Zimbabwean Premier Morgan Tsvangirai gestures during a press conference at MDC party headquarters in Harare, Friday, October 16, 2009.
16 Oct 2009

Zimbabwe's Premier Morgan Tsvangirai says his Movement for Democratic Change party has withdrawn from the fragile unity government, amid disputes over the implementation of February's power-sharing agreement.

The former opposition leader on Friday linked the party's decision to "disengage" to the treatment of his senior aide, insisting that all unresolved issues of the deal must be dealt with before the MDC could work with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

The MDC will now officially pull out of the cabinet and council of ministers meetings as well as routine Monday meetings between the leaders of the three parties in the national unity government.

Tsvangirai, who lost his wife to a car accident earlier this year, has accused Mugabe of allocating all key ministries to members of his own party, and blocking the much-needed political and economic reforms in the financially challenged country.

The long-time ruler who has been at the helm of power in the country since its independence from Britain in 1984, has also been blamed for cracking down on opposition politicians, critics and activists.

Tsvangirai's remarks came as the High Court ordered the release on bail of MDC ministerial nominee Roy Bennett, who has been jailed since Wednesday and faces terrorism charges.

"It has brought home the reality that as a movement we have an unreliable and unrepentant partner in the transitional government," AFP quoted Tsvangirai as saying in reference to the incarceration of Bennett.

The power-sharing pact was signed to end a months-long impasse between the two parties over the true winner of last year's disputed elections that erupted into deadly post-poll violence.

However, rows over appointees for provincial governors, the central bank governor and the attorney general have clouded the pact ever since.

presstv

16 Oct 2009

The United Nations should continue its support for the Congolese government despite reports of killings and rapes by government troops, UN special envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo says.

Rejecting suggestions that the world body should withdraw its support, Alan Doss told a UN Security Council meeting on Congo on Friday that pressure on FDLR anti-government rebels (Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) should not stop under any condition as they (rebels) will gain time to "regroup and rearm".

A UN-backed Congolese army operation, launched in January, dubbed Kimia 2 was severely criticized by the UN rapporteur, Philip Alston, who labeled it "catastrophic" in terms of human rights and said that it had been hampered "by a lack of planning, coordination and cooperation".

The disarmament of some 1,000 of an estimated 6,000 rebels in eastern Congo has come at a cost of nearly 900,000 people displaced, 1,000 dead civilians and 7,000 rapes of women and girls, humanitarian and rights groups say.

Government forces are fighting Rwandan Hutu rebels, who are said to be responsible for the last 15 years of violence in Central Africa.

Doss said suspending the ongoing offensive "would be celebrated as a victory by the FDLR" and would undermine the Congolese army and "paradoxically further weaken discipline."

Again, he said, reducing the pressure would also make it more difficult for Kinshasa "to impose state authority and prevent the re-emergence of other armed groups who might well draw the conclusion that attacks against civilians will force the government to give in to their demands".

presstv

Workers carry grain packs inside the UN World Food Program warehouse in Mombasa, Kenya.
17 Oct 2009

The World Food Program (WFP) has announced that at least 3.8 million Kenyans are in urgent need of food supplies from international donors.

WFP said that persistent drought and a rise in food prices are the main reasons for the current situation in Kenya while mentioning that the number of hungry Kenyans has exceeded one billion.

The WFP Office in Kenya pointed out that it is adopting certain measures for the procurement of food resources to help all the needy people in that country.

WFP has implemented a series of measures for helping millions of people in the African continent, especially 1.5 million African children.

presstv

Rape has turned into a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
17 Oct 2009

New appalling figures by human rights activists claim that some 200,000 women and girls have been raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998.

In an interview with CNN, Anneke van Woudenberg, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the number of attacks on women have grown threefold over the past few years.

Rape has turned into a weapon of war and the condition of women has become worse as the Congolese army launched a military campaign against armed groups in the countryside.

"We notice and we have documented that when armed groups walk into town, they will rape the women and girls, sometimes publicly, sometimes privately, in order to punish the local population," said van Woudenberg.

"It's the easiest way to terrorize a community," she added.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group, has accused the army of widespread abuses against civilians that it said amounted to war crimes.

In May, the UN handed over the names of five top military officers accused of rape. Two officers are being detained and the three others must report to authorities under close observation.

With a death toll estimated at more 5 million, Congo has witnessed the bloodiest war since World War II in a ten-year period.

