Wednesday, August 31st
Tanzanian Leader Calls for Joint Efforts for Return of African Relics
Uganda Biggest Exporter of Organic Products in AfricaUGANDA has the biggest number of organic farmers in Africa, a report released by Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, has said. According to the report, the number of organic farmers has increased by 38%, from 28,000 in 2002 to 39,600 by the end of 2004. Tanzanian Leader Calls for Joint Efforts for Return of African RelicsTanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa expressed his happiness over the return of the Axum Obelisk as it will pave way for the return of other African historical relics. Sudan persists in investigation of US bombardment of phamaceutical factory Sudan said it persists in its demand for a mission to be sent by the UN Security Council to investigate the American allegations, which it said, led US to the bombardment of Alshifa Pharmaceutical Factory seven years ago, the Sudanese Embassy in Addis Ababa said. Ijaw Threatens Foreign Firms Over Oil BlocsA coalition of Ijaw civil society and youth groups yesterday threatened to mobilise forces to prevent Chinese and Korean petroleum companies from drilling oil in the Niger Delta area because they "have been given right of first refusal by the government over some oil blocs located in the Niger Delta." Zimbabwe: Community-Based Counsellors Are Making a DifferenceIn an attempt to reduce the psychosocial impact of the AIDS epidemic, Zimbabwean communities have started an innovative community-based counselling initiative across the country. White People's BurdenThe United States is a white country. By that I don't just mean that the majority of its citizens are white, though they are (for now but not forever). What makes the United States white is not the fact that most Americans are white but the assumption -- especially by people with power -- that American equals white. Those people don't say it outright. It comes out in subtle ways. Or, sometimes, in ways not so subtle. Here's the Funny PartPalestinian Authority's US Assets Are Frozen Why Do Israelis Keep Posing as Arab Terrorists?
Tyehimba on 08.31.05 @ 01:49 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Tuesday, August 30th
Ovaherero people March Against Germany
Kenyans Allege Racism in U.S. 'Arranged' Marriages Case US investigation into bogus marriages arranged to help Kenyans in Iowa sidestep immigration laws recently netted at least one innocent couple and raised concerns of racism. A report by the Des Moines Register, a local newspaper quotes a Des Moines immigration lawyer Jim Benzoni as saying some people were arrested because of the colour of their skin. Don't Steal This TelevisionIn 1970, Junior Allen, a Black man received a life-sentence for stealing a television. He spent the next thirty-five years in prison. In Northern Nigeria, Riding Too Close for Comfort. For women, commuting across this ancient Islamic city has long been as easy as hopping into a minibus or climbing on the back of a motorcycle taxi. Both are cheap and readily available. Nigerian Government officials, determined to halt what they see as the decline of public morality, are banning women from all but a handful of Kano's motorcycle taxis and are requiring them to sit in the back of public minibuses. Ovaherero people March Against GermanyCHIEF Kuaima Riruako of the Ovaherero people led a march through Independence Avenue to Parliament yesterday to hand over a petition to Prime Minister Nahas Angula. Accusations over aid moneyDevelopment campaigners accused the Government of spending UK aid money on a public relations campaign to pursue a privatisation agenda in Sierra Leone. 'UK aid cash funds PR campaign' UK ministers have been accused of spending British aid money on a public relations campaign to promote water privatisation in Sierra Leone UK Govt 'Wastes' African AidThe British government has been accused of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of African aid in Malawi. Zimbabwe parliament passes controversial reformsZimbabwe's parliament on Tuesday approved a widely condemned bill that stops white farmers from challenging land grabs in court and curtails the travel and voting rights of those without full citizenship. UK to lend stolen artefacts to EA for six months The British National Museum has agreed to return on a six-month loan hundreds of artefacts taken away from the three East African countries during the colonial period. Bush accused of Aids damage to AfricaA senior United Nations official has accused President George Bush of "doing damage to Africa" by cutting funding for condoms, a move which may jeopardise the successful fight against HIV/Aids in Uganda. Paris apartment fire kills 7Seven people were killed, including four children, when a fire ripped through a rundown Paris apartment building housing African immigrants, officials said Tuesday. White Man Praises The Good Works Of Mugabe Robertson's not alone in his dislike of Chavez Last Monday, Christian televangelist Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. While Robertson's remarks were shocking in their utter disregard for global democracy and the rule of law (he eventually apologized), he is by no means the first to beat the drum against Venezuela. In fact, his comments were merely a more vitriolic version of what the Bush administration has been saying for some time, with declarations to "contain" Chavez and the funneling of millions of dollars to opposition groups within the country. The White House even supported a 2002 military coup, before popular uprisings restored Chavez to power Palestinian Authority's US assets are frozenWeapons: A Trillion-Dollar Trade'A New Label on a Bottle of Poison'Oil, Blood and the FutureBush vs. History Britain's elite get pills to survive bird fluIT'S ALL ABOUT OIL! 9/11 was an INSIDE JOB : Everything else is a Distraction, The BRAINWASHING of the American peopleRadioactive Wounds of WarTests on returning troops suggest serious health consequences of depleted uranium
Tyehimba on 08.30.05 @ 02:16 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Monday, August 29th
Working Towards Self-Sufficiency
Working Towards Self-SufficiencyAs of the fifteenth century when the Maafa or black holocaust (slave trade) was becoming big business in concurrency with the fall of the Songhai empire of west Africa, Europeans and Arabs went to great extents to maintain and warrant this trade, one major means they (Europeans in particular) went about doing this was to control information about world history particularly black history and the same tactics was used during the colonial era and even now in this neocolonial era. Reject further liberalisation - African govts urgedOrganisations of civil society from across Africa have called on African governments not to accede to the request of the developed countries for further liberalisation at the up-coming World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong. A copy of an African declaration adopted in Accra and copied to the Conference in Hong Kong called on governments to resist being coerced into committing their existing liberalisation undertaken under International Monetary Fund / World Bank (IMF/WB) pressure. Anger as British aid to Malawi spent on US firmsThe government was under attack from development charities last night for allegedly wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds on aid to Malawi by paying it to American consultancies. The Risks of Being Female And Living in Kenya TodayAccording to police, more women are raped than the people murdered by gangsters or vehicles stolen and the trend indicates a worrying increase. All this must take into account the fact that many rape victims never report the crime and that some parents of defiled children, who are the most vulnerable group, prefer to hush up the crime. Africa's Woes in the Critical Eye of ScholarOver the years, African countries have continued to depend on the developed world. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have continued to exert pressure on African governments to adopt good governance as a condition for foreign aid. Africa economies hit hard by rising world oil pricesAfricans are struggling to cope with stubbornly high global oil prices which are forcing many to walk long distances to work or schools, go hungry as food prices skyrocket, and depend on candles to light their homes. Africans back India on cutting tariffs at WTO The African group of countries has extended its support for the tariff reduction proposal of Argentina, Brazil and India (ABI) for non-agriculture market access (Nama) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Black Community Holds Two Day Protest of Brutality by Bridgeport's Police DepartmentFor the second day in a row, members of the African American community marched downtown to protest alleged brutality by the city's police department. Zimbabwe, IMF talks 'not over'Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa on Monday said week-long talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is mulling expelling Harare for debt arrears, were by no means over. Zimbabwe plans epic fuel conservation projectThe Zimbabwean government, which is battling crippling power shortages, is soon to embark on an ambitious electricity and fuel conservation programme, the state-controlled Herald newspaper said on Monday. Uganda: 1,000 Displaced Die Every Week in War-Torn North - ReportAn estimated 1,000 people displaced by the 19-year-old war in northern Uganda die every week from violence or disease, the Ugandan Ministry of Health and its partners said in a report. Botswana Develops Gas ResourcesTHE Kalahari Gas Corporation (KGC), an exploration and development company based in Gaborone, has started drilling for commercial gas reserves identified in the eastern side of the Kalahari Karoo Basin. Nigeria Woos South African Investors A three-day conference which took place this week in Johannesburg has highlighted the possibilities for increased trade between South Africa and Nigeria. What If America Found Its Soul?More journalists killed in Iraq than VietnamPullout fooled the world, say PalestiniansHalliburton Contract Critic Loses Her JobRev. Jackson Lends Support to Chavez Civilization Under AttackIraq gamble as Sunnis left out of constitution deal
Tyehimba on 08.29.05 @ 01:31 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Sunday, August 28th
Zimbabwe transport crisis intensifies
Mugabe says Zimbabwe is no home to traitors President Robert Mugabe warned mourners at the funeral of a top ruling party official today that Zimbabwe was "threatened by treachery from within" and indirectly blamed the country’s former colonial power Britain. Zimbabwe transport crisis intensifiesZimbabwe's transport crisis fuelled by an acute fuel shortage worsened this week, forcing many people to walk to work or shell out more than they can afford in bus fares, a newspaper said on Saturday. FBI agents raid Nigeria VP’s house The FBI has raided the Maryland residence of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar as part of a probe into whether a US congressman made or approved payments to officials in West Africa, a US newspaper reported. Nigeria bracing for fuel unrestNigeria faced another round of protest strikes on Thursday after the government gave the go-ahead to the latest stage in a deeply unpopular plan to deregulate petrol and diesel prices. Pardon Set for Black Woman Executed in 1945The only woman ever executed in Georgia's electric chair is being granted a posthumous pardon, 60 years after her death. The black maid was put to death for killing a white man she claimed held her in slavery and threatened her life. Mauritania's Poor Skeptical on Oil RichesThis country hasn't even started exporting oil yet, and already some Mauritanians are demanding a share of the hoped-for profits. Displaced Liberians set to boycott voting Thousands of Liberians who fled their villages during 14 years of civil war say they will refuse to vote in October elections if they are left stranded in refugee camps. No UN Reform Likely, Say Directors of Africa Policy Think-TanksThe heads of all three civil society organisations appeared to agree that there will not be widespread reform of the United Nations, particularly its powerful Security Council, when the UN General Assembly meets next month to discuss the issue. NEPAD's 'Fish for All Summit' Opens in AbujaPresident Olusegun Obasanjo has declared open a "Fish For All Summit" held under the auspices of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), in Abuja. NEPAD to Facilitate E-SchoolsRwanda is one of the sixteen African countries to benefit from the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) first phase of Electronic Schools' (e-Schools) program before the initiative spreads to other African countries. ‘Journalism is in terrible trouble … a large amount of it is repetitive garbage’Bank of America Becomes Fourth Bank to Admit Ties to Slavery Democrat calls for racial profiling inquiry 20 Massacred in Port-au-Prince Soccer Stadium, Jailed Jean-Juste Mulls Presidential Run Venezuela, Cuba offer free health care to Latin American, Caribbean citizens Galloway to go on anti-war tour of US with Jane FondaA United Iraq Is a Western JokeOur Arrogance Will be the End of Us(Don’t) Mention the word J**
Tyehimba on 08.28.05 @ 07:39 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, August 27th
Value the People's Wisdom
