Pambazuka News 493: Kenyan constitution: History in the making
Pambazuka News 493: Kenyan constitution: History in the making
Civil society have demanded that leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) take action to prevent state-sponsored violence during the next elections in Zimbabwe. The call by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition comes ahead of the SADC Summit in Namibia from August 15 – 17, where Zimbabwe’s current political stalemate is set to be debated. The situation fell off the agenda at last month’s African Union (AU) summit in Uganda, despite the stalemate that has blocked any real change in the country.
The Minister of Media, Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu, on Wednesday threatened to arrest any government ministers who disclose information on cabinet meetings and proceedings to the media, plus the journalists who use such information. Minister Shamu reportedly said ministers were using confidential information from cabinet proceedings to “further their political agendas” and that some even “distort or misinterpret” the information in order to “promote their narrow party political interests”.
A court in Gambia has rejected the appeal of an opposition politician who was jailed for using a megaphone at a rally without permission, a case that has drawn harsh criticism from foreign donors. The jailing of Femi Peters, campaign manager of the main opposition UDP party, led to the United States and former colonial power Britain speaking out over concerns about human rights in Gambia, moves which drew an angry rebuke from President Yahya Jammeh who accused them of backing the opposition.
Advocacy organisations in the US and Uganda have welcomed the announcement that the U.S. global AIDS program, PEPFAR, has reversed severe restrictions that capped enrollment of new HIV patients on life saving treatment in Uganda. Following Pressure, White House Announces it is Lifting AIDS Treatment Caps in Uganda. Similar Treatment Access Crises Loom Unless the Obama Administration Keeps its AIDS Funding Promises.
The U.N. General Assembly has declared access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation to be a "'human right' in a resolution that more than 40 countries including the United States didn't support. South Africa did support it. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution last Wednesday that access to water and sanitation is a human right. The resolution passed with 122 votes in favor, none against, and 41 abstentions.
Every 17 seconds a woman is raped in South Africa. According to the South African Police Services’ 2006 rape statistics, close to 55 000 women reported being raped that year. But how many more rapes go unreported, and why? Put yourself in a rape survivor’s shoes just for a minute. After experiencing an extremely traumatic ordeal, what would you do? Would you go to the police station, seek medical attention or do nothing and hope to forget about it? Often, these are some of the questions that linger in the mind of a rape survivor. Every 17 seconds a woman is raped in South Africa. It is also estimated that 1 in 9 adult women report being raped.
South Africa's draft climate change policy, known as the green paper, would be submitted to Cabinet by the end of August, after which it would be gazetted for public comment, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). DEA communications chief director Albi Modise further explained that following engagement on the comments received, a widely-consulted white paper would be submitted into the Parliamentary process by the end of the year, for promulgation which was expected in the first quarter of 201
Africa is a continent on the rise and its story needs to be told: "Africa is open for business and ready to grow," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the ninth annual U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Forum -- also known as the AGOA Forum.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced it is no longer considering funding Africa’s tallest dam, in Ethiopia. The hydroelectric dam, called Gibe III, has drawn international criticism because of the devastating effect it is likely to have on the food security of at least eight Ethiopian tribes.
Maude Barlow, former UN advisor on water, ‘Alternative Nobel’ prize winner and founder of the Blue Planet Project, has condemned the Botswana government’s failure to allow Bushmen to access water. Barlow’s remarks come a week after the United Nations declared water a fundamental human right, and two weeks after a Botswana High Court judge ruled that the Kalahari Bushmen cannot access a water borehole on their lands.
"Virtually every author concludes that violence against African migrants will continue and increase unless some profound socio-economic and attitudinal changes occur. This text thus sounds a loud warning bell to South Africa about our future. And it does so not merely based on the opinions of the authors, but because of the views of ordinary South African citizens that informed the research. ... survey after survey, focus group after focus group, have shown deeply xenophobic attitudes rising steadily over time." - David Everatt in introduction to report on South African Civil Society and Xenophobia, July 2010
"An astounding 100 deportees a month come to ARACEM [in Mali] for shelter, food and clothing. They are expelled from Libya, Morocco and Algeria as they make the way from Central and West Africa in an attempt to find work. These three North African countries have signed agreements with European countries to act as external border control agents to prevent migrants from reaching Europe."
