Twelve people have died in a cholera epidemic in Tanzania, where the government is optimistic the situation will be brought under control soon.

Over the past seven days, 600 cases have been reported in the relatively large east African country, which has a population of around 37 million.

The Handeni district in the northeastern region of Tanga was hit the hardest, with 511 cases of cholera reported, the country's Health Ministry spokesman Nsachris Mwamaja told reporters on Monday.

He added that the government is doing everything within its power to contain the spread of the water-borne disease and treat patients by ensuring adequate supplies of medicine required.

Handeni District Commissioner Seif Mpembenwe said he was glad the situation was getting better and expected to see positive results by the end of the month.

Cholera can also be transmitted by water and food that has been in contact with sewage. It causes serious diarrhea and vomiting, leading to body dehydration. With a short incubation period, it can be fatal if not treated in time.

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NAIROBI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released a Turkish vessel which was captured in July with 23 crew members aboard, a regional maritime official confirmed on Monday.

Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program, said the Istanbul-based cargo ship the MV Horizon-1 was set free by the pirates on Monday.

The vessel was hijacked in July in the Gulf of Aden.

The development came after pirates in the Horn of Africa country have hijacked a Spanish fishing boat in the dangerous waters of the Indian Ocean after a month of a lull of activity along the coast of the Horn of Africa nation, Mwangura confirmed on Friday.

The official said the 100-meter MS Alakrana was seized early Friday by armed gunmen with 36 crew members on board.

Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa, especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991.

Ransoms started out in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions.

An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. Over 10 ships and 200 crew members are still held by Somali pirates.

The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

06 Oct 2009

Somali pirates release a Turkish ship, hijacked almost three months ago, after receiving a ransom of 1.5 million dollars.

The bulk carrier, the Horizon-1, seized on July 8 with 23 crew members aboard, and carrying sulphate en route to Saudi Arabia from Jordan, was released on Monday, Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program confirmed.

"We accepted USD 1.5 million to release the Turkish ship," one of the pirates, who identified himself as Abshir, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"We delayed leaving because of accounting; we were sharing out the money. We disembarked from the ship this afternoon," he said.

This is while, Nilgun Yamaner, a lawyer for Horizon Shipping, told the Anatolia news agency that the amount of money paid in ransom was much higher than what was stated.

Yamaner, however, refused to disclose the amount citing security reasons. A lawyer for Horizon Shipping had earlier said that the pirates were demanding USD 20 million in ransom for the release of the ship, Today's Zaman reported.

Last Friday, after a month long lull, Somali pirates hijacked a Spanish tuna fishing vessel with 36 crew members in the Indian Ocean, some 360 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia.

Somali pirates continue to re-emerge despite a growing anti-piracy mission in the region, piling millions of dollars in ransoms paid to secure the release of ships seized in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

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KHARTOUM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese parliament speaker threatened on Monday to table a bill on the referendum on the self determination of southern Sudan in case two major political partners failed to agree on the legislation.

Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir was referring to the differences between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) which runs the southern Sudan government.

Addressing the ninth session of the Sudanese parliament, al-Tahir said "the parliament has run out of patience as it is waiting for the political forces to agree on the points of difference."

The parliament, "in response to its duty in endorsing this bill during this last session, will be forced to table the bill if differences around it remain," he said.

"Guaranteeing the right of the southern Sudan sons to cast their votes in the referendum remains a duty on us and it should be fulfilled, no matter what the results were."

"The transitional constitution places on the national legislative council the responsibility of issuing this law to prepare the country for the referendum in 2011," the speaker said.

Chairperson of the SPLM parliamentary bloc Yassir Arman criticized al-Tahir's remarks, saying that the parliament does not have the right to endorse the referendum before the SPLM reaches an agreement with the NCP.

"If such a thing happens, it would be a serious violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Transitional Constitution," he told reporters.

Arman said the SPLM will make necessary responses to any move to pass a bill for the referendum that the SPLM disapproves, saying "the referendum law should be agreed on by the SPLM and the NCP."