NIGER: Gold Miners Exploit ChildrenAbdou Adamou spends his days in a pit 50 to 80 metres below ground at the Komabangou gold prospecting site. His job involves hacking up rocks and raising them to the surface with a bucket. He is only 15 years old. CORRUPTION IN AFRICA"Corruption is something used against Africa whenever debt cancellation, grants or investments are suggested as ways to help African people out of the poverty trap." Land wrangles rage on Guebuza Urges the Government to Value People's WisdomMozambican President Armando Guebuza said on Thursday that one of his government's priorities is "to value people's wisdom" to transform locally existing natural resources into wealth to benefit the same people. Nepad Faces a Challenge in Connecting Fibre to Inland AfricaBurundi: Former Rebel Leader Becomes Nation's PresidentFormer rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza, 40, was sworn in on Friday as Burundian president for a five-year term. He becomes the country's first democratically elected leader since 1993. PETA generates outrage equating Blacks with mistreated animalsYou can almost always trust People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to instigate a national controversy, but this time, activist groups and others say, the animal rights group has gone too far in a campaign that compares the enslavement of Blacks to animal abuse. "Our ancestors were not animals! That feeds right into the white supremacy mentality which rationalized slavery in the first place!" said Mitchell Allen. Benjamin Karim: Malcolm X confidant diesImam Benjamin Karim, trusted assistant and devoted confidant of Muslim leader Malcolm X (aka El Hajj Malik El Shabazz), passed away on Aug. 2 of cardiac arrest. He was 73. Asian and Western companies in race for Nigerian blocksAsian and Western oil companies competed yesterday for the most promising exploration contracts in Nigeria's first open bidding round as world prices hit record highs. Why the origins of the Notting Hill Carnival must never be forgotten When African Caribbean people arrived in Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948 full of dreams and ambitions for a better life after the alluring calls from the Motherland, little did they realise just how inhospitable the British public would be. Men more intelligent than women, says academicMen are more likely to win Nobel prizes and achieve excellence simply because they are more intelligent than women, according to a controversial male academic. In a paper to be published in a leading research journal, one of Britain's most outspoken academics will argue that men have larger brains and higher IQs than women, to such an extent that they are better suited to "tasks of high complexity". Venezuela curbs foreign preachers Venezuela's government has temporarily suspended permits for foreign missionaries after a US evangelist said Washington should assassinate President Hugo Chavez Chavez: If anything happens to me, blame Bush Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday President Bush would be to blame if anything happened to him after an American evangelist said Washington should assassinate the leftist leader. Uncovering the one-sided media coverageWe complain a lot about the portrayal of Black people by dominant media outlets, but we continue to support them, and we continue to sell ours or use them to perpetuate the stereotypical images of ourselves with daily (and nightly) buffoonery. JAMAICA: Gov't May Repeal Anti-Gay LawsIn a desperate bid to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Jamaican government is preparing to hear arguments for and against existing legislation outlawing homosexuality and prostitution. "7/7 Bombers" movements Physically Impossible ...ReExploit 9/11?Don't let the Israeli settlers fool youTwo fingers to AmericaHe's a friend of Fidel Castro, a fierce critic of the war in Iraq, and wants to spread revolutionary fervour throughout South America. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, has long been a thorn in the side of the US - a fact highlighted this week when televangelist Pat Robertson called for his assassination. Richard Gott on a man at war with the White House Pat Robertson Describes U.S. Foreign PolicyConservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has stirred up a firestorm with his call for "taking out" Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. What's all the fuss about? All that Robertson has done is state publicly what has long been an important part of U.S. foreign policy – assassination of foreign rulers who behave independently of Washington. Relating to Venezuela: Hurricane Hugo (Chavez)As President Hugo Chavez adeptly leverages Venezuela's oil wealth to forge an array of regional alliances that leave the United States out in the cold, U.S. Venezuela tensions are heating up. Boosted by the rising prices of oil and the deepening regional anger over U.S. imperial arrogance, Chavez has proved able not only to construct a counter-hegemonic constituency in Venezuela among the country's poor majority but also to piece together a regional network that is challenging U.S. political and economic dominance. Uncle Sam is becoming the odd man out in the hemisphere claimed as U.S. domain since the early 19 th century. What is to be done? As Chavez's star has risen and as the U.S. stars and stripes increasingly become subject to derision, the Bush administration finds itself at a loss when attempting to stem the anti-imperial tide. All its attempts to persuade or dissuade, enforce, or manipulate have backfired.
Tyehimba on 08.27.05 @ 01:59 PM CST [ link]
Friday, August 26th
Eritrea bans US aid group
UN reforms critical to poverty eradication in Africa, says UK agencyTHE proposed reform of the United Nations has been described as critical to poverty eradication programme in Africa and other less developed parts of the world. Zimbabwe won’t accept political loansThe Zimbabwe government had not requested South Africa to rescue Zimbabwe with a financial package, the Zimbabwean state newspaper the Herald on Friday quoted the country's Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, as saying. Eritrea bans US aid groupEritrea has ordered an American aid group operating in the country to halt its activities, saying it was "uncomfortable" with the group's continued presence. Roots reggae and resistance from Jamaica to BrixtonThe rerelease of a range of roots reggae albums exposes the music’s hidden political history. Kiosk newsroom links South Sudan to the world Starved of news for over two decades, southern Sudan was one of the few countries in the world without a newspaper until three years ago when the print media started developing. Africa's cellphone boom creates a base for low-cost bankingThe first bank-by-phone system is designed for poor South Africans, enabling saving and access to credit. Remove chiefs? Not from typical Kenyan villagesWhat should a farmer do with a cow on heat in the absence of a chief? That was Internal Security minister John Michuki’s question on the value of chiefs targeted for redundancy. Bad roads ‘hindering access to the Sudan’ Hundreds of firms vie for Nigerian oilRepresentatives from hundreds of oil firms are in Nigeria's capital Lagos for an announcement on the winners of dozens of new oil-exploration licenses for plots across Africa's largest oil producer WHO Aims to Rid Africa of Sleeping Sickness By 2015The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a strategy to eliminate most cases of sleeping sickness, a disease that threatens millions in Africa, by 2015. The five-point strategy plans to use a range of scientific approaches to reduce the number of people falling sick and dying from the disease. South Africa transferred R50bn to poor South Africa has since 1994 transferred R50bn to the poor - the majority of them women, says Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka. . Globalisation Driving Inequality, UN WarnsDespite unprecedented economic growth in recent years, the rich have become richer and the poor even poorer, says a new U.N. report that also shows women facing more hardship than men in all walks of life. Mbeki to fight anti-Zuma 'conspiracy'President Thabo Mbeki has bluntly given his support to a Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) campaign to protect former deputy president Jacob Zuma, and pledged on Friday to unite "the entirely of our movement in a determined offensive" to defeat any conspiracy to discredit him. Shock And Awe In Utah "The illusion of freedom [in America] will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater." Libeling VenezuelaAnother firestorm in the American media, another opportunity to narrow the parameters of debate. Over the last week it has been impossible to escape mainstream and (to a certain extent) alternative media coverage of popular evangelical leader Pat Robertson's remarks about assassinating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Jamaica signs on to Venezuela's oil plan for CaribbeanJamaica became the first Caribbean nation to finalize an agreement with Venezuela on a new plan for the South American nation to supply oil to countries throughout the region under below-market terms. Privatizing the Truth; Bush's war on informationBush's lying is not a matter of human frailty or corruption, but a statement of administration policy. Pat and Hugo: The Real Story - Part 1- Rev. Robertson's Call to Assassinate Hugo ChavezVenezuela curbs foreign preachersPresident Chavez says the US is plotting to kill himVenezuela's government has temporarily suspended permits for foreign missionaries after a US evangelist said Washington should assassinate President Hugo Chavez. Chavez: If anything happens to me, blame BushThe fire sermon: A spark is lit in the Texas scrubIn his inaugural speech last January, President George W. Bush repeatedly invoked images of unbridled, ravaging destruction as the emblem of his crusade for "freedom." Fire was his symbol, his word of power, his incantation of holy war. Mirroring the rhetoric of his fundamentalist enemies, Bush moved the conflict from the political to the spiritual, from the outer world to the inner soul, claiming that he had lit "a fire in the minds of men." Venezuela opens fields to Chinese oil corporation Venezuela and China signed a "preliminary agreement" for a joint company to drill for light and heavy crude in eastern Venezuela, reported the government owned Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
Tyehimba on 08.26.05 @ 11:10 AM CST [ link]
Thursday, August 25th
Digging for 'tainted gold' in Congo
Digging for 'tainted gold' in CongoThis region, in Africa's heartland, has some of the world's biggest gold deposits. But for years competition to reap its riches - with the labor of men and boys - has helped fuel armed conflict, including a 1998-2003 war that resulted in up to four million deaths. 500 Years Later and the legacy of Africa’s enslavement500 Years Later represents a fresh, unapologetic African narrative on the crisis and legacy of enslavement. The film not only embodies the story of the African Diaspora, but also carries the culture of our people in its subtext. AFRICA: Continent needs "home-grown" democracyAfrican continent must discard the political systems it inherited from its colonial masters and develop a "home-grown" democracy that would better reflect conditions on the continent, outgoing Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said on Wednesday. Bank of America Becomes Fourth Bank to Admit Ties to SlaveryIn a report released Wednesday, the Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) became the fourth bank in the United States to disclose links to slavery. The admission comes as a result of a 2002 Chicago law that any company doing business with the city must reveal past slavery ties. Supporters of Zimbabwe land reform accuse western media of failing to tell the truth on its meritsSouth Africa has been in the spotlight after hinting that it wants to follow Zimbabwe and expedite the redistribution of land to indigenous Africans. If one looks at the facts rather than a biased western media, this might not be a bad idea. ICC rejects Zimbabwe banTHE International Cricket Council (ICC) is to reject a proposal by the British government to ban Zimbabwe from playing international cricket because of its human rights record. Senegal kora players keep ancient tradition aliveBeneath the rustling leaves of a majestic mango tree, Aliou Gassama teases a tune from an ancient African harp. Concentration chiselled across his face, he deftly navigates the 21 strings. Cellphones allowing Africans to reach out From 1999 through 2004, the number of mobile subscribers in Africa jumped to 76.8 million from 7.5 million, an average annual increase of 58 percent. PAX AFRICANAContinental integration has been seized upon as a key to reviving Africa. In this light, the revitalization of the African Union and initiatives such as the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), ECOWAS and SADC are timely measures but if they are to be effective, they cannot remain vague concepts understood only at the macroeconomic and macropolitical levels. The idea of African integration has to be articulated as a broad, sweeping vision of a renascent Africa. Pax Africana is a socio-spiritual ethic for rebuilding Africa that will harvest from the continent's fertile cultural acreage to create a pan African philosophy of development. Zimbabwe constitution to changeJustice minister Patrick Chinamasa said the changes were needed to complete Mugabe's "fast track" redistribution of 5 000 white-owned commercial farms to black Zimbabweans. Zim lays claim to 30% of minersA bill forcing all foreign-owned mining companies operating in Zimbabwe to cede 30% of their shares to indigenous business people is ready to be tabled in parliament, the state-owned Herald reported Thursday. Liberian soccer hero, George Weah, launches presidential bidLiberian soccer star George Weah started his campaign to become the next president of a country ruined by 14 years of war with some fairly basic promises: get the water running and turn on the lights. Chávez taunts US with oil offerVenezuelan president hits back at assassination remarks with offer of cheap petroleum for poor Americans U.S. and China unite to block G4 planCENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Conditions not yet ripe for refugee return, refugee agency saysReverend Robertson was just trying to save Taxpayer MoneyBush Approval at All-Time Low in U.S.Abbas Accuses Israel of wrecking peaceGoogle's growth stifles rivals, say firms The Bush Family's War Profiteering