Most casualties have come from indirect violence in forms of disease and starvation. While the war formally ended six years ago, fighting persists in eastern Congo, and women are paying a high price.

"One of the other sad realities is that the majority of those who are raped are adolescent girls aged 12-14. Their lives are often ruined by this," van Woudenberg said.

presstv

16 Oct 2009

Nigeria's main armed opposition group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, has threatened to resume the 'oil war' after a three-months truce.

In its latest statement published on Thursday, Niger Delta's militants spoke of an imminent attack on government plants in the oil-rich country's restive south and southwest.

The rebels' spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, warned that MEND could "most likely" declare conflict against the government following the collapse of negotiations meant to settle oil revenue issues between the warring sides.

The decision to reengage in conflict "will be confirmed after midnight tonight," AFP quoted Gbomo as saying.

MEND's latest announcement comes in the wake of a rejected amnesty offer by Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua in a bid to stop four years of hostilities in Africa's largest oil and natural gas reserves.

Niger Delta militia had previously warned those who embrace the government offer to lay down arms and vowed "attacks against the oil industry at the expiration of our ceasefire." The three-month truce inked in July was agreed to allow for peace talks.

With the failure of amnesty proposal, Nigeria's guerrillas pledged to shift tactics in their quest for larger oil share.

"MEND considers this next phase of our struggle as the most critical as we intend to end 50 years of slavery of the people of the Niger Delta by the Nigerian government, a few individuals and the western oil companies once and for all," it said in an e-mail last week.

"In this next phase, we will burn down all attacked installations and no longer limit our attacks to the destruction of pipelines," the fighters threatened.

MEND's insurgency has slashed Nigeria's oil output by around one million barrels per day from the original 2.6.

The insurgents have carried out kidnappings of expatriates employed in the oil industry as well as bombings of oil and natural gas works across the Delta.

presstv

Residents from the Sakhile township near Standerton, South Africa, east of Johannesburg participate in a protest rally on Tuesday.
14 Oct 2009

South African demonstrators protesting against poor government services in impoverished townships have clashed with police.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters in the Sakhile township who were calling for the resignation of the mayor and councilors.

In the town of Standerton, southeast of Johannesburg, burnt tires and rubbish filled the streets, and several people were reportedly injured in the protests.

Police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said protesters torched a municipal office in the eastern town of Belfast. Two police officers were hit by stones and injured, he said.

The six-month-old government of President Jacob Zuma is under pressure to deliver on campaign promises and improve basic services such as water and electricity.

Hassan Isilow, a journalist in Cape Town, says the problem is that people want better living conditions regardless of the economic recession the country is grappling with.

presstv

Blackwater operatives
16 Oct 2009

The grounds have reportedly been established for armed American presence on Somali soil with a US security firm winning a contract in the war-ravaged country.

Michigan-based CSS Global Inc., secured the contract under the plea of 'fighting terrorism and piracy' and 'protecting' Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), reported Michigan Live citing The Grand Rapids Press newspaper.

"It is going to be a huge challenge," said Chris Frain, chief executive officer and co-owner of CSS Alliance, to which the CSS Global Inc is affiliated. "This is a brand-new government being stood up with the help of the international community."

The contractor's operations team was composed of former military and law enforcement personnel, including Special Forces, Michigan Live added.

The US firm has been involved in other African nations as well as in Iraq, where 17 civilians were killed in 2007 by a similar licentiate, Blackwater, currently known as Xe Services.

Washington has been exceedingly deputizing the companies, which are notorious for misusing their State Department-issued gun licenses as excuses for trigger-ready atrocities. The move has been denounced as an effort at putting a non-military face on the US pursuits in the respective countries.

US officials have, at the same time, been strongly arguing that there is an alleged al-Qaeda presence in Somalia and a reported militant-run recruitment network which, they say, could ensnare the Somali-American community.

Special Somali envoy to the United States, H.E. Ali Hassan Gulaid, however, said they were "confident the expertise of the CSS Global senior staff will prove to be a valuable asset to us in our efforts to establish a safe and secure Somalia for our citizens."


presstv

Opposition groups in Egypt are trying to persuade International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to run in the country’s next presidential election in an effort to prevent the re-election of incumbent President Hosni Mubarak.
Whether President Mubarak will run in the 2011 presidential election or make way for his son Gamal to run for the post, opposition groups have made a final decision about ElBaradei’s candidacy, the United Arab Emirtes daily Al Khaleej has reported.

