tagged w/ Ivory Coast
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French immigration minister Eric Besson has announced he will clear the makeshift tents in Calais known as the jungle. This report by Onyeka Igwe, reveals the true hell of the Calais ‘jungle’ and the incredible journeys migrants have made to get there. Besson claims clearing the ‘jungle’ is a humanitarian action, but this report tells a different tale and makes the case for Open Borders. Besson’s disgraceful initiative to preserve UK border controls is guaranteed to provide further hell for the aspirant young migrants whose only crime is wanting to make a better life for themselves. Besson is not offering migrants accommodation but is promising repatriation. Humanitarian? We don’t think so.
This report is produced by WORLDwrite.French immigration minister Eric Besson has announced he will clear the makeshift... more
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You’ve probably heard of “blood diamonds.” But unfortunately diamonds aren’t the only commodity that is produced with slave labor. Many African cocoa farms produce “blood chocolate,” at the cost of cruel labor practices and child abuse.
Africa, especially its Ivory Coast, is the world’s largest cocoa producer, according to a guest post on Treehugger.com by Ted Dworkin of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store. (“The Bitter Truth About Chocolate.”)
According to Dworkin, the US State Department has reported slavery on many of these cocoa farms, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture reported in 2002 that nearly 284,000 children were working under unsafe conditions. Back in the United States chocolate manufacturers often don’t take responsibility for these unsafe working conditions, because they do not own the farms.
But there is growing awareness of this problem, and now many chocolate brands, manufacturers and importers, in addition to consumers, are insisting on slave-free chocolate products. Even the chocolate giant Cadbury announced in March 2009 that they plan to achieve fair trade certification for their top selling chocolate bar, Cadbury Dairy Milk, by the end of this summer.
According to TransFair USA (an independent, third-party certifier of fair trade products in the U.S) fair trade certified is a market-based system for sustainable development. To earn that certification importers and retailers pay a premium price to farmers and farm workers, who then commit to grow and produce goods in accordance with rigorous standards that guarantee worker rights, community empowerment and environmental sustainability.
It’s not hard to find fair trade certified cocoa and chocolate products in your local supermarket, many of which are made here in the Northwest. Dagoba Organic Chocolates and Chocolate Alchemy are two Oregon chocolate manufacturers that offer fair trade chocolate.
Another popular Oregon chocolate merchant, Moonstruck Chocolatier, is not fair trade certified, but the company says on its website that it supports fair trade initiatives and will not use cocoa harvested with slave labor or abusive child labor practices.
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Actually, you should avoid it at all times. I cannot understand how in the 21st century we are allowing this to go on. It is a CRIME how the American people are so ignorant of where what they eat comes from!You’ve probably heard of “blood diamonds.” But unfortunately... more
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Abidjan, Ivory Coast — At least 22 people died and another 132 injured before the start of the “Ivory Coast’s African Nations World Cup qualifier with Malawi” football match after part of a wall in the stadium hosting 50,000 fans fall down generating panic.Abidjan, Ivory Coast — At least 22 people died and another 132 injured before... more
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A stampede at a World Cup qualifying football match in the Ivory Coast has killed at least 22 people and wounded 132.
Fans at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena pushed against each other shortly before the game between Ivory Coast and Malawi in a desperate effort to see the game and the return of national hero Didier Drogba of Chelsea.A stampede at a World Cup qualifying football match in the Ivory Coast has killed at... more
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SW2
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A stampede at a World Cup qualifying soccer match in the Ivory Coast killed at least 22 people and wounded 132 Sunday, authorities said.
Fans at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena pushed against each other shortly before the game between Ivory Coast and Malawi, setting off a panic that led to the stampede, Interior Minister Desire Tagro said on state television.
"They started pushing to get in because the match was about to start and each and every one of them wanted to get in," Tagro said.
An Associated Press photographer said people began shoving and pushing 40 minutes before the beginning of the game. Police fired tear gas into one section of the crowd.
Ollo Kambire, a reporter for "Super Sport," a daily newspaper focusing on sports, said that a wall collapsed under the weight of the fans as they pushed toward the field. "We saw people falling. ... Then there was panic and a stampede," he said.
Ivory Coast won the match 5-0.
