In Niger, opening once-taboo topic of hunger crucial to easing impending food crisis
2010-02-26
NIAMEY, Niger - They are simple words humanitarian workers in Africa use often but dared not speak in this impoverished nation: hunger, starvation. And definitely not famine. For years, President Mamadou Tandja denied there was any food crisis in Niger, even when images were broadcast of skeletal children too weak to brush away flies. Now that the military has ousted Tandja, aid agencies are speaking out, with good reason: The country is facing its worst food shortage in years. "A window...
Full Story: Star Tribune
Taliban kill 2 alleged US spies in NW Pakistan
2010-02-25
MIR ALI, Pakistan -- The bullet-riddled bodies of two alleged U.S. spies were found Wednesday in a Taliban stronghold in northwest Pakistan, the latest victims of an intelligence war that a top American general indicated is tilting in Washington and Islamabad's favor. The men's bodies were found together in Mir Ali town in North Waziristan tribal region. Each had a note attached accusing the victim of spying for the Americans and warning other informants they faced the same fate, area resident...
