Economy

Zimbabwe Currency Crisis Peaks

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More than 600 shops and services are now licensed to trade using foreign currency in Zimbabwe, the southern African country with the highest rate of inflation in the world. The International Herald Tribune reported that Zimbabwe’s Central Bank authorized the use of foreign moneys, such as the U.S. dollar and South African rand, which are already common in the black market. Zimbabwe’s government, still reeling from a long-term economic crisis, hopes the move will build up supplies of food and basic necessities in local markets. An inflation rate of 11 million percent has caused many Zimbabweans to cross the border into neighboring countries to buy corn meal, medicine, cooking oil and fuel. Commodities are in such short supply, the article said, that aid agencies fear close to two million Zimbabweans will need food supplies in October.

World

Burma Underground Simmers

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A growing number of young activist monks in Burma (Myanmar), frustrated by years of suppression, are considering taking up arms as a way to fight the military junta. Writing for the Christian Science Monitor, Anand Gopal said younger monks are more educated about human rights theories and think the Buddhist teachings on nonviolence aren’t bringing about the changes they want. This change in thinking comes after the harsh crackdown in 2007 on large anti-government protests led by thousands of monks and nuns. The military junta responded harshly with strict crackdowns that left some dead and hundreds imprisoned. “Last September the Army proved too powerful for us and defeated our nonviolent tactics.

Environment

Methane Harvest Debuts in Texas

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San Antonio, Texas will be the first city in the United States to harvest methane gas from human waste on a commercial scale and turn it into clean-burning natural gas. San Antonio’s Business Journal said the city signed a 20-year lease with Ameresco Inc., who will convert the city’s “biosolids” — sewage — into natural gas. “The citizens of San Antonio produce about 140,000 tons of biosolids each year,” said Steve Clouse, chief operating officer of San Antonio’s water system. Methane gas, the main byproduct of human and organic waste, is a major component of natural gas that is burned in power plants, furnaces and combustion generators. The city’s biogas will be prepared in a processing plant built in San Antonio and then sold on the open market, making it the first city to do large-scale conversion of methane gas to fuel for generating power.

World

Sri Lanka War Nearing End?

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One of Asia’s longest-running wars could soon be over if Sri Lanka’s government is to be believed. Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the BBC on Friday that government forces will soon recapture the rebel stronghold city of Kilinochchi, in the far north of the island nation. “Our numbers are very much greater than theirs, our firepower is much greater. We are very confident we can win and we want to finish this very soon,” the BBC quoted him as saying. The 25-year-old war between government forces and the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, has killed 70,000 people, and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, according to news reports.

Environment

Can 'Geo-Engineering' Save the Earth?

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Perhaps recycling and compact fluorescent lights aren’t exciting anymore — but media have recently latched onto the concept of geo-engineering as a means of combatting climate change. For now, geo-engineering remains theoretical, and imagines large- scale projects such as man-made volcanic eruptions and giant algae farms.
Shell Oil is already exploring the field, according to the environmental Web site Mongabay, by investing in a project that adds lime to seawater as a means of increasing carbon dioxide absorbtion by the world’s oceans. At least some climate scientists are apparently excited about the field, too. British science group the Royal Society this month published a special collection of papers on geo-engineering, and the Economist magazine published a run-down of some of the most elaborate ideas. One of the better received plans appears to be that of Jonathan Latham of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, who proposes a fleet of unmanned ships that would pump seawater vapor into the atmosphere in order to make that clouds reflect sunlight back into space.

World

Heavy Spin Cycle on Iran Reporting

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s annual visit to the United Nations General Assembly has brought the usual round of troubling stories about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and his anti-Israel views. But a glance at the world’s press offers some less-expected — and sometimes less credible — angles. Hong Kong’s Asia Times newspaper gives a new image for the country, that of Iran the diplomatic power. According to contributor Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, Iran has recently helped to reduce tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in post-war Georgia and Russia. This is not entirely selfless, however.

Democracy & Civics

Women on Top in Rwandan Parliament

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Women will form the majority in Rwanda’s national parliament, making it the first country in the world to have more female legislators than men. According to the Independent, women have won around 56 percent of the seats in parliament after four days of peaceful elections. Women will have at least 44 of the 80 total seats. “The problems of women are understood much better, much better by women themselves,” one female voter said. President Paul Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front secured a majority in the elections — only the second since the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people there.

Nation

Veteran PTSD on the Rise as New Therapies Emerge

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Iraq war veterans are seeking out new forms of therapy to help heal psychologically as reports of post-traumatic stress disorder and army suicides have increased dramatically. United Press International reported that the suicide rate of soldiers in 2008 would likely surpass that of the nation’s suicide rate, while an article in the Washington Post noted that reports of post-traumatic stress disorder remain high for both wounded and uninjured soldiers. New solutions to the problem may be emerging, however. At the University of Southern California, psychologist Albert “Skip” Rizzo anticipated the return of thousands of soldiers with PTSD and developed a “Virtual Iraq” program that he says has been successful in treating the troops. Rizzo told NPR that one of the best treatments for PTSD is for the person to relive their trauma using their imagination – something most soldiers want to avoid.

Economy

'Fair Trade' Cola Gains Ground in Europe

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A British cola called Ubuntu is said to be the first of its kind to follow “fair trade” practices, including ecological sustainability, equal market prices and improved work conditions for bottom-rung producers and laborers. Africa’s Business Daily reports that the soft drink, named after a Bantu word meaning “humanity,” has had success in cafes, shops and grocery stores throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Norway. “Our mission is to propel fair trade into iconic and mainstream markets,” said co-founder Miranda Walker. The fair trade label, often found on basic commodities like tea and coffee, has become increasingly popular in recent years and appeals to consumers who want to buy ethically — something seven out of ten Europeans say is important to them at least part of the time. Ubuntu Trading Company will use fair trade sugar sourced from Africa, and says it plans to invest some of its profits back into sugar-producing communities.

World

Slight Freedoms for Suu Kyi

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Myanmar’s military junta recently gave the imprisoned opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi access to letters from her family and some international news magazines. According to the International Herald Tribune, for the past three weeks Suu Kyi has refused food deliveries to the villa where she is under house arrest, leading to speculation she may have mounted a hunger strike. Her National League for Democracy — which won a landslide election in 1990 but was shut out of power by the military junta — said she rejected the food “to denounce her continuing detention, which is unfair under the law.” Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest, will be allowed to receive mail from her two sons and to read magazines like Newsweek and Time. The junta will also loosen limitations placed on Suu Kyi’s daughter and housekeeper, the article said.