But critics wonder if the politically unstable Ecuador, which relies on oil for nearly half of its export revenues, can keep this promise to the international community or whether authorities are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. Correa wants wealthy nations to pay Ecuador $350 million a year in exchange for leaving an estimated 1 billion barrels of oil under the ground in the pristine Yasuni rain forest. The plan involves creating a trust fund for donations or accepting debt...

The rest? Well, take your pick from Czech models, the captains of industry, business and political powerbrokers, TV gardeners, current and former soap stars. While the masses will have to be content with racing's equivalent of cattle class, the beautiful people will be strutting like peacocks more than thoroughbred fillies around the exclusive Birdcage enclosure. Ever since British model Jean Shrimpton upset the establishment at Flemington with her own dress code in 1965, the Melbourne Cup...

In 2001 Mr Geldard set up Plumgarths farm shop to market his own beef, sheep and free-range eggs along with that of other local producers. He and his Cumbrian farmer neighbours are capturing and sharing added value by pooling their products and supplying local customers and retailers direct. Farmers Weekly Local Food Farmer of the Year is a new farming award identifying individuals who have successfully developed the local food market The Plumgarth group now supplies more than 100 hotels...

The bill will provide aid for farmers throughout the country, including Washington, where agriculture has remained the state's biggest employer for decades. But local farmers who grow fruits, vegetables and nursery products could soon get more federal help to sell their produce and recover faster from disasters. Such payments have never been given for specialty crop farmers, who account for more than half of the state's agricultural economy. Overall, farmers in Snohomish and Island...

We gain a greater export boost than each of the partners, while they each gain a larger stimulus to their gross domestic product (GDP), given the relative sizes of our economies. Congressional approval of the Colombia and Panama agreements will bring to 12 the number of countries in the Americas with which we have reciprocal trading partnerships. farm exports that will receive immediate duty-free access to Colombia include high-quality beef, cotton, wheat, soybeans and soybean meal,...