UK home rents more than doubled in deprived areas over past four years: Study
A countrywide study in the UK shows home rents have more than doubled in the most deprived urban areas over the past four years, pushing more people into poverty. The report, which was published by The Guardian on September 3, cited countrywide data analyzed by the estate agent, Hamptons. It said over the past four years, Britons living in the most deprived areas saw their...
Venezuelan government, opposition reach agreement to schedule 2024 presidential election
Venezuela’s government and the U.S.-backed opposition forces have formally agreed to work together on terms for the 2024 presidential election, paving the way for possible relief from cruel economic sanctions imposed by Washington against the nation led by President Nicolas Maduro. Representatives from the two sides met in Barbados on October 17 and reached a broad consensus for the election...
Strike over privatizing Sao Paulo public transport causes crowds, delays in metro area of 20 million
RIO DE JANEIRO—Long lines appeared in Sao Paulo’s bus and subway stations Nov. 28, as a strike opposing privatization efforts of public transport in South America’s largest city caused delays. Traffic on some routes stalled completely in the metropolitan area of 20 million people. Sao Paulo state Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas, who took office in January, called the strike “unreasonable.”...
Over 450,000 children institutionalized across Europe, Central Asia
More than 450,000 children are living in residential care homes across Europe and Central Asia, highlighting that a “painful legacy” of neglect, abuse, exploitation and psychological trauma is far from over, according to a UNICEF report released on January 18. The UN Children’s Fund’s investigation, Pathways to Better Protection, reveals that children with disabilities account for up to 87 percent of...
Cuba summons U.S. diplomat after Washington’s ‘meddlesome’ remarks
Cuba has summoned the United States’ charge d’affaires to the country, denouncing Washington for “intervening” in the island’s internal affairs. The move came on March 18, a day after the U.S. government said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Latin American state had to “respect the human rights” of demonstrators, who had protested power cuts across the...
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...
African leaders appeal for Darfur, Sudan peace deal
Ex-rebel women are peacemakers in Darfur talks (FCN, 01-10-2006)Sudan needs help, not sanctions - A report from Darfur (TWF, 09-23-2004)Sudan, Oil, and the Darfur Crisis (FCN, 07-07-2004) Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - African leaders attending the African Union's special summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Abuja on Thursday took turns to appeal to the parties at the Darfur peace...
Uncertainty in Ivory Coast, optimism in Sudan
According to published reports, ECOWAS has threatened to remove Laurent Gbagdo, Ivory Coast's incumbent president, through the use of “legitimate force,” after being unable to “coax him into conceding defeat in elections. The West African Organization of States has called for a two-day meeting of its “defense chiefs (on) January 17 to plan future steps” if Gbagdo does...
Mandela’s Legacy: Much more than goal of a non-racial society
(FinalCall.com) - The 94-year-old Nelson Mandela has received much press of late. His hospital stays have garnered much headlines, and his mortality much discussion. Talk is of his legacy and what South Africa's first post-apartheid Black president will represent to the country going forward. His legacy, as it is being shaped, appears headed toward a similar image assigned to...
The Motherlands powerful influence on Islam
An important collection of historical accounts about the spread of Islam in the Motherland is captured in “Africa’s Islamic Experience: History, Culture and Politics” edited by among others A. Ali Mazrui, a famed Kenyan-born political scientist and one of Africa’s leading public intellectuals. The book was published in 2011 and Dr. Mazrui is now deceased. But the work gives...