Opposition hails Kuwait boycott

2 December 2012 Last updated at 02:20 ET

Opposition groups say their demand for a boycott of Kuwait's parliamentary election has been a success and called the new chamber unconstitutional.

Election officials said the turnout was about 39%, compared to 60% in February polls.

The opposition had called for the boycott, saying new rules favoured pro-government candidates, who now dominate the 50-seat chamber.

The result also saw minority Shia MPs win their biggest tally, at 15.

Shia form 30% of the 1.2 million population and had seven candidates in February's assembly, which was later dissolved by the Constitutional Court.

Three women were also elected to the new parliament, the National Election Commission said.

'Lost legitimacy'

The boycott by much of the opposition means 60% of the assembly are new MPs.

The biggest change is for Sunni Islamists. The boycott reduced their representation from 23 to four.

The opposition said the new assembly was "unconstitutional".

The Popular Committee for Boycotting the Election said the new body "does not represent the majority of Kuwaiti people and has lost popular and political legitimacy".

It said any legislation would be illegal.

Islamists, liberals and Bedouins were among the main groups boycotting the election.

Kuwait has seen months of confrontations between the opposition and government.

The crisis was sparked in June, when the Constitutional Court annulled the elections held in February, in which the Islamist-led opposition made significant gains.

The court also reinstated the previous assembly, allied to the ruling family.

After months of protests, Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah, ordered the dissolution of that parliament and announced new elections.

His decree last month cut the number of candidates a voter could elect from four to one, saying it would ensure a fairer representation of people in the parliament.

But critics of the amendment said it gave the government greater influence over the outcome of the ballot.

Opposition MPs say the changes breaches the Gulf state's constitution. As a result they decided not to participate in the election.

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Japan tunnel collapse traps cars

2 December 2012 Last updated at 02:34 ET

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The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says it is not known how many cars are trapped

A major road tunnel has collapsed in Japan, trapping a number of vehicles and leaving at least seven people missing, media reports say.

Survivors described how large sections of concrete fell on top of cars in the Sasago tunnel.

A fire broke out and rescuers said a number of charred bodies had been seen.

The incident started at 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT Saturday), about 80km (50 miles) west of Tokyo on a road that links it to the city of Nagoya.

The tunnel is one of the longest in Japan.

'Frightened'

Pictures from closed circuit TV cameras inside the tunnel showed a section of up to 100m (328ft) that had caved in on the Tokyo-bound lanes on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi prefecture.

Thick black smoke was seen coming out of the tunnel, hampering rescuers.

The rescue then had to be suspended for several hours because a further collapse was feared.

When it resumed, the first fatalities were found.

A spokesman for Yamanashi Prefectural Police told Agence France-Presse: "A number of charred bodies were confirmed inside. The number of dead is not known."

One woman was taken to hospital after she had made her way out of the tunnel.

She said she was with five other people in a van, but added: "I have no idea about what happened to the five others. I don't know how many vehicles were ahead and behind ours."

A reporter for the NHK broadcaster described driving through the tunnel as it began to collapse, seeing other cars trapped and on fire. His car was badly damaged, he said.

Another survivor told the broadcaster that he saw "a concrete part of the ceiling fall off all of a sudden when I was driving inside. I saw a fire coming from a crushed car".

He added that he was "frightened" and walked for an hour to get out of the tunnel.

The Sasago tunnel is an estimated 4.3km (2.7 miles) long.

The twin-bore tunnel is on one of the major highways out of Tokyo, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield Hayes in Japan reports.

The road has had to be closed because of the seriousness of the accident, our correspondent says.

It is not clear what may have caused the roof to collapse.

Japan is prone to large earthquakes, but none were reported in the area this morning, our correspondent says.

The tunnel's closure, he says, is expected to bring traffic chaos as thousands of weekend travellers head back to Tokyo on Sunday afternoon.

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Taliban target US Afghan base

2 December 2012 Last updated at 04:11 ET

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The BBC's Orla Guerin says the incident involved multiple suicide attackers

Taliban suicide bombers have killed four Afghan soldiers and wounded Nato troops in an attack on a joint US-Afghan airbase in eastern Afghanistan.

A local police chief told the BBC that two civilians were also killed in the attack on the base in Jalalabad.

Afghan intelligence officials said nine suicide attackers were involved in the assault, and all had been killed.

