"United in what appears to be deep and profound grief, a phalanx of more than a dozen chimpanzees stood in silence watching from behind the wire of their enclosure as the body of one of their own was wheeled past.
Really disturbing story from Guinea this morning as reports are filtering out of the West African nation’s capital about soldiers killing pro-democracy demonstrators in the streets. Its estimated that as many as 157 people have died and the AP reports that soldiers, smelling of alcohol, were witnessed even raping protestors.
From the Washington Post:
"An Associated Press reporter said he saw halls full of wounded patients at the city’s large Donka Hospital, some with bullet wounds, others who appeared to have been beaten. Opposition politician Mutarr Diallo said he witnessed soldiers raping women with rifle butts during Monday’s protests. He was arrested during the protest but released Tuesday morning. New York-based Human Rights Watch said eyewitnesses also told them that security forces had stripped female protesters Monday and raped them in the streets. Other eyewitnesses said soldiers had stabbed protesters with knives and bayonets."
Guinea has been in trouble for decades. Ever since declaring independence from France, it has been cursed with a series of corrupt administrations focused more on getting themselves rich than bringing stability and prosperity. This corruption and lack of stable law enforcement has made Guinea (and other nations in West Africa) a prime location for drug trafficking into Western Europe. (Our new season of Vanguard will include a story on this by Christof Putzel, actually). At the end of last year, the military took control of the country in a coup. This is the government pro-democracy protestors were hoping to get rid of. So it’s even more chilling that soldiers, directly part of the ruling military body could inflict such damage.
Military leader Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara told Radio France International: “Those people who committed those atrocities were uncontrollable elements in the military….Even I, as head of state in this very tense situation, cannot claim to be able to control those elements in the military.”
Well that’s not very reassuring.
We’ll have more updates on this story for you during the day – and video later on in the afternoon.Really disturbing story from Guinea this morning as reports are filtering out of the... more
In "Chinatown, Africa", Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Angola to investigate China's rapidly growing presence in Africa. While many welcome China's investment, others see reason for concern. Chinatown, Africa is revealing look at a growing superpower's adventures abroad.In "Chinatown, Africa", Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Angola to... more
Large parts of West Africa are struggling to get back online following damage to an undersea cable.Large parts of West Africa are struggling to get back online following damage to an... more
In a wonderfully textured narrative style, African American filmmaker Regi Allen makes a sojourn to three West African countries to discover for himself the truth behind the myths that separate black identity in Africa from black identity in the Diaspora. With a critical lens often pointed at himself, Allen creates an intoxicatingly chaotic film that raises as many questions as it answers. Filled with deeply moving cinematic stills and 8MM footage, 10 Days In Africa is a song of love intended to heal many wounds, while weaving a complicated path to his firmer understanding of black identity.In a wonderfully textured narrative style, African American filmmaker Regi Allen makes... more
HO, Ghana — The sidewalk in front of Ghana Commercial Bank is not where Godwin “Romeo” Dagadu expected to find himself.
He needs a loan to help him stay in school. He wants to be a banker some day. His mother is here, to co-sign the application.
Gone are the days when his father, who moved to the United States, would wire a few hundred dollars every once in a while, which he put toward school fees.
His father lost his factory job in Minnesota and moved to South Africa, where as a teacher he’s not earning enough to send money home.HO, Ghana — The sidewalk in front of Ghana Commercial Bank is not where Godwin... more
NIAMEY (Reuters) - A West African regional court of justice convicted the state of Niger on Monday for failing to protect a 12-year-old girl from being sold into slavery in a case anti-slavery campaigners hope will set a precedent.
The regional ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that Niger had failed in its obligations to protect Hadijatou Mani, who says she was sold into slavery in 1996 for around $500 and regularly beaten and sexually abused.
