tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56442702011-08-16T23:00:04.879-04:00who am I kidding ... it's ALL about Africanewsjunkienoreply@blogger.comBlogger8381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1154473585783902762006-08-01T19:01:00.000-04:002006-08-01T19:49:10.560-04:00

It’s over. The truth is, it has been over for a long time. Even so, I kept thinking I’d come back one day … and that things would continue as before. But it's not going to happen. Things have changed; I've changed.Goodbye.---Thanks to everyone who read this thing. I had no idea so many of you would appreciate my obsessive compilation of Africa-related stories! Thanks for visiting.Should you

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1124472653576340132005-08-19T13:21:00.000-04:002005-08-19T13:36:00.350-04:00

The Zim novelist Ian Holding offers a stunningly honest eye-witness account of the government's campaign of home demolitions.He comes across as callous ... valuing his dog's life over that of a dozen of his maid's relatives.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1124381593950687932005-08-18T12:10:00.000-04:002005-08-18T12:13:13.960-04:00

How much more can these poor people take!From US $227 in June the expenditure basket for a family of six had shot up by at least $135 to $362 in July, the consumer council noted. "The increase was largely propelled by ... both food and non-food items, following last month's increase in fuel prices and the devaluation of the local currency".Teachers generally earn $648 a month, while domestic

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1124296704373942142005-08-17T12:36:00.000-04:002005-08-17T12:38:24.383-04:00

Tony Karon on the "Mandela of fantasy".Karon is right. The "real" Mandela is way more intersting.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1124117338753575262005-08-15T10:46:00.000-04:002005-08-15T10:48:58.763-04:00

Check out this LA Times article about the July 21 London bombers.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1123184533356458822005-08-04T15:38:00.000-04:002005-08-04T15:42:13.366-04:00

Alex de Waal has an essay on Sudan over at the Prospect magazine.The peace process took a severe knock when Garang’s helicopter came down. But the procedures under the peace deal for replacing Garang and forming the government of national unity are clear. Omer al Bashir stays as president, and real power resides with the two vice-presidents, Kiir — who must now fly to Khartoum to be sworn in —

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1123082458255466742005-08-03T11:14:00.000-04:002005-08-03T11:20:58.263-04:00

Nobody can be truly surprised by this ...Cabinet has confirmed South Africa's willingness, in principle, to assist Zimbabwe, including providing a loan facility in relation to Zimbabwe's obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Briefing the media after Cabinet's fortnightly meeting today, Joel Netshitenzhe, the government communications (GCIS) head, said government's approach on the

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1123080631893177802005-08-03T10:44:00.000-04:002005-08-04T10:42:06.426-04:00

According to reports, members of the presidential guard took over the armed forces headquarters, and state television and radio stations today. President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was out of the country at the time, having left to attend Tuesday's funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. Taya is now in Niamey, Niger."We have heard that there has been a coup d'etat but we don't know who's involved

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122993902726541362005-08-02T10:42:00.000-04:002005-08-03T10:22:58.823-04:00

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army named Salva Kiir, the SPLA’s deputy chairman to replace John Garang, Sudan’s vice president and the former rebel who died in a helicopter crash on Saturday, just three weeks after becoming new vice president.Mr Kiir will succeed Mr Garang as national vice president and president of a separate southern administration, said Samson Kwaje, the SPLA’s spokesman. Mr

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122915444179125652005-08-01T12:53:00.000-04:002005-08-01T12:57:24.186-04:00

John Garang, a former rebel leader who became Sudan’s vice president three weeks ago, has been killed in a helicopter crash, raising serious concerns about a peace process that ended a 21-year civil war and efforts to bring stability to Africa’s largest country.After his death was announced on Monday, thousands of southern Sudanese rioted in Khartoum, clashing with police and looting shops.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122561107208499292005-07-28T10:18:00.000-04:002005-08-02T12:59:56.620-04:00

When President Museveni came to power in 1986, he banned multiparty politics saying that parties would divide the country along tribal and religious lines. But now he's for multiparty politics and the referendum asks the people of Uganda if they agree with him.The referendum question ..."Do you agree to open up political space to allow those who wish to join different organisations/parties to do

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122479528501041992005-07-27T11:36:00.000-04:002005-07-27T11:52:08.566-04:00

From the transcript of yesterday's briefing with Pentagon spokesperson Larry Di Rita ... Q. Have there been any high-value detainees in that region [Africa] within the last six months, year or so? GEN. CONWAY: Not in the recent past. MR. DI RITA: It's also an area more broadly that we're -- you know, the Department of Defense has not traditionally had the mission of train and equip of foreign

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122477886551688552005-07-27T11:14:00.000-04:002005-07-27T11:34:55.543-04:00

