Thursday, September 30th
Haiti flood death toll rises to 2,400
More than a week after devastating floods hit northern Haiti, aid workers are still struggling to feed thousands of people and the death toll continues to rise as reports come in from outlying areas. The estimated toll from the floods triggered by tropical storm Jeanne rose to about 2,400 after a parish priest reported a "total disaster" in small towns in Poteau, a region outside Gonaives. In Gonaives, young men grabbed food from an aid convoy and others robbed women for bags of rice. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Haiti on 09.30.04 @ 01:46 PM CST [ link]
Liberalized trade benefiting few in Africa
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Many African countries have haphazardly liberalized their economies and failed to earn the expected benefits of more open trade, a U.N. report said today. In a statement, the Economic Report on Africa 2004 commission said Africa will need better managed governments, a better educated and healthier work force and better infrastructure for it to successfully be part of the world economy. Full Article : thestar.com
Africa on 09.30.04 @ 08:47 AM CST [ link]
Africa's debt burden can only be tackled by write-off: UN
GENEVA : Africa is handing over more money to its creditors than it is receiving from their loans, the UN's trade and development think-tank said in a report advocating a debt write-off for the continent. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Africa had received about 540 billion dollars (438 billion euros) in loans between 1970 and 2002, and paid back some 550 billion dollars (446 billion euros) including interest payments in the same period. Full Article : channelnewsasia.com
Africa on 09.30.04 @ 08:45 AM CST [ link]
Multiple Blasts in Baghdad Kill at least 33
Iraqi police say multiple explosions rocked a western Baghdad district Thursday, killing at least 33 people and wounding more than 50 others. The explosions occurred as a U.S. military convoy was passing by. Full Article : politinfo.com
Iraq on 09.30.04 @ 08:42 AM CST [ link]
World Bank provides $12.5m to fight locusts
DAKAR, 27 Sep 2004 (IRIN) - The World Bank has offered US$12.5 million of fast disbursing funds to help fight the locust invasion of West Africa and has accused both governments in the region and donors of being slow to realise the full scale of the crisis. Full Article : irinnews.org
Africa on 09.30.04 @ 08:39 AM CST [ link]
Bones of contention for traditional healers
For 14 years, the sangoma has been providing traditional treatment to countless people seeking help for various ailments, ranging from the common cold to more serious and life-threatening diseases such as cancer and HIV/Aids. For years he has done this "only with the guidance of his ancestors" - but not anymore. Manzi is one of about 200 000 traditional health practitioners, working in an industry with an annual turnover of R250-million, who are about to be formally recognised by the government and be regulated by legislation. Full Article : iol.co.za
Africa on 09.30.04 @ 08:37 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, September 29th
US and UN troops stand by while the poor suffer
by Andy Taylor, Haiti Support GroupOVER 1,000 people have died in Haiti as a result of floods and landslides in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne. Tens of thousands more are now at risk as epidemics threaten the country. But this so called natural disaster is anything but. The storms that lashed Haiti also hit the Dominican Republic, its neighbour in the Caribbean. Yet the deaths in the Dominican Republic were numbered in the dozens. Deforestation is the reason behind this disparity. The border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic can be seen from the air—it’s green on one side, brown on the other. Neo-liberal economic policies forced on Haiti by the World Bank and the IMF have resulted in around 97 per cent of its natural forest being hacked down. That is why the floods caused such havoc. Full Article : socialistworker.co.uk
Haiti on 09.29.04 @ 02:43 PM CST [ link]
Nigeria threat pushes oil over US$50
LONDON: Oil prices raced to new record highs above US $50 yesterday as rebel threats against Nigerian oil facilities threatened to inflict more strain on global supplies. US light crude touched a high of US$50.47 a barrel before easing to US$49.80, up 16 cents on the day. London’s Brent crude set a new peak at US$46.80 a barrel, and was trading at US$46.23, up 30 cents. Oil has grabbed the financial market spotlight this year, surging 55 percent as rising consumption and the fallout from years of under-investment in supply infrastructure, tempts heavy buying from big-money funds. Producers are pumping at just about full tilt to feed demand as China’s economic expansion powers the fastest growth in 24 years. Worries about supply security in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Russia have magnified the price surge. Full Article : newsday.co.tt
Africa on 09.29.04 @ 11:34 AM CST [ link]
Africa's 'Big 3' jostle for UN seat
Johannesburg - A race between Africa's three regional pillars - Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt - for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, is gathering pace, though the top body has yet to formally invite Africa to its table. Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 09.29.04 @ 08:46 AM CST [ link]
Straw under pressure for greeting President
BRITISH Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has come under pressure from the opposition and media in that country for greeting President Mugabe in New York last week. Mr Straw shook hands with President Mugabe soon after the President had fired a broadside at British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ally President George W. Bush of the United States while addressing the 59th Session of United Nations General Assembly last week. The two greeted each other at a reception hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki in New York. The British foreign minister offered a handshake to a seated President Mugabe. Mr Straw claimed he had not expected to see President Mugabe — whom advisors say he had never met before. The British minister said it had been too dark to recognise President Mugabe. Full Article : zimbabweherald.com
Africa on 09.29.04 @ 07:04 AM CST [ link]
Bush is History's Top Terrorist
As the fourth global-warmed hurricane in two months rips through Florida, we are reminded that George W. Bush is history's top terrorist. We know, of course, that Bush has slaughtered thousands of Iraqis, imprisoned hundreds without trial or charges, and presided over the torture and sexual abuse of many of them. He is the world's leading recruiter for hate-America terrorists the world over. Bush's preemptive militarism has paved the way for countless crusades for oil and fundamentalism in the decades to come. He overthrew the elected government of Haiti, resulting in hundreds of deaths. He tried to do the same in Venezuela. Other target nations are sure to follow. Full Article : commondreams.org
USA on 09.29.04 @ 02:39 AM CST [ link]
The pride of the San is fierce
Only the tourists in Lone Tree, south-eastern Botswana, laugh. The residents of this hamlet are featureless, a people to be perhaps explored and expended once curiosity has been satisfied. Women and children will dance, and even sing, giving visitors a brief glimpse into the fables that cement their fragile culture and tentatively bond them to the land. Men may be tempted to part with a treasured bow and quiver of arrows (alcohol in exchange most welcome) or delight you with tales of when they were hunters: long ago. Xai! Ha'gam, 86, is an arrow maker. 'The San have always been an enigma' "I know a good arrow when I see one. I am a hunter and a hunter needs a good arrow," he says, twirling on his knee a slender reed arrow with its delicate bone point patiently carved. Forced to abandon their traditional lifestyle and compete in a cash economy, Botswana's San are trading their culture and souls for cash. Ha'gam is bitter, angered at seeing his culture sold to foreign tourists. "Only when white people come here" he says, "do the women and children dance and laugh, not for joy or tradition, but for kgali (alcohol), which makes them sad." Full Article : iol.co.za
Tyehimba on 09.29.04 @ 12:34 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, September 28th
Address by President Mugabe to the U.N.
The Herald (Harare)
DOCUMENT
September 24, 2004 Address by President Mugabe on the occasion of the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, on Wednesday. MR PRESIDENT, I am delighted to congratulate you (Mr Jean Ping), a distinguished son of Africa, upon your election as President of the 59th Session of the General Assembly. Indeed, at a time when the community of nations has committed itself to paying due attention to issues that relate to development in Africa, through support for Nepad and other mechanisms, your Presidency gives us the hope and confidence that our concerns and aspirations and those of others will remain high on the agenda of this august body.
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 09:23 PM CST [ more..]
