The ProSavana Project is a joint agricultural project in Mozambique funded by Brazil, Japan, and Mozambique. It calls for almost 100 million acres of “underutilized” agricultural land to be transformed into a massive soybean producing region. The soybeans will be exported to the rapidly growing export market for soybeans in Asia, and is modeled after the Brazilian program to transform its cerrado into a soybean exporting region. Unlike the poor soils in the Brazilian cerrado, however, the soils in the Nacala Corridor in Mozambique are very fertile and already being farmed by many rural people. Thus, there is tremendous opposition to what is perceived as a horrific “land grab”.
The release of secret documents has raised serious questions about the drone strikes employed by the US in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US has systematically assured the world that its drone strikes were scrupulously targeted to avoid civilian casualties, a claim often denied by locals on the ground. These secret documents suggest that the controls over the use of drone strikes have been less stringent than we have been led to believe.
Greece is going through a slow-motion crisis. The Prime Minister has nominated Stavros Dimas as his President, but has failed to secure the necessary votes in Parliament to secure his election. After two tries, Samaras will try for the third and final time on Monday to get the 180 votes to confirm Dimas. If that vote fails, then Samaras will be forced to call a snap election. The polls for a new election are close, but some suggest that a leftist coalition known as Syriza may win the election. If Syriza does win, then its leader, Alexis Tsipras, may repudiate parts of the austerity program imposed on Greece by the EU. That repudiation would create a serious crisis for the European Union.
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