What’s New June 2008

This page lists changes to this site for June 2008.

See below for other updates and to get notified of changes to the site.

The global food crisis that has made headlines in 2008 has been simmering for a while. The rise in food prices, affecting the poorest the most, has a variety of causes, mostly man-made. It has resulted in riots, an overthrow of a Prime Minister and many deaths, around the world. It has been common to attribute causes to things like overpopulation but that seems to miss the real causes as food levels continue to outstrip demand even in a growing population. While media reports have been concentrating on some of the immediate causes, it seems that deeper issues and causes have not been discussed as much. This new page introduces some of these issues.

Tobacco is currently responsible for the death of 1 in 10 adults. It is the leading preventable cause of all deaths, killing some 5 million people each year. While the World Health Organisation has attempted to provide a policy framework to address tobacco use and control, the tobacco industry continues to expand in developing countries and increasingly targets women and teenagers. The updates to this page include additional statistics on tobacco’s effects and other more information on the WHO’s policies, as well as notes on the targetting of women and teenagers.

As economic conditions worsen, anti-immigrant sentiments often rise. In recent years, as well as Europe and the US, other places have also seen a rise in anti-immigrant sentiments. Just recently violence erupted in South Africa because of this. A small update was added to the immigration page explaining this.

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