Around the Arab world

---

Clashes between Egyptian forces, protesters enter fifth day CAIRO, Dec 20 (agencies): Clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters demanding an end to military rule entered a fifth day Tuesday, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced the beating of women as a "disgrace." Riot police and protesters hurled stones at each other, and police fired shots to disperse demonstrators through the night and into the morning, witnesses said, in violence that has left at least 12 people dead since Friday. Dozens of army deserters gunned down in Syria Dozens of army deserters have been shot dead by Syrian troops as they tried to flee their bases and join anti-government protests, reports say. Activist groups said more than 70 defectors were gunned down in the north-western Idlib province. Arrest warrant for Iraq Vice-President Iraqi authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the mainly Shia country's Sunni vice-president, leading to fears of the government's collapse and an increase in sectarian tensions. Meanwhile: Russia Monday stepped up demands for NATO to account for civilian deaths from the air strike campaign which led to the downfall of Libyan strongman Gaddafi. Saudi king calls for formation of Gulf union Saudi King Abdullah called for the formation of a Gulf union in response to growing threats, as rulers of the wealthy Arab GCC met Monday against a backdrop of regional turmoil and fears over Iran. "I ask today that we move from a phase of cooperation to a phase of union within a single entity," said the Saudi king, addressing his counterparts at the opening of the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh. Bahrain opposition urges talks Bahrain opposition groups have urged the government to embark on "serious" dialogue to end the Gulf kingdom's crisis, condemning a harsh crackdown on sporadic but defiant Shiite protests. 12 Global warming threatens France's precious truffle LALBENQUE, (France), Dec 20 (AFP): Truffle farmers have never had to worry about demand. It is the supply side that is worrying, with global warming an ever more present threats to their success. "You don't market the truffle, you manage its scarcity," said Jean-Charles Savignac, president of the French Truffle Growers Federation (FFT). The 2010-11 season's output was a meagre 25 tonnes, a severe shortfall blamed on a lack of water, which is vital for the Tuber melanosporum, the scientific name for the black truffle cherished by gourmets. "If we had supplied 100 times more, it would all be sold," Savignac said, recalling annual harvests of 200 to 300 tonnes in the 1960s, "sold without the slightest difficulty." He said a century ago output reached a "somewhat mythical 1,000 tonnes," and still found takers despite a smaller world population and far more difficult delivery means. Explanations for the ever-shrinking supply begin with the rural exodus that emptied the French countryside after World War II. The truffle's natural habitat was affected as farmland gave way to natural reforestation or bush, according to truffle expert Pierre Sourzat, who added that "sometimes very effective competitors" -- other fungi that colonise tree roots -- encroached on its territory. Weather variations are no help. "The truffle, which is very sensitive to water, is something of a marker of climatic changes," Savignac said. In the summer of 2003, when a devastating heat wave gripped France, "three quarters of natural truffles vanished," Sourzat said. "In the plantations, two-thirds to three-quarters of the trees stopped producing the following years. Other mushrooms that are more adapted to drought beat out the truffle." The FFT held a seminar in 2008 on the future of the sector in the face of global warming. "We didn't realise it right away, but the diminishing production is certainly affected by this phenomenon," Savignac said. But the truffle sector is fighting back. "Every year, we plant 300,000 to 400,000 trees in France, or around 1,000 more hectares (2,500 acres)" dedicated to the truffle, Savignac said. With such a larger park to rely on, "in the worst years we can reach an output of around 20 tonnes instead of the 10 tonnes we would get if nothing were done," he said. The sector also benefits from regional government subsidies, for example to fund experiments on improving production techniques. In the Midi-Pyrenees region, subsidies help truffle growers plant around 100 hectares each year of pubescent oaks, green oaks or hazelnut trees whose roots are impregnated with truffle spores, said Guy Delher, head of the regional federation of truffle growers.