"I am very happy with this decision," Mani, now 24, told reporters at the court. Her comments, in the Hausa language spoken widely in Africa's Sahel region on the southern fringe of the Sahara, were translated by an interpreter.By Abdoulaye Massalatchi
NIAMEY (Reuters) - A West African regional court of... more
An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with South American drug cartels in a murky alliance that threatens stability in the region.
“Besides foreigners there is a growing phenomenon of local criminal groups,” said Antonio Mazzitelli of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “This certainly creates obstacles to democracy, to good governance, to development.”
The UN estimates that US$2 billion (Dh7.3bn) worth of cocaine enters West Africa each year before being smuggled into Europe. Previous research focused on the role of South American cocaine cartels, which began operating heavily in the region about four years ago.
“We often talk about the Latinos, but what about the Africans involved? There are over 1,600 West Africans all over the world convicted for drug trafficking,” Mr Mazzitelli said in a telephone interview from his office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
The new report will look at local criminal networks, which facilitate the passage of drugs through airports and organised human couriers to smuggle cocaine into Europe via commercial flights. These gangs take in about $450 million each year, according to Mr Mazzitelli. Antonio Costa, who heads the UNODC, will unveil the report at a three-day anti-drug trafficking conference that starts today in the island nation of Cape Verde, which has emerged as one of the main transit points for drug smugglers. The conference is being held by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
The title of the conference, Drug Trafficking as a Security Threat to West Africa, shows that West African countries now recognize drug trafficking as a serious danger to their stability, Mr Mazzitelli said. Previously, Ecowas members considered the cocaine trade a problem primarily for governments in South America, the source of supply, and Europe, where the demand lies.
“This overall attitude has characterized the issue,” he said. But the thinking changed as West African countries watched cartels infiltrate their security forces and other state institutions.
“It can cause destabilisation for the government,” said Francis Munu, the head of crime and intelligence in the Sierra Leone police.An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with... more
Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum, will go on trial in the United States on February 9, 2009 for alleged complicity in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta, THISDAY has learned.
The case entitled Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Shell and Wiwa v Anderson concerns the November 10, 1995 hangings of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) known as "Ogoni Nine" and the shooting of a woman protesting the bulldozing of her farm by Shell in preparation for a pipeline project.
After several years of litigation, Judge Kimba Wood ruled that the trial would he held next year.
According to documents made available by EarthRights International, one of the counsel, Shell was engaged in "acts of oppression" against peaceful opposition to the company's environmental damage and human rights abuses in the Ogoni area.
THISDAY gathered that the plaintiff's action was brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO).
The defendants dismissed the complaints on grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction over Royal Dutch/Shell and lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
According to the defendants, ACTA did not apply to a corporation and the claim was precluded by the political questions and act of state doctrines as well as Nigerian law on corporate liability. They also argued that the case should be heard in the Netherlands or England.
But on September 25, 1998, Judge Wood ruled that personal jurisdiction was appropriate in New York but also ruled that England was a more convenient forum and therefore that the defendant's motion to dismiss should be granted for forum non conveniens (Latin for "inconvenient forum" or "inappropriate forum").
Plaintiffs appealed to the US Court of Appeals for Second Circuit, arguing that a forum non conveniens dismissal would vitiate Congressional intent to allow plaintiffs claims to be heard in US courts.
Defendants cross-appealed the ruling personal jurisdiction. And the Court of Appeal on September 15, 2000 reversed the district court's forum non conveniens dismal, thereby concluding that the US was the proper forum.
The court further upheld the district court's ruling that jurisdiction over the defendants was proper.
Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum, will go on trial in the United States on... more
For the first time in the history of fiscal probity in Africa's oldest republic, the supreme audit outfit in Liberia, the General Auditing Commission-GAC, has presented its first special Forensic Audit report of the Auditor General to parliament. It is mandated by law to report to the Legislature.
