Headlines:

• Africa facing intensified 'food crisis'
• Draft of Egypt's new constitution under fire for its Islamic influence
• 2014: ‘Afghanistan is hurtling toward a devastating collapse'
• Pakistan blocks protest against US drones

Details:

Africa facing intensified 'food crisis':

New report suggests that numerous African and Middle East countries are at a high or extreme risk of a food crisis. Seventy-five per cent of countries on the African continent and several Arab countries face an impending food crisis, a new study has revealed. Maplecroft's Food Security Risk Index, a report released on Wednesday, found that in a survey of 197 countries worldwide, up to 39 of the 59 most at risk of food insecurity were African countries. "Although a food crisis has not emerged yet, there is potential for food-related upheaval across the most vulnerable regions," including sub-Saharan African and Arab states, Helen Hodge, head of maps and indices at Maplecroft, said. Maplecroft said that low crop yields had pushed global food prices up by six per cent in July 2012, raising concerns of a repeat of the 2007/2008 food crisis. The crisis had culminated in a series of food riots across several countries, including Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mexico, Senegal and Yemen. "Food price forecasts for 2013 provide a worrying picture," Hodge said. The British consultancy said that despite strong economic growth on the African continent, food security remained an issue of primary importance, citing armed conflict, civil unrest, drought, displacement and poor governance as exacerbating factors in creating conditions for a food crisis. Nine out of the 11 countries in the "extreme risk" category were in Africa. They include Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), which are ranked joint first, Burundi (4th), Chad (5th), Ethiopia (6th), Eritrea (7th), South Sudan (9th), the Comoros (10th) and Sierra Leone (11th). Haiti (3rd) and Afghanistan (8th) are the other two countries in the extreme risk category. The 48 countries considered to be at "high" risk for food supplies include Yemen (15th), Syria (16th), Pakistan (27th), Papua New Guinea (33rd), North Korea (35th), Iraq (54th) and Libya (58th). Egypt, ranked 71st of the 197 countries, and Tunisia, 100th, are among medium-risk countries. Sources of food insecurity range from conflict and instability in the Sahel, DR Congo and eastern Africa to rising prices for corn, caused by the worst US drought in 50 years and declining production in former Soviet countries, Maplecroft said.

Draft of Egypt's new constitution under fire for its Islamic influence:

Egypt unveiled a proposed draft of a new constitution Wednesday amid criticism from liberals and human rights groups that the document is tilted toward Islamic law and endangers the democratic ideals that inspired the uprising that last year overthrew Hosni Mubarak. The partial draft, which was opened for public review, immediately revealed the battle lines between Islamists and secularists over the nation's character. Dominated by ultraconservative and moderate Islamists, the 100-member assembly that wrote the charter made it clear that civil and religious rights would be shaped through the prism of Islam. The proposal has echoes of Egypt's 1971 constitution, but the new document is a testament to a changing political era in which a nation once run by Western-leaning military men is now, after an uprising and months of tumultuous politics, increasingly in the hands of Islamists. That prospect is recasting alliances and weakening the influence of the U.S. and other Western powers. The draft states that Egypt is "a democratic regime" guided by the principles of Shariah, or Islamic law. But the wording in some articles, such as those dealing with the equality for men and women, are either explicitly tied to strict Islamic precepts or open to interpretation. Human rights groups fear such ambiguities will allow Islamists, especially ultraconservative Salafis, to exploit the language to advance a more religious-centric state. Article 36 states that "the state shall take all measures to establish the equality of women and men in the areas of political, cultural, economic, and social life, as well as all other areas, insofar as this does not conflict with the rulings of Islamic Shariah." Human Rights Watch criticized the provision as "not consistent with international human rights law." In a report this week, the organization added that the proposed draft "contains many loopholes that would allow future authorities to repress and limit basic rights and freedoms." Islamists, however, were quick to defend the assembly at a news conference to kickoff a public review campaign called Know Your Constitution. "We are very proud of this constitution. It represents all Egyptians, even the Coptic (Christian) community," said Abdelfattah Hosseiny, an Islamist judge and assembly member. "The media creates suspense for no reason. ... We were very fair in creating this constitutional draft, we asked for suggestions from all Egyptians, including the most simple citizens."

2014: ‘Afghanistan is hurtling toward a devastating collapse':

As "D-Day approaches, the $60 billion Think Tank industry in America is in full gear. Policy decisions are important during an election year, so whatever happens in November will have a colossal impact on the future of the war in West Asia. The BBC is now reporting that the Kabul government will collapse as soon as NATO, ISAF and the US withdraws. "The International Crisis Group (ICG) says the Afghan police and army are unprepared for security responsibility." According to the report "from the Brussels-based group is stark in its prediction that the Western-backed government in Afghanistan could be on course for what it calls a devastating political crisis after 2014.? Foreign Policy Magazine, an ultra-conservative Neoconservative magazine is recommending that the US should not abandon Afghan peace talks and should include Pakistan as the mediator. Amazingly the article does not mention India or any of the other neighbours in Afghanistan. The Taliban on the other hand have also reiterated their position-withdraw from Afghanistan without any conditions and we will give you safe passage to leave. The Russians took it and withdrew quietly. If NATO doesn't take the offer, there will be bloodshed while the army retreats. There is no reason for us to believe that the US and NATO wont take the sane route.

Pakistan blocks protest against US drones:

The Pakistani military blocked a convoy carrying thousands of Pakistanis and a small contingent of US anti-war activists from entering a lawless tribal region along the border with Afghanistan on Sunday to protest American drone strikes. The group, led by cricket star turned politician Imran Khan and his political party, was turned back just miles from the border of South Waziristan. After an hour of fruitless negotiations, Mr Khan announced that the caravan would backtrack to the city of Tank, about 15km away. There, he delivered a speech to the crowd of about 10,000. Mr Khan has harshly criticised the Pakistani government's co-operation with Washington in the fight against Islamist militants. He has been especially outspoken against US drone strikes targeting militants and has argued that Islamabad's alliance with Washington is the main reason Pakistan is facing a home grown Taliban insurgency. He has suggested before that militant activity in Pakistan's tribal areas will dissipate when the US ends the war across the border in Afghanistan. "We want to give a message to America that the more you carry out drone attacks, the more people will hate you," Mr Khan told the crowd. The anti-American sentiment, always high in Pakistan, was evident in the crowd that waved banners saying "Down with America," and "The friend of America is the traitor of the nation." Pakistan's tribal regions, such as North and South Waziristan, border Afghanistan and serve as bases for militant groups such as the Taliban to stage raids across the border into Afghanistan.

Abu Hashim