By Rudy RuitenbergJan 5, 2011 4:24 AM PT World food prices rose to a record in December on higher sugar, grain and oilseed costs, the United Nations said, exceeding levels reached in 2008 that sparked deadly riots from Haiti to Egypt. An index of 55 food commodities tracked by the Food and Agriculture Organization gained […]
[Desdemona has a new respect for Chef Ramsay. For more on the fishing mafia, see Sharkwater and SSCS Defending Sharks.] By WENN.COMLast Updated: January 3, 2011 3:56am Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was doused in gasoline and held at gunpoint as he tried to uncover the dark world of illegal shark fin trading for a new […]
2010 has been the deadliest year yet for coalition troops in Afghanistan, with 709 troops killed, 497 of those from the U.S. American officials have spoken of a fragile progress, with a possible small drawdown of troops starting next summer, keeping 2014 as the goal date for Afghans to take control. The United Nations released […]
By Sajjad Tarakzai (AFP)31 December 2010 KUND, Pakistan — Disaster struck out of nowhere. The flash floods were so sudden that wardens at one of Pakistan’s most famed parks could do nothing to save their animals. Leopards, deer and bears all drowned as the murky waters quickly engulfed them. Kund park, a tourist spot located […]
By David SwansonTuesday December 28, 2010 The fall and decline of an empire can take many years, but certain “benchmarks” (as imperial courts have been known to call them) can measure the progress in one year alone. Take, for example, the year 2010. This year opened with the United States Supreme Court claiming further power […]
ABC Radio AustraliaUpdated December 28, 2010 21:19:33 Listen: Windows Media All this week, we’re talking to some of the region’s top thinkers and looking back at the year 2010 to get a sense of what sort of a year it’s been for politics and people in some of the countries around the Asia Pacific – […]
Controversy in Kern County indicates problems for the oil industry’s future worldwide By Jeremy Miller, From the December 06, 2010 issue of High Country News KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA From the “Petroleum Highway” — a rutted, dusty stretch of California State Route 33 — you can see the jostling armies of two giant industries. To the […]
By Jason Burke in Delhi, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 16 December 2010 21.30 GMT The Dalai Lama told US diplomats last year that the international community should focus on climate change rather than politics in Tibet because environmental problems were more urgent, secret American cables reveal. The exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader told Timothy Roemer, the US […]
By John Vidal, www.guardian.co.uk Friday 26 November 2010 16.52 GMT Last month I went on an extraordinary, epic journey through the Andes mountains of Peru and Ecuador. The aim was to record the stories of the largely hidden people on the frontline of climate change, and see how communities and governments are trying to adapt. […]
By Mark Grossi, The Fresno BeeNov. 24, 2010 After investing millions of dollars, Westlands Water District is pulling out of an extensive planning effort to heal the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, saying high-ranking federal officials are derailing it. The draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan offers hope of restoring slumping water deliveries to […]