The NCP and the SPLM differ on all essential points of the referendum law, notably on who has the right to vote. The NCP argues that all southern Sudanese people, wherever they are, have the right to vote and that this right should not be confined to the SPLM members.

Another difference is over the headquarters of the referendum commission. The NCP insists that the CPA stipulates that the commission is to be based in Khartoum, while the SPLM demands that a sub-office be established in southern Sudan to be responsible for the state offices.

The most serious rift, however, is over how the referendum is to be decided.

The NCP demands separation be decided by more than two thirds of the registered voters and that unity by a simple majority, while the SPLM insists both separation and unity should be decided by a simple majority.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara said he bears 'no responsibility' for last week's bloodbath.

05 Oct 2009

The military leader of Guinea says he bears 'no responsibility' for last week's bloody crackdown on opposition protestors, in which over 150 people were killed.

While regretting the recent bloodbath, President Moussa Dadis Camara stressed Sunday that he was 'blameless' for the September 28 massacre at a stadium in the country's capital, Conakry.

"What happened cannot be disputed. But on whom should responsibility be put? It cannot be put on President Dadis... President Dadis was in his office," Camara told Radio France International in an interview, referring to himself in the third person.

The junta leader also added that it is 'dead wrong' to say he gave the order to fire on protesters, refuting allegations that his aide de camp, who is also his nephew, was among those commanding the deadly operation.

The recent flare of violence in the world's leading bauxite supplier has drawn widespread international condemnation.

Analysts believe that tensions in the war-scarred region might increase still further, as Guinea's January 31 presidential election draws near.

Camara, who seized power in the wake of a coup last December, has so far declined to say if he is planning on entering the presidential race, saying it would be 'inhuman' to comment so soon after the bloodshed.

The leader's comments come as the African Union threatens sanctions against his government, should he miss the appointed mid-October deadline to confirm that he will stay out of the election.

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One of Nigeria's key militant leaders in the volatile oil hub of the Niger Delta Ateke Tom who has also agreed to disarm.

05 Oct 2009

Another Nigerian militant leader has agreed to lay down his arms and halt fighting in the Niger Delta oil hub, under a government amnesty which expires Sunday.

Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as 'Tompolo', is the third and last known factional leader with links to Nigeria's main armed group, the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to surrender.

"I and my people are accepting the amnesty offer and we are going to work with the President to achieve the dreams of this country," said the commander at a meeting with Nigerian President, Umaru Yar'Adua, on Sunday.

Before his acceptance of the amnesty, Tompolo was a militant leader in the Delta state, who commanded thousands of fighters and was in charge of main operations in that state.

According to Yar'Adua, the amnesty (which officially began on August 6 and ends on October 4), has opened up a new chapter for Nigerians.

"I pledge that we will do all within our power to ensure that the oil in the land and waters of the Niger Delta shall begin to be a source of blessing and not a curse to the people," the president said on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, two other prominent militant leaders, Ateke Tom and Farah Dagogo accepted the amnesty and agreed to lay down their arms.

Officials said militants, who give up their weapons by October would benefit from a rehabilitation program, including educational and training opportunities.

However, according to our correspondent in Nigeria, there are still pockets of militant groups left who have yet to accept the amnesty.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which is responsible for attacks that have wreaked havoc on Africa's biggest energy industry for the last three years, has so far rejected the government deal, announcing that it has already replaced its former commanders.

MEND is, however, observing a ceasefire which expires on October 15 and has named a team of mediators to negotiate with the government on disarmament.


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05 Oct 2009

Sudan's semi-autonomous region in the south has blasted the central government for what it describes as the escalation of violence in the country.

The United Nations records suggest that the tribal cattle raids in the south are increasingly taking the form of organized crimes claiming 1,200 lives only this year.

The past three days have seen the killing of at least 23 people in the marshy Jonglei state in the south.

"President Salva Kiir held a press conference and blamed the Sudanese army for that action in Jonglei by forming militia groups and giving them orders to attack citizens," said Atem Simon, a communications officer for Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) party that has claimed autonomy in the south.

"He said ... there is no doubt that these arms are coming from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)," Simon told Reuters.

