IPS Inter Press Service

IPS Africa provides news features and analyses on the events and processes affecting political, economic and social development of people and nations in Africa. In directing this coverage, emphasis is put on not only hearing the voices of those in positions of power and formal authority, but more on providing access for actors in civil society and the majority of the people whose voices have often been silent in the media. http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/index.asp IPS Inter Press Service - Africa Copyright © 2009 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. Mon, 30 Jul 2009 18:52 GMT mgutierrez@ips.org (Miren Gutierrez) newsletters@ipsnews.net (Walter Garcia) en-US IPS Inter Press Service - Africa http://www.ipsnews.net/logo_ips.gif http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/index.asp 100 42 POLITICS: U.N. Calls for "Green Zone" in Strife-Torn Somalia http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47883 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47883 Thalif Deen <editors@ipsnews.net> UNITED NATIONS, Jul 30 (IPS) - Somalia, a perpetually violence-prone country described as one of the world's failed states, may go the way of Iraq. ZIMBABWE: Neglect Sanitation at Your Peril http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47879 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47879 Ignatius Banda <editors@ipsnews.net> BULAWAYO, Jul 30 (IPS) - A functioning public toilet has become a rare sight in Bulawayo. Across this southern Zimbabwean city of about two million residents, public toilets have all but stopped functioning, the buildings now more useful as platforms for graffiti and campaign posters than as public conveniences where people answer the call of nature. Q&A: Brazil’s Lesson to the World: Invest in Family Farming http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47873 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47873 Mario Osava interviews KANAYO F. NWANZE, president of IFAD <editors@ipsnews.net> NOVA RUSSAS, Brazil, Jul 29 (IPS) - Kanayo F. Nwanze chose Brazil for his first official visit as the recently elected president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and was pleased to personally attest to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s commitment to family farming. EGYPT: Plenty of Sun, Nobody Catching any Rays http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47861 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47861 Cam McGrath <editors@ipsnews.net> CAIRO, Jul 29 (IPS) - Egypt receives some of the highest annual solar radiation in the world, yet the desert country remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels. ENERGY: African Sun may Light up European Homes http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47860 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47860 Julio Godoy <editors@ipsnews.net> BERLIN, Jul 29 (IPS) - Twenty German companies have drawn up ambitious plans to meet at least 15 percent of the European electricity demand by 2020 from solar thermal power plants installed in the North African Maghreb region. Q&A : Reality Fell Upon Us: Women's Voices Must Be Heard http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47859 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47859 Eunice Wanjiru interviews ODETTE NYIRAMILIMO, Rwandan member of the East African Legislative Assembly <editors@ipsnews.net> KIGALI , Jul 29 (IPS) - Fifty-six percent of Rwanda's parliamentarians are women, a manifestation of the active role women have taken in rebuilding the country since the 1994 genocide. SOUTH AFRICA: Rights to the River http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47855 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47855 Mandisi Majavu <editors@ipsnews.net> CAPE TOWN, Jul 28 (IPS) - Millions of litres of water are being unlawfully diverted into dams set up by South Africa's major industries, big mining companies and commercial farmers - with potentially devastating consequences for management of the resource. Q&A: Agriculture Can Lead Poverty Reduction http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47854 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47854 Sabina Zaccaro interviews MOHAMED BEAVOGUI, IFAD director for West and Central Africa <editors@ipsnews.net> ROME, Jul 28 (IPS) - Agriculture is vital to the economies of West and Central African countries, but poverty remains a reality in the region's rural areas. ZIMBABWE: New Constitution: Civil Society 'Taking Charge' http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47853 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47853 Stanley Kwenda <editors@ipsnews.net> HARARE, Jul 28 (IPS) - Barely two weeks after the start of an official process to draw up a new constitution for Zimbabwe was delayed by supporters of Robert Mugabe, it faces another challenge: civil society organisation have launched a parallel constitutional project, saying the unity government's parliamentary-led procedure is undemocratic, defective and will produce a flawed document. HEALTH: Namibia Makes Strides in Paediatric HIV http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47852 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47852 Servaas van den Bosch <editors@ipsnews.net> WINDHOEK, Jul 28 (IPS) - While paediatric HIV remains a growing concern throughout Southern Africa, Namibian doctors have managed to put high numbers of babies on the life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment with the help of an early infant diagnosis (EID) programme based on dry blood sampling. EGYPT: Bloggers Fly Into Security Trap http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47843 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47843 Cam McGrath <editors@ipsnews.net> CAIRO, Jul 28 (IPS) - Cairo's airport has been unusually busy the past month as Egypt's security apparatus steps up its campaign against online political activists. RIGHTS-KENYA: Justice Waits While Debate Rages Over Tribunal http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47804 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47804 Joyce Mulama <editors@ipsnews.net> NAIROBI, Jul 27 (IPS) - Kenya's cabinet is expected to meet Monday to review a bill establishing how the masterminds of the country's post-election violence will be punished. MEDIA: African Journalists Reject EU-sponsored Observatory http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47802 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47802 Julio Godoy* <editors@ipsnews.net> BERLIN, Jul 27 (IPS) - A project to create a Pan-African Media Observatory (PAMO), sponsored by the European Union in cooperation with the African union, has been rejected by numerous African journalist organisations. EGYPT: Disputes Rise Over Quotas for Women MPs http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47799 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47799 Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani <editors@ipsnews.net> CAIRO, Jul 27 (IPS) - Disputes have arisen over new legislation setting a quota for female representatives in parliament. Spokesmen for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of President Hosni Mubarak describe the quotas as a milestone for women's rights, but some critics say the move threatens to create more problems than it solves. ECONOMY-ANGOLA: Entrepreneurial Spirit Born Out of Necessity http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47788 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47788 Louise Redvers <editors@ipsnews.net> LUANDA, Jul 24 (IPS) - "Amiga, amiga," the women shout out, "Apples, pears, pineapples..." their cries fading into the beeps and growls of the traffic noise.