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Before Dider Drogba was named 2009's African Footballer of the Year, he was a 5-year-old living in Paris with his uncle, Michel Goba. In this Vanguard extra, correspondent Mariana van Zeller talks with Goba about Foot Solidaire, an organization that helps young players who have been abandoned by agents.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.Before Dider Drogba was named 2009's African Footballer of the Year, he was a... more
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In this scene from Vanguard's "Soccer's Lost Boys," correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to a prestigious -- and unconventional -- academy for young African footballers. Founder Tom Vernon explains how for the 40 boys currently attending Right to Dream in Ghana, an emphasis on both athletics and academics empowers students to plan for their future.
Learn more about Right to Dream: http://www.righttodream.com/
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.In this scene from Vanguard's "Soccer's Lost Boys," correspondent... more
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Mariana van Zeller is a correspondent for Vanguard.
Every four years, I look forward to the World Cup. It's the one time where my small country, Portugal, commands a little respect on the world stage. But this World Cup is different...I know too much.
Over the last six months, I've been investigating a particularly heartbreaking scandal for a Current TV documentary called "Soccer's Lost Boys," airing next Wednesday. The story took me from the dirt soccer pitches of Ghana to the migrant ghettos of Morocco and finally, to black market soccer games in Paris.
It's estimated that 20,000 young West African players are currently stranded throughout Europe--trafficked there by predatory agents who snatch them off the fields of Ghana and Senegal and Cameroon promising contracts with big European teams and then abandon them when those tryouts either don't materialize or don't go well.
Jean Claude Mbvoumin, one of the few advocates trying to help these kids through his small Paris-based organization Foot Solidaire, told me that 70 percent of the tryouts that took place in France last year were "uninvited," meaning that--like door-to-door salesmen--these agents just show up with a player--or three or 10--from parts unknown, hoping to get them in front of coaches. Not surprisingly, this approach leads far more often to heartbreak and suffering than to the fame and fortune promised these youngsters.
If you're reading this in the US, you may not be aware of what big industry soccer has become. Money on par with the salaries in the NFL, NBA and MLB are being paid to players from around the globe to play for teams in the UK, France, Italy, Spain. Soccer, or "football" as the rest of the world knows it, is the most global of sports and these days, there's perhaps no bigger market for promising new players than Africa.
Over the last decade there's been a surge in the number of Africans playing at big European clubs. To take the top English league for example, in 1989 it had only four players from Africa, all of them white Africans. In 2009, the league had 60 African-born players, nearly all of them blacks from West Africa. A handful, like Didier Drogba from the Ivory Coast or Michael Essien from Ghana, have risen to become global super stars and fabulously wealthy in the process. These rags-to-riches stories now serve as inspiration for thousands of young African boys who see soccer as their way out.
But the same desperation that drives many young Africans to pile 70 people in a fishing boat meant for seven to make the dangerous sea crossing to Europe, also makes them easy targets for unscrupulous agents, conmen and other unsavory characters. At the embassy of the Ivory Coast in Rabat, Morocco, the consular general pulled out a thick blue book--like an accountant's ledger--filled with the names and faces of young footballers who had been scammed and abandoned in Morocco. I stood in shock as page after page of young African faces stared back at me. My initial worries that we might be stretching some isolated, anecdotal cases of player trafficking into something bigger vanished on the spot. This problem was real--and real nasty.
I like to think of this story as an African Hoop Dreams, although a similar story could be told from South America or even Eastern Europe. Anywhere in the world where a passion of football is paired with the desperation of poverty, the conditions are ripe for the exploitation of young talent. As South Africa hosts the World Cup--the first African nation to do so--it's important that people realize that the growing popularity of European leagues around the globe has come at a cost.
The reason that FIFA, the governing body of the sport, has decided to hold the World Cup in Africa for the first time has nothing to do with the beauty of safari Africa--featured so prominently in ESPN's promo package--with its epic vistas and silhouetted giraffes. The passion for soccer in Africa lives in less picturesque places, like the war-torn Ivory Coast and the coastal slums of Accra. The World Cup is being held in Africa because the future of soccer is very much entwined with the future of the developing world.