Sudan's central government denies claims by the south that it is provoking violence between the north and south.

Sudan blames the violence on the rebels that declared war on the country on December 23.


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05 Oct 2009

There is intense rivalry between armed groups to control Kismayo.
Heavy fighting between al-Shabaab fighters and Hizbul-Islam forces on the outskirts of Kismayo, in Somalia, have left 11 civilians dead and scores injured.

The fighting erupted 60 kilometers southeast of Kismayo late on Sunday and is reportedly still ongoing in a region called Jiijo Mahaad, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The leader of al-Shabaab, Ahmed Godane, and his counterpart in Hizbul-Islam, Sheikh Hassan Dahir, met for a second time behind closed doors near the town of Afgoye to resolve the deadlock.

The two leaders departed the meeting without a compromise.

Al-AShabaab has given Hizbul-Islam seven days to leave Kismayo.

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Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (file photo)

DAKAR, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - West Africa ranks third after Southern Africa and North Africa on the 2009 Mo Ibrahim index of African governance assessing governance across the continent's five regions, spanning 53 countries.

The index, released on 5 October, assesses performance on safety of populations and the rule of law, participation in political processes and human rights, sustainable economic opportunities and human development in each country.

Cape Verde, ranked second overall, is the highest-scoring West African country. Liberia’s score has increased the most in West Africa since 2005. “Its score is a reflection of the high participation…in its post-conflict political process,” Mo Ibrahim Foundation head of research, Hania Farhan, told IRIN. “But Liberia is still brought down by poor human development indicators, having made little progress on education,” she added.

Guinea fell substantially in the safety and rule of law category – “a direct reflection of the shift in power to the junta,” according to Farhan, with personal safety dropping sgnificantly.

Mauritania, which saw a military coup in August, also scored low on personal safety, Farhan said.

The index was created in recognition of the need for a robust tool for civil society to track government performance in Africa.

irinnews

HARARE, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - Despite moves to salvage Zimbabwe's ailing education sector, exorbitant fees are keeping many poor students from writing the examinations that will allow them to gain a school-leaving certificate at the end of 2009.

A recent survey by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) revealed that up to 75 percent of the 300,000 children who could sit their Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations in November had failed to register before the deadline.

PTUZ president Raymond Majongwe said exams had to be written in eight O-Level subjects at a fee of US$10 per subject, and in six A-Level subjects at a fee of US$15 each, which was simply beyond the means of most parents or guardians.

"The situation is terrible. Students learning in rural areas and on farm schools are the worst affected, with those coming from poor suburbs in urban areas accounting for a substantial amount of the victims," Majongwe told IRIN.

The number of students who could not afford to write their examinations this year was "the highest in the history of the country" said a PTUZ statement.

Hyperinflation, widespread food shortages, cholera outbreaks and an almost year-long strike by teachers in 2008 led to the near total collapse of an education system already undermined by the economic and political crises besetting the country. The standard of learning has declined dramatically.

"We seem to be going back to the pre-colonial era, when education was a privilege of the rich elite - the poor are slowly being edged out, even though the goal should be to provide universal education," Majongwe said.

No extension

''The poor are slowly being edged out, even though the goal should be to provide universal education''
The minister of education and sport, David Coltart, said there would be no extension of the 25 September deadline for registering to write the exams because it would delay the existing timetable and affect the printing of question papers.

"I am deeply concerned because children have been denied the chance to sit for their final examinations after working hard for probably four or five years," Coltart was quoted as saying by The Herald, an official newspaper.

Majongwe urged the government to allow all students to sit the examinations, "and then give them time to pay up, failure of which [would mean] their results should be withheld".

A sign of deeper trouble

Public servants, including teachers, have been paid in foreign currency as a hedge against hyperinflation since the formation of the unity government in February 2009, which has brought back some stability to schooling, but there are still mountainous problems to be overcome.

