Africa

Africa - Wild Fruits of Africa Potent Weapon Against Malnutrition
Charlie Pye-Smith

If you'd come here 10 years ago, says Thaddeus Salah as he shows us around his tree nursery in northwest Cameroon, you would have seen real hunger and poverty. Salah's fortunes changed in 2000 when he and his neighbors learned how to identify the best wild fruit trees and propagate them in a nursery. Thaddeus Salah's approach could prove a potent weapon against malnutrition in Africa

Yemen's Problems Are Ours, Too
Clarence Page

Yemen has become a top priority for the Obama administration since Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day. Yemen is where he told authorities he received his training and the bomb that famously fizzled in his underwear.

Fight Against Terrorism Could Shift to Yemen
Joshua Kucera

In the wake of the airplane bombing attempt over Detroit on Christmas, President Obama vowed to take an aggressive stance against those who were behind the plot. 'The United States will do more than simply strengthen our defenses,' he said. 'We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us.'

Why International Aid Does Not Alleviate Poverty
Jagdish Bhagwati

The African silence has been broken by Dambisa Moyo, a young Zambian-born economist with impeccable credentials. Educated at Harvard and Oxford and employed by Goldman Sachs and the World Bank, Moyo has written an impassioned attack on aid that has won praise from leaders as diverse as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Debt Burden Cripples Poorer Nations
International lending, within its current framework, leaves developing nations in a hole that only gets bigger as they try to pay off their debt.

Boundless Hope in Sierra Leone
In a country where many families are too poor to buy books for their children, the organization Boundless Hope is helping kids get an education and putting essentials like pencils and toothbrushes in their hands.

Global Hunger
When food is treated as simply a commodity, a huge chunk of the population cannot afford it. People in the South die every day from hunger and related diseases, while an equal number in the North consume in excess.

The Real Evils
While the world

Guinea Making Steps toward Democracy
In a country that has seen a succession of brutal military leaders, the sudden prospect of fair elections forthcoming gives the people of Guinea new hope.

South Africans Remember Mandela's Release
Twenty years after his release form prison, Nelson Mandela remains an important and symbolic figure for South Africans. Many still remember his release.

2010 World Cup: a Discussion about Crime
Some critics say that the 2010 World Cup should not have been awarded to South Africa, because of its crime problems, even though the country has proved itself capable of hosting major events in the past.

AIDS Fight in Africa
Africa still suffers from AIDS far more than any other continent. South Africa and Nigeria need to play leading roles in curbing the epidemic.

NGOs in Ghana Help Women in Need
International organizations are offering assistance to women in parts of Africa who need birth control or don't have access to a medical abortion.

World Cup 2010: Its Greenness in Question
With the Copenhagen failure fresh in our memory and the 2010 World Cup around the corner, many are wondering how green the soccer tournament will be.

A New Paradigm for Engaging Somalia
As Somalia scrambles toward a new era of peace, forces inside and outside the country can do much more by moving away from the costly strategies of "hard power."

Picking up the Pieces of Civil War in Sierra Leone
In the squalid slums of battle-scarred Freetown, an Irish charity is taking young women off the streets and giving them back their lives.

HIV and AIDS in 2009
Much progress has been made in the fight against AIDS, but the global financial crisis is proving to be a major hurdle in getting assistance to those affected in developing parts of the world.

The Kool-Aid Syndrome and Somalia's Fading Hope
President Ahmed and his government must find a lasting solution to the cycle of violence, somehow avoiding the countless pitfalls of those who came before him.

Somali deal to tackle militants
A powerful Sufi Muslim group joins Somalia's government to help tackle hardliners from the al-Shabab group.

Explosions hit Nigeria oil talks
Two car bombs are detonated in Nigeria, during talks over an amnesty for militants in the oil-rich delta.

ANC figure guilty of hate speech
South African judge convicts ANC official Julius Malema of hate speech for insulting woman who accused Jacob Zuma of rape.