Tyehimba on 08.25.05 @ 11:05 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, August 24th
Crackdown on Bushmen denied
Europe's fleets 'waste Africa's fishCampaigners say European Union (EU) boats are wasting West Africa's rich fishing resources by discarding most of their catch. Move Over Uncle Sam, the Chinese Are Now in TownLuring Chinese investors to Kenya was a key objective of President Mwai Kibaki's trip to China last week. Apart from strengthening bilateral ties, the five-day visit which ended on Sunday saw the two countries sign important financial agreements that will benefit the two nations. Who decides how we see Africa?BOTSWANA: Alleged crackdown on Bushmen deniedThe government of Botswana has denied allegations that it is launching a 'massive crackdown' on the Bushmen of the central Kalahari. Mozambique to strengthen control of foreignersMozambican authorities are planning to strengthen control of foreigners in the southern African country, according to local media reports on Sunday. Tracing a Mutiny by Slaves Off South Africa in 1766After years of painstaking research and sophisticated surveys, Jaco Boshoff may be on the verge of a nearly unheard-of discovery: the wreck of a Dutch slave ship that broke apart 239 years ago on this forbidding, windswept coast after a violent revolt by the slaves GHANA-SUDAN: Hundreds of refugees from Darfur trek to Ghana Several hundred refugees from the civil war in Sudan's western Dafur region have trekked west for 3,000 km, crossing five international borders, to seek asylum in Ghana Myths of capitalism and the possibility of a fair economic systemDealing with the increasing disparity in incomes worldwide, an economist remarked recently that capitalism was a wonderous lottery, a great game of chance, in which there would always be some winners and some losers. There are some parallels between capitalism and a lottery: as defined, a lottery is a game of chance. But for a lottery to be fair all players would have an equal chance to win or benefit. St Vincent PM condemns call for assassination of Venezuelan presidentSt. Vincent: Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, on Tuesday said he felt “great distress” when he read on the CNN website that an American Christian broadcaster, Pat Robertson, had called for the United States to assassinate Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez. POPULATION: Seven Billion in Seven YearsDespite fertility declines in most countries and reduced life expectancy due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in some African nations, the global population will reach 6.5 billion people by the end of this year and should hit seven billion by 2012, according to a report released here Tuesday by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Castro, Chavez call for solidarity as they meet in CubaThe presidents of Cuba and Venezuela have called for solidarity in the face of the United States as they met here to strengthen their special relationship that has the US government increasingly suspicious. When Tyranny is Law, Revolution is Order The US introduced Patriot Acts and violated all international laws after 9/11 to fight “terrorism.” After 7/7, the British government went one step further to the extreme to fight “extremism.” It proposed many laws, contravening the established legal principles, human rights and all norms of moral decency. 'The 'big lie' on Bush's nightstand'The idea that the President reads anything at all -- much less scholarly tomes -- shows how much contempt his handlers have for the public. Terrorism – the western style The West achieved the first thing when it pitted Iraq against Iran. Then it attacked Iraq directly in the first Gulf war and destroyed a nation. However, it did not stop here... Mauritania: Obasanjo Advises New Govt to Check Slavery, Terrorism President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his capacity as the Chairman of the African Union (AU), has asked the military leadership in Mauritania to pass laws that would immediately abolish slavery that has continued to thrive in that country and act against terrorism. It's Not A ''Conspiracy.'' It's Just Business -- The Bush WayUK helped Israel get nuclear bomb Britain secretly sold Israel a key ingredient for its nuclear programme in 1958, according to official documents obtained by BBC News. Freedom Of Speech, RIP Google tool watches as you workWater, Water Everywhere...Seventy-three die in ethnic clashes in EthiopiaAre Ugandans in Iraq fully aware of the risks there? The Trillion-Dollar WarDistortions of The Times Interpreting war crimesRegime Change By Assassin? Easier Said Than Done.Lions, elephants and cheetahs -- Oh my!The latest from on high in American academia is a proposal to transplant elephants, big cats and other wildlife from Africa to the Great Plains (including Montana) as a means to conserve the species and "restore" the western landscape to a condition that existed thousands of years ago. No kidding. Chavez Offers Cheap Gas to Poor in U.S. Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out. Chavez and Castro offered to give poor Americans free health care and train doctors free of charge.
Tyehimba on 08.24.05 @ 11:12 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, August 23rd
How the G8 lied
IMF Urges Mugabe to Save EconomyAS IT began emergency consultations in Harare yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fact-finding mission urged the Zimbabwe government to take urgent measures to save the country's economy from collapse, sources said. Tanzania: Election Campaigns Kick OffPresidential election campaigns kicked off in Tanzania on Sunday, with political leaders promising to wrench the east African nation out of grinding poverty, as well as fight graft and enhance the status of women in society. State moves to take control of first farm redistributed after apartheidNearly a decade after the Elandskloof farm near Citrusdal became the first land in South Africa to be redistributed after the end of apartheid, the government wants its administration taken out of public hands. How the G8 lied to the world on aid The G8 agreed to increase aid from rich countries by $48bn a year by 2010. When Tony Blair announced this to parliament, he said that "in addition ... we agreed to cancel 100% of the multilateral debts" of the most indebted countries. He also stated that aid would come with no conditions attached. These were big claims, all of which can now be shown to be false. Libya says to be taken off U.S. terrorism listLibya expects the United States to remove it from Washington's list of sponsors of terrorism this year to seal their rapprochement after Tripoli abandoned a program of prohibited weapons, the Libyan leader's son said, Reuters reported. Intrusion Endangers Tsunami-Hit Andaman's Stone Age Aborigines
Intrusion into reserved forests by Indian settlers is posing a threat to reclusive Stone Age aborigines who survived the tsunamis that hit the Andaman island chain last December, environmentalists say. Scores of Afro-Colombians continue to flee homes in Chocó provinceScores of Afro-Colombians continued to flee their homes last week, pushing to nearly 1,300 the number of people displaced amid fears of an outbreak of fighting between armed groups in the region. Remembering slaveryDo you remember the days of slavery? So goes the chant sung so poignantly and eloquently by reggae artiste Burning Spear. Rejecting Israeli apartheidThere has been a media circus fed by a huge Israeli-government public-relations effort to drum up sympathy for the "painful" relocation of Jewish settlers from Gaza. But who are these settlers, and why were they brought there in the first place? Is Israel really leaving Gaza, or merely switching to occupying it from outside, rather than inside? Will Gaza become a large open-air prison, with its population held hostage as Israel controls its air space, natural resources, and access? Gaza Stripped But the Occupation RemainsAlthough Israeli Forces withdrew settlers from Gaza the military occupation of Palestinians continues. Despite U.S. mainstream media reports that the 38-year-occupation of Palestinians within Gaza has "ended," the Israeli military still controls water, the Palestinians' passage through checkpoints and air space. Washington worried by Venezuela, Cuban socialism Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' visit to Cuba this weekend, to weld his alliance with President Fidel Castro's revolution, is keeping alive a socialist threat in Latin America as far as Washington is concerned. US – Chief culprit in Africa’s problemsTHE United States’ role in destabilising Africa so as to plunder its resources continues to be exposed. Inequality widens under BlairTony Blair's claims to have extended "social justice" were undermined last night by official figures showing the gap between rich and poor has widened by £90 a week since Labour came to power. Women bear the brunt of hardships and food shortages
Tyehimba on 08.23.05 @ 12:42 PM CST [ link]
Monday, August 22nd
War on terror should not compromise human rights in Africa
Get Out, Murungaru Tells British RanchersCabinet minister Chris Murungaru has told British landowners near his Kieni constituency to move out. Dr Murungaru said it was immoral for a few Europeans to own huge chunks of land, while hundreds of his constituents were squatters. War on terror should not compromise human rights in AfricaAs Western powers escalate their war against terrorist groups, African governments need to guard against being coerced to violate their obligations under international human rights instruments. "Antibiotic" Beer Gave Ancient Africans Health Buzz Humans have been downing beer for millennia. In certain instances, some drinkers got an extra dose of medicine, according to an analysis of Nubian bones from Sudan in North Africa. Global reparations groups want justice and healing for the inhumanity of slaverySouth African Social Workers to Train in CubaUnder a cooperation program, 21 employment skills practitioners from the South African Labor Department will travel to Cuba next Saturday for a a skills empowerment project. Threats Don't Stop Information Leak About Our Military's 1976 Plan to Blow Up WTCFormer GI not concerned about death threats and releases names of others who participated in what has been called 'the perfect terrorist plan' devised by our own military to bring down the WTC with airplanes and box cutters. Low Water Levels Threaten Marine Life in Lake VictoriaConcerns are being expressed over the receding levels of water in Lake Victoria that could affect marine activities. Marine experts and transporters are describing the recent recession of water levels as abnormal and alarming. Nigerian protesters lift siege of oil facilitiesZimbabwe begins crisis talks with IMF chiefsZimbabwean officials on Monday began a week of crunch talks with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, which is weighing whether to expel the southern African country from its ranks. African fish industry 'in crisis' Africa's fisheries industry is facing a crisis, experts have claimed, with over-fishing and a lack of investment threatening its long-term future. The President’s Greatest FearIt has been said that “Love hath no fear” which I believe means that if one is committed to finding the truth, that one wants to understand, wants to know the truth more than anything else in the world, then through such conviction one will find the courage, the fearlessness, to pursue what must be done. Sudan buries leader but remains determined to achieve peaceAs the people of southern Sudan bury one of their most influential leaders today, the widow of Dr John Garang & others, push to achieve peace; & the dream their leader so nearly achieved after 21 years of civil war and 2 million deaths. Immigration bungle as Zimbabwean nearly deportedZimbabwean campaigners and human rights activists are outraged after an asylum seeker was almost deported despite a recent ruling by the High Court suspending returns to the country. Mauritania suspended from AU after military coup The African Union has suspended Mauritania from the organisation after armed forces seized power in a bloodless coup. Uneasy Standoff in Venezuela's Media WarsThe controversy surrounding the media in Venezuela refuses to die. This is because the country is experimenting with a slow but steady anti-capitalist restructuring which the private media see as a threat to their existence. Why Iran will lead to World War 3Iran has shown an unwillingness to be bullied by Washington. The Bush administration has co-opted the EU to enforce its double-standards by threatening military action. If Iran is attacked they will retaliate; that much is certain. Bush's Other Iraq InvasionAs Iraqis draft a new constitution, U.S. corporations maintain a stranglehold on almost every economic issue. ETHIOPIA: Voting largely peaceful in Somali regionHypocrites and LiarsWar on terror good for defense firms in USUrine Battery Turns Pee Into PowerThe Earth is not 6 000 yrs old!Leaderless on the leftRejecting Israeli apartheidThere has been a media circus fed by a huge Israeli-government public-relations effort to drum up sympathy for the "painful" relocation of Jewish settlers from Gaza. But who are these settlers, and why were they brought there in the first place? Is Israel really leaving Gaza, or merely switching to occupying it from outside, rather than inside? Will Gaza become a large open-air prison, with its population held hostage as Israel controls its air space, natural resources, and access?
