International

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Lights out in climate change event

  

  Sydney was the first major city to begin “Earth Hour”, when at 2000 (0900 GMT), lights went out on landmarks like the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Rice consumption forecasted to outpace production in 2008

  

  World consumption of rice continues to rise and outpace production and the trend will continue in 2008, bringing with it a host of factors that will impact rice producers said Carl Brothers senior vice president of Riceland Foods.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF Board supports overhaul and shift in voting power

  

  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended on Friday an overhaul of the institution's governance structure that will realign quota and voting shares of member countries with their relative weight and role in the global economy thus enhancing the participation and voice of emerging market and low-income countries in the 185-member IMF.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Vietnam limits rice exports; China boosts pay to farmers

  

  Vietnam became the latest rice-producing country to limit exports of the grain and China announced on Friday higher payments to farmers both rice and wheat in an attempt to boost crop production and cool surging inflate

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Muslims outnumber Catholics worldwide reveals Vatican

  

  Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2% of the world's population and Catholics 17.4%.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  UN climate change talks kick off in Bangkok

  

  A fresh round of United Nations-sponsored climate change talks, expected to draw 1,000 participants, will kick off next week in Bangkok, Thailand.

• Thursday, March 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Airbus 330-200 to replace RAF TriStar and VC-10 tankers

  

  The Royal Air Force TriStar aircraft which for years have covered the Falklands/Brize Norton air link, together with the VC-10 tankers, will be replaced by a fleet of new Airbus A330-200s under a £13 billion PFI (Private Finance Initiative) deal signed this week with AirTanker Ltd, announced British Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Baroness Taylor.

• Thursday, March 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Millions of Asians in poverty because of agriculture neglect

  

  Chronic neglect of agriculture in Asia and the Pacific has left over 200 million people in extreme poverty amid rising prices for foodstuffs and despite robust growth in other sectors, according to a United Nations report released Thursday.

• Thursday, March 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  EC warns Italy over contaminated mozzarella

  Italy has not done enough to ensure contaminated mozzarella cheese does not reach consumers said the European Commission and warned Italy to take further urgent action, or risk a ban on exports of the cheese from the Campania region, reports BBC.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  UK: Commons to get vote over war plans

  

  The Prime Minister will in future normally be required to obtain the approval of the House of Commons before sending British forces to war, under plans set out by the Government.