CFA 300: African Globalization

Doctors qualify in Somali capital

2008-12-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

I found this story very moving take a look!

Student doctors have graduated from a medical school in the Somali capital of Mogadishu - for the first time in nearly two decades.
The ceremony for 12 men and eight women was held inside a barricaded hotel, guarded by police, in the capital. The new doctors come at a time when Somalis in the conflict-wracked country desperately need medical care.

The Horn of Africa nation has been engulfed by chaos since President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Civilians often bear the brunt of the bullet-pocked capital's battles between Islamist forces and government soldiers, backed by Ethiopian troops. The students had to dodge firefights on their way to university in one of the most violent cities in the world.

With the men wearing suits and ties and the women in Muslim headscarves, the graduates smiled for a portrait and hoisted their diplomas in the air at the Shamo Hotel.
They said they would not leave the country because their profession was in high demand in Somalia - and some of them have already joined hospitals in Mogadishu.

They graduated after a six-year programme that is recognised only in Somalia, not overseas.
'Fruit of resilience' "This is a really good moment of my life. I want to work and help my people with this new talent and I'm not leaving," said 20-year-old Na'ima Abdulkadir Mohamed.

Another graduate, Yahye Abdi-rahman, 22, said: "Few can believe that education is available in a city of bullets and violence.
"But God is great, we have overcome all the problems and now we can enjoy the fruit of our resilience."
Abdirizak Yusuf, 25, head of the medical students' association at Benadir University, said: "If we get a good and functioning government we can be a leader among African universities, regardless of security, because we know how to survive in anarchy."

The president of the university was equally optimistic. "The graduation of these students shows something that nobody outside Somalia can believe - that students can still learn despite violence and anarchy," Mohamed Malim Muse said. It has been a good week for health services in Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, the city got its first public ambulance system in 18 years, raising hopes residents will no longer have to resort to wheelbarrows to transport their wounded.
Five emergency vehicles with a team of nurses will answer calls from patients to a new 24-hour emergency 777 helpline, thanks to help from a non-governmental organisation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7765571.stm

Texts tackle HIV in SOUTH AFRICA

2008-12-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

This article could not of been more dead on with our focus in class.

As we all have wished for better health, wealth, and happiness in Africa, South Africans become more diversified in their technology through the use of "texting" with cell phones. In efforts to get tested for HIV, a message is sent to the different cellphones in one of the countries that seems to have the worst problem of HIV. South African project Masilulefe will send one million free text messages a day to push people to be tested and treated.

With about six million people in South Africa with Aids, "South Africa is the epicentre of the global HIV epidemic," said Zinny Thabethe, an HIV activist who is part of the project.

With every positive a negative is always lurking. The issue with this project is the results from the message. Based on the 5% that have gotten tested, people will only go when they are sitting on their death beds.

The intention to help is there, but it falls on the education of this nation to work on preserving life for future generations.

Check out the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7688268.stm

Texts used to tackle South Africa HIV crisis

2008-12-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

LONDON, England (CNN) -- One million free text messages will be sent every day for 12 months from Monday in South Africa in a bid to raise HIV awareness and encourage testing for the disease.

The ambitious Project Masiluleke is being rolled out across the country after a pilot period that saw calls to a AIDS national helpline shoot up by 200 percent, organizers say.

The United Nations estimates that there are currently six million people living with HIV in South Africa and just one in 10 get the treatment they need.

"South Africa is the epicenter of the global HIV epidemic," said HIV activist Zinny Thabethe in Octorber at an annual conference for the social innovation network Pop!Tech, an organization instrumental in developing the concept.

'Project Masiluleke,' or 'Project M' was set up to try to encourage people to seek testing and treatment in a country where cell phones are abundant.

Africa is cited as the fastest growing mobile-phone network in the world. In South Africa, more than 80 percent of the population has one -- the country has a population of 49 million, and it is estimated that 43 million have cell phones. Almost 95 percent of the phones are prepaid.

The initiative plans to broadcast millions of health messages every month to phones across South Africa.

"This is the largest ever use of cell phones for health information," said Gustav Praekelt, one of the project's originators.

"There is near universal coverage," said Praekelt during the launch of the project. "And in the absence of other services, the mobile phone has become the central component for people to get access to information."

Organizers say 'Project M' will offer South Africans the privacy to get tested and pursue treatment options and counseling by staff who are HIV positive themselves.

The system sends the messages using a so-called "Please Call Me" (PCM) service. This free form of text messaging, common across Africa, allows someone without any phone credit to send a text to a friend asking them to call.

Each sent PCM message has the words "Please Call Me," the phone number of the caller, and space for an additional 120 characters. The extra space is normally filled with advertising, which helps offset the cost of running the service.

The message reads: "Frequently sick, tired, losing weight and scared that you might be HIV positive? Please call AIDS Helpline 0800012322."

Encouraging people to get tested is a huge challenge in a country where people with the AIDS virus still face stigma and shame.

However, 'Project M' appears to be having an impact, since it was initiated in October.

"We have observed a dramatic increase in the call rate to the AIDS Helpline -- from approximately 1,300 calls per day to a new average of 3,600," said Milo Zama, Projects Development Manager for LifeLine, one of the partners.

Trained operators provide callers with accurate healthcare information, and referrals to local testing clinics

Many of the messages are broadcast in English and in local languages such as Zulu.

As well as Pop!Tech, the project has been developed and funded by HIV charities and technology and design firms, including Nokia Siemens, MTN, the Praekelt Foundation, iTeach and National Geographic.

Pop!Tech's Director of Communications Jason Rzepka told CNN there are plans to expand the project to other affected countries after its official launch in February 2009.

He said: "One of the objectives of the February launch event will be to secure additional funding, so we can continue to expand Project Masiluleke into its planned 2nd and 3rd phases beyond South Africa."

Surgeon saves boys life by text

2008-12-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

A British doctor volunteering in DR Congo used text message instructions from a colleague to perform a life-saving amputation on a boy.
Vascular surgeon David Nott helped the 16-year-old while working 24-hour shifts with medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Rutshuru.
The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous.
Mr Nott, 52, from London, had never performed the operation but followed instructions from a colleague who had.
The surgeon, who is based at Charing Cross Hospital in west London, said: "He was dying. He had about two or three days to live when I saw him."
Careful instructions
It is not clear how the boy was injured. It was suggested that he had been bitten by a hippopotamus while fishing, but Mr Nott also heard that he had been caught in crossfire between government and rebel forces.
There were just 6in (15cm) of the boy's arm remaining, much of the surrounding muscle had died and there was little skin to fold over the wound.
Mr Nott knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation, requiring removal of the collar bone and shoulder blade.
He contacted Professor Meirion Thomas, from London's Royal Marsden Hospital, who had performed the operation before.
"I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it," he said.

It was just luck that I was there and could do it
David Nott
"Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting.
"But in the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter.
"I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times."
The operation is only performed about 10 times a year in the UK, usually on cancer patients, and requires the back-up of an intensive-care unit. Patients usually lose a lot of blood during the procedure.

David Nott explains the procedure

Mr Nott, from Fulham, west London, had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre, but the operation, performed in October, was a success and the teenager made a full recovery.
The surgeon, who volunteers with MSF for a month every year, said: "I don't think there's more than two or three surgeons in the UK who can do this. It was just luck that I was there and could do it.
"I don't think that someone that wasn't a vascular surgeon would have been able to deal with the large blood vessels involved. That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life."
In the absence of intensive-care facilities, Mr Nott said he had personally monitored the boy's recovery from his bedside, tending his wounds.
"It was touch and go whether he would make it so when I saw his face on the MSF website afterwards, it was a real delight," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7761994.stm

Positive: "United States of Africa"

2008-12-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

Britain's American colonies did it. Europe's nations did it. Can 's disparate countries form their own political union? , the 67-year-old chairman of the , believes they can, despite the troubled history of African unity. Ping, who left his post as Gabon's foreign minister to take the helm of the pan-African body earlier this year, brings a unique personal history to the job. In the 1930s his Chinese-born father, who sold porcelain along Africa's western coast, missed his boat in Gabon and decided to settle in a small fishing village. He wound up marrying the chief's daughter—who became Ping's mother. Now Ping is charged with bringing unity and order to a continent that has seen little of either in its recent history. He recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's Jason McLure at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa about creating a United States of Africa, bringing peace to the and Darfur, and his views of American democracy.

NEWSWEEK: There is a debate in the African Union about how long it will take to create a United States of Africa. Libya's Muammar Qaddafi has pushed for its immediate creation. What's your vision?
Jean Ping: For those who want a quick creation it could be three phases of three years. Gradualists talk about 35 years. I think there is a possibility of compromise. We also have a debate on what type of "United States" we will have: be it a confederation, a federation, or a centralized government.

What is the motivation?
We need bigger markets. Some of our countries are too small and too weak. Africa is a big continent full of raw materials. But this big continent is divided by 165 borders into 53 countries. Even the voice of a larger country like Nigeria or South Africa by itself is inaudible in international negotiations on world trade or climate change. But collectively it's impossible to ignore 53 countries with almost one billion inhabitants.
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About eastern Congo, the United Nations has said it will send an additional 3,000 peacekeepers, bringing the total troop force to 20,000. Is that enough to halt the bloodshed?
No I don't think so. The U.N. troops are not generally authorized to use force. They are in very bad shape. It is very difficult for them, not only due to their [small] numbers but due to the nature of their mandate, to do what some Congolese and Africans are expecting. That's why civilians are throwing stones at them.

What about the current ceasefire, signed in Nairobi on Nov. 7?
If the ceasefire is not respected, then we should use force. But those who use force will be Africans, like the countries of the Great Lakes or the African Union. The ex-Interhamwe who are there, the [Hutu] genocidaires who moved from Rwanda to eastern Congo, they are considered by Rwanda to be a threat to their security. This problem, the root cause of the conflict, should be solved. I am confident we can solve it. If this problem is solved there are no more reasons for [renegade Tutsi] Gen. Laurent Nkunda to fight, because he says he is fighting to protect the Tutsi of the Congo.

The African Union has voiced concern about the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying it could prevent Sudan from implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and South. Why?
We in the African Union, we have to fight impunity. But we say that the step taken by the International Criminal Court is not going to help the situation. We have decided to ask the U.N. Security Council to suspend the implementation [of the indictment] for 12 months. The second thing is we have asked the Sudanese government to prosecute those who are responsible for crimes.

How would President Bashir's government be able to prosecute those involved? You can understand why outsiders would be skeptical.
Well I don't want to go into details, but is it a genocide in Darfur? The U.N. Security Council sent a mission there in 2005 and the conclusion of that mission is that there is no genocide. There are crimes against humanity and . Crimes against humanity and war crimes are very important, but there is no need to use 'genocide' if it is not proven

(the rest of the interview can be found on NewsWeek.com at this link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/171588 )

Africa gets set for KORA awards

2008-12-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

-Project, a Nigerian/ Sierra Leonean trio music group which comprises Majeed, Slez and Saal will be joining other notable Nigerian acts to battle for this year's KORA Music Award. KORA is Africa's version of the Grammy awards.

The KORA Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 1994 by Ernest Adjovi, they are comparable to the American Grammy Awards in intent. The award is named after the KORA, an important West African plucked chordophone.