Tyehimba on 08.22.05 @ 01:33 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, August 21st
Floods wash away entire villages
Floods wash away entire villages, aid agencies scramble to reach victimsHeavy floods have hit a string of villages in southern Sierra Leone, wiping away scores of houses, trapping villagers and leaving vast areas inaccessible to humanitarian teams scrambling to assess the damage, aid officials said on Friday. Blair lends support to Met chiefMetropolitan Police chief Sir Ian Blair has the prime minister's full backing, Downing Street has said. Cuba and Panama restore relationsCuba and Panama have restored diplomatic ties a year after they were broken off when Panama's former president pardoned four Cuban exiles. Hijacked UN Food Ship Still Held Off Somali Coast Despite Pact for Its ReleaseHijackers off the Somali coast are still holding a ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), its 10-member crew, and 850 tons of rice for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, more than seven weeks after seizing them, despite an agreement earlier this month for their release, the agency said today. British officials ask ICC to consider banning Zimbabwe: reportBritain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and another senior official asked the International Cricket Council to consider banning Zimbabwe from the sport as punishment for increasing human rights abuses, a British newspaper reported on Sunday. South Africa's Mbeki meets Ivorian rebelsSouth African President Thabo Mbeki met Ivory Coast rebels on Saturday in the latest bid to nudge them to keep a fragile peace process on track in the West African country ahead of an October general election. Everything Gets Worse With Coca-ColaIn the end it was the 'generosity' of Coca-Cola in distributing cadmium-laden waste sludge as 'free fertilizer' to the tribal aborigines who live near the beverage giant's bottling plant in this remote Kerala village that proved to be its undoing. The Bush Top 40 Lies about war and terrorismWill Celebrity Addicted America Miss the Point?Thousands Of Troops Are Sick And Dying From Illegal DU UseMicrosoft warns of IE flawWindows worm causes chaos'Religion is a mental virus'What Does Democracy Really Mean In The Middle East? Whatever The West DecidesJohn Garang's Successor Faces Formidable ChallengesGaza: the World's Largest PrisonT&T caught between FTAA and ALBA
Tyehimba on 08.21.05 @ 02:13 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, August 20th
Oil Drives the Genocide in Darfur
Oil Drives the Genocide in DarfurA war of the future is being waged right now in the sprawling desert region of northeastern Africa known as Sudan. The weapons themselves are not futuristic. None of the ray-guns, force-fields, or robotic storm troopers that are the stuff of science fiction; nor, for that matter, the satellite-guided Predator drones or other high-tech weapon systems at the cutting edge of today's arsenal. Angola: War-Damaged Infrastructure the Biggest Challenge to ElectionsAngola's biggest challenge will be rehabilitating as much of the dilapidated infrastructure as possible before general elections next year, according to a regional poll expert. Ghana Stops Importation of GM Foods: A RejoinderFood and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Ernest Debrah announced – categorically – that Ghana would reject, without hesitation, the importation of any GM foods, crops and materials into the country, despite the fact that the new technology might help solve some of the country’s food production and famine problems. Africast Launches America's First Pan-African Movie ChannelUK to compensate Africa for medical 'brain drain'Britain will seek ways to compensate African countries for the thousands of medical professionals who leave the continent to work in the UK health service. Yet another black man dies in police custodyMarket FaminesIn the spring the International Monetary Fund pressured Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja to implement a 19 percent value added tax with foodstuffs included. The tax was added even though food costs rose more then 75 percent in the previous five years. Concurrently the country’s nomadic herders main income – livestock - fell a quarter in value, leaving the poor with less money to purchase basic foods. The Rise Of The Democratic Police StateThomas Friedman is a famous columnist on the New York Times. He has been described as "a guard dog of US foreign policy". Whatever America's warlords have in mind for the rest of humanity, Friedman will bark it. He boasts that "the hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist". He promotes bombing countries and says world war three has begun. Coca-Cola Ordered To Stop Production The Kerala State Pollution Control Board on Friday ordered stoppage of production at the Palachimada unit of the Coca-Cola Company in Palakkad district for failure to comply with pollution control norms The Wealth Of The West Was Built On Africa's Exploitation Britain was the principal slaving nation of the modern world. In The Empire Pays Back, a documentary broadcast by Channel 4 on Monday, Robert Beckford called on the British to take stock of this past. Why, he asked, had Britain made no apology for African slavery, as it had done for the Irish potato famine? Why was there no substantial public monument of national contrition equivalent to Berlin's Holocaust Museum? Why, most crucially, was there no recognition of how wealth extracted from Africa and Africans made possible the vigour and prosperity of modern Britain? Was there not a case for Britain to pay reparations to the descendants of African slaves? Media Disinformation: Journalists "Disengaged" From Real Gaza StoryThere are an estimated four thousand journalists in Gaza now, of whom only fifty are allowed access to the colonies. We are inundated with what to the average American are no doubt heart wrenching pictures of a Jewish soldier painfully opposing a kinsman whom he must reluctantly evict from his beloved home. "We are brothers," colonists with American accents implore the soldiers, a sound-bite that western journalists eagerly convey. What is not mentioned is that the illegal colonists occupy a land inhabited by refugees, the majority of whom originally came from inside Israel's green line, and who, contrary to international law (a phrase rarely voiced on CNN or the BBC), are not permitted to return to their lands and homes. Election Fraud Continues in the USThe Myth of a "Free and Democratic" IraqFamily of shot Brazilian say they have rejected $1m offerResidents say little has altered in 40 years since riots tore apart Watts Venezuelan Mock-Tribunal Declares Bush Guilty of Imperialism
Tyehimba on 08.20.05 @ 10:16 AM CST [ link]
Friday, August 19th
Schools struggle on 'borrowed' South African land
Schools struggle on 'borrowed' South African landAcross South Africa, farmers, local education departments, and school administrators are debating the future of "farm schools," or public schools on private farmland, trying to balance the rights of landowners and the educational needs of some of the country's poorest children. Economic Society Warns Obasanjo Against 3rd TermTHE Nigerian Economic Society (NES) yesterday in Ibadan asked President Olusegun Obasanjo to forget the idea of extending his tenure beyond 2007 saying that the clamour for a third term will scare away foreign investors from the country which will further worsen the poverty level of Nigerians. Chevron Paid Agents Who Destroyed African Villages Energy Company denies responsibility for Nigerian deaths or injuries, saying it paid only for general security services. The Miseducation of Canada's First NationsFrom the mid-1800s until the late 1960s, the Canadian government enforced an "assimilation" policy on native peoples. Aboriginal children were removed from their families and communities, taken to these schools and forbidden to speak their native tongue or carry out some aspects of their culture, such as the potlatch. Report: IMF team to visit ZimbabweAn International Monetary Fund team will visit Zimbabwe Monday ahead of a September board meeting during which directors may expel the southern African nation for falling US$295 million behind in its debt payments. Kenya to Make Aids Test KitsAids testing kits are to be produced in Kenya for the local and regional markets. The Particle Agglutination HIV testing kit has been developed by Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) scientists after more than 10 years of research. UN reforms crucial for Africans, says VPThe proposed United Nations reforms will enable Africa to have its views included in international decisions, Vice-President Moody Awori said yesterday. Ugandan army kills over 40 rebels in 3 daysThe Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) has killed over 40 rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in separate operations in northern Uganda and southern Sudan in three days of air raids, a senior army officer said on Friday. Namibia, Angola eye reviving Kunene hydropower plansDelayed oil imports threaten East and Central African economies Fuel taps in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and northern Tanzania are running dry following delays in landing oil imports from the Mombasa port. The crisis in the region was triggered by the increasing world fuel prices. Kenya says it will cancel oil firms' licences as fuel crisis worsensThe fuel crisis that has rocked the three East African countries for the past one week arising from the introduction of an advance tax payment system by the Kenya government is far from being resolved. NAMIBIA: Securing property for rural widows and their childrenThe Namibian government aims to introduce a new inheritance bill to protect the rights of widows and children, who are often dispossessed of land and homesteads. NAMIBIA: Land reform picks up steamThe Namibian government is expected to serve 18 white commercial farmers with final notices of expropriation next week as the land reform programme gathers pace. Madagascar's unique forest under threat One of the world's biggest mining companies has been given permission to open up an enormous mine on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar which will involve digging up some of the world's most unique forest. S.Africa Nampak to sell 10 pct stake to black groupsSouth African packaging company Nampak has agreed to sell a 10 percent stake to black staff and investors in a deal worth 981 million rand, it said on Thursday. Beating the Drums Against ApartheidSUDAN: Conditions in Darfur deteriorating - Annan New agreement paves way home for Burundians from RwandaSudanese Women Seeking Divorce Find Themselves in PrisonStudy shows racial health gap in US Global warming: Will you listen now, America?The settlers' retreat was the theatre of the cynicalTuskegee Airmen Recall Segregated Military The Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the U.S. Army Air Corps. Even after they were admitted, though, many commanders still didn't believe they had the intelligence or dexterity to become pilots.
