Often the hardest thing is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn – David Russel
Posted in Africa on Nov 28th, 2008
The Kalahari bushmen are appealing to the Pope to help them in their fight to regain their land. The Vatican this month established diplomatic relations with Botswana. The bushmen have told the Pope their rights as indigenous people were not being respected by the government. The Botswana’s High Court affirmed the bushmen’s rights to their [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 28th, 2008
An international tribunal will be set up to try the organisers of the January post-election violence in Kenya. It left 1500 people dead and another 300,000 people fled their homes. A commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by Justice Phillip Waki, made a number of recommendations, including prosecuting all those responsible. Kenya’s cabinet has [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 27th, 2008
A study by Harvard University researchers claims the policies of former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, contributed to the deaths of 365,000 HIV positive people. The study, published in the New York Times, said the South African government could have saved those lives by providing antiretroviral drugs. Mr Mbeki insisted antiretroviral drugs were toxic and [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 27th, 2008
Three female politicians have scored a first in Ghana. The women have been chosen to represent their parties in the vice-presidential election in two weeks times. Gender activists have warmly welcomed the development although the parties fielding the female candidates have only slim chances of winning. They will be representing small parties with little hope [...]
Posted in Children on Nov 23rd, 2008
Mauritius is the best country to grow up as a child in Africa, according to a new index. The ranking was produced by the Africa Child Policy Forum, an independent advocacy agency. About 40 indicators, including access to education and basic health care, were used to assess whether a country is child-friendly. The ranking showed [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 20th, 2008
Somalia’s pirates are transforming once impoverished towns on the country’s northern coast into bustling business hubs. According to Associated Press, the pirates are often the only real business in town. They are building large houses, driving luxury cars and generally driving the local economy using the proceeds from the ransoms paid by hijacked ship-owners. When [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 20th, 2008
Trafficking, a phenomenal issue in Nigeria is particularly big because of poverty which many say is the reason a growing number of children and women are trafficked into Europe and beyond. As a result a number of organisations have arisen to try and curb this ugly trend but the fight they say goes beyond these [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 18th, 2008
The Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, cut an imposing figure as he sat in his living room with his close aides savouring the victory of America’s President elect Barak Obama. For a man whose place in Nigeria’s history books cannot be erased he was surprisingly unassuming. Chief Ojukwu had just celebrated his seventy fifth [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 17th, 2008
The African Union is demanding Africans have a say in any world financial reforms that affect the continent. The demand comes after the world’s economic powers, the G20, ended a summit in Washington to discuss the global financial crisis. The chairman of the AU commission, Jean Ping, said world powers tend to take decisions for [...]
Posted in Africa on Nov 13th, 2008
Increasing numbers of foreign female domestic workers in Lebanon are facing abuse and violence at the hands of their employers. The number of Ethiopian workers in particular reporting abuse has increased in recent months, according to the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper. Two Ethiopian women have turned a rented apartment into a makeshift sanctuary for women [...]
