“Geography” on The Daily Caller

Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban on Thursday, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports. (more)

When I asked Vice if they’d give me some money to hire a car so I could drive nine hours north of Reykjavik to meet a man living in a fishing hamlet near the tip of the Arctic Circle who keeps the largest collection of preserved penises in the world, they frowned. Apparently they’re not a chauffeur service here to provide Icelandic dick tours. But I knew the true value of a room full of pickled schlongs to the curious and worldly Vice reader, so I decided to hitchhike. It was worth it if only for the fact I now know what happens when a whale gets a boner. (more)

This year, Arizona became known as the state with the toughest policies against illegal immigration. That’s why Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Eric Peters didn’t think the Pima County coroner would see a surge in migrants killed while trying to cross Arizona’s southern deserts. (more)

The lead singer of a British pop band has committed suicide during a music festival in Belgium. (more)

CROIX DES BOUQUETS, Haiti — A few months before Wyclef Jean, the hip-hop star, declared his candidacy for president of Haiti, the representative of a struggling tent camp made a pilgrimage to the new headquarters of Mr. Jean’s charity. He arrived, hat in hand, at the eight-acre compound the charity leased after a fund-raising bonanza in response to the Jan. 12 earthquake. (more)

(CNN) — A source familiar with ongoing rescue efforts confirms to CNN that former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has died in a plane crash near Dillingham, Alaska. (more)

Severe weather has hampered the rescue operation for eight people believed to be on board a GCI-owned aircraft that crashed near Dillingham on Monday night with possible fatalities, according to state and federal officials. (more)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — More than 1,000 people have died in northwest Pakistan after record-breaking rainfall over the past week sent rivers over their banks, officials said Sunday. The flooding has also leveled thousands of homes, washed away riverfront hotels and drowned livestock, they said. (more)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A regional minister says the death toll in floods that have lashed Pakistan has risen above 800. (more)

The Obama administration has adopted a tougher tone with China in recent weeks as part of a diplomatic balancing act in which the United States welcomes China’s rise in some areas but also confronts Beijing when it butts up against American interests. (more)

The July 11 bombings in Uganda carried out by the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab exposed the global terror threat emerging in the Horn of Africa – a region also plagued by destitution and authoritarian rule.  This week, however, about 3.5 million people in the region will celebrate a remarkable victory for democracy.  The government of a Muslim population just north of the territory controlled by al Shabaab will experience a peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties one month after a free and fair presidential election.  The government conducted the multi-party election by its own initiative and with limited external assistance or pressure.  The feat, which has so far received little attention in the West, reaffirms the idea that democracy can take root in cultures of any religious and socio-economic background, and it occurs at a time when U.S. foreign policy has shied away from promoting democratic allies in strategic parts of the world. (more)

(July 21) — Crave ribs? Bagels and coffee or doughnuts? Seafood, subs or Chinese? So does Congress! (more)

Guess he didn’t respect their authoritah! (more)

While politicians in America often have faces best suited for radio, the Czech Republic is blessed with some serious lookers. (more)

Professor Peter Hennessy has obtained the previously secret plan for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Home Secretary to use the Royal Yacht Britannia to escape Soviet missiles. (more)

Thousands of tourists and scientists got a look at a rare total solar eclipse that temporarily plunged parts of the Pacific and Latin America into darkness on Sunday. (more)

Most teenage thieves content themselves with a spot of shoplifting. Colton Harris-Moore, a 19-year-old on the run from US authorities for two years, has bigger ambitions: he is being hunted in the Bahamas after stealing a plane and making a 1,000-mile flight from the mainland. (more)

It took Christendom centuries, but religious tolerance eventually replaced persecution.  Today it’s hard to find a Christian society that genuinely persecutes. (more)

Arizona goes to trial (more)

Africa is witnessing the birth of a new ocean, according to scientists at the Royal Society. (more)