The African Newsferret

Africa Today – news from the past 24 hours

12 March 2010

I am taking a short break next week. There will thus be no Africa Today posts as I do believe it will be out of place in Kleinbrak near Mossel Bay where I will be relaxing.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday it was open to an independent probe into its food aid to Somalia, a day after a UN report said up to half of the food aid to the war-wracked country is diverted. Systematic collusion between transporters of WFP food aid, implementing partners in Somalia and armed groups was behind the food diversion, the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia said in a report seen by AFP on Wednesday. The Rome-based agency said it "would welcome an independent investigation into its food assistance operations in Somalia", according to a statement.

The UN independent expert on freedom of religion urged governments around the world on Thursday to be on the look-out for "early warning signs" of inter-religious unrest. "The current and recurring cases of inter-communal violence in Nigeria... show once again the importance of taking heed of early warning signs and addressing the root causes of religious tensions," special rapporteur Asma Jahangir told the UN Human Rights Council. Political manipulation was the principal cause of the latest unrest in Nigeria, she told journalists later, adding that "religions can be very easily manipulated".

Three Cameroonian journalists have been charged with fraud and using forged documents and detained in Yaounde's central prison, a judicial source said on Thursday. According to this source, the journalists copied the signature of President Paul Biya's secretary general, Laurent Esso, on documents "which they used to blackmail him" in a bid to obtain money. The three face between 10 and 20 years in prison, the source said. A fourth journalist wanted in connection with the same affair, Simon Nko'o, a reporter on the weekly Bebela, "can't be found", according to the editor of his paper, Henriette Ekwe.

Organisers of an international conference due later this month on rebuilding Sudan's war-torn Darfur region said on Thursday they hope to raise $2bn for development projects. The March 21 meeting co-chaired by Egypt and Turkey "aims at sending a clear message to the international community that development is a key factor in achieving peace and stability in Darfur," Egypt said in a statement. Organisers aim to raise the money to finance development in agriculture, water, healthcare and education, according to documents provided by the Egyptian authorities and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Niger's ruling military junta has sacked the west African country's eight regional governors - all political supporters of the previous regime - and replaced them with soldiers. The move announced late on Wednesday tightens the junta's grip on power in the uranium-producing nation after it toppled former president Mamadou Tandja in a spectacular raid in the capital last month, pledging to wipe out corruption and hold elections.

Libya says Switzerland's travel ban on high-ranking officials and their families has been humiliating and has heavily damaged relations with Europe. Libya's representative to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim A E Aldredi, says the Swiss used the Schengen agreement for their own purposes in a dispute over the arrest of the Libyan leader's son. Libya called on Thursday for Switzerland to cancel the ban, which prevents Muammar Gaddafi and 187 others from travelling to all 25 European countries in the passport-free Schengen area. The Swiss government did not immediately comment.

Residents of a central Nigerian state scarred by deadly clashes between Muslims and Christians began a three-day fast on Thursday in a symbolic commitment to reconciliation. Plateau state governor Jonah Jang announced late on Wednesday a fast "to forgive our sins and bring peace" after more than 100 Christian villages were killed on Sunday in a rampage blamed mainly on a Muslim clan. Police have arrested 49 herdsmen from Fulani ethnic clan for the killings and said they had confessed to have been acting in revenge for attacks in January which left more than 300 mainly Muslims dead.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government said on Thursday it backs plans to start winding up the UN mission in the war-torn country later this year and hopes the pullout will be completed in 2011. The withdrawal will "crown a job well done, when all's said and done, and which had the great merit of helping us end a war that nearly wiped our nation off the map", said Communications Minister Lambert Mende. Alain Le Roy, the UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, on March 5 said that a first drawdown of troops from the 20 000-strong UN mission in DRC (Monuc) might begin around June 30. He was speaking after briefing the UN Security Council on a three-day visit this month to Kinshasa, where he conferred with President Joseph Kabila and other officials on Monuc's future.

Heavy fighting between Somali insurgents and pro-government troops has killed at least 43 people over two days, as AU peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack, officials said on Thursday. Militants attacking from the north on Wednesday reached to within 2km of the presidential place in the heart of the capital, Mogadishu, before AU peacekeepers in tanks reinforced government troops, residents said.

The chief of Gambia's national drug agency was released from prison without charge, after being arrested alongside 10 of the country's top brass in a drug trafficking swoop, his brother said on Thursday. A senior police source also confirmed Sanneh's release after four days in detention. The drug agency chief was arrested alongside the police and navy chiefs, the former fisheries minister and the army's number two in a wave of arrests since last week, believed to be related to drug trafficking.

A non-profit organization that teaches young people life lessons through soccer strategies has scooped the Global Sports Forum award for best Sport and Health programme.  Africaid's WhizzKids United received the award during a glittering ceremony held in Barcelona on Tuesday. The organisation walked away with the award after being selected with other organisations in the Sport and Health category covering programmes in nine countries across Sub Saharan Africa. Based in South Africa, Africaid's WhizzKids provides HIV prevention programmes, care, support and treatment to youth worldwide through the medium of football. Currently, the organization runs it programmes in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Australia and the UK. To date 10 000 kids have been through the six-session life skills programme. Elated Africaid CEO, Marcus McGilvray said the award was a testament to the hard work that has been put in across the organisation, from its trainers in the field to dedicated office staff.

South Africa and the United Kingdom aim to double the value of trade between the two countries over the next five years, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Thursday. 

Swimming champion Natalie Du Toit has won the annual Laureus Disability award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) said on Wednesday. 

Major sources: Reuters, AFP, AP, SAPA, DPA, BBC, VoA