Mugabe slams 'political God Bush'
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has accused US leader George W Bush of behaving as though he is God, with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair his prophet. He was speaking during a stinging attack on the US-led invasion of Iraq at the UN General Assembly in New York. Full Article : bbc.co.uk
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 09:18 PM CST [ link]
Mbeki addresses UN, Mugabe draws applause
CAPE TOWN - The United Nations and its member countries have not yet seriously confronted the difficult issues relating to the uses and perhaps the abuses of power, President Thabo Mbeki said yesterday. In a speech prepared for delivery at the UN's 59th General Assembly in New York, he said contemporary human society was characterised by a gross and entrenched imbalance in the distribution of power. "That power is held and exercised by human beings. As human beings, the powerful share many things with the powerless. "Together, the powerful and the disempowered share the common human needs to eat, to drink water, to be protected from the elements, to dream, to love, to laugh, to play, to live. "But life itself tells us that all that and only that describes what human beings share. The rest, the relations among us as social beings, is defined by our varied access to power and its exercise," Mbeki said. Full Article : dispatch.co.za
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 09:13 PM CST [ link]
Locusts push Mauritania to the brink
West Africa is in the grip of its worst plague of locusts for generations, with massive swarms infesting thousands of kilometres of land from the Atlantic coast to Chad, eating everything in sight. Full Article : bbc.co.uk
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 11:12 AM CST [ link]
Africa sets its sights on the United Nations
African countries are lining up to take an equal seat next to the superpowers. They would represent the impoverished and underdeveloped of the world at a highly influential forum - the United Nations Security Council. Countries such as South Africa, Brazil and India will anxiously be awaiting the December 1 report from the Panel on Threats, Changes and Challenges commissioned by United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, which will chart a revolutionary new path for the world body. Full Article : iol.co.za
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 11:00 AM CST [ link]
DA backs SA's bid for UN seat
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance came out in support on Monday of the government's initiative to secure for South Africa a permanent seat on the United Nations security council. DA foreign affairs spokesperson Douglas Gibson said: "We believe that in order for the United Nations to strengthen its role in international affairs it needs to transform itself into a more-representative body." Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 10:58 AM CST [ link]
India for UN Security Council expansion
Making a strong case for India's candidature for permanent membership in the expanded UN Security Council, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh has said it is essential that the body be enlarged to make it more representative, effective and to give greater credibility to its decisions on peace and security. Full Article : hindustantimes.com
India on 09.28.04 @ 10:57 AM CST [ link]
Morocco still refuses to adopt UN's Western Sahara plan
The UN's new effort to end the deadlock in the Western Sahara conflict seem to be failing as Morocco refuses to accept the present peace plan. In a memorandum to the UN, the pressured diplomacy of Morocco lashes out against Algeria - Western Sahara's main ally - and its "campaign" against Morocco's "territorial integrity". The government in Rabat has recently experienced a major diplomatic setback as the government of South Africa recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), whose territory the Moroccan army occupies. Also the European Parliament and the government of Turkey are reported to favour recognition of SADR after decades of Moroccan efforts to hinder a referendum over independence in the former Spanish colony. Full Article : afrol.com
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 10:54 AM CST [ link]
President Hu hopes further development of Sino-S. African ties
Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Tuesday that both China and South Africa should earnestly push forward cooperation in various fields and upgrade the Sino-South African relations to a higher level. While meeting with visiting South African Vice President Jacob Zuma, Hu said that cooperation between China and South Africa, both influential developing countries, is significant to world peace and common prosperity. China and South Africa need to continue their good experience in developing bilateral relations and substantiate the bilateral strategic partnership, Hu said. Full Article : xinhuanet.com
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 10:53 AM CST [ link]
DNA Map to Help Combat Ivory Poaching
The latest weapon to protect dwindling elephant populations from poachers is a genetic map which can trace the origins of ivory, it emerged today. Using the DNA-based reference map will help conservationists speedily determine poaching levels and could avert a catastrophic fall in the animals' numbers. A team from the University of Washington in the United States hopes the method will help to identify poaching hotspots, as international pressure mounts for the trade to be legalised again. Currently, it is hard for experts to keep track of elephant populations in the dense forests of central and western Africa. Full Article : scotsman.com
Africa on 09.28.04 @ 10:51 AM CST [ link]
Monday, September 27th
The Tragedy of Haiti: Victims of Two Storms
A political storm slammed into northern Haiti long before Tropical Storm Jeanne came along. On March 20th, Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue flew into Gonaives where a huge and boisterous crowd of thousands welcomed him. During the festivities Latortue embraced gang elements and the former military that helped overthrow the democratic government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as "freedom fighters." Since then, Latortue and his government have done little to take control of Haiti's third largest city and has allowed gang leaders like Buteur Metayer and Wilfort Ferdinand to run it like a private fiefdom. This has had serious consequences for the people of Gonaives since Tropical Storm Jeanne arrived to claim her share of Haiti's misery. Full Article : commondreams.org
Caribbean on 09.27.04 @ 08:41 PM CST [ link]
Facing Reality: We are making history
WE ARE living in an age of paradox – an age that is full of threat and ominous portent, and yet at the same time pregnant with promise and possibility, for the black people of this world. Those of us who are determined to craft a brilliant future for our people, are keeping our eyes focused on the beckoning possibilities; are closing our ears to the many brainwashed, self-hating nay sayers; and are forging ahead with our people’s business. It therefore gives me great pleasure to be able to announce to the people of Barbados that a new chapter in the relationship between the African peoples of the Caribbean and the continent of Africa was opened on September 12, with the creation – In Bridgetown, Barbados – of an African Diaspora Civil Society Network Of The Caribbean. Full Article : nationnews.com
Caribbean on 09.27.04 @ 07:35 AM CST [ link]
Carter predicts unfair vote in Florida
Former US president and veteran elections monitor Jimmy Carter has said he foresees a repetition of some of the problems that plagued the 2000 US presidential elections. Basic requirements for a fair vote are missing in Florida, he said in Monday's Washington Post. Reforms passed in the wake of the debacle have not been implemented due to lack of funding and political disputes, Carter added. "The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely," he said. Full Article : aljazeera.net
USA on 09.27.04 @ 07:29 AM CST [ link]
Rowhani's visit to South Africa aims to promote ties
TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here Sunday said that the upcoming visit of the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani to South Africa is aimed mainly at promoting bilateral relations. Speaking on the sidelines of a Majlis open session and during his weekly briefing, he told IRNA that during Rowhani's visit to South Africa expansion of political and economic ties between the two states will be high on the agenda. Assessing Iran-South Africa relations as "favorable," he said that the trip of the SNSC secretary to Johannesburg should be defined within such framework. Full Article : tehrantimes.com
Africa on 09.27.04 @ 07:17 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, September 26th
Brown to bail out world's poorest
Britain is to pay off 10% of the money owed by the world's poorest countries to the World Bank and the African Development Bank in an attempt to free them from "the shackles of debt", Gordon Brown will announce tomorrow. The chancellor will tell a fringe meeting on the eve of Labour's annual conference in Brighton that the department of international development will earmark at least £100m a year to meet the interest payments and principal owed by more than 30 nations. Alarmed that previous initiatives on debt relief have failed to provide a lasting solution to the problem, Mr Brown will challenge other rich countries to follow Britain's lead when he attends the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington next week. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Britain should pay Reparations
UK on 09.26.04 @ 03:52 AM CST [ link]
US: Playas purchased for anti-terrorism training
Playas, N.M, ready to be transformed into a top spot for anti-terrorism trainingThe Phelps Dodge mining company pictured a suburban utopia with a Southwestern flavor when it built this town for its employees from scratch in the early 1970s. It incorporated a six-lane bowling alley, a rodeo ring, a helicopter pad, a shooting range and a swimming pool into the community of 259 ranch-style homes. But the company shut its nearby copper smelter because of sluggish prices in the late 1990s. And these days, more animals than people can be found wandering the streets. Full Article : thestate.com Flashback:Pending Finalization of Playas Purchase Boosts Homeland SecuritySOCORRO, N.M., May 23, 2003 -- Barring any last-minute hitches in ongoing purchase negotiations, "88009" might soon become one of the most important ZIP codes for the nation's homeland security programs, especially if plans pan out to convert the town of Playas, N.M. into a "real-world" training facility for New Mexico Tech's first-responders and anti-terrorism programs. Full Article : infohost.nmt.edu
USA on 09.26.04 @ 03:35 AM CST [ link]
WMD : Hurricane Jeanne Pounds Florida East Coast
Hurricane Jeanne is pounding the central Atlantic coast of the southern U.S. state of Florida - the same area devastated three weeks ago by Hurricane Frances. The National Hurricane Center says the large and powerful storm made landfall early Sunday with winds of more than 190 kilometers per hour and torrential rains. It is expected to weaken throughout the day as it moves northwest across the central part of the state. Full Article : voanews.com
USA on 09.26.04 @ 03:03 AM CST [ link]
Humiliated and impotent, every Iraqi is a hostage now
The US authorities cannot let Dr Germ go - she knows too much They sit in their solitary cells all day, uncharged with any crime. No family member, no friend, no lawyer may visit. Their freedom depends on a callous game of Pentagon roulette. Word filters out that they are about to be released. Then word follows that - alas - it will take a bit more time. These are America's Iraqi hostages, whose captivity in a high-security camp at Baghdad airport has already lasted for over a year. The two women scientists whose fate has been spotlighted this week belong to a larger group of Iraqi prisoners who should not have been held so long. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
USA on 09.26.04 @ 01:09 AM CST [ link]
Saturday, September 25th
Rain Lashes Haitian Storm Survivors
Rain Lashes Haitian Storm Survivors As U.N. Tries to Prevent Aid Looting; Death Toll Hits 1,180A thunderstorm drenched homeless people living on rooftops and sidewalks early Saturday, adding to the woes of Tropical Storm Jeanne's survivors who have been looting aid trucks and mobbing food distribution centers in desperation over the slow pace of relief. Officials said they recovered at least 1,180 bodies of those killed in last weekend's floods and expected to find hundreds more in mud and collapsed houses. More than 1,200 people remained missing, most of them in Gonaives and presumed dead. An estimated 300,000 Haitians were homeless. Full Article : abcnews.go.com
Haiti on 09.25.04 @ 10:33 PM CST [ link]
CBS BENDS OVER....