The awards were last held in 2005, but it is set to re-launch in December 6th, 2008 in Calabar, Nigeria. X-Project, the Lori le exponent has been nominated along side two Nigerian MTV Base award winners - 2Face Idibia and D’Banj. P-Square, Asa, Sasha, Sammie Okposo, Infinity, Olu Maintain, T Y Bello, Yinka Ayefele, are in the West African category.

Nominees from other African countries are Amity Meria from Burkina Faso; Elizio Tcheka from Cape Verde; Espooir 2000, Soum Bill, Les Go Two Koteba, Honakamy and Tour 2 Grade from Ivory Coast; and Gang of Instruments, Jaziel Bros, Patience Dabany and Oliver Wgoma from South Africa.

From Comoros Island; Chebli & Mpassi were nominated, Micath as nominated from Ethiopia, Jaydee from Tanzania. Ras Munik and Cool is 1 are in the nomination list from Mauritius.

The event manager of the talented group told AfricaNews that X-Project has all what it takes to win this year’s edition of the award.

“They have every opportunity to win the award. They are the only group in Africa that is very unique. Coming from Sierra Leone and having just only Nigerian in the group gives X-Project leverage above anybody listed in the category,” he said.

“I will not unveil our strategies now but we are coming out in full force for the campaign in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Gambia, South Africa, Ghana, New York, London and other countries where our songs are making waves at the moment”.

X-project just returned to Nigeria after making headline performances across the United States.

Positive Article: UK Doctor Saves Life of Congo Teenager

2008-12-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/03/congo-text-message-amputation/print

Surgeon carries out amputation by text

Sam Jones
The Guardian, Wednesday December 3 2008

A British surgeon volunteering in the Democratic Republic of Congo saved the life of a teenage boy by amputating his shoulder using instructions texted by a colleague in London.

David Nott, 52, a general and vascular surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, was working with the charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in the town of Rutshuru when he came across the badly injured 16-year-old in October.

The teenager's left arm had been so badly damaged - either in an accident or as a result of the fighting between Congolese and rebel troops - that it had already had to be amputated. But the flesh and bone that remained had become badly infected and gangrenous.

"He was dying" said Nott. "He had about two or three days to live."

The doctor realised the boy's best chance of survival was a forequarter amputation which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade. The only problem was that it was an operation Nott had never performed. But he remembered that one of his colleagues at home had carried out the procedure.

"I texted him and he texted back step-by-step instructions," he said.

"Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting.

"But in the end he would have died without it, so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter."

Such an operation, if performed in the UK, would require careful planning with every sort of modern medical product on hand if things went wrong.

But in Congo Nott had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre.

Despite the basic conditions, the operation was a success and the teenager made a full recovery.

More than 5 million people have been killed in Congo since the early 1990s when the Rwandan genocide spread into what was then Zaire.

Ghanaian wins Face of Africa

2008-12-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

The striking 23-year-old Ghanaian, Kate Menson was declared winner of the 2008 M-Net Face of Africa last Saturday, November 29 at the SuperBowl in Sun City, South Africa. She was discovered in the Accra casting earlier in the year.

Although Kate had auditioned for the search in 2006, she had not qualified at the time because she needed to hone her talent and work on developing her physique. Her hard work, focus and dedication were finally rewarded as she was named the seventh and newest M-Net Face of Africa.

She beat nine other bevy of ladies from the continent - Alli (Nigeria), Hamamat (Ghana), Hiwot (Ethiopia), Maria (Namibia), Noxi (Zambia), Joana (Angola), Lucy (Uganda), Sasa (South Africa) and Sola (Nigeria).

Featuring the fashions of Tanzania’s Mustafa Hassanali, South Africa’s Thula Sindi and Nigeria’s Lisa Folawiyo plus two magazine collections from South Africa’s Cosmopolitan magazine and True Love East Africa, the finale was a glamourous glittering showcase of African talent, style and creative energy, played out against a backdrop of a gleaming black catwalk.

The very first Face of Africa winner and now global model icon and businesswoman, Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi made the big announcement and revealed the M-Net Face of Africa 2008. Kate was awarded with a modeling contract valued at USD 50 000 with her (Oluchi) agency OModel Africa.

M-Net Channel Director for Africa Biola Adekanbi said that M-Net was proud of the project of Face of Africa. Adekanbi said its transformative power is expected to change lives and its enduring continental appeal would continue to be a shining highlight on the M-Net calendar.

"We wish all of the top 10 finalists well as they go forward and thank them for the courage, and their strength in taking on this challenge and meeting it with such grace and charm. Further, we wish Kate much success as she enters a new chapter in a life, once we are confident she will embrace with enthusiasm and passion. Finally, M-Net will continue to promote African talent and ingenuity, in keeping with our belief that Africa and Africans should be celebrated."

(lead blogger post) Zimbabweans ill and dying from cholera crossing border

2008-12-03T10:25:00.001-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/03/cholera.zimbabwe/index.html

I've been seeing a lot about Africa pop up on CNN's home page lately, and there were several articles that are worthy of a blog but this one caught my eye because it isn't about all the fighting and rebel attacks constantly going on in Africa, but instead about a health issue-something that could be solved if money was put into some sort of plumbing or sanitation system for Zimbabwean's drinking water.

The article describes how cholera is contracted, but to give you a brief rundown it is contracted by consuming contaminated water. This recent outbreak is believed to have been caused by burst raw sewage pipes that contaminated the rivers, wells and streams around the area, and that is where most of the residents get their drinking water.

While we hear so many horror stories from Africa in the midst of all their civil wars, it is still so sad to hear about people dying from something that can be solved a lot easier than those wars and conflicts (it's estimated between 500-1,000 people have died and up to 12,000 more may be infected). I also think more developed countries outside of Africa need to be doing what they can to help, since they have already overcome problems like this as long ago as medieval times. It would help prevent a lot of unnecessary deaths and many sad stories, including the one of the pregnant woman at the beginning of this article. We spend so much time discussing how we need to help stop genocides and rebel attacks around Africa, but it would be my guess that there are just as many people dying from diseases and other things that don't get our attention or the news coverage they need.

How do you think different countries around Africa, specifically Zimbabwe at the moment, can begin to work on their sanitation systems to help better the public's health?

While so much money is put into finding a cure for AIDS, why is it we hear so little about other diseases being spread around Africa, and even less about what is being done to cure or stop them? Along that same line, do you think it is important that outside countries help, or is this something that countries in Africa need to work out among themselves?

Positive: African Agriculture Journalists Awarded

2008-12-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Posted on Tuesday 2 December 2008 - 12:40

Sanday Chongo Kabange, AfricaNews reporter in Lusaka, Zambia
Two African Journalists have been awarded with the continent's presitgious agriculture awards at a ceremony held in the Mozambique. Patricia Oyella of WBS TV in Uganda and Wandera Ojanji of the East African Standard in Kenya were winners of the CGIAR-FARA 2008 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism in Africa.
Oyella won the prize for outstanding broadcast story while Ojanji received the outstanding print media prize. Each award, carrying a cash value of US$5,000 recognizes journalists’ efforts in effectively communicating agricultural science issues to the general public.

This year’s prize was jointly offered by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

“We received an impressive array of entries from about 20 countries in Africa. Oyella and Ojanji impressed the judges most for thoroughly exploring the issues without losing their audience in the complexity of science. We recognize and applaud their efforts in showing how agriculture research contributes to development in Africa,” said Catherine Mgendi of the CGIAR.

“Extensive and well-researched coverage of these important issues contributes to the mission of the CGIAR and FARA, and we are grateful for their contribution.”

Saving the Cooking Banana

Patricia Oyella, editor and reporter at WBS TV in Uganda, received the award for her broadcast feature, “Saving the Cooking Banana,” shown on WBS TV and on Business Africa, a program broadcast on a network of more than 45 African and five European partner channels.

Combining powerful, captivating imagery with precise narratives, the feature demonstrated the importance of this food crop in Africa, the problems faced by banana farmers, and the solutions offered by researchers.

The panel of judges comprising senior journalists and editors across Africa applauded her entry as “a brilliant story well told with strong human interest.” The judges commended Oyella for a story well-researched that also employed unforgettable images and experts who explained the issues clearly.

Endangered Species

Wandera Ojanji, science and environmental writer at the East African Standard newspaper in Kenya, received the outstanding print award for his article, “Endangered Species,” published on September 2, 2007.

In his article, Ojanji effectively highlighted the plight of diminishing indigenous livestock breeds in Kenya and neighboring countries, and advocated strongly for the conservation of their genetic diversity through research, local breeding programs, and policy
interventions.

“‘Endangered Species’ is a good agriculture research story and the journalist has done proper justice to a difficult theme,” said the judges.

The CGIAR-FARA 2008 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism in Africa attracted 49 print and broadcast entries on issues affecting Africa’s key crops (banana, cassava, maize, rice) and livestock, namely biofuels, climate change, the role of biotechnology, food safety, access to fertilizers, pest management and efforts to control noxious weeds such as striga.

“In this day of information overload, journalists have to be concise, accurate and relevant. They additionally have to present agricultural information attractively and innovatively. Their choice of words and images sometimes has more impact than loads of scientific evidence,” said Francois Stepman, Communications Specialist for the Accra-based Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa.

“We truly laud the efforts of journalists to inform and educate the public about the
importance of issues affecting agriculture in Africa, and solutions offered by research.”

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21933

South African honoured as one of world's most innovative teachers

2008-12-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Sarietjie Musgrave, a Grade 10 Teacher from the Free State, has been recognised as one of the world's most innovative teachers in Microsoft's 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers of the Year awards. Held as part of the annual Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum, the awards honour outstanding teachers who practice exceptional learning methods and incorporate the creative use of technology in their classrooms.

Musgrave, who teaches at Eunice High School in Bloemfontein, won second prize in the Innovation for Collaboration category for her 'Spread the Sunshine' project.

The project for Grade 10 Computer Applications Technology pupils sees learners investigating the needs of disabled people and then creating useful Information Technology-based applications for disabled people.

Among the projects Musgrave's pupils from the all-girls school embarked upon include teaching a dyslexic pupil how to read and write using drawings on a computer, reconnecting an elderly woman with her family through email and teaching a paralysed six year old girl how to write her name on a computer.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Musgrave said. "I wanted to teach them how to conduct research and, being the year of the Olympics and the (Paralympics), we decided to focus on disabilities."

Musgrave added that she believes that she only was honoured because of her pupils' hard work. "I was just amazed at their creativity and willingness. They have realised it doesn't cost money to make a difference."

Now in its fourth year, the Innovative Teachers Forum brought together over 250 teachers from 64 countries to collaborate together and discuss ways of using technology to enhance learning.

Musgrave said the forum in Hong Kong provided teachers from around the world with a "meaningful" chance to share ideas on how technology transformed learning.

"This reminds me of why I began teaching: to share my love of learning new things and to change people's lives," she told the Sunday Times.

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/sa_teaching_the_world/south_african_honoured_as_one_of_worlds_most_innovative_teachers_2.html

South Africa Aids Vaccine

2008-12-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Amazing, isn't it!!

SA Aids vaccine makes medical history

Monday, 01 December 2008

After eight years of research, two South African developed HIV vaccines are to become the first African vaccines to undergo human clinical trials in the United States.

The South African Aids Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), which is a programme of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and is supported by the South African government, announced that the first phase of safety trials will begin in Boston, USA this week.

The vaccines were developed at the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM).

