Pambazuka News 597: Libyan anti-Americanism, Somalia's imperial governance and Romney's Africa threat
Pambazuka News 597: Libyan anti-Americanism, Somalia's imperial governance and Romney's Africa threat
At least 16 people have been killed by government soldiers in the central Malian region of Segou, when the army opened fire on their vehicle, a government official and the police have said. The incident occurred overnight in the town of Diabali, and authorities said those killed were Islamist fighters. Among the dead were two Malians and 14 Mauritanian nationals, Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reported from Mali's capital Bamako.
Israel ended a stalemate with about 20 African migrants stranded along its border with Egypt for more than a week, allowing two women and a child to enter but turning the rest of the group away. A statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that although Israel granted entry to two women and a child, the country was 'determined to stop the flood' of migrants. A group of around 20 Eritreans had been stuck outside a nearly-completed border fence, where the Israeli military was providing them with food and water.
The US ambassador to Libya and three other American staffers died on Tuesday (11 September) night in an attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, US officials have said. An armed mob attacked and set fire to the consulate building during a protest against an amateur film deemed offensive to Islam's prophet, Muhammad, after similar protests in Egypt's capital. The US government confirmed that Ambassador Chris Stevens and information technology officer Sean Smith, in addition to two unnamed personnel, died in the attack. Libyan security source told Al Jazeera that Stevens died from smoke inhalation.
The National Press Council (CNP), the statutory print regulatory body, on 7 September 2012 imposed a ban on six publications of privately-owned Notre Voie, a pro-Gbagbo daily over a publication. In a communiqué issued, the regulatory body rebuked the newspaper for publishing photographs of personalities of the fallen regime and with the caption 'Minister' thereby creating the impression of 'the existence of two governments in Cote d’Ivoire'.
The Transnational Institute (TNI), in cooperation with the Municipal Services Project (MSP) and the Latin American Programme for Distance Education in Social Sciences (PLED) is offering a free web-based course on Alternatives to Privatisation: Non-Commercial Public Services Options in the Global South. The course will begin on October 8, 2012 and will comprise a series of eight weekly sessions.
The Campaigning Toolkit is a comprehensive printed and online resource for people at risk of removal, and the groups working to support them. The Toolkit aims help migrants understand the asylum and immigration systems, to know their rights, and to be as well-equipped as possible to make a successful application. In the case of a refusal, we hope the Toolkit enables migrants to know what a campaign is, whether it’s right for them, and to be at the centre of the campaign and of all of the decisions made.
The huge inflow of asylum seekers to European countries in the early 1990s drove those countries to initiate policies that restricted asylum seekers’ rights and benefits. Were these policies spontaneous responses to the mounting inflow or instead political outcomes determined by political factors such as partisanship and election timing? This journal article finds that upcoming elections increase the likelihood of policy introduction. This election effect is greater in the presence of right-wing parties.
Lack of adherence to the full course of Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) treatment is threatening the effectiveness of the drug recommended as first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in countries where the disease is endemic, according to recent studies. In Siaya district of western Kenya, where malaria is particularly prevalent (38 per cent incidence in 2010), a study revealed that only 47 per cent of participants reported completing the given doses.
The continued arrival of refugees fleeing post-election violence and militia activities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in western Uganda, and the government’s efforts to resettle them, have created a land row that has already cost the life of a government official. Government officials say 100 police officers have been deployed to Oruchinga, Nakivale, Rwamwaja, Kyangwali and Kiryandongo refugee settlement camps to help quell the clashes and ensure the safety of the refugees.
Some 1,000 Chadian migrants - most of them children separated from their families - are waiting for aid in the village of N’Gbouboua in the Lac region of western Chad having fled Boko Haram-related violence in Nigeria, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). With more arriving each day - some 100 have arrived in the last 48 hours according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) - the food situation is getting desperate, say aid workers.
In response to rising HIV prevalence, Uganda's government has announced a strategy to reduce new HIV infections by up to 30 per cent by 2015, but activists have cast doubt on its ability to achieve this ambitious goal. Uganda's HIV prevalence has risen from 6.4 per cent to 7.3 per cent over the past five years. In August, the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) released a revised National HIV Prevention Strategy aimed at 'increasing the adoption of safer sexual behaviour and reduction of risk-taking behaviour, attaining critical coverage of effective HIV prevention service, creating a sustainable enabling environment that mitigates the underlying structural drivers of the epidemic, re-engaging leadership and energizing coordination of HIV prevention, and improving strategic information on HIV prevention'.
Even the one tilling a soft ground retires, says a popular Ugandan saying, but President Museveni insists that there is nobody to replace him.