When CBS rushed the infamous Killian memo story to air two weeks ago, they bumped a story about the forged Niger documents to make room for it. Via Corrente, I just learned that CBS has released a statement saying it has now spiked the story entirely because it would be "inappropriate to air the report so close to the presidential election": Full Article : washingtonmonthly.com
USA on 09.25.04 @ 07:55 PM CST [ link]
US: Haiti could be criminal state
Washington - Haiti will sink "from a failed state to a criminal state" if its interim government and the UN mission currently operating there fail to ensure a stable and secure environment for elections in 2005, the US Congress has warned. "The failure to establish a secure and stable environment and to conduct credible and inclusive elections will likely result in Haitis complete transition from a failed state to a criminal state," the US Senate said in a resolution unanimously approved late on Thursday. Full Article : news24.comHaiti is already a Criminal State courtesy
the United States of America, Canada and France.Read Rolling Haiti Back to Colonialism
Haiti on 09.25.04 @ 03:59 AM CST [ link]
Africans are not guilty; the whites are ...
They must pay reparation for their actBy Christian AgubretuAccra, Sept. 23, GNA - Eminent professors of history have rejected the argument or claim that the African was equally guilty and blameable for engaging in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade as his white counterpart in the capturing and offering of his fellow Blackman for sale into slavery during the more than 200 years that the heinous trade lasted. They said that the claim that the Blackman did not resist the slave trade or was neither opposed to it and was thus an accomplice is a soothing moralist theory the white slave masters were developing in collaboration with their African spin "doctors" when the question of reparation was raised. There is the overwhelming historical evidence that the African did not yield to the trade to warrant people now to say that the African himself acquiesced to the trade. Full Article : ghanaweb.com
Africa on 09.25.04 @ 12:54 AM CST [ link]
After 33 years Mandela's forgotten memories are recovered
For three decades the notebooks gathered dust in a cupboard, unknown to the world, forgotten even by their author, but cherished by the secret policeman who sensed history in their pages. As an apartheid agent Donald Card's job involved the decoding of confiscated writings of Robben Island prisoner 46664, to read between the lines about where the liberation movement was headed. Except by the time he received the two books in 1971 Mr Card had lost faith in South Africa's white regime and so without telling anyone he locked away the private thoughts of Nelson Mandela in a cupboard at his home in eastern Cape. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Africa on 09.25.04 @ 12:50 AM CST [ link]
Will He Stand Up? Kerry and Haiti
By Ben TerrallThe hundreds killed this week by tropical storm Jeanne provided Haiti another brief appearance in the U.S. media, but with little context or discussion of the murderous regime now in power. Nor did any reporter point out that when U.S.-backed Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said, "We don't know how many dead there are. 2004 has been a terrible year," he wasn't referring to death squads his coup administration unleashed. Haiti provides one of the clearest opportunities John Kerry has to distinguish himself from George W. Bush. Unlike the ill-advised pro-war corner he has painted himself into on Iraq, Kerry never supported the International Republican Institute-orchestrated February 29, 2004 coup that drove President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. In fact, Kerry provided one of the more perceptive comments about Haiti policy, saying the Bush Administration has "a theological and an ideological hatred for Aristide." Full Article : counterpunch.org
Haiti on 09.25.04 @ 12:47 AM CST [ link]
Friday, September 24th
S. Africa ready to serve as UN Security Council member
South Africa is ready to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to serve the people of Africa and the world, President Thabo Mbekisaid on Friday. Speaking at National Heritage Day celebrations in the country's central city of Kimberley, Mbeki said while he was at the 59 assembly of the UN this week, "many asked if South Africa would serve as a permanent member of the Security Council." "South Africa is ready to serve the people of Africa and the people of the world in the Security Council," the president was quoted as saying by the South African Press Association. Full Article : xinhuanet.comWestern powers have shown how ineffective the UN is, since the US and UK have demonstrated they can break international laws, and so far not be held legally accountable. Israel flouts international laws and UN warnings. One wonders what African nations feel they can do about that.
Africa on 09.24.04 @ 09:09 PM CST [ link]
Haiti storm toll climbing
Port-Au-Prince - Widespread flooding and mudslides have killed 1 105 people, officials said on Thursday, while 1 250 people remain missing after Haiti was lashed by Tropical Storm Jeanne. The death toll could surpass 2 000, according to one civil defence official. Gonaives, the city hardest-hit by the flooding, has lost at least 1 013 people. Authorities there have buried corpses in common graves. And close to 100 Haitians have died in other areas of this Caribbean nation. Full Article : news24.com
Haiti on 09.24.04 @ 08:11 AM CST [ link]
Africa wants two permanent seats on Security Council
Africa wants at least two permanent seats and two additional non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade told world leaders on Thursday. "The world, now more than ever, needs a strong United Nations with reinforced legitimacy," Wade told the 59th session of the UN General Assembly. African nations would decide which countries would be awarded the new seats, he added. "Nigeria, and indeed Africa, holds the view that the Security Council should be expanded in the permanent and non-permanent categories to make it more representative, effective and acceptable," he said. He expressed his strong belief that Nigeria "is a well qualified candidate" for a permanent seat on the Security Council. On Tuesday, Japan, Germany, India and Brazil issued a joint statement, pledging to support each other's bid for permanent seats on the Security Council. Full Article : xinhuanet.com
USA on 09.24.04 @ 08:01 AM CST [ link]
Let UN decide on Africa seat, says Mbeki
New York - Africa is set for a bruising tug-of-war, similar to its World Cup bid, as more-powerful nations stake their claim to a permanent United Nations Security Council seat. However, President Thabo Mbeki believes it is not a matter that needs to divide Africa. "If the continent cannot sort out the matter and say we have one candidate, let the membership of the UN resolve that," he told Independent Newspapers in an interview in New York. Full Article : iol.co.za
USA on 09.24.04 @ 07:57 AM CST [ link]
Nigerian President Says Focus on Darfur is Key
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is urging the international community to stay focused on the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. Mr. Obasanjo's comments came in his speech to the 59th U.N. General Assembly debate. The Nigerian leader will also brief a special Security Council meeting on Darfur. In his General Assembly address, President Obasanjo praised the United Nations for its commitment to resolving conflict and keeping peace in Africa. But he said more must be done to upgrade and enhance the eight U.N. peacekeeping operations on the continent. Full Article : chosun.com
USA on 09.24.04 @ 07:55 AM CST [ link]
US senate backs US$75 million for Africa troops in Sudan
The United States senate has backed a measure that would provide an emergency US$75 million ($114.2 million) to finance efforts by African Union troops to try and restore peace in Sudan. The senate adopted the amendment, which depends on US president George W Bush asking for the money, to its version of a spending bill funding US foreign aid programmes in 2005. The senate easily passed the US$19.5 billion bill. Full Article : nzherald.co.nz
USA on 09.24.04 @ 07:53 AM CST [ link]
Thursday, September 23rd
WMD: Ivan Returns As Tropical Storm Near Texas
Ivan Returns As Tropical Storm, Approaches Texas Coast; Hurricane Jeanne May Zero in on FloridaHIGH ISLAND, Texas Sept. 23, 2004 — Making an encore appearance in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm, Ivan swirled toward the Texas coast Thursday with a potential for up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend. Florida residents also had that oh-no-not-again feeling as 105-mph Hurricane Jeanne appeared to be zeroing in this weekend for what would be the state's fourth thrashing this season. Full Article : abcnews.go.com