The vaccines were developed at the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) with funding from SAAVI and the US National Institute for Health. Both vaccines are based on HIV subtype C which is the dominant strain circulating in southern Africa, where the global AIDS pandemic is highly prevalent.

"This clinical trial represents a milestone for South Africa, as one of the few developing countries to have developed an HIV vaccine and progressed it into human clinical trials," says Prof. Anthony Mbewu, President of the MRC.

"It is progress in the search for an HIV vaccine which would provide the best chance to halt the global HIV epidemic; as well as a significant step in South Africa's growing competence in complex vaccine development," he added.

The trial called SAAVI 102/HVTN 073 will involve 12 participants in the US and a further 36 participants from South Africa. These trials will take place in January next year with participants from the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Anna-Lise Williamson, SAAVI product development director at IIDMM, says that the aim of the vaccine is to prime the body to recognise the HI virus and to therefore speed up the immune system response. "At best the vaccine will stop infections, but it is more likely that it will slow the progression of the disease."

Williamson adds that the vaccines could also lower the viral load of an infected person thus lowering the possibility of transmission.

The vaccines will have to undergo three trial phases before they can be deemed successful, a process that could take between five to eight years.

"SAAVI is extremely gratified that these test HIV vaccines are entering human clinical trials," says the Interim Director of SAAVI, Elise Levendal. "However, there is still a long way to go before we will know if these products will be in any way successful in preventing HIV infection."

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/south_africa_in_the_world/sa_aids_vaccine_makes_medical_history.html

Ethiopia starts coffee exchange

2008-12-02T19:08:00.001-08:00

Ethiopia starts coffee exchange

Ethiopia, Africa's largest coffee producer, has started trading the crop on a national commodity exchange.

In a move aimed at both increasing quality and the amount farmers get paid for their beans, coffee is being traded on the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange.

Replacing the previous, more informal, system of sales through middlemen, farmers will now be able to get direct access to current market prices.

The exchange has set up a network of warehouses to collect the beans.

Dominant crop

The Ethiopian government, which is backing the move, hopes it will prevent fraud, such as traders passing off beans from a lesser growing area as being those from a higher quality region.

Although the largest growers and co-operatives will be able to continue to sell directly to the global coffee firms, everyone else will have to use the electronic exchange.

Set up earlier this year, the exchange already trades in maize, wheat, sesame seeds and haricot beans.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee cultivation and the crop continues to account for more than a third of its export earnings.

It earned $525m (£354m) from coffee exports in the 2007-08 financial year.

However, Ethiopia still remains one of the world's poorest nations, and is ranked 170 out of 177 on the United Nation's Human Development Index.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7760321.stm

Published: 2008/12/02 10:23:15 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

From child refugee to Rwanda's reconciliation president

2008-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

By Ken Shiffman
CNN Senior Producer

KIGALI, Rwanda (CNN) -- As leader of the Tutsi rebels in 1994, Paul Kagame pleaded with the world to stop the Rwandan genocide.

Paul Kagame: "We say every Rwandan has the same opportunity to life ... as the other."

"All along we thought that's why they were here," Kagame said, referring to the U.N. troops sent to monitor a peace agreement between the minority Tutsis and ruling Hutus.

But the nations of the world, he said, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye.

"They didn't care. They were totally indifferent. It was just another bloody African situation where just people kill each other and that's it."

After 100 days of fighting between the two ethnic groups, the Tutsi militia defeated Hutu government forces, ending the war and the genocide. But the Hutus' three-month slaughter of Tutsis left more than 800,000 dead. Today, Kagame is president of Rwanda, and he insists on reconciliation between the warring groups.

It was an incredible transformation for both Kagame and his country. Watch as Kagame discusses Rwanda's past and future »

In the late 1950s and early '60s, Kagame's family and other Tutsis were under siege as Hutu gangs went from village to village, pillaging and killing. The Kagames, including 3-year-old Paul, fled to Uganda.

Paul Kagame would spend the next three decades as a refugee. During that time he rose through the ranks to become a senior officer in the Ugandan army. All the while, he and other refugees longed to return home to Rwanda.

In 1990, Kagame was attending a training course at Fort Leavenworth in the U.S. state of Kansas when Tutsi rebels invaded Rwanda. After some initial success, the rebel forces were forced to retreat.Among the casualties was their leader, who had been killed on the second day of the attack. When news of the failed invasion reached Kagame, he left the United States, resigned from the Ugandan military and took command of the Tutsi rebel militia.

Kagame instilled strict discipline in his growing rebel army. They would launch successful attacks that eventually brought the ruling Hutu government to sign a power-sharing agreement in 1993 known as the Arusha Accords.

But the peace agreement was a façade. Hutu extremists had no intention of sharing control of the Rwandan government. And in April 1994, they began their attempt to exterminate the Tutsi population.

Kagame's forces resumed their attacks, desperate to save their fellow Tutsis. The Hutu government had far more troops, but Kagame's soldiers had far more discipline. In battle after battle, they were victorious, gaining control of more and more of Rwanda, ultimately declaring victory in July 1994 -- but not before more than 800,000 were dead.Kagame recently sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his presidential compound to talk about the hope of reconciliation as well as the international community's indifference to the plight of Rwandans during the 1994 genocide.

"The common interests we have for a better future of this country [are] more important than any other interests, especially such interests as of different groups," Kagame said. "And we say every Rwandan has the same opportunity to life, to the sources of this country, as the other."

Nigerian forces impose peach after deadely riots

2008-12-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

JOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Calm returned to Jos on Monday as hordes of police and military personnel descended on the central Nigerian city to enforce order after three days of deadly Christian-Muslim riots.
Authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew on some parts of the city and a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the rest.
As day broke, people milled about and surveyed the damage from the riots. Burned-out buildings, mosques and churches greeted them. Several families were seen leaving the city, with belongings in tow.
"It's pretty clear they are definitely trying to keep the lid on things," said CNN's Christian Purefoy, who visited the area.
A local religious leader told CNN Sunday that more than 340 people have been killed in the three days of fighting. The central mosque in the city said it alone buried 209 people.
Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam of the mosque, said the violence stemmed from a local election for a "government council" in which a Muslim candidate was running against a Christian candidate. The results of the election were disputed by both sides, and the disagreement sparked the clashes.
"We do not feel secure," said Abubakar. "Our homes and mosques have been targeted and burned to ashes. We have many people who have been displaced."
The violence is the worst in Nigeria since 2004, when up to 700 people died in Plateau State during Christian-Muslim clashes.
Jos, the capital of Plateau State, lies in Nigeria's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups live in hotly contested land separating the Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is on a fault line between Islam and Christianity that crosses the continent from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic.
The violence is a major challenge for the government of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who came to power in a 2007 election that was criticized by international observers.
Few Nigerian elections have been deemed fair since independence from Britain in 1960, and civilian rule has often been interrupted by military takeovers.
More than 10,000 Nigerians have died in sectarian violence since civilian leaders overthrew a military junta in 1999. Political strife over local issues is also common and government offices control huge revenues from the oil industry

Creating a Positive Environment for Ill Children

2008-11-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7755717.stm

Though these children and teens are ill and may not have an upbeat outlook on life, they are putting their time to good use and into a positive activity.

Positive: Rwandan growth could reach 10%

2008-11-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Rwanda's booming manufacturing and farming sectors could push growth in the country to 10% this year, according to the Rwandan central bank governor.

Agriculture is particularly strong and is growing at a minimum rate of 10%, said Francois Kanimba.

But Rwanda's growth rate is likely to fall to 6-7% next year because of the global financial crises.

Several African countries are feeling the fallout of the financial crisis and are readjusting their growth forecasts.

"The current assumption we have [for 2009] is a growth rate of 6-7%, not more," Mr Kanimba told Reuters news agency.

He also said that the drop in commodity prices, a slowdown in the growth of manufacturing and services and a decrease in the amount of remittances Rwanda received would contribute to the lower figure.

Agricultural growth

But he maintained a positive outlook on 2008's growth figures.

"I do not see why economic growth will not be close to 10%."

"Agriculture output is growing at a minimum of 10% ...manufacturing and service sectors over the last five years have averaged higher than 10%," he added.

The forecast 2008 growth rate figures are considerably higher than last year figure of 6%.

Rwanda has been trying to revamp its battered economy since the 1994 genocide. It is particularly ramping up its farming, tourism, mining and energy sectors.

Franc fears

At the same time, Mr Kanimba revealed that the Rwandan franc is overvalued by 10-15%.

The governor attributed the overvaluation to Rwanda's high inflation rate compared to its trading partners.

Inflation in the country stood at 21.9% in October. Mr Kanimba said he anticipated the figure would fall to single digits in 2009.

African Artists Finally Get a Chance to Really Shine

2008-11-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) -- MTV launches its first-ever music award program for Africa, with acts from across the world's poorest continent nominated for prizes in the Nigerian capital.

Peter Okoye of P-Square rehearses Friday for the MTV Africa Music Awards show in Abuja, Nigeria.

Alison Reid, a spokeswoman for MTV Networks Africa, says winners were being selected by fans sending text messages.

Africa has long featured a vibrant music scene, but artists have had difficulties breaking into overseas markets.

MTV hopes Saturday night's awards show offers the artists more exposure and celebrates the continent's artistry.

Nigerian R&B duo P-Square is competing in five categories including best group, best R&B act and the evening's top award, artist of the year. Performers from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana,Gabon and others are also nominated.

Link Here

Rapid Care Cuts Baby's HIV Risk

2008-11-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7736120.stm

Rapid drug treatment of babies with HIV dramatically cuts their risk of death and debilitating disease, international research shows. The study prompted the World Health Organization to change its guidelines, which had recommended delaying therapy until symptoms became apparent. It found giving antiretroviral therapy (ART) straight after diagnosis cut the risk of death from Aids by 76%. The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It is to be hoped that this will save countless babies across the world
Professor Mark Cotton
Comprehensive International Program of Research on Aids

The study, of 377 HIV-positive South African babies, found that babies given treatment immediately after they were diagnosed with HIV cut their risk of dying from the infection to just 4%. In comparison, the risk of death for those whose treatment was delayed until their levels of key immune system CD4 cells began to fall, or other symptoms emerged, was 16%.
Immediate treatment also cut the chance of disease progressing measurably by 75%, from 26% to 6%. The findings were so conclusive that treatment for all babies was re-assessed at the preliminary stage of the trial.

Unexpected findings

Professor Diana Gibb, from the Medical Research Council clinical trials unit worked on the study.
She said: "We did not expect to see differences so soon between the infants receiving early treatment and those in the group where treatment started only when immunity was falling or symptoms developed."

Lead researcher Dr Avy Violari, from the Comprehensive International Program of Research on Aids (CIPRA-SA) said: "Our results reinforce the view that there are no reliable predictors for small infants as to how their disease is progressing.

"CD4 counts do not tell us with enough accuracy if babies under a year of age are becoming sick.

"What was alarming was the speed of disease progression; some infants could seem fine in the morning and get sick and die by nightfall. Some did not even make it to the hospital.

"When these early data were analysed, it became clear that treating all infants at the earliest opportunity after diagnosis was the best course of action."

Saving lives

Her CIPRA-SA colleague Professor Mark Cotton, who also played a key role in the study, said he was delighted that the study had led to changes in the WHO guidelines.

He said: "It is to be hoped that this will save countless babies across the world, especially in low-income countries where mother-to-child transmission is still common.

