February 8/Washington/The International Herald Tribune -- The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization issued an alert that a severe drought was threatening the wheat crop in China, the world's largest wheat producer, and even resulting in shortages of drinking water for people and livestock.
The state-run news media in China warned that the country's major agricultural regions were facing their worst drought in 60 years and said that Shandong Province, a cornerstone of Chinese grain production, was bracing for its worst drought in 200 years unless substantial precipitation came by the end of this month.