Perhaps it's time that I started paying attention to the discussions around expanding the UN Security Council (UNSC) ... Egypt accused Nigeria on Tuesday of abandoning African interests to increase its own chances of obtaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Nigeria was willing to back down on the African demand that its two permanent seats in the Security Council should have veto

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122476815390783262005-07-27T11:04:00.000-04:002005-07-27T11:06:55.400-04:00

Humnan Rights Watch today released a report on the use of torture in Nigeria.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122410789215573982005-07-26T16:33:00.000-04:002005-07-26T16:46:29.243-04:00

During the Clintons' 2000 trip to Kenya, Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor, who was then a fourth-year university student, asked for Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage.He offered to pay 20 head of beef cattle and 40 goats to the Clintons in accordance to African traditions. He also named as his referees, then President Moi, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake chairman Zipporah Kittony and the Chepkoilel Campus

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122400931649895782005-07-26T13:40:00.000-04:002005-07-26T14:03:55.366-04:00

Interesting article in yesterday's London Telegraph about trouble within the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Three fairly prominent MDC members say they were physically attacked by members of their own party.The gang of about six abducted him [Frank Chamunorwa] from his home in the capital, Harare, last month. They deliberately humiliated Mr Chamunorwa, throwing him to the

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1122399268814704612005-07-26T13:22:00.000-04:002005-08-01T13:11:14.833-04:00

Oh my God!Two suspects identifed by police in connection with last Thursday's attempted transit bombing are originally from Eritrea and Somalia ...[Muktar Said Ibrahim ... aka Muktar Mohammed Said] He was born in Eritrea in war-torn eastern Africa but grew up in Britain after arriving in 1992 as the son of an asylum-seeker. He applied for a full British passport two years ago and received it last

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1110308669175687712005-03-08T13:43:00.000-05:002005-03-08T14:22:06.136-05:00

Somali MPs have asked for international help in clearing toxic waste dislodged by the Asian tsunami. They claim the hazardous material, including uranium, mercury and lead, was left by unnamed European companies who took advantage of the political anarchy in Somalia to turn the country's coastline into an illegal rubbish dump, Reuters reports.MP Awad Ahmed Ashra told a press conference in Nairobi

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1108436375064912452005-02-14T21:57:00.000-05:002005-02-14T21:59:35.066-05:00

Donations for U.N. hunger relief operations in Africa were down 21 percent in January as the world's attention was focused on the Indian Ocean countries hit by the tsunami, and rations to hungry people in Africa have had to be cut.[...] One example of a major funding shortfall is in Sudan where the WFP is trying to help refugees return to the south of the country after two decades of war. Lack

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1108435806192108122005-02-14T21:46:00.000-05:002005-02-14T21:50:06.193-05:00

From the Feb 3 issue of the Standard Times (Freetown)....Check out how much they're being paid!According to the [labour ministry] officials, 750 of them [Sierra Leoneans] would eventually fulfill the prerequisite medical conditions and allowed to depart as the first set of Sierra Leoneans who will be opportuned to work as cleaners, gardeners, caterers, etc., for a monthly remuneration of $175.00

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1108322184701511142005-02-13T13:55:00.000-05:002005-02-13T14:23:05.233-05:00

Morocco is holding public hearings into the human rights abuses committed during the reign of the late King Hassan II ... and the country's three main human rights groups have an issue with how the hearings are being conducted.The hearings, which began last month and are expected to include testimony from 200 people in 10 cities in a period of 10 weeks, were hailed as a breakthrough for the Arab

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1108133578347287952005-02-11T09:46:00.000-05:002005-02-11T14:49:58.030-05:00

20/20, an American current affairs show, has a story on tonight about how some UN soldiers/officers have been sexually abusing minors in Congolese refugee camps.The range of sexual abuse includes reported rapes of young Congolese girls by U.N. troops; an Internet pedophile ring run from Congo by Didier Bourguet, a senior U.N. official from France; a colonel from South Africa accused of molesting

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1106599882032507532005-01-24T15:35:00.000-05:002005-01-24T15:51:22.033-05:00

The US Dept. of Justice's Office of Special Investigations has had its mandate expanded ...Under the new legislation, OSI will no longer be limited to tracking Nazis and their allies, but will also identify suspected war criminals in conflicts including the Balkans, Cambodia and Rwanda. The law would allow OSI to seek to keep out or remove immigrants who "committed, ordered, incited, assisted or

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1105637681747426442005-01-13T13:33:00.000-05:002005-01-13T12:34:41.746-05:00

well said!