Tyehimba on 08.19.05 @ 12:26 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, August 18th
Pharmaceutical colonialism in Africa
Pharmaceutical colonialism in AfricaBig drug companies are conducting clinical trials in Africa with no consideration for ethics, the health of patients or the relevance of the drugs to the needs and the pathology of the continent. The fight to have Marcus Garvey's legacy taught in schools across Caribbean and United States£7.5 Trillion – the price of equity? “There must be re-pay for damage done. The concept is legitimate and the need is great.” Where Have The Women Gone?Mugabe nationalises seized farmlandPresident Robert Mugabe's government overnight tabled a controversial bill proposing to change the country's constitution to allow authorities to effectively nationalise all seized farmland and create a second upper legislative chamber. Israeli Settlers Resist Gaza Pullout, Palestinians Call for Withdrawal from West BankThousands of settlers are refusing to leave their homes in Gaza settlements today as Israeli soldiers and police order them to move out. The pullout is seen by some as a strategy by the Israeli state to consolidate its hold over the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Others see it as a necessary step in the roadmap to peace in Israel-Palestine. Israel's withdrawal is both historic and deceptivePolitically, the Israeli evacuation from the Gaza Strip that started Monday is significant, and potentially historic. Morally, for the Israeli government and the settler-colonists, it is a pile of garbage, deception and lies. Sorting out the significant from the merely sinful in this situation is useful for discerning whether or not better days lie ahead. African city to honor America's Harriet TubmanNew York's HIV experiment HIV positive children and their loved ones have few rights if they choose to battle with social work authorities in New York City. Venezuela's Chavez presents land titles to indigenous groupsSix of Venezuela's indigenous communities received title to their ancestral lands on Tuesday in a ceremony that Venezuela's president said reversed centuries of injustice. Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear WarThe use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States, defying all international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on earth including the human species, and yet this country continues to do so with full knowledge of its destructive potential. Niger, the year of starvation aheadThe impacts of IMF/ World Bank economic medicine. Shell Petroleum Gets 14-Day Ultimatum Over CompensationUS Policy on 'Axis of Evil' Suffers Spate of Setbacks CARIBBEAN: Trade Winds Gusting as Region Faces WTO MeetDetectives raid Zuma residenceVenezuela to seize 'idle' firmsThe Venezuelan government has warned it will confiscate hundreds of private companies that are lying idle if they fail to re-open. Venezuela ignores IMF advice on oil moneyMarcus Garvey Day marked in AccraDuck Soup Now is the summer of discontent for President George W. Bush, a man beset on every side -- by a failing war and falling popularity, by scandal, suspicion and rising hostility, even in the red-state heartlands. With each passing day of his long vacation in the Texas wastes, his presidency is shrinking palpably before our eyes, his wildly inflated public image shrivelling like a punctured balloon. Police "resisted" probe on Brazilian's shooting
Tyehimba on 08.18.05 @ 07:26 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, August 17th
Revolutionary civil rights leader Marcus Garvey
Garvey's Legacy in Context:
Colourism, Black Movements and African NationalismAs controversial and hated as he was respected and revered, criticism of Garvey's unwavering, uncompromising stance on the necessity of the separatist ideology of 'Africa for the Africans' must be seen not only in the context of white hostility to his destabilizing ventures but also in the context of the conflicting liberation ideologies that vied for space and precedence in the Black-American political landscape. Colour, class nationalistic and ideological divisions existed between different groups in the liberation struggles and Garvey often found himself on the wrong side of the establishment - both black and white. Revolutionary civil rights leader Marcus Garvey is honored in Lauderdale LakesJabulani Tafari wants the life of black revolutionary Marcus Garvey taught more in schools across the Caribbean and the United States. Event aims to enrich, enlighten, empower"How can someone knock on my door and then tell me they 'discovered' my home?" asked the Rev. Ms. Jennings, president and founder of the Marcus Garvey Empowerment and Enrichment Association, an association named after Garvey, who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He worked for several publications and gave speeches about racial equality across the world. South Africa's sacked deputy gains popular supportA popular groundswell is building behind Jacob Zuma, the former South African deputy president who was recently dismissed amid corruption allegations. Photos capture human footprint on AfricaOne hundred thousand images, 70,000 miles and 21 countries later, conservationist J. Michael Fay thinks Bono, Live 8 and the G-8 have been misguided. Aerial Survey Documents Africa's Last Wild PlacesThousands of digital images shot from a low-flying airplane have revealed a startling new portrait of Africa. There are places where the continent is so stressed by overexploitation that entire ecosystems are in or near collapse. The result is human misery, such as currently seen in Niger, where thousands of people are starving. Africa's 200 Million Empty PlatesWhen the U.N. ponders the continent's ills and their tragic consequences, a sorry list of contributing factors needs to be on the table Black investors cut stake in S.Africa's Cell CBlack shareholders in South Africa's third-ranked cell phone operator, Cell C, have sold part of their stake to Saudi investors for $140 million and will use the proceeds to help repay debt, Cell C said on Wednesday. Scientists suggest relocating Africa's poster species to North America
Admin on 08.17.05 @ 10:40 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, August 16th
Marcus Garvey and the New Partnership For Africa
Marcus Garvey and the New Partnership For Africa's DevelopmentMarcus Garvey, Jamaica's first national hero, has gained many well-deserved accolades for his contribution to the development of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the development of literary arts and the anti-colonial movement in his own ambivalent homeland. However, it is his role and vision for Africa's development that is the central contribution of his remarkable historical journey. History has recorded that some two years before his birth on August 17, 1887, the European powers had convened the infamous Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to partition the African continent among themselves. This brutal colonial exercise intensified the plunder of Africa's natural resources and in the process millions of its inhabitants were slaughtered. Cosatu wants Zuma reinstatedThe Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will call for Jacob Zuma to be reinstated as deputy president of South Africa and charges of corruption against him to be dropped, the federation said on Tuesday. More than 40 cholera cases recorded in Burkina Faso capitalAt least 41 people have contracted cholera in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou, of whom three have died, according to the latest toll broadcast by state radio. SADC: Mbeki leads SA delegationPresident Thabo Mbeki will lead the South African delegation to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state and government summit in Gaborone, Botswana on Wednesday and Thursday 'Nigeria May Lose Towns to Benin Republic'Director General of National Boundary Com-mission (NBC), Alhaji Dairu Bobbo, weekend said the recent demarcation carried out by his commission revealed that some portion of towns in Ogun State would have to be part of Benin Republic. Angola Wants to Hold International Diamonds ConferenceAngola wants to organise next year an international diamonds conference, that will gather the world's biggest diamonds producers, according to the latest edition of Angola Mining Magazine published by the Ministry of Geology and Mining. African nations in fresh health scaresAn unidentified respiratory disease has killed eight more people in an eastern Congo diamond-mining region, pushing the death toll to 29 as the number of infections topped 1000, health officials say. Libya, Egypt, Algeria in summit talks The leaders of Egypt, Libya and Algeria have met to discuss the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, developments in Iraq and a possible Arab summit. Chinese army attaches importance to friendly ties with Comoros army: defense minister Chinese Minister of National Defense Cao Gangchuan said in Beijing on July 15 that there exist prolonged, friendly ties between China and Comoros and their armed forces. Large condoms for S African men
Admin on 08.16.05 @ 02:15 PM CST [ link]
Monday, August 15th
The 'war-for-own-land' in Africa is a reality
Africa: the Other Side of the CoinLike EU, Africa Should Close Ranks Neither academic analysts, nor well-resourced international lobbies and their think-tank programmes will be able to stave off Africa's "war-for-own-land"! THE 'war-for-own-land' in Africa is a reality. No imported industry of "neo-liberal, US approved democracy", "free market economy" and no "willing seller, willing buyer concept" will be able to reverse it. Was The Death of Sudanese VP a Planned Murder?Challenge to South Africa's President:
Are You Imposing Zimbabwe's Policies?The hard facts regarding land reform in South Africa totally contradicts the political rhetoric. It is so bad that in one instance an open challenge to the President of South Africa had to be posted on the web. The cat simply slipped out of the bag regarding the statement by the Deputy President of South Africa reported on by most newspapers over the last few days. She said: "Land reform in South Africa has been too slow and too structured. There needs to be a bit of 'oomph'. That's why we may need the skills of Zimbabwe to help us," she said at an education conference. "On agrarian and land reform, South Africa should learn some lessons from Zimbabwe - how to do it fast." US gives S Africa food aid, UN wants more JOHANNESBURG : The United States has given the U.N. World Food Programme $52 million for Southern Africa, the United Nations said on Monday, but more is needed to help more than 10 million people facing possible shortages. Single currency for southern Africa? Gay Marriage Not Africa's Problem - ClericAmidst the uproar over gay marriage in Europe and the America, President of All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), Rt. Rev. Dr. Nyansako-ni-Nku, has declared that gay marriage is not Africa's problem. China vows to further cooperation with African Union: Hu China attaches importance to the role of the African Union, and would like to further the bilateral friendly relations, said Chinese President Hu Jintao Monday in Beijing. Zim unity govt 'not imperative'Pretoria - The formation of a government of national unity in Zimbabwe was not necessarily the solution to that country's political problems, South Africa said on Monday. Africans Must Unite And Face Up to the New WorldConnecting Africa: IGNOU will be content providerThe Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will be the content provider for tele-education component of a Pan-African network which plans to reach out to 53 countries of the African Union with tele-education and tele-medicine facilities.