USA on 09.23.04 @ 10:42 PM CST [ link]
Making 'Light-Skin Babies' in Sudan
In fact, if we would just listen, we can hear the militia condemned with the words from their own mouths. In a recent account, militia members told why they engage in the systematic rape of African women during raids on villages. They want to create "light skin babies". The attackers are ethnically Arab; the women raped are black African. They seek to destroy the African cultural and racial groups by "converting" the children of the raped African women into "Arabs." The fact that this is a bizarre ethnic fantasy does not lessen the suffering of the women who are subjected to it. Full Article : frc.org What's behind the horror in Sudan?LAST WEEK, the Bush administration was forced to admit that a genocide is taking place in western Sudan--carried out by a regime that the U.S. had hoped to bring into its camp. Stories of the horror committed against the African farming villages in Sudan’s Darfur region finally emerged in the U.S. media, but the U.S. government’s interest is anything but compassionate. The finding of genocide is calculated to pressure the United Nations (UN) Security Council to threaten sanctions and force a UN inquiry that could lead to charges of war crimes. Council member China may block these actions, but plans, backed by the U.S., to enlarge an armed African Union force in Sudan will go forward. DAVID WHITEHOUSE looks at the background to the crisis--and the cynical role played by the U.S. Full Article : socialistworker.org
Africa on 09.23.04 @ 11:46 AM CST [ link]
Haiti water shortage 'critical'
Aid agencies in Haiti's flooded north-west say there is a "critical lack" of food and water in an area already facing the threat of disease. Yolette Etienne of Oxfam told the BBC 300,000 people are affected. "They have lost everything - their houses, their families," she said. Supplies are starting to get through, although flood waters are still hampering the progress of trucks. Full Article : bbc.co.uk
Haiti on 09.23.04 @ 11:19 AM CST [ link]
Haiti Storm Death Toll Could Reach 2,000
Death Toll From Haiti Floods Tops 1,070 and Could Double, As Health Concerns Worry OfficialsWorkers dug new mass graves for corpses that still littered this flood-ravaged city Thursday as the death toll from Tropical Storm Jeanne rose to more than 1,070 and residents grew increasingly agitated from a lack of food and drinkable water. Health workers feared an epidemic from the unburied bodies, raw sewage in drinking water and infections from injuries. About 250,000 were left homeless in Haiti's northwest province, which includes the port of Gonaives, from the weekend storm. Full Article : abcnews.go.com
Haiti on 09.23.04 @ 11:14 AM CST [ link]
Pentagon plans to add outposts in W. Africa
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. military is quietly expanding its network of small outposts worldwide to help fight terrorism in Middle Eastern and African hot spots, even as it prepares to send home tens of thousands of troops from Cold War bases in Germany and South Korea. Among the places the military already has placed or hopes to establish such new "lily pads," or jumping off points: Bulgaria and Romania in Eastern Europe; Singapore; Azerbaijan in Central Asia, and the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe off the oil-rich coast of West Africa from which the military could monitor the movement of oil tankers and protect oil platforms. "Freedom of action," is a term the Pentagon uses to describe the flexibility it seeks, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is to brief senators on the plan today. When President Bush announced in August that 70,000 troops and 100,000 of their family members in Europe and Asia would move to bases in the United States, much of the public reaction was focused on the historic scale of withdrawal. Full Article : startribune.com
USA on 09.23.04 @ 11:10 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, September 22nd
Millions Blocked from Voting in U.S. Election
WASHINGTON - Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal experts. Full Article : commondreams.org
USA on 09.22.04 @ 11:57 PM CST [ link]
WMD: Deadly Hurricane Jeanne could loop back toward U.S.
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Deadly Hurricane Jeanne could head back toward the United States and threaten the storm-battered Southeast coast, including Florida, as early as this weekend, forecasters said Wednesday. Full Article : cnn.com
USA on 09.22.04 @ 11:39 PM CST [ link]
The Story That Didn't Run
Here's the piece that '60 Minutes' killed for its report on the Bush Guard documentsSept. 22 - In its rush to air its now discredited story about President George W. Bush’s National Guard service, CBS bumped another sensitive piece slated for the same "60 Minutes" broadcast: a half-hour segment about how the U.S. government was snookered by forged documents purporting to show Iraqi efforts to purchase uranium from Niger. Full Article : msnbc.msn.com
USA on 09.22.04 @ 10:12 PM CST [ link]
700 Dead, 1,000 Missing from Haiti Flooding
Disaster relief operations are underway in Haiti, where about 700 people were killed and at least 1,000 are missing in flooding spawned by Tropical Storm Jeanne. Unidentified, bloated bodies are stacked inside morgues, and the slowly receding floodwaters are revealing additional corpses buried in the mud. Officials believe many others were swept out to sea. Official estimates are that at least 160,000 Haitians have been left homeless. Relief crews are finding it difficult to travel roads submerged by water or packed with mud. The U.N.'s World Food Program has sent a convoy of 12 trucks with supplies to the hard-hit city of Gonaives, and officials hope to start handing out food and medicine Wednesday. Full Article : voanews.com
Haiti on 09.22.04 @ 07:19 PM CST [ link]
African states aim to hunt black rhino
Conservation groups have reacted with outrage to calls from South Africa and Namibia for the lifting of a ban on hunting the endangered black rhino. The two states will seek approval for annual quotas for black rhino hunts at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) in Thailand next month. It regulates the global trade in wild animal products. Full Article : independent.co.uk
Africa on 09.22.04 @ 05:13 PM CST [ link]
UN ties HIV, TB care to longevity in Africa
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Up to half a million HIV-positive Africans die each year because health chiefs have failed to coordinate the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, the UN said yesterday. Full Article : boston.com
Africa on 09.22.04 @ 05:11 PM CST [ link]
Twelve Venezuelans Killed by Irregular Forces
Twelve Venezuelans Killed by Irregular Forces Along Colombian BorderCaracas, Sep.21, 2004 - Six more bodies have been found in Venezuela near the border with Colombia bringing to a total of 12 dead this weekend as a result of killings by unknown armed groups. The recent finding of three bodies on Sunday whose hands were tied behind their backs in what is surmised to have been executions have not been linked to an attack last Friday that killed 5 Venezuelan soldiers and 1 oil engineer and left 2 soldiers injured. However, three more bodies found yesterday strewn on a public road are believed to be those who participated in the attack on Friday according to police sources. The government of Venezuela, through the Minister of Defense, vowed to take "exceptional measures" in response to the attack. While investigations continue to identify the attackers, the Brigadier General, William Warrick Blanco, Commander of the military garrison of the border city of San Cristóbal did not speculate on who was behind the killings. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com
Venezuela on 09.22.04 @ 09:36 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, September 21st
Many black journalists are 'selling out'
Few dare to say so, but in their race to the top, many black journalists are 'selling out' and promoting prejudice against their own people, argues Sandile Memela... How South Africa's black journalists are internalising racism Not long ago I was at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg, enjoying drinks with a few colleagues after finishing a four-day course on writing about race. I was standing at a table laden with peanuts, chips, soft-drinks and beer talking with a senior black journalist I have known for some years. This brother - let's call him 'Themba' - had risen in the ranks of a once whites-only newspaper and the future looked bright for him. I was in a provocative mood and was looking for his take on what determines success for black journalists in South Africa's still largely white-controlled media. Full Article : rjr.ru.ac.za
Africa on 09.21.04 @ 08:42 PM CST [ link]
What's behind the horror in Sudan?