The trafficking of young African players may be news to soccer's many millions of fans, but it's an open secret among those who oversee the sport. A few years ago, Sepp Blatter, FIFA's president, even accused top European clubs of "social and economic rape" in their search for new talent in Africa. But despite those harsh words, little has actually been done.
Now that FIFA is raking in billions of dollars in TV rights and sponsorships from the Cup in Africa, perhaps it's time to give a little back. The most popular sport in the world shouldn't be turning its back on thousands of its own.
"Soccer's Lost Boys" premieres on Current TV Wednesday, June 16 at 10/9c. Watch the episode trailer after the jump.
Mariana van Zeller is a correspondent for Vanguard.
Every four years, I look... more
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As South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup, the focus will be on many of the continent's brightest stars in soccer, including Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o. In "Soccer's Lost Boys," correspondent Mariana van Zeller explores the dark side to the sport's global popularity, what has been called "the new slave trade."
The demand for young West African players in professional European soccer leagues has skyrocketed--and so has the number of unlicensed agents, illegitimate soccer academies, and shady middlemen looking to exploit these players. For a very small percentage of these West African youngsters, their dreams of playing professionally in Europe come true. The rest face a litany of horrors: deadly Mediterranean crossings, broken promises, vanishing agents, brutal living conditions, and families torn apart. It's estimated that 20,000 young African soccer players are now stranded in Europe. Many more never even make it that far and remain stuck in transit in port towns across Africa.
"Soccer's Lost Boys" airs Wednesday, June 16 at 10/9c. For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.As South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup, the focus will be on many of the... more
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A pretty nice list for today's top 5 on current, so curl up to your lunch (or mid-afternoon snack if you're on the East Coast), and give these stories a look. I've even included a bonus for those of you who make it all the way to #5.
The "Climate Illiterate" US could hurt Copenhagen deal, says expert
Even with growing awareness around climate change, the US trails in awareness on a global scale. It looks like this may end up costing us:
"Nobody should dream of the possibility that numbers and targets for countries will be sealed in Copenhagen," said Schellnhuber, one of the world's foremost climate scientists. "If the US doesn't move then nothing will happen."
He added: "The US in a sense is climate illiterate. It is a deeper problem in the US, if you look at global polls about what the public knows about climate change. Even in Brazil and China, you have more people who know the problem, who think that deep cuts in emissions are needed."
Read more here.
Kenya's heart stops pumping
High in the hills of Kenya's Mau forest, some 20,000 families are facing eviction from their farms - accused of contributing to an ecological disaster which has crippled the country.
The authorities are to start the process of removing them any day now. Farmers will be asked to surrender their title deeds for inspection.
If their documents are genuine, they have a chance of being resettled or compensated.
If not, they will simply be told to go.
"We are afraid. Not only me, but all of us here," says Kipkorir Ngeno, a teacher and father of six, from a village known as "Sierra Leone".
"They call us squatters - a very bad name. But this is my land. It is not illegal."
Read more here.
Also, Vanguard's Mariana van Zeller has reported from Sierra Leone several times before, covering cursed diamonds, the traditions of female circumcision, and recovering war-wounded amputees.
Drunk soldiers killing demonstrators in Guinea
Andrew Fitzgerald, online producer for Current News, posted on the blog about this disturbing story from Guinea about pro-democracy demonstrators who were killed in the streets by soldiers. He's busy gathering more information on this story as it develops, and plans to have raw video footage up this afternoon.If you have anything to contribute, or just want to comment, please head over here.
22 Misspelled Political Signs
Political signs seem to be frequently accompanied by misspellings and grammar mistakes. My theory is that people get so excited about expressing themselves that they overlook the simple gaffes made in their haste. Or, perhaps our illiteracy extends beyond mere climate change awareness.Read more here.
