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Manila - The global economic downturn and falling fuel prices have dampened the viability of large-scale biofuels production in Asia, a study by a US aid agency said Thursday.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said that over the past year, the intense volatility on the global commodity and oil markets has eroded the profitability of biofuel production in Asia.

Washington, June 18 : An expert has suggested that people who take over-the-counter homeopathic and "natural" cold remedies better carefully research such treatment options, and properly follow dosage instructions.

The advise by Dr. Adam Perlman, at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), comes after the announcement by U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which asked consumers not to use certain Zicam Cold Remedies.

According to the FDA, the intranasal zinc product was linked to loss of sense of smell.

"People cannot assume that homeopathic or natural products are safe," said Perlman.

Naiobi/Abuja - Nigeria's main militant group said Thursday it had destroyed a major crude oil pipeline owned by Royal Dutch Shell, as it seeks to cripple Nigeria's oil and gas export industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has stepped up attacks against oil facilities in the oil-producing Niger Delta since Nigerian forces attacked one of its camps last month.

Washington, June 18 : Electronic devices that will be more efficient and consume less energy than those present today may be just round the corner-all thanks to a breakthrough discovery by researchers at the Department of Energy''s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

And the discovery involves a method to measure intrinsic conducting properties of ferroelectric materials, which for decades have held tremendous promise but have not yet been proven in lab.

Washington, June 18 : A new study has determined that as rapidly rising temperatures in Africa threaten to scorch local varieties of maize and other food staples, the food security of many Africans will depend on sharing genetic resources with other nations in the continent.

Researchers at Stanford University's Program on Food Security and the Environment and the Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust conducted the study.

They warn that long-standing neglect of African crop collections held in genebanks means that breeders today don't have access to all of the varieties of Africa's primary cereal crops like maize, millet and sorghum, which are likely to be most helpful in allowing farmers to adapt to climate change.

Belgrade - Wolverhampton Wanderers' new midfielder, Serb Nenad Milijas, was sentenced to a year in prison for causing an accident while driving drunk, the Belgrade daily Blic said Thursday.

Milijas, 26, had his sentence suspended for three years, meaning that he would serve time if he commits a new crime during that time.

The former Red Star Belgrade captain walked away from the December 2005 accident unscathed, but a friend travelling with him was seriously injured. Milijas refused to comment on the verdict, Blic said.