Admin on 08.15.05 @ 05:27 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, August 14th
Mbeki's property comments spark fury
New paleographical data questions the great size of AtlantisLiberians Take Step Toward Elections As Candidates Are ApprovedThe United Nations Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, says the final list of candidates for October legislative and presidential elections has been approved. Junta vows to stop embezzlement in MauritaniaThe chairman of the ruling Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD) in Mauritania Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall has warned that he would wage "war" against government officials found guilty of misappropriation of funds. Ethiopia seeks closer military ties with ChinaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia, 08/14 - Ethiopia is keen to forge closer military ties with China, the government-run Ethiopia News Agency (ENA) reported Friday quoting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Security arrest 295 illegal aliens in DR CongoAbout 295 West African illegal immigrants were arrested in the past two years on the DR Congo- Angola border, according to the provincial director of the General Immigration Department (DGM), Patrick Bombelo. Mbeki's property comments spark furyPresident Thabo Mbeki's hardline call for "pro-rich" property developments such as gated villages and golf estates to be stopped has caused an uproar among business organisations, property agents and opposition party spokespeople. Marathon, others receive subpoenas over payments in Equatorial GuineaFour U.S. oil companies, including Marathon Oil Corp., are targets of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission looking into possibly illegal payments made by the companies to the West African government of Equatorial Guinea. Mbeki decries racism, gender, class divisions in South AfricaSouth African President Thabo Mbeki Friday called for an end to development of cities designated exclusively for the rich or the poor in the country, warning that the practice could re-enact racial and class divisions of the apartheid era. Fate of Africa collects the pieces of a continent's storySouth Africa condemns assassination in Sri Lanka South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Saturday condemned the assassination of her Sri Lankan counterpart Lakshman Kadirgamar on Friday. Bush raises option of force against Iran CRAWFORD, Texas: United States President George W Bush said he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear programme. Africa, solutions without bordersTroubling, this response comes in the 11th hour. Last winter, the United Nations World Food Program warned of impending disaster in Niger. The world body made two appeals in the spring for emergency food and financial aid to the landlocked nation of 11 million people. But it wasn't until pictures of underweight adults and dying children emerged that an adequate response came. Large-scale distribution of emergency rations and other aid is now headed to the 3.6 million — about 800,000 of them children under age 5 — left without food after a drought and locust infestation destroyed the millet harvest. Ancestral voices My Fathers' Daughter and Black Gold of the Sun, Hannah Pool and Ekow Eshun explore their British identities and African roots, writes Akin Ojumu Oilman Puts The Wind Up AfricansA SCOTS oil worker has caused an international stink - simply by breaking wind. His flatuence upset colleagues in an African office so much they made an official complaint. Mauritania To Remain U.S. Ally After Coup Mauritania's new prime minister said he wanted democratic elections as soon as possible after last week’s coup and vowed the Islamic Republic would remain a U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism. Ghanaian Ambassador to Morocco FingeredDe Beers Planning Huge Namibia Investment Diamond producers Namdeb and De Beers Marine Namibia are planning to invest N$3.2 billion ($500 million) in the country's diamond industry, which the diamond miner says shows its commitment and confidence in Namibia. New lemurs found in Madagascar's forests
Admin on 08.14.05 @ 05:40 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, August 13th
Benin threatens to expel Togolese refugees
Animal WhitesThat PETA can't understand what it means for a black person to be compared to an animal, given a history of having been thought of in exactly those terms, isn't the least bit shocking. After all, the movement is perhaps the whitest of all progressive or radical movements on the planet, for reasons owing to the privilege one must possess in order to focus on animal rights as opposed to, say, surviving oneself from institutional oppression. PETA Rethinks Ads Comparing Abuse, SlaveryGold strike over in South AfricaThe largest strike at South African gold mines is over on Thursday after the Chamber of Mines offered a pay increase between six and seven percent following negotiations between the management and unions. SOUTHERN AFRICA - The Next Niger?Images of skeletal children in Niger, wasted away by malnutrition, have featured prominently in the media over recent weeks. Amidst efforts to alleviate this suffering, however, there are fears that the crisis in Niger may undermine donor willingness to tackle problems elsewhere on the continent - notably in Southern Africa. Algerian forces comb eastern Algeria looking for terrorists The Algerian army and security forces are carrying out wide-scale combing operations in eastern Algeria after receiving information of possible terrorists in that area, media sources said Saturday. BP makes eighth oil discovery in Angola Block 31The UK-headquartered energy outfit has previously struck oil at Plutao, Saturno, Marte, Venus, Ceres, Palas and Juno, all within Block 31. Astraea-1 is located 10 kilometers to the south east of the Palas discovery, announced earlier in 2005. Benin threatens to expel Togolese refugees Benin's minister of information and new communication technologies, Frédéric Dohou, threatened after an audience with President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé here Friday to repatriate Togolese refugees because "there is no persecution in their country". Burkina Faso President to Run for Another TermBurundi's former rebel leaders hand in weaponsUK considers 'secret courts'Britain is considering setting up secretive courts to make it easier to prosecute terror suspects - and to hold them without charge for longer than the current 14 days - as part of the crackdown following last month's deadly London bombings, officials said on Tuesday.
Admin on 08.13.05 @ 07:34 PM CST [ link]
Friday, August 12th
Niger Struggles to Find Hunger Solutions
Floods leave 20,000 homeless in Central African Republic BANGUI (AFX) - Floods caused by days of heavy rain have left up to 20,000 homeless after their houses collapsed in the capital of the Central African Republic, local Red Cross acting secretary general Alphonse Zarambaud told the state radio. Cape Verde police seize over 10 kg of cocainePraia, 08/10 - Cape Verdean police officers last weekend arrested two Nigerians with 10 kg of cocaine as they prepared to board a passenger plane at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island. We're on the high road, says MbekiSouth Africa's economy is firmly on track towards a sustainable higher growth path that will generate the wealth needed to defeat poverty and underdevelopment ... Somalis crave for peace after 14 years of anarchyPlagues spawn a continent in crisisA range of similar problems in more than a dozen African countries - including poor governance, failed agricultural production, AIDS, drought, and last year's locust plague - has combined to create the continent's worst famine in decades. Killer Hib virtually wiped out in AfricaA pioneering vaccination programme for children has virtually wiped out a killer bug in the Gambia - and could save hundreds of thousands of young lives across Africa. Take-off delayed for stranded holidaymakersThousands of holidaymakers are facing scenes of chaos at Heathrow Airport after British Airways was forced to cancel all flights until 8pm tonight amid a wildcat strike by baggage handlers. Niger Struggles to Find Hunger Solutions African news goes liveJohannesburg - African News Dimension (AND) has announced that September 1 will see the dawning of a network to make Africa's breaking news and financial information available to the rest of the world.
Admin on 08.12.05 @ 08:01 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, August 11th
Southern Africa fears famine
Venezuela's Chavez Presents Land Titles to Indigenous Groups Egypt leads the scramble for new permanent seatsNigeria is furious with South Africa, and South Africa is trying to torpedo Egypt. Pakistan is busy trying to scuttle nuclear rival India, while Italy is flinging spaghetti at the Germans. China would like to build a great wall around Japan, and Argentina and Mexico have joined forces to samba all over Brazil. 'He's Garang's true successor'Salva Kiir, who steps out of the shadows of John Garang as southern Sudan's leader to try to secure the future of a precarious peace in Africa's largest country, is a military commander with limited political experience. Cash-strapped WFP wants SAfrica food for MozambiqueSouthern Africa fears famine, U.N. lacks fundsSurge in Japanese aid to AfricaJapan's aid to Africa has surged this year as it tries to secure support from the continent for its cherished but increasingly distant goal of a permanent seat on the United Nations security council. South Africa learning from Zimbabwe on land reforms PRETORIA: South Africa can take a leaf from neighbouring Zimbabwe by injecting some "oomph" to quicken the pace of land reforms to redress apartheid-era imbalances, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said yesterday. DA lashes out against PhumzileJohannesburg - South Africa's main opposition party on Thursday blasted deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka for saying that Pretoria should emulate Zimbabwe's controversial land reforms, and branded her advice as a recipe for disaster. Wifebeating 'normal' in parts of AfricaWife-beating is entrenched, accepted, sometimes deadly and normal in sub-Saharan Africa, recent studies show. South Africa to host International midwifery congress Cuba Official Calls on U.S. to Free Agents Venezuela-Uruguay sign 25 year oil deal Castro reaches 79 on hot seat Four Amendments & a Funeral Inca Tax Records Were Tied Up in Knots, Study Says
Admin on 08.11.05 @ 10:38 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, August 10th
Food crisis 'runs across Africa'
Food crisis 'runs across Africa'African blames aid for lack of food remedies Southern Africa fears famine, UN lacks fundsCash-strapped WFP seeks funding for Mozambique The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has been distributing 4 500 tonnes of food in Mozambique a month, most of it imported maize from South Africa, but warned that poor funding was limiting its purchases. The day Haile Selassie came a-callingThe picture adorning today's column takes us back in time, to those days in April 1966 when His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, King of Kings, Conquering Lion of Judah, paid us and, two or three days later, the people of Jamaica, a State visit. David Sarasohn: A U.S. disorder that hurts Africa AU in talks with coup leadersA delegation from the African Union (AU) met with Mauritania's new military strongman, on a mission to urge leaders of last week's coup to restore constitutional order to this newly oil-rich Islamic nation. South Africa maize exports drop, prices fallGarang death breeds African conspiracy theoriesGrassroots reparations organizations blast Wachovia's 'National Partnership'Chavez: U.S. will "bite the dust" if it invades Venezuela Saddam's germ war plot is traced back to one Oxford cow Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Vaccines and Autism:
Looking for the Truth? Study the Amish Gang founder gets service award Arms Dealer Wanted in Africa, Needed in Iraq Chavez Gives Land Titles to the Indigenous SA certifies food for Zimbabwe is GM-free Botswana, SA sign agreement Brazil and Gambia Vow Closer Cooperation in Sports, Economy and Culture Africast Launches America's First Pan-African Movie Channel Rebuilding our economy: What will it take? Garang death could affect refugee repatriation plans- aid workers Zimbabwe's Mugabe says wants talks with Blair
Admin on 08.10.05 @ 01:44 PM CST [ link]
Tuesday, August 9th
Heroes want us to protect, use land
Five Cuban Spy Suspects to Get New TrialNo to talks with MDC PRESIDENT Mugabe has once again ruled out talks with the MDC, saying he would rather meet the principal of the opposition party, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Heroes want us to protect, use land Address by President Mugabe on the commemoration of Heroes’ Day at the National Heroes' Acre yesterday. Niger is just one island in Africa's sea of problemsNiger is not an isolated island of desperation; it lies within a sea of problems across Africa. Neighbouring Mauritania and Mali, south Sudan, southern Africa — all are "Nigers" waiting to happen. UN: Don't forget Sahel's plightThe United Nations' food aid agency on Friday urged donors not to forget hard-hit countries in Africa's Sahel region, saying they face similar hunger crises to the one in neighbouring Niger. Mwanawasa Explains Democracy in AfricaMbeki Calls on Private Sector to Employ More Women in Top Management PositionsZimbabwe's Mugabe says soldiers to be given landZimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said on Tuesday his government planned to allocate land to 6,000 members of the armed forces under a controversial land redistribution programme. Chief backs eviction of settlers from Zambia Sugar landSwaziland: Traditional Laws And Customs to Be Codified"We welcome the writing down of Swazi customs to avoid confusion, [but] we feel that if these become codes they will take precedence over gains made by women in the constitution in the field of equal rights," a source at the Swaziland branch of Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) told IRIN. Sudan launches Garang crash probeA credible plan to take down the Internet U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba Bush, GOP Labeled 'Thieves' Who 'Need to be Locked Up' From Superstition to Savagery Cuba and the Most Important Youth Event on Earth Briton arrested in Zambia 'baffled' by al-Qaida chargesMr Aswat sat in the dock as his lawyer told the court his client denied any involvement in terrorism and was baffled by the claims almost five years after the alleged offences were said to have taken place.
Admin on 08.09.05 @ 12:49 PM CST [ link]
Monday, August 8th
Egypt: Has Nigeria Betrayed African Interest?
