Full Coverage: Africa

31.12.2005 The Chadian parliament has voted to scrap a fund set up to safeguard a portion of the country’s petrodollars for future generations, in a move the World Bank has called a "material breach" of a ground-breaking contract with donors.

30.12.2005 Due soldati sono stati arrestati per l’uccisione di otto persone e il ferimento di altre 15 avvenuta lunedì scorso durante la repressione di una manifestazione davanti a caserme dell’esercito vicino al campo profughi di Lalogi, dove alloggiano ugandesi in cerca di riparo dagli attacchi dei ribelli dell’Esercito di resistenza del signore (Lord’s resistance army, Lra). I militari hanno aperto il fuoco contro una folla armata di machete, bastoni e pietre, riunita in protesta contro l’uccisione di un ragazzino nel giorno di Natale - riporta l'agenzia Misna. Intanto il Regno Unito ha deciso di tagliare 26.4 milioni di dollari nell’assistenza diretta all’Uganda per le preoccupazioni circa la democrazia nel Paese per le prossime elezioni generali a febbraio 2006. L'Associazione per i Popoli Minacciati (APM) lancia un urgente appello a tutti i ministri degli esteri dell'Unione Europea affinché ottengano un'iniziativa di pace dell'Onu per l'Uganda.

30.12.2005 The world today is shaped by the advancements in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The relevance of ICT to the development of individual, organisations, nations and the entire world cannot be over emphasised. Nigeria has come to realise the fact that no modern economy can be sustained without integral ICT and has adopted the technology towards the growth of our economy.

30.12.2005 TechnoFuture, an innovative computerized educational tool, was launched last week by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) at a roundtable chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The project is with a view to bridging the digital divide that currently exists between Africa and the developed world.

30.12.2005 In her exclusive article for the Digital Opportunity Channel , Nidhi Tandon writes, “women’s business networks are an important step to strengthening of women’s negotiating positions and advocacy for common strategic goals”. She emphasises the importance of networked intelligence in changing global scenario especially for women entrepreneurs in today's globalised economy.

30.12.2005 Several Kenyan MPs asked President Kibaki to declare the famine in various parts of the country a national disaster.

30.12.2005 The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone separating Ethiopia and Eritrea remains “tense and potentially volatile,” according to a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission there, which has been forced to relocate some staff because of Eritrean demands.
* OneWorld UK Guide to Ethiopia and Eritrea

30.12.2005 Donors have put on hold $375 million in budget support to the Ethiopian government because of a crackdown on opposition supporters, according to development officials, who said the money would be diverted to other programmes in the country.

29.12.2005 International donors may freeze $375m in aid to Ethiopia following its recent crackdown on the main opposition party and the independent press, according to reports quoting "Western diplomats".

29.12.2005 Fighting across Sudan’s western Darfur provinces has swelled the number of internally displaced people by thousands, says the UN Mission in Sudan.

29.12.2005 Renewed fighting between opposition militias and government forces supported by UN peacekeeping troops has displaced at least 10,000 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

29.12.2005 After the failure of the end-of-year rains, the lives and livelihoods of thousands of nomadic cattle farmers are at stake in north-east Kenya.

29.12.2005 Pelastakaa Lapsilla on ollut kummiohjelmia Keniassa jo 15 vuotta. Kummien tuella annetaan mm. koulutusta tytöille, äideille, maanviljelijöille ja pienyrittäjille. Juomaveden saatavuutta parannetaan kaivoilla ja vedenkeruulaitteilla ja malarian torjumiseksi pihoilta raivataan lätäköitä.

29.12.2005 The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa in Collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development are organising the Second IDLELO Conference on Free and Open Source Software to be held at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel in Kenya from the 23rd to 25th February 2006. IDLELO is a Zulu word for a common grazing ground.

29.12.2005 In this article Kady Souley Boncano shares her experience of how radio made her a star in her country in a week's time. She describes the changes Niger has undergone in last few years and the way radio has affected women's life in Niger.

28.12.2005 Suomen Punainen Risti myöntää kiireellistä apua Itä-Afrikan kuiville alueille. Tilanne Pohjois-Keniassa Somalian ja Etiopian rajan tuntumassa on nopeasti muuttunut kriittiseksi kun 2,5 miljoonaa ihmistä on hädässä. Ruuan ja veden puute ajaa paimentolaiset teurastamaan karjaansa.

28.12.2005 The phenomenal growth of mobile phones in Kenya and many other developing countries thought to be too poor to afford the technology is a proof that people believe it is crucial to their well being.

28.12.2005 Ghana has entered a phase of accelerated economic expansion over the last three years with real GDP growth now averaging 5.2 percent as against a former average of 4.4 percent. Despite this acceleration in growth, the pressures from a more liberalized global economy are mounting; and in response to increased global competition, the Government of Ghana has identified information and communication technology (ICT) services along with agro-processing, tourism and other value-added sectors as key to further economic growth.

27.12.2005 The European Commission has approved a series of humanitarian aid decisions for Africa worth €165 million, with the bulk allocated to ongoing crises in Burundi (€17m), Chad (€13.5m), Comoros (€600,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (€38m), Ivory Coast (€5.2m), Liberia (€16.4m), Madagascar (€500,000), Sudan (€48m), Tanzania (€11.5m) and Uganda (€15m).
* OneWorld's Guide to aid

27.12.2005 Globally, relevant information has become an indispensable resource in the interaction among civil society, individuals, governments and businesses. It holds the key to growth, development and competitiveness, and to uplifting standards of living. Information can be used in a significant way to improve the quality of life in poor local communities, and in so doing narrow the glaring gap between the “two worlds” in Southern Africa.