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Zimbabwe's Premier Morgan Tsvangirai says his Movement for Democratic Change party has withdrawn from the fragile unity government, amid disputes over the implementation of February's power-sharing agreement.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

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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".

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."


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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.

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.

The top United Nations human rights official voiced concern today over the risks to Guineans if the world body launches an investigation into the killing of at least 150 people last month when security forces opened fire on an opposition rally in the West African nation and raped some of the women protesters.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is considering how to assist with an investigation, and make sure that it is credible, in view of the security and political situation on the ground, her spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.

He said Ms. Pillay is concerned about the harm that Guineans may suffer without the necessary security guarantees for witnesses and those who provide information about the violent suppression of the 28 September demonstration in the capital, Conakry, which she has characterized as a "blood bath."

The timing and format of an investigation mandated from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would largely depend on the cooperation of the Guinean authorities, which have announced their own Commission of Inquiry, he added.

For now, Ms. Pillay is gathering information from various sources on the incidents, including the looting of homes of opposition leaders who had been arbitrarily arrested, and considering various models for a possible probe.

Army Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power of the West African nation in a coup in December 2008 after the death of Guinea's long-time president Lansana Conté.

Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has accused Ethiopia of sending secret agents on a cross-border undercover operation in its territory.

The secret forces reportedly carried out a night raid in the central Somali town of Galkayp on Friday, assassinating two people.

Puntland Security Minister, Abdullahi Said Samatar told the BBC that the forces must have crossed over from Ethiopia's Somali region, also known as the 'Ogaden', where rebels are fighting the government.

"Our relationship with Ethiopia has always been good, but we cannot accept security forces intervening in this way," Samatar said, adding that the Somali government had already sent the other country a written objection.

Press TV correspondent in Somalia said that another person was also kidnapped in the incident.

The rebels in the Ogaden have been seeking independence for Ethiopia's Somali-speaking population since 1984.

Puntland has enjoyed good relations with Addis Ababa since it announced its semi-autonomous status in 1998 -- seven years after the collapse of the central Somali government.

Earlier in January, after a two-year occupation, the 3,000-strong Ethiopian forces finally withdrew from the Horn of African nation, following a deadly insurgents' war waged on both Ethiopian and Somali government forces.

However, since withdrawing, the US-backed Ethiopians have maintained a strong presence along the Somali border.

A petroleum tanker truck has exploded in southeastern Nigeria, killing at least 14 people and injuring five others, an official says.

Nigeria Road Safety Commission (FRSC) spokesman Ben Ekenna said that 12 bodies were badly burned in the explosion in Anambra state on Friday.

The truck leaked into a deep pothole which then attracted heat from the exhaust pipes of nearby cars and set off the blast, he added.

Ekenna admitted local roads were in a bad state and warned that "if something isn't done quickly, tragedies like this will happen again."

Accidents on Nigeria's poorly maintained inter-city roads are common, with trucks habitually driving at breakneck speeds.

The federal road safety body, FRSC, says that around 400 people are killed every month by road accidents in the country of 140 million people.

Country Chair of Shell in Nigeria, Basil Omiyi, has noted that Nigeria needs to use its abundant natural gas resources to grow its energy base.

Omiyi stated this during the Pan-African International Gas Conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He believes that developing the gas sector would help the country meet its growing domestic demand for energy and also generate export revenues that could be used to drive development locally.

According to him, "Nigeria is well positioned to continue to play an important role as gas supplier to the regional and international markets and huge investment and the right commercial framework will be required to actualise these aspirations.

"We also know that much of the world's gas is stranded in parts of North Africa, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, far from the market centres of Asia, Europe and the USA.

"Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, has proven a viable means of reaching these markets consequently trading in LNG has grown dramatically since 2008," he said.

While noting that there was still considerable potentials for additional greenfield development in the country, he disclosed that "there are plans to expand the NLNG".
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Omiyi assured that Shell was committed to ending gas flaring in Nigeria, explaining that the oil giant does not embark on any new project without taking into consideration the economic value of gas.

He lamented that despite generating over 80 per cent of industrial gas used in Nigeria, the company makes little or no money from gas.

He said for the country to attract investment into the sector, there was the need to develop framework that recompense investors.

He stated further that by the end of the year the company would have enough gas to meet the 6n000mw of electricity needs of the country if all its gas was channeled solely to the power sector.

More than 60 Dakar schools are still flooded, and as the academic year begins in Senegal people displaced during the July-September rains are still sheltering in at least another 18 schools.

Post-flood clean-up operations are under way but some Dakar residents say they are frustrated by what they say is the government's slow response.

"The state comes and writes a lot of notes, but there is zero action," said Seynabou Niass, who is living in a flooded two-room house in Darou Rahmane. Most of her belongings have been ruined.

Abdoulaye Faye, president of the flood response committee in the Wakhinane Nimzatt neighbourhood, said he had hoped for more from the government. "The major actions we expected have not happened. This is a catastrophe and people are still in great need."

Marcel Mendy, spokesperson for Senegal's Interior Ministry, said that under a US$4.5-million emergency plan the government is working to pump water from flooded zones, rid standing water of mosquito larvae and provide free health services at medical posts set up in affected areas.

Faye said the available pumps were not powerful enough.

However, even the best pumps will not meet all the population's needs, according to Abdou Diouf, programme manager at ENDA-Graf, an organization working on community development in Dakar's suburbs. ENDA-Graf conducted a flood impact survey in Thiaroye, a flooded area outside Dakar.

