Full Coverage: Africa

31.05.2005 Kuivuudesta kärsivien burundilaisten auttamiseen tarvitaan nopeasti 19 miljoonaa euroa tai ruoka-apua joudutaan rajoittamaan, YK:n elintarvikeohjelma WFP varoittaa. Burundi valmistautuu parhaillaan ensimmäisiin konfliktin jälkeisiin vaaleihin. Ne pidetään kesäkuun ja syyskuun välisenä aikana. YK-järjestöjen apuvetoomus on Burundin osalta tähän mennessä tuottanut vain 16 prosenttia tarvittavasta rahoituksesta.

31.05.2005 Connecting Sub-Saharan Africa proposes a strategy for the development of ICT in Sub-Saharan Africa.

31.05.2005 Calling 2005 a landmark year for the continent as he marked Africa Day on May 25, Kofi Annan reflected optimistically on the continent's democratic reforms, poverty reduction, and control of the AIDS pandemic, noting especially the economic opportunities and challenges of war that lie ahead.

31.05.2005 In the latest example of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s disregard for international human rights law, former Zimbabwean lawmaker Roy Bennett--being held in the notorious Chikurubi Prison for pushing a Mugabe colleague in Parliament--has lost nearly 60 pounds in six months and is in dangerous health, writes Zimbabwean journalist Wilf Mbanga.

30.05.2005 The Bush administration's new interpretation of a pair of laws would withhold HIV/AIDS funds from U.S.-based as well as foreign organizations unless they sign a pledge to oppose prostitution. Over 200 groups and individuals have written to President Bush opposing the pledge requirement, saying it will cause groups to alienate the very populations they're trying to help.

30.05.2005 Medici senza frontiere (Msf) conferma la notizia dell'arresto in Sudan di Paul Foreman, il responsabile della propria delegazione, per la pubblicazione di MSF di un rapporto su centinaia di violenze sessuali in Darfur. Secondo il regime di Khartoum il rapporto sarebbe "falso": le autorità sudanesi avrebbero spiccato il mandato di cattura ed avviato un procedimento penale contro la sezione olandese di Msf. Il Rapporto, pubblicato in marzo, riporta testimonianze di medici su 500 casi di stupro compiuti in quattro mesi e mezzo nel Darfur. In un comunicato pubblicato sul proprio sito, MSF ribadisce il "proprio diritto a diffondere informazioni sulla situazione umanitaria nel Darfur e considera le accuse infondate e un'intimidazione alla comunità delle organizzazioni umanitarie in Sudan". Proprio in questi giorni è in corso la visita in Darfur del Segretario generale dell'Onu Kofi Annan e la missione della Commissione per i diritti umani del Senato italiano.

30.05.2005 Kehitysyhteistyöjärjestö Planin For the price of a bike -raportin mukaan arviolta 12 prosenttia togolaisista lapsista on joutunut lapsikaupan uhriksi. Lapsikauppa ja siihen liittyvä lasten salakuljetus ovat räikeimpiä rikkomuksia YK:n Lapsen oikeuksien sopimusta vastaan. Erityisesti Togon maaseudulla asuvia köyhien perheiden lapsia houkutellaan lähtemään kodeistaan lupaamalla koulutusta tai työtä.

30.05.2005 The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global initiative to select and promote the world’s best in e-Content and Creativity, held in the framework of and in cooperation with the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

27.05.2005 Zimbabwe has no funds to buy food for its starving population and President Mugabe refuses to accept food aid. Even if he relented, the World Food Programme has already fully allocated its resources for southern Africa.

27.05.2005 For young people living in poverty in coastal Kenya, surfing the internet and learning how to use computers make most sense when these skills mean better economic opportunities and work-readiness.

27.05.2005 "The private sector is playing a major role in the financing of ICT infrastructure and development of banking and financial services," said Prof. Wiseman Nkuhlu, Chief Executive of the NEPAD Secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria at an African Development Bank seminar recently.

27.05.2005 If copyright laws are the heavy-duty locks shackling Africa's art and information instead of letting them bask in the attention of a global audience well, Heather Ford has the key to freeing the continent's creativity.

27.05.2005 "Pakolaisten määrä Afrikassa on vähentynyt, mutta haasteita asettavat taloudellinen epävakaus, nälkä ja köyhyys", totesi David Lambo ulkoasiainministeriön ja UNHCR:n seminaarissa kuluneella viikolla. Seminaarin teemana olivat Afrikan pakolaistilanne ja sen haasteet. Afrikassa elää yli kolme miljoonaa pakolaista, mikä vastaa lähes kolmannesta maailman pakolaismäärästä.

27.05.2005 In a 17-minute podcast, Si Brindley, a Britisher, can learn the numbers 1-10 and the days of the week in Shona, the main language of Zimbabwe.

27.05.2005 UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (IPS) - Jan Egeland, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, says he is livid that the international donor community has brushed aside his appeal for 16.2 million dollars in emergency food assistance to Niger -- as they have other urgent U.N. appeals for Africa.

26.05.2005 "L’Africa, con i suoi 13 milioni di sfollati - circa la metà di quelli contati nell’intero pianeta - continua a vivere sulla propria pelle crisi gravissime come quella provocata dal maremoto del 26 dicembre 2004 in Asia: lo ha detto a Nairobi l’inviato speciale dell’Alto commissariato Onu per i rifugiati (Acnur/Unhcr) Dennis McNamara. Ma “L’Africa deve trovare da sola il cammino per lo sviluppo del continente, perché la soluzione non verrà dall’esterno” - ha replicato il Premio Nobel per la Pace Wangari Maathai, ecologista keniana e vice-ministro dell’Ambiente in visita in Germania ieri in occasione della Giornata mondiale dedicata all’Africa. A settembre i leader di tutto il pianeta si riuniranno alle Nazioni Unite per verificare i progressi della 'Dichiarazione del Millennio' e dovrebbe essere il momento delle decisioni, inclusa un'audace iniziativa per fornire risposte ai problemi dell'Africa.

26.05.2005 Perinteiseltä maaltaan häädetty Bushman-kansa on vetänyt Botswanan hallituksen oikeuteen. Bushmanit vaativat oikeutta maahansa sekä ilmaista vettä. "hallituksen kuluttaessa aikaa oikeuttaakseen "uudelleenasuttamisen politiikkaansa", maaltaan häädetyn kansan tila heikkenee päivä päivältä. Tilanteesta kärsii myös hallituksen oma uskottavuus", toteaa heimokansojen oikeuksia ajavan Survival-järjestön johtaja.

26.05.2005 In 2004, human rights violations occurred in every corner of the globe. Covering 149 countries, Amnesty International's annual report details the state of human rights and says opportunities for change by NGOs and the international community have emerged.

26.05.2005 With the G8 Summit kicking off in seven weeks to discuss, among other things, canceling billions of dollars in debt owed by impoverished nations to the International Monetary Fund, Africa Action asks you to take three simple actions to support 100% debt freedom that could make the difference between life and debt for African nations.

26.05.2005 A desire to promote equal access to information and communication technology (ICT) has led to a variety of projects bringing computers to the disadvantaged in Africa.