LAST WEEK, the Bush administration was forced to admit that a genocide is taking place in western Sudan--carried out by a regime that the U.S. had hoped to bring into its camp. Stories of the horror committed against the African farming villages in Sudan's Darfur region finally emerged in the U.S. media, but the U.S. government's interest is anything but compassionate. The finding of genocide is calculated to pressure the United Nations (UN) Security Council to threaten sanctions and force a UN inquiry that could lead to charges of war crimes. Council member China may block these actions, but plans, backed by the U.S., to enlarge an armed African Union force in Sudan will go forward. Full Article : socialistworker.org
USA on 09.21.04 @ 07:16 PM CST [ link]
Why Americans Back the War
by James Carroll THE WAR IN IRAQ goes from worse to catastrophic. Hundreds of Iraqis were killed last week, as were two dozen US soldiers. Planned elections in January point less to democracy than civil war. Kidnapping has become a weapon of terror on the ground, matching the terror of US air attacks. An American "take-back" offensive threatens to escalate the violence immeasurably. The secretary general of the United Nations pronounced the American war illegal. In the United States, an uneasy electorate keeps its distance from all of this. Polls show that most Americans maintain faith in the Bush administration's handling of the war, while others greet reports of the disasters more with resignation than passionate opposition. To the mounting horror of the world, the United States of America is relentlessly bringing about the systematic destruction of a small, unthreatening nation for no good reason. Why has this not gripped the conscience of this country? The answer goes beyond Bush to the 60-year history of an accidental readiness to destroy the earth, a legacy with which we Americans have yet to reckon. The punitive terror bombing that marked the end of World War II hardly registered with us. Then we passively accepted our government's mad embrace of thermonuclear weapons. While we demonized our Soviet enemy, we hardly noticed that almost every major escalation of the arms race was initiated by our side -- a race that would still be running if Mikhail Gorbachev had not dropped out of it. Full Article : commondreams.org
USA on 09.21.04 @ 06:32 PM CST [ link]
Bravo, WHO, But Be More Proactive in Africa
When the deadly avian virus, H5N1, hit parts of Asia last year, the global response championed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) was unprecedented. Mobilising personnel and resources and co-ordinating tests in laboratories in places as far-flung as Canada and Singapore, the WHO was able to blunt the spread of the bird flu virus, probably averting an epidemic of global proportions. Some commentators even termed the reponse WHO's finest hour. Full Article : nationmedia.com
Africa on 09.21.04 @ 04:25 PM CST [ link]
Ugandan Scientists Develop Cheaper Aids Test Method
Ugandan scientists at the Mulago referral hospital have developed a cheaper and faster method of determining when an HIV/Aids patient can be put on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, the drug combination that inhibits the replication of HIV. During a research study carried out on 200 patients last year, the doctors found that patients with a total lymphocyte count (TLC) of 1,600 cells per cubic millimetre of blood needed to be put on ARVs. Full Article : nationmedia.com
Africa on 09.21.04 @ 04:22 PM CST [ link]
Call me Black. That's with a capital B.
Not African-AmericanBy John McwhorterIt's time we descendants of slaves brought to the United States let go of the term "African-American" and go back to calling ourselves Black -- with a capital B. Modern America is home now to millions of immigrants who were born in Africa. Their cultures and identities are split between Africa and the United States. They have last names like Onwughalu, Nwangwu and Senkofa. They speak languages like Wolof, Twi, Yoruba and Hausa, and speak English with an accent. They were raised on African cuisine, music, dance and dress styles, customs and family dynamics. Their children often speak or at least understand their parents' native language. Full Article : chron.com
USA on 09.21.04 @ 07:07 AM CST [ link]
Death toll in Haiti rises to 600
The death toll in Haiti has risen to about 600 after Tropical Storm Jeanne triggered floods as it swept across the island of Hispaniola over the weekend, officials said on Monday. Full Article : iafrica.com
Haiti on 09.21.04 @ 02:47 AM CST [ link]
Monday, September 20th
Floods Kill at Least 241 in Haiti
By AMY BRACKEN, Associated Press Writer GONAIVES, Haiti - Rescuers pulled bodies from floodwaters that raged through parts of Haiti's third-largest city, sweeping people from their homes and forcing survivors to spend the night in trees, atop cars and on rooftops following Tropical Storm Jeanne. The death toll nearly doubled to 241 Monday evening after dozens more bodies were recovered. Full Article : news.yahoo.com
Caribbean on 09.20.04 @ 08:22 PM CST [ link]
Dozens die in Haiti storms
Staff and agencies
Monday September 20, 2004 Tropical Storm Jeanne brought mudslides and flooding to Haiti, killing at least 90 people in the last few days as emergency services struggle to reach families stranded in the worst hit areas. Two days of rain sent torrents down mountains in the country's Artibonite and North-west provinces, causing rivers to burst their banks, civil defence officials said. The floods tore through the coastal town of Gonaives and outlying districts, covering crops and roads.
UK on 09.20.04 @ 07:56 PM CST [ more..]
A Hierarchy of Suffering
Since 9/11, America has Used its Victimhood to Demand a Monopoly on the Right to Feel and to Inflict Pain by Gary Younge, www.guardian.co.uk The tale of how I became a Nazi and my Nazi harasser became a Jew is as intriguing as it is instructive. Last November I wrote a column about a racist email sent to me by an employee of an insurance company and my frustrations over the manner in which my grievance was handled. The man in question (a white, South African supporter of the British National party who complained of "undesirables flooding into Britain") was subsequently fired. His dismissal was not as a result of my column but because my original complaint had alerted the company to a previously unreported pattern of racist behaviour on his part. Of the numerous responses from the public I received, most were supportive but many were more abusive than the original message. One stood out. Incensed that something as "trivial" as racist abuse could lead to a man losing his job, one reader compared me to the person who betrayed Anne Frank. And so, through contorted metaphor and contemptuous logic, the harasser became the victim and the harassed was transformed into the perpetrator.
UK on 09.20.04 @ 07:49 PM CST [ more..]
White population in decline
Cape Town - South Africa's white population is set to make up a smaller and smaller proportion of the population and by 2021 will only just remain the second largest racial category after black South Africans. This is according to research by Professor Carel van Aardt from the University of South Africa's bureau of market research . He notes that the total population is set to grow from about 45.4 million - as in 2001 - to 50.9 million in 2021. "The share of Africans (blacks) in the total population will increase from 77.7% in 2001 to 79.9% in 2021. "Over the same period, whites will decrease from 11.5% to 9.4% over the same period. The share of Asians/Indians (2.4%) - the fourth largest group - will remain fairly constant from 2001 to 2021." Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 09.20.04 @ 05:15 PM CST [ link]
DA questions crime stats
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance has questioned the value of South Africa's latest crime statistics, to be released by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula at a media breakfast in Pretoria on Monday. "These crime statistics are for the financial year that started 19 months ago. Of how much value are they now?" DA safety and security spokesperson Roy Jankielsohn said on Sunday. He said Nqakula's announcement - made this weekend - that the 2003/04 crime statistics were to be released "is long overdue". Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 09.20.04 @ 05:10 PM CST [ link]
This wolf is real, and nobody's listening
The crisis in Darfur WASHINGTON Once upon a time the U.S. secretary of state went to the UN Security Council and cried, "Wolf!" He said that the evil Saddam Hussein had been building weapons of mass destruction and posed an immediate threat to the United States and the world. Over 1,000 American deaths later, there are no WMDs to be found. There was also a president who made a State of the Union address in 2003 and cried, "Wolf!" He said that the evil Saddam Hussein was getting uranium from Africa to build weapons of mass destruction. He called on the American people to be prepared to fight a war against terrorism by invading Iraq. Full Article : iht.com
Africa on 09.20.04 @ 05:05 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, September 19th
Africa's descent into nightmare
AS the world debates how to respond to the humanitarian disaster in Sudan's Darfur region, a larger shadow is creeping across the dark continent. From the Ivory Coast in the west to Somalia in the east and Zimbabwe in the south, sub-Saharan Africa is in a crisis unprecedented even by the flimsy standards of its own troubled history. In a continent increasingly racked by war, economic stagnation, an AIDS pandemic, corruption and intractable ethnic and tribal divides, Africans are struggling to secure their future more than a generation after the end of colonialism. This bitter truth was been spelt out in unusually blunt fashion by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, himself a Ghanaian, following his recent visit to Darfur. He warned that the Sudan crisis, while shocking, was only one of a host of new problems in the region that were placing African nations at risk. Full Article : theaustralian.news.com.au