Police in Bulawayo have arrested 15 girls from Evelyn High, a girls only public school here for engaging in homosexual activities. Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe, and some individuals have been prosecuted and convicted for their sexual orientation, including former president Canaan Sodindo Banana.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) is safe for men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a U.S. study presented Friday, July 23, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Vienna. PrEP is one of the most promising prevention tools on the immediate horizon. With PrEP, HIV-negative individuals take antiretroviral drugs to prevent becoming infected with the virus.
Uganda hopes to become the region's leader in rice research with the opening later this year of a US$6 million centre at its crop research institute. The National Crop Resources Research Institute (NACRRI) received the money from Japan in September last year for the construction of a training and research centre for rice farmers and scientists, which is now nearing completion.
IRIN is pleased to announce the launch of three more chapters in our ongoing series of short films, Kids in the City. The Dump Site tells the story of children who scavenge from the Dandora rubbish tip in Nairobi to survive. Home Alone features a family of four children in the Ugandan capital Kampala who were orphaned by AIDS, while The Weigh Scale introduces 14-year-old Cambodian Chan Sori, who never knew his fathe
Cholera has killed at least 94 people in northern Cameroon and is spreading, in what health officials say is the most severe outbreak in years. "We are used to seeing cholera here during the rainy season, but we don't understand what's happening this year," Kuété Fotié Yves, health director in the district of Moloko, told IRIN. "We have not seen an outbreak of this magnitude in at least 10 years."
Since March 2008, Beatrice Tamaska Kae has lived under a tarpaulin with her seven children in a camp after their eviction from a government forest in Trans Nzoia West district in western Kenya. "It is hard to get used to life in a camp when you had a lot of space before; during the dry season life is slightly better because it is not cold but now with the heavy rains and the cold, it is pure misery, however closely we sit or sleep, we cannot get warm in this weather," Kae said on 29 July at Teldet primary school, in Kissawai location of Saboti Division.
After months of non-payment, lay counsellors vital to government's ambitious target of testing 15 million South Africans for HIV by April 2011, are threatening to walk out of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) clinics. Lay counsellors in at least two of South Africa's nine provinces - Eastern Cape and Gauteng - said they had gone for as long as five months without receiving their government stipends for providing pre- and post-test counselling as part of the national testing drive.
Pambazuka News 494: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Time for sanity and healing
Pambazuka News 494: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Time for sanity and healing
The Carsey Institute is very pleased to announce the SMDP-Tanzania, which will be held in Stonetown, Zanzibar, at the Zanzibar Ocean View Resort. The Institute will use the island environment as our classroom, where students will see sustainable development in action. This is an intensive and highly relevant training program for senior management professionals from microfinance institutions, environmental NGOS, enterprise development organizations, government ministries, private donor organizations, religious and faith-based development organizations, and academic institutions.
We are organisations that campaign for social justice. The success of our work is dependent on respect for the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. The right to free expression and freedom of the press and other media are essential components of democracy. That is why they are contained in the Bill of Rights. They are one of the essential means by which all people in South Africa, especially the vulnerable, exploited and poor, can hold government and the powerful private business sector to account.
For all it cost. For all we've lost. For all who persisted, decade upon decade, in the face of every defeat. For the invisible heroes of four generations, who brought it to fruition. For those taken by the struggle, whose spirits we carry with us. For those who laboured for this and did not live to see it realised. For the bereaved, displaced, dispossessed, raped, whose blood and suffering have watered this moment. If victory means anything, it must mean the beginning of restitution…
Pambazuka News is taking an extended break for the next three weeks (from 16 August to 5 September). This is to allow staff to focus attention on the development of the new Pambazuka News website, which we hope to launch later this year. The next issue of the English edition of Pambazuka News will therefore be published on 9 September, while the French edition will appear on 6 September. We thank you for your patience.
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In an interview about ICT (information and communication technology) and its social effects on women, GenderIT.org writer Mavic Cabrera-Balleza speaks with Sylvie Niombo and Francoise Mukuku, activists from Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) respectively.
As ‘Africa’s top kleptocrats … gathered at their annual summit’ in Kampala, US Attorney General Eric Holder and US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told those assembled that the US Justice Department has established the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (KARI) to recover criminally acquired funds, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Corruption and the misappropriation of funds have a devastating impact, Mariam stresses, and in developing an initiative to combat elite impunity, it seems that ‘President Obama … has finally found the silver bullet to deal with Africa’s corrupt thugs.’
