Daily Archives: February 1, 2016

Nigeria

UN Calls for More Support In Nigeria For Those Displaced By Boko Haram

News from Africa

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by David Wamuha · January 28, 2016
LAGOS, NIGERIA

Three U.N. special investigators who visited three displaced persons camps in war-torn Borno State say Nigeria must do more to help its people, particularly its women and children.

Boko Haram’s nearly seven-year quest to impose strict Islamic law across the country’s northeast has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than two million others.

While some have fled to neighboring Chad, Cameroon or Niger, many have gone to displaced persons camps elsewhere in Nigeria. Continue reading UN Calls for More Support In Nigeria For Those Displaced By Boko Haram →

Economy

The Lesson from Davos: No Connection to Reality

InterPress Service

The rich and powerful had all the necessary data for focusing on existential issues for the planet and its inhabitants. Yet they failed to do so. This is a powerful example of the disconnection between the concern of citizens and their elite. The political and financial system is more and more self reverent: but is also fast losing legitimacy in the eyes of many people. Alternative candidates like Donald Trump or Matteo Salvini in Italy, or governments like those of Hungary and Poland, would have never been possible without a massive discontent. What is increasingly at stage is democracy itself? Are we entering in a Weimar stage of the world?
By Roberto Savio

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ROME, Jan 27 2016 (IPS) – The rich and the powerful, who meet every year at the World Economic Forum (WEF), were in a gloomy mood this time. Not only because the day they met close to eight trillion dollars has been wiped off global equity markets by a “correction”. But because no leader could be in a buoyant mood. Continue reading The Lesson from Davos: No Connection to Reality →

Economy, Food Security

WCC chief presents ‘Ten Commandments’ of food at Davos

Ecclesia

A 21 January World Economic Forum session on how food choices can become a catalyst for positive change became an opportunity for World Council of Churches General Secretary the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to present “Ten Commandments” of food to the gathered business and political leaders.

“If we view food through the lens of justice, every plate of food reminds us of certain challenges and opportunities. It is important that we acknowledge the efforts, investments and very lives of living plants and creatures sacrificed to provide food on our tables,” reflected Tveit after the event.

Tveit’s ten commandments of food are:
1. You shall give thanks for the food you eat.
2. You shall provide food for those who have no food.
3. You shall eat mindfully and in moderation. Continue reading WCC chief presents ‘Ten Commandments’ of food at Davos →

Africa, Land Grabbing

Africa: Conference on land grabbing

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

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Just prior to the arrival of Pope Francis for his first pastoral visit to Kenya, a network of Catholic justice and peace organizations met in Limura, Kenya, for a major conference on land grabbing and just governance in Africa. The following article was published in the January-February 2016 issue of NewsNotes.

Land grabbing is most often described as the acquisition of large areas of land by international firms, governments, or individuals. Land grabs have increased since 2008, when the worldwide spike in food prices prompted investors to look more toward the Global South, particularly Africa, for land to produce food and bio fuel for export. This is a growing concern in Africa. Pope Francis referenced land, along with labor and lodging, in a speech he gave in Nairobi in November. Continue reading Africa: Conference on land grabbing →