Africa

Photo: Winner of the new student category, Moussa Ngom attending CESTI, Senegal. Photo: Hyppolite Valdez Onanina

African Fact Checkers Expose ‘Fake News’ And Win Prizes

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Striking a blow against fake news, reporters from Kenya, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Cameroon scooped the top prizes this year in a competition organized by Africa Check, the leading fact-check organization on the continent.

Founded by the French news service AFP in partnership with the journalism department of the University of the Witwatersrand, Africa Check holds public figures accountable by sorting fact from fiction.

As well as producing its own reports, the website of Africa Check provides tips and advice on how to fact-check. It also offers a library of databases and fact-checking tools.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 19 December 2017

Photo: Dutch appeal court has ruled in favour of Mirjam van Reisen, professor and human rights activist in a case filed by Bahibi, the center of the Eritrean intelligence in the Netherlands. Credit: Tilburg University.

Dutch Court Rules Against 'Center of the Eritrean Intelligence Network'

By Martin Plaut*

AMSTERDAM (IDN-INPS) – In 2015, Dutch professor and human rights advocate Mirjam van Reisen was interviewed by Dutch radio station 'BNR Nieuwsradio' about people with ties to the Eritrean regime being employed as interpreters at the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

Van Reisen is professor at the Tilburg University and Leiden University.

In response to her remarks in this interview, the then chair of the Young People's Front for Democracy and Justice (YPFDJ) in the Netherlands, a nationalist Eritrean Diaspora youth organisation connected to the Eritrean ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), started legal (interim injunction proceedings) against Van Reisen.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 15 December 2017

Photo: Zimbabwe’s new president Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) with finance minister Patrick Chinamasa (right), who held that portfolio also under former President Mugabe. Credit: zimbabweelection.com

Sparkle of Hope Fast Disappearing in Post-Mugabe Era

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (IDN) – When Robert Mugabe resigned late November as president of Zimbabwe, hopes were rekindled that the country would finally be set on the course of a fresh start after 37 years of widely criticised authoritarian rule of this Southern Africa nation.

For years, under Mugabe's regime, the Southern African nation’s state security apparatus dominated the country and was responsible for widespread human rights violations, with Mugabe maintaining the revolutionary socialist rhetoric of the Cold War era, blaming Zimbabwe's economic woes on conspiring Western capitalist countries.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 December 2017

Photo: EU and UN officials flanked by Kenya’s Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu (first from the right among the seated officials) during the signing of Euro 17.2 million from the EU to fund initiatives to combat wildlife killing and trafficking in Africa. Credit: Justus Wanzala | IDN-INPS.

EU & UN Aid African Countries in Fighting Wildlife Trafficking

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – African and Asian countries face a huge challenge in protecting their wildlife from the illegal killing and trafficking that has already endangered some species.

Over the years, national and regional efforts to combat the threat have met with mixed success and wildlife and their products continue to be sold in many countries around the world.

Figures released in March 2017 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under its Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme showed that by 2016 the trend in poaching of African elephants – which had increased steadily since 2006, peaking in 2011– had been halted and stabilised. Nevertheless, the levels of illegal killing still remained unacceptably high overall.

: Justus Wanzala; UN INSIDER; 10 December 2017

Photo: Less child marriage, fewer teen pregnancies, and more years spent in school would boost Uganda’s overall earnings. Credit: World Bank/Rachel Mabala.

World Bank Explains Uganda Benefits of Ending Child Marriage

By Ronald Joshua

NAIROBI (IDN) – With a new report, the World Bank is striving to put an end to child marriages in Uganda deploying a carrot-and-stick approach. Subsequently, the report titled 'Accelerating Uganda’s Development: Ending Child Marriage, Educating Girls' argues that ending child marriage could generate $3 billion per year for the East African country by 2030.

On the other hand, the perpetuation of child marriage would lead to lower educational attainment for girls and their children, higher population growth, substantial health risks, higher intimate partner violence, and lower earnings for women, as well as higher poverty.

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 December 2017

Galleries, Fairs Offer African Art Feast in Paris

By SWAN

Image: Paintings from Ebony Curated gallery at AKAA. PARIS (IDN-INPS) – Fans of African art in France have been spoilt for choice this year, with an abundance of exhibitions around the country, particularly in the capital Paris

During the spring, Art Paris Art Fair featured Africa as its “guest of honour”, with works from all over the continent, while the Louis Vuitton Foundation dedicated its vast space to art from South Africa and other countries in the region.

Paintings, sculptures and photographs have all been on view, with established and emerging artists showcased. The highlights of the year so far include the thrilling Also Known as Africa (AKAA) art and design fair and the highly praised exhibition of photographs by Malian icon Malick Sidibé, titled Mali Twist and running until Febuary 25, 2018.

: A.D. McKenzie; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 December 2017

Photo: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta on a state visit to Ghana in July 2017. Credit: Malta President's Website

Need to Perceive Africa from an African Point of View

By Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta

Following are extensive extracts from the speech delivered by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, at the 17th session of the UNIDO General Conference 'Partnering for Impact: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals' in Vienna on November 27, 2017. Li Yong was re-appointed for a second term (2017-2021) as the Director General of the Organization at the opening of the session. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – Two years have passed since the adoption of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030. Its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are still the main benchmark for the international community, to work for the aspirations of humanity, for effective global development in a holistic and an integrated way.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 27 November 2017

10 to 12 million young people join the African labour force each year, yet the continent creates only 3.7 million jobs annually. Credit: Adapted from “Promulgation,” courtesy of flickr user ActionPixs (Maruko), Kenya.

The Challenge of Making Africa's 830 Million Young People 'Effective Citizens'

By John Dramani Mahama and Siddharth Chatterjee

John Dramani Mahama is the former President of the Republic of Ghana. (Follow him on twitter.) Siddharth Chatterjee is the UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya. (Follow him on twitter.)

ACCCRA | NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) - In July 2017, Spanish charity workers rescued 167 migrants arriving from Africa aboard a small boat.

2016 was the deadliest for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, with at least 3800 deaths recorded. Most know the dangers they face on the route, yet still choose the possibility of death in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels over the hopelessness of life in areas they reside.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 November 2017

Photo: Emmerson Mnangagwa. Credit: NewsDay Zimbabwe

Military's Role Crucial in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Viewpoint by Alemayehu G. Mariam

The writer is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. The source of this article is Pambazuka News, which republished it on November 23. It first appeared in The Hill. The views in the following article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IDN-INPS editorial team. – The Editor

SAN BERNARDINO, California, USA (IDN-INPS) – Despite its apparently new interest in preserving democracy, for 37 years the military was an indispensable part of a fossilized oligarchy which betrayed the "revolution" and bankrupted Zimbabwe. Sadly, any post-Mugabe civilian government could only exist if it makes a Faustian bargain with the military.