Here is the Thursday, May 29th, 2008, edition of interesting reads from around the world.
The Rome Summit, Part III
In advance of next week’s Summit in Rome of world leaders at the headquarters of the FAO, the UK Guardian is exploring the global food crisis. In Part III, the series looks at the rise in food bills in Britain.
British Housing Prices Fall Sharply
The decline in the British housing market accelerated this month with prices falling at their fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s. UK house prices fell by 2.5% in May compared with April – the biggest month-on-month decline since the building society started tracking the market in 1991. At £173,583, the average home is worth 4.4% less than in May 2007 – the biggest annual drop since December 1992. More from UK Guardian.
TICAD
African leaders meeting in Japan at the TICAD conference called Thursday for greater market access and improved infrastructure to better their agricultural sector while donor nations focussed on improving agricultural productivity in the face of soaring world food prices. All Africa and the International Herald Tribune report from Japan.
PM Brown Rebukes the US on Cluster Bombs
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown overrules his military and bucks the U.S. to support a treaty aimed against the munitions blamed for civilian deaths. In a major diplomatic defeat for the U.S., Britain broke ranks Wednesday and joined more than 100 nations in agreeing in principle to an international ban on cluster bombs, the small, insidious weapons that have killed thousands of civilians in the aftermath of battle. The Los Angeles Times has more on this story.
The Israeli Political Crisis
Israeli Defence Minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak called on Prime Minister Olmert to step aside while he resolves the corruption probe that may lead to his indictment. Haaretz reports that early elections are a possibility while the Jerusalem Post reports that Olmert has no intentions of quitting.
Argentine Farmers Suspend Exports & Block Roads
In a brief follow up to my post, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Has A Problem, Argentine farm groups suspended grain exports and relaunched road blockades nationwide Wednesday, trying to overturn export taxes that have sparked waves of protests. More from the Miami Herald. The crisis in Argentina should it continue will impact global food prices.
Germany Willing to Admit Iraqi Refugees on One Condition
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats on Wednesday said they would like to see Germany take on thousands of refugees from Iraq. The hitch? They only want the Christians. More from the Der Spiegel. There were nearly 4 million Iraqi Christians before the US-led invasion. Prosperous by Iraqi standards, Iraq’s Christian minority has suffered greatly as they are caught in the crossfire of Sunni versus Shi’ite warfare.