A court in Argentina convicted two people of illegally spraying chemicals near residential areas in the first case of its kind in the country. The case was widely followed in Argentina, where agrochemical use is widespread and the economy is heavily dependent on farming. The court in Cordoba found two farmers guilty of violating regulations that ban the use of farming chemicals near homes after a campaign by local residents who said the use of the chemicals had harmed their health. The case arose when a local resident began investigating high levels of birth defects, infant deaths, and miscarriages after her infant daughter died of a rare disease. Among the evidence submitted in the case were the results of a study of 140 randomly chosen local children, of whom 80 percent had traces of farming chemicals in their blood. Though some campaigners viewed the sentences as overly light, the complainants' attorney said that this verdict opened the door for similar cases using Cordoba as a precedent. For the full story, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19341093. Earlier: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18997297, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19104060.