Zambia 'red card' priest defiant
A Zambian priest lashes out at the government after spending three nights in jail for handing out red cards.

Darfur rebel row jeopardises deal
A deadline for Darfur rebels and Sudan's government to finalise a peace deal is unlikely to be met, amid a rebel split.

French hostages 'freed in Darfur'
Two French hostages seized in the Central African Republic in November have been freed, the French foreign minister says.

Winnie denies maligning Mandela
Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, denies giving an interview accusing him of letting down black South Africans.

Mogadishu residents told to leave
Mogadishu's mayor tells residents to leave parts of the Somali capital, as fierce fighting against insurgents continues.

Ivory and tuna top wildlife talks
UN wildlife negotiations begin on banning the trade in bluefin tuna and permitting sales of ivory at a two-week summit in Doha.

Real crash enlivens Nigerian mock rescue
A Nigerian plane taking part in a simulation exercise for disaster relief operations crashes in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt.

Obilale seeks Caf compensation
Goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale is planning to seek compensation from Caf after suffering wounds in the fatal attack on Togo's team.

Bougherra to miss cup final
A hamstring tear means Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra will miss the Co-operative Insurance Cup Final against St Mirren.

DRC make winning CHAN start
Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) holders DR Congo begin the defence of their title with a 2-1 qualifying win over Gabon.

Street dreams
Homeless Wanda seeks World Cup glory in South Africa

Village of tears
No end in sight to Nigeria's brutal cycle of violence

Polling Darfur
Can an election be held in a land of refugees?

Fighting poverty
How Malawi hopes social enterprise will help

Mommie? Poppie?
Addressing your elders is a thorny issue in Ghana

Coast to City
Ivorian who survived a coup to lead major firm

Charles Taylor's wife gives birth
The wife of Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor - on trial in The Hague for war crimes - has a baby girl.

Protests over Egypt blogger case
A human rights organisation in Egypt accuses the interior ministry of manipulating the legal system to target a blogger.

Nigeria women protest at killings
Hundreds of Nigerian women protest over last week's violence near Jos, where women and children were massacred.

Gambia row over wave of arrests
An opposition leader criticises a wave of arrests in The Gambia, saying detainees do not know why they are being held.

UN agency acts on Somali claims
The UN's food agency blacklists three contractors named in a UN report alleging that food aid in Somalia is being diverted.

Morocco warns religious groups
Morocco warns against religious activists seeking to convert people - two days after expelling 20 Christians.

DR Congo mines 'hit by extortion'
Former rebels in DR Congo, now in the army, are running mafia-style extortion rackets in mines, campaigners say.

Zuma submits finance declaration
South African President Jacob Zuma submits his declaration of interests, after critics urged an inquiry into his finances.

In pictures: Togo unrest
Togo in trouble as election protests continue to rage

Central Africa's beguiling republic
Meeting kindness and con-men in Central Africa

Lost Jewish tribe 'in Zimbabwe'
The Zimbabweans who trace their roots back to Israel

Zuma charms the UK
South Africa's leader works his charm on the UK

SA starts World Cup countdown
With 100 days to the World Cup, South Africans talk about their hopes and fears for the tournament

Zimbabwe move on firms' ownership
A Zimbabwean law that forces companies to sell a majority stake in their businesses to indigenous people comes into effect.

How does Africa deal with rape?
Police in Sierra Leone blame communities for not reporting rape. Do you feel safe enough to report rape?

Should Africa ban second-hand goods?
Every year tonnes of electrical goods and used clothing from the West find their way to Africa. Is this killing the continent?

How can Jos conflict be resolved?
Tension remains high in the Nigerian city of Jos after hundreds of people were killed over the weekend in the latest violence in Plateau State.