However, Al Khaleej said that ElBaradei’s candidacy is not yet definite.

His conservatism is the most important reason he is not inclined to take up such a challenge, the newspaper added.

Certain Egyptian newspapers recently stated that the 67-year-old ElBaradei told a meeting of opposition activists to look for a younger candidate.

Political analysts argue that the country is currently at a critical juncture and say the Egyptian youth will support any presidential candidate who will remain committed to the rule of law and the campaign against corruption and absolutism.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade met with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday.
In the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that Islamic world must take firm action on the Palestine issue.

“Today, oppressed and lonely Palestine needs firm and measured action in the Muslim world,” the Leader said.

He went on to say that the Organization of the Islamic Conference was established with the aim of addressing the issue of Palestine and therefore it has an important duty in this regard.

Senegal currently holds the rotating presidency of the OIC.

Arrogant powers and certain Islamic governments support the Zionist regime, but Muslim nations are determined to help the Palestinians, and the OIC should defend the Palestinian people and give them hope, Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

During the meeting, the Leader and the Senegalese president expressed satisfaction over the expansion of relations between Iran and Senegal.

President Wade called Dakar’s relations with Tehran excellent and said Iran enjoys a high status in the Islamic world and its views are very influential at the OIC, which is the most important Islamic organization.

“Iran has an important position in the Islamic world, and certainly its experiences are effective and valuable for the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Islamic world,” the Senegalese president noted.

He also expressed satisfaction over the fact that Iran held a “glorious” presidential election on June 12.

Arrogant powers want Islamic, African countries’ resources

In a separate meeting with Wade on Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that the arrogant powers are attempting to exploit the resources of Islamic and African countries to resolve their own problems.

Ahmadinejad said it is necessary for Islamic and African countries to be aware of this fact and to increase their cooperation so they can play an active role in the international arena.

“African and Islamic countries should take steps to meet their needs and become self-sufficient in various spheres through the expansion of their relations and cooperation,” he added.

The Senegalese president stated that all African countries, and particularly Senegal, are trying to achieve self-sufficiency in agriculture, especially food crops.

Wade said Tehran-Dakar relations are expanding and Senegal is keen to make use of Iran’s experiences in water and energy projects, and especially for the construction of power plants.

The presidents of Iran and Senegal urged Islamic states in a meeting here Saturday to play a more active and independent role in the international scenes.

President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal arrived here Saturday morning heading a ranking politico-economic delegation to discuss major bilateral, regional and international developments with senior Iranian officials.

He held an hour-long private talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after taking part in an official welcoming ceremony at the presidential premises in downtown Tehran.

Afterwards, the two presidents attended a joint meeting with members of Iranian and Senegalese delegations.

The two sides stressed the need for further Tehran-Dakar cooperation at the international circles due to the rapid changes occurring at the global scenes.

President Ahmadinejad said arrogant powers were to use resources and potentials of African and Islamic states to meet their endless demands.

He suggested that strengthening mutual cooperation and relations among African and Islamic countries would help resolve their problems independently.

As Senegal is, since 18 months ago, the current president of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, President Ahmadinejad said it could play an effective role in the process of the progress and development of its 56 member states.

The OIC is an association of the Islamic states which works to help promote Muslim solidarity in economic, social, and political affairs.

The Senegalese president, for his part, appreciated Iran’s presence in Africa noting that it would be in the interests of all African nations and governments.

He stressed that all African countries, Senegal in particular, were trying to reach self-sufficiency in meeting their demands in the fields of agriculture and providing foodstuff.

Referring to the growing trend of Tehran-Dakar relations, President Wade reiterated Senegal’s willingness to share Iran’s experiences in the fields of energy, supplying water and building of power plants.

President Wade is in Tehran on his fourth visit since 2006. He is to discuss major bilateral, regional and international issues in separate meetings with senior Iranian officials.

More Kenyans are in need of emergency food today than they were 20 years ago and the situation may get worse, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says in a new report.

The report, Global Hunger Index (GHI), that measures levels of malnutrition and hunger was released on Wednesday.

It shows that Kenya's hunger rating has moved from "serious" to "alarming".

Mr Suresh Babu from the Food, Security, Poverty and Nutrition Policy Analysis says that should the trend continue it could push the country to the "extremely alarming" bracket.

