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Britain must not bury its head in the sand over food supplies, warns the environment, food and rural affairs committeeBritain should grow far more fruit, vegetables and cereals to help feed the extra 2.7 billion people there may be in the world within 40 years, said a powerful committee of MPs in a report published today.Michael Jack, who chairs the environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) committee, said: 'If people go hungry then political stability goes out of the window. This is a key lesson that government must learn from last year's global food price rises when some countries ran short of food. What happened showed just how fine the line is between full supermarket shelves and empty stomachs.'It is estimated that world food supplies would have to double in the next 40 years to feed a population of nine billion, while at the same time, farmers must cope with climate change, oil price rises and new plant and animal diseases.But the government has taken the supply of food in the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined to increase understanding of regional effects of warmingThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body of scientists drawn from around the world, will use its next assessment due in 2014 to look at how the impact of global warming is falling unequally on the poorest developing countries.Two hundred key members of the IPCC met in Venice last week to begin scoping out its fifth assessment. Rajendra Pachauri, the body's chairman, told reporters at the UN building in New York today that the panel was determined to increase its understanding of local and regional impacts of rising temperatures.There was an awareness, he said, that in Africa in particular there was insufficient scientific and modelling fire-power to be able to predict in any detail what was likely to happen under global warming. 'It's critically important that we create the capacity in Africa to be able to assess the impact of climate change.'A portion of the m

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined to increase understanding of regional effects of warmingThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body of scientists drawn from around the world, will use its next assessment due in 2014 to look at how the impact of global warming is falling unequally on the poorest developing countries.Two hundred key members of the IPCC met in Venice last week to begin scoping out its fifth assessment. Rajendra Pachauri, the body's chairman, told reporters at the UN building in New York today that the panel was determined to increase its understanding of local and regional impacts of rising temperatures.There was an awareness, he said, that in Africa in particular there was insufficient scientific and modelling fire-power to be able to predict in any detail what was likely to happen under global warming. 'It's critically important that we create the capacity in Africa to be able to assess the impact of climate change.'A portion o

SANTIAGO, Jul 21 (IPS) - It's not something out of a Hollywood movie. In a decade's time, any one of the countries of South America could have a woman as chief commander of its armed forces, Argentine expert Mariel Lucero predicted in this interview with IPS during her visit to the Chilean capital to deliver a presentation on the subject.

Gay groups are outraged over a video game where the object is to shoot gay men before they 'rape' the player. The game, called 'Watch out behind you, Hunter' and created by Frenchman Stéphane Aguie, is hosted by a Georgian website called Uzinagaz and was actually launched in 2002. It is banned in France, but it is not banned in the ex-Soviet country where it is hosted, or in the UK. It involves going through the jungle and shooting any nudists who come out of the bushes. If they are to reach you before you shoot them then they rape you, an act which is shown on the game. The gay group Gay Armenia said it was 'completely disgusted' by the game, adding that it was created by 'those religious-minded people in Tbilisi, Georgia... who constantly cite Bible to 'justify' their homophobia and hatred.

This afternoon, AARP CEO A. Barry Rand delivered the following remarks at the White House Middle Class Task Force Town Hall in Alexandria, Va., during a discussion with Vice President Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle, on how health care reform will lower costs, cut waste, and improve quality for seniors from across the country.

Experts estimate that over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and many of these people live in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, there has been growing interest in whether dietary factors, particularly oily fish and meat, might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which some studies suggest are positively related to cognitive function in later life.

Experts estimate that over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and many of these people live in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, there has been growing interest in whether dietary factors, particularly oily fish and meat, might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which some studies suggest are positively related to cognitive function in later life.

Violent crime has plummeted in the Washington area and in major cities across the country, a trend criminologists describe as baffling and unexpected.