And now for the good news ... a cure for malaria?

Malaria is one of humanity's deadliest enemies, killing between one and three million people a year, mostly children under the age of five. As most of the victims are in Africa, a poor market for pharmaceutical companies, developing cheap, effective drugs to deal with the mosquito-hosted parasite has been a slow process.

Finally, real hope of a cure has appeared. Research indicates the antihistamine astemizole, developed to treat allergies, will kill the bug. It is off patent so can be manufactured cheaply and, as it is already licensed for use on people, requires limited testing. If proved effective, it could be on the market within a year.

Other than a cure for global warming, the news could hardly be better.