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Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe accused of using food as 'political weapon' By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg Last Updated: 8:25PM BST 06/06/2008 Zimbabweans have been given the stark choice of eating or voting, as Robert Mugabe tightened his grip ahead of the final round of voting in presidential elections. The government has been accused of trying to become the sole distributor of food to help President Mugabe win the election The US ambassador to Harare, James McGee, said that President Mugabe was using food as a "political weapon", allowing members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change...

UN food chief roasts 'overfed' West 3/06/2008 9:51:00 PM. UN food agency chief Jacques Diouf said today that billions of dollars are being wasted on feeding obese people in the West while millions starve around the world. "No one understands... how over-consumption by obese people in the world costs $20 billion each year," the head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation told an international summit on the food price crisis. On top of this, he added, there are "$100 billion in indirect costs resulting from premature deaths and associated diseases." Diouf also highlighted how an estimated $1.2 trillion was spent...