Peacekeeper training centre reopens in ZimbabweSouthern Africa reopened a peacekeeping training centre on Friday in Zimbabwe, the region's most troubled nation, with a warning that it would not allow Western donors to dictate how the facility was run. The centre, which trains military personnel for peacekeeping missions both within and outside Africa, opened in 1996 but closed in 2001 after Denmark withdrew support over policy differences with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government. Egypt: Has Nigeria Betrayed African Interest?Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mr. Aboul Gheit, was reported to have said that Nigeria betrayed African interest. Nigeria was said to have abandoned African interests to pursue its own chances of obtaining a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Aid trucks to Zim delayed due to paperworkThree trucks transporting food aid and blankets to Zimbabwe have been delayed in Johannesburg due to outstanding permits, the SA Council of Churches said today. Mali re-elected as UCBSA presidentRay Mali was re-elected unopposed for the second two-year term as president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) at the annual general meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday. Roundup: Africa faces serious brain drain The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned in a latest report that Africa is facing a severe brain drain, with more than 20,000 high-quality personnel leaving their native countries in Africa for developed countries in a year. Bush's Role in AfricaA generation from now, when historians analyze the turning point in Africa's development, they may have to credit George W. Bush with playing a surprisingly important role in the continent's economic progress. Mozambique and South Africa to Cooperate on HealthMozambique and South Africa are set to sign a cooperation agreement in the area of health this year. Venezuela sends $3 million to hunger countries:
Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania BURUNDI: 522 refugees return from RwandaAnnan welcomes DR of Congo's decision to disarm militia forciblyUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes a decision by the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Transitional Government to disarm a Rwandan rebel militia on DRC territory by force after it failed to honour its pledges to disarm and return home. UN peacekeepers lack freedom in Cote d'IvoireThe UN Operation in Cote d`ivoire has vehemently protested against the numerous restrictions imposed on its military and civilian staff members during the execution of their mandate. 10 to run for Egypt's presidencyEgypt's Presidential Election Commission, entrusted with organizing the presidential race, said Monday that 10 candidates will compete in the Sept. 7 election, disqualifying some 20 others. UN fears epidemic as malaria sweeps EthiopiaGabon, South Africa committed to peace in AfricaPresident Thabo Mbeki of South Africa begins his visit to Libreville Tuesday for talks with his Gabonese host Omar Bongo, in a political and diplomatic context marked by major efforts to resolve African conflicts, or restore peace in several other countries. US experts arrive in Kenya to assist in probe of Garang crash A team of US aviation experts has arrived in Kenya and will soon travel to Sudan to assist in the probe of last month’s helicopter crash that killed Sudanese vice president John Garang, the US embassy here said Monday. Kenyan minister to sue Britain over travel ban Kenyan Transport Minister Chris Murungaru has identified a team of lawyers who will move to court to appeal against Britain's decision to revoke his visa. U.S.'s New Eye In Troubled LiberiaAsk an eight-year-old child in a typical Liberian home about his best wish in life, or where on Planet Earth he would like of live. The answer will all be the same: the United States of America. Every Liberian, rich or poor, urban or rural, sees the Unites States as a second home, though ninety-five percent of them will never visit that country in their lifetime. Nigeria Obasanjo Hijacks Liberia Elections No single politician has influenced ECOWAS sub region as Charles G. Taylor in the last 14 years. He has become an icon of evil for many people. Since 1989, on that fateful day when he launched his rebellion against the military dictatorship of Samuel Doe, no day goes by in Liberian life without a mention of Charles Taylor. Chinese doctors, agricultural experts to assist Liberia Chinese medical doctors and agricultural experts are expected to arrive in Liberia in September to assist the west African state augment its health and agricultural sectors, a diplomat from the Chinese embassy in Liberia said here Sunday. Madagascar's unique forest under threatHalliburton Secretly Doing Business with Key Member of Iran's Nuclear Team Hiring Crisis For U.S. Black Teens The War on Terror Explained in Plain English CNET: We've been blackballed by Google Chavez says US drug agents spying
Admin on 08.08.05 @ 03:04 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, August 7th
Circumcision Protects Men Against HIV Infection
South Africa Urged to Stop Abusing EvictionThe South African government faces a dilemma. It has to evict people living in unacceptable housing conditions because of health and security risks, yet it is unable to provide enough adequate alternative accommodation - due to the backlog in low cost housing projects. Circumcision Protects Men Against HIV InfectionMale circumcision greatly lowers the risk of female-to-male transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, says a French study. The study of more than 3,000 young men in South Africa found that circumcision reduced the risk of men contracting HIV during intercourse with infected women by about 65 percent, the Associated Press reported. Niger is just one island in Africa's sea of problemsDesmond Tutu wonders why we wait for heart-rending images of children dying before we act U.S. strategic interests rise in West Africa's oil-rich Gulf of GuineaSAO TOME, Sao Tome and Principe – Far from home, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter plows its white bow through the seas of West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, where an oil boom could outpace Persian Gulf exports to America in a decade. Africa sends UN Council plans back to drawing boardAfrica faces difficulties in securing UN seats"Unless our decision is to prevent any decision -and I hope not - if that happens, let us be under no illusion, Africa stands to lose more than any other region." This was the warning from president Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union (AU) chairperson, when opening the extra-ordinary Summit of Heads of State in Addis Ababa Ethiopia last week.
Admin on 08.07.05 @ 10:02 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, August 6th
African leaders discuss reform
China supports AU to safeguard interests on UNSC reformChina supports the African Union (AU) to safeguard solidarity and common interests on reforms of the UN Security Council, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Saturday. African leaders discuss reformAfrican leaders met in Ethiopia on Thursday to try and thrash out a common position on the contentious question of expanding the UN Security Council. Blacks Urged to do more to Help AfricaBlack people have talked far too much about the problems in Africa and the Diaspora without taking responsibility to be part of the solution, say veteran advocates for Africa at the National Urban League 65th annual conference. Mauritanian coup leaders won't run in electionsMauritania's military junta has told the country's main political parties that elections would follow a constitutional referendum to be held within a year and that none of its members would stand. Future looked promising - Mauritania's Taya "I was greatly surprised by the coup d'etat that took place in Nouakchott while the country was in mourning, and even more surprised when I learned who the authors were," said Taya, who had traveled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for the funeral of King Fahd. S. Africa president to attend Garang’s funeral in SudanSouth African President Thabo Mbeki will on Saturday attend the funeral of Sudan’s first vice-president, Dr. John Garang, in Juba, the capital city of Southern Sudan. Iraq's national psyche traumatised -- doctor U.S. sends guns to Haiti ahead of election No Justice for Haiti's Jean-Juste Never again? How the war in Iraq spurred a new nuclear arms race Police: Handcuffing girl not a violation Cuba Maintains Relations with more than 800 Foreign Cities
Admin on 08.06.05 @ 07:03 PM CST [ link]
Friday, August 5th
Western Media's Coverage of Africa Biased
Mauritania coupe leaders desolve parliamentThe "military council for justice and democracy" in Mauritania desolved the parliament and announced continued work according to the constitution of July 20 of 1991, which will be complimented by the military council charter. U.S. deployed 2000 troops to oil rich Mauritania in JuneFollowing the recent slaying of 17 government soldiers in a terrorist attack on a military base in northern Mauritania, the United States has sent a contingent of 2,000 soldiers, as well as helicopters, to the area, the United Arab Emirates daily 'Al-Kalheej' reported on Friday. The US troops will use military bases set up in the desert in Mauritania and Mali three years ago as part of the war on terror. Rastafarians want looser marijuana laws, reparationsDozens of Rastafarians from across the Caribbean and North America gathered in Guyana yesterday for a conference calling on governments to decriminalise marijuana, pay slavery reparations and repatriate followers of the faith to Africa. Western Media's Coverage of Africa BiasedWestern media coverage of Africa is still skewed and still projects Africa in terms of "disasters, its evil men" and as a "backward continent." Africa turns down compromise on UN expansion Addis Ababa - Africa has rejected overtures from United Nations Security Council aspirants Brazil, Germany, Japan and India to compromise on their proposal for reforming the world body that deals with matters of war and peace. Chinese young volunteers head for AfricaA group of young volunteers attracted the eyes of passengers at the Beijing Capital International Airport on August 4. The 12 young volunteers from places such as Beijing, Sichuan and Yunnan were going to Ethiopia in Africa to begin a six-month service work in methane exploitation, Chinese-language teaching, physical education, health care and information technology. African Coup Leaders Often Win Acceptance South Africa Encouraging as to Zimbabwe Loan The South African government has confirmed that it is willing in principle to financially assist Zimbabwe, including through the provision of a loan facility to help it address its overdue obligations to the International Monetary Fund. Blood and GravyIt's easy to forget sometimes -- amid all the lofty talk of geopolitics, of apocalyptic clashes between good and evil, of terror, liberty, security and God -- that the war on Iraq is "largely a matter of loot," as Kasper Gutman so aptly described the Crusades in that seminal treatise on human nature, "The Maltese Falcon." And nowhere is this more evident than in the festering, oozing imposthume of corruption centered around the Gutman-like figure of Vice President Dick Cheney. With Africa, U.S. suffering from AADD DNA evidence frees man after 19 years Journalism Professionals Demand Re-trial for the Cuban Five
Admin on 08.05.05 @ 01:02 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, August 4th
African women battle for equality
Namibia: Whites Urged to Share LandWhite Namibians should share some of their land and invest more in the local economy, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba told parliament earlier this month. Zambian president calls for stronger trade relations with NamibiaPresident Levy Mwanawasa said Friday Zambia and southern neighbor Namibia should further strengthen trade relationship, so as to benefit the people of the two country. Africa thrashing out UN position The African Union (AU) is holding an extraordinary summit to discuss plans that could give Africa two permanent seats on the UN Security Council. SA joins chorus of condemnation on Mauritania Pretoria - South Africa has condemned the coup d'etat in Mauritania on Wednesday, calling for the return of the rule of law and constitutionality in that country. African women battle for equalityA decade ago, African women had reason to expect change following a much-heralded global conference that set ambitious targets to transform the lives of women across the world. In Spite of the West, Sudan Hasn't FailedThe West continues to spout falsehoods about Africa to the world, and the world continues to swallow it raw. Major internal problems Undoubtedly, Sudan has major problems, both internal and territorial. On Front Line of Niger's War On Hunger, UN Boosts Emergency Medical ResponseMauritania: Army Says Has Seized Power to End Totalitarian DaysWith Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Taya out of the country, the armed forces on Wednesday said they had seized power to end his "totalitarian regime" and had set up a military council to rule in his place. U.N. repatriates Angolan refugeesThe U.N. refugee agency Tuesday announced repatriation of 250 Angolan refugees living outside refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. How referendums are used by elites to undermine democracyLast Thursday, Ugandans went to the polls to choose between a tree and a house. Voters were asked in a referendum whether the country should remain a one-party - "no-party" in government-speak -state, represented by a house, or adopt multiparty politics, represented by a tree. Decline in breastfeeding raises malnutrition concernsFossil Fuel Emissions Can Overwhelm Planet's Ability To Absorb CarbonOne in a new generation of computer climate models that include the effects of Earth's carbon cycle indicates there are limits to the planet's ability to absorb increased emissions of carbon dioxide. Men Overcompensate When Masculinity Is Threatened"I found that if you made men more insecure about their masculinity, they displayed more homophobic attitudes, tended to support the Iraq war more and would be more willing to purchase an SUV over another type of vehicle," said Robb Willer, a sociology doctoral candidate at Cornell. Willer is presenting his findings Aug. 15 at the American Sociological Association's 100th annual meeting in Philadelphia. Mozambique meets best cashew harvest in 25 yearsChieftaincy is indispensable in Ghana's socio-economic devt - Kufuor President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said the chieftaincy institution was indispensable in Ghana's socio-economic development. He said the institution was a vital link between the Government and the citizenry, adding that the nation was developing the necessary networking to consolidate the peaceful co-existence being enjoyed in the country. New era dawns in Burundi Burundi’s senate elections on Friday will set in stone a major shift in the central African nation’s ethnically divided political landscape, giving power to the long-disenfranchised Hutu majority. Free Ghana Entry Visa for Diaspora Africans - Veep AssuresVice president Alhaji Aliu Mahama, last Saturday stimulated the spirit of Africans in the Diaspora when he announced government's intention to grant them free visa to Ghana. Ghana Stops Importation of GM FoodsGhana has taken a strong stance against the importation and cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) foods in Ghana. Bush Insider Claim WTC Collapse Bogus Gets 'Huge Response'Attack on Iran: Pre-emptive Nuclear WarBush imposes right-wing thug as ambassador to UNSecretary Rice Appoints New Transition Coordinator for CubaSPECIAL REPORT: Hiroshima Film Cover-up Exposed Israel Admits Wall is Not Just About Security, Not Temporary