The Fahamu Refugee Programme is pleased to announce the September 2012 issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter. The issue can be found here: Please feel free to share it widely.
In the course of my departure from Pambazuka News, I have been overwhelmed by the number of letters I have received from readers – too many for me to thank individually. Thank you to all of you who wrote or called.??
I also want to give thanks to the contribution, talent, tenacity and commitment of the small team of editors who worked with under great duress recently to ensure the regular publication of this unique pan-African e-newsletter and website. ??
The team, comprising of Patrick Burnett (South Africa), Tidiane Kassé (Senegal), and Henry Makori (Kenya), has decided to continue publishing Pambazuka News for as long as they are able to. ??
I write to urge all contributors and readers to support the team in their efforts. There continues to be a critical need for a platform such as Pambazuka News to support the struggle for freedom and justice.?
PAMBAZUKA NEWS STAFF REPLY: As the staff of Pambazuka News who have worked under Firoze Manji, in some cases for many years, we would like to pay tribute to his enormous commitment to the publication and what it stands for.??
Firoze worked tirelessly and passionately on Pambazuka News since it began over 10 years ago. He has signed off on nearly 600 English editions and nearly 300 French editions.??
When Pambazuka News began, it was a tiny email list with a handful of subscribers; against the odds it is now a major platform for news, views and activism. Firoze's time at Pambazuka News spanned global events that have changed our world: under his editorship activists from all backgrounds and causes, civil society professionals, Pan-Africanists, academics, global justice advocates, bloggers, tweeters and more have been able to come together and share views and opinions on these events in a way that was not possible to do before. In the process they have enriched their work and critical alliances and exchanges have been forged, taking forward the movement for social justice. The extent of this achievement should not be underestimated.??
On a personal note, we would like to publicly thank Firoze for sharing with us his fierce intellect and his willingness to transfer skills and in the process impart knowledge and learning to those around him. Pambazuka News will sorely miss, but not forget, his leadership.
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s Justice and Reconciliation in Africa programme has released a new Policy Brief entitled ‘Reconciling Kenya: Opportunities for constructing a peaceful and socially cohesive nation’. The Brief forms part of an ongoing project focused on promoting national cohesion and reconciliation in Kenya, which will be jointly implemented by the IJR, the Kenyan National Cohesion and Integration Commission and the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Sweden over the next two years. The project pieces together the initiatives taken in Kenya towards reconciliation since the post-election violence in 2007/2008 and gives recommendations to different actors on the way forward to consolidate national cohesion and reconciliation.
Zimbabwe’s Information minister has threatened to revoke operating licenses of private newspapers that attack President Robert Mugabe. Media, Information and Publicity minister Webster Shamu from President Mugabe’s Zanu PF party told mourners at the burial of a veteran fighter in Zimbabwe’s liberation war that the private media was 'denigrating President Mugabe and the country’s leadership without jurisdiction'.
A new report by Oxfam, a leading international relief agency, warns that climate change will increase the frequency of large spikes in global food prices, leading to more hungry people around the world. Besides climate change, rapid population growth, higher per capita incomes, rapid urbanization, changing diets in developing countries and rising demand for biofuel feedstocks, are exerting unprecedented pressure on the global food system.
A group of smallholder farmers in Mali have turned to the courts to try to recover land they say they have lost to big private investors. The legal action comes as foreign investors are losing interest in Mali due to political instability and an armed rebellion in the north. 'We have laid a complaint against the agricultural land grabs that have hit so many smallholders,' said Lamine Coulibaly, a member of the National Coordination of Peasant Organisations, which is resisting the large-scale acquisition of agricultural land by foreign investors.
Positive and decisive acts are required to ensure effective promotion of gender equality in the composition of judges of the African Court.
Change is here. Visit any town in Kenya and, if you know where to look, you will not miss a pub, clinic, youth center, church yard, school or social hall where gays and lesbians meet to relax or discuss issues of concern to them.
American ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three officials were killed when a mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi on 12 September. The protest arguably emerged out of a long-standing sense of humiliation and anger at the West.
The University Council that oversees the affairs of public universities in Malawi has announced a 25 per cent increase in salaries of university teachers. But the Polytechnic, the constituent college of the University of Malawi in Blantyre, which is already on a month-long industrial strike, refused to immediately accept the offer, while Chancellor College in the eastern city of Zomba said the offer was a fair deal. Both constituent colleges were demanding a 113 per cent salary hike, citing the recent 49 per cent devaluation of the Malawi currency, the kwacha.
Corruption in Africa commenced with colonial governance. How can African governments search out ways to restore ethical principles?
