South Africa: Russell Tribunal on Palestine

Contributor
Aug 08, 2011

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine will convene in District Six, Cape Town, site of a brutal apartheid-era forced removal. The land has remained undeveloped on the edge of the city since it was declared 'a white group area' and the homes of black residents were demolished in the 1970s. The Cape Town session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine – to be held on 5-6 November – will consider whether Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people fits the international legal definitions of the crime ...read more

South Africa

Guinea Bissau: Thousands call for premier to quit

Contributor
Aug 08, 2011

Thousands took to the streets of Bissau Friday 5 August for the third rally in three weeks to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, who is accused of hindering an assassination probe. 'Carlos, get out', 'Carlos to court', chanted protesters, according to an AFP journalist, during a march to the presidency. The rally was called by a coalition of 17 opposition parties accusing Gomes Junior of failing to shed light on a spate of high profile political assassinations in 20...read more

Guinea Bissau

Rwandan paper calls president a 'sociopath', apologises

Tom Rhodes
Aug 09, 2011
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Ishema in Rwanda has published an entire issue as an apology to President Paul Kagame, writes Tom Rhodes.

Rwanda

Swaziland: Cash-strapped Swazi university closed

Contributor
Aug 10, 2011

Swaziland’s cash-strapped university failed to re-open for the new academic year, officials said, adding it would remain closed indefinitely. 'The registration process is suspended, and the commencement of the first semester lectures is postponed...to a date yet to be determined,' University of Swaziland Registrar Sipho Vilakati said in a statement.

Swaziland

Malawi: Malawi slaps 16.5% VAT on newspapers

Contributor
Aug 10, 2011

Newspapers in Malawi used to be exempt from sales tax. But the finance minister has announced they would start attracting the standard 16.5 per cent VAT. For a press that's already over-reliant on state advertising, the predicted drop in sales - and corresponding need to bring in even more government ad spend – is very bad news for free media, says this article on

Malawi

Tanzania: Teaching crisis exposed by report

Contributor
Aug 10, 2011

An Uwezo report confirms that in Tanzania 23 per cent of teachers are not in school on any given day and when in school, teachers spend half of their time outside the classroom. As a consequence, children are only taught for two hours and four minutes a day, instead of the expected five hours.

Tanzania

Libya: Dozens of migrants left dying at sea

Contributor
Aug 10, 2011

An Italian coast guard patrol rescued almost 400 people aboard a boat that had left Libya six days before and was lost for more than 36 hours off the coast of Lampedusa. Arriving in Lampedusa, migrants declared tragic deaths had occured from hunger and fatigue during the voyage and dozens of bodies were thrown over board.

Libya

Rwanda: Rwandan paper calls president a 'sociopath', apologises

Contributor
Aug 08, 2011

Sometimes when a paper produces a defamatory piece, an apology will be published on page two in the next edition along with the day's news. In Rwanda, it would appear, a paper will use an entire edition to apologise - if the insults were directed at the president. The latest issue of Ishema, at left, is perhaps a sign of the times for Rwanda's press. The vernacular bimonthly had recently published an opinion piece that claimed President Kagame was a sociopath. The paper fell over backward in ...read more

Rwanda

Angola: Mystery toxin in Angola schools

Contributor
Aug 02, 2011

A wave of mysterious poisonings has hit hundreds over the last two days in Angolan schools, but police have yet to identify the toxin that has sown panic in the country, officials said on Friday. About 300 students from both public and private schools have been hit by symptoms that include vomiting, headaches, sore throats and sometimes suffocation, said Renato Paulata, director of a public hospital in Luanda.

Angola

Botswana: Prosperity and tranquillity are fragile, says US report

Contributor
Aug 02, 2011

A report by US-Africa Command (AFRICOM) says despite the Botswana government's significant achievements since 1966, Botswana's prosperity and political stability are more fragile than is frequently recognised. Dated June 2011, the report says three current realities form the core of this fragility: a population that is highly-dependent on social welfare programmes provided by the state; a state that is heavily reliant on a single commodity (diamonds) that is highly sensitive to fluctuations i...read more

Botswana

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