World News from the BBC

At least one person has been killed in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, during clashes between the security forces and supporters of Alassane Ouattara, recognised by the international community as the winner of last year's presidential election. Soldiers fired shots and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who called for Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down, to

hand over

power.

The Cuban government has freed a jailed

dissident

who had refused to go into exile in Spain as a condition for his release. Ivan Hernandez, a journalist who was one of 75 opponents that the government arrested in 2003, was released along with six other prisoners. Mr Hernandez is among a group of dissidents whose freedom was brokered by the Catholic Church. He has said he intends to continue to write about the issues facing ordinary Cubans.

Researchers in the United States say they are trying to use genes from ancient varieties of staple foods such as rice, maize and corn to develop hardier and more disease-resistant crops in the future. Pallab Ghosh reports.

The food crops we have today have been bred for generations from older varieties to

maximise

yield. But in the process, important and useful traits have been lost, which scientists are now rediscovering using new gene technologies. Researchers investigating ancient varieties of rice have found genes that

confer