In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

(CNN) -- Earlier this month, an AeroMexico plane made an important flight from Mexico City to Madrid. The flight wasn't notable for who was inside the cabin, but for what was inside the fuel tank: it was the world's first transatlantic commercial flight using biofuel. The engines on that flight were powered by a fuel mixture that was 30% biofuel from the jatropha plant, and the trip followed a pair of Mexican domestic commercial flights by Interjet that used the same formula. Mexico is known for its oil production, but it could be its less obvious flats of arid and marginal land that will be the future of Mexico's energy resources. The country has quietly positioned itself to become a potential leader in biofuel production as scientists develop a second generation of fuels derived from sources that don't compete for arable land or with food. Jatropha-based biofuels are being increasingly used in Mexico, and agave -- the plant from which tequila is made -- is being studied as a new source for ethanol. But some observers warn that Mexico's cumbersome land laws make it too hard to purchase the land needed for cultivation at competitive prices. Some biofuels, such as ethanol derived from corn and sugar, can indirectly raise the prices of staple foods in many places, along with raising ethical issues, said Gilberto Lopez Meyer, director of Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), the Mexican government agency that oversaw the biofuel flights. So in 2007, Mexico, along with 14 other member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization, committed to developing new strategies for second-generation biofuels that would not affect food production. "We returned to Mexico with a mission," Lopez told CNN. Lopez's agency teamed up with the state of Chiapas, where Gov. Juan Sabines had already made a name for himself pushing his state toward alternative fuels. Chiapas began cultivating jatropha, whose seeds contain oil that can be extracted and converted into biofuel. The state already uses a jatropha biofuel mix on its buses and trucks, and President Felipe Calderon was on hand in November of last year to inaugurate a biodiesal plant there. ASA partnered with American company UOP, which refined the Chiapas jatropha into jet fuel. When the standards for biofuel use in commercial flights was approved July 1, Mexico was ready to make the domestic Interjet and international AeroMexico flights a possibility. The goal of ASA, which provides almost 100% of the jet fuel in Mexico, is to commercialize and distribute biofuels, Lopez said. "We've been working on this project as part of a global effort to combat climate change," he said. By 2015, the goal is to have 1% of all jet fuel in Mexico be biofuel, and by 2020, 15%, he said. "This is a huge goal," Lopez said. "One percent doesn't sound like a lot, but it equals more than 40 million liters (10.6 million gallons)." Mexico has several things in its favor to become a leader in biofuels, he said. It has plenty of land not being used for food, it has a high demand for energy, and it is located next door to the energy-hungry United States. "Mexico has made the very important first step to be in a very priviledged place," Lopez said. Halfway across the world, researchers at Oxford recently published a study extolling the benefits that ethanol derived from agave. Agave can grow in arid land, and produces less than half of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by corn-based ethanol, Oliver Inderwildi, one of the study's authors, told CNN. Sugar-based ethanol produces even less emissions, but it needs arable land for cultivation. "We need every space we can get, every arable land, for food," Inderwildi said. "We think agave may be one part of the solution." For their study, the researchers did a life-cycle analysis for the production of ethanol based on a hypothetical plant in Jalisco, Mexico, where 90% of tequila is produced. Potentially, agave plantations could boost local economies and create jobs, Inderwildi said. Mexico, the native home of agave plants, stands to benefit if such an ethanol industry takes off. Food prices would be spared, but would drinkers have to pay more for their margaritas and tequila shots? The tequila business is very small compared to the fuel business, and is also more expensive than fuel ethanol, so Inderwildi predicts that alcohol prices would remain stable. And unlike tequila, which requires the harvesting of the agave stem only, ethanol production would also require harvesting the leaves of the plant. "Our study backs up that this is a good idea from an environmental perspective," he said. The catch, for now, is that neither jatropha or agave biofuel production is cost-effective. But technological advances and oil prices make such alternatives more desirable. When that tipping point comes, Mexico will be ready, the experts said. But James Row, CEO of Houston-based Producers Energy and part owner of a Mexican-based biodiesel company, told CNN that Mexico is still far from being an ideal place to produce biofuels. "Mexico is absolutely a perfect country for biodiesel, especially if it can be domestically grown," he said, but the country's ejido system -- collectively-held land in rural areas -- creates hurdles for private investment. The result is difficulty in finding continuous large areas of rural land that can be negotiated for use for cultivation, or high prices that make it cost prohibitive. Without land reform, issues with land availability will continue, and Mexico will fall a decade or more behind other countries in the biofuels sector, Row said. The demand is there, the land is there, but there is no way to get it, he said. "Now is the time for Mexico to get its act together for biofuels," he said.
Mexico has quietly positioned itself as a potential biofuels leader .
It oversaw the first transatlantic commercial flight using biofuel .
The agave plant also has potential for the country .
Without land reform, private investment in sector is tough .