"Kenya is a hunger hot spot and the index shows that it has been failing in food security for the last 20 years compared with other countries," the analyst said during the release of the report in Nairobi.

The GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale, with zero being the best score -- indicating no hunger -- and 100 points being the worst.

A score between 10 and 19.99 is ranked as serious, between 20 and 29.99 such as Kenya's means the situation is alarming, and beyond that means extremely alarming.

Although Kenya is ranked in the alarming tier with an index of 20.2 points, should the index exceed the 30 point mark the country could be plunged into the extremely alarming tier where it would share a podium with countries such as Zimbabwe and the Liberia.

Government figures indicate that nearly 10 million Kenyans face starvation, but the number could be higher according to IFPRI.

Mr Titus Mung'ou of the Kenya Red Cross says that the conflicting data is due to migratory patterns among rural pastoral communities and inaccessibility of data from conflict hit areas.

"When we talk of Kenyans facing hunger we should talk of 10 million plus people," he says.

The country's hunger situation is blamed on poor rains coupled with the global financial crises which has affected the tourism and horticulture industries' earnings resulting in layoffs as firms cut cost.

Concern Worldwide country director, Anne O'Mahony, says the majority of Kenyans facing hunger are the poor based in rural areas and those living in urban slums.

"People in rural areas who depend on subsistence farming and casual workers have mostly been affected, forced to scale down their calorie intake to one meal a day," she says. "People in rural area do not have a strong voice as those in urban areas, so the situation may not get as much attention in those areas," she adds.

The IFPRI report comes in the wake of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reports which say that this year has seen 1.02 billion people, 100 million more than last year, undernourished, the highest number in four decades.

"The rising number of hungry people is intolerable," said FAO director-general, Jacques Diouf, as the new report on world hunger was released.

The situation may get worse with WFP saying that it is cutting food rations and scaling down operations in places like Kenya due to dwindling funds as a result of the global crisis.

Bussiness Daily (Nairobi)

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has invited his Sudanese counterpart Omar el-Bashir to the AU summit on refugees due next week.

Answering questions from journalists at a press conference at State House Entebbe yesterday, Museveni said Bashir had been invited in his capacity as a sitting African president.

Bashir is wanted at The Hague-based International Criminal Court over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Member states are expected to arrest Bashir. African members, including Uganda, have refused to cooperate with the court, saying Bashir's arrest would compromise peace efforts in Darfur.

Museveni said: "Our position in the African security committee was that let us not condemn or condone Bashir."

"We said let us do our own investigations. That's how former South African President Thabo Mbeki was invited to do further research to enable us take our own position," he said.

Museveni said Bashir was free to talk peace with the rebels in his country, at Munyonyo Resort Hotel, where presidents recently launched a symbolic peace hub during the Smart Partnership meeting.

Museveni said the hub means that Uganda can give protection to belligerents to meet and talk.

"The hub means a neutral zone in which we give safe conduit to the belligerents to meet and talk. We cannot turn around and say "you are wanted by the ICC" and we grab you," he said.

In July, the Government had advised Bashir not to attend the Smart Partnership meeting to which he had been invited over his safety.

Museveni at the time explained that the Government had not "locked out" Bahsir, but there were some issues.

"Some people had said in the papers that we invited Gen. Bashir so that he comes and we arrest him. That's not according the culture of the Great Lakes region in Africa here."

"When I want to fight you, I insult you, I don't invite you. I tell you beforehand. We don't believe in surprise attacks," he said.

The court's prosecutor, Moreno Ocampo, was visiting Uganda at about the same time.

At yesterday's press conference, Museveni said he was yet to crosscheck on whether Libyan leader and the chairman of the AU, Muammar Gadaffi, who is expected to open the talks, had confirmed attendance.

The President called the press to explain the the economy.

He said the economy was growing at 7% per annum, despite the global recession.

This, he added, is in spite of the doubling of the population in the last 20 years, from 14.3 million in 1986 to about 31 million.

Exports, including remittances from Ugandans abroad, grew to $4.5b last year, he said.

His priority now, he added, was to "awaken" Ugandan scientists to step up processing as a means to stop Africa from exporting raw materials. He said Makerere University's faculty of food science was doing this.

The exports can increase 10-fold, he added, if all the products are exported in processed form, which would in turn reduce dependence on donor money.

