Voters in the Maldives cast their ballots today in a referendum to decide the future political direction of the tiny Indian Ocean atoll nation, one of Asia's most exotic tourist destinations. The vote is seen as an acid test for Asia's longest serving ruler, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who took power in 1978, and follows years of simmering political unrest and calls for change in the former British protectorate.
Two men claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul today.
Most passengers escaped the aircraft after it landed at an airport on the Turkish Mediterranean coast and security forces were trying to convince the hijackers to release the last five hostages left on board.
In an agricultural research station south of Manila a group of scientists are battling against time to breed new varieties of rice as global warming threatens one of the world's major sources of food.
According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) more than half the world's 6.6 billion people depend on rice for nourishment.
Voters in the Maldives cast their ballots today in a referendum to decide the future political direction of the tiny Indian Ocean atoll nation, one of Asia's most exotic tourist destinations. The vote is seen as an acid test for Asia's longest serving ruler, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who took power in 1978, and follows years of simmering political unrest and calls for change in the former British protectorate.
Two men claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul today.
Most passengers escaped the aircraft after it landed at an airport on the Turkish Mediterranean coast and security forces were trying to convince the hijackers to release the last five hostages left on board.
In an agricultural research station south of Manila a group of scientists are battling against time to breed new varieties of rice as global warming threatens one of the world's major sources of food.
According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) more than half the world's 6.6 billion people depend on rice for nourishment.