(CNN) -- Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan has described how the unfolding crisis in Haiti revived harrowing memories of a similar earthquake in his own region. The devastating 7.6 magnitude quake struck northern Pakistan and the divided Kashmir region in October 2005, claiming the lives of almost 80,000 people, according to official estimates, and leaving millions homeless. Khan, who is now a prominent politician and campaigner for social issues in Pakistan, told CNN Thursday that he was left numbed by the scenes which greeted him as he traveled to some of the worst-affected areas in the aftermath. "It was one of the most traumatic experiences I've ever had. Just watching human suffering, he said. "It was the children that really disturbed me ... their crushed limbs. "There were so many people needing attention. I remember seeing makeshift hospitals where they were amputating. That was difficult to take. "Families were torn apart as parents lost their children and children were orphaned. Whole families were caught inside buildings, while few escaped." Khan recalled being overwhelmed by the sight of an entire town being reduced to rubble. "We arrived in the town of Balakot and it was totally flattened. You don't know what to do or say. So many people needing help at one time and you don't have the infrastructure, you don't have the hospitals to help." Desperation grips Haitian capital . Balakot was one of the worst-hit places, with one in 10 of about 20,000 residents killed, according to the local government of the Mansehra district, where the town of is located. Thousands more were injured. Pakistani authorities later planned to move the town in the country's North West Frontier Province to a completely new location, owing to its current position on a volatile fault line. The destruction of Balakot brought home to Khan how much people had lost. "Their livelihoods disappeared overnight," he said. "They had nothing, no business, money, food. "From what I've seen on television it's similar to what is happening now in Haiti. Clearly they (Haiti) won't have the resources to cope with it, so it will require a real outside effort." While acknowledging the importance of the international aid effort, Khan pointed to role ordinary Pakistanis played in 2005. "It was incredible. The government was incapacitated but there were little charities and groups forming all over the area trying to help. "I was in an earthquake-hit area on the second day and I'll never forget seeing a three-mile queue of people trying to get to what was a largely remote area to help with whatever they could put in their cars. "The government was paralyzed but people came forward, from rich to poor, young to old." He also pointed to the success volunteer networks had in adopting villages and towns, taking responsibility for providing basic shelter, food and medicine. "Everyone took responsibility," recalled Khan. "Each group would look after a specific issue until the local population was able to get back on its feet. "It's so important that the aid effort continues months after the disaster."
Earthquake struck northern Pakistan, divided Kashmir region in 2005, claiming 80,000 lives .
Imran Khan recalled being overwhelmed by the sight of an entire town being reduced to rubble .
Khan: "Their livelihoods disappeared overnight. They had nothing, no business, money, food"
The politician and former cricketer said Haitians must be supported in the longer term .

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two former New York Police Department detectives were sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday for operating as Mafia hit men while employed by the NYPD. Louis Eppolito, 60, and Stephen Caracappa, 67, who spent a combined 44 years on the force and once worked as partners, were found guilty in April 2006 of engaging in racketeering. According to prosecutors, they were paid $4,000 a month by the Mafia and were personally paid $65,000 by Luchese crime family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso for killing another mobster during a phony traffic stop. Authorities said Casso regarded the officers as his "crystal ball," likely referring to their alleged involvement in relaying classified information to the Luchese family. Eppolito and Caracappa, who reiterated their innocence at Friday's sentencing, were found guilty of participating in or aiding eight murders, two attempted murders and one murder conspiracy, as well as witness tampering, witness retaliation, obstruction of justice, money laundering and drug charges. Eppolito was sentenced to life in prison plus 100 years, while Caracappa received life in prison plus 80 years. They were also fined a combined $4 million. "The sentences imposed today bring some measure of closure for the families of the victims of these defendants' unspeakable crimes and for the citizens of the city whose trust these men betrayed," U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell said in a news release. "We are gratified that the defendants will spend the rest of their lives behind bars." Eppolito, who grew up in a Mafia family, wrote the book "Mafia Cop," in which he described how he turned away from the "family business" to become what he said was one of the police department's most decorated officers. He also had small roles in several films, including the role of Fat Andy in the 1990 mob film "Goodfellas." Caracappa was a member of the NYPD's Organized Crime Homicide Unit, which he helped create.

Louis Eppolito, 60, was sentenced to life in prison plus 100 years .
Stephen Caracappa, 67, received life in prison plus 80 years .
Prosecutors: Men killed mobster during a phony traffic stop; were paid monthly .
Authorities say Mafia viewed them as "crystal ball" of classified information .