The fight to stop violence against women in Africa must diverge from the dominant Western feminism that implants alien perspectives and methods into an African struggle, writes Jenn Jagire. Jagire urges Africa’s feminists to regain agency and ‘deEuropeanise’ African feminism, avoiding perpetuating neo-colonial mentalities and development models that see Africa's women as victims rather than the drivers of their own destiny.
‘Social Justice and Neoliberalism’, edited by Adrian Smith, Alison Stenning and Katie Willis, is a book that strives to ‘shift the focus from stock exchanges and politicians to the damage neoliberalism inflicts on real people and their communities’, writes Jamie Pitman and Adzowa Kwabla Oklikah. Pitman and Oklikah commend the book’s acknowledgment of human tales, though disagree with the authors’ claims that neoliberalism comes in many varied forms, and insist that looking at neoliberalism through different lenses does not invalidate its homogeneity.
As the Pakistani people face up to the effects of terrible flooding, Yash Tandon expresses solidarity and stresses that if nature is cruel, a civilisation which puts ‘profits before humanity, and military security before food security’ is surely crueller.
This Women’s Day the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP) would like to commemorate not only the women's march to the Union Buildings on the 9th of August but also the consistent and varied struggles that women in this country have fought. Women in South Africa have asserted their independence and challenged racism and patriarchy in many ways that are often forgotten or ignored. For example it was black women, often single, who fought against imposed municipal beer halls and led struggles in the locations. Between 1920 and 1950 it was women who formed the core of the most successful unions and often served as their leadership. This history for survival and independence in addition to the protests around passes being extended to black women are only snippets of consistent and varied struggles.
This social experiment was carried out using hidden cameras in a townhouse complex in Johannesburg. Don't condone violence by doing nothing. If you or anyone around you is experiencing domestic abuse please call the POWA helpline on 083 765 1235 or visit Counseling services and support is available.
As African leaders prepare to meet at the SADC Summit in Windhoek this month from 15 to 17, they must draw concrete plans to prevent state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe’s elections planned for 2011. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition calls upon SADC and AU leaders, as guarantors of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement (GPA), which created a transitional power-sharing government to, among other things, ensure that Zimbabwe fully complies with SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections – including impartiality of electoral institutions.
The referendum result ‘puts beyond doubt the wishes of Kenyans to bring about fundamental social and political changes’, writes Yash Ghai. Although the new constitution sets both a framework and a timetable for its implementation, Ghai says it’s crucial that Kenyans are not sidetracked by talk of ‘reconciliation through further negotiations on “contentious issues”’ from elites ‘determined to sabotage reform agendas’. ‘The whole point of a referendum is to see which side has greater support, and to bring the debate to closure,’ says Ghai.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/494/66650_swiss_bank_tmb.jpgRudolf Elmer, whistleblower and former CEO of Swiss bank Julius Baer’s Cayman Island operations, reveals the secrets of the murky world of offshore banking to Khadija Sharife. ‘Mauritius is in many ways the Switzerland of Africa,’ says Elmer, but there is another African nation vying to be the ‘golden’ financial gateway: Ghana.
The UN is rapidly becoming a breeding ground for corruption and impunity, writes Rasna Warah. Warah, a former UN staff member, investigates how voices raised against wrongdoings in the organisation are hastily muted, and often met with severe reprisals.
It is 65 years this August since the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of unarmed Japanese civilians, writes Horace Campbell. Although US history books say that thousands of servicemen were saved as a result of those two bombings, the reality, says Campbell, was different.
Responses to the results of Kenya’s referendum, Haitian musician Wyclef Jean’s decision to run for president and the dangers of Bill Gates and his foundation dabbling in Africa’s development are among the topics discussed in this week’s roundup of the African blogosphere, brought to you by Sokari Ekine.
Trinidadians are becoming increasingly alarmed by the murders and a flourishing trade in cocaine and guns, writes Raoul Pantin.
Let’s give credit for the overwhelming decision for ‘Yes’ where it belongs – to ordinary Kenyans of all walks of life, writes Ngunjiri Wambugu.
