China Offers Scholarship to Namibian President’s Daughter and Eight Others

By Adebayo Somuyiwa

Published: November 28, 2009

The Chinese government has allegedly awarded scholarships to the children of nine top Namibian government officials, including the daughter of the president, to study at universities in China.

Islamic Insurgent Group Asks United Nations To Stop Importing Food to Somalia

By Seyi Oduyela

Published: November 28, 2009

Islamic insurgent group al Shabaab demanded today that the UN’s World Food Programme immediately stop importing relief rations to Somalia. The rebels released a statement claiming the agency is hampering Somalia’s self-sufficiency by bringing food rations from outside the country.

United Nations Failing in Democratic Republic of Congo

By Seyi Oduyela

Published: November 28, 2009

Military operations backed by the United Nations in eastern areas of Democratic Republic of Congo have failed to neutralise Rwandan rebels, according to a leaked UN report. The report claims actions by the UN-backed forces have actually made the humanitarian crisis worse.

Climate Aid Cash Unaccounted for

By Seyi Oduyela

Published: November 28, 2009

Large sums of money promised to developing countries to tackle climate change aid are unaccounted for, according to the BBC. A BBC investigation has found that it is not possible to verify whether the 410 million US dollars a year pledged by industrialised countries in the 2001 Bonn Declaration has actually been paid or not.

British Court Tells Liberia to Pay 1978 Debt

By Adebayo Somuyiwa

Published: November 28, 2009

A British court ruled yesterday that Liberia has to pay over 20 million US dollars to two Caribbean-registered investment funds for debts that are more than 30 years old.

Diamond Dealers Ban Zimbabwe’s Gem

By Shamsydeen Badmus

Published: November 28, 2009

The world’s largest diamond trading network has declared a ban on all gems from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields because of what it calls “severe and continued human rights violations”.

Call for Change in African Aid

By Tayo Adelaja

Published: November 28, 2009

Humanitarian assistance in Africa is failing to match the needs of vulnerable communities by being “too reliant on reactive disaster response”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said.

Infant Mortality Rises in Zimbabwe

By Seyi Oduyela

Published: November 28, 2009

The infant mortality rate in Zimbabwe has risen by 20 per cent over the past two decades, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The agency released data this week from a survey it conducted with the Zimbabwean government last May.

Journalist Goes to Jail in Tunisia for Assault

By Tayo Adelaja

Published: November 28, 2009

A Tunisian court yesterday sentenced a journalist to six months in jail for assault following a trial that has been criticised by international rights groups. Taoufik Ben Brik has written articles for the French media and is known as a vocal critic of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for 22 years.

Army Pulls Out of Controversial Diamond Mine

By Shamsydeen Badmus

Published: November 21, 2009

The Zimbabwean government says it is pulling its soldiers out of the Marange diamond mine following allegations of abuse. Earlier this month the Kimberley Process group, the diamond industry’s watchdog, urged Zimbabwe to reform its running of the diamond mine, giving it a June 2010 deadline.

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