Secret Service investigating Facebook poll on "Killing Obama"
Facebook was the center of a stir yesterday when a user posted a poll asking other Facebook users, "Should Obama be killed?" The shocker is that 5% of the respondents actually said "yes" in response, before Facebook disabled the application used to create the poll. Now we are learning that the U.S. Secret Service is launching an investigation into the matter, in partnership with Facebook.Read more here.
BONUS ROUND
First Listen: Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the altered-for-the-trailer version of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" is going to be included on the soundtrack. Thanks for pointing this out, richjm.
A pretty nice list for today's top 5 on current, so curl up to your lunch (or... more
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Despite how closely you followed the balloon boy, all those attacks in Pakistan and the boobs of Meghan McCain - there was plenty of news you missed this week. Here's seven of those stories:
The French twitter-sphere has been going nuts this week over the promotion of Nicolas Sarkozy's son, Jean Sarkozy to a top job, heading up the organization that oversees the Parisian business district La Defense. Jean is 23 and hasn't yet finished his college degree. Nonetheless, his papa the President says he's qualified. Critics on Twitter have accused the government of becoming a #bananarepublique. From the NYTimes: Sarkozy defends son's nomination for plum job
A story out of history - documents released this week show that Benito Mussolini, best remembered for allying Italy with the Nazis in World War II, was actually a spy for the British during World War I. Il Duce was a journalist and was paid 100 pounds a week to persuade his countrymen not to abandon the British in their fight against Germany. From the Guardian: Recruited by MI5: the name's Mussolini. Benito Mussolini
Did Italy pay off the Taliban? The Times in Britain alleges that while Italian troops were stationed in Afghanistan they were paying bribes to the local Taliban to keep the peace. Last year the Italians were replaced by the French, who knew nothing of the hush money and thought they'd gotten a quiet posting. Then came a deadly ambush that killed ten troops and shocked the French public. Berlusconi's government has denied the bribes allegation. From The Times: French troops were killed after Italy hushed up 'bribes' to the Taleban
No surprise - The Bush administration didn't want the EPA to talk about climate change. But this week, the agency quietly released an actual 2007 document in which they recommended that the government take action on greenhouse gases. From the LA Times: Bush-era EPA document on climate change released
China began sentencing Xinjiang protestors this week for their involvement in the July ethnic riots. A few of those convicted were Han Chinese, but mostly they were Uighurs, the ethnic minority dominant in the province. The convictions were condemned by Uighurs living in exile abroad. From the NYTimes: Six More Sentenced to Death Over Riots in China - NYTimes.com
Background: Laura Ling on the Uighurs in Xinjiang Province: China's Wild West (Video)
It might end up being a setback for the government's efforts to punish former leaders of energy company Enron - the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from former CEO Jeff Skilling. His defense maintains that he didn't lie to shareholders and that he couldn't have had a fair trial in Houston (where people were understandably a little pissed at Enron). From the WSJ: Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Enron's Skilling
The International Criminal Court announced this week that it would investigate recent military violence in Guinea. Meanwhile though, China signed a massive energy and mining deal with Guinea's military junta. As Vanguard's Mariana van Zeller reported in Chinatown, Africa (Video), China has been quietly making in-roads into Africa for years, not shying away from signing deals with dictators or military regimes. From the BBC: Guinea and China agree big deal
Background: Chinatown, Africa (Video)
Lastly, a suggestion from Twitter. User @aerogare wondered why a French nuclear plant had several kilograms has extra plutonium they weren't reporting. As the fight against nuclear proliferation tends to focus on former Soviet states, it's unnerving to see these sorts of problems in a developed country like France. From Deutsche Welle: French nuclear plant reveals plutonium level discrepancies
Was there a story out there this week we missed? Let us know.
This week on the Current News Blog:
- What does Karzai’s fraud mean for Afghanistan?
- Is Cuba ready for a revolution?
- Is the Large Hadron Collider being sabotaged from the future?