Repressed by their government for years, the force for change in Gambia is likely to come from citizens finding the courage to 'seek another way, from another place'.
Somalia's new parliamentary leadership has effectively been booby trapped by a flawed governance model imposed by the international community.
GroundUp, a community journalism project reporting from South Africa’s townships, interviewed investigative journalist Greg Marinovich, who has published shocking findings about the deaths of miners at Marikana.
There has been a big push to lower political temperatures in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but President Joseph Kabila could emerge weaker, and his silent dependence on his East African neighbours to hold on to power could deepen. The conflict in eastern DR Congo that flared up recently, threatened to suck several countries into a new war, and set neighbouring Rwanda on a collision course with its international allies, improved quickly over the past week.
This online map from the London Guardian shows what Africa would like if all separatist groups gained independence.
Women activists challenging the fundamental structures of their communities and calling for new terms of peaceful coexistence among the Sudanese people are facing prosecution, sexual violence and harsh punishment by security forces.
The Romney-Ryan campaign’s promise of a resurgence in the United States’ global dominance would negatively impact the African diaspora.
A six-day course designed to help journalists fine-tune their skills and enhance their coverage of women’s issues, opinions and empowerment will take place in Barcelona, Spain in November. Participants will attend four days of classes and then have two days of the News Xchange conference.
After half-a-century of independence, life in Jamaica is marked by low wages, high prices, mass unemployment and depreciation of the national currency. The task of fulfilling the promise of independence lies with the Jamaican people.
Tunisia’s Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the ruling Islamist al-Nahda party, Hamadi Jebali, was invited to close a two-day event held in Tunis in May to celebrate World Press Freedom Day. In his speech, Jebali remarked upon the importance of a free press for a properly functioning democracy, adding that the present government in Tunisia was 'fully committed to safeguarding a public and independent media'. Despite such words of assurance, the freedom and independence of Tunisian media remain under threat, says this article from
An increasing number of developing countries are introducing universal healthcare coverage - and creating new models to do it - according to research published in The Lancet journal. Lessons learned from countries like Ghana, India and Rwanda are already shaping the way countries like South Africa are beginning to pilot their own bids for universal coverage. In the early 20th century, two models of universal healthcare coverage emerged in the United Kingdom and Germany. The UK uses general taxes to fund publicly provided healthcare in its one risk pool model, while Germany’s multiple risk pool model relies on household premiums and payroll taxes, and relies on private healthcare providers. Industrialised countries like Japan, Canada and France have all implemented variations of these two models. But countries from the global South (developing) are creating their own models, according to research by the Results for Development Institute and others, published in The Lancet as part of its universal healthcare coverage series.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Ethiopian government to release six journalists who have been convicted in connection with their work. The call by the New York-based non profit organisation working to protect press freedom worldwide, comes barely a day after the Ethiopian government released two Swedish journalists. According to CPJ, since 2011, Ethiopia had convicted 11 independent journalists and bloggers, some in absentia.
The slow rate of ratification and domestication of key African Union instruments is alarming and continues to undermine the credibility of the continental body.
We condemn the harassment of defenceless civilians by state-sponsored SAS. We call for the immediate end of the reign of the “army of occupation” on the streets of Osun state
Wits University (South Africa) Student Representative Council press statement on Boycott of Israel Resolution (Adopted)
In Mali it could be Diarre,
In Burkina Coulibaly.
Masters of mud,
Making bogolanfini.
Wrapper for a woman,
For a man a dashiki.
Colours of the earth,
Of cultural identity.
Expertise with mud,
Studied in academy.
Created also,
In the country called Ivory.
Where they call it Korhogo,
Symbols of literacy.
Guinea fowl and crocodile,
Inner beauty and fertility.
The wonder of mud,
In three West African countries.
Where every mud cloth,
Reveals it's unique story.
© Natty Mark Samuels, 2012.
A new book on the celebrated Zimbabwean writer, with rare archival materials, adds fresh angles to the debate about his contribution to African literature.
Section 27 has filed papers at the North Gauteng High Court after it emerged that hundreds of Limpopo pupils are still without textbooks. Rights organisation Section 27 filed papers at the North Gauteng High Court on Monday after it emerged that hundreds of Limpopo pupils are still without textbooks and are facing an inadequate departmental catch-up plan.
Zanu-PF has vowed not to give in to pressure to endorse a draft constitution produced two months ago by the constitutional parliamentary committee. But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) wants to put it to a referendum. Political observers have interpreted this as a sign that Zanu-PF will spurn the mediation efforts led by the Southern African Development Community and South African President Jacob Zuma. Earlier this year, Mugabe said his party reserved the right to reject Zuma as the SADC facilitator if he showed 'any bias'.
