Africa.gm - Africa news and information community - News - RSS

Syndicated content powered by .geographical media

RSS syndication makes it easy to receive content updates in My Yahoo!, Newsgator, Bloglines, and other news readers.

Current Feed Content

---

Sierra Leone ALERT: Newspaper editor physically assaulted

David Jabati, editor of  the Exclusive, a Freetown-based independent newspaper was on March 13, 2008 violently assaulted by angry supporters of the  ruling All People’s Congress Party (APC) at the Headquarters of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that Jabtai, who had gone to the party’s headquarters to cover a clash between the two main political parties in the country, was accused by the APC youth of being a...

SIERRA LEONE: Diamond miners choose cassava over carats

In Sierra Leone plummeting diamond prices, dwindling reserves, consistently poor working conditions and a lack of regulation are driving diamond workers to start farming, youths told IRIN. “The future of Kono is not diamonds,” said Tamba Kakarnbanja, councillor for youths in Kono District. “It’s agriculture.” Diamonds helped fuel the 11-year civil war that killed at least 75,000 people, injured some 10,000 and displaced almost half of Sierra Leone’s 4.5 million population according to the UN....

Madagascar President resigns, unclear rule in Antananarivo

Leadership in Madagascar is unclear as Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana announced his resignation in favor of a military committee headed by Vice Admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson, only to have that resignation rejected by the Admiral, the military and opposition political groups. Admiral Ramaroson joined other military leaders in saying they would back opposition leader, former Antananarivo mayor and former DJ Andry Rajoelina. Mr Ravalomanana attempted to hand power over to the heads of the...

UNDP supports women to enhance their productivity

The Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Ghana Dr. Kamil K. Kamaluddeen has visited the Multifunctional Platform (MFP) Project at Changnayili, a community near Tamale. The Country Director was joined by officials from Embassy of Japan in Ghana (Accra) and the Ministry of Foreign Affiars in Japan to monitor the usage of MFP and also interact with the Tizaa-dini Women’s Group. The activity was implemented by New Energy, an NGO based in Tamale, under the MFP project...

AFRICA: New meningitis vaccine nears debut

A new vaccine that promises to eliminate meningitis in Africa will be rolled out in a mass campaign in West Africa this year, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). Twenty-five million doses of the meningococcal A, or MenA, vaccine are currently in production in India and the drug is expected to be introduced in Burkina Faso late 2009. “This is the beginning of the end of the disease,” said Marc LaForce, the director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), an initiative of WHO...

At least one million children at risk by Sudan aid suspension

The safety and survival of a million Sudanese children is at grave risk, not only in Darfur but across the whole of northern Sudan. The suspension of aid agencies, including Save the Children, means children across the country, including Darfur, are without access to lifesaving food, water and healthcare. Other aid agencies were asked to suspend operations by the Sudanese authorities earlier this week. When the reality of that suspension is calculated, it means over a million children will...

Mauritania ALERT: Two journalists detained briefly

Abdallahi Ould Tfagha Moctar and Mohamed Lemine Ould Moustapha, reporters of Sahara Media, a Nouakchott-based independent newswire service were on March 11, 2009 arrested by personnel of Mauritania National Security for allegedly filming the entrance to the Nouakchott civil prison. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that the two were detained for several hours in the civil prison and later transferred to the police headquarters. The correspondent said although...

AFRICA: The nettlesome question of aid

Dead Aid, a controversial new book by economist Dambisa Moyo, argues that cutting off all non-emergency assistance to Africa within five years "would help stimulate growth". But in countries like Zambia, the author's homeland, such a prescription could prove problematic, given the global financial turndown. Zambia went from being a middle-income country in the 1970s to consistently appearing among the bottom 20 nations on the UN Development Programme's Human Development Index from 1990...

Number of cholera deaths in Zimbabwe surpasses 4,000

According to a report released by the United Nations' World Health Organisation (WHO), over four thousand people have died from cholera in Zimbabwe, while 89,000 total cases of the disease have been reported. A spokeswoman for the WHO, however, said that the real death toll is higher due to under-reporting because of difficulty reaching certain areas of the country. The cholera outbreak has been blamed on the collapse of the country's health infrastructure and water systems. However, the WHO...

Guinea Bissau ALERT: Radio stations ordered to close down

Guinea Bissau’s privately-owned radio stations were on March 2, 2009 ordered by the country’s authorities to cease broadcasting. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that the directive followed political disturbances in the country that have so far claimed two prominent lives including President Joao Bernardo Vieira and the country’s army commander. Several people have also been injured in the attacks which began on the night of March 1. The correspondent said the...