Nato did not say how many of its troops had been injured, or how seriously.

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Kabul said the attack appeared "coordinated and complex".

She added that this is not the first time the Taliban has targeted the air base, which is used by US and Nato forces. In February it killed nine people in a similar attack.

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This was an ambitious co-ordinated assault involving explosive-laden vehicles and suicide bombers on foot.

A Nato spokesman said the assault had clearly been planned for some time, but both Nato and Afghan officials said it was a failure because the militants did not penetrate the base.

But the fact that the Taliban managed to get as far as the perimeter will raise questions, as there are checkpoints on the approach routes.

The attack has demonstrated, once again, that the militants retain the capacity to strike, in spite of regular claims from Afghan and Nato officials that they have been weakened.

The Nato spokesman said the assault was a failure because the Taliban did not penetrate the base.

Nato is gradually handing security over to Afghan forces ahead of the departure of most combat troops in 2014.

Counter claims

The Afghan officials said the first four attackers had arrived in explosive-laden cars and had targeted different entrances to the airfield, Others who had followed on foot battled security guards.

The force of the explosions is reported to have blown out windows a kilometre away.

Local residents said helicopters had fired on the insurgents, but the fighting - which lasted about 20 minutes - then appears to have stopped.

In addition to the member of the Afghan security forces who was killed, a Nato spokesman said several Nato troops were also wounded.

The Taliban claimed it had carried out the attack, saying the assault was launched at around 06:00 (01:30 GMT) on Sunday.

A Taliban spokesman said a car bomb was detonated at the entrance to the base, before a second group of attackers, wearing Nato uniforms, were sent in.

Nato forces then responded with helicopters, and both Nato and Afghan officials said the attackers had not managed to enter the base itself.

Local police told Reuters that bodies in Afghan police and military uniforms were scattered around the entrance to the base, but it was unclear whether they were Taliban attackers in disguise.

Taliban insurgents have been battling Nato and Afghan troops for 11 years and still control parts of the east and south.

Nato - which currently has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan - is due to withdraw combat forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, with only training troops remaining.

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Protest delays Egypt court ruling

2 December 2012 Last updated at 05:27 ET

Protests by the president's supporters have prevented Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court from meeting in Cairo for a key ruling on a draft constitution, state media say.

Hundreds of protesters gathered to try to block any ruling that would question the document's legality.

President Mohammed Morsi has said a referendum on the constitution will be held on 15 December.

His opponents say the draft constitution undermines basic freedoms.

Sunday's delay is the latest development in an unfolding confrontation between Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters on one side, and his mainly secular political opponents and the judiciary on the other.

Mr Morsi adopted sweeping new powers in a decree on 22 November that stripped the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions, so it is unclear what effect a Supreme Constitutional Court ruling would have.

However, analysts say any ruling opposing his decisions would be a direct challenge and would bolster the opposition campaign to have his decree annulled.

'Democratic system'

The Egyptian state news agency Mena says demonstrations outside the constitutional court have prevented the judges from getting into the building.

Continue reading the main story

• Sharia remains the main source of legislation
• Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's leading authority, to be consulted on "matters related to Sharia"
• Christianity and Judaism to be the main source of legislation for Christians and Jews
• Religious freedom to be limited to Muslims, Christians and Jews
• Limits president to two four-year terms of office

It is not clear yet whether they will reconvene elsewhere on Sunday and a statement from the court is expected in the next few hours.

The court was to rule on whether to dissolve both the constituent assembly that passed the draft constitution and the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, the Shura Council.

However, Mr Morsi's decree was passed with the intention of making any such rulings unenforceable.

The president's supporters are wary of the court, as it dissolved an Islamist-dominated lower house of parliament in an earlier confrontation in June.

The draft constitution was rushed through the constituent assembly on Thursday night.

After receiving a copy of the document on Saturday, Mr Morsi called on "all Egyptians" to take part in the referendum, whether or not they agreed with the draft.

"The world is looking at how Egyptians will build their institutions to establish their democratic system," the president said.

His announcement was hailed at a rally in Cairo on Saturday, with the crowds chanting, "The people support the president's decision!"

'Struggle will continue'

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that the two weeks until the ballot will be tense, as Egyptians prepare to vote not just on the constitution but also on the country's future.

The draft constitution and the recent decree have prompted widespread protests by opponents.

