President Barack Obama on Friday said the United States has a “moral imperative” to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition in Africa despite shrinking national budgets around the world.

Benin has declared a state of emergency and called for international humanitarian aid after floods hit the south of the West African country.

The government estimates that some 2,000 families have already been displaced by flooding caused by heavy rains and it appealed late Monday for immediate help to prevent the imminent spread of epidemics.

India roots for endosulfan The small country of Benin banned the use of this organochlorine pesticide this year. When the US EPA made public its decision to review the registration of endosulfan early 2008, inviting comments, there was a deluge urging its ban; mid-2008 or so, US EPA was sued for going soft. In September, pesticide firms lost a legal battle to overturn a European

People in Niger have social rules about relations with the big cat It will be a major problem, if the lion vanishes

Benin, a country on the western coast of Africa, has banned use of the pesticide endosulphan. The decision, taken in February this year, is based on the recommendations of a four-year study