"Zimbabwe's education sector, once a model in Africa, continues to be riddled with challenges. Public financing of the sector declined significantly over the last decade, leaving most schools with no funds to purchase even the most basic teaching materials such as text books and stationery," said a recent statement by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

It is not uncommon for 10 pupils to share a text book, and despite the government's move to drastically slash school fees in February 2009, deepening poverty has meant that even the reduced cost of attending government schools in some areas had put education beyond the reach of thousands of children.

More and more have been dropping out: "Almost 50 percent of Zimbabwe's children graduating from primary school were not proceeding to secondary school," the UNICEF statement noted.

A school principal in Chitungwiza, a town about 30km south of Harare, the capital, told IRIN that 80 percent of the more than 1,000 students at his school had not paid fees since January.

"Of the hundred or so students who have paid to write their O-Level examinations, only 16 have registered for five subjects and above. Worse still, I don't have any reason to believe that things will change for the better next year if the economy does not improve dramatically."

Majongwe said although it was unlikely, he still hoped that part of the US$70 million Education Transition Fund unveiled by the government, UNICEF and the international donor community in mid-September would be used to rescue the stranded students.

irinnews

MBABANE, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - A public health campaign to rid Swazi school children of potentially fatal parasitic worms has been halted by an inter-ministerial spat over the reasons for hospitalizing hundreds of children.

The health ministry had not released any official figures, but local media reported that between 400 and 800 children had fallen ill after taking deworming and bilharzia tablets administered at their schools in late September, fanning fears that teachers were administering the medication without proper instruction, and the combination of treatments was making children sick.

Bilharzia, or schistosomiasis, is caused by parasitic flukes, or worms, that are carried by freshwater snails and enter through the skin when people walk or bathe in infected water. It can become chronic and damage internal organs, and can also impair growth and cognitive development in children.

"Each drug - albebdazole and praziquantel - has an excellent safety record and can be safely co-administered," the World Health Organization (WHO) Resident Representative to Swaziland, Owen Kaluwa, told the media at a joint press conference called by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) and WHO to allay fears that the medicines were making children ill.

Ministerial infighting

Minister of Health Benedict Xaba said side effects like stomach cramps were normal reactions to the deworming process. "Children with heavy worm infestations tend to experience side effects to the treatment. In the process, the erosion of the gut occurs, resulting in severe pains, diarrhoea and vomiting."

But the Minister of Education, Wilson Ntshangase, was unmoved by the explanations and angrily denounced the campaign. "There is something wrong with these tablets, as many children have been affected. I have a serious problem with the way the whole exercise was done," he said.

"Teachers were going to take the blame, had these children died, and I just wonder why medical professionals like nurses were not dispatched to the schools to administer the taking of the drugs."

The public bickering between the ministers quickly turned into a ministerial blame game, leading Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini to suspend the campaign at the beginning of October. WHO in Swaziland and the MoHSW have both warned of the danger of halting the campaign and withholding treatment from infected children.

''Two cabinet ministers were clashing in public and government was embarrassed, so the life-saving treatments were halted''
"The children were reacting to side effects of the medicine because they were ill from worms, not because the medicines made them sick. They are lucky because they were treated. Our concern is the infected children who the campaign has yet to reach," a government hospital nurse, who declined to be identified, told IRIN.

A teacher in Manzini, the county's second city, said the WHO guidelines for administering the medicines had been followed. "Two cabinet ministers were clashing in public and government was embarrassed, so the life-saving treatments were halted - the suspension was not done for medical reasons. The education minister should himself be educated."

Bilharzia affects some 200 to 300 million people in the tropics and subtropics and ranks second only to malaria among human parasitic diseases in terms of socio-economic and public health importance in the 74 countries where it is endemic.

According to the Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, the disease is common in rural communities and is increasing in both distribution and intensity, partly because of the creation of new water resources to meet the increasing demand for agricultural irrigation.


irinnews

DOL-DOL, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - Traditionally, life for women in pastoralist communities in the central Kenya region of Laikipia revolves around taking care of their children, leaving the men to provide for the family. However, a prolonged drought in the area, which has resulted in significant livestock deaths, has seen these roles reversed, with more women venturing into small-scale business to feed their families. Government officials estimate that at least 600,000 livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) have died in the past three months in the area. Dorcas Piroris, 50, from Olkinyei in Laikipia North District, is selling tourist trinkets to supplement her family’s income. She spoke to IRIN in the town of Dol-Dol on 5 October:

"This is the worst year that I have witnessed in my life; everything seems to be going against tradition and we do not know when things will improve.

