IRAQ: Food Crisis Hits Fallujah

Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: "Political Will" Needed To Address Food Crisis

The need to give agriculture top billing on governmental "to do" lists has been highlighted at a telephone briefing to discuss the current food crisis as it affects Africa.

COLOMBIA: Therapeutic Abortion – A Right in Name Only?

A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Nariño, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. But when she went to the provincial university hospital for an abortion, the chief obstetrician gynaecologist told her that "If your son is born deformed, take him to a circus."

IRAQ: Running Out of Water in Rising Heat

Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation.

ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX

In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity - about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank.

LATIN AMERICA: Food Summit Declares Regional Emergency

The presidential summit on "Food for Life", held in Nicaragua, has ended with 16 Latin American countries agreeing to produce more food and sell it at low prices through strategic alliances, amid criticisms of free markets and capitalism.

DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Linked to Doha Deal

The issue of rising food prices was raised at the WTO's General Council meeting Wednesday, and for the first time, discussed in some detail. But there remains, as one African delegate put it, "a lot of confusion about the rising prices of commodities and the Doha Round. Somebody needs to demystify the links. The D-G (Director-General) is using this as a bait to catch us on concluding the Round as soon as possible."

NEPAL: Poor Planning Behind Rising Food Prices

As the sole breadwinner in a family of five, Maya Tamang watches her food budget carefully. And she can vouch best for the way many items are steadily disappearing from the table as food prices spiral steadily.

ARGENTINA: Food Inflation Hits People Close to Poverty Line

Poverty is once again growing in Argentina, reversing the downward trend recorded since 2003, as a result of price inflation mainly affecting basic food products, analysts say. But the government’s only response, according to its critics, has been to stop reporting poverty statistics.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Small Can Be Beautiful

Is small the new big when it comes to agriculture in Southern Africa? As rising food prices place this sector firmly in the spotlight, there are compelling examples at hand to make the case for greater investment in small-scale farming.

LATIN AMERICA: South-South Cooperation to Fight Child Malnutrition

Cooperation between Latin American countries, which is cheap, efficient and horizontal, could fast-track the fight against child malnutrition, Nils Kastberg, the regional director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said at a conference held in the Chilean capital.

DEVELOPMENT: NGOs Pressure AsDB to Strengthen Safeguards

Behind-the-scenes lobbying by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) paid off by the end of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) concluding here Tuesday. Leading financial officials from a host of European countries came out in favour of the strong "safeguard policies" that activists are championing.

DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Escapes Security Council Scrutiny

The food crisis that has triggered street demonstrations and riots in nearly 30 countries - including Haiti, Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, and most recently in Somalia - continues to escape the scrutiny of the most powerful body at the United Nations: the Security Council.

LATIN AMERICA: 60 Years On, ECLAC Still Has Key Role to Play

Among the tasks facing the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is to contribute to the design of a development strategy to make the best use of the region’s current bonanza.

DEVELOPMENT: AsDB Soliciting Private Investments

When he was not attending seminars at a conference centre in the Spanish capital, the Asian Development Bank’s (AsDB) Seethapathy Chander was trying to broker deals to attract European investors to developing regions of Asia.

EUROPE: Warnings Against Biofuels Get Louder

European efforts to promote biofuels should be rethought because of the contribution they have made to rising food prices, according to Jeffrey Sachs, a top economic advisor to the United Nations.

MALAYSIA: Food Futures Behind Rising Prices

With stock markets and the property sector in the United States weakening, speculative investors are turning to fuels and the food sector as a "safe haven", driving up prices in the process, say some food security activists.

ENERGY: World Bank, IFC Seek Investors in Off-Grid Africa

An international campaign to bring modern lighting to one-fourth of Africa's people enters a new phase this week with talks to draw investors to markets beyond the reach of the continent's outdated power grid.

DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Bodies Under Fire for Food Crisis

As the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) readies for a summit of world leaders next month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday defended the Rome-based U.N. agency, which has come under fire for its failure to help meet the growing challenges of hunger worldwide.

DEVELOPMENT-ZAMBIA: Counting the Cost of Recent Floods

Samson Mwenda, a farmer from Namwala in Zambia’s Southern Province, recalls with bitterness the massive floods of the 2007/2008 rainy season and the harsh consequences they had for his life.

DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Rises To Forefront At AsDB Sessions

Three words - high food prices - emerged like a gatecrasher at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) here that was originally billed as a celebration of the bank’s new vision for poverty eradication in Asia.