South Africa is the 9th largest producer of GMOs globally and has cultivated, imported and exported GMOs since 1998. About 72 per cent of maize production is genetically modified and over 90 per cent of soya production is modified. The South African government granted approximately 1200 permits for GMO maize, just in the last three years. Up until 2010 South Africa was a major importer of GM maize, importing over two million tons from Argentina in 2007 alone. However, in that year South Africa produced an enormous four million ton surplus and has subsequently exported nearly 6 million tons of GM maize. Since the introduction of GM crops in South Africa, some fourteen years ago, labelling has been a contentious issue.
Barrenness is a delicate subject in Uganda, where the stigma attached to women who cannot bear children is strong. These women are called 'barren' or 'infertile', with some forced to leave their matrimonial homes or left by their husbands. Many turn to gynecologists, traditional healers and religious leaders for help. Medical experts say that there are 3.5 million cases of infertility in Uganda, making it a part of the 'African Infertility Belt'.
Ethiopia’s rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has accused the Ethiopian military of committing a massacre against predominantly women and children in the Wardher region on 6 September. At least 13 people have been confirmed dead. The ONLF said in a statement that the killings targeted family members of ONLF rebels, including the Guuleed family.
A Kenya court has jailed the country’s former permanent secretary of Kenya’s Tourism Ministry Rebecca Nabutola and the former Kenya Tourist Board Managing Director Achieng Ong’ong’a after they were convicted of corruption. Chief Magistrate Lucy Nyambura sentenced Nabutola to four years in jail while Ong’ong’a was given three years jail after both were found guilty 'of conspiracy to defraud the government of 8.9 million shillings (about $106,000).'
Egypt’s vibrant blogging scene may be at risk. Most online activists need funding to be able to carry out their activities professionally. Without conscious efforts to find viable funding models, this public sphere might disappear after the novelty of the 25 January 2011 movement wears down.
A first for South Africa was a gathering that brought together passionately techno-affluent computer geeks, media personnel and civic society with a craving for open-data systems. Held at Ndifuna Ukwazi’s office in Cape Town over the weekend, the event code-named 'Hackathon' started with a brief introduction to some of the initiative’s key objectives and what the Open Data and Democracy Initiative was about. Comprising a group of young people pushing for a more open democracy, the initiative is made up of ordinary citizen activists, technologists, journalists and entrepreneurs aimed at developing and applying practical open technologies and promoting open data as a means for efficient governance, increased transparency, improved service delivery and empowerment of SA citizens.
The potential cost of pesticide-related illnesses in sub-Saharan African between 2005 and 2020 could reach $90bn (£56bn), according to a UN report released on Wednesday highlighting the growing health and environmental hazards from chemicals. It said the estimated cost of pesticide poisoning exceeds the total amount of international aid for basic health services for the region, excluding HIV/Aids.The report by the UN environment programme (Unep) warned that the increasing production of chemicals, especially in emerging economies where there are weaker safeguards, is damaging the environment and increasing health costs.
A presidential aspirant is among dozens of influential politicians and businessmen who own land on which slums in parts of Nairobi sit. The slum dwellers are going to court this week to lay claim to the land on which they have lived for years citing public interest. In what promises to be an epic judicial battle between the title holders and the slum dwellers, the group will also be claiming that the titles to these plots are no longer valid.
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) and villagers living along Save River are seeking a court order to bar three diamond mining companies in Marange district from polluting water sources. In a High Court application last week, Zela and the villagers alleged that Anjin Investments, Marange Resources and Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC) were polluting Save, Singwizi and Odzi rivers with sewage, chemicals and metal deposits.
On 5 September 2012, AFRA-Kenya officially launched a documentary film that can easily be described as the first of its kind. The screening of 'I am Mary' was done at the Inter News offices, I & M towers in Nairobi. It is the story of Mary, a lesbian woman who volunteers with one of the GALCK member groups, Minority Women in Action (MWA) and an active participant in the fight for human rights for LGBTI persons in Kenya.
Units of Spain’s paramilitary Civil Guard rounded up a group of would-be African immigrants recently on an otherwise uninhabited Spanish rock off the North African coast and shipped them back to the Moroccan shore just a few dozen yards away. As European governments impose austerity measures in the face of the Continent’s debt crisis, they are under domestic pressure to stem illegal immigration that is seen as putting additional pressure on scarce resources, reports the New York Times. Human rights groups have expressed concern that, in their zeal to protect Europe’s borders, authorities are neglecting the rights of would-be migrants and particularly of those who might have a legitimate claim to asylum.
