Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the 1.2 billion US dollars in funding from the World Bank to help tackle the global food crisis that has emerged in recent months.
US researchers from the universities of Georgia and Pennsylvania have created specially designed robots, called SnoMotes which will help collect information on the world's ice melting shelves in the Arctic and Antarctica.
Inflation in the Euro zone bounced to a record 3.6% in May amid soaring oil prices, according to a first estimate from the EU Eurostat data agency released on Friday. The 12-month inflation rate had eased in April to 3.3% after hitting 3.6% in March, the highest level since the launch of the Euro in 1999.
As a reminder to the public that there is a better life beyond tobacco, World No Tobacco Day is celebrated (today) on May 31.This year's theme is Tobacco-Free Youth.
China is looking for alternative sources for the purchase of soy since Argentina is rapidly becoming a non reliable supplier, according to the Financial Times.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Friday the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin, and encouraged States to ratify the new agreement.
Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. formally filed Friday with the European Commission to take over rival Rio Tinto, triggering an antitrust review of the hostile takeover. The EC confirmed the notification and will reach a decision by July 4 when it can approve the deal, open an in-depth investigation or permit a short extension.
Thousands of fishermen in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Belgium are on strike protesting rising fuel prices. Union leaders said on Thursday Portugal's entire coastal fleet stayed in port on Friday, while in Spain, 7,000 fishermen held protests at the agriculture ministry.
Further sharp price hikes and continued volatility in markets for food supplies appear to be likely for the next few seasons, according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the run-up to a summit on the global food crisis which is being held in Rome early next month.
Soybean futures advanced in Chicago as Argentina's farmers decided to stop selling crops and livestock until next week in the third protest in two months over export taxes.