Many anti-government activists remain camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

"Morsi put to referendum a draft constitution that undermines basic freedoms and violates universal values. The struggle will continue," key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted on Saturday.

If approved, the new text will overwrite all constitutional declarations - including Mr Morsi's decree - and a new parliament should be elected within 60 days.

Among the historic changes to Egypt's system of government, the draft limits a president to two four-year terms. It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military.

The draft keeps in place an article defining "principles of Sharia", or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.

Mr Morsi's supporters point to the fact that he is Egypt's first freely elected president and argue that liberals and secularists do not represent the vast majority of Egyptians.

But the extent of Mr Morsi's new powers has raised fears that he might become a new dictator.

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Obama warns of Scrooge Christmas

30 November 2012 Last updated at 16:33 ET

US President Barack Obama has warned of a "Scrooge Christmas" if tax breaks are not renewed for working families in a deal to avert a so-called fiscal cliff.

Mr Obama made the remarks as he tried to win public support for his plan on a visit to a toy-maker in Pennsylvania.

But Republican House Speaker John Boehner said talks with the White House had gone "almost nowhere".

He said President Obama's plan to raise $1.6tn (£1tn) of revenue over 10 years was not a "serious proposal".

Planned tax rises and spending cuts due to take effect on 1 January could send the US back into recession, economists warn.

'Lump of coal'

On Friday, Mr Obama toured the Rodon Group manufacturing facility, where parts for the children's toy K'nex are made.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There's a stalemate - let's not kid ourselves"

End Quote John Boehner Speaker of the House

The Democratic president said it was the type of company that depended on middle-class customers to buy its goods, adding it would be hurt if ordinary Americans faced a tax rise.

In a speech at the factory, Mr Obama said both parties would have to "get out of our comfort zones" in order to negotiate a deal on the fiscal cliff, and pledged he would be willing to do the same.

He said that if Congress did not extend soon-to-expire tax breaks for the middle-class, it would be like receiving a "lump of coal" at Christmas.

"That's a Scrooge Christmas," Mr Obama added.

Tax cuts passed during the presidency of George W Bush are due to expire under the fiscal cliff.

Mr Obama favours extending the break for households earning below $250,000. But he wants taxes to rise for those on income above that sum.

Mr Boehner said that asking the top 2% of US taxpayers to pay more would deal a "crippling blow" to a fragile economy.

He also criticised as inadequate spending cuts that were proposed on Thursday by the Obama administration.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner put forward a plan to congressional leaders that would raise $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over a decade.

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What is the fiscal cliff?

• Under a deal reached last year between President Obama and the Republican-controlled Congress, existing stimulus measures - mostly tax cuts - will expire on 1 January 2013
• Cuts to defence, education and other government spending will then automatically come into force - the "fiscal cliff" - unless Congress acts
• The economy does not have the momentum to absorb the shock from going over the fiscal cliff without going into recession

The proposal also envisages spending more money to help the unemployed and struggling homeowners.

And it called for savings of as much as $400bn from Medicare and other benefit programmes over 10 years.

Mr Boehner told reporters on Friday: "There's a stalemate. Let's not kid ourselves. Right now, we're almost nowhere."

Some Republicans have said they would consider increased tax revenue as part of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

But the White House believes that simply ending tax deductions would not address the yawning budget deficit.

White House press secretary Jay Carney has indicated Mr Obama would not support any deal that did not increase tax rates on the wealthiest.

The fiscal cliff would suck about $600bn (£347bn) out of the economy.

The measures were partly put in place within a 2011 deal to curb the yawning US budget deficit.

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Cairo readies for pro-Morsi rally

30 November 2012 Last updated at 23:39 ET

Backers of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi are to hold a mass rally to support his sweeping new powers and the drafting of a constitution opponents say is too Islamist.

The demonstration in Cairo comes after days of rival protests by supporters and opponents of the president.

His opponents are angry that the draft constitution was hastily backed by the Islamist-dominated assembly on Friday.

Egypt's top court is to rule whether the assembly should be dissolved.

Senior judges have been in a stand-off with the president since he granted himself sweeping new powers last week.

'Fall of the regime'

Saturday's mass rally in support of Mr Morsi near Cairo University has been called by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties.

They say a huge turnout would show that the president's recent moves are supported by the public.