Professor Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba’s work in the political reconstruction of Congolese society, characterised by ‘remarkable self-sacrifice and humility’, is worthy of support, writes Jacques Depelchin. Let’s show solidarity for ‘one of the most committed intellectuals for another Africa, for another humanity and for another world’, Depelchin urges, to ensure that Wamba-dia-Wamba is not faced with ‘destitution and isolation’ as a result of his singular path.
Zambia’s new draft constitution, created by the National Constitution Conference, discriminates against members of the LGBT community, depriving them of their rights to live freely and equitably, writes Mwila Agatha Zaza. The inclusion of unspecified Christian values into the constitution, vaguely defined laws on family and a woman’s right to marital freedom, and a prohibition of abortion except under already defined circumstances means this new constitution does little to progress sexual equality in Zambia, Zaza argues.
Following the approval of Kenya’s new constitution, L. Muthoni Wanyeki discusses the constitutional referendum voting process, the road to the new constitution, and what must happen next to ensure the new constitution is observed.
Given the negative impact of the fast food industry on food sovereignty and security, isn't it a little odd that the World Food Programme has teamed up with KFC to fund its hunger relief efforts, asks Alex Free. Fast food's methods of production and perpetual drive to lower costs work to undermine ‘environments, biodiversity and local people’s access to land’, says Free, while tackling world hunger demands the exact opposite: ‘Working towards sustainable access to food; recognising local expertise; promoting biodiversity; and putting people before profits.’
Kenya is awakening with the realisation of a new constitution. Jill Cottrell Ghai and Yash Pal Ghai warn that Kenyan society must not now allow the silence of complacency to take hold and obstruct the path to democratic and transparent governance. The commitment of the nation’s civil society organisations and movements able to secure the universal implementation of the constitution will ensure its survival, and the upholding of the rights and responsibilities it enshrines for the benefit of Kenyans, write the authors.
In conversation with Pambazuka News, Executive Director Franck Kamunga of the Kinshasa-based Droits Humains Sans Frontières discusses the struggle for justice for murdered civil society activists in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
‘Given the fact that Iran will not give an inch to the demands of the United States and Israel, which have already mobilised several of the means of warfare to their disposal, they will have to launch the attack as soon as the date agreed by the Security Council on June 9, 2010 – with the established rules and requirements – expires. There is a limit to all what man hopes to achieve, which he cannot surpass. In this critical case, President Barack Obama is the one who would give the order to start the so much announced and publicised attack, following the rules of the gigantic empire,' proclaims Fidel Castro.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/494/angola_tmb.jpgAs communities in Angola’s municipality of Matala and Quipungo face up to demolitions as part of the government’s ‘Operation Combat and Demolition of Shacks and Anarchic Constructions in the Municipality of Lubango’, civil society work by local groups has proven crucial in enabling families to prepare adequately and begin to organise, writes Sylvia Croese.
‘Women should refuse to die or live in abject poverty or endure violence: They should be angry, mobilising and taking to the streets to demand concrete actions which will improve their lives and the wellbeing of their children.’ Marie-Claire Faray, vice president of UK WILPF (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) speaks to Pambazuka News about the African Women’s Decade and what women – and men – can do to help fulfil its promise to defend women's rights and reduce gender inequality.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/494/pok_group_tmb.jpgPillars of Kibera is a theatre-for-social-change group based in Kibera, Nairobi. Comprised of 25 passionate young people, this theatre group creates their own performance pieces using dance, drama, music and poetry to address the social issues faced by Kibera residents. is made up of photographs from the group’s rehearsals and performances, along with interviews from group members about Pillars of Kibera discussing how it brings change to the community and how it has changed themselves.
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program is an international exchange program that offers practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world the opportunity to spend five months at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in Washington DC, in order to undertake independent research on democracy in a particular country or region. While in residence, fellows reflect on their experiences; engage with counterparts; conduct research and writing; consider best practices and lessons learned; and develop professional relationships within a global network of democracy advocates.
2010 marks an important period in the annals of Africa: it’s the year when a 10-year follow-up on the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) will be made, 5 year post the Gleneagles G8 Summit commitments, 26th anniversary of the Ethiopian famine that claimed the lives of millions, and a year when 17 African countries are marking their 50th anniversary since independence.
And in spite of making tremendous progress in economic, social and political spheres, Africa is still regarded by the international world as a failing, if not a failed continent.
