Livestock boom risks aggravating animal ‘plagues,’ poses threat to food security and world’s poor

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2011) — Increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries, where livestock diseases present a growing threat to the food security of already vulnerable populations, according to new assessments reported February 10 at the […]

Obama and Republicans to cut heat subsidies for poor

[Austerity measures begin in the US. As usual, these cuts are aimed at the citizens who are least capable of  defending themselves. Meanwhile, America’s ruinously expensive land wars in Asia drag on.] By Charles Riley, staff reporterFebruary 12, 2011: 8:10 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — President Obama’s 2012 budget will propose cutting $2.5 billion […]

Iraqi Electricity Ministry demands $6 billion to resolve energy crisis – ‘Tahrir Square Two’ protest in Baghdad

By Saman Dazaee05 Feb 2011 Baghdad – A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said on Saturday that resolving the energy crisis that has plagued the country in recent years will cost an estimated $6bn. Musab al-Mudaris told AKnews that the ministry has asked parliament to provide appropriate funds in the 2011 budget to […]

Southern Africa faces worst flooding in decades

By Joe DeCapuaFebruary 07, 2011 In the coming months, parts of southern Africa may experience the worst flooding in the last 20 or 30 years.  That’s the warning Monday from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It says the La Niña weather phenomenon has brought heavier than normal rainfall, destroying thousands of hectares of […]

South Africa: Destitute after the deluge

31 Jan 2011 (South African Government News Service) – Roosters cluck, dogs dig through heaps of mud and garbage, music blasts from a distance, children’s cries and laughter can be heard from miles away and raw sewage trickles past the doorsteps of many dishevelled houses. This is the flood-hit Themba Khoza informal settlement, near Ivory […]

Tensions rise on worldwide surge in food prices – ‘I am here today because I cannot afford to feed my family’

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporterJanuary 28, 2011: 5:11 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Food prices have been rising worldwide, as the cost of raw materials and agricultural products surge, contributing to political unrest around the globe. In December, international food prices broke an all-time high when they rose 25% for the year, led by […]

The 25 countries whose governments could get crushed by food price inflation

By Gregory WhiteJan. 22, 2011, 12:08 PM Food inflation is now a reality for much of the world. It contributed to the overthrow of the Tunisian government, has led to riots across the Middle East and North Africa, driven up costs in China and India, and may only be getting started. Whether you blame a […]

Roubini: Jump in food, energy prices ‘can topple regimes’

By Tom Keene and Stuart WallaceJan 26, 2011 8:42 AM PT  A surge in food and energy costs is stoking inflation in emerging markets and causing riots that may topple governments, said Nouriel Roubini (video of Roubini interview), the New York University economist who predicted the financial crisis. Global food costs monitored by the United […]

From fire to flood for Australia farmers

By Mark RalstonSunday 23 January 2011 HORSHAM (AFP) — Marshall Rodda weathered Australia’s decade-long drought, but as he recovers from record-breaking floods the seasoned farmer can’t help thinking that when it rains, it pours. Before the rains began in April, Rodda was among the thousands of Australian farmers struggling to make ends meet in the […]

Video: Sri Lanka floods destroy crops – 80 per cent of rice crop washed away

Al Jazeera EnglishJanuary 22, 2011 The people of Sri Lanka are trying to cope with the effects of the worst floods that have hit the country in more than 50 years. And it is not only homes that have been damaged. More than 80 per cent of fields in the main rice-growing area have been […]

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