The Zimbabwean government is struggling to deal with a worsening unemployment crisis as companies collapse or are forced to make redundancies. Officials in the country have tried to stop the trend by passing laws preventing organisations from laying off workers and forcing them to give workers severance pay, but economists warn the number of jobless will continue going up as the economy worsens. The current rate of unemployment in the country stands at 80 percent and worsening environmental conditions, such as an anticipated drought, will hit the country’s finances harder. “We are anticipating a serious drought which might affect electricity…
Author: AMA
Guinea’s President Alpha Conde easily won re-election and will serve a second five-year term after avoiding a run off against his closest rival in last week’s presidential election. Guinea’s electoral commission declared Conde with winner of the October 11 poll late on Saturday, gaining nearly 58 percent of the vote, compared to opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who won a tick over 31 percent. “The Constitutional Court still needs to render its verdict, but the National Electoral Commission proclaims President Alpha Conde winner in the first round,” commission head Bakary Fofana told a news conference. Candidates have eight days to lodge…
Burkina Faso’s army said that a general accused of leading a failed coup last month would be prosecuted on an array of charges, including “crime against humanity”. “Eleven charges have been filed” against General Gilbert Diendere, “notably crime against humanity”, Sita Sangare, the colonel in charge of military justice, told a press conference on Friday. Related: Why are coups common in Africa? Diendere is accused of leading a power grab by presidential guards loyal to ousted head of state Blaise Compaore on September 17. The Sahel country was brought to the brink of chaos for six days before the putsch collapsed,…
The Union for the Democratic Forces of Guinea, the country’s main opposition party, has already said that fraud was widespread in the presidential vote that saw millions head to the polls on Sunday. That’s the second democratic vote in Guinea since gaining independence from France in 1958. Years of coups and military rule followed until 2010, when Alpha Conde became the first president elected through a free vote. So, will this election cement or undermine Guinea’s young democracy? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Adrian Fielding – consultant at Africa Practice, a strategy and communications consultancy Adama Gaye – Africa affairs…
A court has ordered the release of the two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, taking into account they have completed their three-year sentences on corruption convictions. The brothers are expected to walk free later today or tomorrow after the Cairo Criminal Court announced its verdict in the multi-million dollar embezzlement case on Monday. Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were convicted of embezzling state funds allocated for the renovation of Egypt’s presidential palaces. The brothers still face trial on insider trading charges, however, with the next hearing due October 17. Their release is likely to present a dilemma for President…
A six-month investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has cast light on the shadowy world of hostage negotiations, revealing how some governments negotiate with armed groups and pay cash ransoms. In one case, Italy paid millions of dollars for the release of one Italian and one Belgian journalist, according to Syrian fighters. In another, Al Jazeera obtained photographs of an $11m cash ransom paid by Italy to the armed Syrian group, al-Nusra Front, in return for the release of two aid workers. Intelligence files obtained by Al Jazeera also reveal how Italy intervened in negotiations with Somali pirates and brokered…
Durduri, Somalia – A hundred years ago, it was a bustling port that served the vibrant fishing community living along Somalia’s coastline, the longest on mainland Africa. Now, Durduri is a sun-bleached, wind-swept, white-sand graveyard of stone structures. There is no harbour, no jetty. The drying and smoking house is just a tumble of bricks. This is one of many historical coastal trading towns that have risen and fallen with empires. When the busy trade routes moved away, fishing was one of the few lifelines left. Talk to locals now and you will find this too has dried up –…
This year’s Nobel prize for medicine has been awarded to three researchers who have made important contributions towards tackling human diseases in developing parts of the world. William Campbell and Satoshi Omura were awarded the prize for their work on a therapy against roundworm and combating parasites in humans. Satoshi Omura isolated bacteria from soil samples in Japan, looking for those that appeared most promising in combating microorganisms. The efficacy of the bacteria were then tested by William Campbell . He discovered one of them was remarkably efficient against parasites in domestic and farm animals. The result was the drug,…
At least eight people have died in shootings in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, an administrator has said, the latest in a series of attacks to hit the city since a disputed presidential election. Local residents told the news agency Reuters that the police were behind the killings and had been accompanied by unarmed members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s youth wing – Imbonerakure – who stole items such as mobile phones from houses. Residents also said most of the dead were civilians and that some had been found with their hands tied behind their backs. Deputy Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye denied…
Extreme poverty will this year fall to less than 10 percent of the global population for the first time, according to a report by the World Bank. The organisation said in Sunday’s publication that despite the drop in poverty there is still “great concern” for millions in Africa. “This is the best story in the world today, these projections show us that we are the first generation in human history that can end extreme poverty,” said Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, which holds its annual meetings next week in Lima, Peru, along with the IMF. According to…