Viewpoint: Passport lottery
Melting chocolate, exploding pants and travel immunity

Send us your pictures of Africa
Send in your shots of Africa from shadows to hats

HEALTH-UGANDA: EU Supports Law Threatening Access to Medicines
KAMPALA, Mar 15 (IPS) - The European Union (EU) is funding the drafting of Uganda’s controversial Counterfeit Goods Bill, a proposed law that has caused an outcry as it threatens access to life-saving generic medicines in this low income East African country. Some 90 percent of medicines used in Uganda’s health-care system are imported, of which about 93 percent are generics.

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Country Not Safe for Homosexuals
LILONGWE, Mar. 13 (IPS) - Malawi is quickly becoming unsafe for homosexuals as the country’s police service recently launched a campaign to hunt down and arrest prominent people who are suspected of being gay.

POLITICS-NIGERIA : In the Shadows of Men: Women’s Political Marginalisation
KANO, Mar 12 (IPS) - Ten years after Nigeria returned to civil rule women still play second fiddle in the male-dominated politics of Africa’s most populous nation, women politicians and activists say.

DEVELOPMENT-CAMEROON: Are Women the Magic Bullet for "Electoral Apathy"?
YAOUNDE, Mar. 12 (IPS) - A support network for women's political participation, is challenging head-on what it calls "electoral apathy", after noting a growing trend in electoral abstention.

KENYA: Proposed Constitutional Amendment Sets Back Women’s Rights
NAIROBI, Mar 11 (IPS) - Lillian Mutuku, a 34-year-old mother of three, describes her home in Katine area, in Kenya’s Eastern province Tala, as a harsh place to live. The soil is poor, she says, the sun beats down mercilessly and vegetation is sparse.

SOUTH AFRICA: Gender Loses Out in Basic Education Crisis
CAPE TOWN, Mar 11 (IPS) - With the 15th-year review of the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women taking place at the ongoing Commission on the Status of Women in New York, South African teachers and education experts say they fear that a special focus on the advancement of girls is getting lost amidst the growing levels of poverty in the country.

SOMALIA: U.S. Should Accept Islamist Authority, Report Says
WASHINGTON, Mar 11 (IPS) - The United States should accept an "Islamist authority" in Somalia as part of a "constructive disengagement" strategy for the war-torn country, according to a new report released here by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday.

RIGHTS: Africa's Success Stories in Gender Empowerment
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 (IPS/TerraViva) - Whenever gender empowerment is a vibrant topic of discussion internationally, some of the countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America are invariably singled out for their success stories in politics, education, health care or civil liberties even as Africa is mostly left out of political reckoning - and wrongly so.

KENYA: New Bill to Improve State Witness Protection, If Passed
NAIROBI, Mar 10 (IPS) - Kenyans affected by the violence that erupted after the country’s disputed presidential elections in 2007 may soon be able to speak out without fear. A new bill will offer better protection to state witnesses.

EDUCATION-TANZANIA: Pregnant Teens Forced Out of School
DAR-ES-SALAAM, Mar 10 (IPS) - Pregnancy is the leading cause of dropouts for school girls in Tanzania. And a national law forbidding young mothers to return to school after giving birth did not make it any easier for them to continue their education.

TANZANIA: Weather Changes Turn Farming into Gamble with Nature
DAR-ES-SALAAM, Mar 10 (IPS) - Changes in weather patterns have turned agriculture into a gamble with nature for Tanzanian farmers. Prolonged droughts and floods have made the lives of small-scale farmers, who don’t have access to irrigation, extremely difficult.

ENVIRONMENT-UGANDA: Landslides - Experts Warn Worst is Yet to Come
KAMPALA, Mar 9 (IPS) - Fourteen-year-old Isaac Wadyegere of Bundesi village in Bududa district woke up to a rainy and chilly Monday morning and went to school as usual. But Mar. 1 was not a usual day in eastern Uganda.

NAMIBIA: Female Hip-Hop Artists Challenge Stereotypes
WINDHOEK, Mar 9 (IPS) - African hip-hop prides itself on a more positive portrayal of women, but traditional cultural attitudes towards women still dominate the industry, say Namibian female rappers.