There have been a number of stampedes at Africa's crowded stadiums. Badly equipped security forces are far outnumbered and are often unable to control the voluminous crowds.A stampede at a World Cup qualifying soccer match in the Ivory Coast killed at least... more
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MycoJ
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3 years ago
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Two men have been jailed in the Ivory Coast over the dumping of toxic waste, which killed 17 people and made thousands ill.
In the sentencing on Wednesday, Salomon Ugborugbo, the Nigerian director of the local Tommy company which had used trucks to distribute the waste in 2006 at open sites across the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan, was given a 20-year sentence on the charge of "poisoning".
The prosecution had asked for a life sentence. Desire Kouao, an Ivorian shipping agent, received a five-year sentence for "complicity" in the same charge.
Seven local port customs and maritime officials were acquitted of charges over their role in the toxic waste scandal which shocked the world's number one cocoa producer and raised questions about the dumping of toxic materials in Africa.
No representatives from the Dutch-based international oil trader, Trafigura, which had chartered the Panamanian-registered Probo Koala vessel that unloaded the waste in Abidjan, were accused in the trial that had opened late last month.
Trafigura had already agreed a nearly $200 million out-of-court compensation settlement with the Ivory Coast government which exempted it from legal proceedings in the West African country.
The company denies any responsibility for the deaths and illnesses suffered by Abidjan residents after the dumping.
Vincent T'sas, an independent journalist in the Ivory Coast, told Al Jazeera: "People are saying that the main culprits are not in court - the people of Trafigura - and they could have been because they have spent - right after this dumping - six months in prison here.
"One of the prisoners was the president of Trafigura, but after six months he was released because the company made a deal with the government saying OK, we will pay $200,000 million if you free us.
"That is what angers people. People are still suffering," he said.
Toxic 'slops'
When the Abidjan trial opened, Trafigura said in a statement it would present independent experts to prove the waste could not have been responsible for their illness.
The petrochemical waste was described by Trafigura as "slops", residues from gasoline mixed with caustic washings.
Defence lawyers in the Abidjan hearings had repeatedly complained that it was unfair for their clients to be in the dock when executives from Trafigura were not on trial.
But the Dutch-based company faces a possible class-action suit next year in London courts brought by a British law firm representing thousands of Ivorian victims seeking tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
Many victims have already been compensated from the out-of-court settlement, but many say they have not received enough compensation.
At the height of the scandal in 2006, Abidjan hospitals were overwhelmed as thousands sought treatment for vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties after exposure to noxious fumes.
T'sas said on Thursday: "I went to a village near the dump today and I saw a woman who was covered in sores who has had them since the dumping in 2006.
"It's raining at the moment in Abidjan and the fumes of the toxic waste are still in place. Although there has been a clean-up operation, it has not been completlely cleaned."Two men have been jailed in the Ivory Coast over the dumping of toxic waste, which... more
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An American student has been accused of killing her British house mate in Perugia, Italy. Amanda Knox, 21, maintained her claim of innocence and claimed police abused her during an interrogation. Knox allegedly stabbed Meredith Kercher to death in a Satanic rite.
Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivorian man, has acknowledged that he was in the bedroom where Kercher's body was found. He is facing life in prison.
Knox's former boyfriend, Italian Rafaele Sollecito, may also stand trial. All three suspects have denied wrongdoing.An American student has been accused of killing her British house mate in Perugia,... more
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West African chimpanzees have declined by 90 percent in the last 18 years in an African country that is one of the subspecies' "final strongholds," a new study stays.
Scientists counting the rare chimps in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) found only about 800 to 1,200 of the apes—down from about 8,000 to 12,000 in 1989-90. Before the new survey, the country had been thought to harbor about half of all West African chimps.
Since 1990 Côte d'Ivoire's human population has grown by about 50 percent. This growth is the most likely cause of the decline in the chimp numbers, according to the report.
More people has led to more hunting and deforestation—key chimp threats—particularly since 2002, when a coup attempt sparked civil unrest that continues today, the study says.
One of the country's sanctuaries, Marahoué National Park, has lost 93 percent of its forest cover in the last six years, the new survey found.
Campbell said that at many of the sites her team visited, "the habitat is gone, and all the protected areas have been invaded by people."
The human "invasion" has left wide swaths inhospitable to other forms of life, she suggests.
At many of the survey sites, "it's not just the chimps—[there's] no animal at all," said Campbell, speaking by phone from Côte d'Ivoire. West African chimpanzees have declined by 90 percent in the last 18 years in an... more
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Twelve people have gone on trial in Ivory Coast accused of dumping toxic waste blamed for 17 deaths and led 100,000 to seek medical treatment.
