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World’s “fattest man” needs an army of carers

World’s “fattest man” needs an army of carers

Keith Martin, 42, a 58-stone man who is believed to be the world’s fattest person, has revealed he is tended to by seven carers a day, costing an estimated £50,000 a year to the taxpayer. [More]

U.N. food agencies to hold meeting on assistance to Africa's Sahel region

"The leaders of United Nations aid agencies, humanitarian organizations and donor governments will meet on Wednesday in Rome to discuss how to urgently scale up assistance in Africa's Sahel region, where drought and food shortages are threatening millions of lives," the U.N. News Centre reports. [More]

WFP, FAO warn food security worsening for millions in South Sudan, call for action

The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "warned Wednesday that millions of people in South Sudan are facing worsening hunger and called for urgent action to improve food security through adequate food aid and projects to boost agricultural production," the U.N. News Centre reports, [More]
Now on stands - Inhaled caffeine

Now on stands - Inhaled caffeine

A Harvard professor has come up with a device that helps people inhale their caffeine from a lipstick-sized tube. Critics say the novel product, called “AeroShot,” is not without its risks. The product went on the market late last month in Massachusetts and New York, and is also available in France. A single unit costs $2.99 at convenience, mom-and-pop, liquor and online stores. [More]

Major international event focuses on responses to global sustainability challenges

The forthcoming Planet under Pressure conference is a major international event focusing on responses to global sustainability challenges. [More]

U.N. says famine has ended in Somalia but emergency conditions remain for millions

"Famine conditions have ended in war-torn Somalia six months after they were declared, but the situation remains dire with a third of the population needing emergency aid, the U.N. said on Friday," Agence France-Presse reports. [More]

Officials meet to discuss L'Aquila agreement on Global Food Security

More than "50 food security officials from 30 countries, and international and regional organizations" are meeting at the State Department in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the L'Aquila Joint Statement on Global Food Security, which was endorsed at the 2009 G8 Summit and "marked a turning point for international efforts to achieve sustainable global food security," according to a State Department media note. [More]

BiOWiSH helps communities improve wastewater treatment operations

A novel technology named BiOWiSH is helping communities in emerging markets improve their wastewater treatment operations without building or expanding infrastructure, according to the findings of a new case study. [More]

Mystery teen neurological illness followed up by Erin Brockovich meets resistance

Famous environmental activist Erin Brockovich’s team faced resistance as they tried to test the area around an upstate New York school for clues to a case involving more than a dozen teens plagued by mysterious Tourette's-like symptoms and seizures. One neurologist who has seen most of the affected girls has diagnosed their illness as psychological in origin, but some parents and members of the community have disputed that diagnosis. [More]

India's proposed Food Security Act would help but not solve country's food insecurity

In this Al Jazeera opinion piece, Stan Cox, a senior scientist at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, reports on a proposed Food Security Act in India and examines whether the measure could help solve the country's food insecurity. [More]