In 2005, an Act of Legislature amended section 53 of the Executive Law of 1972 creating the GAC; making the entity independent of the executive branch of government. This led to the recruitment of the current head of the institution, John S. Morlu II, 2006 by the European Union in alliance with the Liberian government. This was done through a conventional vetting process that saw the participation of other nationals having advertised the job in 150 countries the world over.
The presentation of the audit report on Wednesday to the Lawmakers at the Capitol Building-home of the Lawmakers- in Monrovia, signals a dawn of a new era in the fight against fraud and abuse of public fund in Liberia. Till now, this is the inaugural presentation of an audit report to parliament in the history of the continent’s oldest republic.
The Special Forensic Audit Report of the Auditor General on the Bong Mines Community Escrow Account was received by Genevee Massaquoi, Assistant Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representative, Atty. James Karbah on behalf of the lawmakers.
Thirty one copies of the report were given to the Senate, while the Representative received 65 copies. The Liberia National Legislature, the first branch of government, comprises 96 Legislators, 64 Representatives making up the lower House and 30 Senators.
Making the presentation on behalf of the Auditor General, in separate remarks, GAC head of communication, James Jensen, said “GAC’s unbending commitment in making sure that public monies are truly accounted for the general goods of the public”.
“The proper management and application of public resources, is a cardinal platform of directing more donors funding for Liberia and a truest means for Liberia’s post war economic recovery,” Jensen noted.
He praised international partners like the European Commission, American government plus other partners that have been backbones of support to GAC’s quest to cleanse Liberia from the chain of fiscal improprieties, wastes, corruption and abuse of resources.
He assured the lawmakers that the Auditor General (AG), John S. Morlu II, will in a short period present additional audit reports to members of the legislature.
Both Massaquoi and Chief Clerk Karbah expressed appreciation for the report and promised to present them to the lawmakers. The Special Forensic Audit report of the Bong Mines Community escrow account covers the fiscal year ended 2006/2007.
The former mining town, Bong Mines is situated in Bong County, central Liberia. The audit commissioned by the Auditor General included the audits of financial and related records pertaining to three projects in Fuamah District in Bong County. They included Handii road, rehabilitation of the annex to Handii Clinic and seven classroom school construction and clinic renovation all totaling US$236,693.9.
In a related development: a GAC source said the entity has “completed the audits of several government institutions, including, the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP); National Housing Authority (NPA), National Lotteries, Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC); and the Ministry of Finance”.For the first time in the history of fiscal probity in Africa's oldest republic, the... more
A 17-Year old Sierra Leonean boy - Ali Turay - struggles to make a living out of finding metals and jewelries in a gutter. Metal agents make huge profit at the expense of young boys who find the metals. A 17-Year old Sierra Leonean boy - Ali Turay - struggles to make a living out of... more
Swathes of West Africa’s coastline extending from the orange dunes in Mauritania to the dense tropical forests in Cameroon will be underwater by the end of the century as a direct consequence of climate change, environmental experts warn.
"The coastline [as it is now] will be completely changed by the end of this century because the sea level is rising along the coast at around two centimetres every year," said Stefan Cramer, Nigeria director of Heinrich Boll Stiftung, a German environmental NGO.
Even where urban areas appear unscathed, sea level rise will still challenge towns and cities by threatening the underground water supplies from which millions of people across the region draw their water.
"[Increasing salinity] will make the ground water undrinkable and unsuitable for agricultural purposes. The result will be food and water insecurity," agreed George Awudi, Ghana Programme Coordinator for the environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth.
The effects of sea-level rise will be most “dramatic” in Nigeria's economic capital Lagos which is just five metres above sea level, with some parts of the city lying below sea-level, Cramer said.
The flooding is likely be most severe in Lagos because of its position at the southern end of the Gulf of Guinea where stronger tropical storms from the South Atlantic create storm surges up to three metres high, Cramer said. He estimates that most of the 15 million inhabitants of Lagos will be displaced and Nigeria’s southern Delta region where oil installations are located will also be swamped.
