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UPDATE 1-African Minerals says CRM investment completed

June 17, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) – African Minerals Ltd (AMIq.L) said a proposed 167.8 million pound ($260 million) investment by China Railway Materials (CRM) to develop the Tonkolili iron ore project has been completed following Chinese government approval.

As previously announced, CRM will take a 12.5 percent stake in African Minerals as a result of the investment and has the right to appoint a non-executive director to the board.

In February, African Minerals verified the size of the Tonkolili project in Sierra Leone at 10.5 billion tonnes of magnetite, making it the biggest deposit in the world.

China’s steel sector, which produced almost half the world’s steel output last year, is the biggest consumer of iron ore.

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Victoria Bryan)

($1=.6465 POUND)

Closely observed drains (and secret tunnels)

May 11, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, May 11 — Mahatma Gandhi once described American journalist Katherine Mayo’s book Mother India as the “report of a drain inspector” for its criticism of child marriage and widow burning (“killers of goats,” she grumbles after viewing a Kali worship ritual in Kolkata). Tables were turned briefly when a group of ‘observers’ turned up in Britain from 13 Commonwealth countries – some from the poorest parts of Africa – to observe the conduct of last week’s general election, and left behind their own modern version of a drain inspector’s report. Exciting and smooth as the election was, a few polling booths were unable to cope with a sudden spike in voters. Said to number in their thousands, voters who arrived just before the 10 pm closing were turned away as polling papers ran out. There were unprecedented dharnas at polling booths. “The number of seats the Tories needed for an absolute majority is not that high – this could have made the difference,” said Kenyan MP Ababu Namwamba. Another observer was astonished to discover the absence of identity checks. “It was a massive shock when I saw you didn’t any identification to vote,” said Marilyn Jalloh, an MP from Sierra Leone. “In Sierra Leone, you need an identity card and also to give your fingerprint.” The observers could also have done with a guided tour of the venues that have been hosting post-election political negotiations, including ancient secret rooms, corridors and tunnels. Talks are taking place in the Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall Street in central London, next to the prime minister’s office-cum-home at 10 Downing Street. Since Friday’s verdict of a hung parliament, hundreds of reporters have camped outside the Cabinet Office. But with their entry barred into a building whose stone steps lead to passages, secret rooms and indoor tennis courts built by Henry VIII, television news channels have deployed helicopters for aerial views – just in case politicians try to escape unnoticed through the many narrow alleyways connecting Whitehall offices. On Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was seen scurrying out of his office into the foreign ministry building. At around the same time a passerby noticed Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg making his way for what turned out to be a meeting between the two.

The Commonwealth observers may not know this, but English rulers thrive on the preservation of mystique.

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Liberia weighing trials for war crimes: minister

April 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Liberia is considering trying perpetrators of the worst crimes committed during its 1989-2003 civil war, in which child soldiers were recruited, women raped and thousands killed, the justice minister said.

World

Justice Minister Christiana Tah told Reuters a committee had been set up to review a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) detailing evidence of atrocities and that it would advise on whether prosecutions should go ahead.

Africa’s oldest independent republic is still recovering from the war that left it in ruins.

But unlike neighboring Sierra Leone, which swiftly set up an international tribunal to try war criminals in its closely intertwined conflict, Liberia chose to rebuild first. The twin conflicts killed about a quarter of a million people.

Trials could upset a delicate power balance in a nation that has maintained peace partly by co-opting former combatants.

Some former warlords named in the TRC report have seats in the Senate. Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is being tried for war crimes in The Hague, but only for his alleged involvement in Sierra Leone’s war.

“The president set up a committee that includes myself and the head of law reform, because we want accountability. This is not over,” Tah said in a weekend interview. “We’ll review the report and advise the government on the way forward.”

But Tah said no decision had yet been made on the issue.

“For those who committed the most serious atrocities they are recommending prosecution. That’s one of the questions we have to examine. We’ll try to do that as quickly as possible.”

The TRC was established in 2005 to investigate war crimes.

Its report caused a storm when it was released last year for recommending that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf be banned from public office for 30 years for backing Taylor’s rebellion. The incumbent admits she provided Taylor with money but says she was misled.

