Since the Rana Plaza building collapse killed more than 1,100 people in April, retailers have faced mounting pressure to improve safety at Bangladesh garment factories and to sever ties with manufacturers that don't measure up.

The U.S. government is soliciting ideas for improving safety standards in garment factories in Bangladesh. The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs yesterday announced a $2.5 million competitive grant solicitation to fund improvements in the enforcement and monitoring of fire and building safety standards to better protect garment workers in Bangladesh.

An engineer in Scotland who was fired after being injured on the job has been awarded £70,000 (about $100,000) by a court in Edinburgh. David Hynds suffered a spinal injury when a one ton cutting tool fell on him, trapping him between a girder support and the ground.

An illness which originated in September in the Middle East and has killed at least 30 of the 54 people infected appears to be raising alarms in the U.S.  – but a move by public health officials may just be a strategy to prevent its spread.

The death toll from Monday’s poultry plant fire in China has reached 119. Sources say the fire was caused by leakage in tanks of ammonia used as a coolant. In a scene reminiscent of New York’s fatal Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, there were reports that workers trying to escape the fire found exits locked – to prevent theft and to keep them from stepping outside for breaks.

Although sustainability reporting in accordance with the GRI Framework (GRI) or another standard involves a substantial workload, a new report offers insights into why many companies are opting to do it.

Oil and gas companies’ health, safety and environment (HSE) remains on top of the industry’s risk agenda according to Business Pulse: Exploring the dual perspectives of the top 10 risks and opportunities in 2013 and beyond, a new report released today by Ernst & Young.

Walmart and an industry group representing many U.S. retailers say they will not join an international pact intended to improve factory conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry – although many global retailers have signed the agreement.

The death toll in that collapsed Bangladesh factory building has reached 1, 127 people – making it the world’s worst industrial disaster since the 1984 Bhopal gas leak in India, which claimed an estimated 3,787 lives.

More than two weeks after the collapse of a factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sources are reporting that the death toll has reached 912 – and additional bodies may be found as workers continue to dig through the wreckage.