"A new dawn has come for Ugandans in value addition because we have been begging all over the world. But now, our children who have become scientists can do it (processing)."

He said this was the reason the Government sponsors 75% of government students at Makerere to study sciences.

The President also talked about terrorism, which he said had been defeated. He noted that nobody would again destabilise Uganda, and called upon everybody to engage in production.

Commenting on the LRA war, the President said if the rebels fled to Chad, Uganda would work out an arrangement with the Chadian government to pursue them.

He said he was not bothered whether Sudan still supports the group, saying in 1986, Khartoum gave the LRA 11,000 rifles but they were still defeated.

"The safety of Kony is not in fighting but hiding. Whoever gives them guns wants them killed or to use them to kill civilians," he said.

Turning to corruption, Museveni said young people who have finished their masters degrees would sort out the vice.

On Buganda matters, Museveni said he and the Kabaka would soon announce resolutions on the contentious issues.

On the closed radio stations, he said he had given the Kabaka recordings of programmes in which presenters incited masses and promoted sectarianism and genocide.

"You have a duty to enjoy your rights as journalists but also protect the rights of others. Because of our lax way of working, they thought Uganda was a hole of anarchy," he said.

Journalists had expressed concern about the way in which Radio One journalist Kalundi Sserumaga was arrested.

The President said if he was thrown into a car boot, the culprits would be brought to book.

About the stalemate facing the election of a Kyabazinga for Busoga, the President denied supporting any of the factions, saying there were still unresolved issues.

"If we were supporting any, I would have attended the coronation if government is satisfied that one of them has been agreed on.

"We are still studying the situation there because their process needs to be clarified," he said.

On oil, he said it would not be misused to buy champagne and shampoo, but spent on energy, transport infrastructure, education and research to sustain future generations.

On refugees, Museveni said in the Great Lakes region, everybody is a neighbour and should keep one another in times of problems.

"These are our brothers, don't think they are from Spain or France. We just need to regulate their access to resources. They should not start fighting with the indigenous people over land."

The idea of a United States of Africa, he added, was not yet realistic given major differences between Africans, although political federation at regional level was possible.

However, he added, economic integration was desirable.

New Vision (Kampala)

Abuja — The Federal Government has predicted that foreign aid, which is important for a number of African countries, is likely to diminish in the coming years as a result of the global economic crisis.

This is following drastic reduction in the foreign direct investments in Africa as the credit squeese takes hold.

This was made known by the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ongoing annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja.

Represented by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, the Vice President said, "This has also contributed to the problems within our banking sector, which has led to the quick intervention of the Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria to forestall its collapse. This intervention is similar to that of the developed countries such as in the European Countries and the United States of America (USA) that had to bail out some of their banks, insurance companies and even the manufacturing sectors". He contintinued, "I must state here that whilst the full effects of the global slowdown remain uncertain and vary between countries, it is clear that the impact on African countries although, initially limited, had become, in some cases severe".

"We should be wary of any quick turnaround for our continent because even if global recovery of African economies may take longer time. The major challenge therefore, is on how to implement short term responses to the crisis while staying focused on long term sustainability".

According him, the resolution of the London G-20 meeting in addressing the key issues of restoring growth, financial stability and the needs of emerging countries must be commended. "Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded its Article IV Consultation Mission with the Nigerian authorities on July 29, 2009 and noted that Nigeria entered the global financial crisis from a position of strong macroeconomic stability", he added.

He argued that the reforms of recent years paid off, with windfall from oil, high foreign reserves, and a well capitalised banking system preventing the type of economic crisis Nigeria witnessed during the oil price cycles of the early 1980s.

The impact of the crisis, he noted, has nonetheless been significant with economic growth suffering. "Growth in 2009 and 2010 was expected to fall below the impressive rates of recent years.

Leadership (Abuja)

U.N.-supported military operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have had an "unacceptable" cost for the civilian population, said a coalition of rights groups Tuesday.

The call to action by the Congo Advocacy Coalition said 1,000 civilians have been killed, 7,000 women and girls have been raped, and nearly 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since January.

That is when the Congolese army began an operation called Kimia II to disarm and disband the militia group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, an organisation of Rwandan Hutus, some whose leaders participated in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Though most abuses are still committed by the FDLR, the Congolese army has also killed, raped, looted, arbitrarily arrested and forced into labour innocent civilians in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, the coalition says.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, has backed the Congolese army since March, and much of the statement's criticism was directed at the perceived indifference of the U.N. peacekeepers to the civilian costs of the operation.

