---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 9:47 AM Subject: Pambazuka News 603: Links and Resources To: [email protected]
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 603: LINKS AND RESOURCES The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News is delivered free to you with the support of donations from Friends of Pambazuka. KEEP PAMBAZUKA FREE AND INDEPENDENT! BECOME A FRIEND OF PAMBAZUKA NOW! http://www.pambazuka.org/en/friends.php Follow Pambazuka @pambazuka Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. African Union Monitor, 2. Women & gender, 3. Human rights, 4. Refugees & forced migration, 5. Africa labour news, 6. Elections & governance, 7. Corruption, 8. Development, 9. Health & HIV/AIDS, 10. Education, 11. LGBTI, 12. Environment, 13. Land & land rights, 14. Media & freedom of expression, 15. Social welfare, 16. Conflict & emergencies, 17. Internet & technology /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 African Union Monitor AFRICA: AU READMITS MALI, BACKS PLAN TO RETAKE NORTH The African Union readmitted Mali after suspending it from the pan-African bloc following a coup in March, and backed plans for authorities there to recapture the north from Islamists. Mali's membership was revoked after army officers overthrew the elected government seven months ago. The subsequent chaos gave free rein to a rebellion by Islamic extremists and Tuareg separatists who took over large swathes of the country's north, before the Islamists forced out their former Tuareg allies. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/84988 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Women & gender AFRICA: THE IMPACT OF THE AFRICAN CHARTER AND WOMEN'S PROTOCOL IN SELECTED AFRICAN STATES All AU member states (with the exception of newcomer South Sudan) have become state party to the African Charter, and 26 of them have accepted the Women's Protocol. The question should be posed as to what extent the promises of the Charter and Women's Protocol have been realised. What has the impact of these instruments been on the practice of state parties? This publication, 'The impact of the African Charter and Women's Protocol in selected African states', aims to start addressing this question. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/85106 ****** AFRICA: WOMEN 'UNDER-REPRESENTED' IN SCIENCE Women comprise less than a third of the computer science, engineering and physics fields in some of the world's key emerging economies, according to a report. They also represent a small minority in leadership positions, such as heads of universities or science academy members, said the report, which was published this month (2 October) by Women in Global Science & Technology (WIGSAT), a consulting group based in Canada. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/84975 ****** EGYPT: 300 CASES OF EGYPT SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN FIRST HALF OF EID, SAYS WATCHDOG An Egyptian movement started to thwart sexual harassment during Eid Al-Adha has recorded 300 attempted attacks during the first two days of the holiday. A 2008 survey by the Egyptian Centre for Women Rights found that 83 per cent of local women and 98 per cent of foreign women had been subjected to harassment at least once. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/85067 ****** EGYPT: REVOLUTION MAKES IT WORSE FOR WOMEN During the uprising that toppled Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo's Tahrir Square, pressing the revolution's demands for freedom, justice and dignity. But those who hoped the revolution would make them equal partners in Egypt's future claim they may be worse off now than under Mubarak's authoritarian rule. 'After the revolution, most of Egyptian society - and especially the Islamists - began attacking women's rights,' says Azza Kamel, a prominent women's rights activist. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/85005 ****** KENYA: YOUNG KENYAN WOMAN CHALLENGES FAVORITES IN PRESIDENTIAL BID Kingwa Kamencu broke down in tears as she spoke about the state of the nation's roads during a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, last year. It was during that same conference last September that she announced her plans to run for president. The 28-year-old Kenyan woman had just returned to the country for holidays from Oxford University, where she recently obtained two master's degrees on a Rhodes Scholarship, one in creative writing and the other in African studies. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/85070 ****** SOMALIA: AL-SHABAAB ORDER WOMAN STONED TO DEATH FOR SEX OFFENCE A young woman was stoned to death in Somalia after being convicted of engaging in out-of-marriage sex, reports say. Residents of Jamama town, 425km south of Mogadishu in Lower Juba region, said that militants loyal to Al-Shabaab carried out the stoning at the town's main square in late afternoon. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/85011 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Human rights DRC: DOCTOR FLEES MURDERERS An award-winning doctor, renowned for his work for women who have suffered sexual violence, was 'evacuated' from a town in eastern DR Congo a close aide told AFP. Gynaecologist Denis Mukwege's whereabouts were not immediately known. Rights activists have called on the DR Congo government to protect the doctor. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/85074 ****** EQUATORIAL GUINEA: RIGHTS LAWYER NSUE 'MISSING' A top human rights lawyer in Equatorial Guinea has gone missing, fuelling concern that he has been illegally detained, a rights group has said. Fabian Nsue Nguema was last known to have visited a jail on Monday to see a client, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Equatorial Guinea's government has not yet commented on his alleged detention. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/84998 ****** GHANA: HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER REVIEW The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR) is currently reviewing Ghana's human rights record over the past four years mainly under late President John Evans Atta Mills' administration. Under its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the UNHCR began the process on Tuesday October 22 with submissions from civil society groups such as the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) and the Amnesty International, Ghana. Although the report highlighted a number of different human rights abuses in Ghana, it also acknowledges significant advancement made in the quest for abolition of the death penalty. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/84984 ****** GUINEA BISSAU: TROOPS BEAT UP POLITICIANS Two politicians allied to Guinea-Bissau's ousted regime were severely beaten by soldiers after their arrest in the wake of an alleged coup, government and family members said. Yancuba Djola Indjai and Sylvestre Alves were "left for dead" about 50km from the capital one day after being seized by soldiers, a family member told AFP. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/84978 ****** KENYA: END POLICE REPRISALS IN NORTHERN REGION The Kenyan government should ensure a speedy and transparent investigation of alleged police attacks on villagers in Kenya's North Eastern province, Human Rights Watch said. Numerous witnesses have told Human Rights Watch that the police beat and mistreated villagers following attacks by suspected al-Shabaab supporters on Kenyan security officers. Officials implicated in abusing villagers should be brought to justice, Human Rights Watch said. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/85000 ****** KENYA: ICC PROSECUTOR VISITS KENYA VIOLENCE VICTIMS The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has visited victims of the violence that followed Kenya's 2007 election. Fatou Bensouda says she was concerned about ICC witnesses being intimidated ahead of a criminal trial at The Hague in the Netherlands. In her first official visit to Kenya, Bensouda sat surrounded by some of the 350,000 people displaced by the deadly violence in 2007-2008, still living in a camp of tightly packed tents known as 'Pipeline Camp' in the Rift Valley, one of the hardest-hit areas. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/85004 ****** MALAWI: EX-RULING PARTY OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN MALAWI OVER STUDENT DEATH Police in Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, Wednesday arrested a number of former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials in pre-dawn raids of people fingered in an inquiry into the mysterious death of a 25-year-old Malawi university student. Robert Chasowa, a fourth-year engineering student at the Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, was found dead on campus on 24 September last year. Police immediately dubbed it suicide and produced two suicide notes and a post-mortem report to buttress their claims. But pathologist, Dr. Charles Dzamalala, who conducted the autopsy on Chasowa's remains, contradicted them and said the student was in fact bludgeoned to death. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/84992 ****** RWANDA: OPPOSITION LEADER JAILED FOR 'DENYING GENOCIDE' Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire was jailed for eight years Tuesday after a court found her guilty of terror charges and denying the genocide. 'She has been sentenced to eight years for all the crimes that she was found guilty of,' judge Alice Rulisa told the court, adding however that she was innocent of another charge of 'calling for another genocide.' Rulisa said the leader was found guilty of the 'crime of conspiracy in harming authorities through terrorism and war' as well as denial of Rwanda's 1994 genocide. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/85103 ****** ZAMBIA: LEGAL DEFENSE ALLIANCE DENOUNCES VIOLATIONS BY ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT President of Zambia Michael Sata and the ruling Patriotic Front party must halt their violations of civil rights and threats of violence against the political opposition or face international legal action, says the Coalition for the Defence of Democratic Rights (CDDR). According to a letter from the CDDR addressed to President Sata, Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba, Director of Public Prosecutions Mutembo Nchito, and Inspector-General of Police Stella Libongani, the ruling party has abused state institutions in a campaign of persecution against opposition parties and political figures, alleging that their rights to freedom of expression and free association have been violated. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/85068 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Refugees & forced migration AFRICA: ISRAEL TURNS BACK DOZENS OF AFRICAN MIGRANTS Israel has turned back dozens of African asylum-seekers, mostly Eritreans, trying enter the country from Egypt, Human Rights Watch and two other NGOs said. 'Since June, Israeli forces patrolling Israel's newly constructed ... border fence with Egypt's Sinai region have denied entry to dozens of Africans, mostly Eritreans,' HRW and Israeli NGOs the Hotline for Migrant Workers and Physicians for Human Rights said in a joint statement. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85071 ****** AFRICA: THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE OF INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT Internal displacement is not only a humanitarian, human rights or peace-building challenge, but also a development one. Development actors are relevant players to prevent internal displacement, to respond to it and to support durable solutions for IDPs who got displaced due to conflict, violence or natural disasters. Human rights-based approaches to development initiatives to support for example livelihoods, strenghten local governance, address housing and land issues or to alleviate food insecurity of IDPs will also ensure the displaced people's rights. This publication on the development challenge in addressing internal displacement in Africa by NRC/IDMC in collaboration with the Nordic Trust Fund, explains the relevance of human rights for development initiatives in displacement situations. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85086 ****** BURUNDI: BURUNDI STRUGGLES TO COPE WITH CONGOLESE INFLUX While tens of thousands of Congolese refugees have fled to Uganda and Rwanda since April, a smaller but significant number of frightened civilians have been fleeing from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and seeking shelter in Burundi. Some 6,000 Congolese - mainly from South Kivu province - have crossed the border since January and sought asylum in Burundi, with 4,334 of them arriving between April and September. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85076 ****** ETHIOPIA: UN TO OPEN A NEW CAMP IN ETHIOPIA TO HOST REFUGEES The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has announced it is to open another new camp in Ethiopia to deal with Somalis fleeing conflict and insecurity. A spokesperson for UNHCR in Geneva, Andrej Mahecic, said that with people still arriving at Dollo Ado, 'the Ethiopian Government has authorized the opening of a sixth site and land for this has been designated between the town of Kole and Kobe camp, some 54 kilometers north of Dollo Ado town.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/84971 ****** ETHIOPIA: YEMEN LOOKS TO END ETHIOPIA MIGRANTS INTO COUNTRY Yemen is looking to implement a new series of measures that would curtail the rising number of Ethiopian migrants that are entering the Arab Peninsula through its borders. Some 300 Ethiopian nationals who had been stranded in Yemen returned home late last month after they had been stuck in Yemen and Gulf countries for months, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. In total, nearly 1,000 Ethiopian migrants, stranded in Yemen, are being flown home by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the last flight scheduled for early October in an effort to help the Ethiopians leave what has become an abusive situation. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/84982 ****** MOROCCO: MIGRANTS FOUND DEAD OFF MOROCCO COAST Spain's maritime rescue service has found 14 bodies in the sea and rescued 17 people after a boat carrying migrants from Morocco began to sink in the Mediterranean. Search operations are continuing because one of the migrants said about 70 people had been on the boat, a rescue official told the Associated Press. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85010 ****** SOMALIA: IDPS IN LUUQ SEEK MORE ASSISTANCE Thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Luuq, in Somalia's southern Gedo Region, say their overcrowded settlements are desperately short of basic needs, from shelter to clean water. 'The majority of the population here in these camps are women, children and elderly people who fled from recent battles and droughts in Bay, Bakool and lower Juba. There has been no basic human needs provision for the last months, the condition of the camps is deteriorating as there is no shelter, food or adequate health attention, and it's the raining period,' said Ali Mohamed, leader of one of the makeshift camps in the area. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85099 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: ASYLUM SEEKER LODGES BRIBERY COMPLAINT A 25-year-old asylum seeker lodged a complaint of bribery with the police against a Cape Town Foreshore Home Affairs official last week. Tatenda Chiguni (not his real name) also claims that his asylum document, which was processed after he laid the charges, was altered from its original state. The altered asylum document includes a condition stating that he should leave South Africa by 11 November 2012 or lodge an appeal. It is unusual for asylum documents to include this condition upon renewal. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/84981 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: REFUGEES STRUGGLE TO GET MONEY FROM THEIR OWN BANK ACCOUNTS Although FNB is the bank of choice for refugees as it allows them to open an account, many refugee account holders are struggling to get their money out again. Three refugee rights organisations said refugees - particularly asylum seekers - who wished to withdraw more money than the limit imposed on their ATM card, were told they first needed to obtain a letter from the Department of Home Affairs verifying their asylum documents. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/84999 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: RWANDAN'S REFUGEE STATUS CHALLENGED South African authorities exceeded their public powers and acted unlawfully and irrationally by granting refugee status to former Rwandan general and suspected war criminal Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa. This decision should be set aside. This is according to the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in SA, supported by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. A decision in this case could have implications for others in the same position as Nyamwasa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/85105 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Africa labour news SOUTH AFRICA: POLICE DISPERSE STRIKING MINERS Police in South Africa say they have fired rubber bullets, teargas and stun grenades in clashes with hundreds of striking Anglo American platinum mine workers who barricaded roads outside Johannesburg. About 12,000 Amplats workers in northwestern Rustenburg who were dismissed early this month for going on an illegal strike were given an option to return to work on Tuesday morning if they want their jobs back. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/labour/85095 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Elections & governance BURUNDI: BYE-BYE ARUSHA? Since the 2010 boycotted elections, Burundi is steadily drifting away from what was initially regarded as a peacemaking model, and violence from both the ruling party and the opposition is threatening stability. 'Burundi: Bye-bye Arusha?', the latest report from the International Crisis Group, analyses how the control of the institutions by the ruling party and the boycott of the 2010 elections by the main opposition parties made the power-sharing system defined by the 2000 Arusha agreement irrelevant. