Morning Briefing

"Unexpectedly sharp price rises in April for local cereals like millet, rice, and maize in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad mean many vulnerable people in the drought-hit Sahel could find it even harder to get enough to eat," IRIN reports. "Prices are expected to keep rising until the end of August -- during the lean season -- but the size of recent hikes has surprised food price analysts and humanitarian aid personnel," the news service writes (5/25). In an article detailing the situation in Senegal, the Associated Press notes, "More than one million children under five in this wide, arid swath of Africa below the Sahara are now at risk of a food shortage so severe that it threatens their lives, UNICEF estimates" (Larson, 5/27).