Tyehimba on 08.04.05 @ 08:33 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, August 3rd
Canadian Imperialism Helps Smash Haiti for Profit
Replacing illusions with institutionsWestern movies and television programmes transmit negative images of Afrikans on the continent to the Caribbean and vice versa. The continental Afrikan is portrayed as a jungle savage while those in America are inhabitants of ghettos plagued with drugs and guns. Those of us who live in the Caribbean are supposed to be just sitting on beaches waiting on white tourists to view our singing, drumming and dancing. AU Summit Points to Division On UN ReformTHE African Union (AU) is to hold an extraordinary summit of heads of state tomorrow to discuss reform of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Economy-DRC:Helpful Intervention Or Meddling?A controversy has arisen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over moves for an international committee that is helping oversee the country's transition to democracy to assist government in managing public funds. The Untouchables: India's Little SecretIn 2004, a Tsunami rocked the coast of India, leaving thousands dead, and countless more without homes. In its aftermath, India has been rebuilding, but one group faces extreme hardship in the face of this tragedy -- the Dalits. Police fail to engage with black communities over racial profiling fearsWhilst the government and the Metropolitan Police have held regular talks with Asian Muslim groups since 7/7, despite widespread concerns among the black community over racial profiling, African and Caribbean groups have been left out of the loop. South Africans consider other races most racistWhite South Africans consider black compatriots most racist, while black South Africans consider whites most racist, a new study shows. They however all agree that South Africa is their favourite country to live in and that racism should be rooted out. It is "the others" that have not learned that lesson yet, most South Africans hold. Canadian Imperialism Helps Smash Haiti for ProfitGarang successor urges calmTHE new leader of southern Sudan's ex-rebel group today urged calm after the weekend death of John Garang and vowed to pursue his predecessor's commitment to the landmark peace deal signed with Khartoum in January. Trinidad, Nigeria agree to start direct flights between countriesThe leaders of Nigeria and Trinidad signed an agreement of understanding yesterday to open direct flights between their oil-rich countries, calling it an important step to expanding cooperation and trade. Bush signs Central American pactUS President George W. Bush today signed a free-trade agreement with Central America, a top legislative priority narrowly won after a bitter fight in Congress over the direction of trade policy that shows little signs of abating. 'Settlers' or TerroristsWestern powers are too busy condemning retail terrorism, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s policy of daily acts of terrorism against the Palestinians. For these reasons Israel should be condemned and force to abandon its policy of genocide against the Palestinian people. Blackout Hits ZimbabweSA cabinet 'open' to helping ZimbabweCabinet has confirmed South Africa's openness, in principle, to assist Zimbabwe, including providing a loan facility in relation to Zimbabwe's obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mexico's Racist Postage StampThe Mexican government's issuance of commemorative "Memín Pinguín" postage stamps has led to renewed charges of racism by Black and Latino activist organizations. Words Without MeaningBlack Men Can't RunObserve International Guarantees for Asylum Seekers
Tyehimba on 08.03.05 @ 02:41 PM CST [ link]
Here’s The Real Deal
Here’s The Real DealInstitutionalized sexism or patriarchy exists when the public institutions within a society, the military, government, political offices, financial institutions, universities, science and technology, industry, law enforcement, and basically every societal instrument of power, is predominantly created, defined and presided over by men. According to bell hooks, author of numerous critically acclaimed books on the politics of race, gender, class and culture, "males as a group have and do benefit from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females." The United States remains, for the most part, a patriarchal society.
Tyehimba on 08.03.05 @ 02:40 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, August 2nd
America Means Well for Nigeria?
America Means Well for Nigeria?America has clearly setout to undermine Nigeria, to create instability and disintegration! Massive Fuel Price Hike Takes EffectBotswana's consumers and transport sector are braced for an oil price hike that took effect today. The price of fuel has increased 34 percent in the last year. Thousands Forced to Go On Leave As Fuel Crisis BitesAs many as 300 000 drivers and conductors in the public transport sector around the country have been sent on forced leave as effects of the crippling fuel situation worsen. Keep your distance, defiant Mugabe tells WestSA Gets Mugabe off the IMF HookSOUTH Africa has negotiated a five-week International Monetary Fund reprieve for Zimbabwe - which faces imminent expulsion over arrears totalling $290-million - and may settle part of the debt. Uneasy Calm in Khartoum As Garang Successor NamedMost streets in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, were calm on Tuesday morning, a day after dozens of people were killed in violent riots that followed the death of First Vice President John Garang in a helicopter crash near the Ugandan border. Illegal Mining Fills Air With Harmful Dust UN: Why Nigeria dropped bid for veto powerThe Minister of Foreign Affairs said “half a loaf is better than none” was what informed the decision of Nigeria and South Africa to drop the earlier demand for two permanent seats with the veto power and five non- permanent seats in the envisaged expansion of the United Nation’s (UN) Security Council. The G8 And the Rest of UsAfrica’s fundamental problem it must be remarked is not material poverty.The material poverty of Africans is the consequence of the psychological trauma of many African politicians that has created a mental lacuna in their minds owing to many years of colonization and enslavement to the developed world. Not “Conspiracy Theories” They Are, in Fact, “Discoveries”Information related to such important topics such as 9/11, election fraud, the new world order, secret societies, or globalization is too often ignored as part of a baseless conspiracy theory even before any of it is ever presented, discussed, or evaluated. Grassroots Reparations Organizations Blast Wachovia's Pledge of $10MMajor grassroots organizations, scholars and activists today dismissed the July 28th announcement by Wachovia highlighting its $10 million in new funding to national partnerships. Philadelphia Schools First to Require African-American History The Philadelphia School District, the U.S.'s seventh-largest, will become the nation's first to require the study of African-American history, over objections from critics, including Pennsylvania's most-powerful legislator. US Army battling decline in black recruits "Most of the kids say they don't want to fight for a country that's pickin' on other countries" Nigeria's president celebrates emancipation in TrinidadNigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, on a four-day visit to this two-island nation, yesterday joined the annual celebration of the abolition of slavery in the capital. Bush Won't Block Abuse of DetaineesPresident Bush, who bills himself as a "compassionate conservative," refuses to rule out cruel, abusive treatment of prisoners of war and detainees. World breast feeding day: Lagos tasks parentsThe Faulty Logic of "Terrorist" ProfilingWhy Bono and Geldof Got It Wrong: War and Global Poverty are LinkedPounds fall off, but so do the dollars IMF and EU are blamed for starvation in NigerU.S. warns Iran on nuclear threatCIA Analyst Roasts Bush Paper: Police Helped Hide Abuse Claims Yellowstone's deep secret Halliburton announces 284 percent increase in war profits
Tyehimba on 08.02.05 @ 12:08 PM CST [ link]
Monday, August 1st
Sudanese VP Killed in Aircraft Crash
Sudanese VP Killed in Aircraft CrashSudanese Vice President John Garang, a former rebel leader who is a key figure in the country's fledgling peace deal, died when the aircraft he was traveling in crashed into a southern Sudan mountain range in bad weather, Sudan's government said Monday. Sudan's Garang Confirmed DeadSudan President Omar al Bashir has confirmed that his First Vice President John Garang died when a Ugandan military helicopter he was travelling in crashed on Saturday night. Sudan turns violent after Garang's deathRioters burned cars and threw stones in Sudan's capital on Monday after a helicopter crash killed the country's vice president, who until recently was a southern rebel leader. Those who want to teach Africa democracy are wrong"Those who teach democracy from outside the continent in actual fact are those that colonised us. They are wrong and I think it is we who should teach them," Namibian President Pohamba said. Need for action plan to boost trade with Africa, says Ficci studyPharmaceuticals and health, IT, water management, food processing and education sectors are crucial to the growth of India’s trade with Africa, according to a study carried out by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). Ivory Coast disarmament talks failIvory Coast loyalists and rebel military commanders failed to agree on Sunday on a cantonment programme in the divided West African state, scheduled to begin on that day and a prelude to oft-delayed disarmament, participants said. 9/11 in Historical Perspective: Flawed AssumptionsThe American people have been seriously misled about the origins of the al Qaeda movement blamed for the 9/11 attacks, just as they have been seriously misled about the reasons for America’s invasion of Iraq. Racism 'an exercise of power' The other trouble is that, in the overall context of the debate, I maintain that it is wrong to accuse me or any black person of racism because, in my view, racism is in reality an exercise of power rather than a straightforward case of skin colour. Kenyans continue to defect to rich Gulf stateKenyan track athletes are still defecting to oil-rich Gulf nations in search of money, better training facilities and the opportunity to compete at an Olympic Games or World Championships. Ethiopian Delegation Leaves for France to Discuss Axum Obelisk Re-ErectionAn Ethiopian delegation led by Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Ambassador Teshome Toga has left for France to discuss studies and ways of re-erecting the Axum Obelisk. Femi Kuti - the Man Behind the MusicStudent killed because of the color of his skinThe distraught mother of a black teenager axed to death in a suspected racist attack in front of his white girlfriend said yesterday he had been killed simply because of the colour of his skin. Discarding Broken Chains: Discovering Unbroken Connections There are still deep emotional and psychological connections with Africa, even among those who want to deny it. COME BACK TO AFRICAPresident Obasanjo extends invitation to Trinis to clear up 'misconceptions' Israel Security Company Prime Subway Bomb Suspect?Brazilian's family claim police altered their storyCalls for Leading Muslim Cleric to resign and be prosecuted for saying "Al Qaeda does not exist"Blair welcomes 'alliance of civilisations' plan America seeks to accelerate end of Castro's regime with new post Defiant Iran to resume key nuclear tests Hugo Chavez says CAFTA is 'perverse' Japan to Put Tariffs on U.S. Steel Imports Countdown: The Coming U.K. Coup Sadly, the reality is that under Bush, the United States' mentally ill will suffer Dad says soldier's loose teeth, head wound suggest foul play
Tyehimba on 08.01.05 @ 10:41 AM CST [ link]
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