Africa

Photo: View of the ICJ courtroom on the opening day of the hearings. Credit: ICJ

Mauritius Approaches UN Court for Return of Diego Garcia

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – When colonial powers redrew borders in Africa and picked choice lands for themselves and less desirable land for everyone else, some of those deals remained through this century. Few were undone.

A case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide if colonial deals that redrew African borders can be declared illegal and, if so, if islands taken by the United Kingdom from the nation of Mauritius can be rejoined to Mauritius as before.

Mauritius says it was illegally stripped by Britain of the Chagos Islands, now home to a major U.S. air base.

: Global Information Network; UN INSIDER; 04 September 2018

Photo: Lake Chad map. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Conference Comes to the Aid of Drought-Stricken, Boko Haram Terrorised Lake Chad Region

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Europe's powerhouse Germany, which joins the UN Security Council next January as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020, has pledged 100 million Euros (116 million USD) in emergency aid until 2020 to lessen the sufferings of over 10 million people in Africa's crisis-ridden Lake Chad region. This is in addition to 40 million Euros already earmarked to aid political stability in 2018 and 2019.

Maas, who was opening a two-day high-ranking international donor conference in Berlin on September 3 said the Lake Chad region – once a crucial interface between the Sahara and the southern part of Africa – is "one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our times".

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 September 2018

Photo: The closing ceremony marks the end of the quadrennial multisport event held from August 18 until September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra. Credit: Asian Games 2018.

Out of Africa into Asian Games Arena – 'Shameful', Critics Say

By Kalinga Seneviratne

NEW DELHI (IDN) – It has been simmering since the Doha Asian Games of 2006, which is now perhaps coming to a boil, about whether Arab Gulf States flushed with petrodollars should be allowed to import athletes from Africa merely to win medals at Asian Games. There is a lot of resentment in India because it deprived India of a historic achievement of topping the gold medal table in athletics at the just concluded 18th Asian Games from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta.

Tiny Arab Gulf States of Bahrain and Qatar stood out with African born athletes sweeping the medals. Bahrain in particular stood out, with all of their 25 medals at the Games having come in track and field, largely from athletes that only recently gained Bahrain nationality.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 September 2018

Photo: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for members of the media with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his wife Margaret Kenyatta as they arrive at the White House, August 27, 2018, in Washington. Credit: U.S. Department of State.

Kenya Signs Deal with U.S. to Finance Wind Power

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) - Kenya has signed agreements with a U.S. wind energy company, providing a major boost for wind power and food security.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said the 'Big Four agenda' projects – boosting manufacturing industry, promoting food security, providing affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage – present major opportunities for local and foreign investors.

The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Kipeto Wind Energy Company signed documents to close a $232 million deal in financing the construction and operation of a 100-megawatt grid-connected wind power plant south of Nairobi.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 August 2018

Photo: Families leave Maasai Mau Forest on July 8, 2018 as evictions of illegal settlers started. Photo | File | Nation Media Group

Settlers Face Eviction in Kenya as Gov't Plan to Save Trees

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – Some 40,000 settlers in the Maasai Mau forest in Kenya face imminent eviction by the Kenyan government which says it is protecting the forest in the name of conservation.

Deputy President William Ruto said those who encroached on the forest should be flushed out but in a humane manner. "We respect every Kenyan's rights. No force should be used as they are Kenyans and not animals," Ruto said.

Ruto’s calls for negotiations were dismissed by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko who declared that the evictions were non-negotiable and that there would be no compensation.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 August 2018

Photo: A resident of Stofland township returns home, South Africa, 2011. Credit: 2011 Marcus Bleasdale/VII for Human Rights Watch.

Southern African Governments Pressed for Land Reform

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – The day of reckoning is arriving in Southern Africa for the hundreds of thousands of blacks whose lands were taken forcibly by white settlers – a crime that goes unpunished despite promises for land reform year after year.

Pressure is growing on governments to take action and return ancestral lands to their original owners. But government leaders have been cautiously backing away from some of their early militant calls for justice.

"It's true whites stole the land, but they also have Namibian blood," said Namibian President Hage Geingob. "Whites are also Namibian," he said diplomatically at a Heroes Day commemoration in northern Namibia on August 26.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 August 2018

Photo: Mary Robinson and Kofi Annan attend Citizens Manifesto event in Zimbabwe in July 2018. Credit: The Elders

The Elders Call for Restraint and Justice in Zimbabwe to Honour Kofi Annan’s Legacy

By The Elders

LONDON (IDN-INPS) – The Elders today urged Zimbabweans at every level in society to uphold the democratic rights to justice and peaceful protest, and refrain from words or actions that could incite violence, drawing on the counsel of their late Chair, Kofi Annan (1938-2018).

Ahead of the ruling by Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court on the petition filed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance regarding the 30 July election result, The Elders called on political leaders to act responsibly to avert further bloodshed.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; Kofi Annan; 23 August 2018

Photo: Seaweed farmers. Credit: Mwinyi Sadallah

A Glimmer of Hope for Zanzibar Seaweed Farmers

By Kizito Makoye

PAJE, Zanzibar (IDN) – As the morning breeze sweeps Mwanamkasi Jumbe wade through knee-deep water, her gown flapping in the wind as she drags a pile of seaweed seedlings to her farm before it is too hot.

Armed with a bundle of sticks, she hangs pieces of fresh seaweed haphazardly hooked on a yellow polyethylene rope.

"It's a tough job, but I love doing it. I get something to support my family," she says. "The seedling takes six weeks to mature," she adds.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 August 2018

Mozambique Imposing Hefty Fees on Local and Foreign Media

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Press freedom in Mozambique just got a lot less free. Under a new government decree, local and foreign journalists must now pony up thousands of dollars for the right to report in this Southern African country.

The little dribble of news about Mozambique in the foreign press could disappear altogether, ending press freedom at a crucial time. Human rights groups call it an attempt to discourage reporting from the country.

"We think this is completely exorbitant and out of any reasonable proportion," said Arnaud Froger, head of the Africa desk for the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 August 2018

Photo: Kumi Naidoo. Credit: Amnesty International

Kumi Naidoo Wishes a 'Bigger, Bolder & More Inclusive' Amnesty

By Devendra Kamarajan

NAIROBI (IDN) – The human rights movement needs to be bigger, bolder and more inclusive if it is to tackle the challenges that people face today, says life-long social justice campaigner Kumi Naidoo as he officially starts his four-year tenure as Secretary General of Amnesty International.

Amnesty is the largest human rights movement worldwide, with a global presence including offices in more than 70 countries, 2,600 staff and seven million members, volunteers and supporters worldwide. Naidoo wants more.