Posts having tag: aid and development
CAPE TO CAIRO UNITY WAS 'OVER DUE' ! Three African trade blocs from Cape Town to Cairo have agreed to create a free trade zone incorporating 26 countries with a GDP of an estimated $624bn (£382.9bn). Oduor Ongwen, of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute, tells the BBC News website ...
ZIMBABWE STARVES AS DESPAIR GROWS! By Peter Biles - BBC News, Zimbabwe. This year's harvest in Zimbabwe has been the worst in the country's modern history. In Mashonaland West province, some people are trying to survive by eating wild fruit and digging for roots "It's very very bad. I've got 12 children and it's hard to ...
AFRICAN FREE TRADE ZONE IS AGREED! The leaders of three African trading blocs on Wednesday agreed to create a free trade zone of 26 countries with a GDP of an estimated $624bn (£382.9bn). It is hoped the deal will ease access to markets within the region and end problems arising from the fact several countries belong to ...
ZIMBABWE TALKS DELAYED FOR A WEEK! Regional negotiations on power sharing in Zimbabwe have been postponed for a week, officials have said. The news came as Zimbabwe's main opposition party snubbed the talks in Swaziland after its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, did not get a passport. Leaders had been due to meet after talks in ...
BOTSWANA'S MOGAE WINS $5M PRIZE ! Botswana's former President Festus Mogae has won a $5m (£2.8m) prize to encourage good governance in Africa. He stepped down in April after serving two terms in office. Botswana is one of Africa's most stable countries - it has never had a coup and has had regular multi-party elections ...
ZIMBABWE DEAL 'CAN BE SALVAGED' ! Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai remains hopeful a power-sharing deal with President Mugabe can work, despite an impasse in talks. Mr Tsvangirai said the deal was sound but there was "a problem of trust" between himself and Mr Mugabe. Talks on sharing cabinet posts have ...
ZIMBABWE RIVALS APPEAL FOR HELP! The two sides in Zimbabwe's political crisis have asked for help from the regional grouping, Sadc, after talks on a power-sharing cabinet broke down. After a fourth day of negotiations in Harare, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he and President Mugabe had failed to agree on key ...
SHELL TO APPEAL NIGERIAN EVICTION! Royal Dutch Shell has appealed a Nigerian court order requiring it hand over the site of a key base in the oil-rich but impoverished Niger Delta. A high court in Rivers State ruled in July that the site of the Bonny lifting terminal belonged to the local community, not the oil multinational. ...
MBEKI LEADS ZIMBABWE CRISIS TALKS! South Africa's ex-President Thabo Mbeki is holding talks with Zimbabwe's political leaders to salvage last month's power-sharing deal. He is meeting Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a Harare hotel. Negotiations stalled after President Robert Mugabe ...
UNHCR 'FAILED' S AFRICA MIGRANTS! By Martin Plaut - BBC News . South African civic organisations are demanding an inquiry into the United Nations refugee agency's response to May's xenophobic violence. They accuse the UNHCR of failing in its responsibility to stand up for the most vulnerable people. An estimated 100,000 African ...
MALAWI DROPS HIV CASH HAND-OUTS! Malawian civil servants with HIV, who used to receive an extra $35 a month to help them buy more food, are now to get a food handout instead. "The money may not be spent on what you intended it for," Mary Shawa from the president's office told the BBC. The new policy is part of a ...
Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter from Zimbabwe ! We need seed ! Saturday 11th October 2008 Dear Family and Friends, The October clouds are gathering over Zimbabwe and darkening skies tease us with promises of rain every afternoon. Its a brutally hard time of year. Searing heat, scorched ground and a desperate shortage of water makes it ...
TSVANGIRAI IN THREAT TO QUIT DEAL Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of power sharing with President Robert Mugabe. The MDC leader accused Mr Mugabe of trying to secure all key ministry posts for his ruling Zanu-PF party. Mr Tsvangirai told a rally in Harare that if Zanu-PF wanted ...
RWANDA OPTS FOR ENGLISH TEACHING! By Martin Plaut - BBC Africa analyst. Rwanda's cabinet has decided that all education will be taught in English instead of French. Officially the Rwandan decision is a result of joining the English-speaking East African Community. But relations between Rwanda and France have been frosty ...
AFRICAN GOVERNANCE IS IMPROVING! Nearly two-thirds of sub-Saharan African countries have improved their governance, according to a new index. The Ibrahim index, based on data from 2006, listed Mauritius as the best-governed out of 48 countries Liberia as the most improved. Somalia is ranked last, a place behind the Democratic ...
EU TO OPEN 'JOB CENTRE' IN AFRICA! By Will Ross - BBC West Africa correspondent. The European Union is to open its first immigration centre outside Europe, in Mali's capital, Bamako. Thousands of young West Africans try to make it into Europe illegally each year and many die on the way. The EU hopes the new centre will help ...
AFRICA WEATHERS FINANCIAL STORM ! By Theo Leggett - Business reporter, BBC World Service. On the face of it, the credit crunch is having a noticeable impact in Africa. Stock markets across the continent have seen big falls since the start of the year. In South Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange share index has fallen ...
S.A. COMPANY UNVEILS ELECTRIC CAR ! A South African company, Optimal Energy, is unveiling Africa's first locally developed electric car. The company says the car, expected on the market in 2010, will help reduce urban emissions and noise pollution. The head of the firm denied that unreliable African power supplies ...
MBEKI WILL KEEP ZIMBABWE ROLE! Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has confirmed he will continue his mediation efforts in Zimbabwe. "He will resume his work as soon as it is practically possible," his spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said. Mr Mbeki brokered a power-sharing deal between President Robert ...
UN WARNS OVER ZIMBABWE FOOD AID ! About half the population of Zimbabwe could soon be in need of constant food aid and medical assistance, the UN's humanitarian chief has told the BBC. John Holmes said three million people were already reliant on aid, and that figure could rise to five million. He said the situation was already ...