"However, in order to start ART early, it is important to undertake HIV viral diagnosis very early in life which does require a programme with both manpower and resources."

Professor Gibb also stressed that avoiding mother-to-child transmission in the first place was the top priority.

She said: "These drug regimens are no picnic for these babies and even with improved outcomes in early life, there is still no cure for Aids."

The WHO issued a statement in which it confirmed the study had been instrumental in its decision to revise its guidelines.

Happy Article: S. Africa treats 68 cholera patients on Zimbabwe border

2008-11-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

S. Africa treats 68 cholera patients on Zimbabwe border

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — South Africa has treated 68 cholera patients since the weekend in a town by the border with Zimbabwe, where the disease has killed dozens of people in recent weeks, a health official said Wednesday.
"Since Saturday, we have received and treated a total of 68 cholera patients from Zimbabwe," said Phuti Selobi, spokesman for the health department in the town of Musina said.
"Sixty-six of them are Zimbabweans while two others are South Africans engaged in cross-border business," Selobi told AFP.
"Only 14 of them are still in the hospital," he added, noting that no one has died of cholera in South Africa.
Musina is a sprawling town near the main border crossing between the countries. Zimbabwe has suffered 73 cholera deaths in the latest outbreak, caused by the breakdown of sanitation in the country.
"We have set up a rehydration centre near the border to handle cases and to relieve the hospital. Not all patients need to visit a hospital to get cholera treated," Selobi said.
He insisted that South Africa did not face a cholera threat because the two countries do not share a common water source.
Up to 1.4 million people in Zimbabwe are at risk of the water-borne disease, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday.
State media in Zimbabwe said Tuesday that 36 people have died since Friday in Beitbridge, just across the border from Musina.
Zimbabwe's health system, once among the best in Africa, has collapsed under the weight of the world's highest inflation rate, last estimated at 231 million percent in July.
Cholera is endemic in parts of rural Zimbabwe, but had been rare in the cities, where most homes have piped water and flush toilets.
But after years of economic crisis, the nation's infrastructure is breaking down, leaving many people without access to clean water or proper sanitation.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hFU1BNa6WThX1EbSh4XqxgX8WLtA

UN makes record $7bn aid appeal.

2008-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

The UN has launched its largest ever annual aid appeal, saying it will need $7bn (£4.6bn) to help 30 million people in 31 countries during 2009.

The amount is almost double the 2008 appeal due to soaring food prices and crises in Africa, among other factors.

Sudan is the subject of the largest individual appeal, at $2bn, followed by Somalia, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Iraq.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged countries to give generously despite the economic crisis.

"The global financial crisis has raised inevitable concerns that there could be a decline in humanitarian funding in 2009. I urge member states and private donors not to let that happen," Mr Ban said in a foreword to the appeal.

The UN's chief humanitarian official John Holmes said the aid target equates to only a "few cents of aid" for every $100 of national income in rich countries.

The money will be used to provide drinking water, emergency shelter, medicine and other basic necessities to people in Africa and the Middle East.

African states will receive the most assistance from the Humanitarian Appeal 2009, the largest since the creation of the so-called Consolidated Appeals Process in 1991.

The UN is seeking $2.2bn dollars for Sudan, $919m for Somalia, $831m for the Democratic Republic of Congo, $550m for Zimbabwe, and smaller sums for Kenya, Chad, Uganda, Central African Republic and Ivory Coast.

The latest appeal also includes a request of $547m for programmes in Iraq and surrounding countries, and $462m for Palestinian territories.

Last year, the UN asked for $3.8bn in its initial appeal, and later sought $3.2bn more in "flash appeals" to respond to natural disasters in Bolivia, Madagascar, Myanmar, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Yemen, and southern Africa.

Donors only provided $4.7bn of that $7bn total.

As a percentage of economic output, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Monaco, Luxembourg and Sweden were the top five humanitarian aid providers in 2008, according to UN figures.

Darfur women still face rape risk

2008-11-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

Women and girls in Darfur are still subjected to widespread rape and sexual assault five years after the start of the conflict, Human Rights Watch says.
The New York-based group said neither the Sudanese security forces nor international peacekeepers were doing enough to protect women from attack.
Pro-government militias have been accused of using attacks on women to terrorise the civilian population.
Sudan's army has criticised a UN report accusing soldiers of raping women.
The report, released last month, said witnesses saw soldiers joining in attacks by the Janjaweed, raping girls and taking part in the looting of towns in West Darfur.
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, according to the UN. Two million have fled their homes.
Changing pattern
Rape and sexual assault have been a constant feature of the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur.
According to Human Rights Watch, as the conflict has become more complex, the pattern of sexual violence has changed.
Women and girls are now as likely to be assaulted in periods of calm as during attacks on their villages and towns.
Government soldiers, militiamen, and rebel fighters all also targeting women on the fringes of camps for displaced people spread around the region.
The Sudanese government has said it is committed to stopping the sexual violence, but in practice, little or nothing is being done.
Most victims are too afraid to report attacks. When they do, Sudanese police are usually unwilling or unable to act and soldiers are still effectively immune from civil prosecution.
The presence of UN and African Union peacekeepers has helped deter attacks in some areas.
But Human Rights Watch says they must extend their operations, providing patrols to protect women who venture outside the camps to gather firewood.
More women police officers and more sensitive procedures to help victims are also required, it says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7333844.stm

Negative story: Fighting in Congo despite rebel promises

2008-11-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

KANYABAYONGA, Congo---- Villages in the mountains of eastern Congo that once housed tens of thousands of people were nearly deserted Monday after Congo's army clashed with rebels in some of the worst fighting in a week.

The battles north of the eastern provincial capital of Goma came even as rebel leader Laurent Nkunda promised a U.N. envoy he would support a cease-fire as well as U.N. efforts to end the fighting that has displaced 250,000 people since August.

The few people remaining in Kanyabayonga were preparing to leave Monday, packing yellow jerry cans and bedrolls before setting off on foot. Congolese army soldiers also were seen fleeing the rebel advance.

The two sides battled Sunday night about 10 miles (17 kilometers) from here in Rwindi. About 150 people took refuge outside a U.N. peacekeeping base, huddling beside a shipping container as mortar shells and artillery fire rained down.

''These blue helmets would not let us inside, but it's better than nothing,'' said Clement Elias, 20, referring to the U.N. peacekeepers. He said he heard 100 explosions Sunday night.

There was no immediate word on casualties, according to U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich.

''Everybody is trying to push the other side back,'' Dietrich said. ''It's very regrettable that they could not respect the cease-fire.''

On Monday, Rwindi was quiet but rebels were seen walking freely, carrying generators and boxes of ammunition. The town is tiny, housing little else but a headquarters for Virunga National Park and a peacekeeping base, which is surrounded by barbed wire and sandbags.

Dozens of civilians were sitting under trees Monday, listening to the radio for news. Rwindi is about 75 miles (125 kilometers) north of Goma.

The Central African nation has the world's largest U.N. peacekeeping mission, with some 17,000 troops, but the peacekeepers have been unable to either stop the fighting or protect civilians caught in the way.

On Sunday, the U.N. envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, met with Nkunda for the first time, after speaking with President Joseph Kabila.

Nkunda launched a rebellion in 2004, claiming to protect ethnic Tutsis from Hutu militias who fled to Congo after Rwanda's 1994 genocide left more than 500,000 Tutsis and others slaughtered. But critics say Nkunda is more interested in power and Congo's mineral wealth.

Fighting among armed groups has ground on for years in eastern Congo's lawless North Kivu province, but the violence sharply escalated in August.

Congo's government says it is willing to meet Nkunda, but only with the many other militias in the region. Nkunda has criticized the government for signing deals with Chinese companies to exploit Congo's cobalt and copper.

Some fear Congo's current crisis could once again draw in neighboring countries. Congo's devastating 1998-2002 war split the vast nation into rival fiefdoms and involved half a dozen African armies.

Congo Militia Fires at Peacekeepers

2008-11-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

It's the second time in a week that the international peacekeeping force was under attack by pro-government fighters. "United Nations troops exchanged fire Wednesday with militia fighters who attacked them in the Democratic Republic of Congo", a military spokesman for the U.N. mission there said. No U.N. troops were wounded in the incident, but at least one of the militia fighters was wounded or killed, he added.
The attackers were Mai Mais calling themselves Resistance Congolese Patriots. The groups had been allied with the government against rebels under the command of Laurent Nkunda, but have recently begun attacking government troops as well.
"Before firing at us, they were asking for food and money," Dietrich said. "We did not give them anything, we just drove on, and they attacked us."

The U.N. troops were originally approached by four or five fighters, but came under fire from two or three different directions, suggesting more militia may have been involved, the spokesman said, citing an incident report written by the U.N. forces who were attacked.
Fighting between government forces and Nkunda's rebels has displaced more than 250,000 people - adding to roughly 800,000 already driven from their homes by previous violence, according to U.N. figures.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/19/congo.un.fighting/index.html

Praise singer in training

2008-11-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Acornhoek - He may only be 11, but Devine Mukansi knows what he wants to be when he grows up - the president's personal praise singer.
Mukansi, who is in grade six at Khokhobela primary school in Silington village in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, is already an accomplished performer.
He recently won the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (Dwaf) regional Baswa le Meetse (youth for water) award for his recital of a Xitsonga poem about water and sanitation.
"The moment I open my mouth, everyone listens and pays more attention. That atmosphere gives me the strength to carry on with pride," said Mukansi, who has been reciting poems since he was five.
Poetry before crowds
"I now see myself reciting poetry in front of a huge crowd before the president addresses people," he adds.
Mukansi also wants to study law because he believes his public speaking skills will make him a good representative for victims of abuse.
His idol, he says, is the poet Mzwakhe Mbuli.
The poem he recited for the Dwaf competition was written by his class teacher, Lina Mkhabela.
"I am really happy about the competition because it also educated us about sanitation and water management in our area," said Mukansi, who lives in an area where residents still collect water from rivers and wells.
His poem impressed the judges because it was informative and educational while his performance was riveting.
Mukansi's teacher said that when she composed the poem, she didn't know Mukansi would recite it so powerfully.
"The boy is very talented and made me proud. I would not have recited it that way. He made the message touching and informative," said Mkhabela.
Encore
He was even asked to give a repeat performance.
Mukansi won a cash prize of R6 000 as well as 10 computers, DSTV, a plasma screen TV and a water supply pump for his school.
The competition is held annually and is sponsored by MTN, ABSA, Play-pumps International and Rand Water.
Children are exposed to practical projects that will enable them to identify water and sanitation problems in their schools and communities and try solve them.
- African Eye
posted by - Vincent Deamon

Somali pirates 'out of control'