"As an actor on the ground, I can say that we need more than just water pumps. We need humanitarian action," Diouf told IRIN. He said communities need food aid and assistance in disinfecting their neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, inhabitants of flooded neighbourhoods are doing what they can to empty the water out of their homes, most of them using buckets.

Hygiene concerns

Hygiene conditions in some areas of Dakar are "worrying", according to an Oxfam report on flood impacts and response. "In a certain number of houses the level of water is from a few centimetres to over a metre, and pit latrines are sunk and the sewage water is mixed with the flood water."
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To date Dakar has not seen an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera, but malaria and skin infections are widespread, with some cases of diarrhoea, according to Oxfam, other aid agencies and government health officials.

Aid agencies, with government help, have distributed emergency kits including mosquito nets, blankets and water sterilization tablets. UN agencies have provided medical and other materials and help with logistics and coordination.

Senegal Education Minister Kalidou Diallo told state media that the 68 schools that remain flooded would be cleaned up by end of October.

THE agricultural sector for South Africa and some of its neighbours like Namibia faces quite a prosperous future over the next five years, economists told a conference in South Africa last week.

The annual Agricultural Outlook Conference was held in Pretoria and attended by representatives of Namibian agricultural organisations.

According to independent economists Mike Schutzler and Evans Janovsky of Absa Bank's agribusiness section, the recession has reached its lowest turning point and the economy will start growing by one to two per cent for 2010 and 2,5 to 2,7 per cent for the next five years.

"Higher producer prices experienced in 2008 together with the lower input costs had a positive influence on the agricultural sector in South Africa which should do well for the next five years," said Janovsky. Schutzler and Janovsky expect that the maize price will move sideways until 2012, beef prices will increase slightly upwards to R22 to R25 per kg for A Grades. Mutton prices would move sideways whilst milk prices might increase and weaner prices most probably also increase in 2010 in order to build stock for the 2010 World Soccer Cup in South Africa.

This is good news for Namibian farmers who produce a lot of weaners.

According to the latest newsletter of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), its president Ryno van der Merwe, the chairman of the Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO), Kay-Dieter Rumpf, and Hannes Grobbelaar of the Agronomic Producers Association (APA) attended the Pretoria meeting.

The conference was opened by South Africa's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Pieter Muller, who spoke about the influence of the current political landscape on South African agriculture.

According to him the South African government shows real appreciation for the contribution of commercial agriculture towards food security.
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"The South African government also realises that the emerging sector must be actually supported in order to develop into full and equal commercial farmers," Muller stated.

The conference was held under the theme 'The Challenge Of Change' and the emphasis was mainly on the possibilities of expanding farming to other African countries.

Several visits have been made to African countries such as the Congo, Kenya, Ghana and even Egypt, and the general feeling in these countries was that South African farmers are welcome in their countries in order to stimulate agricultural development.

Large supermarket chains like Shoprite are already visiting numerous African countries and in spite of difficult circumstances, especially with regard to infrastructure, a number of opportunities have been created for local farmers to produce meat for them, delegates heard.

Lagos — As the world celebrates the World Sight Day , 29.25 million women have been reported blind globally according to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"Out of the purported 45 million blind people worldwide, women account for about 65 percent, which is 29.25 million," Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said at a news conference to mark the day, adding that another 269 million people were visually impaired, while 85 percent of these people suffer from avoidable blindness that could either be prevented, or treated and cured.

The commissioner explained that a further breakdown of statistics shows that about 2/3 or 65 percent of the people are women, most of whom are the elderly who live in developing countries and are more often than not ignorant of the avoidable problems that led to their getting blind.

The theme of this year's World Sight Day: is Gender and Sight-Equal Access to Care, evolved as a result of the fact that more women are going blind worldwide and are prone to blindness due to ignorance.

"Most of these women are blind from correctable cataract disease. Cost of treatment is a significant primary barrier to the use of cataract surgical services. As a result, Lagos State is addressing this issue by offering the elderly free cataract surgical services in our hospitals. Blindness due to cataract alone, can be reduced by 11 percent if women were to receive cataract surgery at the same rate as men.

"As the world marks the World Sight Day, the need for all stakeholders to reach-out to women and girls in our communities with a view to counselling families to take informed decisions and ensure that the needs of women and girls are not neglected for cultural and economic reasons has been stressed.
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"Above all, adopting approaches to improve the use of eye care centres by women and girls will not only reduce gender inequity, as a Millennium Development Goal in blindness and vision loss, but will also have a significant benefit to the family, the community and to the society at large.

"Go out there and help women overcome blindness. Men should gear up towards removing the barriers that have been preventing women from accessing eye care centres in form of advice, encouragement, financial support among others, while women on their part, should endeavour to seek information about eye care services in order to know what to do about avoidable eye problems that usually lead to blindness."

Idris also disclosed that 2.8 million people were blind in the south-west zone of the country, adding that in Lagos State, the government had put a machinery in motion to curtail the rate at which people are going blind.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Sudan are seeking to bolster mutual cooperation, a senior Iranian lawmaker announced on Wednesday.





"In a meeting with the Sudanese speaker, the two sides conferred on important regional issues and the bilateral relations specially the necessity for the activation of parliamentary friendship groups," Head of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told FNA about his trip to Sudan.

Boroujerdi reiterated that the Iranian delegation also held a separate meeting with Sudanese President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir and submitted him a message from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Bashir appreciated the Islamic Republic of Iran for its positions and stressed further expansion of ties (with the country)," he added.

Noting that Sudan is one of the largest African countries, Boroujerdi urged for growth and expansion of relations between the two countries, given the Sudanese officials' interest in Iran.