- Sarkozy to Gordon Brown: No Homo
- Health care reform: Is it over yet? (No, it’s not)
- Sri Lankan government to try to ride civil war victory to re-election
- California to release about 20K prisonersDespite how closely you followed the balloon boy, all those attacks in Pakistan and... more
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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.
UPDATE: Video from Guinea
Guinean Protesters Shot DeadReally disturbing story from Guinea this morning as reports are filtering out of the... more
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Limited Engagement!
REMEMBER THE MOVEMENT!
365 Days of Marching-The Amadou Diallo Story
Friday, February 26, 2010
@ The Maysles Cinema - 343 Malcolm X Blvd./ Lenox Ave. - Harlem, NYC (between.127th &128th Street)
Screening of:
365 DAYS OF MARCHING: THE AMADOU DIALLO STORY
Length: 90 min Documentary
Director: Veronica Keitt
Two Showings 7PM & 9PM
PRICE - $10
7pm screening ticket link
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10967773
9pm screening ticket link
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10967697
SEATS ARE LIMITED!
purchase tickets here: http://www.365daysofmarchingmovie.com" http://www.365daysofmarchingmovie.com
email: tickets@365daysofmarchingmovie.com
“365 Days of Marching” - The Amadou Diallo Story, recounts the bitter and yet compelling part of New York City history—documenting the series of marches and protests that was set into motion after the death of Amadou Diallo. It’s a story that’s told through the eyes of the marchers (the protestors) exploring the history of New York City Police Department, police - community relations and how Diallo’s death galvanized a city to fight for justice—not only for Diallo, but for all injustices plaguing New Yorker’s during that time.
WRITTEN, PRODUCED & DIRECTED by Veronica Keitt
CO-PRODUCED by Michael Drake, Ozzie Thompson, and Nat Wood,
with SPECIAL APPEARANCES by Rev Al Sharpton, Seiko & Kadiatou Diallo— the parents of Amadou Diallo, David N. Dinkins—former NYC Mayor, US Congressmen Charles Rangel, Gov. David Paterson, Assemblyman Keith Wright, Councilman Charles Barron, Chairman Percy Sutton—Inner City Broadcasting, Norman Siegel—ACLU, family members of victims of police brutality, community activists, and others . . .Limited Engagement!
REMEMBER THE... more
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From the Article:
Diamonds from African countries have been funding guerrilla wars for decades. But they're not the only precious gems with blood on their hands. Here are four more prized resources that are fraught with conflict.
RUBIES
Location: Burma
Product: Burmese rubies are famous for their distinctive dark "pigeon's blood" color. Both the United States and the European Union ban Burmese gems, but outside groups estimate the junta still reaped almost $300 million from rubies in the 2006 fiscal year.
Casualties: The brutal Burmese junta, which earns much of its hard currency from the sale of gems, holds direct stakes in many of the mines and conducts official auctions to augment the profits made from illegal smuggling. At the mines themselves, child labor and diseases such as HIV/AIDS are common.
COLTAN
Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Product: Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, a metallic ore that contains elements used in cell phones, is mined in the DRC's war-ravaged Kivu region. The U.N. estimates the DRC made $750 million worth of profits from coltan between 2000 and 2004.
Casualties: The 13-year-old civil conflict, which has so far claimed 5 million lives and pulled in armies from Rwanda and Uganda, is essentially a resource war over the DRC's minerals: vast reserves of diamonds, gold, tungsten, tin, and coltan. There have also been 200,000 recorded cases of sexual violence against women and girls, not to mention the destruction of one of the world's most endangered rain forests.
BAUXITE
Location: Guinea
Product: The West African republic of Guinea is the world's primary supplier of bauxite ore, used to make the aluminum that goes in everything from soda cans to airplanes. Twenty percent of Guinea's GDP, or $857 million a year, comes from its bauxite-dominated mining industry. A Chinese firm recently agreed to invest $7 billion in Guinean infrastructure in return for mining rights.