2008-11-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Kuala Lumpur - An international watchdog said on Wednesday that piracy in Somalia was "out of control" and called on the United Nations to step in after a Saudi supertanker was hijacked with $100m of oil.
Saturday's brazen taking of the Sirius Star was one of almost 100 attacks on ships since January, and the tanker was by far the largest vessel taken by Somali pirates - and the one taken furthest out to sea.
"The situation is already out of control," said Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting centre at the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
"The UN and the international community must find ways to stop this menace," Choong said. "With no strong deterrent, low risk to the pirates and high returns, the attacks will continue."
Somalia is one the world's poorest and most lawless countries, and the well-armed pirates have proven to be all but unstoppable in the Gulf of Aden. Kenyan authorities say three ships have been hijacked since the Sirius Star.
But the capture of the supertanker - a high-tech vessel the size of three football fields, which was taken 800km off the coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean - was a sign of the reach of the pirate gangs.
Well armed
According to a recording broadcast on Al-Jazeera, a man identified as Farah Abd Jameh said his group had machines that could detect fake money in case authorities tried to pay the ransom with counterfeit bills.
The amount demanded was not disclosed, but he said the group had negotiators on board the ship as well as on land. The IMB says that at least 17 ships, with more than 250 crew on board, are still in the hands of pirates.
"They're very well armed. Tactically they are very good," Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of staff, said this week. He said the pirate gangs were "very good at what they do".
The Gulf of Aden effectively controls access to the Suez Canal, which allows ships to go from Europe to Asia without having to take the much longer and more expensive route around the southern tip of Africa.
NATO, the United States and a number of European nations have all sent ships to the region to try to stop the piracy, which has only increased instead.
The German navy said on Tuesday one of its frigates had foiled attacks on two ships in the Gulf of Aden, using a helicopter to chase off pirates who fled in their speedboats.
The Sirius Star, the Saudi supertanker, is at anchor off Puntland - a breakaway northern state in Somalia - where the pirates have shown they can virtually operate at will.
Many of the pirates have made small fortunes from their activities, which have broad support from many Somalis, including shopkeepers who are able to charge them higher prices for their goods in the impoverished nation.
Meanwhile shipping companies have usually decided to pay the ransom demanded, eager to get crews and goods home safely, and at least one major shipper has said it will no longer use the Suez route through the Gulf of Aden.
Norway's Odfjell said on Monday its vessels would now go around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
"The re-routing will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries. This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers' support and contribution" to cover the costs, CEO Terje Storeng said.
- SAPA -->
Posted by- Vincent Deamon

Nel may be sentenced on Friday

2008-11-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

Johannesburg - The trial of Skierlik killer Johan Nel has been postponed to Friday for judgment and possible sentencing, SABC news reported on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old is standing trial in the Mmabatho High Court in Mafikeng for the January 14 shooting spree which left four people dead and several others wounded.
The attack, believed to have been racially motivated, was carried out in the Skierlik informal settlement near Swartruggens in the North West.
Enoch Tshepo Motshelanoka, 10, Anna Moiphitlhi, 31, her three-month-old baby Kegitlho Elizabeth Moiphitlhi and Sivuyile Banani, 35, were killed in the shooting spree.
Nel has since pleaded guilty to all charges against him, including 4 of murder and 11 counts of attempted murder.
On Wednesday, a psychologist told the court that Nel deserved a sentence of between 20 and 25 years.
Superintendent Lesego Metsi, a police spokesperson attending the trial in the Mmabatho High Court, told Sapa earlier that psychologist Kobus Truter had recommended the sentence during his testimony in court.
The SABC also reported that Truter said the fact that Nel's family and friends had repeatedly been victims of violent crime made him believe that white people were under attack.
The court heard that Nel was given a suspended sentence after shooting and paralysing a man cutting grass alongside a railway line near Rustenburg in 2003.
Metsi said two state psychologists were expected to testify next.
- SAPA -->
- Posted by Vincent Deamon

2008-11-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

Sad Story

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/11/022098.php

Sad & Happy Stories from Africa

2008-11-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

Rare gorillas threatened by rebels

(CNN) -- The survival of several hundred rare gorillas is threatened by rebel fighters who have taken over the animals' sanctuary, a spokeswoman for the Virunga National Park said Tuesday.

The gorilla sector of the park "has been swallowed up in this conflict," said Samantha Newport, communications director for the refuge.

She fears for the animals' safety, not least because mountain gorillas do not always flee the sound of gunfire and mortars, she said.

"There are documented cases of the gorillas getting caught in the crossfire and getting killed," she said. "It's the chaos of war and they are right in the middle of it."

That leaves the situation "extremely precarious" for the critically endangered species, she said.

About 200 of the world's 700 known mountain gorillas lived in the park when rebel leader Laurent Nkunda's men took control of the gorilla section last year, Newport said. At least nine gorillas are known to have been killed in Virunga National Park last year.

There are no mountain gorillas in captivity, she added. "The mountain gorillas live in the wild. They don't reproduce in captivity."

Nkunda's fighters seized the headquarters of the park on October 26, park officials announced last month, a move park director Emmanuel de Merode called "unprecedented."

The seizure forced hundreds of rangers who normally monitor the gorillas to flee.

The rangers "track and monitor the mountain gorillas," freeing them from snares and intervening medically in life-threatening situations, Newport said. "It's really important to keep track on a daily basis."

That has been impossible for weeks, she said. "There has been a complete lack of knowledge about the gorillas for some time. Nkunda's forces control about 50 percent of the park, including the gorilla sector."

The gorilla section of the park lies in a strategically important area near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda, she explained.

Fighting between Congolese government soldiers and rebels led by Nkunda has displaced more than 250,000 people. That's in addition to roughly 800,000 who already had been driven from their homes, according to the United Nations.

On Sunday, even as there was fighting in North Kivu province, Nkunda met with Olusegun Obasanjo, the U.N. special envoy for the area.

"Laurent Nkunda engaged on two things in my presence: the respect of the ceasefire on the one hand and on the other, the maintenance of humanitarian corridors in order to give unconditional access to assist vulnerable populations," Obasanjo said following the meeting.

But Obasanjo said nobody could say for certain what Nkunda wanted to gain from his offensive.

Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa's oldest national park. It was formerly known as Albert National Park

Electoral commission approved
17/11/2008 12:07 - (SA)

Khartoum - Sudan's parliament on Monday approved an electoral commission, a crucial step towards scheduled national polls and a democratic transition laid out in peace arrangements after a 21-year civil war.

The nine-member commission, which will be headed by a former vice president of Sudan and political independent from the south, was passed overwhelmingly by 298 votes for and 12 votes against, said an AFP reporter.

Two women were also given positions on the commission.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed by north and south after a devastating two-decade civil war, calls for elections no later than 2009, although efforts to implement the accord have hit major delays.

The electoral law was approved by parliament on July 7, two and a half years late. The electoral commission should have been appointed within a month of its approval.

AFP (www.news24.com)

Africans elated by first black U.S. president

(CNN) -- Celebrations erupted in Barack Obama's ancestral home in Kenya and across Africa as the U.S. Democratic candidate made history by being elected America's first African-American president.

In the western Kenyan village of Kogelo, where Obama's father grew up, people partied in the streets. But the biggest party of all was at the house of Obama's grandmother, 86-year-old Sarah Obama, who could not resist doing a victory dance of her own.

Speaking in the local language, Sarah Obama said she planned to one day visit her now-world-famous grandson, whom she still calls "Barry." To a roar of laughter, she said she's afraid she may die of happiness when she sees him next.

In true African style, Kogelo villagers slaughtered a boar to give thanks for Obama's presidential win.

"We are going to have a feast and eat every single meal we have," Sarah Obama said with laughter.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the entire country was proud of Obama's presidential victory. He said the government declared Thursday a public holiday to celebrate the win, which he said offered hope for Kenya and the world.

"It gives them confidence in themselves that everything is achievable," Odinga told CNN.

"If somebody sets his mind to it, has the confidence and commitment, this is what Obama's victory really means -- not just to young Kenyans but to the youth all over the world -- (believing) in the ability of one to achieve what one sets out to do."

With a population of less than 1,000, Kogelo is a normally sleepy place that has found itself transformed by Obama's political success. Campaign posters shout Obama's name and vendors sell CDs of his speeches and T-shirts bearing his picture.

Obama has visited the village before. His first visit was in 1987, just after his father died. When he visited his grandmother in 2006, Obama already drew huge crowds.

Besides his grandmother, Kogelo is also home to Obama's uncle, Said Obama; aunt, Hawa Auma; and half-brother, Malik Obama, who says he speaks regularly to his sibling.

Thousands of people have been posting messages on CNN blogs congratulating Obama and America after the Democrat's victory over Republican rival John McCain.

Yvonne Okwara, from Kenya, wrote: "Obama's win is so personal to so many of us, it continues to amaze me. One thing America has taught us today is that true democracy never dies."

Basimane Bogopa, from Botswana, added: "Americans have shown once again, why they are world leaders. Obama's victory has shown me that the American dream is real, you just have to dream. My heart is filled with joy."

Many Africans believe an Obama presidency will help the impoverished continent. His victory is likely to seal America's reputation in the minds of many Africans as a land of opportunity.

And for South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, the election of America's first is a symbol of hope.

"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place," Mandela said in a letter of congratulations to Obama.

Zimbabweans in remote area eat termites to survive

MHANGURA, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Katy Phiri, who is in her 70s, picks up single corn kernels spilled from trucks that ferry the harvest to market. She says she hasn't eaten for three days.

Rebecca Chipika, a child of 9, prods a stick into a termite mound to draw out insects. She sweeps them into a bag for her family's evening meal.

These scenes from a food catastrophe are unfolding in Doma, a district of rural Zimbabwe where journalists rarely venture. It's a stronghold of President Robert Mugabe's party and his enforcers and informants are everywhere.

At a school for villagers visited by The Associated Press, enrollment is down to four pupils from 20. The teachers still willing to work in this once thriving farming and mining district 160 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of Harare, the capital, say parents pay them in corn, cooking oil, goats or chickens. One trip by bus to the nearest bank to draw their government salaries costs more than teachers earn in a month.

Meanwhile, the country is in political paralysis following disputed elections in March. A power-sharing deal signed two months ago has stalled over the allocation of ministries between Mugabe's party and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Shingirayi Chiyamite is a trader from Harare who brings household goods to the countryside to barter for crops. He says a 12-inch bar of laundry soap exchanges for 22 pounds of corn. He crisscrosses the land in search of the few villages that have corn to spare, hauls his purchases to the highway and hitchhikes back to the city. Some of the corn will feed his family, the rest he sells. He is constantly on the move.

"If you rest, you starve," he says.

Information is almost as scarce as food. Survival is the obsession.

Cell phones operate only sporadically. State radio has not been received since the district relay beacon broke down eight months ago.

Mhangura, a town of about 3,000 people, has had no running water for months. Power outages happen daily because of a lack of cash to maintain utilities. People walk about three miles to a dam to fill pails or gasoline cans.

Some of the scarce water is used to embalm the dead in wet sand, a centuries-old African tradition to preserve a body until family members gather for the burial.

"There's nothing here. People are dying of illness and hunger. Burial parties are going out every day," said Michael Zava, a trader in Mhangura.

The hospital that serves the district is closed, and so is its small morgue, so there's no way of telling how many are dying, Zava said. Children's hair is discoloring, a sign of malnutrition. Adults are wizened and dressed in rags -- they have no cash for new clothes.

Zava said he has seen villagers plucking undigested corn kernels from cow dung to wash and eat. A slaughtered goat is eaten down to everything but hooves, bones and teeth. Crickets, cicadas and beetles also can make a meal.

The food crisis began after 2000, when Mugabe launched an often violent campaign to seize white-owned farms and give them to veterans of his guerrilla war against white rule over the former British colony.

Officials from Mugabe's party toured the Doma district recently and told the new farm owners that the government could not supply their needs. People were advised to make do with what seed they had left, and with animal manure for fertilizer.

Ordinarily, after harvest the cotton fields are burned to protect the next year's crop from disease. Not this year. People couldn't afford to buy new seeds, and were hoping to get another season out of last year's crop. Instead, the crops came up diseased.

