s BSE status (AlertNet) Source: Reuters * OIE upgrades Japan's BSE status to "controlled risk" * Decision to add pressure on Japan to accept U.S. imports (Adds details) By Sybille de La Hamaide PARIS, May 26 (Reuters ... [News Source]

GeneThera Updates Its Shareholders and Investing Public (GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance) ARVADA, Colo., May 26, 2009 -- GeneThera, Inc. is a public company actively trading on the OTC . As a service and advisory to our shareholders, along with the investing public, we are addressing our recent events since February to keep our investment market informed. [News Source]

Trade Expert Optimistic Despite Economy (Yankton Press & Dakotan) KEARNEY, Neb. — If Clayton Yuetter knows anything, it’s agricultural trade. [News Source]