"U.N. peacekeepers, who have a mandate to protect civilians, urgently need to work with government forces to make sure civilians get the protection they need or discontinue their support," Oxfam's Marcel Stoessel said in the statement.

The U.N. peacekeepers provide tactical expertise, transport and medical support, and food and fuel to the army. The groups said the U.N. should use its influence to demand that the army protect communities and the rights of civilians, in particular by requesting the removal of commanders with "known track records of human rights abuses".

"U.N. officials say that if they were not part of the operations then the threat to civilians would be even worse. Our response to that is that they should have put conditions on their support to such operations," Anneke Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch told IPS Tuesday.

The U.N. Security Council also authorised an additional 3,000 peacekeepers for the region in November 2008, but they are only just arriving now.

Meanwhile, residents are being forced to flee both the retaliatory killings of the FDLR and the advance of their own army, whose soldiers are often underpaid, underfed and under-trained. This has led to broader criticisms of the operation's military offensive approach to the FDLR problem.

"Our recommendation is that there is a multi-pronged approach to the FDLR that does not focus exclusively on the military solution," Van Woudenberg said Tuesday.

"Military pressure may still be needed, but it should be limited in scope and really focus on the FDLR leadership. There is no doubt that a solution to the FDLR problem is required, but this should not come with a price-tag of causing more loss of civilian life," she said.

According to U.N. statistics cited in the statement, 1,071 FDLR rebels have given up their weapons and been repatriated to Rwanda since January. The group was estimated to have 6,000 or 7,000 fighters prior to January, however, and is thought to have recruited new combatants to replace those they have lost.

Eastern Congo has suffered from the rivalries of various militias for about 15 years. In December 2008, the Congolese took on the Lord's Resistance Army, an organisation of Ugandan rebels, in northern Congo, before launching the current operations against the FDLR a month later.

The scale and savageness of the fighting has been spiraling upward since then. FDLR rebels blame the civilian residents for the army's pursuit of them and punish the residents brutally. The army, in turn, conscripts fleeing residents to haul ammunition and supplies across the hilly terrain. There are reports of some being killed when they grow too tired to work.

One well-documented massacre occurred in May in the village of Busurungi, where at least 100 people were killed by the rebels after the army had left the village. Women and children were forced into their huts, which were then set on fire, and several people were decapitated as a threat to deter passers-by from cooperating with the army.

Survivors said it was payback for the army's massacre of rebels and their families in a nearby village. Victimised by both sides in the push and pull of this violence are the civilians.

The FDLR's presence in eastern Congo and their material strength can both be traced back to their control of region's mineral trade. This control is thought to have been somewhat destabilised by the military operations.

Tuesday's statement said disarming the FDLR should remain a top priority for the Congolese government, but that it needs to "act urgently to improve protection of civilians".

It was signed by 84 international and Congolese NGOs, with a steering committee that includes Human Rights Watch and Oxfam. It hoped to influence diplomats and U.N. officials meeting at the Great Lakes Contact Group in Washington this week.

Inter Press Service (JNBG)

African parliamentarians meeting in Nairobi ahead of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen have vowed to voice a common position against the harsh environmental conditions brought by climate change.
The conference, which brings together 15 countries including five speakers, is also expected to rally African countries to demand for an equitable post in the 2012 Climate Change Agreement.

The two-day conference that kicked off Tuesday in Nairobi was officially opened by President Mwai Kibaki under the theme: ‘Towards a Common Position on Climate Justice and Equity.’

Kibaki implored the lawmakers to draft a common position that would act as the bargaining power in challenging the West against producing green house gases. “We need a greater commitment in fighting the green house gases, reducing carbon emissions through our policies and daily actions.”

He reiterated that parliamentarians’ actions should ‘not be a matter of choice but an obligation.’

“As a continent, we should be fully involved in the climate debate and negotiations aimed at agreements to give us a fair and just deal that caters for our interests and needs.”
His government, he said has put in place measures aimed at ensuring sustainable natural resource utilization in order to reduce poverty and abate continued environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources.

Crucial issues deliberated on by the lawmakers, university dons and environmental experts include the role of lawmakers on climate change, legislative approaches, disputes and actions, economic impact of climate change and its implication on development.