Many Liberians doubt Sirleaf, who plans to run for a second term next year, can selectively back the TRC’s recommendations for trials while ignoring its demand that that she leave office.

“To all intents and purposes this TRC report is dead,” said Israel Akinsanya, chairman of the opposition Liberty Party.

“Nobody’s going to touch it if she doesn’t touch it. How will she prosecute without enforcing the full recommendations?”

TRC president Jerome Verdier told Reuters even if the move toward trials went ahead it would be a drawn out process.

“It would take the next ten years to put all the resources in place to do prosecutions,” he said.

“But this is something we cannot escape from. We cannot claim to have ended the conflict in the absence of justice.”

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Minister denies reports of deadly mine collapse

March 22, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

There are conflicting reports coming out of Sierra Leone about a cave-in at a gold mine in the country’s south.

A spokesman for the mineral resources ministry says that 200 people died when a trench at the mine collapsed.

But the mineral resources minister has contradicted that claim, saying no such accident took place.

The minister dismissed the report as a “wicked rumour”, saying he visited the site in question only to find things running smoothly.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accidents, Conflicting Reports, disasters-and-accidents, Gold Mine, Mine Collapse, mineral resources, resources ministry, rumour, s south, Sierra Leone, spokesman, Workplace Accidents

Blair believed God wanted him to go to war to fight evil, claims his mentor

May 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 24 (ANI): One of former British Prime MinisterTony Blair’s closest political mentors, has said that his decision to go to war in Iraq and Kosovo was part of a “Christian battle”.

John Burton, Blair’s political agent in his Sedgefield constituency for 24 years, says that Labour’s most successful ever leader – in terms of elections won – was driven by the belief that “good should triumph over evil”.

Blair has previously admitted that he was influenced by his Christian faith, but Burton reveals for the first time the strength of his religious zeal.

Burton makes the comments in a book he has written, and which is published this week, called “We Don’t Do God”.

In it he portrays a prime minister determined to follow a Christian agenda despite attempts to silence him from talking about his faith.

“While he was at Number 10, Tony was virtually gagged on the whole question of religion,” says Burton.

“Alastair [Campbell] was convinced it would get him into trouble with the voters. But Tony’s Christian faith is part of him, down to his cotton socks. He believed strongly at the time, that intervention in Kosovo, Sierra Leone – Iraq too – was all part of the Christian battle; good should triumph over evil, making lives better,” The Telegraph quotes Burton, as saying.

Blair was not worried by people questioning his decisions, Burton says, but was “genuinely shocked if they questioned his morality because there was never a dividing line between his politics and Christianity”.

Since leaving Downing Street, Blair has set up the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and given a number of interviews about his faith.(ANI)

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Sierra Leone president in China for talks

May 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Beijing – Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma arrived in Beijing Sunday for an official visit, local media reported.

During his seven-day stay, Koroma will meet with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Jia Qinlin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Koroma will also visit China’s Hunan Province and Shanghai, the report said.

The visit comes days after China’s ambassador to Sierra Leone Qiu Shaofang disclosed plans to build two hydropower dams in the west African nation, according to news reports.

“Our cordial bilateral relations have grown from strength to strength and the Chinese people will never forget our Sierra Leonean friends who staunchly supported the restoration of China’s lawful seat in the United Nations,” Qiu was reported as saying by the Sierra Leone-based Concord Times.

Qiu added that bilateral trade reached a record in 2008 with a total of 83.7 million dollars. This was an increase of 30 per cent on 2007, and of more than 470 per cent on 2002. (dpa)

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Beckham reveals what he is doing to save people from malaria

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr.21 (ANI): England winger David Beckham has said that he is horrified to learn that close to 90,000 children are suffering from malaria in Africa, and believes that every one is in a position to save these young lives.

In an article for The Sun, Beckham says: “When I step out on to the pitch at Wembley Stadium there can be up to 90,000 people watching me and the England team. That’s a lot of people. But that’s the same number of children who die in Africa from malaria every month – a whole football stadium of lost young lives. But we are in a position to save these lives.”