Uganda has failed to carry out a comprehensive environmental and social impact study in the Albertine Graben oil exploration and production area, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Director, Dr. Tom Okurut, admitted during a September 6 meeting in Kampala. 'This study was supposed to be the first thing we did before any activities began. But we did not have the money to do it. Now that we have the money, we are doing it and it will be completed by December 2012,' Dr. Okurut told some 200 researchers, government staff and civil society representatives at a public meeting hosted by Nature Uganda at the Uganda Museum.
An over 12,000-acre land dispute spanning more than two decades in Loliondo division, Ngorongoro District in Northern Tanzania pitting Thomson Safaris, a US-based tourism company, and Maasai villagers has sparked an online campaign to boycott the tour company which prides itself on its community involvement. The primary cause of the conflict between the local community and Thomson Safaris is over the land ownership of Sukenya Farm and consequently the rights of the villagers to graze their cattle and access important water sources.
Heavily-armed police in Swaziland invaded the venue for a ‘people’s summit’ due to take place 6 September as part of week-long pro-democracy activities in the kingdom. The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) reported ‘a large number of heavily armed and hostile police’ invaded the Bosco Skills Centre, Manzini, where the summit was due to start.
Swaziland police tricked students into believing they were being escorted to deliver a petition to the government, but instead took them to a road with no exits and ambushed them, firing shots and beating them up. Media in Swaziland are reporting that about 100 students were forced to flee across the streets of the Swazi capital, Mbabane.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviews South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, who attended the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rasool discusses the Obama presidency, the militarization of Africa, Islamophobia, the Marikana massacre and his 2006 meeting with then-Senator Obama in South Africa.
Somalia’s presidential elections have been marred by allegations of bribery, with up to $50,000 said to have changed hands among members of parliament, Al Jazeera has learnt. Senior diplomatic sources deployed in the region to ensure honest and fair election, have confirmed that the process of vote buying has been under way over the last few days. It was hoped that the vote for a new president, the first of its kind in decades, would alter the political landscape of the nation and be a milestone in the war-ravaged country's quest to end two decades of violence, corruption and infighting.
Fixed-term contract of one year in duration
Location: London
Salary: £42,156 per annum
The Middle East and North Africa Programme at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International is seeking to appoint two dynamic, team oriented people to the role of Researcher in the North Africa team with a focus on Egypt and/or Libya.
About the job
As a research-based campaigning organization, investigating and documenting human rights issues is fundamental to our advocacy and lobbying work. Our North Africa team requires two Researchers to take the lead in initiating human rights research and action by providing regional and thematic expertise, excellent research skills and sound political judgement. A campaign oriented approach to your work is essential. You will be required to conduct and co-ordinate research activities, monitor, investigate and analyse political, legal and social developments and human rights conditions, give authoritative advice on these areas and prepare human rights action materials.
About you
With experience of working on human rights issues, you must have first-hand in-depth knowledge and experience of Egypt and Libya and an understanding and awareness of the cultures of North Africa. You’ll have a background in activism, academia, law or journalism with the ability to identify and thoroughly investigate those issues and ensure our voice has authority. You will need proven research and communication skills, impartial political judgement, coupled with strong strategic thought. Fluency in English, including excellent writing skills, is essential, as is the ability to speak and read Arabic fluently.
About us
Our aim is simple: an end to human rights abuses. Independent, international and influential, we campaign for justice, freedom and truth wherever they’re denied. Already our network of over three million members and supporters is making a difference in 150 countries. And whether we’re applying pressure through powerful research or direct lobbying, mass demonstrations or online campaigning, we’re all inspired by hope for a better world. One where human rights are respected and protected by everyone, everywhere.
For more information and to apply, please visit and search for requisition ID 814BR.
Closing date: 12th September 2012.
Dear Comrades, Colleagues and Friends,
I hope this finds you well.
I'm afraid that I have sad news to convey. As a result of irreconcilable differences with the Fahamu board of trustees about the future, I will not be able to continue my work as editor-in-chief of Pambazuka.
I am deeply disappointed and saddened by this development. I am heart-broken.
Nevertheless, I want to assure you that my personal commitment to the vision, mission and values that Pambazuka represented remains as deep as ever. I intend to find other means for continuing to contribute to the struggles for freedom and justice, building on the achievements and aspirations that I have shared with my Pambazuka News colleagues and the large and growing Pambazuka community of contributors, readers, and supporters.
In the meantime, I will continue to share information on Twitter (@firozem), Facebook (www.facebook.com/firoze) and at my blog (www.daraja.net).