"As you can see, there are no animals around this place. When the livestock started dying due to drought, our men took them far away to Mt Kenya in search of pasture. Some people had lost more than half of their herds by the time they left for the mountain.

"After a very long journey, some of our men, including my husband Solomon Lelongo, came back empty-handed; all the animals had died in the forest due to the cold, harsh weather there.

“As a result, an [NGO] mobilized women to seek alternative ways of feeding their families as we wait for the rains. I started selling these wares [walking sticks, leather belts and other items, all decorated with colourful beads] to get cash to buy essentials for my husband and our seven children because the relief supplies of maize, beans and oil that we get from the government and other donor agencies are not enough.

“I am finding it difficult since all along, since my childhood when I was married off by my parents, I have been relying on my husband to provide for me and these wares were the preserve for people with curio shops.

“I and some of my friends have yet to get used to the new role and we are hoping it will rain soon so that things can go back to the way they were.

"Life is difficult since most people do not have money to buy our wares. We usually send some of our colleagues and young men to Nairobi or Nakuru to buy the materials we use to make these wares. Some of us have yet to recoup what we initially spent when we started this job, nearly two months ago.

“The major problem is getting customers because we do not have a selling point like those in curio shops. We rely on people to come to our homes. The few who do, buy our wares cheaply, thereby giving me a very small profit margin.

“Today, I came to Dol-Dol following an invitation by a group [an NGO] that came up with this idea and assisted us in starting this business.

“Although it is dry at times, I have never witnessed a situation where we are forced to buy milk for our children as is the case now. How I hope it will rain soon."

irinnews

GARBATULLA/WAJIR SOUTH, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - Contingency planning is needed to avoid the effects of perennial drought in the northeastern region of Kenya, says an aid official.

"Adequate funding is required to plan for impending drought and [other] programmes that will help reduce the impact anticipated during such a period," said Jane Kamau, Action Aid Kenya country director.

The vulnerable communities, Kamau said, must also be involved in preparing for drought-related crises.

She was speaking at the launch of a short-term emergency livestock purchase programme in Sericho, along the northern Garbatulla and Wajir South districts' border.

The programme, which is being carried out with the Sericho Development Initiative project at a cost of KSh1.2 million (about US$16,000), is helping some drought-affected pastoralists destock, and re-distributing the meat products to hungry families in Garbatulla and Wajir South.

At least 2,500 families have benefited, said Ibrahim Kosi, the programme coordinator.

Some 124 heads of cattle have been purchased in the first phase of the programme, which may be implemented in other parts of the region pending funding.

"It is a simple project with many benefits; livestock owners are happy, [while the] hunger-stricken [and] the poor who have lost livestock to drought are getting 4kg of meat [per week]," Kosi said.

A beneficiary from Wajir South, Fatuma Hersi, said her family had lost all their cattle in the past three months. She said her cows had died of thirst at the Hawaii watering point in Sericho, as she could not access the water wells.

Water shortages have hit Garbatulla, Isiolo, Samburu and Wajir areas.

Kamau said the impact of the current drought was the most severe in recent years and recovery would take a long time, despite expected El-Niño rains.


Livestock purchasing scheme

The government, through the livestock development ministry, recently launched an emergency livestock purchasing programme aimed at helping pastoralists in northern districts earn some income before their herds succumb to the drought.

Under the programme, herders are selling their cows at KSh8,000 each (about $106), a better price compared with current livestock market prices, which have been driven down by the livestock’s poor physical condition.

However, the programme has been dogged by complaints over long waiting times at abattoirs and the exploitation of pastoralists by middlemen who buy the herds for a pittance before reselling them to the government programme. It is also not able to reach all affected pastoralists.

