Sunday, April 17, 2011

The World Bank, an organization that provides loans to developing countries, warned Thursday that rising food prices are driving millions of people deeper into poverty.

Robert Zoelick, World Bank president, said that food prices have risen 36% over the last year, pushing 44 million more people into poverty since last June. About 1.2 billion people are extremely poor.

He warned that a further increase of 10% in the cost of food would move an additional 10 million persons into extreme poverty, and there was no sign of a near term reversal in the inflation of food prices, which affects the developing world disproportionately.

“We have to put food first and protect the poor and vulnerable, who spend most of their money on food,” said Zoellick. “The general trend lines are ones where we are in a danger zone… because prices have already gone up and [food] stocks are relatively low,” he said.

The cost of the basic foods, such as wheat, maize and soy are all surging. Only rice has shown a slight decrease in price.

The steep rise in the cost of food is being driven by a combination of factors, including bad weather in food exporting areas such as Russia, Ukraine, North America and China, rising energy costs that increase the cost of producing and transporting food, and the incentives for farmers in many countries to produce crops for biofuels instead of for food.

“The linkage between food and fuel is much tighter than it was ten years ago,” said Zoellick.

Additionally, the change in diet of the growing middle class in developing countries means they consume more meat and pork products which take increased grain to produce and drives up the price of feed stocks.

National food investment and export policies of some wealthier countries are affecting poorer nations. For example, China is acquiring large amounts of land in Africa to grow food for the needs of the Chinese; Saudi Arabia has given up wheat production to invest overseas for food, and a drought in Russia has led it to implement an export ban on wheat.

Zoellick spoke in Washington at the opening of the meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He hopes to discuss food policies with officials of the G-20 countries to develop a “code of conduct” on export bans and to encourage these countries to do more to increase food production and aid developing countries in managing agricultural problems.

On Saturday, the World Bank and the IMF issued “Global Monitoring Report 2011: Improving the Odds of Achieving the MDGs” which said the world was still on track toward reaching a key goal of reducing the number of the world’s people living in extreme poverty and hunger by half, to 883 million, by the target date of 2015. Most of the world’s progress is due to fast growth in India and China, while African countries are behind.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

An Garda Síochána have regained control in Dublin, Ireland following riots in which a Republican counter-demonstration against Loyalist marches in the city descended into violence that engulfed the city centre. Shops on some of Dublin’s major thoroughfares including O’Connell Street, Nassau Street and Kildare Street were closed as the Garda Riot Squad moved in from Grafton Street, and hundreds of shoppers were caught up in the disturbance.

40 protesters have been arrested, and 14 people have been hospitalised, including RTÉ News main correspondent Charlie Bird, and six gardaí. 13 of the arrested will be dealt with tonight during a special sitting of Dublin District Court.

The riots, which have been described as the worst that Dublin has seen in a quarter of a century, broke out at 12.45 pm. About 1,000 Loyalist protestors, including members of the Orange Order, had travelled from Northern Ireland in order to march from Parnell Street down to Leinster House (the seat of the Irish parliament) on Kildare Street.

The march never got underway, however; the protesters were transported to the location by bus following a consultation with gardaí that suggested a march would be unsafe. The march was intended to commemorate victims of Republican paramilitary activity.

Loyalist protesters proceeded to demonstrate outside Leinster House for a short time, but the parade was cancelled as around 300 Republican protestors from across Ireland moved onto Kildare Street. Gardaí ordered major premises to shut as the violence increased. Missiles, fireworks, petrol bombs, and rubble and tools from a building site on O’Connell Street were thrown by Republican protestors onto gardaí. As the rioting proceeded, looting broke out, the Loyalist protesters were advised to leave the region, and cars were burned out between Kildare Street and O’Connell Street.

Political figures, led by President of Ireland Mary McAleese, and including leaders of major political parties from across Ireland’s political spectrum such as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Irish Labour Party, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic Labour Party have condemned the violence. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has commented that “It is the essence of Irish democracy and republicanism that people are allowed to express their views freely and in a peaceful manner. People who want only to attack gardaí and property have no respect for their fellow citizens.”

Unionist politicians due to participate in the rally, including Democratic Unionist Party MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy, have issued a complaint to the Irish Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who has admitted that An Garda Síochána were not expecting the level of hostility that was realised. Mr McDowell has also commented that the riots were perpetrated by people who did not understand what Irish republicanism means and who have damaged the cause of Irish unity that they purported to support.

Republican Sinn Féin, a party which split from the main body of Sinn Féin in 1986 and which had been involved in the organisation of the counter-demonstration, have declared that it was irresponsible for the authorities to allow the marches to go ahead. It is believed that around €50,000 will be necessary to clear up and repair the damage caused to O’Connell Street, Dublin’s main thoroughfare, and the street will remain closed until tomorrow. It is feared that the riots will have a significant impact on the Northern Ireland peace process, and on plans by the Irish government to recommence annual commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Monday, February 16, 2009

In the 1970s, she was one of the most popular female vocalists in France, and became well-known internationally. Anne Marie David, from Arles in the south of France, parlayed her initial success from playing Mary Magdalene in the French production of Jesus Christ Superstar into taking home the “grand prix” at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. Her winning song, “Tu te reconnaîtras” (You will recognize yourself), became a Europe-wide hit that spring.