Under an emergency decree issued last week, Mr Morsi's decisions cannot be revoked by any authority, including the judiciary, until the new constitution has been ratified and a fresh parliamentary election held.

Continue reading the main story

• Sharia remains the main source of legislation
• Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's leading authority, to be consulted on "matters related to Sharia"
• Christianity and Judaism to be the main source of legislation for Christians and Jews
• Religious freedom to be limited to Muslims, Christians and Jews
• Limits president to two four-year terms of office

It also states that the courts cannot dissolve the constituent assembly.

Mr Morsi says he will give up his extraordinary powers once the new constitution is approved by a referendum.

The president is expected to ratify the draft later on Saturday before putting it to a popular vote.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says the president may announce the referendum on Saturday and hold it in as little as two weeks' time.

Our correspondent says the key question will be whether the opposition can mobilise its support and get it to the ballot boxes to vote in the referendum.

On Friday, tens of thousands of people opposed to the president rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Demonstrators chanted slogans, including "The people want the fall of the regime!" - one of the rallying cries against former President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled last year.

In the city of Alexandria, supporters and opponents of the president clashed on the streets.

'Divisive move'

The extent of Mr Morsi's new powers has raised fears that he might become a new strongman.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has written to the president, asking him to reconsider his decree.

In her letter, Ms Pillay "warned that approving a constitution in these circumstances could be a deeply divisive move", her spokesman said.

Mr Morsi's decree of 22 November gave the 100-member constituent assembly until January to complete the draft constitution.

Opponents filed 43 separate lawsuits challenging the process.

When the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt's highest judicial authority, said it would soon rule on the lawsuits, supporters of the president in the assembly decided to pass a rushed draft to head off the threat of dissolution.

During a marathon session that began on Thursday and continued through the night, the assembly voted on and passed all 234 articles.

Among the historic changes to Egypt's system of government, the draft limits the amount of time a president can serve to two four-year terms.

It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military establishment.

The draft keeps in place an article defining "principles of Sharia", or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.

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Rebels begin withdrawal from Goma

1 December 2012 Last updated at 05:43 ET

Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have begun to withdraw from the key city of Goma under a regionally brokered agreement.

The M23 rebels were seen boarding trucks and heading out of the city, 11 days after seizing it from government troops backed by UN peacekeepers.

The deal calls for the rebels to withdraw towards the town of Kibumba.

The M23 rebels deserted from the army in April, with some 500,000 people fleeing their homes in ensuing unrest.

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• Named after the 23 March 2009 peace accord which they accuse the government of violating
• This deal saw them join the army before they took up arms once more in April 2012
• Also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army
• Mostly from minority Tutsi ethnic group
• Deny being backed by Rwanda and Uganda
• Believed to have 1,200 to 6,000 fighters
• International Criminal Court indicted top commander Bosco "Terminator" Ntaganda in 2006 for allegedly recruiting child soldiers
• The UN and US imposed a travel ban and asset freeze earlier this month on the group's leader, Sultani Makenga

The UK has suspended aid to Rwanda, amid concerns about the country's role in the conflict.

Both Rwanda and neighbouring Uganda strongly deny UN accusations that they are backing the M23.

Humanitarian crisis

Reports on Saturday spoke of a number of flat-bed trucks carrying several hundred rebels out of Goma.

Some 1,500 M23 fighters were reported to have occupied the city.

M23 deputy spokesman Amani Kabasha told Reuters: "The M23 is leaving Goma."

According to the withdrawal accord, mediated by Uganda, the rebels are to pull back to a 20km (13 mile) buffer zone around Goma.

The accord had stipulated that the M23 would leave behind 100 soldiers to guard the airport in conjunction with a UN contingent and a government unit.

However, Sy Koumbo, a spokesman for the UN in Congo, told Associated Press that the rebels had tried but failed to force their way into the airport to seize weapons on Friday.

The rebels said recovering the materiel was part of the withdrawal process.

More than 270 Congolese policemen have arrived in Goma's port as part of the transition.

The UN has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in the region because of the recent fighting.

Goma is the key city in an eastern border area that has seen years of conflict sparked by ethnic and political differences, and grievances over mineral resources.

Some five million people died during the 1997-2003 DR Congo conflict, which drew in several regional countries, including both Rwanda and Uganda.