Casualties: The bauxite bounty has not trickled down to the 70 percent of Guineans living in poverty, though mining companies are technically supposed to pay development taxes to their local communities. Meanwhile, bauxite revenues have enabled the military junta to consolidate power and ignore international sanctions.
EMERALDS
Location: Colombia
Product: Colombia is the world's leading exporter of emeralds, accounting for half of the $280 million a year global trade.
Casualties: Emerald mafias fought a bloody "green war" in the 1980s to keep drug cartels out of the business. Violence from the rural Boyacá area extended to Bogotá, killing more than 3,500 people. Victor Carranza, the country's shady emerald czar, is accused of funding paramilitary groups, and he served jail time between 1998 and 2002 for organizing death squads. As for the mines, they rely on the children and wives of men killed in the region's ongoing violence.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/04/the_new_blood_diamondsFrom the Article:
Diamonds from African countries have been funding guerrilla wars... more
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A United Nations Commission of Inquiry is beginning an investigation into a mass killing in Guinea, described as a "bloodbath" by one UN official.
Guineans have made consistent and detailed allegations about how the security forces attacked the crowd in the stadium.
Soldiers - including members of the Presidential Guard - opened fire on unarmed civilians who were holding a rally calling on the military government to leave power.
Women told stories of being raped and beaten by soldiers.
"They hit me again and again. They tortured me. They took a piece of wood and then they tried to push it inside my vagina," said a woman who attended the rally with her younger sister.
"They were raping others around me, some with pieces of wood. One cousin of mine, they raped her with the muzzle of a rifle."
There were accounts of bodies being taken away by men in uniform and rumours of secret mass graves.
A government that is more than likely backed by our government, who also more than likely lent them the money to buy these weapons to kill their own people with.
If this wasn't the case then why havent our troops gone into this country to try and restore "democracy"?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8376800.stmA United Nations Commission of Inquiry is beginning an investigation into a mass... more
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Sexual violence is used as a war tactic against women in Guinea. The details given by survivors are graphic and hard to erase from your consciousness.Sexual violence is used as a war tactic against women in Guinea. The details given by... more
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The African Union gave Guinea's military leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara until midnight on Saturday to formally promise he would not participate in next year's presidential elections.The African Union gave Guinea's military leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara until... more
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Cellphone images and witnesses show soldiers in Conakry, Guinea quell a peaceful demonstration at a local stadium by RAPING women. Rape is a "cause for shame" in these parts so victims are reluctant to speak.
The government put the number killed in the demonstration last week at about 50; humanitarian groups say the number is closer to 160.Cellphone images and witnesses show soldiers in Conakry, Guinea quell a peaceful... more
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Africa is the land where humanity was born and is also the mirror that shows the world all the problems that humanity has never been able to solve. Corrupt governments controlled by oligarchic groups, international companies that seek to control them at the expense of citizens, environmental destruction, poverty, diseases and social problems which aren't solved yet. But the real drama of modern Africa is still the heavy legacy of colonialism.Africa is the land where humanity was born and is also the mirror that shows the world... more
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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
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Politicians in Guinea have proposed that elections be held by the end of 2009 to replace the army officers who took power in a coup in December. If Guinea's military rulers agree, legislative elections will be held in November followed by polls to elect a civilian president in December.Politicians in Guinea have proposed that elections be held by the end of 2009 to... more
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This video paints a vivid picture of some young women's lives in Guinea. From Plan International, a worldwide non-profit. Check it out!This video paints a vivid picture of some young women's lives in Guinea. From... more
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The eldest son of the former President of Guinea, Lansana Conte, has confessed to drugs trafficking on state TV. Ousmane Conte was arrested on Monday on drug trafficking charges by the junta that seized power hours after the death of his father in December.The eldest son of the former President of Guinea, Lansana Conte, has confessed to... more
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Guinea coup leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara has assured senior officials that they are safe.Guinea coup leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara has assured senior officials that they... more
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