At the height of her popularity, David perfomed world tours, and even lived abroad in Turkey for a time. In 1979, she tried once again to win the Eurovision, and placed a respectable third. Her song “Je suis l’enfant soleil” (I’m a child of the sun) became similarly popular across France and in the Francophone nations.

As time went on, however, her place in the French music scene became less certain. Touring the world had taken a personal toll, and David decided to retire from music completely in 1987. However, with the help of her fan base, she was coaxed out of retirement in 2003 and is returning to a part of her life that she tried to leave, but never left her. Celebrating four decades in the music scene, David is looking forward to adventurous new projects and a newfound zest for life.

Anne Marie David corresponded with Wikinews’ Mike Halterman about her eventful career, her personal anecdotes regarding living abroad, her successes in past Eurovision contests and her grievances with the way the show is produced today. This is the second in a series of interviews with past Eurovision contestants, which will be published sporadically in the lead-up to mid-May’s next contest in Moscow.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Alfred Hsing, a US martial artist with Chinese origins, besides having a long history of martial arts training in various styles, such as traditional kung fu, tae kwon do and karate, considers wushu – an athletic sport based on Chinese martial arts – as a form of art that pushes one’s physical limits and stimulates the mind at the same time. After having won the gold medal at the 10th World Wushu Championships, he became international movie star Jet Li’s personal assistant and went on to do stunts, action choreography, and land roles in movies.

Hungarian Wikinews contributor Teemeah has interviewed Alfred Hsing about his views on martial arts, life and Wikipedia.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Stock prices dropped sharply in Europe and Asia Monday, with fears of economic problems in the United States causing some of the biggest single-day losses in recent years.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 5.5 percent – its biggest fall since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Losses of between three and seven percent were recorded in India, China, Britain, France, Germany and Canada.

While there are many factors linking national economies, analysts blame recent losses on fears of a recession in the United States.

The United States is the main export market for many overseas businesses. Foreign investors also have bought large stakes in U.S. companies.

When American home loan companies began reporting large numbers of defaulting loans in late 2007, the losses spread to other financial institutions, tightening credit markets and sparking worries about Americans’ high levels of debt.

Last week, President Bush proposed a $145 billion stimulus plan to encourage more consumer spending. But analysts say the measure may not be able to prevent a recession – defined as a broad decline in a nation’s economy over a period of at least six months.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday, but stock futures trading indicates further losses are expected when markets reopen Tuesday.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

The US government has announced that the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% in January, from 10%.

A survey of households reported that the number of employed US residents rose by 541,000 last month; at the same time, however, employers cut 20,000 jobs.

According to the figures, the retail sector gained 42,100 jobs last month, the largest increase since November 2007; manufacturers’ job counts increased by 11,000, the biggest gain since April 2006.

Temporary help, meanwhile, gained 52,000 jobs. The Press Association reports that could be an indication more hiring is on the way, saying that employers generally hire temporary staff before more permanent workers.

Carl Riccadonna, a senior US economist for Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, commented: “Companies just can’t meet demand requirements with their existing labor force, so they have to increase the number of workers. This report does seem to indicate the economy is moving in the right direction.”

Tuesday, May 9, 2006For the first time in three decades, direct and at least partially public diplomatic communication will commence between the United States (US) and Iran. Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the U.S. president George W. Bush proposing “new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world”.

Mr Gholam-Hossein Elham did not say whether the letter mentioned the nuclear dispute, one of the diplomatic problems currently straining relations between Iran and the USA. This information arrived one day after the Iranian parliament announced that it might retract from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Western pressure over its programme was to increase.

Differing reports have been made as to whether or not the letter will be made public, and if so, when. In its online report of 8 May 2006, 09:25 GMT, the BBC quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi as saying that the contents of the letter would be made public once Bush had received it. The updated version of the report of 8 May 2006, 14:52 GMT, quotes Asefi as saying that the contents would be made public “at the right time”. An ABC report quoted Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying “it is not an open letter.”

Iran’s foreign affairs minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, delivered the letter to the United States’ interests section in the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Monday. The United States has not held diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said “this letter isn’t it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort.”

“It isn’t addressing the issues that we’re dealing with in a concrete way,” she added.

John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also read the letter, saying, “I think it is typical of Iran that when major decisions are about to be taken … that they have tried to throw sand in the eyes of the proponents of the action. That’s what this may be.”

The letter has since been put on an official Iranian website, and on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said “the letter to US President George Bush carries the Iranian nation’s views and comments on international issues as well as suggestions for resolving the many problems facing humanity.”