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N Korea date for rocket launch

1 December 2012 Last updated at 06:09 ET

North Korea is to launch a long-range rocket between 10 and 22 December, its official news agency says.

The KCNA agency said the aim was to launch a satellite.

Previous - unsuccessful - launches have been criticised as breaches of a UN ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests.

The announcement is likely to increase tensions with North Korea's neighbours, with South Korea expressing concern over Pyongyang's announcement.

South Korean officials called the move a "grave provocation" and a "challenge to the international community".

The atmosphere in South Korea is especially tense as the country prepares for a presidential election scheduled for 19 December, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul.

North Korea's most recent rocket launch, in April, was a failure.

The US, Japan and South Korea said the rocket flew only for a short time before breaking up and crashing into waters off the Korean peninsula.

Earlier this week South Korea halted a satellite launch minutes before take-off after problems were found during the final checks.

'Peaceful purposes'

North Korean scientists and technicians had now "analysed the mistakes" of the April launch, the Korean Committee for Space Technology said, via KCNA.

The rocket will be of the same Unha-3 variety as was used in the April test. It will be launched "southward" from the Sohae base near the Chinese border, KCNA said, implying it would be directed over the East China Sea.

The flight path had been chosen to avoid debris falling on neighbouring countries, the agency said.

"Unha" is Korean for "galaxy", and is the name given by North Korea to the space launcher version of its Taepodong-2 missile, which has an estimated range of 2,200km. The missile has not yet been successfully tested.

There had been recent speculation that North Korea would attempt another launch soon, with a UN Security Council committee on Thursday warning the country against such a move.

Saturday's statement insisted the forthcoming launch would be for "peaceful purposes".

The test will be the second to take place under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, who took over leadership of the country after the death of his father Kim Jong-il almost a year ago.

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UN upgrades Palestinians' status

30 November 2012 Last updated at 02:45 ET

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There was applause as the result of the vote was confirmed

The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to recognise Palestine as a non-member observer state - a move strongly opposed by Israel and the US.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said this was the "last chance to save the two-state solution" with Israel.

Israel's UN envoy said the bid pushed the peace process "backwards", while the US said the move was "unfortunate".

The Palestinians can now take part in UN debates and potentially join bodies like the International Criminal Court.

The assembly voted 138-9 in favour, with 41 nations abstaining.

Hundreds of Palestinians celebrated on the streets of Ramallah, in the West Bank after the result was announced.

'Birth certificate'

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The parties began in Yasser Arafat Square on Thursday morning - long before the voting.

Mr Abbas made his speech in New York just before 23:00 local time as crowds of people waving flags gathered around large screens carrying the live feed.

Fireworks erupted in Ramallah with the news of the vote. While Palestinians will see no changes on the ground with immediate effect, the symbolism is all-important.

There is also hope that access to UN bodies will bring new rights. A successful application for membership of the International Criminal Court could be used to accuse Israel of war crimes or make other legal claims against it.

"Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel," Mr Abbas said shortly before the vote in New York.

"The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," he said.

But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the vote "meaningless", and said that Mr Abbas' address in New York had not been "the words of a man who wants peace".

Opponents of the bid say a Palestinian state should emerge only out of bilateral negotiations, as set out in the 1993 Oslo peace accords under which the Palestinian Authority was established.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote "unfortunate and counter-productive", saying it put more obstacles on the path to peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for more talks, saying the resolution underscored the need to resume meaningful peace negotiations.

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The BBC's Aleem Maqbool said there were celebrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

The UK abstained from the vote, as did Germany. The Czech Republic, Canada, the Marshall Islands and Panama were among the nations voting with the US and Israel.

In the West Bank, crowds celebrated the vote by waving flags and chanting "God is great!"

"For the first time, there will be a state called Palestine, with the recognition of the entire world," Amir Hamdan was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"Today the world will hear our voice," he added.

Symbolic milestone

The Palestinians are seeking UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the lands Israel captured in 1967.

While the move is seen as a symbolic milestone in Palestinian ambitions for statehood, the "Yes" vote will also have a practical diplomatic effect, says the BBC's Barbara Plett, at the UN.

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Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, says the only way to achieve peace is through negotiation

The Palestinians hope that access to UN bodies will bring new rights: A successful application for membership of the ICC could be used to accuse Israel of war crimes or make other legal claims against it.