MALAWI: Patrilineal Inheritance Prevents Women’s Access to Land
LILONGWE, Mar 9 (IPS) - Mercy Gondwe, 51, from Rumphi in northern Malawi, was married for 34 years. When her husband died in 2008, she assumed she would inherit the land they had been cultivating together since they got married. But this was not the case.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: ‘We Will Demonstrate, As They Celebrate’
KAMPALA, Mar 8 (IPS) - ‘Equal rights; equal opportunities’ may be the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, but while women around the world celebrate, a group of Ugandan women are protesting against the suppression of their rights.

Nigeria: Bomb Explodes at Amnesty Conference
The morning session of the on-going Vanguard post amnesty conference holding at Delta State Government House Annex, Warri was Monday disrupted by a bomb explosion which went off in a car park close to the venue.

Tanzania: Diamonds Worth U.S. $3 Million Go Missing
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a consignment of 14,931 carats of diamonds worth nearly $3 million, belonging to Williamson Diamonds Ltd of Tanzania.

South Africa: Nation Slips in Gold Production Rankings
A 5,8% drop in production last year saw SA slip further down the global rankings to be the fourth-largest gold producer in the world, according to figures released on Friday by the Chamber of Mines.

Kenya: Farmers Lose in Shift in Milk Prices Following Glut
The milk crisis has deepened with the reduction of producer prices by Sh7 per litre -- a move that will hurt the earnings of thousands of farmers whose output got a lift from the December heavy rains.

Ghana: Interest Rate in Nation is Highest in Africa
In 2004 the Bank of Ghana (BoG) directed all commercial banks in the country, to abolish and in some instances reduce, what it described as unfair bank charges and fees being charged by the various commercial banks operating in the country.

Kenya: Cattle Dealers Suspend Warning Strike
The warning strike embarked upon last week by cattle and foodstuff traders in protest against what they described as "multiple tax" collected from them by various local council revenue personnel on the federal highways has been suspended.

Kenya: Dream City at Stake in Land Deal
Plans to build a technology city and create 40,000 jobs have run into allegations of corruption and unfair dealings. The technopolis is to be built on a 5,000-acre piece of land near Salama on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

Kenya: Petrol Prices Up Over Testing Levy Dispute
Oil companies have increased pump prices and are withholding fuel from the market to protest at a controversial decision to increase import inspection fees by 28,000 per cent. On Friday, the firms increased pump prices by between Sh3 and Sh4, effectively passing on the new levy to consumers.

South Africa: Govt Advocates Big Loan for Power Stations
If the World Bank chose not to approve the $3.75-billion loan to help build two new power stations, we can "essentially say goodbye to our country", said Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan in Pretoria today.

Kenya: Top IMF Mission in Quiet Dialogue With Govt
The status of privatisation of the National Bank of Kenya and the fate of the troubled CharterHouse Bank figure among the top agenda items for discussions with a high-powered mission of the International Monetary Fund that has been having a quiet dialogue with the government since Tuesday last week.

Africa: Continent Faces 'Internet Access Drought'
A global Internet security firm has asked African leaders to make the Internet more accessible and affordable in order to promote social and economic development.

Kenya: Revenue Authority Conducts Audit to Stem Tribalism
The Kenya Revenue Authority is counting its workers in an effort to comply with a government directive aimed at stemming tribalism and nepotism in the public sector.

Zimbabwe: Water Tariffs Probed After Complaints
THE Competition and Tariffs Commission has launched investigations into Harare Water following complaints by residents that city water bills were too high and that they continued to be billed when their taps were dry.

Nigeria: Post Amnesty Resolution Talks Kick Off Today
GOVERNORS of the nine Niger Delta states and other stakeholders, including South-South elder, Edwin Clark, MOSOP leader, Barrister Ledum Mitee and others are already in the oil city of Warri, Delta State, to proffer solutions to the multifarious problems facing the Niger Delta region.

