Full Coverage: West Africa

29.06.2004 Konfliktit ja levottomuudet, tulvat, kuivuus, epidemiat ja räjähdysonnettomuudet työllistävät toistuvasti Nigerian Punaista Ristiä. "Laajan vapaehtoisverkoston ansiosta olemme konflikteissa ja onnettomuuksissa yleensä ensimmäisenä ja usein myös ainoana paikalla", kertoo piirisihteeri Asukwo Etuk.

28.06.2004 As three African leaders attempt to revive peace talks between the government and rebels in Côte d’Ivoire, the plight of as many as 600,000 displaced Ivorians must not be overlooked, the Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council has warned in a report released.

23.06.2004 Training-of-Trainers, a program designed to build a network of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in West Africa, will draw its first participants from different organizations across the region in August. The program was developed by Kabissa to provide support for civil society groups in West African communities.

23.06.2004 On the eve of what is expected to be rancorous annual meeting of angry shareholders, Royal Dutch/Shell is coming under strong attack by environmental activists who charge that the oil giant is not living up to its promises of environmental and social responsibility.

23.06.2004 Responding to the demands of past Time to Get Online workshop participants, Kabissa launches a new Training-of-Trainers program for West African civil society organizations in August. The Time to Get Online curriculum combines self-learning materials and hands-on workshops to help African civil society organizations to build capacity through internet-based information sharing and advocacy initiatives. The Training-of-Trainers model enables us to have an even greater impact on civil society organizations throughout the region by creating a network of ICT training partners empowered to deliver this curriculum in their own communities.

21.06.2004 Rejecting a plea for immunity by one of the accused persons, the UN Special Court in Sierra Leone ruled last week that the recruitment or use of child soldiers in hostilities is a war crime under international law.

18.06.2004 Internet service providers in the Tamle province of Ghana have urged the government to review its high licensing fee.

17.06.2004 Nel mondo 1 persona su 5 non ha accesso all'acqua potabile mentre in alcune zone del pianeta si consumano più di 3.000 litri di acqua al giorno contro i 10 litri consumati in alcuni dei Paesi più poveri. In Mali, uno dei Paesi più poveri del pianeta, il 90% della popolazione non dispone della quantità minima di acqua indispensabile per ogni individuo.

14.06.2004 Togo's main university has reopened after being closed for most of May following student demonstrations to demand better grants and living conditions, but the students at the University of Lome have now decided to boycott their end of year exams.

14.06.2004 Noel Kokou Tadegnon reflects on media situation in Togo, were dozens of newspapers, scores of radio stations and five television channels are running. Does this situation mean press freedom?

14.06.2004 Togo is hoping to restore normal diplomatic and economic relations with the European Union by promising to adopt a series of reforms aimed at improving democracy in the country and respect liberties ...

11.06.2004 In downtown Lome there is an area known locally as "The Child Market" where girls as young as nine are offered for sex, sometimes for less than a dollar. International child trafficking groups are angry that the government is not more active.

08.06.2004 Guinean pakolaisleireillä Liberian sisällissotaa paenneet naiset yrittävät toipua sodan aiheuttamista traumoista. Naisiin kohdistuvan väkivallan vastainen ohjelma auttaa naisia järjestämällä muun muassa ompelukurssin, joka tarjoaa myös toivoa leivästä kotiinpaluun koittaessa. YK arvioi, että liberialaispakolaisten paluu tulee ajankohtaiseksi vuonna 2005.

05.06.2004 Dopo l'invio dell'esercito per disarmare le milizie locali, ieri gli Itsekiri e gli Ijaw hanno sottoscritto un accordo di pace che metterebbe fine a sette anni di violenti scontri nella regione del Delta del Niger. Nei giorni scorsi sono state approvate misure restrittive per garantire la sicurezza nello Stato del Plateau, teatro il mese scorso degli scontri etnico-sociali tra comunità musulmane e cristiane. La Nigeria è il sesto produttore mondiale di petrolio, ma il 70% della popolazione deve vivere con meno di un dollaro al giorno.

04.06.2004 Three members of the Civil Defense Force, a civilian militia that fought with government forces during the civil war, were arraigned at the first trial of the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone this week. A second trial of the leaders of the rebel group begins July 5.

04.06.2004 Creating a 'Digital Solidarity Fund' is imperative for capacity building of the societies to make efforts to bridge the digital divide, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told participants at e-Nigeria 2004, held in Abuja recently. He stressed the need of prioritising WSIS plan of action in developmental efforts in the West Africa.

03.06.2004 As we observe the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, some see striking parallels with an earlier crisis - the Biafran War. Hugh McCullum follows the links: the media attention as deaths mount, the world's failure to do much or to learn much, and the presence of Canadians in key roles.

01.06.2004 The government of Nigeria, which last year granted safe haven to former Liberian President Charles Taylor, will face new pressure to hand him over to an international court which, in a breakthrough decision, ruled that the accused could not claim sovereign immunity.