International

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 07:00 UTC

  Obama message to Mubarak: orderly political transition “must begin now”

  

  US President Barack Obama has said an orderly political transition “must begin now” in Egypt and lead to free and fair elections. His statement followed the announcement by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak that he would not stand for re-election.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 06:56 UTC

  Six candidates to fill the post of FAO Director General

  

  Six candidates have been put forward by member nations of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to succeed Senegalese Jaques Diouf as Director General in elections to be held in June.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 06:43 UTC

  Trained dogs can sniff early signs of certain cancers, says Japanese study

  

  Specially trained dogs may be able to sniff out early signs of colorectal cancer in breath or stool samples, according to a new study.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 00:22 UTC

  Lack of jobs, rising food and energy prices could lead to spark war within nations

  

  The world economy is beset by problems such as high unemployment and rising prices which could fuel trade protectionism and even lead to war within nations, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 23:57 UTC

  German study shows human brains learn and store memories better during sleep

  

  The mechanics of sleep and the process by which we store and retrieve memories has from ancient times been approached through many myths and theories, but it is only recently that hard science is seriously uncovering the mysteries of the mind.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 12:54 UTC

  Northeast Brazil to become “tuna hub” with support from Japan

  

  Japan will help Brazil develop a “tuna hub” at the north of the country with the purpose of doubling tuna catches. State of the art Japanese equipment together with Brazilian personnel specially trained to operate the new logistics are at the heart of the ambitious project which plans to turn the north-eastern impoverished state of Rio Grande do Norte into a tuna hub covering an extensive zone of the Atlantic.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 02:21 UTC

  Egyptian army recognizes “legitimacy of the people’s demands”

  

  Egypt’s military promised Monday night not to fire on any peaceful protests and said it recognised “the legitimacy of the people’s demands” ahead of a demonstration in which organisers aim to bring a million Egyptians to the streets to press for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 01:14 UTC

  UK is world leader in offshore wind energy production and research

  

  Latest offshore wind statistics released by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) confirm that the UK is the European and world leader in the sector, with 1,341MW installed.

• Monday, January 31st 2011 - 21:30 UTC

  FAO, IMF anticipate more civil unrest and protests because of soaring food prices

  

  North Africa and Middle East civil unrest can be expected to spread to several other countries if as anticipated the FAO Food Prices Index for January 2011 confirms the December 2010 tendency when the “basket” of food staples reached a new peak.

• Monday, January 31st 2011 - 21:21 UTC

  Fisheries, aquaculture support livelihoods of 8% of world population, says FAO

  

  The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of about 17 kg per person on average, supplying over three billion people with at least 15% of their average animal protein intake.