Africa: New UN Group of Social Media Envoys to Post and Tweet for Malaria Control
The United Nations is today launching a new group of high-profile Internet users to inspire and involve social media audiences in the effort to combat malaria.

Ghana: School Dropouts to Access Free Online Vocational Courses
The Minister for Education, Hon. Alex Tettey- Enyo, has said that the National Democratic Congress government has instituted a long distance education programme, the Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET), in which all the courses may be taken online and free of charge to participating students.

Ghana: Online Vocational Course is Misplaced
The Public Agenda is saddened by the response of the Minister for Education, Hon. Alex Tettey- Enyo, on the floor of Parliament about government's policy on basic school drop outs.

Ghana: Parliamentary Oversight, Key to Getting It Right in Oil Sector
Participants in a meeting with representatives of ONE International, a campaign and advocacy organization founded by Bono of U2 fame, have observed that it will take a well resourced and a motivated parliament to ensure that Ghana does not go the way of countries for whom the discovery of oil and gas have been a curse rather than a blessing.

South Africa: Union Prods MPs for Decision on Labour Broking
THE Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on the chairwoman of Parliament's labour committee, Lumka Yengeni, to declare the outcome of public hearings on whether labour broking should be banned or regulated.

South Africa: PIC's Molefe Denies ANC 'Fallout' Led to Quitting
PUBLIC Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO Brian Molefe said yesterday he was leaving the company with his integrity intact.

South Africa: Minister Confident of UK Vote for Eskom Plant Loan
THE government was confident that the UK would next month vote in favour of Eskom's application for a 3,75bn World Bank loan, while the US had said it would abstain from voting, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said on Friday.

South Africa: Pro Sano 'Back On Own Feet in Weeks'
The Council for Medical Schemes expects to lift the curatorship on Pro Sano medical scheme within the next two months, opening the way for the once-troubled scheme to run its own affairs again.

Uganda: Uganda Clays Applies for Its Own Industrial Power
Uganda Clays Ltd is looking for dedicated power to improve production efficiency as part of an expansion programme which begun three years ago.

Kenya: Potatoes to Become Booming Business
After steering a business from a simple idea to a multimillion enterprise in five years, Junghae Wainaina is both a happy and a sad man.

Kenya: Kind Words From the IMF, No Less!
Kenya last week received a rare accolade from visiting International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on the steps the country had taken to bring its economy back on the growth path.

Uganda: Politicians Fight Over City Bank
A row has erupted over the ownership of the National Bank of Commerce involving high-profile NRM politicians. One group of shareholders accuses the other of hijacking the bank and using it for their own benefit.

Tanzania: Corridor Springs Hotel All Out to Motivate Workers
Worker of Corridor Springs Hotel in Arusha, off Old Moshi road, have all reasons to smile throughout the year.

East Africa: EADB - Twists, Turns and Suits
The East African Development Bank's search for justice and self preservation in the courtrooms of Tanzania has been as trivialised as it has been convoluted.

Tanzania: Dar Firm Gets U.S.$40 Million to Roll Out Mortgages
Tanzanians who have long dreamed of owning their own homes could soon benefit from an initiative to make mortgages widely available as a way of financing broad home ownership in the country.

South Africa: Gauteng Calls for More Buses, Trains
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Bheki Nkosi has appealed to other public transport providers to increase their services around places affected by the taxi strike in Johannesburg.

SA: ANC youth convicted of hate speech
A South African judge has convicted controversial ANC official Julius Malema of hate speech for his comments about the woman who accused President Jacob Zuma of rape. The Equality Court judge ordered Malema to make an unconditional apology and pay about US$6,700 to a centre for abused women, according to media reports out of South Africa. The ANC…

Somalia: 20 killed in clash over water, land
Clashes between two clans in central Somalia have killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens others in Mudug region of central Somalia, witnesses said on Monday. The two brotherhood clans have been battling over land and water in recent weeks in Mudug and the latest fight happened in a village some 110 km northeast of Dhusamareeb, regional capital…

