Niger

A new book on the Niger Delta is 'an invaluable resource for understanding the complex and interrelated dynamics of violence, exploitation, resistance and social change' in the region.

Niger inaugurated its new parliament 30 March for a term of five years following an election on 31 January that ended a year of military rule, reports Bloomberg. The parliament has 107 of its full complement of 113 lawmakers after elections in the northern Agadez region were annulled due to irregularities. The vote will be held again on 16 May.

Niger's presidential run-off election was free and fair and the two candidates should respect its verdict, regional observers said on Sunday. Nigeriens voted on Saturday, a year after soldiers ousted ex-president Mamadou Tandja for outstaying his term in office in the uranium-producing state. Provisional results from the poll, which pits opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou against a Tandja party ally Seyni Oumarou, are due on Monday.

Niger's 10 presidential rivals have asked the ruling military junta to delay elections by three weeks to 20 February and to replace the electoral commission after problems with local polls held earlier this month. The presidential elections are meant to restore civilian rule after a military coup in February 2010 toppled the former president, Mamadou Tandja.

Reports sent to Greenpeace indicate that more than 200,000 cubic litres of radioactive sludge from three cracked waste pools have been leaking into the environment at the SOMAIR uranium mine in Niger since 11 December 11, says Greenpeace. 'This new leakage shows that the bad practices at the AREVA uranium mines in Niger continue to threaten the health and safety of people and the environment,' said Rianne Teule, energy campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.

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