The prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB) wine competition kicked off in Slovakia on Friday, making it the first Central European country to host one of the world's top five wine contests. The talents of 305 connoisseurs will be tested by 8,168 wines from 50 countries during the three-day event in this quaint capital. An EU member since 2004, Slovakia is pinning its own hopes on 214 domestic wines that are quickly earning a global reputation.

The Bahamas government says it is moving to regulate stem research in the country indicating that it is fully aware of the concerns raised in the public domain.Prime Minister Perry Christie, who piloted legislation on the issue as well as proposed regulations to implement the Act, told legislators that the authorities had commissioned a task force to study the matter.“The task force issued a thorough and thoughtful report summarising the current state of stem cell science and of ethical debate regarding related controversial issues,” he said, adding that his administration ha

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's oldest wine merchant is giving its official stamp of approval to Chinese wine by stocking four wines produced in China from European grapes, a production shift which could help China muscle into the world wine market. Berry Bros. & Rudd, which dates back 314 years and is a supplier to the royal family, said it was the first major British retailer to put Chinese wines on sale alongside some of the world's finest wines.

Researchers in Japan have moved one step closer to clinical trials using adult stem cells in a therapy they hope will prove a cure for common sight problems, an official said Thursday. The ethics committee at the Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation in Kobe, west Japan, on Wednesday approved a trial treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells.