Questões de Concursos Inglês

The US Department of Energy is giving $120m (£75m) to set up a new research centre charged with developing new methods of rare earth production.

Rare earths are 17 chemically similar elements crucial to making many hi-tech products, such as phones and PCs. The Critical Materials Institute will be located in Ames, Iowa.

The US wants to reduce its dependency on China, which produces more than 95% of the world’s rare earth elements, and address local shortages. According to the US Geological Survey, there may be deposits of rare earths in 14 US states. Besides being used for hi-tech gadgets, the elements are also crucial for manufacturing low-carbon resources such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars, said David Danielson, the US assistant secretary for renewable energy.

Rare earth elements are also used for military applications, such as advanced optics technologies, radar and radiation detection equipment, and advanced communications systems, according to a 2011 research report by the US Government Accountability Office. From the 1960s until the 1980s, the Mountain Pass mine in California made the US the world leader in rare earth production, but it was later closed, largely due to competition with the elements imported from China.

At the moment, the regulations surrounding rare earths mining in the US are very strict, an expert on the materials from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden told the BBC. “The Mountain Pass mine was [also] closed down for environmental reasons,” said Prof Ekberg.

UN announces program to help hunger hot spots

A UN agency rolled out a $ 214 million program Tuesday to help 16 needy places hit hard by high prices for food and oil, amid a crisis already making it hard for aid groups to provide enough food for the worlds hungry.

The World Food Program said almost 1 billion poor people around the world are struggling to survive amid the higher prices. The agency is trying to reach those in critical need of assistance in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

"Food prices are not abating, and the worlds most vulnerable have exhausted their coping strategies", said Josette Sheeran, the agencys executive director. "Our action plan is targeted and customized to help the most vulnerable meet their urgent needs.
"The plan will provide assistance to groups such as pregnant women, undernourished children and people living in urban areas affected most by the food crisis.

The Rome-based agency also hopes to cut transportation costs and help support farmers in countries where emergency food can be bought locally.

But the agency already faces "obstacles" in procuring food, particularly when trying to buy supplies locally, spokeswoman Brenda Barton said.
"At the markets we have been buying food it has become just too expensive", Barton told The Associated Press by telephone. And she added: "a lot of markets just dont have any food to buy."
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