Bavaria to pass 'save the bees' petition into law in landmark move

Weight of 1.75m signatures persuades German state to bypass referendum and order action to protect pollinators

Bavaria has announced that it will pass into law a popular "save the bees" petition that promises drastic changes in farming practices - without putting it to a referendum first.

The landmark move comes amid increasingly alarming warnings from scientists that nearly half of all insect species are in rapid decline - a third of the crucial pollinators threatened with extinction.