Please accept my gratitude for the support you have provided to Pambazuka and myself in the past and please accept my appreciation for the work that you are doing.
I am sending this from my personal email address - [email][email protected] - which should be used for all future correspondence. I would welcome hearing from you.
Firoze Manji
Pambazuka News 595: The state, private sector and market failures
Pambazuka News 595: The state, private sector and market failures
Germany has suspended millions of euros in aid to Rwanda over allegations that the country is backing rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Development Minister Dirk Niebel said on Saturday that Germany was putting on ice some €21-million in aid for Kigali planned from this year until 2015 in what he said was an 'unmistakable signal to the Rwandan government'.
Inequalities in South Africa are threatening economic growth, with children born into poor families unlikely to ever to escape poverty or reap the rewards of living in Africa's largest economy. The World Bank's sobering assessment, released last week, found that a child's gender and ethnicity at birth, combined with a lack of education, largely determine that person's chances of success in life - even 18 years after the end of apartheid.
Footage obtained by the M&G shows Swaziland's people, ruled by King Mswati III, are suffering from starvation, displacement, intimidation and violence. Visit their website to watch the production.
The next few weeks promise to be interesting for Ghana as the country tries to come to terms with the sudden death of President John Atta Mills on 24 July. Known for its strong democracy, the west African country will be keenly watched over how it handles its transitions. Within hours of Mr Mills death, his deputy John Dramani Mahama was sworn in in line with Article 60 (6) of the country's constitution, drawing praise from observers.
Ethnic clashes in southern Ethiopia are reported to have left at least 18 people dead and 12 others injured. More than 20,000 people have crossed into Kenya to escape the fighting, the Kenyan Red Cross says. A spokesman said that people were continuing to cross the border although Ethiopian government forces had intervened to stop the fighting.
With Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi seriously ill, East African leaders need to start worrying about what his impending exit will mean for the region. Many analysts in the region worry about the political situation in a post-Zenawi Ethiopia, and are sceptical that the country can pull off a smooth transition.
The World Bank has admitted that it is largely to blame for the failure of the project to rehabilitate the Beira railway system. Indian consortium RICON was the dominant partner and was supposed to be in charge of the complete reconstruction of the Sena Line. The World Bank was initially enthusiastic about the project, and backed it up with a loan of 104 million US dollars. The Mozambican authorities, and CFM, soon began to sound the alarm. Ricon kept missing deadlines, and its work failed to observe technical standards.
DRC President Joseph Kabila has visited the Angolan capital Luanda to mobilise support over the ongoing crisis in the Central African country. Currently, DRC is trying to neutralise an armed insurrection by the M23 rebel group, which, according to UN and Kinshasha, is supported by Kigali, claims that Rwandan officials have denied. More than 200,000 people in the region have been displaced by the conflict.
An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has killed at least 13 people and infected a further seven in Uganda. The health ministry says emergency measures are in place to deal with the outbreak, which began in late June but has only just been confirmed as Ebola. The cases have been reported in Kibaale district, about 170km (100 miles) to the west of the capital Kampala.
About 90 Somali migrants stranded on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea for more than four days have been rescued, an Italian news agency and relatives say. Earlier this month, 54 people died of dehydration while trying to sail from Libya to Italy in an inflatable boat. More than one million Somalis have fled the country since 1991.
Nine women in the northern Côte d’Ivoire town of Katiola have been convicted for carrying out female genital mutilation – the first time that a 1998 law banning FGM has been applied. The women were found guilty of excising thirty girls aged between 10 and 15 in February. They were each sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a fine equivalent to roughly 100 dollars. 'We have been waiting a long time for a boost in the fight against this scourge,' said Rachel Gogoua in the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan, where she heads the National Organisation for Children, Women and the Family (ONEF), a non-governmental organisation that campaigns against FGM.
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference less than four months away, African countries need to present convincing arguments and successful adaptation projects to attract competitive funding for adjusting to changes in global weather patterns, climate finance experts say. 'Africa needs to focus on developing strong arguments for COP 18 and beyond based on clear evidence,' climate change and finance expert, and chief executive of OneWorld, Belynda Petrie, told IPS. The 18th Conference of Parties or COP 18 will take place in Doha, Qatar in late November.
FEMNET is a pan-African regional women’s rights network that has been in existence for 24 years and has been at the forefront championing gender equality, equity and women’s rights through delivery of critical information, and strengthening linkages and collaboration among women’s organizations. Femnet is advertising five jobs, including Head of Capacity Building; Knowledge Management Officer; Member Liaison Officer; Finance Officer and Assistant Translator.
