ABDURASHID ABIKAR/AFP/Getty Images Police opened fire on rioting crowds , killing at least two people in Mogadishu, Somalia today. Thousands of angry Somalis had taken to the street to protest rising food prices. Somali staples such as ...

Blog entry - Joshua Keating - 2008-05-05 18:18 - 0 comments

THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images Food riots seem to be happening around the world on a near-daily basis lately. U.N. peacekeepers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at an angry mob that tried to storm the National Palace in the Hati ...

Blog entry - Joshua Keating - 2008-04-08 18:40 - 0 comments

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images Egypt's economic and political pressure cooker gave a kick and a hiss yesterday as a crackdown to prevent a general strike resulted in over 200 arrests throughout the country. The unrest was provoked by risi ...

Blog entry - Drew Kumpf - 2008-04-08 13:16 - 0 comments

The International Herald Tribune reports on the latest from Egypt. So far, seven people have died of either fights or exhaustion from waiting in line for subsidized bread. (Curious, since people don't generally wait in line in Egypt.) The govern ...

Blog entry - Blake Hounshell - 2008-03-25 09:06 - 0 comments

CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images I noted back in January that Egypt's stability might be in danger from rising wheat prices. Egypt is the world's second-largest importer of wheat, and some 14 million Egyptians depend on subsidized bread ...

Blog entry - Blake Hounshell - 2008-03-18 17:14 - 0 comments

Keep your eye on soybean prices in the coming weeks: Chicago soybean and soybean oil futures rose to records on speculation China may increase imports to curb food inflation. Corn also reached its highest ever as soaring crude oil prices boost ...

Blog entry - Blake Hounshell - 2008-02-21 18:55 - 0 comments

Indonesia : Palm oil surged to a record on speculation supplies for food and alternative fuel will be limited after Indonesia, the world's biggest producer, announced it would raise export taxes if prices climb further. India : ...

Blog entry - Blake Hounshell - 2008-02-08 11:54 - 0 comments

Rising prices for soyabeans and soya-based products such as tofu have Indonesians steamed :  On Monday, 10,000 Indonesians demonstrated outside the presidential palace in Jakarta after soyabean prices soared more than 50 per cent in the pa ...

Blog entry - Blake Hounshell - 2008-01-18 13:16 - 0 comments