Africa on 09.19.04 @ 03:05 PM CST [ link]
Iraq leak has Blair back in firing line
Tony Blair was last night forced on to the defensive over Iraq after explosive leaked documents revealed that he was warned a year before the invasion that a war could send the country into meltdown. The Prime Minister was advised by officials that the country risked 'reverting to type' - with a succession of military coups installing a dictator who could then go on to acquire his own weapons of mass destruction - and that British troops would be trapped in Iraq 'for many years'. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
UK on 09.19.04 @ 03:01 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, September 18th
Mbeki takes up cause of Western Sahara
South African President Thabo Mbeki urged fellow Africans on Thursday to "do everything possible" to support independence for the Western Sahara after his government recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The move caused a diplomatic spat with Morocco, which annexed the territory after Spanish colonists withdrew in 1975 and which responded by recalling its ambassador from Pretoria. "It is a matter of great shame and regret to all of us that nevertheless the issue of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara remains unresolved," Mbeki said in his address at the opening of the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand, halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. "This presents all of us with the challenge to ensure that we do everything possible to ensure that these sister people also enjoy this fundamental and inalienable right, whose defence by the entirety of our continent brought us our own freedom," he said. Full Article : middle-east-online.com
Caribbean on 09.18.04 @ 03:54 PM CST [ link]
In Stricter Study, U.S. Scales Back Claim on Cuba Arms
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 - The Bush administration, using stringent standards adopted after the failure to find banned weapons in Iraq, has conducted a new assessment of Cuba's biological weapons capacity and concluded that it is no longer clear that Cuba has an active, offensive bio-weapons program, according to administration officials. The latest assessment contradicts a 1999 National Intelligence Estimate and past statements by top administration officials, some of whom have warned that Cuba may be sharing its weapons capacity with "rogue states" or with terrorists. It is the latest indication that in the wake of the Iraq intelligence failures, the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies are taking a closer look at earlier threat assessments and finding fault with some of the conclusions and the way the reports were prepared. Full Article : NY Times
Caribbean on 09.18.04 @ 03:48 PM CST [ link]
Friday, September 17th
The week Iraq's dream of peace fell apart
Where freedom was promised, chaos and carnage now reign. A suicide bomber in a car blows himself up in the heart of Baghdad killing 13 people. Air raids by US near the city of Fallujah kill scores more. And so ends one of the bleakest weeks in Iraq's grim recent history. Between them, suicide bombers targeting Iraqi police and US air strikes aimed at rebels have killed some 300 Iraqis since last Saturday - many of them were civilians. The escalating violence throws into doubt the elections planned for January and the ability of the US and interim Iraqi government to control the country. Full Article : independent.co.uk
USA on 09.17.04 @ 10:58 PM CST [ link]
Africa: The Continental Legislature Puts Down Roots
The African Union (AU) decided in July, during its annual summit, to make Kiswahili one of the official languages of the body - along with French, Arabic, Portuguese and English. The East African Legislative Assembly was amongst the regional organisations invited to participate in Thursday's ceremonies, as was the Southern African Development Community. Indian President Abdul Kalam and Japanese head of state Chikage Oogi were also on hand. In its first five years of existence, the 265-member PAP will mainly serve in an advisory and consultative capacity to the AU. However in 2009, the parliament will be given teeth: the power to make laws. Full Article : ipsnews.net
Africa on 09.17.04 @ 04:19 PM CST [ link]
$50m wireless network for Africa
Midrand - India will provide Africa with a $50m integrated satellite and fibre-optic wireless network for improved communication, the Pan African Parliament heard on Thursday at the opening of its second sitting. The network would connect 53 African Union member countries for tele-education, tele-medicine, e-commerce and e-governance and e-services, Indian President Abdul Kalam announced at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 09.17.04 @ 02:50 PM CST [ link]
I See Brain Dead People
by Mike WasdinI remember years ago, going to the movie theater and watching a movie entitled "The Sixth Sense." In the movie there was a young boy who was able to see dead people. At the time I remember thinking how eerie that would be, but did not give it much more thought. In the movie, the dead were able to make contact with the boy and it was very frightening for him. Try as he may, he could not escape the voices and visions of the dead. Lately I have found myself in the same predicament, but instead of the clinically dead, I see the brain dead. I can’t get away from these mindless zombies. Everywhere I go, they are there. The worst part is, they cannot be detected by sight, smell or touch. One way to identify them is to look for the sheepish gaze in their eyes, but the best way that I have found is to listen for the mindless tripe passing over their lips. Full Article : prisonplanet.com
USA on 09.17.04 @ 06:41 AM CST [ link]
Thursday, September 16th
17,000 GIs not listed as casualties
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports, according to military data reviewed by United Press International. The Pentagon said most don't fit the definition of casualties, but a veterans' advocate said they should all be counted. In addition to those evacuations, 32,684 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan now out of the military sought medical attention from the Department of Veterans Affairs by July 22, according to VA reports obtained by UPI. The number of those visits to VA doctors that were related to war is unknown. Full Article : upi.com
USA on 09.16.04 @ 10:16 PM CST [ link]
Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter. In an interview with the BBC World Service broadcast last night, he was asked outright if the war was illegal. He replied: "Yes, if you wish." He then added unequivocally: "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal." Mr Annan has until now kept a tactful silence and his intervention at this point undermines the argument pushed by Tony Blair that the war was legitimised by security council resolutions. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
USA on 09.16.04 @ 03:47 PM CST [ link]
A tall giraffe tells an enthralling tale
This co-production with Mali’s Sogolon company is a richly textured, highly entertaining, and sometimes touching, showcase of puppetry excellence. The puppets certainly take centre stage — eliciting gasps of surprise and spontaneous bursts of applause as they make their first appearances — but not at the expense of the production as a whole. Based on actual historical events, it tells the story of a giraffe sent to the King of France, Charles X, by the Pasha of Egypt in the late 1820s. The giving of ‘tall horses’ as diplomatic gifts was a long-held African tradition — but, without Fedex, fraught with administrative nightmares. It’s this 7000km trip, first by ship and then by land through France, that forms the core of the narrative, culminating in the animal’s frenzied reception by the Parisian crowds. No giraffe had been seen in Europe since the Renaissance and the enlightened French couldn’t get enough of the African creature, which is even said to have inspired the Eiffel Tower. Full Article : iafrica.com
Africa on 09.16.04 @ 02:38 PM CST [ link]
Mbeki: 'Africa's time has come!'
Africans look to the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to help them escape from poverty and underdevelopment, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. "The masses do not need anybody to inform them about their conditions and the history they have had to endure," he told the opening of the PAP's second sitting at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. "They want you, their elected representatives, to give them the possibility to control their institutions. They want you ... to help them to change their material conditions so that they escape from the jaws of poverty and their countries and continent from the clutches of underdevelopment." The eyes of Africa will be focused on the PAP as it carries out its work during this second sitting -- from Friday to October 7, Mbeki said. Full Article : mg.co.za
Africa on 09.16.04 @ 12:13 PM CST [ link]
Pan-African Parliament Opens in South Africa
Africa's new representative body, the Pan-African Parliament, has opened its first session in its new home in South Africa. South African President Thabo Mbeki was joined by drummers and dancers to welcome the 265-seat assembly to Midrand, a business district outside Johannesburg. Mr. Mbeki called the creation of the parliament a proud moment for Africa and urged members to force a collective African identity. Full Article : voanews.com
Africa on 09.16.04 @ 12:07 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, September 15th
African jail is the right place for heir behind a failed coup
Simon Mann, heir to the Watney's beer fortune, graduate of Eton and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, former cofounder of Executive Outcomes, a leading mercenary outfit in Africa in the '90s, currently resident at Chikurubi maximum security prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, believes that "a large splodge of wonga" (a large amount of money) would spare him most of the seven-year term to which he was sentenced last Friday. A number of his co-conspirators apparently believe the same. They just don't get it. The conspiracy was classic African stuff: a planeload of mercenaries flying across Africa, picking up a consignment of weapons as they went, to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, a tiny dictatorship that is Africa's third-largest oil exporter. Full Article : startribune.com
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 01:51 PM CST [ link]
America helps Dubois Centre to the net
Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - The US on Monday signed a grant agreement for 220 million cedis to connect the Dubois Memorial Centre in Accra to the cyber network to promote greater learning about the renowned Black American activist. The US Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Mary Carlin Yates said the grant raked from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, would be used to restore and digitally archive the personal library and papers of Dr. W.E B Dubois. It will also include 3,000 books Dr. Dubois collected on African American history, politics and culture, and 21 others written by the scholar himself. Mrs Yates said the support was to demonstrate the US government's support in promoting more research into links between Africans and African-Americans in the Diaspora and to encourage more people to learn about Dr. Dubois's work. Full Article : ghanaweb.com
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 01:47 PM CST [ link]
AN AFRICAN EYE
Cranbrook exhibit shows African culture infusing art created around the world By Frank ProvenzanoIn his meticulous and scholarly manner, Cranbrook Art Museum Director Gregory Wittkopp points out the fine details of "Kode-X" by African artist Kendell Geers. Red-and-white tape is wrapped over jujus, Buddha statues, crucifixes and symbols of idol worship. The icons are placed on metal shelves -- the kind typically found in storage rooms -- aligned in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room with glass shards jutting from the back walls. For Wittkopp, works like these in Cranbrook's season-opening exhibit, "Looking Both Ways: Art of the Contemporary African Diaspora," offer a compelling entry into the aesthetics and realities of what he calls a long misunderstood continent. In a diaspora centuries ago, millions of Africans were forced from their homelands and sold into slavery. They lost familiar customs, but through art, culture and language managed to remain linked to their past. The current African diaspora referred to in "Looking Both Ways" reflects how social and political unrest, along with poverty and disease, have given many African artists few choices except to leave for the west. Full Article : freep.com
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 01:45 PM CST [ link]
Experts gather to tackle Africa's landmine problem
Experts gathered in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday to draw up plans to eliminate landmines from sub-Saharan Africa, the most heavily mined region in the world. The three-day conference attended by diplomats, landmine experts and other officials is expected to come up with a common stand on landmines that kill and cripple 15 000 people every year worldwide. Full Article : mg.co.za
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 11:35 AM CST [ link]
Thatcher lawyers challenge Africa coup questioning
South Africa's High Court will hear a challenge to a subpoena demanding Mark Thatcher answer questions from Equatorial Guinea about a suspected coup plot in the oil-rich country, his lawyer said. "We have launched an application challenging the subpoena which requires (Thatcher) to go to the Wynberg magistrate court next week," Alan Bruce-Brand, a member of Mr Thatcher's legal team, told Reuters. "We have suggested it (the subpoena) is invalid and infringes on his constitutional right to a free trial in South Africa," he said. Another of Mr Thatcher's lawyers said the application was due to be heard on September 21, the day before the planned questioning. Equatorial Guinea has asked South Africa to put questions to Mr Thatcher as part of a widening investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third largest oil producer. Full Article : abc.net.au
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 11:35 AM CST [ link]
Africa isn't the same anymore
SIMON Mann, heir to the Watney's beer fortune, graduate of Eton and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, former co-founder of Executive Outcomes, a leading mercenary outfit in Africa in the 90s, currently resident at Chikurubi maximum security prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, believes that "a large splodge of wonga" (a large amount of money) would spare him most of the seven-year term to which he was sentenced last Friday. A number of his co-conspirators apparently believe the same. They just don’t get it. The conspiracy was classic African stuff: a plane-load of mercenaries flying across Africa, picking up a consignment of weapons as they went, to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, a tiny dictatorship that is Africa’s third-largest oil exporter. The money was put up by a syndicate of British and South African investors, the mercenary muscle was provided by British and South African soldiers-of-fortune, and the pay-off would come in the form of cash and a cut in future oil revenues for the investors plus a contract for Simon Mann to provide security for the new regime. The only problem with the scheme was that the "classic" period in African history is long over. Full Article : newvision.co.ug
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 11:33 AM CST [ link]
New lawsuit claims USDA discriminated against black farmers
Sep 10 - African American farmers filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture Thursday, alleging the department practiced racial discrimination in handling applications for loans and credit and did not properly resolve previous discrimination complaints. Full Article : newstandardnews.net
Africa on 09.15.04 @ 04:38 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, September 14th
West Africa braces for currency changeover
DAKAR : The west African central bank will Wednesday embark on a controversial and complicated campaign in eight mostly rural countries to replace old CFA franc banknotes, in a bid to halt the counterfeiting of the bills that make up half the money in circulation. Come December 31, bills of all denominations from the 1992 series will no longer be considered legal tender in Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, Benin and Guinea Bissau, said a senior official of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Amadou Bachir. Citizens will be able to exchange their worn currency for new bills, free of charge, at central bank locations around the region, post offices and treasury posts that will be mounted expressly for the campaign. Full Article : channelnewsasia.com
Africa on 09.14.04 @ 07:43 PM CST [ link]
Zim's Land Reforms Must Inspire Africa
The Herald (Harare) ZIMBABWE'S agrarian reforms stand out as an unparalleled success story, which has become a source of inspiration for economic empowerment and development for the country. Delegates attending last week's African Union Extraordinary Summit on poverty alleviation and employment creation in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, heard first-hand how the country's agrarian reforms are effectively transforming the lives of the previously disadvantaged and poor black majority.
Africa on 09.14.04 @ 01:10 PM CST [ more..]
Africa needs unity to fight poverty
By Nelson Chenga FOR two days 18 African heads of state met in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to map out new strategies to rescue 40 percent of the continent's 821 million people from crippling poverty under the theme "Strategies for Employment Creation/Promotion and Enhancing Sustainable Livelihood". And like all conferences the leaders hatched a plan that included bolstering the backbone of Africa's rural economies — agriculture — as well as supporting the rapidly expanding informal sector to create as many employment opportunities as possible. But after all has been said and done fighting poverty on the world's poorest continent is a much more complicated job than mere conferences and paperwork. Bemoaning the state of Africa's most populous nation, Nigerian Minister of Labour and Productivity Alhaji Hassan Lawal aptly summed up the problem recently. "It has now become clear that the major goals of growing the entire Nigerian economy in general and its components in particular cannot be realised if we continue with the status quo strategies and policies," said Lawal. Full Article : herald.co.zw
Africa on 09.14.04 @ 01:05 PM CST [ link]
Assault Weapon Ban Lifted
SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 - A 10-year ban on assault weapons, like AK-47's and Uzi's has been lifted. Some fear the change this move will lead to more guns on the street. For the gun lovers like the people at the American Firing Range, they're happy to see the ban lifted, but say they really don't think it's going to change anything. In 1994, President Clinton outlawed 19 types of military style assualt weapons, now, 10 years later, that ban has expired. Full Article : team4news.com
USA on 09.14.04 @ 07:26 AM CST [ link]
Journalist killed on camera
A PALESTINIAN television journalist was killed today as he was giving a live report to camera on deadly clashes between US forces and insurgents in the heart of the Iraqi capital. Residents of his home town in the West Bank watched in horror as Mazen al-Tomaisi, who worked for Saudi television Akhbariya and for the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya, went down. Mr Tomaisi, 28, was killed when a US helicopter fired missiles on a mob which had gathered round a US tank in Baghdad that had been set ablaze in a car bomb attack, one of a string of bombings across the capital today. Blood spattered across the cameraman's lens and screams were heard by viewers of the Al-Arabiya report. Full Article : heraldsun.news.com.au
USA on 09.14.04 @ 05:06 AM CST [ more..]
