What We’re Reading 12/3/08

Dec 3rd, 2008 10:15 AM UTC
By Steve Wilson

LA Times—Zimbabwe villagers face starvation
The LA Times reports that the twin miseries of crop failure and economic collapse have left Zimbabwe’s villages without food. Millions survive on nothing but wild fruit, and many have died. The crisis has been exacerbated by President Robert Mugabe’s decision in June to suspend humanitarian aid during the run-up to his one-man presidential runoff. The long-ruling Mugabe, stunned when he won fewer votes than opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round in March, accused aid agencies of supporting the opposition and didn’t lift the ban until August. Critics say the regime, which has a history of denying food to opposition areas, was using hunger as a political tool to force people to vote for Mugabe.

Reuters—World leaders urged to keep promises to fight AIDS
In Dakar, several hundred African anti-AIDS campaigners paraded giant puppets of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday to urge them to deliver promised funds for plans to fight the disease. The campaigners, gathering on the eve of an international conference on AIDS in Dakar, said the demonstration aimed to remind the U.S. and French leaders not to forget their multi-million dollar commitments to anti-AIDS programs.

Reuters—Developing nations seek cash in UN warming fight
Developing nations urged rich nations at U.N climate talks on Tuesday to raise aid despite the financial crisis to help the poor cope with global warming and safeguard tropical forests. The U.N.’s top climate official said the December 1-12 meeting of 10,700 delegates had started well as the half-way point in negotiations to agree a new climate treaty by the end of 2009 in Copenhagen. “I’m happy with where we are,” Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said of the meeting which will test governments’ willingness to work on climate change amid a global economic slowdown.

The Guardian—Qatar looks to grow food in Kenya
The Guardian reports that Qatar has asked Kenya to lease it 40,000 hectares of land to grow crops as part of a proposed package that would also see the Gulf state fund a new multi-billion dollar port on the popular tourist island of Lamu off the east African country. The deal is the latest example of wealthy countries and companies trying to secure food supplies from the developing world. Other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also been negotiating leases of large tracts of farmland in countries such as Sudan and Senegal since the global food shortages and price rises earlier this year. The Kenyan president, Mwai Kibaki, returned from a visit to Qatar on Monday saying the request for land was being seriously considered.

Reuters—WTO inches towards talks, big gaps remain
Trading powers are edging towards a meeting to secure a breakthrough in the long-running Doha trade talks, but big gaps need to be closed before ministers can meet with any hope of success, diplomats and officials said on Tuesday. In July, meetings collapsed over a measure to safeguard farmers in developing countries from a surge in imports, and last month, leaders of the G20 rich and emerging countries called for ministers to reach an outline deal in the core areas of agriculture and industrial goods by the end of this year.

-Steve Wilson

TAGS: Policy News, What We're Reading