Deniliquin (Australia): Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of this dusty southern Australian town, remembers the constant whir of the rice mill. "It was our little heartbeat out there, tickety-tick-tickety,' he said, imitating the giant fans that dried the rice, "and now it has stopped.' The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people around the world. But six long years of drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98% and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.

The EU's top trade official said on Thursday that rising world prices for food must be tackled with trade deals that encourage developing nations, particularly in Africa, to boost food output. E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the world's agricultural producers should shy away from export restrictions or bans that would not help deal with "a longer term structural trend ... as population grows, as demand for food grows.' He was speaking to the European Parliament's trade committee. Trade deal

The Left parties on Thursday were dissatisfied with the government's proposed measures to control inflation, saying prices of foodgrains and edible oil were still on the higher side and the burden on the common man had not eased. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters that the concerns of the Left parties had not been addressed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in his reply in Parliament to the discussion on rising prices.

The UPA government on Thursday tried to partly deflect criticism for rising food prices towards the Opposition as well as on factors outside its control. Failure of foodgrain procurement by NDA-governed states and international food crisis, it claimed in Rajya Sabha, were to blame for the prices even as Left joined the Opposition in staging a walkout.

Over 2,000 cadre removed when they tried to stage demonstrations UP IN ARMS: (left) The activists of the Communist Party of India being prevented from staging a dharna on Huzur Road in the city on Thursday deploring the Central Government for failure to control inflation and price rise. (right) Similar demonstration held in Tirupur.

The government on Thursday rejected the Left parties' plea to restore the universal public distribution system (PDS) and was lukewarm to their second major demand for scrapping futures trading in agricultural commodities. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's reply in the Rajya Sabha to a short duration discussion on the "unprecedented price rise of commodities' left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties and the United National Progressive Alliance dissatisfied leading to separate walkouts.

New fees for food and drug companies anchor draft legislation released Thursday that's aimed at improving the safety of the nation's food and drug supply. The draft legislation, spearheaded by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., and other Democratic leaders of a powerful House committee, also says regulators should inspect food and drug makers more frequently. The proposal, if enacted, would lead to major changes in food and drug oversight, and it was quick to draw rebukes.

The consumers on Thursday complained that substandard wheat flour (atta) was being supplied to the local markets. During a visit to various

Eminent educationist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad yesterday called on the government to introduce food rationing for class three and four government employees to tackle the situation resulting from price hike of essentials. "Hunger could be lessened through food rationing for class three and four employees, which can be introduced by reducing the rations of another section of employees up to 50 percent. Increasing the salary of employees cannot reduce hunger," he said at a seminar.

Union agriculture, food and consumer affairs minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday that the stock position of food grains in the country is comfortable and there is no chance for "food riots" in the country. He appealed to political parties not to spread false message of food scarcity on this count. Intervening in a short duration discussion on price rise in Rajya Sabha, Mr Pawar said the states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have contributed very less to the Central kitty of food grains and this is one of the reasons for rise in food prices.