Monday, September 13th
Racism and the U.S. Presidential Elections
Racism within U.S. institutions, law and culture is deeply imbedded in the history and reality of the United States going back to the 17th century, and we still have a long way to go. We can see that by what is being said and not being said during the current Democratic and Republican Presidential campaigns. Bush, of course, acts as if everything is just fine, and we all love each other in this wonderful land of hope and opportunity united against the evil terrorists. Kerry, on the other hand, does talk about affirmative action, black voter disenfranchisement, the idea of "two Americas" and possibly other racial justice issues, but from the reports I've heard, only before black audiences. Full Article : zmag.org
USA on 09.13.04 @ 01:57 PM CST [ link]
Black Muslims and the Sudan
It has taken a genocide in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands have been killed in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and countless more continue to die in disease-ridden refugee camps, to force influential segments of the black activist community to put aside their differences and acknowledge a long history of ongoing atrocities in the Sudan. Full Article : inthesetimes.com
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 01:48 PM CST [ link]
Terrorism : A definitional analysis
ONE of the problems in the control of local and international terrorism in the past decades is ambiguity on what constitutes terrorism. Clearly, an unambiguous definition of what constitutes terrorism is fundamental for the efficacy of the war against terrorism in the 21st Century. Clearly, without a standardised definition, academic and criminal investigations can be misleading and invariably confusing because they are referring to very different crime. This write-up examines some definitions of terrorism in order to eradicate the possibility of misunderstanding the phenomenon. Full Article : vanguardngr.com
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 01:40 PM CST [ link]
Kerry Stuck in Political Quagmire
WASHINGTON — John Kerry is lost in the fog of war and can`t find his way out. While the near-legendary Republican attack machine has received much credit for ensnaring the Democratic presidential challenger in his own Vietnam web, Kerry has braided his own noose in his dealings with today`s war in Iraq. U.S. casualties have topped 1,000. Baghdad was engulfed in one of the deadliest days of the war yesterday and there are growing suspicions that the U.S. military has ceded large swaths of territory to insurgents in Iraq, so they will not be in bloody battle during the electoral homestretch back home. Still, Kerry`s muddled message on Iraq has done the near-impossible — pushing up George W. Bush`s approval on his handling of the war with only 50 days left until election day. Full Article : commondreams.org
USA on 09.13.04 @ 01:20 PM CST [ link]
SA mining giant rows with Mbeki
South Africa's largest mining company, Anglo American, is seeking to defuse a row after remarks by its chief executive angered President Thabo Mbeki. Tony Trahar said last week that the political risk of investing in South Africa is diminishing, but not gone. President Mbeki reacted accusing the company of paying black workers badly during apartheid and of withholding investment in South Africa. Anglo American says it hopes to meet President Mbeki this week. Full Article : bbc.co.uk
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 12:06 PM CST [ link]
French telecom wins Libya deal
10 September - France's principal telecom services provider, Alcatel, has won a US$ 100 million contract to provide Libya with an updated mobile services network. Almost the entire vast Libyan territory is to be covered by the new infrastructure by 2005. The Libya contract also constitutes a major UMTS deployment in Africa. Full Article : afrol.com
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 12:02 PM CST [ link]
Zimbabwe's secret war in the DRC
Two years after Zimbabwean troops returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe's public remains largely unaware of the activities of the mission. The government has kept a tight lid on information about the controversial deployment, which was allegedly carried out to prevent Congolese President Laurent Kabila from being ousted by rebels. Kabila's son, Joseph, has since succeeded his father as head of state. Getting combatants to share their battle stories is also no easy feat. Full Article : mg.co.za
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 12:00 PM CST [ link]
Thatcher lawyers challenge Africa coup questioning
South Africa's High Court will hear a challenge to a subpoena demanding Mark Thatcher answer questions from Equatorial Guinea about a suspected coup plot in the oil-rich country, his lawyer said. "We have launched an application challenging the subpoena which requires (Thatcher) to go to the Wynberg magistrate court next week," Alan Bruce-Brand, a member of Mr Thatcher's legal team, told Reuters. "We have suggested it (the subpoena) is invalid and infringes on his constitutional right to a free trial in South Africa," he said. Another of Mr Thatcher's lawyers said the application was due to be heard on September 21, the day before the planned questioning. Full Article : abc.net.au
Africa on 09.13.04 @ 11:55 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, September 12th
Tooth Fairies And Suicide Bombers
May 9, 2002 -- People, let's use our noggins. The suicide bombers are not what they seem to be. For many months now, I have been reading stories about alleged "suicide bombers" in the Washington Post and the Washington Times. Within a short time after the attack, not only is the suicide bomber identified by name, but we have nice colored photos, almost portrait quality shots, of the dead culprits. For example, on April 27, 2002, the Washington Post ran an article in the Style section, "Female Suicide Bombers: the New Factor in Mideast's Deadly Equation." Shown at the top of the article are four color photos of the faces of four Palestinian (?) women, face to the camera, posed for the photographer. How thoughtful of the suicide bombers to have those photos taken. How thoughtful of the suicide bombers to leave the photos behind to be conveniently found by the Zionist-owned press. And what a public service the Zionist-owned press is doing the whole world by publishing these photos. Full Article : public-action.com
USA on 09.12.04 @ 06:34 PM CST [ link]
S. Africa Links Pakistani 'Khan Network' to Arrests
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's arrest of two men for the alleged smuggling of goods that could be used to make nuclear weapons is linked to the so-called Pakistani "Khan network," a foreign affairs official said. The arrests concern the import of a lathe for which the correct permits weren't sought, said Abdul Minty, chairman of the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, part of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, at a briefing in the capital, Pretoria. They relate to a network led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, Minty said. Full Article : bloomberg.com
Africa on 09.12.04 @ 06:14 PM CST [ link]
Africa's Greek spiritual leader killed
The Patriarch of Alexandria, Peter VII, one of the most senior figures in the Greek Orthodox Church, was killed on Saturday along with 16 others in a helicopter crash in the Aegean Sea, church and government officials said. The patriarch, the spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians in Africa, was heading to the Mount Athos monastery in northern Greece, one of the holiest sites in Orthodox Christianity, in an army helicopter when the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. Full Article : iafrica.com
Africa on 09.12.04 @ 06:03 PM CST [ link]
Changing the attitudes of Africa's youth
The young girl beams as she talks about her expectations of the annual Umkhosi Womhlanga (Royal Reed Dance). Nokuthula Shezi is not only excited about the festival because she is attending it for the first time, but also because it coincides with her 16th birthday. It is Friday and the Sunday Tribune team is on board one of the 70 buses ferrying young Zulu maidens from all over KwaZulu-Natal to King Goodwill Zwelithini's Enyokeni Palace in Nongoma. Nokuthula says, "I'm very excited - it's my first encounter. Umkhosi Womhlanga is very important because it not only unites young people, but is also a cultural celebration which emphasises the importance of abstaining from sex. "If we continue like this, I believe that in 10 years we'll have an Aids-free generation." Full Article : www.iol.co.za
Africa on 09.12.04 @ 05:59 PM CST [ link]
Newspaper apologises over al-Qaeda gaffe
THE troubled New York Times last night apologised for another embarrassing gaffe after it admitted its page-one story on Friday about a new video in which Osama bin Laden’s top deputy warned al-Qaeda was planning new strikes against the US had wrongly used the transcript from an old video. In an unusual two-paragraph "editor’s note" the newspaper, which suffered a major plagiarism scandal that led to the resignations of its top editors last year, noted that the story had quoted Ayman al-Zawahri as saying on the tape: "Bush, reinforce your security measures," and "The Islamic nation which sent you the New York and Washington brigades has taken the firm decision to send you successive brigades to sow death and aspire to paradise." Full Article : scotsman.com
USA on 09.12.04 @ 01:42 PM CST [ link]
UN warning over Haiti's militias
The UN Security Council has called on Haiti's interim government to tackle illegal militia groups, which it says threaten the country's security. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk
Haiti on 09.12.04 @ 01:20 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, September 11th
No food, no water in Grenada
By FRANCIS JOSEPH in GRENADA In my long career as a journalist I have never covered such a heart breaking assignment as the scene that greeted me Thursday in Grenada, which was hit by Hurricane Ivan on Tuesday. Here in St George's and across this devastated island, the people everywhere have a dazed look in their eyes as they see the total destruction of their homes and business places, and see phone and electricity lines dangling in their once orderly streets. They have no food, no water, no electricity, no communication with the outside world. Cable and Wireless is down, so is ATT and Digicel, and night time brings total darkness with its own horrors. There are only nine telephones working in the whole island, two of these are at the Grenada Grand hotel where guests and media are huddled together in one area as the hotel suffered severe structural damage. In all of St George's there was only one small parlour selling snacks. I have no idea what food the ordinary man on the street is eating, but to give you an idea of the enormity of the situation, shortly after our arrival on Thursday by Coast Guard boat from Trinidad, I paid US$20 for a hotdog and a glass of juice. Yes, you read that right US$20! Full Article : newsday.co.tt
Caribbean on 09.11.04 @ 03:00 PM CST [ link]
Jamaica Escapes Worst of Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan continues to pound Jamaica Saturday, but it appears the Caribbean island nation has escaped the worst of the Category Four storm. Forecasters say the eye of the hurricane "wobbled" or drifted west of the capital city of Kingston just as it approached landfall in the early morning hours. But the island still sustained heavy flooding, downed trees, property damage and power outages. Ivan is now heading toward the Cayman Islands with maximum sustained winds of 240 kilometers an hour, and could grow into a Category Five storm by the time it reaches landfall early Sunday morning. Full Article : voanews.com
Caribbean on 09.11.04 @ 02:12 PM CST [ link]
Jamaica's True Queen: Nanny of the Maroons
Queen Nanny of the Windward Maroons has largely been ignored by historians who have restricted their focus to male figures in Maroon history. However, amongst the Maroons themselves she is held in the highest esteem. Biographical information on Queen Nanny is somewhat vague, with her being mentioned only four times in written historical texts and usually in somewhat derogatory terms. However, she is held up as the most important figure in Maroon history. She was the spiritual, cultural and military leader of the Windward Maroons and her importance stems from the fact that she guided the Maroons through the most intense period of their resistance against the British, between 1725 and 1740. Full Article : jamaicans.com
Caribbean on 09.11.04 @ 04:05 AM CST [ link]
Friday, September 10th
Hurricane Ivan Begins Assault on Jamaica
Waves two storeys high crashed on Jamaica's eastern shore, flooding homes and washing away roads as Hurricane Ivan's ferocious winds and pounding rains began to lash the island and threatened a |
