Wild birds banned鈥�
A European Union ban on imports of birds caught in the wild will become permanent on 1 July. Conservationists have welcomed the move, saying it will curtail trade in rare species. The temporary ban was imposed in October 2005 after birds in a UK quarantine centre were found to have bird flu.
鈥nd blamed
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Migratory birds are probably the cause of an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that has killed 4000 chickens on a farm in Japan. No people have been infected so far. In Indonesia, backyard poultry farming will probably be banned in an effort to stamp out the disease.
Clouds in your coffee
Some of the world鈥檚 biggest food companies are inadvertently selling coffee grown illegally in a national park on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, says a report by WWF. Kraft, Nestl茅 and Starbucks are among the companies identified as having received coffee from the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, home to such emblematic endangered species as tigers and rhinos.
Stem cell support in US
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on 11 January to ease restrictions on federal funding of research on human embryonic stem cells. The Senate will vote on the same measure within weeks. The bill is unlikely to become law, though: the House vote, at 253-174, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override an expected presidential veto.
Emissions cuts
Leaders from 16 Asian nations signed a pact on Monday to cut greenhouse gas emissions and develop alternative energy supplies. The agreement capped a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu, the Philippines. Meanwhile, oil giant ExxonMobil is engaging in talks organised by an environmental think tank on how to regulate emissions.