Poor rains worsen east Africa famine

By Anisa Kadri A lack of rainfall has contributed to the ongoing food crisis in East Africa, Oxfam said on Thursday. It was hoped that rains expected in November would provide relief for those struck by famine in this region. However, areas including Ogaden in Ethiopia and Turkana in Kenya received below five per cent […]

Poll reveals trauma of joblessness in U.S.

By MICHAEL LUO and MEGAN THEE-BRENANPublished: December 14, 2009 More than half of the nation’s unemployed workers have borrowed money from friends or relatives since losing their jobs. An equal number have cut back on doctor visits or medical treatments because they are out of work. Almost half have suffered from depression or anxiety. About […]

Graph of the Day: Consumer Credit, 1969-2009

From Calculated Risk: The Federal Reserve reports: Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-1/4 percent in the third quarter of 2009. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 7-1/4 percent, and non-revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 1 percent. In October, consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 1-3/4 […]

Up to one billion climate refugees: IOM

GENEVA (Reuters) – Climate change stands to drive as many as one billion people from their homes over the next four decades, the International Organization for Migration said in a study Tuesday. The IOM report, launched on the second day of international climate talks in Copenhagen, estimated 20 million people were made homeless last year […]

Pirate stock exchange helps fund hijackings

By Mohamed Ahmed, Reuters  Published: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 HARADHEERE, Somalia — In Somalia’s main pirate lair of Haradheere, the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal syndicate. Heavily armed pirates from the lawless Horn of Africa nation have terrorized shipping lanes in […]

Mau evictees to get supplies this week

By GEORGE SAYAGIE, Posted Monday, December 7 2009 at 22:00 The money raised by ministers and MPs in Nairobi a fortnight ago to help Mau forest evictees will be given out starting this week. This announcement was made as the humanitarian crisis in their makeshift structures escalates. The convener of the fundraising, Kuresoi Member of […]

In Bangladesh, climate change refugees flee to cities; India refugee wall nears completion

Posted: Monday, December 07, 2009 1:17 PMFiled Under: On AssignmentBy Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent DHAKA, Bangladesh — When I first met Kohinoor Shelim she was trying to feed rice to her young daughter, but the child just screamed and kept turning her face away.  Instead, the girl demanding lentils – wanting anything else except […]

Louisiana: Over six million pounds of pollution released between 2005 and 2008

By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-PicayuneDecember 07, 2009, 3:13AM Frequent accidents at 10 of the state’s biggest refineries resulted in the release of millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air and millions of gallons of polluted water into state water courses between 2005 and 2008, according to a report to be released this morning […]

Graph of the Day: Unemployed Over 26 Weeks, 1969-2009

From Calculated Risk:   Back in September, David Leonhardt wrote on the job churn rate in the NY Times: Try thinking of it this way: All of the unemployed people in the country are gathered in a huge gymnasium that’s been turned into a job search center. The fact that this recession is the worst […]

Vanishing glaciers imperil Bolivia

By David ShukmanEnvironment correspondent, BBC News, La Paz, Bolivia Fears are growing for the future of water supplies in one of Latin America’s fastest-growing urban areas – Bolivia’s sprawling city of La Paz and its neighbour El Alto. Scientists monitoring the glaciers high in the Andes mountains – a key source of water – say […]

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