Nigeria: Warri bomb blast confirmed
The bomb blast in the Warri city of the Delta State of Nigeria at a venue where an amnesty meeting was taking place has been officially confirmed. The Delta State commissioner for information, Oma Djebah, stated that the amnesty ceremony was been held for former rebel fighters. Djebah claimed that the explosion went off in a car parked away from the…

African inventors wanted at Maker Faire
Maker Faire Africa - an annual event that celebrates African inventors in different sectors - comes off in Nairobi, Kenya from the 6-7 August 2010. The unique platform has brought into the limelight makers especially the youth who do not have the required resources to reach out to the public to showcase their inventions. The organizers of the show…

Gambia seeks foreign investment
The Gambian government has embarked on a foreign investment attraction onslaught, eyeing the United Arab Emirates based Emirates Investment Group (EIG). Gambian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Mambury Njie, has held talks with the chairman of the group, Sheikh Tariq Bin Faisal Al Qassimi, with the aim of enticing the group to explore investment…

Uganda accuse Sudan of abhorring rebels
Uganda has alleged that the rebel leader of the Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony who is wanted for war crimes may be in war-torn Darfur of west Sudan. Uganda president Yoweri Museveni said: "Our military said that the small group in which Kony was had disappeared into Darfur. That is what they told me." Since 2008, LRA leader Kony…

Bissau: 14 arrested for embezzlement
Police in Guinea Bissau have arrested 14 officials from the country's Ministry of Finance on charges of forgery and embezzlement of funds. Deputy Director of the Judicial Police, Edmundo Mendes, said the arrests are part of the fight against corruption launched earlier by the country's Ministry of Public Service and Labour. The accused allegedly…

Cholera kills 41 in Mozambique
About 41 people out of 2,601 reported cholera cases have been killed in the northern and central parts of Mozambique, the spokesperson of the country's health ministry, Leonardo Chavane said. He said the situation remains worrying as some provinces hit by cholera are now also affected by flooding, which is likely to spread the disease further. Earlier…

Niger: Junta bans members from polls
Niger's junta has banned its own members and also government ministers from standing in planned elections, in a decree signed by its chief, Major Salou Djibo, according to State radio report over the weekend. It also applies "to the prime minister and members of the transitional government." "Ineligibility applies particularly to…

Madagascar: Tropical storm kills 14
At least 14 people were killed and nearly 38,000 left homeless when tropical storm Hubert smashed into Madagascar this week, authorities said on Saturday. "So far we have counted 14 dead, two missing and 37 891 homeless on the east coast," the press service of the national emergencies office BNGRC said. Hubert caused torrential rain all week…

WFP airlifts food to Congolese refugees
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Friday started to airlift urgent food assistance from Pointe Noire to Impfondo in Likouala province to reach tens of thousands of Congolese refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who have moved into northern Republic of Congo (RoC). “Getting regular food supplies to such a remote area…

Int. students learn about Birmingham
Students from West Africa interested in studying in England's first civic university - the University of Birmingham, had the opportunity to meet representatives of the University, at the Education UK Exhibition held in Ghana and Nigeria. The annual exhibitions, organised by the British Council, give prospective students an opportunity to learn…

Nigeria: Fire guts largest textile market
At least three people have lost their lives in fire outbreaks that engulfed the largest African textile market in Kano, northern Nigeria. Hundreds of traders and would-be buyers were also injured, according to our reporter. The fire started around 3am on Friday and goods worth thousands of dollars have been destroyed. Fire fighters from the Kano State…

Cameroonians salute Didier Drogba
How did Cameroonians feel when Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba edged out their country man Samuel Eto'o to become the Glo-CAF 2009 Footballer of the Year? AfricaNews' Walter Nana Wilson got some interesting answers on the streets of Buea: “Didier performed well at the just ended AFCON 2010 in Angola. Generally, the Ivorian striker…

CAF: No ban lift for Togo
Togo should forget about getting their two-tournament Nations Cup ban lifted until they withdraw a court case against the Confederation of African Football, stated Executive Committee member Dr Amos Adamu. He said they stand by their decision despite several appeals for them to reverse it. He told the media in Accra: “The decision that CAF took…

Nigerian women protest at Jos killings
Hundreds of Nigerian women protested on the streets of the capital, Abuja, and the central city of Jos in rallies against Sunday's massacre. About 109 people most of them being women and children were killed in the ethnic clashes near Jos. The protesters who were dressed in black marched demanded government to protect women and children. They…

Senegal seeks resolution of energy crisis
The government of Senegal has made a giant step with the signing of a multimillion dollar project that aims at resolving chronic energy problems for the people residing in a section of the capital, Dakar. Senegal’s Minister of International Cooperation, Karim Wade and the Chinese ambassador to the West African nation, Yuan Xing Gong, signed a…

Didier Drogba rules Africa
Ivorian and Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, has been declared the African Footballer of the Year 2009 in Accra, Ghana. This makes it the second time since he last won the coveted prize in 2006. He edged out Inter and Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o to deny the latter a record fourth win. The 32-year-old is leading Les Elephants to the 2010 summer…

Niger junta sacks eight regional governors
The Niger's ruling military junta has sacked the country's eight regional governors - all political supporters of the previous regime - and replaced them with soldiers. The move is to tighten the junta's grip on power in the uranium-producing nation after it toppled former president Mamadou Tandja in a spectacular raid. "By decree…

Human rights defender denied bail
Magistrate Hliary Ubeke of the Banjul Magistrate's Court on Thursday denied bail for Edwin Nebolisa Nwakaeme, director of programs of the Africa in Democracy and Good governance (ADG), who is charged with giving false information. Appearing in court on Thursday, Magistrate Ubeke denied the bail application filed by defense counsel, Assan Martin,…

New UN group of social media envoys to post and tweet for malaria control
The United Nations is today launching a new group of high-profile Internet users to inspire and involve social media audiences in the effort to combat malaria.

Lack of funding threatens humanitarian efforts in Zimbabwe, says UN
Aid agencies in Zimbabwe are appealing to donors to support the $378 million appeal launched last December to support humanitarian and early recovery efforts in the country, the United Nations humanitarian wing reported today.

Security Council extends UN force for two months, as talks with Chad continue
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic and Chad until 15 May, as discussions continue on the future of the operation.

Safety of uprooted Somalis key concern for UN refugee agency
The United Nations refugee agency today expressed its deep concern for the safety of more than 8,000 people trapped in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, by clashes which have uprooted more than 100,000 people since the start of the year.

UN agency begins airlifting food aid for refugees uprooted from DR Congo
The United Nations today started to airlift urgent food aid for tens of thousands of people who have fled ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and are seeking refuge in neighbouring Republic of Congo (ROC).

UN expert group urges Nigeria to address core issues behind repeated violence
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is calling on Nigerian authorities to tackle the underlying causes of repeated outbreaks of deadly ethnic and religious violence near the northern city of Jos.

UN aid agencies on alert for potential floods in Southern Africa
The United Nations is gathering supplies for some 130,000 people in southern Africa on alert for potential evacuation from flood-risk zones following weeks of torrential rains in northern Mozambique and neighbouring Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

UN reiterates support for resumption of electoral process in Côte d'Ivoire
The United Nations Representative in Côte d'Ivoire met today with the new President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in a bid to reenergize a stalled electoral process further delayed by last month's dissolution of the Government and deadly street protests.

Africa still hungry despite annual $3 billion of aid and $33 billion of food imports - UN
One in three Africans is chronically hungry, despite $3 billion spent on food aid for the continent annually and $33 billion in food imports, the director of the food security at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has warned.

UN agency welcomes independent probe into Somalia food aid operations
The World Food Programme (WFP) said today it would welcome an independent inquiry into its operations in Somalia, after a United Nations monitoring group alleged that contractors have diverted the agency's food aid away from the hungry.