A third of cancers are caused by diet and lack of exercise and could be prevented, states a report that urges people to stay slim and abstain from too much fast food, red meat and preserved meat, such as ham and bacon, and alcohol. The report from the World Cancer Research Fund is the most authoritative overview of the role that food, drink, obesity and exercise play in causing cancer.
The risks of food riots and malnutrition will surge in the next two years as the global supply of grain comes under more pressure than at any time in 50 years, according to one of the world’s leading agricultural researchers. Recent pasta protests in Italy, tortilla rallies in Mexico and onion demonstrations in India are just the start of the social instability to come, writes Jonathan Watts.
I was in ecstasy on my first visit to Ghana last April — I was on the same flight as military strongman turned ex-President Jerry Rawlings. Ten years out of power, he still cuts a dashing figure. Now a comfortably ensconced senior statesman, for me, like so many around the world, he represented a recent incarnation of the spirit of pan-African self-determination, writes Kojo Parris.
A vaccine against HIV infection is one of the holy grails of research — and is proving almost as elusive. Late 2007 saw clinical trials of the world’s most advanced HIV vaccine, by pharmaceutical company Merck, brought to a premature end. Not only did the candidate vaccine fail to protect people against HIV, it might have increased their risk of infection.
A perceived lack of credibility is the biggest challenge facing the SABC, says Kanyisiwe Mkonza, the newly appointed chairperson of the public broadcaster’s board, and she plans to tackle it head on. The past few years have been very difficult for the SABC, she says. She wants to take stock and get to the root of the problems.
As an avid football fan, the pope’s right-hand man, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, knows better than most that in the end it is the result that counts. No one, though, expected Pope Benedict XVI’s new secretary of state to be quite so goal-minded as to bring Âperformance-related pay to the Vatican. But he did.
The prominent conservation group, WWF International, predicts that we will need five planets to sustain the eco-unfriendly way middle-class people live today. The implication is that Mail & Guardian readers should try to reduce their carbon footprint. I adapted my lifestyle to South African conditions, using universally accepted “living green” principles, and drew up 15 green house rules.
A cluster of far-right groups allied under the name Stop the Islamisation of Europe holds rallies in London, Copenhagen and Marseilles to demand an end to what they call ”the overt and covert expansion of Islam in Europe”. Although the events attract only a handful of protesters, their message resonates widely.
The days of a guaranteed pain-free visit to the dentist may not be far off, thanks to a petite Japanese woman in a pink sweater called Simroid. With a limited vocabulary and a strange complexion, the 160cm-tall humanoid robot is happy to feel your pain. Simroid, who will be used at medical schools, releases a clearly audible ”ouch!” whenever a trainee dentist touches a nerve.
Ghana’s two largest political parties have vowed to battle it out for the December 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections. Ghana News Agency reported that the ruling New Patriotic Party and the opposition National Democratic Party (NDC) had promised a ”tough showdown” for the vote in the country’s eastern region.