“I saw first-hand last year just how crucial these bed nets are. I went to Sierra Leone with UNICEF and saw families devastated by malaria and other diseases. There, one in four children die before their fifth birthday. I visited health clinics and learnt why people die so young. And sadly I saw that it’s mainly from preventable diseases such as malaria. These heartbreaking facts made me back the new charity Malaria No More UK,” he adds.

“Malaria is the biggest killer of children in the world, with a child dying every 30 seconds. And there are around 250million cases of malaria worldwide. But what most people don’t realise is that malaria is preventable. These kids can be saved. Malaria No More UK wants to get bed nets to everyone in Africa who needs one by the end of 2010. It’s an ambitious goal – but it can be achieved if we all get behind it,” Beckham claims in his article.

“It’s time for Britain to get involved. Never have we had such an opportunity to really make a difference as a generation,” he concludes. (ANI)

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Pakistan 10th most unsafe country for journalists

March 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, Mar 24 (ANI): Journalists are no more safe in Pakistan as they are killed regularly, having no freedom to work and the 2009 Global Impunity Index of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recent survey ranks Pakistan 10th among 14 countries.

Other countries in the region – India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh – also figure on the index, a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes.

The already “murderous conditions” for the Press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the CPJ said.

“We’re distressed to see justice worsen in places such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Our findings indicate that the failure to solve journalist murders perpetuates further violence against the Press,” Joel Simon, CPJ Executive Director, said in a statement.

“Countries can get off this list of shame only by committing themselves to seeking justice,” The Nation quoted Simon, as saying.

On Pakistan, CPJ said: “In a deteriorating security situation, journalists have come under threat from a wide range of militant religious and criminal organisations, some with links to Pakistani intelligence.”

Three unsolved murders were reported in 2008, bringing the decade total to 10 and moving Pakistan up two places on the index. “Impunity Index Rating: 0.062 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants”.

CPJ’s Impunity Index, compiled for the second year, calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of a country’s population.

CPJ examined every nation in the world for the years 1999 through 2008. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained, The Nation reports.

Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this Index, a threshold reached by 14 countries this year. Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia top the Impunity Index. (ANI)

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A quarter of the world’s land area is degrading, reveals study

March 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, March 22 (ANI): A new study has determined that almost a quarter of the world’s land area is degrading, often in very productive areas.

Land degradation, which is the decline in the quality of soil, water and vegetation, is of profound importance, but until now, there have been no consistent global data by which to assess its extent and severity.

Now, a new study published in the journal Soil Use and Management attempts for the first time to measure the extent and severity of land degradation across the globe and concludes that 24 percent of the land area is degrading – often in very productive areas.

It measures global land degradation based on a clearly defined and consistent method using remotely sensed imagery.

The results are startling.

The new assessment indicates that 24 per cent of the land has been degraded over the period 1981-2003, but there is hardly any overlap with the GLASOD area that recorded the cumulative effects of land degradation up to about 1990.

“Degradation is primarily driven by land management and catastrophic natural phenomena,” said Dr David Dent of ISRIC – World Soil Information.

“Our study shows the extent and severity of land degradation measured in terms of loss of net primary productivity, making allowance for climatic variability,” he added.

Overall, a quarter of the world’s population depends directly on these degrading areas. The worst-hit areas are Africa south of the Equator, SE Asia and S China.

The worst-affected countries, with more than 50 per cent of territory degrading are, in Africa, the Congo, Zaire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Zambia and the most affected (95 per cent degrading) Swaziland; in Asia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Korea and Indonesia.

In terms of the rural population affected, the greatest numbers are in China, with nearly half a billion, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Brazil.

“The usual suspects, such as the African Sahel and around the Mediterranean are much less affected,” said Dent.

Comparison with land use reveals that 19 percent of the degrading area is cropland and 43 percent forest.

Cropland occupies 12 percent of the land area and forest 28 percent, so both are affected disproportionately.

The study found only weak correlations between degrading land and rural population density and with biophysical factors such aridity.