According to Abdi Dullo, a resident, the few remaining watering points in the region were now congested with herders coming in from neighbouring districts.

"New rules have been introduced. Each person is only allowed to take 10 animals to the well; some people wait for up to two days to get a chance," Dullo, a father of eight, said. "We need water. Things are bad; we are also attacked very often [by] wild animals."

Some of the livestock are also not able reach the markets due to insecurity along the routes as well as a lack of water, said Garissa resident, Hajir Siyat.

irinnews

Until recently, Constance Okollet Ocham thought God was responsible for climate change

CAPE TOWN, 5 October 2009 (IRIN) - The "climate witnesses" - all poor farmers - told a special tribunal on climate change in Cape Town, South Africa, on 5 October: "We don't want any handouts from the West." Instead, they needed strategies and policies to help them overcome the effects of climate change.

It evoked memories of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but rather than apartheid, the first of 125 hearings being held in 17 countries before a global UN meeting in December to clinch a deal on tackling global warming in Copenhagen, Denmark, was part of civil society's efforts to ensure that the voices of those least capable of dealing with the effects of climate change would be heard.

"It was not until I went to a meeting in Kampala [capital of Uganda] about climate change that I heard it was not God, but the rich people in the West who are doing this to us by releasing too much [greenhouse] gases into the atmosphere," said Constance Okollet Ocham, a farmer from the Tororo district of drought-affected eastern Uganda.

"We are asking that they stop, or reduce [emissions]," she urged. Between 1991 and 2000, Uganda experienced drought seven times and water tables have dropped, leaving dry many boreholes on which the rural poor rely.

Small-scale farmers from Kenya, Mali, Malawi, Ethiopia and South Africa also gave moving accounts of how their communities were coping with the cycle of floods and droughts that has gripped their homelands to a panel of guests led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Okollet Ocham told the panel that the seasons in eastern Uganda had stopped following their normal annual pattern in 2007, when the region was hit by floods. "Before, we had two harvests every year, but now there's no pattern. Floods like we've never seen came and swept up everything [in 2007]. We went back when the waters had left and there was nothing: our houses, crops and animals were gone."

The receding flood water led to outbreaks of disease because the water holes were polluted and stagnant, which made them breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

"We are not rich, we are poor, and depend on agriculture to survive. People are getting only one meal a day, so many are dying. Sometimes five [people] or six each day are dying from disease and starvation," she said.

From 200 cows to 20

Omar Jibril, pastoralist, community leader and cattle farmer from drought-affected northern Kenya who takes care of 40 children and grandchildren, had a similar tale. The pastures in his region were devastated by drought in 2005 and have yet to recover because of the ongoing lack of rain.

"I had 200 cows then, but now I have only 20 left - they have all died. In the past our land was able to recover from drought, but not any more. I must give human food to the animals I have left if I want them to survive, and we must walk a long way to get water to drink."

Kenya's eastern, northern and southern pastoral zones have been hit by four consecutive years of poor rains. "I used to sell animals, so I could afford to send my children to school, but now some have had to drop out," said Jibril.

"The increase in drought has also brought disease, and because of the food shortage people are forced to resort to deforestation to survive - you will not see trees where I am from."

Repeated flooding has washed nutrients out of the soil, bringing degradation in the quality and productivity of farmland, and more failed crops; women in poor rural communities were sometimes forced to resort to sex work to survive.

Tutu and former UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson will take these messages to African and world leaders at the UN Climate Summit to bring home the human cost of climate change to the world's poorest regions.

"The testimony of women and men who are already struggling to cope with a changing climate is a powerful reminder of what is at stake in the international climate negotiations. Already impoverished communities across Africa stand to lose so much because of a climate crisis in which they have played no part," said Robinson, an Honorary President of Oxfam International, one of the organizers of the hearings.

"Their voices - and their demands for a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal - deserve to be heard by political leaders in Africa and across the globe."

irinnews

NOUAKCHOTT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A high level French military delegation headed by officers at the rank of general will on Monday, together with Mauritania's Defense and Interior ministers, discuss ways of coordinating efforts in the anti-terrorism war being undertaken by the two countries, a security source revealed this.

