Shark fin soup disappearing from Chinese menus

Couples marrying in Hong Kong and China have been swayed by conservation groups' campaign to ban the shark fin trade.

Aid groups ready to work with rebels

Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels in Somalia will accept help from relief groups, lifting the two year ban on foreign aid.

Global food scare widens from Japan nuclear plant

Australia, Canada and Singapore joined a list of countries shunning Japanese food imports as radioactive steam wafted anew from a nuclear plant.

UN: Food prices triggering global unrest

United Nations food agencies on Friday warned that record high prices for basic commodities are helping generate unrest around the world.

Food costs at record highs, UN warns of volatile era

Global food prices tracked by a UN agency hit their highest level on record in January, a problem set to worsen after a massive snowstorm in the US.

Food insecurity, prices top agenda at UN talks

The United Nations food agency, the FAO, opened high-level talks in Rome on Monday aimed at tackling food insecurity and price shocks.

UN: 23-million go hungry in Horn of Africa

The UN says the Horn of Africa is one of the most critical hunger areas in the world, with 23-million people not getting enough to eat.

UN hunger summit vows urgent action

A UN summit on food security vowed on Monday to take "urgent action" to eliminate hunger affecting more than one billion people worldwide.

Food summit dilutes hunger and aid targets

A UN world food summit next week is likely to make little headway in the fight against hunger, with leaders simply pledging to boost agricultural aid.

Zim still facing food insecurity, says UN

Zimbabwe's agricultural production is estimated to have risen significantly, but many people still face problems finding basic foods, the UN says.

World urged not to forget food crisis

As governments pour trillions into shoring up banks, World Food Day will be marked on Thursday by calls to combat hunger and a price spiral.

Swazis may face even worse food crisis

What happens to a nation whose people depend on the largesse of international donor agencies for their existence, once support is withdrawn?

New bird-flu strain detected in Nigeria

Scientists have detected for the first time in Nigeria a new strain of the virus that causes avian influenza -- also known as bird flu.

Food prices steady, inflation push eases

Food commodity prices have now stabilised after surging early this year while a weak dollar may reduce inflationary pressures in many countries.

Greener and leaner

The world food crisis is a tragedy frequently and passionately foretold. For years food experts warned that chronic under-investment in agriculture in developing countries, by governments and donors alike, would one day spell disaster.

Political rows threaten food summit success

A United Nations global food crisis summit risked embarrassing failure to reach any formal agreement on combating hunger threatening a billion people worldwide.

SADC to double observers for Zim poll

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is to send up to 400 observers to this month's run-off poll in Zimbabwe, double the number who oversaw the first round.

Mugabe defends land seizures

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, whose 28-year rule has brought widespread hunger to his country, on Tuesday defended the seizure of land from white farmers, saying he is undoing a legacy of Zimbabwe's former colonial masters. Mugabe spoke to world leaders at a United Nations summit on the global food crisis against a backdrop of sharp criticism over his participation.

World leaders meet to address food price crisis

World leaders gathered in Rome on Tuesday for a United Nations summit on food security as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged "hard decisions" and heavy investment in agriculture. "For years, falling food prices and rising production lulled the world into complacency," Ban said, adding: "Governments put off hard decisions."

'It's like inviting Pol Pot to a human rights conference'

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe made a surprise appearance on Monday at a world food summit in Rome, drawing fierce criticism from the British government. In his first official trip abroad since elections in March, Mugabe attended the summit organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

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