Warring parties to share power in Congo
JOHANNESBURG (IPS)–On paper, the chances of an end to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have never been so good. The warring parties in the conflict, in which more than two million civilians are estimated to have died, mainly due to starvation and disease, were scheduled to soon sign an "in principle" peace-deal, in South...
New immigration laws worry experts
PARIS (IPS)–Setting out new rights for minorities is a dance of half a step forward and two steps back, say human rights activists. The half-step forward comes with the announcement by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy that he is ready to partially revoke the so-called double sanction against immigrants convicted of a crime. This double sanction means...
Zambia continues to reject genetically modified maize
LUSAKA, Zambia (PANA)–Zambia’s Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana recently reiterated his government’s rejection of genetically modified (GM) maize due to the existing scientific uncertainty surrounding such foods. Mr. Sikatana told journalists here that the government had agreed with a recommendation by local scientists who recently returned from a study mission abroad that GM maize should not be accepted. For the...
Muslims avoid hearsay in Indonesia bombings
JAKARTA (IPS)–Salim Umar, a Muslim preacher in Bandung, says the Bali bombings are "not a religious matter at all," so he did not discuss them at the mosque at Friday prayers. Rather than have the "politically-colored" Bali bombing take center stage, he says the discussions in many mosques focused on preparations for the holy month of Ramadan, the...
Journalists see Zimbabwe’s land crisis up close
Doctors: Will of Zimbabweans can conquer AIDS, food problemsMugabe: Zimbabwe will not be a colony againAre White Farmers reaping what they have sown?MDC says it has a better wayVisit to war memorial a blessed moment HARARE (FinalCall.com)–When Lorenzo Martin, publisher of the Chicago Standard newspaper, arrived at the international airport here, he expected to see soldiers all over the...
Doctors: Will of Zimbabweans can conquer AIDS, food problems
Mugabe: Zimbabwe will not be a colony againAre White Farmers reaping what they have sown?MDC says it has a better wayVisit to war memorial a blessed moment HARARE (FinalCall.com)–The people of this nation of 12 million have the spirit and tenacity to survive the current food and AIDS crisis, they just need a little sincere help from the international...
Security Council may reach agreement on Iraq resolution
UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) –The United States and France are close to a compromise draft resolution that would set new guidelines for United Nations inspectors investigating Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and how force could be authorized in the event of Baghdad’s resistance, Security Council delegates said as the council concluded a two-day open debate on Iraq. Speaking in New York...
Namibia eyes White farms for land redistribution
GINNEWS WINDHOEK (GIN)–frustrated over the slow pace of land transfers from Whites to landless Blacks, a Namibian government minister warned that the country may move to expropriate White-owned farms if White farmers continue to resist land reform. “There is a (provision) in our constitution that private assets can be expropriated in the public interest. Fair and just compensation must be provided...
Mugabe: Zimbabwe will not be a colony again
MDC says it has a better wayZimbabwe hits rough ground as it seeks to reform ills of past land policyAre White Farmers reaping what they have sown? HARARE–Black America, particularly the Congressional Black Caucus, can help spare this African country the spears and arrows arrayed against it by England and the United States by championing its cause, President Robert Mugabe...
MDC says it has a better way
HARARE (FinalCall.com)–The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is the opposition to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) Party here, but it’s not opposition for opposition sake, according to one of its leaders, Renson Gasela, the shadow minister of Land and Agriculture. But it would be hard to tell that by the headlines in the decidedly...