Russia has warned that the grain harvest could drop by a third this year due to wildfires and drought.
Two witnesses at the war crimes trial of the former Liberian President Charles Taylor have contradicted evidence by the model Naomi Campbell about alleged blood diamonds. Ms Campbell had said she didn't know who gave her the diamonds, but her former agent, Carole White, said the model was promised the diamonds by Charles Taylor at a dinner party in 1997. Earlier, the Hollywood actress Mia Farrow said Ms Campbell had told her the day after the party at breakfast about an unusual visit by two men the night before.
"She didn't even sit down before she had said, 'In the middle of the night, these men knocked at my door and they were representatives of Charles Taylor, and he's given me a huge diamond.' That's what I remember. And then she said 'of course, I'm not gonna keep it, I'll give it to Madiba’s children's charity.'"
Linking the former Liberian leader to illegal conflict diamonds is the key to the prosecution's case.
Votes are being counted in the Rwandan presidential election. The incumbent, Paul Kagame, is expected to win by a large majority. The three candidates who stood against him are all allies of his Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front.
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A campaign group has warned that a booming dam building project for renewable energy is having a devastating impact on indigenous peoples in many parts of the world. The group, Survival International, says major hydroelectric projects in countries including Brazil, Malaysia and Ethiopia are being carried out without fully consulting indigenous communities. It says many hydroelectric projects threaten indigenous people disproportionately.