Full Coverage: North Africa

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.

25.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24 (OneWorld) - U.S. political celebrities and activists demanded Tuesday that the White House ''take specific steps to stop the genocide in Darfur'' and warned that inaction could push the death toll in the war-wrecked Sudanese region past one million people by the end of this year.

24.05.2005 The health personnel of Doctors Without Borders, who have been working in Darfur since January 2004, bring us glimpses into the life and conditions of the people they encountered there. The first of this week's five-part series features the stories of women and girl victims of sexual violence. Check back each day for new insights about life in Darfur.

18.05.2005 Internews Network will be providing grants between $5,000 and $20,000 to NGOs and individuals in Middle East and North Africa that propose innovative projects related to monitoring information media, educating professionals and students, and supporting new media programs or publications designed to improve the situation of women and youth in the region.

15.05.2005 Sudanese ex-boy-soldier-turned-pop-singer Emmanuel Jal hits Britain. Daniel Nelson gets the lowdown and reports on Just Peace, a Sudan Coalition film to be released this June.

13.05.2005 The Open Media Fund for the Middle East and North Africa opens its second round of funding to support diverse media in the region.

13.05.2005 Dopo gli ultimi sbarchi di migranti il centro di prima accoglienza di Lampedusa rischia il collasso. Per la redazione di Meltingpot “questa emergenza è del tutto funzionale alla promozione di accordi segreti con la Libia sui rimpatri, all’ampliamento dei centri di detenzione in Sicilia ed in tutto il sud Italia. “Il prezzo che i migranti pagano per i rinnovati ottimi rapporti diplomatici tra Italia e Libia, tra Berlusconi e Gheddafi con scambi commerciali a patto che della gestione-repressione dei flussi migratori, se ne occupi la Libia" a precisato il senatore Francesco Martone. Forte della sentenza della Corte Europea dei Diritti dell’Uomo che ha decretato la sospensione dell’espulsione di undici migranti rinchiusi da marzo nel Centro di Permanenza Temporanea di Lampedusa bocciando di fatto l’accordo italo-libico.

12.05.2005 Global Giving connects individuals who want to help with projects on the ground that need funding. The new Darfur portal offers a range of opportunities to support projects keeping Darfurians safe and helping to rebuild their lives.

09.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 9 (OneWorld) - A leading rights watchdog has urged the African Union (AU) to hasten and enlarge its deployment of peacekeepers to Sudan's war-blighted Darfur region amid warnings the humanitarian situation there is worsening.

09.05.2005 One of Sudan's two deadly conflicts may be close to ending this week as officials said they expect to finalize a comprehensive peace agreement within a few days. The deal would cover national power-sharing arrangements and administration of territories while imposing a permanent ceasefire after 21 years of fighting.

09.05.2005 The downside of this year's incredible outpouring of generosity to the tsunami-affected countries and Sudan is beginning to emerge. Funding for other emergencies around the world is only 9% of what's needed, warns Refugees International.

06.05.2005 A survey of camps for displaced persons in Darfur concludes that aid agencies may be neglecting older people in provision of food and shelter.

05.05.2005

Displaced in Darfur © Peter Casaer

This Gates Foundation grant to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) will directly and indirectly benefit an estimated 40,000 people in Sudan to return home and rebuild their lives.

04.05.2005 Ethiopia's high court has overturned a controversial law that has effectively banned thousands of local observers from monitoring the country's 15 May national election.

04.05.2005 Sudanin jälleenrakennus on nyt käynnistymässä Oslossa huhtikuussa pidetyn maksulupauskonferenssin jälkeen. Poliittinen tilanne maassa on monisäikeinen ja äärimmäisen haastava. Sudan on Afrikan suurin maa ja meneillään on alueen pisin konflikti, jota vaikeuttavat sekä kulttuurinen kahtiajakautuminen, historia että kiistat luonnonvaroista.

03.05.2005 Marokko on jo pitkään koettanut turvata yhteiskuntarauhaa purkamalla suurimpia slummeja ja siirtämällä asukkaat uusiin kerrostaloihin. Turvallisuus on kärkikysymys etenkin Casablancassa, jossa kolmen vuoden takainen itsemurhaisku sai aikaan tuhoisaa jälkeä. Hallitus aikoo rankennuttaa pienituloisille 100 000 uutta asuntoa joka vuosi. Marokon 32 miljoonasta ihmisestä 1,5 miljoonaa elää hökkelikylissä.

03.05.2005 The North-South peace agreement for Sudan signed in January is historic by any standards, as it brings to an end 21 years of bloody conflict. But as war still rages in Darfur, why is this agreement significant? How will it affect Darfur and what can be done to make sure it holds? As UN peacekeepers are arriving in the country, Care answers all these questions and more.

02.05.2005 World Bank has initiated the online discussion on “Using E-discussions and Regional Networks for Dialog and Knowledge Exchange in the MENA Region,” to be run from May 2 to 29, 2005.

02.05.2005 Considered by many the most dangerous place in the world, it is hard to get a reliable picture of the war going on in Darfur right now. But with anywhere from 50,000 to 400,000 already dead and the devastation continuing, the world must understand the situation if it is to take any meaningful action to support the millions of civilians still caught up in the fighting. Abderrahim Sabir just returned from a seven-month mission to Darfur.