Pambazuka News 421: Zimbabwe: Transitional justice without transition?

Soaring food prices and lack of land have forced Mauritius, a net food importing country, to launch an ambitious initiative. The island state is starting to grow its food in other African states where land is lying fallow and labour is cheap. Mauritian agro-entrepreneurs Murveen Ragobur and Gansham Boodhram are back from Mozambique where they cultivated rice on a trial basis last year, as well as potatoes and onions for the local market.

The UN refugee agency expressed concern Tuesday about mounting violence against Congolese civilians in North Kivu province after some 3,000 people were displaced during an attack on their village. "Since February 14, the so-called Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [FDLR] have carried out numerous attacks in Masisi, Lubero and Walikale areas in North Kivu, sparking a new wave of displacement," a UNHCR spokesman said, referring to a rebel militia composed of ethnic Hutu fighters.

In an overwhelmingly positive vote for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Central African nation of Burundi, the country's Senate has rejected a provision that would have criminalized consensual same-sex activity.

Although there is an abundance of natural energy resources such as sunlight and water in sub-Saharan Africa, investment in renewable energy in the region has remained low. However, the recognition of the potential of hydropower is opening up a potentially lucrative market for suppliers of hydro turbines, say energy consultants Frost & Sullivan.

The phenomenon of Leblouh is one of the oldest social values related to beauty in Mauritanian society. Under the practice, girls are made to eat huge quantities of food, sometimes by force, to make them fatter. The aim is to give them greater chances of marriage, beauty and social acceptance, as slim women are traditionally deemed inferior.

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