"This is a whole new ball-game now. Israel will be dealing with a member of the international community, a state called Palestine with rights," senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi told the BBC.

"We will have access to international organisations and agencies and we will take it from there."

There had been lobbying by Israel and the US to try to delay the vote or change the text to obtain guarantees that no international legal action would be taken against Israel.

Last year, Mr Abbas asked the UN Security Council to admit the Palestinians as a member state, but that was opposed by the US.

Continue reading the main story

How did key countries vote?

• Voted for: France, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Turkey, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria
• Voted against: Israel, US, Canada
• Abstained: UK, Germany, Australia, Colombia

Mr Abbas was much criticised by many Palestinians for remaining on the sidelines of the conflict earlier this month in Gaza and efforts to achieve a ceasefire with Israel.

His Fatah movement, based in the West Bank, is deeply split from the militant Hamas movement which governs Gaza.

Gaza's Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh said in a statement sent to the BBC that Hamas' "support for the UN bid is based on the 'rule of non-recognition of the occupier'... and the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland".

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Sixty-day bread could cut waste

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:00 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

An American company has developed a technique that they say can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days.

The bread is zapped in a sophisticated microwave array which kills the spores that cause the problem.

They claim it could significantly reduce the amount of wasted bread, which in the UK alone amounts to almost a third of all loaves purchased.

The technique can also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables.

World of waste

Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase - which adds up to $165bn (£102bn) annually.

Bread is a major culprit, with 32% of loaves purchased in the UK thrown out as waste when they could be eaten, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

One of the biggest threats to bread is mould. As loaves are usually wrapped in plastic, any water in the bread that evaporates from within is trapped and makes the surface moist. This provides excellent growing conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer, the fungus that leads to mould.

In normal conditions bread will go mouldy in around 10 days.

But an American company called Microzap say they have developed a technique that will keep the bread mould free for two months.

At their laboratory on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, chief executive Don Stull showed off the long, metallic microwave device that resembles an industrial production line. Originally designed to kill bacteria such as MRSA and salmonella, the researchers discovered it could kill the mould spores in bread in around 10 seconds.

"We treated a slice of bread in the device, we then checked the mould that was in that bread over time against a control, " he explained.

"And at 60 days it had the same mould content as it had when it came out of the oven."

Question of taste

The machine the team has built uses much the same technology as found in commercial microwaves - but with some important differences, according to Mr Stull.

"We introduce the microwave frequencies in different ways, through a slotted radiator. We get a basically homogeneous signal density in our chamber - in other words, we don't get the hot and cold spots you get in your home microwave."

Continue reading the main story

• 1928: First bread slicing machine, invented by Otto Rohwedder, exhibited in US
• 1930: Large UK bakeries take commercial slicers and sliced bread first appears in shops
• 1933: About 80% of US bread is pre-sliced and wrapped, and the phrase "the best thing since sliced bread" is coined
• 1941: Calcium added to UK flour to prevent rickets
• 1942: The national loaf - much like today's brown loaf - introduced to combat shortage of white flour
• 1954: Conditions in bakeries regulated by the Night Baking Act
• 1956: National loaf abolished
• 1961: The Chorleywood Bread Process introduced

Source: The Federation of Bakers

The company's device has attracted plenty of interest from bread manufacturers - but they are worried that it could add to their costs in an industry where margins are very tight.

And there is also a concern that consumers might not take to bread that lasts for so long. Mr Stull acknowledges it might be difficult to convince some people of the benefits.

"We'll have to get some consumer acceptance of that," he said. "Most people do it by feel and if you still have that quality feel they probably will accept it. "

Mr Stull believes that the technology could impact bread in other ways. He said that bread manufacturers added lots of preservatives to try and fight mould, but then must add extra chemicals to mask the taste of the preservatives. If bakers were able to use the microwave technology, they would be able to avoid these additives.

While a wholesale change in the bread industry might be difficult to achieve, there may be more potential with other foods, including ground turkey.

In 2011, food giant Cargill had to recall 16 million kg of the product after a salmonella outbreak. Mr Stull believes that using microwaves would be an effective way of treating this and several other products ranging from jalapenos to pet foods.

The only fruit that his device was unable to treat effectively were cantaloupes.

"We've used our tumbler machine to treat them, he says "but you can't tumble cantaloupes because they damage."

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