Koch, South Sudan – Cradles and baskets balanced on their heads, thousands of women and children streamed in from the bush to two outposts in the swamps of Koch county in Unity state, the heart of South Sudan’s civil war. “I came here because at home we have nothing – no food,” said Nyapar Kueth, lining up in Koch town with hundreds of colourfully robed women to receive sacks of grain from the World Food Programme (WFP). “We have been eating the fruits from the trees.” In August, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his rival, former…
Reality Check: Africa is not a country Do you speak African? Well, neither do the 1 billion people on the continent. Africa is home to 54 different nations, more than 2,000 languages and four of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, but is often painted with a sweeping stroke of doom and gloom. In this week’s Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan exposes popular misconceptions about the African continent. Watch UpFront on Al Jazeera English on Fridays at 1930GMT. Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook. http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/201510/1747/665003303001_4528845972001_4528282766001.mp4 [Al Jazeera] The post Reality Check: Africa is not a country appeared first on African…
In this episode of UpFront, Mehdi Hasan speaks to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the Iran deal, a two-state solution and calls for him to be charged with war crimes. Hasan also exposes some of the greatest misconceptions about the continent of Africa, and asks a former KGB general about the real motives behind Russian air strikes in Syria. The Headliner: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Accused of wars crimes in Gaza and Lebanon and convicted for fraud, the former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has been plagued by controversy throughout his political career. Despite this, many supporters…
An ambitious blueprint has been put forward to revitalize the capital of Rwanda. Kigali was destroyed by 100 days of killing in 1994 – the Rwandan genocide. The present population of about 1.2 million now is expected to triple by 2040, and the master plan envisions a city with high-rise buildings the could accommodate its growing population. In the master plan all the older shelters have to come down. In their place will be apartments, condos and commercial blocks. But the new development in Kigali will be too expensive for most of its current residents to live in. Al Jazeera’s…
The South African government is supporting a new board game for schools, meant to address a very serious issue. Each roll of the dice lands the players on a new question designed to educate young people about domestic violence and sexual abuse. The group with the best answer wins a point. It has been developed by the TEARS Foundation, which helps victims of rape. With the support of the South African government, it will soon be available in schools across the country. http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/201510/2268/665003303001_4523995106001_4523819432001.mp4 By Tania Page [Al Jazeera] The post S Africa school game tackles domestic violence appeared first on…
Protesters have marched in Pretoria, Capetown and Durban, denouncing rampant corruption. The anti-corruption activists say the march was in support of transparent funding models for South Africa’s political parties. They say there is a need to bring an end to state-owned enterprises being used to benefit corrupt individuals. Since the African National Congress (ANC) took over, corrupt officials are said to have stolen a staggering $50bn. Is the ANC to blame? And can the scourge of corruption be stopped? Presenter: Mike Hanna Guests: Ayesha Kajee, political analyst. Bantu Holomisa, member of parliament and the president of the United Democratic Movement.…
A man accused of destroying historic sites in northern Mali has appeared before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In the first case of its kind, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is accused of war crimes over the destruction of tombs and a mosque in the ancient city of Timbuktu. http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/201509/1533/665003303001_4522036586001_4521899971001.mp4 Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips reports. [Al Jazeera] The post Malian on war crimes trial for ruining historic sites appeared first on African Media Agency.
Between April and July 1994, more than 800,000 men, women and children, mostly from Rwanda’s Tutsi minority were slaughtered. In one of the worst atrocities in recent history, Hutu paramilitaries unleashed a bloodbath, killing every person they could find, as neighbours murdered neighbours. Sparked by the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994, Hutu extremists seized on his death to exterminate the Tutsi community. In Rwanda: From hatred to reconciliation, we explore the genocide through the prism of the media, exploring their role – both then and…
Renewed violence between Muslim and Christian communities in the Central African Republic (CAR) has killed at least 36 people and wounded at least 80 more, according to hospital workers. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the capital, Bangui, on Monday, with journalists also citing multiple reports of widespread looting in the city, suggesting that tensions that began on Saturday had yet to subside. On Sunday, Doctors without Borders (MSF) said in a statement that their teams working in the city’s Mpoko camp, Castor hospital and Hôpital General had been pressed to activate mass-casualty plans to cope with an influx of…
At least four people have been fatally shot in the capital of the Central African Republic, according to hospital sources, as sectarian violence erupted on the city’s streets for a second day. Sunday’s clashes were aimed at derailing elections scheduled to take place next month, the government said. Armed Christian fighters roamed the streets and protesters erected barricades in Bangui, a day after at least 21 people were killed and another 100 were wounded when Muslims attacked a mainly Christian neighbourhood. The two days of clashes, sparked by the murder of a Muslim man, were the worst this year in…