Riots in Haiti, violent protests in Ivory Coast, forty killed in riots in Cameroon, demonstrations in Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia, Indonesia, and now Egypt. The alarming increase in food prices is sparking conflicts throughout the world. On Tuesday, the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince came to a stand-still as protestors slammed the government for the high cost of living. Schools, businesses and government institutions shut down and several of the protestors were shot dead. In Jordan this week, the UN staff went on strike, demanding an increase in pay to meet the 50% rise of food costs. In the meantime, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, India, and Pakistan have cut rice exports to supply their own markets.
The toD verdict: The long-term consequences of neglecting environmental deterioration, water shortages, and increased competition over scarce resources will lead to greater conflict and instability. Reducing the risk of food-related conflict will require a comprehensive plan that targets the environment and ensures an equitable distribution of resources.
Already, high fuel prices, rises in consumer demand in Asia, the use of maize for ethanol production, an Australian drought, and a speculation of futures markets is filtering down to the likes of Elta Petithomme. Yesterday, she was able to sell a cell phone and buy some bread, sugar and fried plantains to feed her family while her fellow Haitians continued to protest in the capital. Some talk of death by starvation. Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, said up to 75% of income from the poor in developing countries is used to purchase basic food and warns prices will continue to increase worldwide.
According to the World Food Program, Haiti already has the highest daily caloric deficit per person (460 kcal/day as opposed to the recommended 2100 kcal/day). At a local market, a 25kg of rice went from $13.90 to $28.20. "We are seeing a new face of hunger. We are seeing more urban hunger than ever before. We are seeing food on the shelves but people being unable to afford it," says Josette Sheeran, director of the UN World Food Program. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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Israel enters Gaza
Ten Israeli tanks and two bulldozers entered Gaza, west of the Bureij refugee camp today. Israel says the most recent raid is a result of continued attacks on Israel by Palestinian fighters. On Wednesday, Palestinian fighters attacked a border terminal at Nahal Oz. The terminal supplies fuel to the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. Two Israeli civilians were killed in the Nahal Oz raid. Yesterday, Israel cut the flow of fuel to Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Hamas "will not be able to continue to operate as it does today."
Market blast in India
Around forty people were injured when a cyclist detonated a bomb at a vegetable market in Assam on Thursday. Police attribute the blast to the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF). The KLNLF have been fighting against the Dimasa tribes for control over the Karbi Anglong district. Last year, the KLNF along with the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) killed at least seventy people across several districts.
Hepatitis kills top al-Qaida operative
Egyptian paramilitary commander Abu Ubaidah al-Masri died of hepatitis this week according to US military officials. Al-Masri helped coordinate the 2005 London subway bombings. He is also credited of plotting to detonate commercial airplanes mid-flight using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and inserting the explosive chemicals into the bottom of soft drink containers.The technique is remarkably similar to that in question in the ongoing trial of eight British nationals accused of also plotting to blow up cross-Atlantic flights from London to the North America.
Top Bush advisers approved "Enhanced Interrogation"
ABC reveals senior Bush administration officials approved a series of "combined" torture techniques to "break" top al-Qaida suspects. Euphemistically called "enhanced interrogation techniques", the procedures gave the CIA a green light to use any combination of the following: slapping, pushing, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding. Some of the officials who at the time approved these measures included: Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfled, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former CIA Director George Tenet and former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Hurried trials for former US detainees
Afghan prisoners held at the US Bagram Air Base and Guantanamo Bay are being transferred to a new US-built high-security Afghan prison in Kabul as part of President George Bush's scheme of repatriation. Those who have arrived are already being sentenced, some up to twenty years, with trials lasting anywhere from ten minutes to one hour. At least ten of the detainees had no legal representation. Prospectors rely solely on allegations from US military as evidence. Two human rights investigators and a UN representative observed two trials in February. Sandra L. Hodgkinson, the deputy assistant secretary of defence for detention policy said "These are prosecutions that are being done by Afghans for crimes committed on their territory by their nationals."
Bangladeshi Islamists battle police
Activists from the Islami Constitution Movement met with stiff police resistance today over a new policy to give women equal inheritance rights. A Reuters reporter says at least 100 were injured in the clash. Yesterday another Islamic group protested over the same issue. At least fifty were injured in the ensuring violence.
Terror of rape
The Central African Republic (CAR) neighbors Sudan's Darfur province, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The skirmishes and wars have had a spill over effect whereby CAR villages and its habitants have had to endure violence from other conflicts. Chadian armed soldiers are known to cross the border, attack villages, a wage a campaign of rape against the women and children. Stigmatized, the victims often suffer in silence. Local based organizations are now trying to provide some support. In the northern town of Bossangoa, a group of rape survivors is helping to console and comfort victims. While statistics are lacking, the UN Office for the Cooperation of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that over fifteen percent of women and girls in northern CAR have been raped.