Some 500 tons of chemical waste from the oil industry were dumped two years ago in the biggest city, Abidjan.
Those on trial include the head of a local company, Tommy, that signed the deal to treat the waste with the Dutch multinational, Trafigura.
They are accused of poisoning and complicity to poison.
The BBC's John James reports from Abidjan that families of the victims are happy that the trial has begun, but there is anger that no-one from Trafigura is in court - nor those government and port officials accused of turning a blind eye.
Soon after the waste was dumped, people began complaining of breathing problems and rashes.
In an earlier out of court settlement, Trafigura agreed to pay the Ivorian government about $200m (£108m) in one of the largest payments of its kind.
The company never admitted liability, saying the payment was made out of sympathy for Ivorian people.
It also disputes whether the chemical slops were the cause of the large number of medical complaints.
The firm says it contracted Tommy to handle the waste in good faith.
Two years on, much of the waste remains where it was dumped and people still complain of illnesses and abnormal births linked to the waste, our correspondent says.
Twelve people have gone on trial in Ivory Coast accused of dumping toxic waste blamed... more
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L'actualite de Cote d'Ivoire writes that twelve people, including the head of Tommy, a local waste processing company, are set to appear before a court in Abidjan later this month; they are charged with “poisoning or conspiracy to poison” for illegally dumping 500 tons of toxic waste. Tommy was under contract with Trafigura, a Dutch energy company, to process the waste after Trafigura decided it was too expensive to process in Amsterdam.L'actualite de Cote d'Ivoire writes that twelve people, including the head... more
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Beach erosion and a drawn out civil war are making it difficult for tourism workers to make a living in Ivory Coast. But they remain, hoping the tide will shift.Beach erosion and a drawn out civil war are making it difficult for tourism workers to... more
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usnico
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3 years ago
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The Ivory Coast government is halving the salaries of its ministers to pay for a reduction in the price of fuel. Prime Minister Guillaume Soro said the managers of state-owned companies would also have their pay cut in half, to pay for a 10% cut in fuel prices. "Having heard the people's cry from the heart, the government has decided to cut the price of fuel," Mr Soro said.
The announcement comes after a strike by public transport works in the main city Abidjan last week. On 7 July, Ivory Coast increased diesel prices by 44% and petrol prices by 29%. The government attributed the increase to rising global oil prices. Mr Soro said running costs and investments in government departments would also be cut to help cope with the extra expenditure.
Overseas trips by government members would also be reduced to a "bare minimum", he said. Escalating food prices sparked violent protests in Abidjan in March and April, when housewives took to the streets banging pots and pans, youths built burning barricades and at least one man was killed.The Ivory Coast government is halving the salaries of its ministers to pay for a... more
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LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cocoa prices surged to their highest level in over 20 years on Wednesday, adding extra pressure to global food prices, after reports of a possible supply squeeze in the world's top grower, Ivory Coast.
A report by independent analyst Hans Kilian, seen as bullish on Ivorian supplies, was the initial trigger for a fund and investor-driven surge in U.S. futures to a 28-year high of $3,122 a metric ton.
In London, benchmark second-month cocoa futures hit a 22-year peak of 1,682 pounds ($3,277) a metric ton, before closing at 1,658 pounds, up 33 in brisk volume of 5,641 lots.
Analysts said cocoa prices could rise further due to robust global demand and a tight supply outlook.
"We haven't been at these nose-bleed prices in years," said Ralph Preston, futures analyst with HeritageWestFutures.com in San Diego. "Especially with that fundamental news coming out, that's going to really light a fire under this."
Jack Scoville, a vice-president for brokers the Price Group in Chicago, said the next key price target for second-month U.S. futures would be $3,140 a metric ton.
Benchmark ICE September futures settled up $72, or 2.4 percent, at $3,098 per metric ton, in dealings from $3,050 to $3,122, a high for the second-month dating back to February 1980.
Analyst Kilian, who is highly regarded in the cocoa market, has frequently moved cocoa futures prices with his West Africa crop reports, which he distributes to private clients only. LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cocoa prices surged to their highest level in over 20... more
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In Abidjan, like elsewhere, vendors and customers get angrier by the day, despite government efforts.In Abidjan, like elsewhere, vendors and customers get angrier by the day, despite... more
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usnico
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4 years ago
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