Other major urban centres in West Africa which experts have identified as at risk of flooding are Banjul in The Gambia, Bissau in Guinea Bissau, and Nouakchott in Mauritania. All three capitals are at or close to sea level.
Blame
Environmentalists blame the gradual melting of the 3,000 metre-thick Greenland ice cap in the A rctic as being responsible for the coastal erosion along the Coast of Guinea. Greenland is three times the size of Nigeria and its emptying into the Atlantic causes a rise in the sea-level.
"It is all due to climate change - the greenhouse gas emissions result in global warming and subsequent melting of the Greenland ice cap," Cramer said.
Compounding the situation in West Africa, in August 2007 a tropical storm 5,000 kilometres off the coast caused a shift in the strong currents that run near the Nigerian coast and destroyed a protective sand bar.
The solution
Environmental experts have different solutions to the problem.
"I think the best way out for the moment is devising simpler and more cost effective solutions such as how to preserve towns and villages under threat and preventing sea water intrusion", the director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo de Boer said.
"The sensible option is moving to higher ground which is a tough option especially for Nigeria as it means giving up its economic centres in Lagos and its oil installations in the Delta", Cramer said.
But Awudi at Friends of the Earth described relocation as an "unthinkable option” due to its economic, social and cultural implications.
"Every solution to a problem must focus on the major cause of that problem and in this case greenhouse gas emissions by industrialised countries which are responsible for sea-level rise must be effectively tackled," Awudi said.
"The industrialised countries should take proactive steps in curtailing their emissions responsible for climate change which will have a positive impact on sea-level rise," *continues* Swathes of West Africa’s coastline extending from the orange dunes in Mauritania to... more
Rising flood waters across West Africa are intensifying health risks for millions of people, and adding to the impact of the food price crisis. International aid is needed as heavy rains forecast to last until September could exacerbate health threats for conditions including malaria, diarrhoea and other potentially fatal communicable diseases.
"West Africa's annual floods bring with them not only the threat of vector-borne and communicable diseases, but it further endangers the lives of people already malnourished by the food price crisis," said Dr Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General of WHO's Health Action in Crises Cluster.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Togo need urgent assistance. Flooding has caused widespread damage to bridges, roads, railway lines and other infrastructure vital for delivering health services and humanitarian supplies. Seasonal rains have also caused damage in Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
WHO is responding by providing essential medicines, assessing the health status of the vulnerable populations - particularly children, women and the elderly - and helping raise badly needed humanitarian funding. Some US$ 418 million was requested for West Africa in 2008's revised Consolidated Appeal for the region, of which US$ 76 million was needed for emergency health care. To date, only 22% of the health funding needs have been met.
Endemic and epidemic communicable diseases are common in West Africa, with malaria being the main cause of illness and death in the region. Meningitis, cholera and yellow fever also claim scores of lives annually and cause great human suffering, which is only expected to be intensified due to the extra strains placed by the floods on the health sector. An estimated 5 million people also live with HIV/AIDS in the region, whose health care is further compromised by the flooding.
The destruction of agricultural lands and loss of crops aggravates the food security crisis in the region. Several West African countries are among the 21 worldwide identified by WHO as being most at risk from the food crisis. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are above the global emergency threshold for malnutrition, with over 10% of children under five years of age suffering from acute malnutrition and over 40% with chronic malnutrition. Acute malnutrition develops quickly in vulnerable populations and involves a rapid loss of weight and the greater potential for death, compared with chronic malnutrition (stunting), which develops over a longer time and affects the height and learning abilities of sufferers.
In Benin, the current flooding has displaced at least 150 000 people and raising fears of malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections, especially among children. WHO is helping supply clean water and provide appropriate sanitation, distribute bed nets and essential drugs, and undertake measles vaccinations for children. In Niger, 24 000 people have been displaced, while 12 000 have been displaced in Togo. Rising flood waters across West Africa are intensifying health risks for millions of... more
Thanks to ebarnett09 for uploading her comments on the pod, "Breast Ironing." After you hear what ebarnett09 has to say, check out the pod yourself by clicking on the link below. Then, let us know what you think by uploading your own comments to current.com.