Pasture has been burned by poachers to scare rabbits and rodents into traps. Deer are being hunted for food, and lions from remote parts of the Doma region and Chenanga nature reserve are killing cattle, donkeys and goats, villagers said.

Jackals, baboons and goats compete with villagers for roots and wild fruits.

The wild guava season is over and matamba, a hard orange-like fruit, cannot safely be eaten until ripe. Villagers pick the fruit and cover it with donkey or cow dung, leaving it in the sun to hasten ripening.

Katy Phiri, the grandmother collecting corn kernels, said she put her trust in God.

"There's nothing else I can do," she said. "I have never gone this hungry before."

Negative News: New fighting in Congo despite rebel pledges

2008-11-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

New fighting in Congo despite rebel pledges

(CNN) -- Government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have engaged in heavy fighting with rebels despite their leader's pledge to back a cease-fire, the United Nations and witnesses said Monday.

The clashes forced government troops to abandon the eastern Congolese town of Rwindi on Sunday, according to U.N. spokesman Madnodje Moumoubai.

The clashes raged roughly 125 kilometers (75 miles) north of the provincial capital of Goma and smashed a tenuous cease-fire between rebels and government forces.

Scores of people tried to take refuge under artillery fire at a United Nations peacekeeping base in the town but without success, according to The Associated Press.

"These blue helmets would not let us inside, but it's better than nothing," Clement Elias, 20, told AP, referring to the U.N. peacekeepers. He said he heard 100 explosions Sunday night.

U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich could give no details about casualties.

"Everybody is trying to push the other side back," Dietrich said. "It's very regrettable that they could not respect the cease-fire."

The reports came a day after former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said rebel leader Laurent Nkunda had promised to support the U.N.-brokered cease-fire aimed at ending a new wave of unrest and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the conflict-devastated country.

"Today is a great day for us because we were losing many men and material. Now we have a message of peace. We should work with this mission," Nkunda said following a two-hour meeting in Jomba, a rebel-held town near Congo's eastern border with Uganda, according to AP.

Fighting between government forces and Nkunda's rebels has displaced more than 250,000 people -- adding to roughly 800,000 already driven from their homes by previous violence, according to United Nations figures.

Obasanjo's meeting with Nkunda followed talks with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in the capital, Kinshasa. Obasanjo said Kabila had expressed willingness to meet Nkunda but added that negotiations were still at an "exploratory stage."

He said he would tell Nkunda that the international community expected the warring sides to agree to a "durable cease-fire to address the issue of humanitarian crisis and tragedy," followed by a "durable peace and political stability."

The conflict in Congo has been complicated by ethnic tensions, the presence of a myriad of rebel factions and by the involvement of neighboring countries including Rwanda and Angola. Explainer: Behind Congolese conflict

Nkunda, a Tutsi, has repeatedly blamed the Congolese government for failing to protect Tutsis from attacks by Rwandan Hutus who fled over the border following the 1994 genocide that left hundreds of thousands of Tutsis dead.

On Friday Obasanjo met Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who told him there were no Angolan troops operating in the country, AP said. Obasanjo is next due to meet Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Fresh fighting also broke out Sunday in the town of Ndeko, 90 kilometers (50 miles) north of Goma, according to a spokesman for U.N. peacekeepers.

Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich said the fighting was "heavy" and had begun early in the morning. It was unclear who was involved, AP said.

On Saturday, the U.N. said it was considering relocating a refugee camp for up to 70,000 people near Goma to avoid the inhabitants getting caught up in the renewed fighting.

On Friday, the U.N. World Food Program started distributing several tons of food to rebel-held areas for the first time since October, a food program spokesman said.

Peter Smerdon said a dozen trucks, escorted by a U.N. peacekeeping force, brought in food to distribute in the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja, north of Goma.

Red Cross Secretary-General Jacques Katshitshi said conditions in refugee camps in the region were "extremely difficult," according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"They shelter in churches, schools or wherever they can find a place to sleep. Additional temporary shelter is needed because people have to vacate the schools to facilitate the resumption of school lessons," Katshitshi said.

"There is a lack of food and water, and the hygiene conditions are terrible. Cases of malnutrition have been discovered in some of the camps. There might just be enough water to drink, but not enough for washing. This, combined with a lack of sanitation such as latrines, is putting people's health at risk."

Positive News: Israeli Army relaxes restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza

2008-11-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Israeli army relaxes restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza

17 November 2008

The Israeli army allowed a limited number of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance into Gaza for the first time in two weeks on Monday. However, the long-term nature of the blockade and restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza has led to a situation where reserves have long been depleted.

"What is necessary, at a minimum, is for Israel to allow regular and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and other basic necessities into Gaza," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

"The trickle of humanitarian and medical supplies which Israel allows into Gaza is not even enough to meet basic daily needs and certainly not enough to build reserves; so when the inflow is suspended even for a few days this immediately causes a crisis as there is no back up."

"It will last a matter of days. But then what?" Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said of the new supplies.

The Israeli army has not, however, relaxed the restrictions on the European Union-donated industrial fuel needed to power Gaza's power plant, meaning that a blackout continues in large parts of Gaza City.

Since the Israeli strikes that killed six Palestinian militants on 4 November, 10 others have been killed in Israeli air strikes and other attacks. These have prompting a daily barrage of Palestinian rockets into nearby Israeli towns and villages. Two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded, but, for the most part, these rockets fell in empty areas causing no casualties or damage.

Amnesty International has reiterated its call for an end to the dangerous spate of attacks and counter-attacks must be swiftly halted.

"Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease attacks and actions which put the lives of the civilian populations of Gaza and southern Israel at risk,” said Donatella Rovera. "The five-and-a-half-month ceasefire had brought some respite to civilians; both sides need to understand the consequences of their actions."

Full information at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU200811178219&lang=e&rss=africa

Obama is asked to focus on Darfur. (Lead blogger article)

2008-11-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Human rights groups are asking President-elect Barack Obama to pay early attention to the crisis in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, where government forces have waged a bloody war against militias that some international critics have characterized as genocide.

"We've seen the military surge in Iraq. We've seen the development surge that NATO's announced for Afghanistan," said Darfur activist John Prendergast. "What's really needed in Sudan and the broader Horn and East Africa region is a peace surge."

Prendergast's ENOUGH organization to combat genocide is a project of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank run by Obama's transition co-chairman, John Podesta.
Prendergast and other Darfur activists penned a recent letter to Obama, asking him to designate a team to focus solely on the Darfur issue within the first 100 days of his administration.

"It's about putting a few people, a team of people, on the case with the objective to end the crisis in Sudan, not simply manage the symptoms through massive amounts of humanitarian aid and peacekeeping support," he said.

Fighting in the western region of Darfur started in 2003, when rebels began an uprising and the government launched a counterinsurgency campaign.
The Sudanese authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents, according to the United Nations, Western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw In the past five years, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed through direct combat, disease or malnutrition, the United Nations said.

Another 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces and allied Janjaweed militias.

During the presidential campaign, Obama called the crisis in Darfur "a collective stain on our national and human conscience" and said he would make ending it a priority on "Day One."
Obama has promised to appoint a special envoy to deal with the Darfur issue and implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the decades-long civil war between the North and South. That agreement could be a model for a peace process in Darfur, Prendergast said.

Although the United States does not have to lead the peace process, it could be an active partner in the global effort to develop a strategy for getting the various parties in Sudan together, he said.
"There will be much bigger issues, much bigger fish to fry in the kitchen for the new Obama administration. No question," he said. "But part of governing is walking and chewing gum and eating crackers and doing all this stuff at the same time. And we think the administration can make the creation of a sustained serious peace process for Darfur a top priority."

Obama could have an opening to make a difference in Darfur. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has agreed to an immediate, unconditional cease-fire with Darfur's rebels, which could pave the way for international talks.
Activists have called on the incoming Obama administration to strengthen the current arms embargo and continue to support investigations by the International Criminal Court into war crimes by al-Bashir, leading Sudanese officials and certain members of rebel groups.
More pressure, Prendergast said, should be brought to bear on countries like China, which has vast oil interests in Sudan. During the campaign, Obama said that if elected, the crisis in Darfur would be elevated to a major issue in the bilateral U.S. dialogue with China.

Do you guys think Obama has what it takes to help save Darfur?

Do you think the U.S. should lead the peace process?

What do you guys think??

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/12/obama.darfur/index.html

60 killed in Burkina Faso bus crash. "Neg. Article"

2008-11-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- At least 60 people were killed Saturday in a collision between a bus and a truck in the West African country of Burkina Faso, according to local media reports.

The accident happened before dawn on a road west of the capital, Ouagadougou, The Associated Press reported, quoting state radio.

Many more bus passengers were injured as fire swept through the bus, according to state radio.
A local journalist told AP that firefighters were still battling the blaze eight hours after the crash. Moussa Souna said there were bodies trapped inside.

The cause of the crash was unknown, AP said. A regional official told AP the driver of the bus had survived the crash.

Road accidents are common across West Africa, especially toward the end of the rainy season as potholes fill with water.

Death tolls from traffic accidents tend to be high because of overcrowding on buses and because people travel on top of trucks, AP said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/15/burkina.faso.accident/index.html

Congo Violence Reaches Endangered Mountain Gorillas

2008-11-18T19:07:00.001-08:00

November 18, 2008
New York Times

Congo Violence Reaches Endangered Mountain Gorillas

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

BULENGO, Congo — Jean-Marie Serundori wakes up every morning with gorillas on his mind.

“I wash my face, I stare at the mountains and I think of them,” he said. “They are like our cousins.”

But Mr. Serundori, a Congolese wildlife ranger entrusted with protecting some of the most majestic — and most endangered — animals on the planet, is far from the broad-backed mountain gorillas he loves.

Instead, he is stuck in a wet and filthy camp for internally displaced people where the only wildlife are the cockroaches that scurry across the mud floors. He is one of the hundreds of thousands of people left idle and destitute by eastern Congo’s most recent spasm of violence, and the consequences in this case may be dire and irreversible.

Eastern Congo is home to almost a third of the world’s last 700 wild mountain gorillas (the rest are in nearby areas of Rwanda and Uganda). Now, there are no trained rangers to protect them. More than 240 Congolese game wardens have been run off their posts, including some who narrowly escaped a surging rebel advance last month and slogged through the jungle for three days living off leaves and scoopfuls of mud for hydration.

“We figured if the gorillas can eat leaves, so can we,” said Sekibibi Desire, who is staying in a tent near the other rangers.

This is just the latest crisis within a crisis. Congo’s gorillas happen to live in one of the most contested, blood-soaked pieces of turf in one of the most contested, blood-soaked corners of Africa. Their home, Virunga National Park, is high ground — with mist-shrouded mountains and pointy volcanoes — along the porous Congo-Rwanda border, where rebels are suspected of smuggling in weapons from Rwanda. Last year in Virunga, 10 gorillas were killed, some shot in the back of the head, execution style, park officials said.

The park used to be a naturalist’s paradise, home to more than 2,000 species of plants, 706 types of birds and 218 varieties of mammals, including three great apes: the mountain gorilla, the lowland gorilla and chimpanzees.

Now Virunga is a war zone.

Rebel soldiers command the hilltops. Government soldiers fire mortars at them, blowing up precious gorilla habitat that is rapidly disappearing anyway because of deforestation and an illegal charcoal trade.

