Drugs 'cause' higher death rate

Scotland's higher death rate compared with England and Wales is partly down to greater drug use, a new investigation has suggested.

A Glasgow University study, published in the British Medical Journal, said a third of the additional deaths north of the Border resulted from drug abuse. Higher death rates have traditionally been blamed on deprivation. Scotland's death rate is 15% higher than in England and Wales and the gap has widened over the past 30 years.Glasgow University researchers, who studied more than 1,000 problem users starting treatment, said the problem in Scotland was proportionately twice as bad as that in England and Wales - but many drug-related deaths were not recorded as such. They included deaths associated with infections, assaults and suicides which could be linked to a drug-taking lifestyle, and which could account for much of the excess Scottish mortality rate.The researchers concluded that successful public health campaigns to cut the number of drug users would have a strong impact on deaths throughout the UK.

Food crisis looms in East Africa

More than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid because of drought and rocketing food and fuel prices, the United Nations has warned.
The UN World Food Programme says it urgently needs $400m (£200m) to prevent starvation in the east African region. Ethiopia is worst hit, with 10 million people - some 12% of the population - in need of extra food supplies. Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti are also affected, along with northern parts of Kenya and Uganda.

Economic events outside Africa - which are driving up food and fuel prices - are exacerbating the crisis caused by a lack of water in the region.

Tight Security A Month From Earth Quake

A month on from the Sichuan earthquake, Chinese officials have imposed tight security in some of the damaged areas, apparently to prevent protests.

Police in the city of Dujianyan stopped parents from holding a memorial ceremony at the rubble of a collapsed school where their children died. Journalists were told they were banned from the city, and some were detained. Parents have been demanding to know whether poorly-built schools played a part in the deaths of their children. Thousands of schoolchildren were among the 87,000 people killed or missing after the massive 12 May earthquake.Five million people also lost their homes, and officials estimate rebuilding work will take at least three years.

Engineer: We can use food waste to generate electricity

Nigerian civil engineer, Dr Joseph Adelegan for instance.
He firmly believes that the world's future fuel demands can be met through renewable energy. And he is using increasingly innovative methods to achieve these results. Three years ago Adelegan won plaudits for his "Cows to Kilowatts" project, which used effluents and waste products from abattoirs to produce cooking gas. The project was a winner of the prestigious 2005 Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and It is still going strong and being used to provide cooking fuel for nearly 6000 homes in Ibadan, southern Nigeria. Adelegan tells there are now plans to roll it out across most of Africa, including Zimbabwe, Kenya and Egypt.

'Allah meat' astounds Nigerians

Diners have been flocking to a restaurant in northern Nigeria to see pieces of meat which the owner says are inscribed with the name of Allah.

What looks like the Arabic word for God and the name of the prophet Muhammad were discovered in pieces of beef by a diner in Birnin Kebbi. He was about to eat it, when he suddenly noticed the words in the gristle, the restaurant owner said.A search of the kitchen's meat revealed three more pieces which bore the names.
The meat was boiled and then fried before" being served, owner Kabiru Haliru told newspaper Weekly Trust.
"When the writings were discovered there were some Islamic scholars who come and eat here and they all commented that it was a sign to show that Islam is the only true religion for mankind."