Contributors from the African continent and other developing countries are invited to write on the topic above – addressing the theme of Gender and - from either a research or an activism perspective. Abstracts and contributions must be written in English and in a style accessible to a wide audience. Please submit abstracts to [email][email protected]
Led by Community Media For Development Productions, Youth Fit Africa is a new online magazine featuring sport, fitness, and health information for youth, by youth. The magazine was launched with a two-day basketball tournament and fitness event with ten under-19 clubs; winning teams received a full team kit sponsored by Swoosh, and there were sponsored prizes and giveaways courtesy of NBA Africa, PVM Energy Products, and Umoja. YFA includes feature stories, youth profiles, health and fitness tips, events, and opportunities.
The Pentagon is seeking to send hand-launched drones to Kenya as part of a $40 million-plus military aid package designed to help four African countries fight al Qaeda and al Shabaab militants, notably in Somalia, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kenya would get eight 'Raven' unmanned aerial systems - an unarmed drone that can be use to identify targets for strikes by ground forces or other aircraft.
Twenty one years ago Kakuma Camp was established with an initial capacity of 100,000 to temporarily accommodate thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war in Sudan. For a very long time it has been one of the most cosmopolitan camps in the world. It has accommodated refugees and other forced migrants from East Africa, the Horn of Africa, Central African Republic, Great Lakes region and other parts of the world. As of mid-May, there were a total of 95,300 refugees and asylum seekers in the camp, reports the Kakuma News Reflector. The latest edition of the Reflector is available through their website.
Zambia must engage the public and other stakeholders before deciding whether to start accepting Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or not, the country’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has said. NBA registrar Alfred Sumani said that the Zambian public and stakeholders need to be given balanced information on the merits and demerits of accepting GMOs into the country.
The new government of Senegal has cancelled the licences of 29 foreign fishing trawlers, demanding that they offload their catches in the capital Dakar before leaving the west African country's territorial waters. The dramatic move on Tuesday by fisheries minister Pape Diouf follows growing resentment at overfishing and alleged corruption of the previous government's licencing system. It is expected to defuse threats by Senegal's 52,000 small-scale inshore fishermen to take direct action against the owners of foreign trawlers.
Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has introduced his model skirt that is just two inches below the knee in a bid to quell the storm over the miniskirt row. Mutula’s new move unveils a skirt length which appears long enough to sooth the anger of clerics and conservatives, and short enough to appease the teenagers. He chose Rwathia Girls Seconday School to unveil the official skirt length recommended by his ministry. Mutula said that the Rwathia administration erred in imposing changes without consulting students, and that is why he supported the students. The Rwathia students who went on strike three weeks ago had complained that their new purple skirts were too long, ugly and not meant for their age.
Mombasa Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop Julius Kalu has said gays are worse than terrorists and called for Christians to be ever vigilant. It is now emerging that the Bishop had 'asked for money from different gay groups' to assist in planning for a workshop where several Anglican priests and their wives were expected to attend.
Recent weeks have seen demonstrators, for the most part students, take to the streets of Khartoum - and to a lesser extent other Sudanese cities - to protest against the rising cost of living and call for an end to the 23-year rule of President Omar al-Bashir. This IRIN Africa post is a brief overview of anti-government forces which, despite some alliances, lack strong cohesion or coordination among their various elements.
More than 100 people in the Zimbabwean capital Harare and Chitungwiza, a dormitory town 35km southeast of the city, have contracted typhoid this month, and the dilapidated water and sanitation systems are again being blamed for another round of water-borne diseases. According to health officials cited in the local media, 83 cases of typhoid have been confirmed in Chitungwiza and a further 28 in Harare, of which 25 were linked to a supermarket in the Avenues area of the city centre.
Conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where M23 rebels and other armed groups are fighting government forces, is dangerously undermining efforts to combat a cholera outbreak. There has been 'a sharp increase in the number of cholera cases in the armed conflict area of North Kivu' Province, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. Between 11 June and 1 July some 368 new cases were reported.
Thousands of people have been left homeless in the Nigerian city of Lagos after a recent government-led eviction of an almost 200-year old shantytown. During last week's eviction of the Makoko slum, home to about 100,000 people, residents were given only 72 hours to evacuate before men in speedboats were sent to destroy their houses.
Ethiopian authorities blocked the publication of a prominent independent newspaper over the weekend in connection with its stories on the health of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, according to local journalists. The state-run printing company Barhanena Selam told the weekly Feteh early Sunday morning that the government had ordered that week’s edition of the paper, about 30,000 copies, to be blocked on grounds of inciting national insecurity and endangering the government and the public, local journalists said.
