Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy. CHOSUN ILBO- Twenty North Korean defector groups in South Korea will jointly form an organisation to work towards democratising North Korea, with Hwang Jang-yop, former secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party, as chairman. DONG-A ILBO- During Red Cross talks starting on Tuesday between the two Koreas, the South Korea government will propose that separate family reunions be held for families of abductees or...

Vanishing cropland and diminishing water supplies are hampering China's ability to feed itself, and the increasing use of farmland in the United States to produce biofuels such as ethanol is pushing China to seek more of its agricultural staples from South America, where land is still cheap and plentiful. Plagued by scarce water supplies, China is turning to a new trading partner 15,000 miles away -- Brazil -- to supply more protein-packed beans essential to a richer diet. But as its...

I understand there must be rules to safeguard the blood supply, but fears over mad cow disease getting into the blood supply have never been realized. Anyone who had spent any length of time in Europe was permanently barred from donating, due to fears about spreading mad cow disease. The shortage of donated blood has been exacerbated by overly strict rules that have made many long-time donors ineligible for future donation. The shortage of blood can be partially relieved if our local blood...

But what immediately followed did raise a few eyebrows: a Southwestern cactus salad, featuring not only sliced prickly pear pad, mustard greens, and roasted corn, but also the spongy, slightly bitter innards of the noble saguaro, all of it drizzled over with a saguaro syrup-vinaigrette, made from the fruit of that legally protected desert flora. But what immediately followed did raise a few eyebrows: a Southwestern cactus salad, featuring not only sliced prickly pear pad, mustard greens,...

April 3, 2007 OSLO Northern nations such as Russia or Canada may be celebrating better harvests and less icy winters in coming decades even as rising seas, also caused by global warming, are washing away Pacific island states. report to be issued in Brussels on April 6 foresees unequal impacts from warming: tropical nations from Africa to the Pacific, mostly poor, are likely to bear the brunt but those nearer the poles, mostly rich, may briefly benefit. Australia and the United States have...