Published:
Newsweek International Editions: Highlights And Exclusives, May 19, 2008
COVER: How To Stop The Food Riots. (Atlantic andLatin America editions).
Senior Editor Rana Foroohar opens this special report on the world food crisis
with a primer on the incredibly political nature of food. As food prices
spiral out of control, the worry is that millions more of the world's poorest
will also be lost to its ravages. Over the past few months, there have been
food-related riots in 22 countries. Fuel prices have risen farther and faster
than agricultural commodities over the past few years, and the $1 trillion
subprime mess dwarfs the food crisis in terms of economic impact. But you
don't eat oil or stocks. Those who would try to predict where the current
situation is headed would do well to consider food crises of the past. This
cover package illustrates that agriculture, one of the world's most distorted
industries, is in desperate need of an overhaul.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136360
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080511/NYSU003 )
It's the Stupid Politics. Hong Kong Bureau Chief George Wehrfritz and
European Economics Editor Stefan Theil report there are two big factors
contributing to today's global food crisis. One is the grossly distorted
system of global trade in agriculture. The other factor is underinvestment in
agriculture in the developing world, which leaders rationalize on the mistaken
assumption that imported food would forever remain cheap. "They simply did not
make [agricultural investments] a priority," says Lennart Bage, president of
the U.N.-affiliated International Fund for Agricultural Development. "They've
been lulled into a false sense of complacency."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136355
How To Feed The World. Eight leaders in the fight against hunger,
including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, World Bank Group President
Robert Zoellick and Executive director of the United Nations World Food
Program Josette Sheeran, offer food crisis action plans and long term ideas
for how to end famine and bolster farming.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136360
Rich But Hungry. London Reporter William Underhill reports that
cost-conscious consumers in weakening economies are well aware of the doubling
of the cost of wheat that makes their bread sometimes 30 percent more
expensive. In the 15-nation euro zone, annual food-price inflation is running
at 6.5 percent, the highest figure since recordkeeping began in 1997. It's
reckoned that a record 28 million Americans will need food stamps this year,
up 1.5 million on last year, and everywhere, politicians are struggling to
supply answers to a problem that looks set to worsen.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136357
Beakers To the Rescue. Special Correspondent Mac Margolis reports on the
burgeoning industry of genetically manipulated crops. According to industry
analysts, biotech crops have already expanded from practically nothing a
decade ago to 282 million hectacres in 23 countries in 2007. The market for
GM seeds has more than doubled since 2001, from $3 billion to $7 billion.
Enthusiasts say once the products are unleashed onto the marketplace, farmers
will be able to grow more nutritious food at lower costs using less water and
pesticides, and even in the most punishing weather.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136358
COVER: The Winds of Regime Change? (Asia edition) Beijing Bureau Chief
Melinda Liu reports that while some inMyanmar are still in shock from the
deadliest natural disaster in their country's history, others seem almost
optimistic: they think the May 2 killer cyclone just might signal the end of
Burma's military junta, one of the most corrupt and oppressive dictatorships
on earth. Many citizens in this superstitious country seem to believe that the
storm represented nothing less than divine retribution -- cosmic payback for
the violent sacrilege committed by the junta last September, when the military
put a quick and bloody end to the "Saffron Revolution." Now many Burmese see
the monster cyclone as proof that Sr. Gen. Tan Shwe and his junta have lost
the "mandate of heaven" -- the supernatural right to govern.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136365
War Is the Answer. Special Correspondent Jeremy Kahn reports that in the
past year, Sri Lankan government officials seemed tantalizingly close to the
end of the 25-year long conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The remarkable progress achieved already is challenging the conventional
wisdom about civil wars fromYugoslavia toIraq: that there is no military
solution.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/30166
The Hunt for Mr.Europe. Denis MacShane, a Labour M.P. and a former
British minister forEurope, writes in an essay that whoever is chosen by the
European Union's 27 government leaders to become president ofEurope will
define the EU for a generation to come. "The EU has a chance to have someone
who can speak forEurope and pick up the phone when America orIndia orBrazil
calls ... If EU leaders flunk this test,Europe's global status, and with that
the EU's standing with European citizens, will decline still further,"
MacShane writes.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136365
The Closing of the Church Door. Special Correspondent Mike Elkin reports
Spain is loosening the binds between the Roman Catholic Church and state. Amid
growing religious apathy nationwide, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero in 2006 eliminated the church's exemption from paying the value-added
tax. Now he is moving ahead with distinctly secular projects, including
introducing sexual-education classes in school and providing government
funding for a free, over-the-counter morning-after contraception pill.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136356
GLOBAL INVESTOR: What's in a (Foreign) Name? Columnist Daniel Gross writes
that naming rights are becoming a sought-after U.S. export. "Appeal to the
vanity of status-hungry rich people or CEOs, and they'll pay top dollar to
have their names associated with yours," Gross writes. "As the geography of
global wealth rapidly shifts -- with rich American institutions becoming
suddenly poorer and impressive pockets of wealth bulging around the globe --
naming rights have quickly evolved into what might be considered a new
category of export."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136303
WORLD VIEW: An Underwater Threat. Daniel Blumenthal, a resident fellow at
the American Enterprise Institute, writes that, "for many years, America's
security umbrella over the region has allowedAsia's great powers, including
China, to focus on economic growth rather than military competition. Now
China's rapid buildup could spark a costly regional competition that could
potentially slowAsia's economic growth, as funds are diverted to military
spending and investors are scared away."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136366
THE LAST WORD: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Special Diplomatic
Correspondent Lally Weymouth spoke with Olmert, who addressed the
investigation into charges that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars
in illegal campaign contributions when he was mayor ofJerusalem. He also
spoke about the possibility of resigning. "I don't really see that this will
bring any better outcome for this country at this point. Not that a person is
indispensable or irreplaceable. I don't believe in this. We are all human
beings and there are many great guys in this country that can one day become
prime ministers. But, given the circumstances right now, I think it will not
do good that I step down at this point. I have to think about it."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136105
SOURCE Newsweek
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