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85075 ****** EGYPT: BROTHERHOOD TARGETS TRADE UNIONS 'Their attitude to workers, trade unions and economic and social rights is even more hostile than that of the National Democratic Party,' Egypt's now-dissolved former ruling party. That is the verdict of Kamal Abu Aita, head of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), on the performance in power of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The MB withdrew its earlier support for a new law on trade union freedoms,Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Abu Aita was particularly critical of the behaviour of the MB's labor minister, Khaled al-Azhari, charging that there was evidence he had been actively inciting employers and management against protesting workers in various institutions. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85069 ****** EGYPT: OPPOSITION LAUNCHES INITIATIVE FOR NEW 'NON-PARTISAN' CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY Egyptian Popular Current leader and former presidential contender Hamdeen Sabbahi joined representatives from Egypt's opposition groups and civil society organisations, to announce the launch of a national front defending a 'constitution for all Egyptians' in a press conference late Tuesday 23 October. The front's aim, they asserted, is to push for a constitution that better represents Egypt's diverse society and expresses the spirit of last year's 18-day uprising. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/84979 ****** GHANA: MEET AGNES CHIGABATIA, GHANAIAN FEMALE POLITICIAN There have been considerable efforts by women to have chance in Ghanaian politics. Ghana Decides, a non-partisan project which aims to foster a better-informed electorate for free, fair and safe 2012 elections using social media tools took a personality profile look on parliamentary candidate Agnes Chigabatia. Ghana Decides is an initiative under Blogging Ghana, a Ghanaian blogging community. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85077 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: PARLIAMENT DRAWS FIRE ON TRADITIONAL COURTS BILL Controversy is brewing as Parliament ignored an overwhelming number of submissions made by the public into the controversial Traditional Courts Bill. When MPs enquired as to why the other submissions were not considered, committee chairperson, Tjheta Mofokeng dropped the bombshell about irrelevance to the Bill. This is the abuse of power by department, said Independent Democrats MP John Gunda. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85001 ****** SWAZILAND: KING IN ALMOST 'ABSOLUTE CONTROL' The on-going political crisis in Swaziland shows 'the king continues to enjoy almost absolute control over the country,' Freedom House has said. The House of Assembly passed a vote of no-confidence in the government and according to the Swazi Constitution King Mswati III should have sacked the government, but he did not. Instead, pressure was put on members of the House and after 12 days of uncertainty they reversed the decision in a controversial vote. Freedom House in a statement said the actions of the king, who is sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, and the government he appointed, 'demonstrate a lack of consideration for the rule of law and the authority and independence of Swaziland's governing institutions, including the House of Assembly, as written in the Constitution'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/84983 ****** TOGO: SIMMERING DISCONTENT AHEAD OF POLLS A recent wave of protests by Togolese opposition groups and a heavy-handed clampdown by security forces have set the scene for a tense struggle for reforms in a country that has been ruled for 45 years by a father and his son. Since April, the opposition has been holding demonstrations to press for electoral reforms ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for an as yet undeclared date this month. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85003 ****** UGANDA: OPPOSITION CHIDES GOVERNMENT OVER DETENTIONS Over 50 members of Uganda's main opposition political party - the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) have been arrested in the past two weeks by security agencies and are detained at undisclosed places, party officials say. There were unconfirmed reports that the activists are facing charges of plotting to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni's government. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/84985 ****** ZIMBABWE: CONSTITUTION TALKS END IN IMPASSE Zimbabwe's three governing parties failed to find common ground on presidential powers and proposed security reforms in the new constitution at a crucial conference to review the charter that ended on Tuesday 23 October. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party wants an overhaul of the draft constitution produced by an inter-party parliamentary committee claiming Zimbabweans favoured an all powerful Head of State and government. After two days of deliberations, Zanu-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in the inclusive government failed to narrow their differences. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/84974 ****** ZIMBABWE: TURMOIL IN ZANU PF OVER 'COUP' PRONOUNCEMENTS Civil war has broken out in the former ruling ZANU PF over interviews given by senior party figures saying that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will not be allowed to take over power should he win next year's presidential elections. Recent statements by party heavyweights Patrick Chinamasa and Rugare Gumbo, that the army will stage a coup in the event of an MDC-T victory, have sharply exposed the deep splits within the party. