4 March 2022 (FAO) – The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 140.7 points in February 2022, up 5.3 points (3.9 percent) from January and as much as 24.1 points (20.7 percent) above its level a year ago. This represents a new all-time high, exceeding the previous top of February 2011 by 3.1 points. The […]
By Frances D’Emilio 11 March 2022 ROME (AP) – Poorer countries in northern Africa, Asia, and the Middle East that depend heavily on wheat imports risk suffering significant food insecurity because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the conflict is poised to drive up already soaring food prices in much of the world, the U.N. food agency […]
By Sarah Repucci and Amy Slipowitz 24 February 2022 (Freedom House) – Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks. Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at […]
By Matt Mathers 25 February 2022 (The Independent) – Radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has exceeded control levels after Russia troops took control of the area, Ukraine has said. Data from the automated radiation monitoring system of the exclusion zone, which is available online, indicate that the control levels of gamma radiation dose […]
By Kimberley Molina 8 February 2022 (CBC News) – As the disruptive protest in Ottawa drags into its second week, some residents of the downtown core say they’ve been living a nightmare, under siege and terrified to leave their homes — except to seek refuge away from the epicentre. For 10 days, downtown residents have been subjected to relentless honking, random fireworks and choking diesel fumes […]
23 January 2022 (VOA News) – Police in Brussels fired water cannon and clouds of tear gas at 50,000 protesters demonstrating Sunday against COVID-19 vaccinations and restrictions European authorities are imposing to try to contain the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus. Some of the protesters came from France, Germany, and other countries, shouting “Liberty!” […]
By Ron Grossman 13 January 2022 (Chicago Tribune) – Martyl Langsdorf designed just one magazine cover, but it has had considerable staying power. A prolific painter of abstract and figurative canvases, she was commissioned 75 years ago by the scientists who built the atomic bomb that ended World War II. By 1947 the Cold War […]
By Lila Seidman 4 January 2022 (Los Angeles Times) – One of Parsia Jahanbani’s biggest fears was realized when a man calling healthcare workers “murderers” attacked him and other staff members outside a mobile vaccine clinic in Tustin last week, he said. [For context, see Desdemona’s post, Covid and the war on medical expertise. –Des] […]
By Christi Carrasstaff 6 January 2022 (Los Angeles Times) – Trevor Noah and The Daily Show are commemorating the Jan. 6 insurrection in their own special way. On Thursday, the hit Comedy Central program erected a series of “monuments” holding former President Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Fox News pundit Tucker […]
By Andrew Feinberg 4 January 2022 WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Independent) – Allies of former president Donald Trump planned a campaign of harassment and intimidation against election officials and “weak” Republicans that was to culminate in what would become the worst attack on the US Capitol since the Burning of Washington in 1814, according to new […]