Position papers

The participating countries have tabled their position papers on climate change.

Kenyan speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende noted that the path to a greener world is not easy, and urged his counterparts to take aggressive initiatives to provide for the reduction of greenhouse gases and domestication of international and regional convention and protocols on climate change.

“I urge you in your capacity as political leaders to accept more responsibility in combating global problems associated with climate change. Success requires cooperation, networking and participation from all stakeholders,” he said.

The speaker of the Nigerian parliament Dimeji Bankole, noted that a ‘One Africa, One voice and One position is what African MPs need in order to get a clear and fair deal in Copenhagen. “We should remember that Africa bears the heaviest brunt of the climate change. We need to change this, once and for all.”

A report tabled by the conference shows that developing countries accounted for only 20 percent of the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions yet they suffered severe effects of climate change. In this regard, President Kibaki said those responsible for the greatest greenhouse gas emissions should take the issue of equity more seriously.

Africanews

South African demonstrators protesting against poor government services in impoverished townships have clashed with police.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse a group of protesters in the Sakhile township who were calling for the resignation of the mayor and councilors.

In the town of Standerton, southeast of Johannesburg, burnt tires and rubbish filled the streets, and several people were reportedly injured in the protests.

Police spokesman Captain Leonard Hlathi said protesters torched a municipal office in the eastern town of Belfast. Two police officers were hit by stones and injured, he said.

The six-month-old government of President Jacob Zuma is under pressure to deliver on campaign promises and improve basic services such as water and electricity.

Hassan Isilow, a journalist in Cape Town, says the problem is that people want better living conditions regardless of the economic recession the country is grappling with.

Press TV

A senior Hizbul Islam commander, Shuke Abdirahman Odawa, has joined the Somali government after relinquishing his armed opposition.

In a Tuesday meeting with top Somali officials, including National Security Minister Abdullahi Mohammed Ali, at the meeting in the Somali Presidential Palace, Odawa and his armed men denounced the insurgency, pledging support for the government, a Press TV correspondent reported.

"We are highly delighted as a government to have on board people who fought us yesterday and we called on others to emulate the good gesture," Mohammed Ali said.

For his part, Odawa, who commanded Hizbul Islam fighters in Elasha Biyaha in the outskirts of Mogadishu, pledged to defend the people, the religion and the government, adding that his 'wise decision' was not in any way linked to seeking position in power.

Elasha Biyaha, where most of Mogadishu's displaced civilians have fled since 2007, is the headquarters of Hizbul Islam chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.

In the meantime, scores of Hizbul Islam fighters flooded towards Somali government bases and handed over their weapons to government officials at military bases across the country.

More than 270 fighters have reportedly surrendered themselves so far at Somalia government bases throughout the war-torn country.

Press TV

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has presented his son Seif al-Islam as a commanding head of state with powers second only to those of the long-ruling colonel, a report says.

An online newspaper, Korina, reported on Tuesday that Qaddafi has named his son Seif al-Islam as second-in-command, with the authority to supervise the parliament and the government.

The long-time ruler, who recently celebrated 40 years in power, bestowed on his second son the authority equivalent to that of a head of state, designating him as the "general coordinator of social and popular committees," the report said.

Qaddafi had previously asked senior officials to find a position for his son to allow him to implement reforms, AFP reported citing a 'well-informed' source.

Press TV

A new report authored by the United Kingdom Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has painted a gloomy picture on the future availability of conventional oil, which could have severe economic impact across the world.

Also, Nigeria's gas utilisation project at the Ovade-Ogharafe oil field in Delta State has been successfully registered under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, boosting Federal Government's efforts to reduce gas flaring and improve utilisation.

The report entitled "Global Oil Depletion: An Assessment of the Evidence for a near-term Peak in Global Oil Produc-tion", found that conventional oil may peak before 2030.

But it also argues that there's a "significant risk" that the much sought after natural resource might peak before 2020.

"A peak in conventional oil production before 2030 appears likely and there is a significant risk of a peak before 2020. Given the lead times required to both develop substitute fuels and improve energy efficiency, this risk needs to be given serious consideration," UKERC said.

It was discovered that the world may be entering a difficult phase characterised by slow and expensive oil. In other words, even the discovery of new oil fields is fraught with the problem of slow and high cost of extraction.