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/85002 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Corruption NIGERIA: BILLIONS LOST IN CUT PRICE OIL DEALS, SAYS REPORT Nigeria lost out on tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenues over the last decade from cut price deals struck between multinational oil companies and government officials, a confidential report seen by Reuters says. A team headed by the former head of the anti-corruption agency Nuhu Ribadu produced the 146-page study on an oil ministry request. It covers the year 2002 to the present. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/corruption/84980 ****** UGANDA: PM SAYS WAS UNAWARE OF MISSING IRISH AID Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has insisted he had no knowledge of the alleged misuse of Irish aid by officials in his office, after Dublin suspended all government assistance to Kampala. Ireland shelved the programme on Thursday when an investigation found that four million euros ($5.2 million) had been misappropriated. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/corruption/85113 ****** UGANDA: UN CAUTIONS UGANDA ON GRAFT IN OIL SECTOR Corruption poses a serious threat to the country's oil resources, the United Nations Resident Representative in Uganda has warned. Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie's caution comes as the parliamentary committee investigating bribery claims in the oil sector is visiting several countries and banks that were named during an emergency oil debate in October last year. The corruption allegations have dogged the nascent oil sector since Western Youth MP Gerald Karuhanga tabled documents in Parliament alleging that Tullow Oil had bribed Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa, and former Energy minister Hilary Onek to influence their decisions on oil deals. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/corruption/84993 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8 Development AFRICA: TRADE BARRIERS HIT FOOD PRODUCTION, SAYS WORLD BANK Africa could feed itself if trade restrictions were reduced and fertile land was put to good use, according to the World Bank. Just 5% of African cereal imports come from other African countries, it said. Removing cross-border barriers would free up trade, reduce prices and generate billions of dollars for African governments, it added. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/development/84997 ****** GLOBAL: TRADE IMBALANCES WORSENING EFFECTS OF GLOBAL CRISIS FOR LDCS Adverse imbalances in international trade were exacerbating the impacts of the global economic and financial crisis, especially for developing countries, Algeria's representative said today, as the Second Committee took up macroeconomic policy questions. Speaking on behalf of the 'Group of 77' developing countries and China, he said the turbulence in international trade was costly and disruptive, especially for least developed countries and African States. He described international trade as a 'vital tool' for long-term sustainable growth, emphasizing that developing countries should be spared from protectionist barriers, especially agricultural subsidies, and calling for the extension of trade-related technical and capacity-building assistance to them. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/development/85007 ****** GLOBAL: WORLD BANK BUSINESS RANKINGS OBSCURE POVERTY AND CORRUPTION, CRITICS ARGUE The World Bank has produced its 2013 list of the best places in the world to start and run a business, ranking the UK in 7th place, below the US in 3rd and Singapore, which retained the number one spot. Germany could only manage 20th place and France secured a lowly berth at number 34 out of 183 countries ranked this week. This Guardian UK blog post notes that critics argue the World Bank rankings promote a neo-liberal agenda of privatisations, welfare cuts, limited employment rights and low wages to please and entice foreign multinationals. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/development/85087 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9 Health & HIV/AIDS GLOBAL: NEW TEST TO IMPROVE HIV DIAGNOSIS IN POOR COUNTRIES Scientists have come up with a test for the virus that causes AIDS that is ten times more sensitive and a fraction of the cost of existing methods, offering the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world. The test uses nanotechnology to give a result that can be seen with the naked eye by turning a sample red or blue, according to research from scientists at Imperial College in London published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/85096 ****** TANZANIA: HEALTH SECTOR STRANGLED Amid the doctors' strike in Tanzania policy analysts met in Dar es Salaam recently, and they said that the on-going crises at the major hospitals are due to poor budgetary allocation, and to mismanagement of funds by some leaders in various Government circles. The analysts say the low budget allocated to the health sector is against the Abuja Declaration on Health Equity. They warned that the health sector is deteriorating fast, and it needed financial intervention. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/85091 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10 Education AFRICA: GROWTH SPARKS CONTROVERSIAL RISE OF PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS According to an education for all global monitoring report published by Unesco in October, 71 million adolescents of lower secondary school age were out of school in 2010, with three out of four living in south and west Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The last of these regions has doubled the number of students enrolling over the period, yet has the world's lowest total secondary enrolment, at 40 per cent in 2010. Private schools have stepped in to plug the gap. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/education/85107 ****** DRC: STUDENTS TORN BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK Hanging from the door of a mini-bus taxi as it jerks and jinks through traffic, 16-year-old Gires Manoka calls out the van's destination to potential passengers as it crosses Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. One pedestrian asks the fresh-faced teen if he shouldn't be in school instead of working. 