food riot

A third day of riots in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, had by Friday paralyzed the city with looting and violence. The toll includes a U.N. soldier who has been shot and killed in the capital while delivering food to his unit.

Food riots seem to be happening around the world on a near-daily basis lately.

Soaring prices of staples — which have risen about 75% since 2005, driven by growing demand, rising oil prices and the effects of global warming — have sparked riots in several countries, as people reel from sticker shock and governments scramble to feed their people. Crowds tore through three cities in the West African nation of Burkina Faso late last week, burning government buildings and looting stores; when officials tried to talk peace with one group of protesters, the enraged crowd hurled stones at them. The riots followed similar violent protests over food prices in Senegal and Mauritania earlier this year. And, last October, protesters in India burned hundreds of food-ration stores after stockpiles emptied, leaving thousands of people unfed.