Biofuels 'crime against humanity

A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger.

The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels.Mr Ziegler's remarks, made at the UN headquarters in New York, are clearly designed to grab attention.

He complained of an ill-conceived dash to convert foodstuffs such as maize and sugar into fuel, which created a recipe for disaster.

Food price rises

It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.He called for a five-year ban on the practice.
Within that time, according to Mr Ziegler, technological advances would enable the use of agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and banana leaves, rather than crops themselves to produce fuel.The growth in the production of biofuels has been driven, in part, by the desire to find less environmentally-damaging alternatives to oil.

The United States is also keen to reduce its reliance on oil imported from politically unstable regions.But the trend has contributed to a sharp rise in food prices as farmers, particularly in the US, switch production from wheat and soya to corn, which is then turned into ethanol.

Mr Ziegler is not alone in warning of the problem.The IMF last week voiced concern that the increasing global reliance on grain as a source of fuel could have serious implications for the world's poor.

Cruise worry over California fire

Cruise spoke about the fires at the London premiere of Lions for Lambs
Actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta have spoken of their anguish as California fires led to a quarter of a million people being evacuated.

At least one person has died during wildfires across the Los Angeles region, home to many celebrities.

At the London premiere of movie Lions for Lambs, Cruise said: "It's unfortunate it really is. I wish everybody well back there."

Travolta said: "All I know is the people I know are safe and I'm glad."

See map of Malibu blazes and nearby celebrity homes

He added: "I flew over that today and it's always a dramatic impression you get from this."

At least 655 homes have been destroyed in fires which followed a record summer heatwave.

Fires stretch south to the Mexican border, putting homes at risk in seven counties where 200,000 acres (81,000 hectares) have been scorched.








Thousands more homes are threatened as hotter temperatures and high winds are forecast.

'Real scared'

The coastal area is home to many celebrities, including actors Mel Gibson, Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan, Dick Van Dyke and Ted Danson, singers Sting and Olivia Newton-John, director James Cameron and music mogul David Geffen.

Singer Britney Spears said: "I don't think it touched my house. I'm real scared."

About 1,500 National Guardsmen have been brought in to help firefighters.

After visiting charred homes in Malibu, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said it was a "tragic time" for the US state.