Dioncounda Traore, interim president of Mali, has moved to stifle Cheick Modibo Diarra, his prime minister, by announcing the creation of new bodies tasked with ending the ongoing crisis in the west African nation. In an address delivered on television on Sunday, Traore announced he would be in charge of a High Council of State, lead talks for a unity government himself and create a committee to negotiate with the fighters who currently control the north of the country.
Nigeria's main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on Sunday asked the Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to resign immediately, after his son's indictment in connection with the US$6 billion fuel subsidy scam, being described as one of the biggest corruption cases in Nigeria's history.
Foreign companies operating in Africa siphon US$ 1.5 trillion illicitly every year from Africa in the form of hard currency, leading to high inflation and deepening income gaps, a report by an African Union-backed think-tank said Friday. The report by the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial flows from Africa, a group created by the African finance ministers in 2011, under the leadership of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the funds were wired back to rich states, draining hard currency reserves in Africa.
Disparities on land access are one of the major causes for social and gender inequalities in rural areas. Gender differentiated rights to land have implications on rural food security and nutrition as well as on the wellbeing of rural families and individuals. This online database from the Food and Agricultural Organisation explores the issue.
Threats and violence against women journalists are on the rise in many regions of the world. In their work exposing injustices and bearing witness to human rights violations, women journalists are women human rights defenders and as such are in need of better security and protection mechanisms.
Irresponsible transfers of weaponry, munitions, armaments and related equipment across borders have resulted in the loss of millions of lives and livelihoods and the violation of fundamental human rights. In particular, the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons increases the risk to both men and women’s security, and impedes their enjoyment of their civil, political, social and economic rights in different ways. There is a gender dimension to the trade whereby women are disproportionately affected by armed gender-based violence.
This report by the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK) examines the policy and practice of Kenya’s refugee protection framework. Although much has been written on the situation in the Dadaab camps, there has been no holistic examination of the legal and policy backdrop to refugee protection in Kenya. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to establish the range of rights to which refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya are entitled under national law (as well as international and regional legal frameworks), and to identify and assess the current implementation gaps.
Dear Mayor Patricia de Lille,
This letter has been written by the provincial executive of Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement South Africa. As poor people living in informal settlements, we have many severe grievances regarding our living conditions.
The Progressive Youth Movement (PYM), based in Khayelitsha and the Democratic Left Front (DLF) condemn the South African Police Services based at the Harare police station in Khayelitsha for their biased and anti-constitutional actions against PYM activists. The PYM and the DLF call for the release of Noxolo Nqingo and Sandile Fotoyi, PYM activists who were arrested on false charges of intimidation.
The flimsy mask
of sovereignty
unravels in the desert sand
The border posts and sentry gates
designed to imprison
the poor and the innocent
mean nothing in a season of pestilence
At the presidential palace in Mali
vagabond soldiers
Came to play their video games
and all came tumbling down
those who curse their parents
will always perish
those who invite hyenas to dinner
will always be the main course
And so the feasting is here
for all who do not build
And now the grand carnival
is the drunken show in town
Follow the tears
in the dust tracks
along the path of armoured cars
Decipher the strange inscriptions
all camouflaged
in the fumes that they expel
glistening with the branded
labels of the infidels
They bring no clean water
for those who thirst
They bring no healing
hand for the sick
They bring no food
for those who hunger
They bring no light
for the blind
for you who feast
on destruction
for you who worship
in the name of AK47 & Kalashnikov
know that every brick unhinged
in the Sahelean shifting sand
will be the chain around your neck
to the hell reserved for tyrants
For all the blessed
who have gone before
For all those in modesty
who will follow
For all the saints
who stand among the sinners
For all those mindful
in wisdom of the strident path
For all in piety
knowing the limits of their exaltation
For all the simple things
bequeathed in abundance
Timbuktu is a far place
the beacon that will bloom again
in the rock of faith
©Ishaq Imruh Bakari
The head of the US war crimes office has warned Rwanda's leaders, including President Paul Kagame, that they could face prosecution at the international criminal court for arming groups responsible for atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Stephen Rapp, who leads the US Office of Global Criminal Justice, told the Guardian the Rwandan leadership may be open to charges of 'aiding and abetting' crimes against humanity in a neighbouring country.
Despite the rhetoric, the Nigerian government has no intention of reforming its oil industry to benefit the people. Nigeria remains the global poster child for “resource curse.”
Attached is a statement by fifty-five black activists and scholars insisting that the time has arrived for an African American voice on US policy towards the regions of North Africa and the Middle East.