HERAT, Afghanistan—The city feels like it is on the edge of the world. The wind blows and whips dust in your face, curtainesque burqas flapping furiously in street-front shops within the city on flatlands running to the Iranian border.
Philippa Malicka
ROME– In a bid to shed new light on the shadowy world of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, a FAO Technical Consultation has agreed to begin developing the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels, FAO announced today.
The recommendations will be presented to the January 2011 meeting of FAO’s Committee on Fisheries for approval.
22 Nov 2010
Barbara Hall
CORTONA -- Before the offering of eight wines to taste, comparing Australian with Tuscan, we were treated to a taste of viniculture, given by a knowledgeable and witty Australian wine consultant. Terroir, a French term
21 Nov 2010
Philippa Malicka
ROME- International food import bills could pass the one trillion dollar mark in 2010 with prices in most commodities up sharply from 2009, FAO said today.
In the latest edition of its Food Outlook report, the agency also issued a warning to the international community to prepare for harder times ahead unless production of major food crops increases significantly in 2011.
17 Nov 2010
Philippa Malicka
FLORENCE-This Wednesday the Minister of Arts and Culture of South Africa will unveil a large mural above the main entrance of the Nelson Mandela Forum.
The work consists of five panels which were painted by seven male and female South African artists over the course of one week.
17 Nov 2010
John Phillips
ROME — Amid growing outrage over IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze’s wild spending on a sprawling villa on Rome’s posh via Appia Antica, IFAD acknowledged Sunday that its Executive Board had expressed concern over the bonanza and claimed that the flamboyant Nigerian head of the U.N. food agency now is seeking “a less costly residence.”
10 Nov 2010
John Phillips
ROME — Felix Kanayo Nwanze, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has instituted spending cuts at the U.N. agency worth an estimated dlrs 2.5 million but has resisted diplomatic efforts to curb his extraordinary personal expenses including rental of a luxurious villa complex on the exclusive Appia Antica, senior officials say.
29 Oct 2010
Philippa Malicka
ROME —In many ways, Louise Vinciguerra faced a challenge in directing ‘Our Town’, a Pulitzer Prize winning play written by Thornton Wilder and produced by The English Theatre of Rome. Eschewing naturalism, Wilder stated that “Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the mind- not in things, not in scenery”, and so it was Vinciguerra’s responsibility to prioritise the internal experiences of her characters above all else.
15 Oct 2010
Desmond O'Grady
PERUGIA — The city of Perugia has staged some fine art exhibitions in recent years and is currently preparing another, from early 2011, which should be memorable: Luca Signorelli. The interests of the National Gallery of Perugia however, are not confined to the medieval and Renaissance artists who lived in Umbria and this is shown by its current exhibition: The Theatre of Dreams from Chagall to Fellini (Il Teatro dei Sogni).
8 Oct 2010