A gas leak killed at least 32 coal miners in the mine, and an additional three miners were missing and presumed dead, a government safety official said Friday. The deaths underscore the human cost of a worldwide boom in coal use, driven by economic growth in China and India and a return to coal for cheap electric power in the U. Farming small plots of wheat and corn has been the way of life ever since his ancestors migrated north a century ago to the central China town of Chang'gou _ a...

Gold was down, US stocks fell, the US dollar was mixed, the yen was stronger, oil rose; but the big move was copper: now having its biggest slump in price for five years, a move that should make even the most optimistic BHP and RIO punter pause for reflection. Gold was down, US stocks fell, the US dollar was mixed, the yen was stronger, oil rose; but the big move was copper: now having its biggest slump in price for five years, a move that should make even the most optimistic BHP and RIO...

Monday, the Bush administration threatened to veto the multibillion-dollar farm package wholesale, saying the Senate bill would impair negotiations with the WTO. Acreage dropped by about 22 percent in Texas, the national leader, and by nearly 20 percent in California, which ranks seventh in domestic production. Cotton also has lost ground for another reason that became apparent this week as the Senate debated the 2007 farm bill: The United States' cotton subsidy program is enmeshed in a...

Zone 1 includes the portion of North Dakota west of ND Highway 8 from the South Dakota border to the south shore of Lake Sakakawea, and south and west of ND Highway 1804 from the Montana border to a point where ND Highway 1804 lies directly across Lake Sakakawea from ND Highway 8. Zone 1 includes the portion of North Dakota west of ND Highway 8 from the South Dakota border to the south shore of Lake Sakakawea, and south and west of ND Highway 1804 from the Montana border to a point where...

A tower and a turret mark the beginnings of a border that one day will run 200 metres around the stone forest, sand traps and grey-water hazards on Leon Toy's putt-putt golf course and gardens. But Mr Bird is troubled at the challenge of maintaining business growth, particularly when 40 per cent of Horsham's new residents are retired farmers aged over 55. He imagines the oriental tea house that will perch on top of part of the wall, and points to the skeleton of a pagoda that will grow...

While rising Asian affluence or climate change are likely to have important influences on food prices over time, recent price jumps appear to have more in common with historic factors, such as poor harvests or animal disease, than they do with 21st century phenomena, writes Larry Hatheway, the report s author. There s little central banks around the world can do to prevent food prices from rising, Mexico s central-bank governor, Guillermo Ortiz, said last week. Associated British Foods,...