The delegation has been in Mauritania for over 48 hours and it's not yet known for how long they will be staying there.

In August, Mauritania experienced an escalation of terrorist violence which led a Mauritanian Kamikaze to attack the French embassy in Nouakchott.

Two months before that attack, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had declared in a meeting with the ambassadors of his country that France will not give Al Qaeda any chance to use African soil as it's operation zone.

Sarkozy had equally cited the examples of terrorist attacks in Mauritania and other countries on the continent and said this issue was of paramount importance to France.

The military cooperation between France and her former colony dates back to the 1960s. In 1999, the relationship became cold under the regime of President Ould Taya following the indictment of Captain Ely Ould Dah in France.

The relations resumed to normal status in 2005 after the overthrow of President Taya through a military coup d'etat.

LAGOS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government has assured the people of the troubled Niger Delta area of its determination to develop the region, the News Agency of Nigeria said on Monday.

Nigeria's Minister of Defense Godwin Abbe gave the assurance in southeast Nigeria's Delta State on Sunday, while receiving arms and ammunition surrendered by the ex-militant leader of Camp 5, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.

Tompolo arrived in Warri in a presidential jet at about 11:30 a.m. local time, and traveled to Oporoza to submit his arms after embracing the government's amnesty on Saturday.

The arms and ammunition submitted by Tompolo included 6 GMG, 14 AK47, 71 FN, 24 G3, 6 RPG, 5 GMPG and 6 RPGB guns.

Others are large boxes of arms and ammunition containing cartridges, dynamite, tear gas, thunder flares.

The minister commended Tompolo for beating the amnesty deadline which terminated by the midnight of Sunday.

"I do know that this was done with a lot of courage, enthusiasm, patriotism and selflessness for peace to reign,'' he said.

He warned that any militant who failed to submit his weapons before the expiration of the deadline would not have the chance to do so again since the government would not extend the Presidential Amnesty Program.

Abbe said that after the amnesty, militancy would no longer be tolerated in the region, adding that efforts would be made to integrate the people who were displaced by the disturbances and the ex-militants.

The minister expressed happiness about the large turnout of people who witnessed the event at Oporoza and the large cache of arms and ammunition that was surrendered.

Abbe pledged the government's readiness to develop the Niger Delta area, urging the people to promote the fulfillment of the peace process.

He said all the former militant leaders would soon discuss with the presidential committee on amnesty on how to chart the way forward.

Abbe gave the assurance that the integration of the ex-militants into the society would also involve ascertaining what they wanted to engage in for their sustainable living.

He implored the people of the region to promote and sustain the peace process.

Earlier, Tompolo urged militant groups to abandon sea piracy, fuel pipelines' vandalism and all forms of violence.

"No doubt, I have done my bit and I plead with all of you to continue with the struggle in a peaceful way," he said.

LAGOS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is consulting with South Africa and Ghana in its efforts to reform its electoral system and ensure credible elections, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Monday.

Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu disclosed this in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday.

According to the senate leader, the leadership of the Ghanaian electoral commission had also been invited to share their experience with Nigeria in efforts to put in place an enduring electoral system.

"We have made contacts with the head of the South African electoral commission so that she can come and share her experience with us," he said.

He added that the electoral reform committee was determined to give Nigerians an electoral system that had been tested in other places, noting that the system would be able to advance the country's democracy.

"We owe Nigerians the responsibility to ensure good governance in the country and I want to reassure you that we will do our optimum to put Government in check and make sure that the peoples votes count," he said.

"We are serious about the exercise and we will complete it in good time so that by 2011, we will have a robust and world-class electoral system that can ensure that every vote counts," he added.

"We are not ashamed to say we have challenges in this area and we want to share experience with those in other parts of the world," said Ekweremadu.

He said the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa should be that of partners and not competitors so as to maximize the gains of their bilateral relations.

ANTANANARIVO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Madagascar's ruling transitional president Andry Rajoelina urges the international community to lift sanctions against the island country to pay the way for the implementation of the transitional charter signed by main stakeholders two months ago.