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1105046044661448822005-01-06T13:32:00.000-05:002005-01-13T12:36:06.933-05:00

Watched Hotel Rwanda last night. I can't bring myself to write about the film because it was just such a wrenching experience. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for a Rwandan to watch it (btw ... didn't see any at the screening last night). If any of you out there have the opportunity to watch the film, do so.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1103045813700027832004-12-14T13:29:00.000-05:002004-12-14T12:36:53.700-05:00

This is yet another Sharia law story ... but check out why the sentence was overturned ... From a December 11 story in the Vanguard ...Daso Adamu was acquitted by the Upper Sharia court in Ningi on Thursday after the judge, Yusuf Suleiman, ruled that her being pregnant was not enough evidence to warrant a sentence that she be stoned to death. "The court faulted the lower court's judgement,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1101772128532269352004-11-29T18:44:00.000-05:002004-11-29T18:48:48.533-05:00

The story appeared in the Vanguard yesterday ...A Nasarawa Sharia court sitting in Keffi has declared wanted a middle-aged man, Mr Michael Ifediora Nwokoma for allegedly engaging in homosexual act with a businessman, one Mallam Abdullahi Ibrahim. The court issued bench-warrant on him following an explanation by the prosecution that Nwokoma was at large and could only be brought before the court

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100623192778789832004-11-16T11:27:00.000-05:002004-11-16T12:24:38.333-05:00

Nick Du Toit has retracted his confession. The trial of Du Toit and 18 other suspected mercenaries resumed today after an 11-week adjournment.In August, during the first seven days of the Malabo trial, just one of the 19 accused, South African arms dealer Nick Du Toit, admitted to the court that he took part in a coup plot. He could face the death penalty. The seven other South Africans, six

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100553250023115382004-11-15T15:59:00.000-05:002004-11-15T16:14:10.023-05:00

The government is ready to ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stop its investigation of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) if the LRA is prepared to make peace. In January of this year, the LRA became the first organization to be investigated by the ICC. According to a story in today's New Vision, President Museveni said ..."The Konys can come out and engage in internal reconciliation

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100533516358579872004-11-15T10:28:00.000-05:002004-11-15T18:32:06.200-05:00

A 19-year-old kid from Washington state has been charged with trying to help the Somali group Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya. The US placed the group on its list of terrorist groups after 9/11. The young man, Mark Robert Walker, confessed that he was planning to buy night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests for the group. He was carrying $2,100 when he was caught. Walker was arrested after his

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100532182205940112004-11-15T10:22:00.000-05:002004-11-15T10:23:02.206-05:00

On Nov. 6, Chief Justice Julian Nganunu was carjacked. The thieves tied him up and drove for some time before they finally left him on a roadside. They took his car, his bank cards, and his shoes ... In an unrelated incident, on Nov. 5, Sidney Pilane, special advisor to the president, was stabbed by unknown assailants while he was taking a walk. Might be of interest ... Pilane is involved in

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100480614991224202004-11-14T19:57:00.000-05:002004-11-15T10:24:03.946-05:00

The weeklong ceasefire starts tomorrow (Monday) ... to allow the Lord's Resistance Army to confirm that it indeed wants to talk peace. There had been some confusion about the offer.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100479874872537882004-11-14T19:31:00.000-05:002004-11-14T19:51:14.873-05:00

Reuters reporters Arthur Asiimwe and William Maclean look at the spread of Islam south of the Sahara. They write that while there is anecdotal evidence of the growth of Islam in the region, data is scarce. However, they did find some numbers for Rwanda and South Africa ..."When I realized that the people I was praying with killed my parents, I decided to convert to Islam because Muslims saved

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100476319679560842004-11-14T18:47:00.000-05:002004-11-14T19:26:07.873-05:00

Egypt has released from prison in recent days 700 members of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, an Islamist group that fought the government in the 1990s but which has since renounced violence, a newspaper reported on Sunday. The daily Al Masry Al Youm said the prisoners had been serving jail sentences between five and 10 years. It did not say how much time they had served. An Interior Ministry

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100294628229769932004-11-12T16:20:00.000-05:002004-11-12T16:23:48.230-05:00

Just found out about this ... a toolkit (articles etc...) for people working with sex workers on HIV/AIDS prevention. Also this toolkit ... for people working on the issue of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100294172833632742004-11-12T16:12:00.000-05:002004-11-12T16:17:25.930-05:00

The National Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Lord Commey, has disclosed that the party would soon fire its members, including Members of Parliament (MP) who are contesting upcoming Parliamentary elections as independent candidates. "Any member of this great party who has decided to contest next month’s parliamentary election as independent candidate is a rebel, he or she

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100291327498026162004-11-12T15:20:00.000-05:002004-11-13T11:45:49.763-05:00

Published in yesterdays New Vision...THE Government yesterday said it had not received any requests for passports from the Lord's Resistance Army to enable the rebel leaders to travel abroad for peace talks. Internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said, "We have not received any request for passports or for peace talks." (source)IRIN reported a couple of days ago that Ayela Odongo, a

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100290558445131392004-11-12T15:12:00.000-05:002004-11-12T15:15:58.446-05:00