'I was in grade seven last year,' Manoka replies, 'but I had no one to pay my school fees. I got no choice but to hustle; this work keeps my family alive.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/education/85090 ****** UGANDA: 6,500 VACANCIES FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS REMAIN UNFILLED Despite a government policy that made science subjects compulsory for all secondary school students, there is a reported shortage of 6,500 teachers to teach the subjects. According to the Ministry of Education, even the available 6,500 science teachers, a good number of them were ill-trained and cannot adequately pass on the skills to the learners. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/education/84991 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11 LGBTI CAMEROON: LAWYER GETS THREATS FOR DEFENDING GAYS Cameroon lawyer Alice Nkom, who is known for defending gays and lesbians in a country where homosexuality is outlawed, has said that she has been receiving death threats from anonymous callers over her stance. 'Since October 18, I have become the victim of anonymous death threats,' she said, adding that she has been warned to stop defending homosexuals. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/lgbti/84976 ****** UGANDA: KADAGA, CANADIAN MINISTER IN GAY ROW Speaker Rebecca Kadaga caused a diplomatic stir on Monday on her official trip to Canada, getting involved in a spat with the host Foreign Minister, Mr John Baird, whom she accused of attacking Uganda's human rights record in respect to sexual minorities. Mr Baird had demonised Uganda on allegations of persecuting sexual minorities. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/lgbti/84994 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12 Environment GLOBAL: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION 'FAR CHEAPER THAN INACTION' Tackling the global climate crisis could reap significant economic benefits for both developed and developing countries, according to a new report. The impacts of climate change and a carbon-intensive economy cost the world around US$1.2 trillion a year - 1.6 per cent of the total global GDP (gross domestic product), states 'Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/85098 ****** KENYA: RED FLAG OVER RISKS OF DUMPING TOXIC WASTE The country's environmental watchdog has raised the red flag over the manner in which medical and electronic waste in the country is disposed. The National Environmental Management Authority in a report says poor disposal of used needles, syringes and other toxic waste on uncontrolled dumping sites have become a major threat to the public health. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/85085 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: BILLIONS FOR CLEAN ENERGY South Africa has given the green light to an initial $5.4 billion worth of clean energy projects that will allow it to procure 1,400 MW of electricity and help reduce reliance on coal-fired plants, the energy minister said. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/85089 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 13 Land & land rights AFRICA: LAND DEALS IN AFRICA HAVE LED TO A WILD WEST Amid warnings that land deals are undermining food security, the head of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has compared 'land grabs' in Africa to the 'wild west', saying a 'sheriff' is needed to restore the rule of law. Jose Graziano da Silva, the FAO's director general, conceded it was not possible to stop large investors buying land, but said deals in poor countries needed to be brought under control. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/land/85078 ****** NIGERIA: GROUPS CAUTION NIGERIA, OTHERS OVER LAND DEALS WITH FOREIGN INVESTORS A coalition of international non-governmental and farmers' organisations has urged Nigerian and other African leaders to guarantee transparency in the management of large-scale land transactions and freeze acquisitions, which do not conform to rules, regulations and the framework of the land declaration of the African Heads of States and Government of 2009. Nigeria, in particular, has over the years, been offering land to lure foreign investors to the economy, at heavily discounted rates, usually without requisite consultations with small land owners and farmers. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/land/85073 ****** NIGERIA: THE SHELL GAME The people of Bodo are living in an intolerable situation. Their human rights to food, health and livelihood have been undermined by corporate pollution, but they have not been able to get justice in Nigeria. They have now taken their case to the UK courts. This Amnesty International blog post reports on the latest claims by Shell which obfuscate its responsibility to clean up the mess. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/land/85088 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 14 Media & freedom of expression ANGOLA: BONFIRE FOR CENSORED ANGOLAN NEWSPAPER This weekend's edition of the weekly newspaper Semanario Angolense ended up in a bonfire. Last Saturday morning, Media Investe, the company that owns the Angolan weekly Semanario Angolense, decided to censor the edition, of October 27, because it included an almost full version of the speech of the National Union's for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) leader, Isaias Samakuva, on the State of the Nation. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85066 ****** ERITREA: IMPRISONED JOURNALIST CASE REFERRED TO AFRICAN COMMISSION Three European jurists referred the case of the imprisoned Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaac to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on 27 October, his 48th birthday and the 12th in succession that he has spent in an Eritrean jail. In an earlier case before the African Commission the Eritrean Government has stated that its own court system is independent and could handle the case of Dawit Isaac and others. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85093 ****** GAMBIA: CHARGES AGAINST JOURNOS DROPPED Gambian authorities have dropped charges of conspiracy and incitement to violence against two journalists who were arrested on 10 September, the country's press union said. Baboucarr Ceesay, vice president of the Gambia Press Union and Abubacarr Saidykhan, a freelance journalist, were arrested and held for nearly four days after seeking permission to hold a peaceful protest against the recent execution of nine death row prisoners. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/84977 ****** GAMBIA: TWO JOURNALISTS THREATENED WITH DEATH IN HOSTILE EMAILS Reporters Without Borders says it is deeply concerned by death threats received in e-mails by the journalists Baboucarr Ceesay and Abubaccar Saidykhan, against whom charges of conspiracy and inciting violence were dropped earlier this week. 'The conditions that journalists face in Gambia have deteriorated to alarming extent,' Reporters Without Borders said. 'Since August this year, Yahya Jammeh, a predator of freedom of information, has been increasing judicial and administrative pressure on journalists working for independent news organizations.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85092 ****** GLOBAL: HOW GOVERNMENTS POLICE THE INTERNET The more we live our lives online, the greater the temptation for governments and private companies to spy on us. News Editor Padraig Reidy highlights the dark side of our increasing dependence on digital communications. While the internet offers opportunities for mass communication and social interaction unprecedented in human history, the chances for governments to monitor and control how we communicate are also ample. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85100 ****** KENYA: POLITICAL SMSS TO BE VETTED Politicians will be required to submit their campaign text messages for vetting at least 48 hours before they are sent. And the SMSs must only be sent to mobile phone users who have subscribed for them. These are some of the measures put in place by the Communications Commission of Kenya to curb the spread of hate messages via SMS. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/84989 ****** SOMALIA: ANOTHER JOURNALIST GUNNED DOWN Reporters Without Borders says it is saddened to learn that Ahmed Saakin Farah Ilyas, a young TV journalist based in Las Anod, in the breakaway northwestern territory of Somaliland, was gunned down as he returned home yesterday (23 October). Employed by privately-owned Universal Television, Ahmed Saakin Farah Ilyas was shot several times in the head by gunmen who have yet to be identified. He was the 16th journalist to be killed this year in Somalia. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/84970 ****** SOMALIA: COMEDIAN WHO POKED FUN AT ISLAMISTS SHOT DEAD Gunmen assassinated a well-known comedian and musician who poked fun at Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents in the Somali capital, police and colleagues said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks against media and cultural figures. Warsame Shire Awale, a famous composer who had worked with Somalia's national army band before joining Radio Kulmiye as a drama producer and comedian, was attacked by two gunmen late on Monday. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85104 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: ZUMA DROPS LAWSUIT OVER 'RAPE' CARTOON South African President Jacob Zuma has dropped a four-year-old lawsuit claiming nearly $600,000 in damages from a cartoonist who depicted him poised to rape "Lady Justice", his office said. The Sunday Times, named as a defendant in the case, also said on Sunday it had reached agreement with Zuma's lawyers for the suit and all claims to be ended. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/85009 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 15 Social welfare DRC: DRC HAS HIGH MALNUTRITION RATE: UNICEF The Democratic Republic of Congo has the highest rate of malnutrition in central and west Africa, affecting 43 percent of children under five, UNICEF said. In central Africa, 'some countries have a rate of chronic malnutrition which is still alarming,' Marianne Flach, the representative of the UN children's agency in Congo, said at the opening of a regional workshop on reducing malnutrition. At least 75 experts from different countries in central Africa came to take part in the workshop, which will continue until Thursday in a northern suburb of Brazzaville. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/welfare/85111 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: RACIAL INCOME INEQUALITY PERSISTS, CENSUS SHOWS South Africa's first census in a decade shows wealth disparities between race groups that persist 18 years after the end of apartheid. While incomes for black households increased an average 169 percent over 10 years, their annual earnings are 60,613 rand ($6,987), or a sixth of that for whites, Statistics South Africa said in a report released in Cape Town. About 80 percent of South Africa's 51.8 million population is black. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/welfare/85110 ****** SOUTHERN AFRICA: FOOD SHORTAGES WORSEN The UN deputy humanitarian chief says food shortages are 'a chronic problem' in southern Africa. More than 5.5 million people in eight countries need aid this year, a 40% increase compared to 2011, said Catherine Bragg. Bragg, winding up a five-day southern Africa trip over the weekend, said worsening food shortages are the result of drought or floods and rising world food prices. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/welfare/85112 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 16 Conflict & emergencies DRC: GOLD 'NOW TOP CONFLICT MINERAL IN DRC' Gold is now the primary source of income for armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and is ending up in jewelry stores across the world, according to a report published on Thursday by the Enough Project. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85006 ****** DRC: HEAVY FIGHTING BREAKS OUT IN EAST Government troops and unidentified rebel forces clashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, military officials said. Heavy weapons fire could be heard after 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) at Sake in North Kivu region, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the city of Goma, officials and residents said. A regional military official confirmed the fighting to AFP but could not identify the rebels. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85072 ****** EGYPT: IS EGYPT ABOUT TO BOMB ETHIOPIAN DAMS? As experts from Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt met to discuss an under-construction Ethiopian hydropower project, a Wikileaks report stated that Cairo authorities reached an agreement with Khartoum to build an airbase in Sudan, to launch attacks on the Addis dams. Although denied by Cairo, the information allegedly from the Texas-based global intelligence company, Stratfor, is a stark reminder of the high stakes involved in Nile Basin politics. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85012 ****** KENYA: POLITICIAN'S DEATH PROMPTS KENYA VIOLENCE Violent protests have erupted in Kisumu, western Kenya, following the murder of a prominent local politician. A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, told the AFP news agency on Monday that three people 'died from either burning or suffocation after teargas was lobbed into a hardware shop they were hiding in'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85094 ****** MALI: NO MALI OFFENSIVE AGAINST REBELS 'UNTIL 2013' Western officials say a planned military push to reclaim northern Mali from armed rebel groups is unlikely to begin before next year - despite concerns about an escalating 'terrorist' threat posed by the fighters there. Proposals for an offensive by Mali's forces, supported by troops from neighbouring nations and other African Union states - but not Western countries - are to be discussed at a meeting of African officials in Addis Ababa. An international plan is being finalised to help Mali's weak interim government take on the groups, including armed Islamist groups and Tuareg rebels, that have become the de facto rulers of the country's north following chaos prompted by a military coup in March. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/84973 ****** NIGERIA: BOMB ATTACK HITS NORTHERN NIGERIAN CHURCH A suicide bomber has driven a vehicle packed with explosives into a Catholic church in northern Nigeria, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 100, triggering reprisal attacks that have killed at least two more, according to officials. The attack happened in the Malali neighbourhood of Kaduna, a city on the dividing line between Nigeria's largely Christian south and mainly Muslim north, where religious rioting has killed hundreds in recent years. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85008 ****** NIGERIA: POTISKUM RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO FLEE In spite of the assurances by the Joint Task Force to bring additional troops to beef up security in Potiskum, Yobe, residents have continued to flee the town en mass. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents are fleeing the commercial town to other states and Local Government Areas, following series of explosions and gun attacks in which no fewer than 13 people have been killed. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/84987 ****** SUDAN: FIRE BLAMED ON ISRAELI BOMBING Sudan has accused Israel of bombing a military arms factory, threatening retaliation after a resulting fire killed two people and injured a third. 'We think Israel did the bombing,' Culture and Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told a news conference. 'We reserve the right to react at a place and time we choose.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/84972 ****** SUDAN: REBELS IN SUDAN'S DARFUR SAY THEY SHELLED STATE CAPITAL Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region said on Sunday they had shelled a state capital, in a rare attack on the government stronghold where international peacekeepers are also based. The government did not immediately comment on the report and the claim could not be immediately independently verified. War has ravaged Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, complaining the central government had neglected the region. The United States and the International Criminal Court accuse Sudan's government of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/85097 ****** SUDAN: STARVATION WARFARE IN SOUTH KORDOFAN'S NUBA MOUNTAINS As the humanitarian crisis unfolds in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, international humanitarian organizations have not been able to assess the nutrition and food security situation in these areas until now. For the first time since 2011 - when the government of Sudan banned all international humanitarian aid organizations from operating in the two state -an independent rapid food security and nutrition assessment has been conducted in South Kordofan state. The findings of the assessment, released by the Enough Project in a report, are alarming. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/conflict/84969 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 17 Internet & technology AFRICA: AFRICA'S TOP TWEETERS: POLITICAL PIONEERS IN THE DIGITAL DEBATE This Guardian UK article lists Africa's top political tweeters, which include David Coltart, Uhuru Kenyatta and Julius Malema. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/85109 ****** MADAGASCAR: PRESERVING NATIONAL HERITAGE WITH VIDEO ARCHIVING A Civil Society Initiative has been set up to preserve the 'collective memory' of Madagascar by digitally archiving videos detailing its, often controversial, history. Reasons for controversy include disagreement over the tragedy of the 1947 Malagasy Uprising, a perspective limited by language, as well as destruction of historical archives during political crises. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/84995 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice http://www.fahamu.org Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd. (c) Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. 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