“Armed groups hide in the park, they train in the park, and most importantly, they eat in the park,” said Samantha Newport, a spokeswoman for Virunga National Park.

Ms. Newport said that two years ago, at one of the lakes in the park, a local militia went on a hippopotamus-hunting rampage, machine-gunning hundreds of hippopotamuses for their meat.

“The lake turned red,” she said.

Eastern Congo has been stuck in a vise of bloodshed for more than a decade. The trouble began in 1994, with the genocide in Rwanda, which killed 800,000 people and sent waves of refugees into Congo, along with bloodthirsty militias. Since then, various armed groups and neighboring nations have battled for control of this stunningly beautiful land, loaded with gold, diamonds and other precious resources. Last month, a rebel force widely suspected of being supported by Rwanda routed government troops near the strategic city of Goma and was poised to capture it, when the rebels declared a cease-fire.

That cease-fire remains shaky. On Sunday, the same day that the rebels’ leader, Laurent Nkunda, vowed to stick to the truce, heavy fighting broke out north of Goma. Congolese troops fired rockets. The rebels responded with mortar bombs. Once again, game wardens were caught in the middle. Some of their families have even been shot.

Last month, the 14-year-old daughter of a ranger was shot in the stomach during a firefight near a ranger post deep in the forest. “I put her in my arms and just ran,” said her father, Mberabagabo Rukundaguhaya. “I thought she was dead.” She lived, though it is not clear when her family will be able to go home.

Officials with Virunga National Park are urging the rebels and government troops to allow them to return to work. The rebels insist the gorillas are safe.

“We are protecting them,” said Babu Amani, a rebel spokesman.

Mr. Serundori said that in his 20 years as a ranger, he has seen the gorillas more than 100 times.

“But what always impresses me is how fragile they are,” he said. “They could be wiped out — in a minute.”

France Moves to Add Troops

UNITED NATIONS — France began circulating a draft resolution on Monday that would temporarily authorize an additional 3,085 troops and police officers for the peacekeeping mission in the Congo to protect civilians in the eastern part of the country.

Closure of Zimbabwe Parliament Due to Lack of Funds - Negative Article

2008-11-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/14/zimbabwe-world-mugabe

Lack of funds forces closure of Zimbabwe parliament, says MDC

• Parliament has run out of money and water
• High court, schools and hospitals have also shut

Matthew Weaver and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday November 14 2008 13.03 GMT

Zimbabwe's parliament has been forced to close because it has run out of cash and water, the opposition claimed today, as the country's economic crisis causes a virtual shutdown of public life.

Hotels in Harare have been refusing to accept MPs because the parliament has no money to pay their expenses or allowances.

It has also gone days without water. Speaking to the independent news agency Zim Online, Innocent Gonese, chief whip of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said: "Parliament has no money to pay for the MPs' allowances and accommodation. That is why parliament had to adjourn to December 16. There was also no water at the building."

On Tuesday the high court was forced to close because of water shortages. Many schools and hospitals are also shut.

The capital's main hospital, Harare Central, has been spared daily water and power cuts, but most of its wards are empty, and the reception areas are deserted, according to the US medical charity Operation Hope. "I have never seen anything like this," said its director, Jennifer Trubenbach.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis means its water authority is unable to import chemicals to purify Harare's supply.

Meanwhile, state media reported today that Robert Mugabe has started the process of forming an "inclusive government" in line with the recommendations at the weekend by the 15-nation Southern African Development Commission (SADC).

A power-sharing deal was stalled after the Zimbabwean president appointed his own party representatives to the cabinet jobs.

The MDC is meeting today to discuss its response to the SADC proposals to break the deadlock.

Albino Girl Killed for Body Parts

2008-11-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7733597.stm

A six-year-old albino girl in Burundi has been found dead with her head and limbs removed, in the latest killing linked to ritual medicine.

Albinos in the region have been targeted because of a belief peddled by witchdoctors that their body parts can be used for magic potions. The girl, who was attacked on Sunday, was the sixth person with albinism to be killed in Burundi since September. There have also been a number of attacks in neighbouring Tanzania. The latest attack took place in Burundi's eastern province of Ruyigi. The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge in Burundi said the child and her family had only just returned to their family home. Armed attackers broke into the family home and tied up the girl's parents before shooting her in the head, local officials say. They had been among a group of about 50 people with albinism to have fled to a provincial centre because they feared for her safety. The head of the Burundi Albinos' Association, Kasim Kazungu, says people with albinism had not suffered any discrimination until other Burundians heard about the lucrative trade in albino body parts in neighbouring Tanzania. Last week, police in south-western Tanzania arrested a man who was attempting to sell his albino wife to Congolese traders. Two mothers in western Tanzania were also attacked with machetes after gangs failed to find their albino children.

At least 47 dead in Somali violence

2008-11-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- At least 47 people have been killed in a series of violent incidents in Somalia, according to reports.

A Mogadishu resident flees after fighting among insurgents and peacekeepers on September 24.

A roadside bomb exploded Monday as African Union forces were traveling through K4 square, a major junction in southern Mogadishu, witnesses said. An exchange of gunfire between AU forces and insurgents followed the bombing, they added.

At least five civilians were killed and another 20 people wounded, including an AU soldier, an AU spokesman said.

Also slain were an insurgent, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgents said, and a Somali government soldier, according to a government spokesman.

The daytime attack on the square, which is also a base for the AU forces, came a day after 400 Burundian soldiers landed at Mogadishu's airport, which reopened this week after militant Islamists lifted a siege on it. A nearby school was hit by artillery and people could be seen fleeing under a hail of bullets.

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In another incident on Monday, insurgents ambushed Ethiopian forces 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) east of Bardale and 300 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu, leaving at least 40 Ethiopians dead, Islamists said.

A military vehicle was destroyed in the attack, which witnesses said lasted for at least an hour and included heavy gunfire between the insurgents and the Ethiopian forces.

Ethiopians had set up checkpoints outside Bardale, witnesses said.

In a third incident, members of the Islamic Courts Union on Monday ambushed a convoy of 18 Ethiopian military vehicles in the town of Leego, between Mogadishu and Baidoa and 130 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu.

Fighting was continuing two hours later in the town, which is along the road that is the sole route Ethiopian convoys can take between Ethiopia and Somalia

Crew member of hijacked ship dead, Somali town official says

2008-11-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- A crew member of a Ukrainian vessel pirates seized off the African coast last week has died, a Somali town commissioner said Sunday.

A photo from the USS Howard shows Somali pirates in small boats hijacking the MV Faina last week.

1 of 3

Abdi Salan Khalif, commissioner of the coastal town of Harardhere, Somalia, said the pirates told town elders the man died of problems relating to high blood pressure.

Khalif said the pirates, who were communicating with the elders and the U.S. Navy by radio, reported they were holding the crew in a hot part of the ship. The elders, who talked to the U.S. Navy by radio, had formed a crisis team.

The ship Faina, loaded with tanks and weapons, was seized Thursday not far from its destination port of Mombasa, Kenya, officials said. Ukrainehad sold the weapons to Kenya, said Ukraine Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

On Friday, the Russian news agency Interfax quoted a source in Kiev, Ukraine, as saying the pirates had contacted the Kenyan Defense Ministry to obtain information about the ship's owner so ransom negotiations could begin. Watch CNN's David McKenzie report on the hijacking »

However, Dr. Alfred N. Mutua, a spokesman for the Kenyan government, said Sunday it had neither been contacted by the pirates nor asked to pay ransom.

"Combined security efforts are still going on to secure the ship ferrying Kenya military equipment that was hijacked ... by pirates off the Somali coast," Mutua said in a written statement.

"The Kenyan government is NOT in contact with the pirates. ... The Kenyan government will not engage in answering back to terrorists who have hijacked important military equipment paid for by the Kenyan taxpayer for use by the Kenyan military."

The Ukrainian defense ministry said the ship is carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, tank artillery shells, grenade launchers and small arms. The ship departed from Nikolayev, Ukraine, officials said.

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The Pentagon said U.S. naval ships in the area are "monitoring the situation."

"I think we're looking at the full range of options here," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, because the United States does not want the pirates to dock the ship in Somalia and offload the weapons.

Khalif said representatives of Harardhere "have told the pirates that they can't bring any crew or material from that ship to our town because we don't want to risk a military response from the surrounding military navies."

Faina is owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine, and its crew includes citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Latvia, the U.S. Navy said.

U.S. officials said the ship reported being surrounded by three small boats of pirates while sailing 250 miles off the coast of Somalia.

(Click here if you'd rather see the video)

The Suffering of Somalia

2008-11-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

Time Magazine
by Alex Perry
Nov. 24, 2008
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858874,00.html

For Somalia, it was just another long weekend of mayhem. Shortly after midnight on Friday, Nov. 7, pirates seized a Danish cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden; on Saturday night an aid worker was shot and killed as he walked home from evening prayers in a village 270 miles (435 km) from Mogadishu; on Sunday, fighting between insurgents and African Union peacekeepers left at least seven dead in the capital, and a senior government official was killed in the south of the country; and in the early hours of Monday, bandits crossed the border into Kenya, where they kidnapped two Italian nuns. Somalia is not so much a failed state as a didn't-even-try one. It hasn't had a government since 1991, when warlords took over and embarked on a series of intractable clan wars that have produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises: hundreds of thousands dead and 3 million people desperately in need of aid.

But aid is almost impossible to deliver in a place as remote, dangerous and complicated as Somalia. Those who try to help too often come to grief: according to the United Nations, eight of its staffers and 24 aid workers have been killed this year. As a result, "the humanitarian space is effectively closed," says Ken Menkhaus, the U.S.'s leading expert on Somalia and a professor of political science at Davidson College in North Carolina. The 3,000 African Union peacekeepers don't stray far beyond their base in Mogadishu for fear of being slaughtered by insurgents--remember Black Hawk Down? (See pictures of Somalia's Pirates.)

Offshore, a growing flotilla of warships from the U.S., Russia, the European Union and India has been trying to keep Somali pirates from taking their pick of the 16,000 mainly cargo ships that pass through the Suez Canal annually. There are several gangs of pirates; armed with Kalashnikov rifles and traveling on small fishing boats and skiffs, they have attacked more than 80 ships and hijacked at least 30, collecting anywhere from $18 million to $30 million in ransom, according to the British strategic think tank Chatham House. Big paydays have made them progressively bolder: one gang is still holding on to the MV Faina, the Ukrainian freighter carrying a consignment of Russian tanks that was hijacked on Sept. 25.

As the navies of the world are rediscovering, catching pirates on the high seas is next to impossible. So far, the warships have warded off some pirate attacks but not enough to scare the gangs. "We hijack ships every opportunity we get," says pirate commander Sugule Ali, speaking by satellite phone from the bridge of the MV Faina.

Somalia's problems have spilled beyond its borders, with a constant flow of refugees being smuggled in by leaky boats to Yemen and even more walking south to Kenya. There are more than 200,000 people crowded into the world's biggest refugee camp, at Dadaab, 62 miles (100 km) south of the frontier; some 5,000 new refugees arrive every month.