According to the Zim Financial Times, ZANU-PF is struggling to raise the Zim$20 billion needed for the party's December congress and the campaigns for the March parliamentary elections.They [highly placed sources] said the non-participation of traditional sponsors, mainly bankers, most of whom fled the country to escape punishment for alleged economic crimes, had dented ZANU PF's fundraising.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100290171108119962004-11-12T15:03:00.000-05:002004-11-12T15:09:31.106-05:00

Overfishing by subsidized European fleets off the coast of West Africa is hurting local fisheries and forcing people to slaughter wildlife to get enough to eat, researchers said on Thursday. [...] "If people aren't able to get their protein from fish, they'll turn elsewhere for food and economic survival. Unfortunately, the impacts on wild game resources are not sustainable, and species are

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100289157398547472004-11-12T14:44:00.000-05:002004-11-12T14:56:27.776-05:00

The two lawsuits claim that Mohamed Ali Samatar, a former defense minister and prime minister of Somalia, and Yusuf Abdi Ali, a former colonel who commanded a notorious Somali army battalion, bear responsibility for human rights violations committed during the military regime of the late Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre, who was deposed in 1991. The lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100278499393512032004-11-12T11:35:00.000-05:002004-11-12T12:14:16.120-05:00

The national chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, Jabulani Sibanda says national leaders must be chosen on the basis of their ability and not gender. [...] "I believe that women in leadership positions are there not because of affirmative action but because they are capable. President Mugabe is the president not because he is male but because he is capable and

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100203936330750842004-11-11T15:08:00.000-05:002004-11-11T15:14:37.280-05:00

The new French ambassador to Rwanda said his country is ready to cooperate with Rwanda's investigation of France's role in the genocide."I have stated it clearly in different meetings with government officials that France is ready to cooperate in good spirit and goodwill with the [Rwandan] commission," Dominique Decherf, the French ambassador, told IRIN in the capital, Kigali. [...] France has

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100198985139939222004-11-11T13:23:00.000-05:002004-11-11T13:49:45.140-05:00

A total of 3,260 Congolese troops, working with an undisclosed number of U.N. forces, began deploying Monday to Walungu, 15 miles from Bukavu, in volatile South Kivu province, said Kasanda Wa Kasanda, spokesman for the Congolese army in the region. [This is part of a drive to stabilize the area and disarm former Rwandan rebels there.] [...] Eliana Nabaa, a U.N. spokesman in Bukavu, said U.N.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100151764587644492004-11-11T01:42:00.000-05:002004-11-11T00:42:44.586-05:00

The pro-life [anti-abortion] protestors collided with a group of doctors and nurses dressed in white medical coats. "We are always blamed. It is the woman who is doing it - not us," said one of the doctors. (source)What?

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100151506792932442004-11-11T01:03:00.000-05:002004-11-11T00:38:26.793-05:00

Ranbaxy Laboratories, an Indian generic drug manufacturer, has voluntarily withdrawn seven antiretroviral drugs from the World Health Organisation's (WHO) list of approved HIV medicines.WHO removed these medicines from the list after inspections at the Contract Research Organizations (CROs) which conducted bioequivalence studies revealed serious discrepancies between the original results compiled

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100113596353165802004-11-10T14:04:00.000-05:002004-11-10T14:06:36.353-05:00

Florists win.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100105302146253322004-11-10T11:43:00.000-05:002004-11-10T11:48:22.146-05:00

One study conducted among both urban and rural youth in the mountainous southern African kingdom of Lesotho uncovered a considerable number of teenagers who had noticed more AIDS and more condoms - and deduced that the latex must be the source of the virus! (sourc)

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100104869580532502004-11-10T11:32:00.000-05:002004-11-10T11:41:09.580-05:00

A 29-year-old woman, who was to be stoned to death, has had her sentence overturned. (She's now six-months pregnant ... sentence would have been carried out after she gave birth.)The lower court had sentenced her to 100 lashes and death by stoning after she confessed to having unlawful sex [sex outside marriage] with a 35-year-old man, Dauda Sani. She became pregnant but Sani was released for

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100103349597186172004-11-10T11:11:00.000-05:002004-11-10T15:38:48.026-05:00

A UN team has said that the Shinkolobwe uranium mine should remain closed. The team was there to investigate the safety of the mine after a shaft collapse killed eight people earlier this year.The mine had been exploited for uranium but closed before the country gained independence in the 1960s by sealing the main shafts with concrete. In the late 1990s, artisanal mining for cobalt was allowed,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100033565853710232004-11-09T15:14:00.000-05:002004-11-10T00:01:51.936-05:00

Interesting story here and here about the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Botswana. The Academy is training police officers from across Africa.So far, 1,100 policemen from 17 countries, most in southern Africa, have been at the ILEA in Botswana. Next year brings the first trainees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. (source)Both stories say the Academy was opened last year