As part of the Annual Meeting of the Africa Progress Panel (APP) held in Geneva, the APP organized a debate in front of an informed audience where answers were sought for the following questions:
Is Africa it’s own worst enemy?
Does Africa deserve special treatment?
Does the world need Africa more than Africa needs the world?
To view the trailer, please click
Delivery will be by FTP!
Please contact Farah Chaudhry on [email][email protected]
should you require the debate for broadcast purposes
In April 2008, the African Ministers of Health – in preparation for the Bamako Ministerial Forum on Research for Health – adopted the Algiers Declaration that expressed their commitment to reinforce national research systems for health. During the Bamako conference, health research leaders of western African countries, representatives of the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and international organisations discussed the status of research for health in West Africa.
A day after Kenyans voted to accept a new constitution, women across the country speak about their hopes and expectations.??The case of Elizabeth Chazima could stand for the story of millions of women in Kenya who have been robbed of their financial contributions to matrimonial assets. Speaking from her modest grocery store in Jericho Estate, Nairobi, Chazima recounts how in the early 1990s, her husband sold the house they had bought together without her knowledge.
Subsidies for agriculture in the industrialised countries of the world grew again in 2009, benefiting the largest companies and land owners, such as Prince Albert of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth of Britain. The latest increase came despite repeated and consistent evidence that such subsidies contribute to the destruction of the livelihoods of poor farmers in developing countries, especially in Africa, and that they distort international trade.
Have you ever walked past a car window and checked your reflection to make sure your hair looks just right? Perhaps spent an hour perfecting your make-up before you head out? Have you looked at Halle Berry's body and thought, "Ah, I wish I had that body?" I'm sure most women can relate to this constant quest to look good, but what is beauty -- just what does looking good mean today? Considering this is Women's Month in South Africa, I decided now was a good time to find out exactly what kind of woman I want to be.
Angola's ruling party will meet this week to examine a private report accusing members of the president's inner circle of corruption, a spokesman has said. The report, "The Angolan Presidency -- The Epicentre of Corruption", describes how people close to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos have taken control of the economy by securing stakes in firms in sectors ranging from oil to banking.
ASSOCHAM, India’s apex industry body, has sent a proposal to the external affairs ministry to consider tapping the emerging agricultural opportunities in Africa and offering to act as a facilitator to help Indian farmers reap the benefits of the huge potential that lie in Africa. “Hoping to address the huge issue of food shortage, these countries have begun inviting overseas farmers to come and cultivate their lands. These governments are willing to lease land free of cost for 99 years”, ASSOCHAM secretary general DS Rawat said.
Apeda has received an intimation from the Embassy of India in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about investment opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs. DRC has 80 million hectares of rich arable soil with water resources and 1000 mm of annual rainfall. Maniac, maize, rice, groundnut, sugarcane, corn, sweet potatoes, bananas, yams, pineapples are the principal crops produced.
This video records a day in the life of Bibi Aminajati Kalema at Hiari Orphanage located in Chang'ombe, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
On a typically busy morning in North Kivu’s capital city Goma, nobody at the bank paid much attention to Bosco Ntaganda and his bodyguards. It had been a hectic few days for the rebel commander-turned-army general, who had also attended meetings with the provincial governor and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila.
The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) has started a new Journal called The Africa Women’s journal. The Journal is bi-annual publication with current issues and statistics on women’s development issues in Africa. We invite contributors to send well researched and analytical articles on the theme: The African Women’s Decade (2010-2020): A Decade of Triumph for African Women. The article must have current statistics with clear referencing.
Aid agencies are still barred from Kalma, the largest settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Southern Darfur State, 10 days after the government blocked the UN and NGOs from distributing food and medical aid to an estimated 82,000 IDPs. Tensions in Kalma rose on 25 July, at the conclusion of the latest round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar, with some IDPs claiming they were not fully represented. Protests inside the camp pitted the detractors, mainly the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) of Abdul Wahid Mohamed el-Nur, against supporters of the negotiations.
In this week's roundup of emerging powers news, US goes high-end to boost export trade with Afric, China unveils proposals for agricultural cooperation with Africa, Bank of China marks 10 years in South Africa, India signs $42 mln loan with Congo following debt relief, and Brazil's electronics sector eyes Africa.
