afrol News, 19 October – A new survey reveals that over 14 percent of Kenyans receive substantial money transfers from abroad each year. For Africa as a whole, remittances currently reach up to US$ 30 billion annually. Continue reading One in 7 Kenyans receive money from abroad
Monthly Archives: October 2010
Draft Bill Is ‘A Charter for Rogues’
By Erna Curry
CAPE TOWN, Oct 27, 2010 (IPS) – A coalition of civil society groups marched to South Africa’s Parliament on Oct. 27 to protest against the draft version of a new Protection of Information Bill. “This bill is a betrayal of all the democratic principles we fought for,” anti-apartheid stalwart Kader Asmal told the crowd. Continue reading Draft Bill Is ‘A Charter for Rogues’
After Service, Veteran Deaths Surge
Bay Citizen
Suicides, vehicle accidents and drug overdoses take lives. Veteran Suicides Outnumber US Military Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By Aaron Glantz on October 16, 2010 – 2:00 p.m. PDT
In the six years after Reuben Paul Santos returned to Daly City from a combat tour in Iraq, he battled depression with poetry, violent video games and, finally, psychiatric treatment. His struggle ended last October, when he hung himself from a stairwell. He was 27. Continue reading After Service, Veteran Deaths Surge
Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs
The Guardian
Cost of meat, sugar, rice, wheat and maize soars as World Bank predicts five years of price volatility
Rising food prices and shortages could cause instability in many countries as the cost of staple foods and vegetables reached their highest levels in two years, with scientists predicting further widespread droughts and floods.
Although food stocks are generally good despite much of this year’s harvests being wiped out in Pakistan and Russia, sugar and rice remain at a record price. Continue reading Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs
Passionist order supports priest charged in Peru land battle
ROME (CNS) — A Passionist missionary on trial in Peru for allegedly inciting a riot has ministered constantly among the poor and has worked tirelessly to defend their rights, including the right to care for the land they have been farming to support their families, said the superior general and top officers of the Passionist order. Continue reading Passionist order supports priest charged in Peru land battle
Severe drought afflicts Brazilian Amazon
The Brazilian government has announced $13.5m (£8.6m) in emergency aid for Amazon regions hit by the worst drought in decades.
The money will fund water pumping and purification, as well as food deliveries to towns cut off by the drop in river levels.
The Brazilian air force has already flown 500 tonnes of supplies to areas that usually depend on water transport. Continue reading Severe drought afflicts Brazilian Amazon
SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA (of Dafur) – VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
There’s a move under way in Oregon (USA) to seek Vatican approval for a patron saint of human trafficking and slavery victims.
St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave-turned-nun, is the ideal saint for people whose labor and bodies are being exploited, says Brian Willis. He’s a member of St. Mary Cathedral in Portland who has worked for years to help women who have been forced into the sex trade. Trafficking, despite the name, does not require the crossing of international borders. “You can be born and raised and live in the same house and be a trafficking victim,” says Willis. “It is about exploitation.” Continue reading SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA (of Dafur) – VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