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100029879221132712004-11-09T14:30:00.000-05:002004-11-09T15:08:32.186-05:00

The US and its allies are trying to get the government and the SPLA/M to sign a comprehensive deal. (Note: This is a North-South conflict, distinct from the conflict in Darfur.) The US is threatening to withdraw some (unspecified) economic goodies if the factions don't sign a deal soon.The U.N. Security Council is conducting a rare formal session in Nairobi Nov. 18-19 to pressure all parties

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100028393922074252004-11-09T14:23:00.000-05:002004-11-09T14:26:33.923-05:00

"We understand from the ongoing governmental and other investigations that payments may have been made to Nigerian officials," [Halliburton ...] said in a quarterly filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [...] The allegations center on a contract for a $4 billion Nigerian liquefied natural gas plant awarded in 1995 to TSKJ, a consortium of four partners — M.W. Kellogg Co.,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1100019661154615772004-11-09T11:45:00.000-05:002004-11-09T12:17:08.056-05:00

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman in the custody of the ICTR. She is the former minister of Family and Women Affairs. She is being tried along with five others ... and the prosecution concluded its presentation last Friday. More on the case here. More stories about Nyiramasuhuko here, here, and here. UPDATE: Check out this other (slightly related) article ...Today, Rwanda's women and

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099947994096429272004-11-08T16:02:00.000-05:002004-11-08T16:06:34.096-05:00

Gaddafi's son, Sayef al-Islam, on BBC World Service (radio) today ... [He] said that in the wake of regional government elections three months ago, nation-wide polls -- under the gaze of US and European observers -- would be "the next step" and that they would be held "soon". [...] "In Libya, next time, everything should be democratic from A to Z. This is the desire of my father. This is the

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099939553679104472004-11-08T13:42:00.000-05:002004-11-08T13:45:53.680-05:00

Interesting Reuters article ... In August, the government [...] outlawed gay sex and set prison terms of up to 25 years for men and seven years for lesbians. The law also set a penalty of life imprisonment for sodomising a minor. The government argues there has always been a law against homosexuality, but that it was vague. Officials say the revised legislation is effective because it defines

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099938579402911242004-11-08T13:26:00.000-05:002004-11-08T13:32:23.140-05:00

Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has released some shocking numbers about the 1.6 million people displaced by the civil war in northern Uganda.MSF research conducted last month in six refugee camps in remote Lira and Pader districts, 400 km (250 miles) north of the capital Kampala, found a crude mortality rate of 2.8 deaths per 10,000 people per day for the general population. "According to the

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099937649420620822004-11-08T13:10:00.000-05:002004-11-08T13:14:09.420-05:00

Looks like the UN has sent another group to investigage whether what's going on in Darfur constitutes a genocide."It is to begin its investigation of reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur by all parties, including to determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred and to identify the perpetrators of such violations," he [George Somerwill,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099937208586122762004-11-08T12:58:00.000-05:002004-11-08T13:30:48.460-05:00

Just seeing this story now ... Flights were cancelled/delayed on Thursday and Friday due to a shortage of jet fuel. From a This Day article published Nov. 5 ....Marketers said yesterday they had indeed pulled out of importing the product after airline operators had stated catergorically that they would not be able to buy the fuel at the real import cost. (source)Nigeria seems to have a fair

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099885441736627812004-11-07T22:34:00.000-05:002004-11-07T22:44:01.736-05:00

Strange ...The Khmer Rouge abolished money during their genocidal regime but now the Cambodian government is charging $2 to tourists visiting the spot where their murderous leader, Pol Pot, was disposed of. [...] Pol Pot's cremation site is the prime asset in a plan to develop Anlong Veng, their last stronghold, into a tourist attraction. Down a narrow path behind a roadside market, through

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099863150526343112004-11-07T16:31:00.000-05:002004-11-07T16:34:11.076-05:00

Gunmen shot and seriously wounded a prominent Somali army officer in an attack widely seen in the region as a warning to the African Union (AU) not to deploy peacekeeping troops, residents said on Sunday. Former General Mohammed Abdu Mohammed was shot four times in the chest and shoulders by three masked men armed with pistols and an assault rifle as he emerged from a mosque near his house on

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1099862201261608972004-11-07T15:58:00.000-05:002004-11-07T23:23:00.736-05:00

A 26-year-old male to female transsexual who goes by the name Amal is fighting to be recognized as a female.One court ruled for her, another overturned it and now she is going to the Court of Cassation, her last avenue of appeal. [...] Many Middle East countries refuse to recognize sex changes. Jordan, Lebanon and Syria do, but it takes complicated and lengthy court proceedings. Only Iran and

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093545269051664582004-08-26T14:33:00.000-04:002004-08-26T14:44:54.030-04:00

