AFRICA AND WORLD
JOHANNESBURG – Amnesty International says that human rights abuses committed in the weeks before the June run-off elections in Zimbabwe are going unpunished. Further, the food crisis is worsening in Zimbabwe while President Robert Mugabe and the opposition bicker over forming a unity government. Zimbabweans are struggling to survive amid chronic shortages of meat, milk and other basic commodities as a result of the collapse of the agricultural sector. The country is dependent on food hand-outs and malnutrition is on the rise. There are now fears that the coming harvest could be worse than last year, thus making the country more dependent on food aid.
ADDIS ABABA – The African Union (AU) indicates that developed countries are planning to cut aid to the continent owing to the global financial crisis. While Africa is relatively protected from the global turmoil as African banks are less exposed to credit risk, analysts believe there could be a reduction of aid inflows, as well as foreign direct investment and remittances. Parts of the continent have been hit by drought and Africa also has felt the effects of high food and fuel prices this year. As a consequence, more than 100-million people have been pushed deeper into poverty, and the situation will get worse with less aid flowing into Africa. The AU has criticised the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) bail-out packages to Hungary and Ukraine, as it believes Africa is competing for the same resources. There is a concern that if an African country experienced a similar difficulty, the IMF will not be in a position to provide the same level of assistance.
GABORONE – Botswana’s President Ian Khama believes that the global credit crunch will have little impact on Botswana's financial system, which has been cushioned by the diamond-rich African nation's foreign reserves. With growth rates averaging at least 8% over the past two decades, Botswana has been Africa's best performing economy and a model of political stability on the continent. Khama, however, warns that the country must diversify its economy because of an expected drastic decline in the diamond sector in the next ten years. He lists tourism and agriculture as two of the most attractive areas for investment.
ABUJA – Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is facing criminal charges in Nigeria, which relate to alleged breaches of import, supply and registration regulations for medicines and laws governing clinical trials. In addition, the federal government and the northern state of Kano have also brought a civil case against Pfizer. The plaintiffs are claiming $8,5-billion in damages over the 1996 trial of the antibiotic Trovan in Kano during a meningitis epidemic that killed 12 000 children. The New York-based drug maker denies all charges and argues that meningitis, not Trovan, killed the children or damaged their health. The company is seeking an out-of-court settlement of both the civil and criminal cases.
GENEVA – Senior military officers from 50 countries gather in Geneva to put international humanitarian law into simple language that can be understood in theatres of war worldwide. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which organised the two-week course with the Swiss Armed Forces, says that civilians accounted for the overwhelming majority of war casualties despite being protected by the Geneva Convention. International humanitarian law places constraints on the military methods conflicting parties can use, aiming to avoid unnecessary carnage and spare civilians and their property. The rules also spell out principles for providing medical services to those wounded by war, including enemy combatants, as well as acceptable conditions for detention and imprisonment.
GENEVA – A group of major developing countries denounces efforts to eliminate tariffs in some industrial sectors. The group, known as NAMA-11, states that these moves are contrary to the spirit of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha round. A statement by the group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, India and South Africa, shows that the sectoral discussions remain a major stumbling block in the Doha talks. The US views sector deals as a priority. Developing countries are not opposed to voluntary sectoral deals. However, the US is seemingly pushing to make these deals compulsory. The US is trying to link the sectoral discussions to the overall Doha trade deal.
JOHANNESBURG – Amnesty International says that human rights abuses committed in the weeks before the June run-off elections in Zimbabwe are going unpunished. Further, the food crisis is worsening in Zimbabwe while President Robert Mugabe and the opposition bicker over forming a unity government. Zimbabweans are struggling to survive amid chronic shortages of meat, milk and other basic commodities as a result of the collapse of the agricultural sector. The country is dependent on food hand-outs and malnutrition is on the rise. There are now fears that the coming harvest could be worse than last year, thus making the country more dependent on food aid.
ADDIS ABABA – The African Union (AU) indicates that developed countries are planning to cut aid to the continent owing to the global financial crisis. While Africa is relatively protected from the global turmoil as African banks are less exposed to credit risk, analysts believe there could be a reduction of aid inflows, as well as foreign direct investment and remittances. Parts of the continent have been hit by drought and Africa also has felt the effects of high food and fuel prices this year. As a consequence, more than 100-million people have been pushed deeper into poverty, and the situation will get worse with less aid flowing into Africa. The AU has criticised the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) bail-out packages to Hungary and Ukraine, as it believes Africa is competing for the same resources. There is a concern that if an African country experienced a similar difficulty, the IMF will not be in a position to provide the same level of assistance.
GABORONE – Botswana’s President Ian Khama believes that the global credit crunch will have little impact on Botswana's financial system, which has been cushioned by the diamond-rich African nation's foreign reserves. With growth rates averaging at least 8% over the past two decades, Botswana has been Africa's best performing economy and a model of political stability on the continent. Khama, however, warns that the country must diversify its economy because of an expected drastic decline in the diamond sector in the next ten years. He lists tourism and agriculture as two of the most attractive areas for investment.
ABUJA – Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is facing criminal charges in Nigeria, which relate to alleged breaches of import, supply and registration regulations for medicines and laws governing clinical trials. In addition, the federal government and the northern state of Kano have also brought a civil case against Pfizer. The plaintiffs are claiming $8,5-billion in damages over the 1996 trial of the antibiotic Trovan in Kano during a meningitis epidemic that killed 12 000 children. The New York-based drug maker denies all charges and argues that meningitis, not Trovan, killed the children or damaged their health. The company is seeking an out-of-court settlement of both the civil and criminal cases.
GENEVA – Senior military officers from 50 countries gather in Geneva to put international humanitarian law into simple language that can be understood in theatres of war worldwide. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which organised the two-week course with the Swiss Armed Forces, says that civilians accounted for the overwhelming majority of war casualties despite being protected by the Geneva Convention. International humanitarian law places constraints on the military methods conflicting parties can use, aiming to avoid unnecessary carnage and spare civilians and their property. The rules also spell out principles for providing medical services to those wounded by war, including enemy combatants, as well as acceptable conditions for detention and imprisonment.
GENEVA – A group of major developing countries denounces efforts to eliminate tariffs in some industrial sectors. The group, known as NAMA-11, states that these moves are contrary to the spirit of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha round. A statement by the group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, India and South Africa, shows that the sectoral discussions remain a major stumbling block in the Doha talks. The US views sector deals as a priority. Developing countries are not opposed to voluntary sectoral deals. However, the US is seemingly pushing to make these deals compulsory. The US is trying to link the sectoral discussions to the overall Doha trade deal.
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