There is an old woman who lives somewhere in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. She claims that she was a "very sound footballer." Her head is now adorned with sparkling gray hair. She has a great sense of humor. She reads the newspapers daily. She has a daughter whom journalists can't help but write about — often. Her daughter brings her the newspapers. Mother teases daughter every chance she gets. And that's very often, because every week Dr. Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe, head of the National Electoral Commission (N.E.C.), is mentioned in the Sierra Leoenean media.
"I see they went to town on you in the papers today," is just one of several ways Mrs. Effumi Thorpe, the 85-year old mother of Dr. Thorpe, greets her daughter upon her arrival home from her daily task of overseeing Sierra Leone's recently-past landmark elections. And for the woman who always has a disarming smile that could make a saint of Lucifer, the joke is often well taken.
A rather curious fact about Effumi is that she seems not the least bit ruffled about the enormous task her daughter has taking on. She posits that Christiana had been prepared for the job when she was only a little girl: "She has been taught to say the truth. Regardless of whoever is around, she will say the truth. The truth never fails, my dear. She has been taught to be honest and truthful."There is an old woman who lives somewhere in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. She... more
A coalition of conservation groups and a leading fisheries scientist have accused Japan of damaging the fisheries interests of poorer countries.
They say Japan promotes the argument that whales are responsible for declining fish stocks in order to boost support for whale hunting. They say this stops poor countries from focussing on real causes of decline.
A spokesman for Japan's whale research institution described the accusation as "absurd and irresponsible".
The groups involved presented their conclusions on the sidelines of the International Whaling Commission.
Daniel Pauly, director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, said there was abundant evidence that whales are not behind the decline in fish stocks.
"Blaming whales is an issue that is not only false - whales are no more responsible than the Martians - but which prevents the very small resources of West African countries from being devoted to understanding the real reasons why their fisheries are declining," he said. A coalition of conservation groups and a leading fisheries scientist have accused... more
Fabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing trip accross all Africa, from Tanger to Cape Town; totally by public transport.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLS:
30.000 KM on the road
166 days in Africa
17 Countries Crossed
1 Person (crazy one!)
Fabio Miggiano, un giovane viaggiatore italiano ci racconta il suo "Africa on the road", un viaggio d'altri tempi attraverso tutta l'Africa, dal Marocco al Sudafrica con l'ausilio dei mezzi pubblici.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLOLE:
30.000 Km percorsi
166 giorni in terra d'Africa
17 Paesi Attraversati
1 sola persona (matta!) ;)
Ps=pensi sia abbastanza!? ;)
Per maggiori info: http://www.africaontheroad.itFabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing... more
The UN says that 3.8 million West and Central African girls are at risk of a painful form of body mutilation know as 'breast ironing'.
In Cameroon where the practice is most widespread, 50% of adolescent girls in cities and a quarter of all girls nationwide have their breasts 'ironed,' often by their mothers.
The 'ritual' is performed by massaging the girls' chests with heated objects like stones, in order to reverse their pubescent development. The mums say it's driven by fear of unwanted male attention, rape and pre-marital pregnancies.
According to UNFPA, breast ironing exposes girls to numerous health problems such as abscesses, infections, dissymmetry of the breasts, cysts, and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts.
Nevertheless breast ironing is widespread and interestingly, the high prevalence in cities attributed to the effects of urbanization.
In Cameroon, the Network of Aunties Association, RENATA, made up of members who have undergone the practice, is trying to stop breast ironing by drawing public attention to its dangers in radio and television spots and by disseminating leaflets.The UN says that 3.8 million West and Central African girls are at risk of a painful... more