President Robert Mugabe has awarded Zimbabwean swimming gold medal winner Kirsty Coventry a diplomatic passport and $50 000 (about R300 000) "pocket money" to use in the US where she is a student. She won Zimbabwe's only medals so far at the Olympics, bringing home a bronze, a silver and a gold medal. "She did us proud. Well done, golden girl, may God lead you in the future because you are one

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093545185034873652004-08-26T14:25:00.000-04:002004-08-26T14:33:05.036-04:00

How to discourage nurse poaching.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093542598103350452004-08-26T13:42:00.000-04:002004-11-11T12:12:43.986-05:00

For eight years, Egypt's sole independent English-language weekly, The Cairo Times, battled government efforts to muzzle its stories that highlighted human rights abuses and political paralysis. In the end, though, it was the country's ailing economy that silenced the magazine in late June, its founder and publisher, Hisham Kassem, told The Associated Press on Thursday. Kassem blamed a

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093465347420296902004-08-25T16:16:00.000-04:002004-08-25T20:01:31.573-04:00

In today's Independent, a story that the new US ambassador to South Africa is talking about regime change in Zimbabwe.The United States has called for the building of a "coalition of the willing" to push for regime change to end the crisis in Zimbabwe. The new American ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said quiet diplomacy pursued by South Africa and other African countries in its

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093459600033121032004-08-25T14:37:00.000-04:002004-08-25T16:15:21.223-04:00

New polio infections have been reported in Guinea, Mali, and the Darfur region of Sudan -- areas that had been thought to be out of the danger zone. "What this means is that the major epidemic of polio we've been fearing has now spread beyond the firewall we put in place ... as we tried to contain the virus as close as possible to the epicenter in Nigeria," Bruce Aylward, who coordinates WHO's

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093450887409496432004-08-25T11:48:00.000-04:002004-08-25T20:03:17.780-04:00

In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, John Ryle explores the connection between the coflicts in Darfur and the south. An excerpt ...... the timing of the insurgency in Darfur is related to the Naivasha Agreement. Low-level fighting among communities in western Sudan (all of which are Muslim) has been endemic since the late 1980s, when a war broke out between the Arabs and the Fur,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093441247468363882004-08-25T09:37:00.000-04:002004-08-26T15:34:36.393-04:00

Sir Mark Thatcher, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, has been arrested in South Africa. [Thatcher's lawyer, Peter] Hodes confirmed his client was facing charges related to the contravention of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. "It has to do with providing finance... something to do with a helicopter," said Hodes. Thatcher was arrested earlier on

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093201803731939192004-08-22T15:07:00.000-04:002004-08-22T15:10:03.733-04:00

The UN Security Council gave the Sudanese government 30 days to disarm the Janjaweed militias ... and the deadline is fast approaching.Briefing reporters Friday ahead of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's visit to Sudan, [British foreign office] officials said council members were still debating what action to take if the deadline is missed. "The natural centre of gravity in the council is

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1093014565734709272004-08-20T10:58:00.000-04:002004-08-20T11:13:47.903-04:00

The headline in Monrovia's The News says it all. 65,000 Fighters Disarmed, 20,000 Weapons, 5 Million Ammunition Collected. According to the story, Ambassador Jacques Klein, head of the UN Mission in Liberia, delivered those statistics yesterday at a special session of the Transitional Legislative Assembly, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in Accra last

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092938046360938672004-08-19T13:53:00.000-04:002004-08-20T09:40:11.090-04:00

The Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) claimed resposibility for the attack in which over 150 refugees were killed.President Domitien Ndayizeye, speaking on return from a meeting of African leaders in Tanzania that condemned the Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL) but stopped short of sanctions, said the group's leaders would be a arrested. Ndayizeye said his government would take all

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092937673781492782004-08-19T13:43:00.000-04:002004-08-19T13:47:53.780-04:00

Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) claimed resposibility for the attack in which over 150 refugees were killed.President Domitien Ndayizeye, speaking on return from a meeting of African leaders in Tanzania that condemned the Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL) but stopped short of sanctions, said the group's leaders would be a arrested. Ndayizeye said his government would take all

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092936322250358152004-08-19T13:21:00.000-04:002004-08-19T13:25:22.250-04:00

Some 68.8 % of respondents say presidential term limits [of two, five year terms] should remain, while 31.2 percent want them removed. The poll was commissioned by The Monitor. And Strategic Public Relations & Research Limited of Nairobi conducted it throughout the country from August 1-5. The reputable research firm interviewed 1,800 people in all the regions of Uganda. The margin of error is 5

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092933026525235042004-08-19T12:28:00.000-04:002004-08-19T12:30:26.526-04:00

The locusts have been spotted in northern Nigeria. Previous post ... West/North Africa: more bad news about locusts

