JOHANNESBURG, 28 January 2011 (IRIN) – More than 1,000 people have been “relocated permanently” from 32 flood-prone villages in Caprivi, as Namibia’s most northerly province prepares to meet a Zambezi River swollen to near-record size for this time of year by torrential rains upstream. Local media reported that 1,021 villagers from the Kabbe constituency – a low-lying district along the Zambezi River in eastern Caprivi – had been taken to the Katima Mulilo Rural constituency. “We started transporting them at the beginning of this month [January], and the last group was moved to higher ground last week. They were all... Continue Reading
By Nangayi Guyson – Johannesburg – As former president Nelson Mandela spent his second night in Milpark Hospital, neighbouring school McAuley House continued to put up messages of support for him on Friday. Schoolchildren cut out their hand prints on pieces of paper for Mandela, who was admitted to the Johannesburg hospital on Wednesday afternoon. “Dearest President Mandela you are forever an inspiration to us all, thank you for our dignity,” was written on one print. “Madiba I am so sorry you are sick I wish you can get better,” read another. Posters “Dear Nelson Mandela I love you so... Continue Reading
The Offending Rolling Stone Article By Guyson Nangayi – Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato who was outed in a local newspaper Rolling Stone as a homosexual, has been beaten to death, activists have said. Police have confirmed the death and say they have arrested one suspect. Uganda’s Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay, including Mr Kato, with the headline “Hang them”. The police say that though they have arrested one suspect, the main suspect – who they say lived with Mr Kato – remains on the run. Homosexual acts are illegal in... Continue Reading
By: Augustine N. Myers – As part of efforts by the Liberian Government to speed up with the nation’s post-conflict development drive, an Investment Company “SEK Liberia” has begun partnership with Government. The partnership between Government and SEK Liberia has led to an agreement for the Logan Town – Mombo Town Road Pavement Project. The Project which has already commenced, will ensure quality asphalt pavement of 3.19 kilometers or 2 miles of residential neighborhood road that links Logan Town –Mombo Town Communities. The outcome of the Project, according to the Liberian Government, contributes to the Roads and Bridges objective of... Continue Reading
ABIDJAN, 24 January 2011 (IRIN) – While the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) faces a climate of orchestrated and growing hostility, local UN employees, even those working with agencies completely separate from UNOCI, are living in fear. All local UN staff deemed non-essential have been instructed to stay at home until further notice, and not report to work, while many international staff within ONUCI now live permanently in their offices, sleeping on camp beds. For Francois*, a driver with a separate UN agency, the current crisis is a cause of extreme stress, not least because it resurrects traumatic memories... Continue Reading