But Somalia's most dangerous export is terrorism. Before the Bush Administration's Iraq digression, Somalia was target No. 2 in the war on terrorism, behind Afghanistan. After all, it was a Somalia-based al-Qaeda group that killed 224 people in the twin bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. But it wasn't until the end of 2006, when Somalia was invaded by the U.S.-allied Ethiopia, that American covert missions targeted the embassy bombers. One of the masterminds, explosives expert Abu Taha al-Sudani, is now dead, as is Aden Hashi Farah Ayro, an Afghanistan-trained former leader of al-Shabaab, Somalia's homegrown Islamist militia.

But as in Afghanistan, such successes are undermined by resentment of U.S. military activity and civilian casualties--and the blowback empowers the extremists. Al-Shabaab (Arabic for Youth) now controls much of the south of the country, in the manner of the Taliban: on Oct. 27, 1,000 spectators gathered at a sports stadium in the port of Kismayo to watch al-Shabaab stone to death a 13-year-old girl, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow. Amnesty International says al-Shabaab arrested her and convicted her of adultery after she complained she had been gang-raped.
Al-Shabaab is taking its brand of terrorism to new territories. On Oct. 29, members detonated five car and suicide bombs outside U.N., Ethiopian government and local administration buildings in the autonomous northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland, killing more than 30 people. "They are willing to expand their war," says Menkhaus. "And Ethiopia, Kenya or Djibouti are next."

The one encouraging development in Somalia is the emergence of Iraq-style Awakening militias made up of moderate Somalis, who have taken on al-Shabaab in street battles in recent weeks. If Ethiopian and African Union troops withdraw as expected in the next few months and Somalis increasingly have to fend for themselves, the chances are that this will grow into a full-scale conflict. Still, an Awakening would also offer Somalia's best hope of keeping its extremists in check. Perhaps only in Somalia could the prospect of more war be a sign of hope.

Fighting African Poverty, Village by Village

2008-11-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

By Ernest Harsch
Africa Renewal
United Nations
Bonsaaso, Ghana

Expanding access to clean water is one of the goals of the Millennium Villages Project. (U.N. African Renewal / Ernest Harsch)

Standing in the midst of a freshly planted maize field, Bright Osei Kwaku recalls that last year he more than doubled his output with the help of improved seeds, fertilizer, and advice on farming techniques. Altogether, his two to three acres yielded about 15 100-kilogram bags of maize, compared with just six bags the year before, when he had no such support.

Many other young Ghanaians have either left agriculture or dream of doing so. But Kwaku, now 25 years old, thinks he can stay on the land. "I will continue to farm," he told Africa Renewal. "I got income and food. I got enough from the farm."

With world food prices rising, it is a good time to push for higher production, argues Isaac Kankam-Boadu, the agriculture and environment facilitator of the Millennium Villages Project in Bonsaaso, a cluster of poor and remote settlements in Ghana's Ashanti Region. "The high food prices are an opportunity," he says. "The farmers can earn more money."

Last year, Kankam-Boadu reports, Bonsaaso's maize farmers managed to quadruple their yields from an average of about one ton per hectare (two and a half acres) to four tons. Besides boosting their own incomes, the farmers contributed about a tenth of their crop to the area's new school feeding program, which helps many of the area's children.

Millennium Villages

Such linkages are at the heart of the Millennium Villages Project. The first Millennium Village was launched in 2004 in Sauri, Kenya, as an integrated development initiative. Besides Ghana, the project also soon expanded to include villages in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. The sites were selected on the basis of their poverty indicators and to represent Africa's different ecological and climate zones. Altogether, more than 400,000 people now live in villages chosen for the project.

The idea grew from research and policy deliberations of the Millennium Task Force, directed by the United Nations secretary general's special adviser on the Millennium Development Goals (M.D.G.'s), Jeffrey Sachs. The M.D.G.'s, adopted by world leaders in 2000, strive to reduce poverty and deprivation drastically around the world.

The Millennium Villages approach is based on two central ideas: The first is that simple and inexpensive changes in nutrition, health, water, sanitation, education, women's status, agriculture, communications, roads, and electricity can lift rural Africans out of severe poverty. The second is that a combination of community mobilization, government support, and external aid can fund these efforts for only about $110 per person per year. Most of the Millennium Village projects are being implemented by the United Nations Development Program.

Initial funders included the government of Japan, which gave more than $9 million, and the United States-based financier and philanthropist George Soros, who gave $5 million. On 13 March, the Japanese government decided to extend its assistance by an additional $11.4 million.

Japan's assistance to the project is part of that country's wider program of support for Asia-Africa cooperation, known as the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (T.I.C.A.D.). The fourth conference was held in Yokohama, Japan, on 28–30 May, and was attended by Ghanaian President John Kufuor and nearly 40 other African heads of state. Near the top of T.I.C.A.D.'s agenda was achievement of the M.D.G.'s, which is also central to the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Africa's own blueprint for economic, social, and political progress.

From School Meals to Cell Phones

The Millennium initiative came to Bonsaaso in March 2006, initially in 10 localities. By the end of that year the project had expanded to 30 communities, covering some 400 square kilometers and affecting more than 30,000 people. The area was selected because many residents were very poor, malnutrition was common, there were few health services, many children did not go to school, and numerous other indicators of human development lagged.

Rather than focusing on just one or two sectors, the project's designers want to show that poverty can be attacked across a wide front. If successful here and in other countries, says Sam Asare Afram, the Millennium Village manager in Bonsaaso, the project could provide a "model" for the continent.

Although the project is only two years old, communities in Bonsaaso are already enjoying real results. Rita Adjei, head nurse at the health clinic in Watreso, says that the new anti-mosquito bed nets mean that fewer children get malaria, although diarrhea is still a serious problem caused by a lack of clean water and sanitation. She points to a bank of solar-powered chargers for cell phones, donated by Sony Ericsson. Once the Bonsaaso area comes under better cell phone coverage, Adjei and her assistant nurses will be able to obtain better information and advice quickly for their patients.

Nana Dapaah Siakwan, the traditional chief of Aboaboso, estimates that enrollment in the local primary school has increased from 200 to 500, largely thanks to the school feeding program that began in March 2007. There also is a new health clinic. Until it opened, seriously ill patients had to be carried many kilometers along forest paths to a distant clinic—on a tabletop, since there was no stretcher, explains the chief. Now, he adds, "We have seen the benefits."

Mohammed Salifu, a cocoa farmer, produced nine 64-kilogram bags in 2007, up from just four the year before, simply by following the advice of an agricultural extension officer sent to Bonsaaso by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. With new seedlings of a higher-yielding and faster-growing variety of cocoa, he hopes to do even better this year.

Bigger cocoa and food harvests will bring new challenges, however. The abysmal state of the roads within Bonsaaso and with other parts of Ghana makes it hard for farmers to get their crops to market. But Chinese road contractors hired by the government are busy at work, and the project has acquired two five-ton trucks to help transport produce. Developing physical infrastructure is not one of the M.D.G.'s, notes Ernest Mensah, a project facilitator. "But if you want to eradicate poverty," he adds, "you need infrastructure."

Avoiding Dependency

Critics of donor-aided development projects in Africa point out that they often tend to make the beneficiaries dependent on outside assistance, and frequently collapse if that money eventually dries up. The Millennium Villages Project does rely on significant inflows. On average, about 60 percent of project financing comes from donors, 30 percent from national and local governments, and the rest from the communities themselves.

In part, the project is designed to convince donors to provide more financing over the long term, by demonstrating concretely that aid can be used effectively to reduce poverty. A careful tally is kept of every dollar spent in Bonsaaso and other Millennium Villages, not only to avoid waste and inefficiency, but also to demonstrate to donor governments that simple interventions can make a real impact. "They don't know how practical the solutions are," says Sachs, referring to donor agencies. "They don't realize that at very low cost—just a few dollars—you can save children's lives."

By showing that external aid can indeed be effective in Africa, Sachs and his colleagues hope to convince the major industrialized countries to live up to their commitments. The 2005 summit meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized countries, for example, pledged to provide Africa with about $50 billion in aid annually by 2010—still about twice what donors are giving so far.

To help guard against local expectations that such outside assistance will continue to keep the Millennium Villages functioning, project planners stress that certain forms of aid will be steadily reduced and that governments and villagers will need to take up a greater share of the cost. The new higher-yielding cocoa seedlings provided to farmers are currently subsidized, notes Kankam-Boadu. But as farmers earn more from their cocoa sales, by next year the subsidies will begin declining, "to let them know the realities of the market."

Similarly, health care in Bonsaaso's new clinics is free for the time being, to encourage poor villagers to use their services. But, explains Afram, free care is not sustainable over the long term. Project workers therefore are helping villagers sign up for Ghana's national health insurance scheme.

In various ways, project organizers are encouraging national and local government bodies to expand their presence in Bonsaaso: by building roads, extending electricity connections, and sending in more teachers, health care workers, and agricultural extension advisers.

Building up community institutions and a spirit of self-help are also vital for long-term sustainability. Local residents regularly participate in the construction of new schools, teachers' quarters, clinics, and community centers by providing labor and contributing sand, stones, timber, and other construction materials.

The project employs several "facilitators" to help strengthen school management committees, parents' associations, water committees, and other bodies, and to engage traditional chiefs, who play a major role in mobilizing people. Stephen Antwi, the project's community development coordinator, told Africa Renewal that community structures will help Bonsaaso keep developing even when outside aid eventually falls. "We'll likely have the capacity for many years."

Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

2008-11-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

The Sirius Star's cargo has an estimated value of $200m

A giant Saudi oil tanker seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean is nearing the coast of Somalia, the US Navy says.

The Sirius Star is the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked, with a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $200m.

The vessel was captured in what the navy called an "unprecedented" attack 450 nautical miles (830km) off the Kenyan coast on Sunday.

Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe.

The hijacking was highly unusual both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far from the African coast, says BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.

The seizure points to the inability of a multi-national naval task force sent to the region earlier this year to stop Somali piracy, he says.

'Holding hostages'

The US Fifth Fleet said the supertanker was "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port often used by pirates based in Somalia's Puntland region.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the pirates involved were well trained.

"Once they get to a point where they can board, it becomes very difficult to get them off, because, clearly, now they hold hostages," he told a Pentagon briefing in Washington.

Hijackings off the coast of East Africa and the Gulf of Aden - an area of more than 1m square miles - make up one-third of all global piracy incidents this year, according the International Maritime Bureau.

They are usually resolved peacefully through negotiations for ransom but, given the value of the cargo in this instance, a military response has not been ruled out, our correspondent says.

At least 12 vessels - including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina, which was seized in September - remain captive and under negotiation with around 250 crew being held hostage.

This month alone, pirates have seized a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia, a Chinese fishing boat off Kenya and a Turkish ship transporting chemicals off Yemen.

War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991.

'Crew safe'

The South Korean-built Sirius Star was seized as it headed for the US via the southern tip of Africa, prompting a rise in crude oil prices on global markets.

THE SIRIUS STAR

Length of a US aircraft carrier

Can carry 2m barrels of oil

Biggest vessel to be hijacked

Life in Somalia's pirate town

From cutlass to AK-47

The route around the Cape of Good Hope is a main thoroughfare for fully-laden supertankers from the Gulf.

With a capacity of 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long - about the length of a US aircraft carrier.

Owned by the Saudi company Aramco, it made its maiden voyage in March.

The ship's operator, Vela International, said all of the crew were reported to be safe and that response teams had been mobilised to ensure their safe release.

As well as the two Britons, the ship's crew members are said to be from Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

New fighting in Congo despite rebel pledges

2008-11-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

U.N. special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, left, poses with Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda after talks.