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092855290546941242004-08-18T14:45:00.000-04:002004-08-18T15:00:44.836-04:00

The following was posted about an hour ago ... National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said a company called International Intelligence Risk Management had been raided as well as the owner of the company's residence in Durbanville. [That must mean ... "the residence of the company's owner".] He said the premises was suspected of being an agency for the recruitment of mercenaries

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092838859883453202004-08-18T10:18:00.000-04:002004-08-18T10:20:59.883-04:00

From today's Independent ...The savage lynching of an aid worker in a refugee camp has become a political football in Darfur's ethnic conflict that now threatens some of the humanitarian operations. Medibor Ahmed Mohammed, an Arab employed by the charity Care, was mutilated and murdered at Kalma camp by a mob of Africans who accused him of belonging to the Janjaweed militias, which have been

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092778380586459172004-08-17T17:26:00.000-04:002004-08-17T17:34:52.900-04:00

The UN is no longer negotiating with the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL). The talks were aimed at getting the FNL, the only rebel group still fighting the government, to join Burundi's power-sharing government. "Negotiations with the FNL are suspended because they claimed responsibility for the attack which means they are not willing to be part of the peace process," said Isabelle Abric,

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092766405506078642004-08-17T14:08:00.000-04:002004-08-17T14:13:25.516-04:00

"The desert locust situation is now becoming extremely serious in northwest Africa, threatening to overwhelm agriculture in the region," the World Meteorological Organization said in a statement. "In the coming weeks, the hot, humid weather in the area will provide ideal conditions for locusts to reproduce and the new swarms could start to form by mid-September," the WMO said. (source)Previous

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092683903140929522004-08-16T14:09:00.000-04:002004-08-16T15:18:23.140-04:00

Story here.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092679163541179852004-08-16T13:52:00.000-04:002004-08-16T13:59:23.540-04:00

Malawian President Bingu wa-Mutharika said that countries are losing skilled workers to AIDS, including prominent members of government like members of parliament. Wa-Mutharika was speaking at the summit of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in Mauritius. The two-day meeting started today.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092672297182696812004-08-16T12:03:00.000-04:002004-08-16T14:08:25.523-04:00

Algeria, Egypt and Libya "informed the committee of Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on August 8 to discuss Darfur that they would dispatch troops as part of the Africa Union contingent," said Samir Hosni, in charge of the Darfur issue at the [Arab] League said. Algeria's charge d'affaires in Cairo Menawer Rabiai told AFP he could not confirm this information. (source)Also ... Sudan

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092671674440011792004-08-16T11:53:00.000-04:002004-08-16T13:33:15.850-04:00

The government of Rwanda has threatened to intervene again in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to disarm Hutu rebels based in eastern Congo, according to a statement issued on Sunday. Rwanda issued the statement two days after a massacre of at least 160 people on Friday in a refugee camp near Burundi's border with the DRC. The victims were Tutsis from eastern DRC, known as

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092511229319696692004-08-14T15:13:00.000-04:002004-08-14T15:22:47.926-04:00

OKOKARARA, Namibia (AP) - A senior government official offered Germany's first apology Saturday for a colonial-era crackdown that killed 65,000 ethnic Hereros -a slaughter she acknowledged amounted to genocide. "We Germans accept our historic and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time," Germany's development aid minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, said at a

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092444568112892702004-08-13T20:48:00.000-04:002004-08-13T20:49:28.113-04:00

The great rivalry between Kenyan and Ethiopian runners ... here.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092439893831197392004-08-13T19:17:00.000-04:002004-08-13T20:34:22.036-04:00

The invasion ... Swarms invaded Mauritania in early July ... and reached its capital, Nouakchott, about 10 days ago ... By mid-July, the swarms were spotted in Mali ... Around the same time, the swarms were found in Senegal, along its border with Mauritania ..."It is the first time we have seen locusts at this time of year," said Ousseynou Diop, head of the Agriculture Ministry's department of

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092411708259662162004-08-13T11:39:00.000-04:002004-08-16T11:59:30.196-04:00

Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o and his wife were attacked in his home by armed men late on Wednesday night in the capital, Nairobi. [...] An outspoken critic of former Kenyan governments, Professor Thiong'o only returned to Kenya last month after 22 years in self-imposed exile. (source)A lovely welcome! UPDATE: Oh shit ... his wife was raped.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092410874497628272004-08-13T10:17:00.000-04:002004-08-13T11:27:54.496-04:00

Around 500 members of the former rebel movement the Conseil national de défense de la démocratie-Forces de défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD), took a formal decision of becoming a political party at a congress held from 7 to 8 August in the central province of Gitega. In accordance with a ceasefire agreement, Burundi’s Ministry of Home Affairs will automatically approve the new political party

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1092317914071798082004-08-12T09:28:00.000-04:002004-08-12T09:38:34.070-04:00

The man at the centre of a series of maize deals condemned by the parastatals' watchdog has been chosen by MPs as new deputy head of Kenya's Anti-Corruption Commission. Now Dr Julius Rotich's suitability for the post could be called into question, as a devastating report by the Inspectorate of State Corporations recommends that he should repay from his own pocket nearly Sh4 billion lost by the

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091925969322283762004-08-07T20:44:00.000-04:002004-08-07T20:46:09.323-04:00

I am stepping away from the computer for a few days. Oh the horror!