The situation might be compounded by difficulty in making such discoveries in the first place, the report said.

"The rate of decline of production is accelerating. More than two thirds of existing capacity may need to be replaced by 2030 solely to prevent production from falling.

"While large resources of conventional oil may be available, these are unlikely to be accessed quickly and may make little difference to the timing of the global peak," the report argued.

But experts have debated the accuracy of reports that are precise about oil depletion. While some argue global oil producing is falling drastically, others insist there is enough to meet 21st century global demand.

Mr. Steve Sorell was quoted by Science Daily as saying that "tt makes no sense to provide precise forecasts of when a peak in oil production will occur. The data is unreliable, there are multiple factors to consider and a 'bumpy plateau' seems more likely than a sharp peak. But we can say that the window is narrowing rapidly. The effects of global oil depletion will depend greatly on the response from governments and on the scale of investment in new energy technologies."

Meanwhile, the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol, where Nigeria's gas project was registered is working towards green house gas emission reduction from projects in developing countries. These projects are registered and monitored under the UN so that these reductions can be sold to developed countries that have emission limits.

The Ovade-Ogharafe project, which is an initiative of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Pan Ocean Oil, is designed to reduce green house gas emission by more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly.

Chairman of Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, operators of the project, Chief Festus Fadeyi, said in a statement yesterday that the project was the largest CDM project in Africa and would provide 135 million standard cubic feet per day for electricity at full capacity.

He said that the gas which otherwise would have been flared will be sold to developed countries to generate revenue for the country.

"The CDM registration has taken more than four years of efforts that were led by Carbon Limits of Norway. The credits will be sold to NUON, the Dutch state utility, so that the carbon emissions reductions that occur in Nigeria will help the Netherlands meet its obligation under the Kyoto Protocol," he said.

Fadeyi explained that the project had important local environmental benefits such as reduced emission of dangerous gases like Nitrogen Oxides, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

He noted that this would improve the working conditions of the employees and the living standards of the nearby community.

Nigeria is among the top 20 countries in the world that flare gas. Others are Russia, Iran, Iraq, Angola, Qatar, Algeria, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Canada and the UK.

Nigeria flares more gas than any other country except Russia, as the country burns 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, losing $2.5 billion yearly due to lack of infrastructure to harness it.

The country was among over 160 nations that met in Kyoto, Japan, from December 1 to 11 1997, to negotiate binding limitations on emission of gases for the developed nations, pursuant to the objectives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992.

The outcome of the meeting was the Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in February 2005. The developed nations agreed to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, relative to the levels emitted in 1990. The countries agreed to reduce emissions from 1990 levels by 6 per cent during the period 2008 to 2012.

Fresh clashes between one-time Somali rebel allies, al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, over a strategic port town has left at least 25 people dead.

The fighting erupted less then 48 hours after the warring sides signed a fragile ceasefire.

In the past two weeks, fighters from both groups have clashed over strongholds in Somalia's southern port of Kismayo, 500 km from the capital Mogadishu, which was formerly shared by the two.

Last week, al-Shabaab finally seized control of the town and appointed its own government there.

However on Saturday, Hizbul Islam militants launched an offensive on the al-Shabaab positions in a pre-dawn attack, triggering intense fighting that left at least 25 people dead and more then 41 others injured, Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday.

The fresh spate of attacks has forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Relations between the two groups -- which had joined forces against the new UN-backed government in Mogadishu and had managed to take control of Kismayo -- soured after the rotating six-month rule they had agreed on failed upon al-Shabaab's refusal to relinquish administration.

Meanwhile, after a brief lull in the fighting with the UN-backed government, massive explosions and heavy artillery fire have once again rattled the war-wracked capital, claiming an unknown number of lives.

According to witnesses, the attacks mainly targeted African Union (AU) and Somali government bases in Mogadishu.

Though no group has yet claimed responsibility; police warned on Thursday that al-Shabaab was planning more attacks on AU troops.

The 5,100-strong AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which began its operations in March 2007, is made up of soldiers from Burundi and Uganda and is mandated to guard strategic sites in the volatile Somali capital.

The mission also provides backup to government forces fighting the violent insurgency.

Mogadishu has witnessed fierce fighting and attacks on a daily basis since May, when rebel forces launched a major offensive against President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's interim government.

The mission is the only foreign force currently present in Somalia, a country which has been mired in civil war since 1991.