The researchers conclude that more detailed analysis of land use history is needed to uncover the underlying social and economic drivers of land degradation. (ANI)

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UN urges countries to sign convention on cluster bombs

March 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York – The United Nations on Wednesday called on governments to sign and ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which will ban the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs.

Since its adoption in Dublin in May 2008, the convention has been signed by 95 countries and ratified by four – the Holy See, Ireland, Sierra Leone and Norway.

The convention is still not in force because it has not received an adequate number of ratifications, which means that countries that have signed it have not enacted national legislation to implement the convention.

UN Deputy Secretary General Asha Rose-Migiro said during a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York to promote the convention, that it is the first instrument of international humanitarian law to clearly uphold the rights of victims of a specific weapon.

“It outlines a broad definition of victims,” she said. “It assigns responsibility for their care to state parties in areas under their control.

“Cluster munitions have caused unacceptable harm to civilians in more than 20 countries and territories since they were first introduced in World War II.”

She said the convention provides help to address the humanitarian, socio-economic and environmental damage caused by cluster bombs.

Nearly all of the 27 European Union members have signed the convention.

Countries that manufacture cluster bombs such as the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Brazil have not signed.

The UN said its mine action team will support projects to remove and destroy cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war. Those projects will be implemented in Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Laos, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Western Sahara and Zambia. (dpa)

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Australia emerges as top global refuge for war criminals: Report

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Feb. 11 (ANI): A research has found that Australia could be giving shelter to hundreds of war criminals from conflict zones as diverse as East Timor and Afghanistan.

According to the Daily Telegraph, there suspected war criminals could have entered as refugees or visitors from former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Rwanda, East Timor, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Lebanon. Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nigeria. Chile, Iran, Iraq and India.

In a Policy Brief, the Lowy Institute research associate and former diplomat Fergus Hanson has said that successive governments have adopted a “no policy” approach to war criminals.

“There are good reasons to believe that significant numbers are living here,” Hanson says in his report.

“Wherever there has been a war there is a risk that we have taken war criminals,” he adds.

Despite some classic examples, which indicated that Australia was proving to be a heaven for war criminals, the government has never tried to address this issue seriously.

For example, Saddam Hussein’s bodyguard was found to be living in Adelaide and so was alleged war criminal Captain Dragan Vasiljkovic, of the erstwhile Yugoslavia. Vasiljkovic is currently in jail awaiting extradition.

“The Government spends 15.7 million dollars a year on international criminal courts and tribunals targeting war criminals, but virtually zero on investigations at home,” the Policy Brief reads.

“If we are going to be high and mighty about other people’s war criminals then we need to fix our own back yard first,” Hanson notes.

There is a small war crimes screening unit in Australia’s immigration department, but it is so lenient that it only refused seven out of 881 visa application referrals received in 2005.

However, 7600 out of 640,000 names listed on Immigration’s movement alert list were related to war crimes or to crimes against humanity. (ANI)

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‘Nursing addict’ Salma Hayek suckled another woman’s baby

February 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Feb 6 (ANI): Mexican/American actress Salma Hayek has revealed that she breastfed the starving baby of another woman, who could not produce milk, during a trip to Sierra Leone.

According to Huffington Post website, Hayek had last year revealed that she was so addicted to breastfeeding her baby daughter Valentina, she felt “like an alcoholic”.

She recently helped a desperate mum in a refugee camp during a UNICEF fact-finding trip, and revealed it on the Today show in America when host Kathie Lee Gifford asked her about it.

“You found a child that was starving to death, the mother had no milk – and you nursed that baby?”

Nodding her head, Hayek added: “It’s about women sticking together and we really need to help the children in any way we can,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

And now the actress is fighting to promote breastfeeding in Africa – because it helps boost the immune systems of at-risk babies.

“It is the best thing you can do for your child, not only the bonding, that’s how you build the immune system, so in a country like Africa imagine how important it is for the mothers to do that,” she said.

“But there is the belief that if you are breastfeeding you cannot have a sexual life, so the husbands of these women are really encouraging them to stop and this is just a taboo,” she added. (ANI)

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