Africa

Somaliland officials are abducting and refouling Oromo, Ogaden and Eritrean asylum seekers. This is against international law as it pertains to refugees. Dr Trevor Trueman has co-ordinated a report on this matter which turns around the incident that took place late December 2011 where twenty refugees from Ethiopia were detained by Somaliland security forces.

Rome – Damaged crops combined with conflict and insecurity are threatening to leave some 2.5 million people in South Sudan – the world’s newest country – in critical conditions unless food assistance is provided immediately, the UN warns.

The first “Ambassador of Peace” art exhibition in this region was held December 25, 2011. The exhibition was designed in line with The Peace Pals International programme was developed in recent times to encourage youths, aged 5 to 16, to become peacemakers dedicated to living in the spirit of the words, “May Peace Prevail on Earth”

Reporters Without Borders expresses its deepest sympathy to the family
and colleagues of the journalist Abdisalan Sheikh Hassan, shot dead
yesterday by a man in military uniform in the Hamar Jajab district of
Mogadishu.

Cairo – Morocco’s legislative elections, that took place a year early following constitutional changes as part of the kingdom’s response to the Arab Spring, resulted in a triumphant victory for the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). It gained 107 of 395 seats, just over 27%, making it by far the largest party in parliament.

The Kimberly Process (KP) Certification Scheme applies to rough diamonds, with stakeholding firms and countries producing certificates that allowing processed rough diamonds to freely enter the retail market regardless that revenue from that added-value processing funds State’s war crimes and human rights abuses against local populations.

Geneva – Hundreds of refugees in southern Ethiopia have been relocated from an overcrowded transit centre to a new camp, the fifth one in the area for Somalis fleeing conflict and drought in their homeland.

Durban, South Africa – In another 40 years, many parts of the world will have run out of water for farming, says a new authoritative analysis of the state of the world’s land and water resources.

The USA Africa Command, which America calls ‘Africom’, is a military structure of the Defence Department of America. Africom was formed in 2007 during President George W Bush’s second term of office.

Geneva – At least 43 villages in Nigeria continue to present cases of lead poisoning, 18 months ago after cases were first discovered in the region, the United Nations reported, calling for an increase in preventive measures in the African country.