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Micro-credit adds to women's double burden
News: 9 February 2010
Fonseka to face court martial
Sri Lanka's former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was arrested yesterday and will face court martial for "military offences", government officials confirmed today. Military police seized Fonseka last night at his campaign office in Colombo and took him to an undisclosed military establishment. The Sri Lankan government has accused him of betrayal and of conspiring against President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa was re-elected by an 18 percentage point margin in the 26 January poll, which Fonseka claim was rigged. The arrest came hours after Fonseka vowed to testify at any international investigations into the final stages of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels last year.
Migrants rescued in Gulf of Aden
A total of 126 migrants have been rescued in the Gulf of Aden after human traffickers forced them overboard from a broken smuggling boat, according to local news correspondents. At least ten passengers are believed to have drowned. The migrants said they left northern Somalia one week ago hoping to find better lives in the Middle East or Europe. However, the human traffickers threw them overboard after their boat broke down. The survivors were spotted by Somaliland's coast guard on Sunday and rescued by Somali fishermen. Most of the migrants were from Somalia and Ethiopia. A record 74,000 people from the unstable Horn of Africa crossed the Gulf of Aden into Yemen in 2009, according to the United Nations. More than 300 people died attempting the trip.
Rehabilitation project for Niger Delta militants
The United Nations Development Programme will help rehabilitate former Nigerian militants in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta. Wirba Alidu, the project coordinator for the UN Office for Project Services in Nigeria, told news agency Reuters yesterday that the project will educate former gunmen and provide them with job opportunities. The five million US dollar pilot project is expected to start in the next few months, with additional support from Nigeria's Delta State government and oil company Royal Dutch Shell. Thousands of militants surrendered last year as part of President Umaru Yar'Adua's amnesty programme in return for the promise of clemency, monthly stipends, vocational training, jobs and investment. However, the education and training programmes had stalled. It is feared frustration at the delay could lead to renewed attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the region.
Africans risk getting inferior malaria drugs
Tests of anti-malaria drugs used in Africa have revealed that patients from both public and private health practices could be getting sub-standard treatment. Experts examined 200 samples of anti-malaria drugs from 10 African countries. They found 44 per cent of the drugs from Senegal failed the quality control tests. Thirty per cent of the drugs from Madagascar and 26 per cent from Uganda also failed. The results for the other seven countries have not been released yet. The failed samples were found to contain inadequate amounts of active ingredients or impurities. The World Health Organization's (WHO) malaria programme chief Robert Newman said low-grade anti-malaria drugs could increase resistance by not killing all of the parasites. The study was conducted by the US government-funded Pharmacopeia programme for the WHO.
India: pollution threat to locals
Pollution from an alumina refinery in eastern India is threatening the health of a local community and their access to water, a human rights group has said. Amnesty International released a report today claiming that the Orissa State Pollution Control Board had found widespread water and air pollution caused by the Lanjigarh refinery but failed to warn local residents. The high pH value found in the water of the Vamsadhara river, downstream of the refinery, has been causing skin irritation in villagers, according to the report. The refinery is run by a subsidiary of mining company Vedanta Resources, which has rejected the allegations. Amnesty's report calls on Vedanta to hold off its plans to expand the refinery until the problems are resolved.
Africa: rapid urbanisation threatens development
The head of the United Nation's housing agency has claimed that rapid and chaotic urbanisation is the biggest threat to sustainable development in Africa after HIV and Aids. Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of UN-HABITAT, has called for more investment in infrastructure and technology to make urban growth more sustainable. Combating climate change could also help tackle some urban problems, Tibaijuka said. Many African farmers have been forced to move to cities because of climate change, she said. The UN says annual growth rates of around four per cent in cities such as Lagos, in Nigeria, are likely to increase social tensions and economic problems and put pressure on the provision of housing and basic services.
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