Press Freedom is a right enjoyed by a privileged minority of South Africans. Our print media is controlled by a cartel of four corporations. Broadcast Media is dominated by the SABC. The profiteering of private media and commercialization of the SABC have seen the mass media catering to the expression and information needs of lucrative markets (LSM 8- 10) representing under 15% of South Africans.
Zimbabwe's government netted around $71 million from a major sell-off of rough diamonds from its controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, the country's mining minister has said. On Wednesday, Zimbabwe resumed full-scale diamond exports by auctioning close to 1 million carats to international buyers at Harare airport.
A new report by the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Thursday said global youth unemployment in 2009 soared to a record high and is expected to climb even higher as the year progresses. The report, entitled: 'ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010', said that, 'of the world's 620 million economically-active youth, between the ages of 15 and 24, 81 million were out of work at the end of 2009, the highest number ever'.
By the end of a five-year 'Growth and Transformation Plan' (GTP)', Ethiopia will end its dependence on foreign food, Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi said. The Horn of African impoverished country has registered more that 10 percent annual growth over the past five years and expects to maintain accelerated rate of the trend in years to come.
Niger's National Advisory Council, a legislative organ overseeing the country's transition, is reviewing a draft Constitution aimed at returning the landlocked west African nation to democracy. The document, laid out in 14 titles and 190 articles, is based on the texts of a previous Constitution, in force until the military coup of 18 February that toppled the regime of President Mamadou Tandja.
Angolan lawyer Suzana Antonio da Conceiçao Nicolau Ingles, was unanimously elected by the National Assembly as the chairperson of the National Electoral Commission (CNE). She was elected during the third extraordinary session of the National Assembly, led by speaker Antonio Paulo Kassoma.
The Board of Directors of the World Bank (WB) ap proved a loan of US$ 25.5 million for Mauritania for the additional financing of the programme of urban development (PDU), a source close to the bank announced. These funds will serve to support the efforts of the Mauritanian government to improve the access to basic infrastructures in urban areas, particularly for the disadvantaged zones.
Despite some resistance, the fight against female genital mutilations (FGM) has recorded significant progress in Mali, with over 400 villages putting a stop to the practice. According to the directorate of the National Programme of the Fight against Excision (PNLE), the good result arose from intense advocacy and sensitization programme across the country.
Pressure on African nations for elections - Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has lashed out at major world powers for putting pressure on African countries to organise elections. "On the issue of elections, I say to many of our friends that nobody can be more concerned than the Ivorians themselves." he said.
An estimated 5,000 refugees troop into the country every month, according to the United Nations. Most of them find their way through the porous Kenya-Somalia border (4,000) to cap the number of foreigners seeking asylum in Kenya at 400,000. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that a contingency plan had already been put in place in case the situation in Somalia worsened.
Sierra Leone's human rights body has urged the government and the special court in The Hague to "retrieve the blood diamonds" that Naomi Campbell was given by war crimes accused Charles Taylor. "We have urged both parties to contact the South African government for the diamonds to be handed over to Sierra Leone," human rights commissioner Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff told journalists.
Thirty Egyptians, aged 18 to 28, joined hands to produce 10 social advertisements, aimed at social reform.
The project, aptly named Closing The Gap, consisted of three phases held in partnership between The Egyptian Life Center for Creativity and Culture jointly with Freedom House.
Four bodies have been found in an unused shaft of a mine run by relatives of South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and ex-leader Nelson Mandela. Police said investigations were continuing into reports that up to 20 alleged illegal miners were shot dead by security at the mine.
French officials have condemned a senior soldier who was filmed threatening a Togolese journalist. In a video released on YouTube, Lt Col Romuald Letondot is shown ordering the journalist to delete images from his camera during a protest in Lome.
Investigators in Uganda have arrested four men who they say masterminded twin bomb attacks that killed more than 70 people last month. The men, all of them Ugandan, admitted their involvement in the Kampala attacks during a news conference. They all spoke of their role in the attacks that struck a restaurant and a rugby club - the venues hosting fans watching the World Cup football final.
Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of going on a massive forced recruitment campaign in remote areas of central Africa. Human Rights Watch said the group had brutally abducted at least 697 adults and children over the past 18 months.
Following last year’s Copenhagen Climate Summit, the five days of negotiations in Bonn last week in preparation for the big climate change meeting in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year, has been met by a profound display of disinterest.