Under the pressure of the international community, his political rivals and the armed forces, Rajoelina said on Sunday night in his national address that he was ready to appoint a new prime minister, who would be accepted by his political rivals.

The new premier would set up all of the transitional institutions according to the transitional charter and other related agreement, signed in Maputo, Mozambique on Aug. 9, he promised.

Madagascan stakeholders in the current political crisis, including Rajoelina and former presidents Marc Ravalomanana, Didier Ratsiraka, and Albert Zafy, agreed in Maputo to share power during a 15-month transition.

However, the political camp led by Rajoelina refused to give up either the presidency or the premiership to other political rivals and unilaterally reshuffled the transitional government early last month.

As one of the conditions for compromise, Rajoelina urged the international community to sign a guarantee letter to lift international sanctions against Madagascar.

The international community denounced the power change in Madagascar in March as unconstitutional and even as a coup, and imposed sanctions against the transitional authority, including the suspension of development fund totaling 302 million euros by the European Union and 180 million U.S. dollars by the World Bank.

Rajoelina said he made the appeal after consultations with various forces in the country, including politicians, representatives of the armed forces, influential church leaders and leaders of civil societies late last week.

His announcement coincided with the arrival of the International Contact Group members, who planned to call a meeting on Tuesday to seek an end to the prolonged political crisis in the country.

The special envoy of the United Nations, Tiebile Drame, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediator, Joaquim Chissano, arrived here on Sunday. The envoy from the African Union (AU), Ablasse Ouedraogo, and the representative of the International Organization of Francophonie, Edem Kodjo, came here on Friday.

AU Commission President Jean Ping and French Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet are scheduled to arrive on Monday.

The presence of the international mediators sets off mixed reactions among different political groups, with three dozens of small political parties under the ruling transitional authority against any talks with their rivals, while supporters of Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka and Zafy expressing hope that international pressure would force Rajoelina and his political camp to implement the Maputo agreements.

Parties supporting Rajoelina see the arrival of international mediators in Madagascar as interference in Madagascar's internal affairs.

They have planned to hold a demonstration against the arrival of the international mediators on Tuesday in front of the hotel, where the international mediators settle down.

In another development, army generals held a close-door meeting with Rajoelina and his Prime Minister Monja Roindefo for nearly two hours on Sunday, but no information was disclosed from the meeting.

OUAGADOUGOU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore visits Guinea on Monday on a post-bloodshed mediation, according to the presidential press service.

Compaore was named the facilitator in the Guinea crisis by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following the Sept. 28 clash, in which security forces opened fire at thousands of protestors in the capital Conakry, causing heavy casualties.

Compaore is also known for his role in mediating the political crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire.

According to the communiqué, Compaore will meet with the military junta and the pressure groups in hope for renewing the spirit of dialogue, which was interrupted by last month's deplorable event.

The junta put the toll at less than 60, but human rights groups said more than 150 people were killed and over 1,200 others injured in the confrontation.

On Friday, ECOWAS Commission President Mohamed Ibn Chambas sent a message to President Compaore through Nigerian leader Umaru Yar'adua, the current chair of the regional bloc, naming him the mediator in the Guinea political crisis.

Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, the junta leader, seized power in a military coup after the death of Guinean President Lansana Conte in December.

The clash erupted after he said he would run for president in the election set for January, going back on his promise not to take part in the race.

The bloodshed has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union.

2009-10-05

KINSHASA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN special rapporteur on arbitrary and extra-judicial killings, Philip Alston, is paying an11-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on a human rights mission, according to the UN bureau in Kinshasa.

Alston is scheduled to discuss with Congolese officials about the situation of human rights violations in the central African country, the UN bureau said on Sunday.

Alston, who arrived on Saturday, is also expected to hold discussions with the Congolese political-judicial authorities on the preventive measures against human rights abuses, before meeting with the members of the civil society, families of the victims and the representatives of the international community.

After his stay in the capital Kinshasa, Alston will go to Bas-Congo, North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale provinces to continue the inspection tour.