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091716835781493802004-08-05T10:38:00.000-04:002004-08-05T15:31:35.006-04:00

As the five-day campaign, launched on Saturday to great fanfare, approached its end, officials in the northern city of Kano admitted they would not hit its target of vaccinating four million under-fives against the crippling disease [polio]. "I worked on Saturday and Sunday but nobody I met would allow me to vaccinate his child. The first day I went to 16 houses and at each house I was rebuffed

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091716365266584862004-08-05T10:30:00.000-04:002004-08-05T10:55:20.630-04:00

President Olusegun Obasanjo talked about his three-year imprisonment in Yola Prison.Obasanjo said the book of Psalm 54 formed the bulk of his daily devotion, stressing that the verses acquainted him with the saving powers of God in any situation. According to the President, he had thought that his arrest, detention and sentence were mistakes until he found out that his "tormentors" were carrying

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091714448058659602004-08-05T09:57:00.000-04:002004-08-05T10:01:05.950-04:00

Jan Pronk, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special representative on Darfur, said Wednesday that Sudan is not expected to fully disarm the militias by the deadline but had to show progress by then. "They have deployed many more policemen in the region and they have stopped their own military activities against villagers," Pronk told the BBC. He said security in the displaced-persons camps has

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091712941168620982004-08-05T09:32:00.000-04:002004-08-05T10:10:33.613-04:00

Four wives and 13 children of Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, along with 60 other people, were repatriated from Juba in southern Sudan, officials said. "Hundreds of excited people waited at the airport, as the flight from Juba had been delayed for about two hours," Andrew John Timpson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091631095327660462004-08-04T10:46:00.000-04:002004-08-05T10:58:50.556-04:00

Last week, there was an annoucement that the African Union was considering expanding the role of the force it's sending to Darfur ... changing it from a "protection force" and into a full-fledged peacekeeping force. Today, we get some numbers ..."We are considering, with Nigeria and Rwanda, the possibility of sending two battalions, which makes approximately 2,000 men," AU spokesman Adam Thiam

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091630470873671372004-08-04T10:31:00.000-04:002004-08-22T15:17:49.276-04:00

The families of the 69 South African men being held in a Zimbabwe prison on charges of being mercenaries, sued the South African government to get it to extradite the men to South Africa and try them there. The families lost the first time around ... and the appeal decision, delivered today, did not go their way either.[South African] Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson said on Wednesday the court

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091567269141611452004-08-03T17:02:00.000-04:002004-08-04T00:45:29.263-04:00

"The Golden Ratio is a proportion of 1 to 1.618, which is a nonstandard size, which is a bit of a pain to print [a book in], but it's a naturally pleasing proportion that's found in a lot of nature," Schott says. "It's these really subtle things that no one cares about. They make such a difference." (source)So true! Ben Schott is the author of Schott's Miscellany and Schott's Food & Drink

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091566910715972982004-08-03T16:58:00.000-04:002004-08-03T17:01:50.716-04:00

It's official ... The powerful head of the Algerian army, General Mohamed Lamari, resigned for health reasons, an official statement said, following recent speculation that he was about to step down. [... President Abdelaziz] Bouteflika named General Salah Ahmed Gaid, commander of ground forces, to replace Lamari as military chief of staff, a statement from the president's office said. [...]

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091536908726672372004-08-03T08:38:00.000-04:002004-08-03T09:56:57.230-04:00

The Italian team triumphed over last year's champs, Austria, 4-0 to win the second annual Homeless (soccer/football) World Cup. Previous post ... Sweden: second annual homeless soccer world cup

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091486664494474732004-08-02T18:30:00.000-04:002004-08-02T18:44:24.493-04:00

A few days ago, former Ugandan president Godfrey Binaisa married a Japanese-American woman, Tomoko Yamamoto, at a mass wedding conducted by the Unification Church (pejoratively known as the "Moonies"). Story here and here. A blog critical of the Unification Church.

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644270.post-1091420792840620552004-08-02T00:20:00.000-04:002004-08-02T00:27:36.563-04:00

Josh Marshall has a long post about the source of those forged documents which said Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger. Previous posts... Niger: intelligence reports on Iraq "yellowcake" story Niger: Iraq-Niger yelow cake story ... revived?

newsjunkienoreply@blogger.com