NAIROBI, 25 September 2012 (IRIN) – Children in the Kivu provinces of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not only getting caught in the crossfire of the area’s ongoing violence, but also facing health risks, threats of forced recruitment by local and foreign militias, and interrupted educations, say officials. Continue reading DRC: Children bear brunt of conflict in the east
Daily Archives: September 26, 2012
Young and Alone, Facing Court and Deportation
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
In Deportation, Age 6: Liliana Muñoz, 6, was alone when Border Patrol officers caught her as she was being smuggled across the Rio Grande. Now facing deportation, she’s also alone in Immigration Court without a lawyer. The immigrant who was facing deportation rose to his feet, in a clean T-shirt and khaki pants several sizes too large, with his name — JUAN — printed on a tag around his neck. But the judge could not see him. Juan’s head did not rise above the court’s wooden benches. Juan David Gonzalez was 6 years old. He was in the court, which would decide whether to expel him from the country, without a parent — and also without a lawyer. Continue reading Young and Alone, Facing Court and Deportation
Insecurity – Catholic Archbishop Calls for Overhaul of Political System
By Sam Eyoboka and Olayinka Latona, 27 August 2012
Lagos — CATHOLIC Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, yesterday, advocated an overhaul of the nation’s political system as a means of addressing the current security challenges just as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha assured Nigerians that the National Assembly won’t disappoint them. Continue reading Insecurity – Catholic Archbishop Calls for Overhaul of Political System
Zuma hits back as mining unrest spreads
The Marikana massacre shocked South Africans and unnerved the markets but President Zuma tells the trades unions that he needs another term
A rousing welcome at a national trades union conference and a belated wage deal at the Marikana platinum mines are the first signs that President Jacob Zuma is fighting back. He has been under fire over his handling of the crisis at Lonmin’s platinum mine at Marikana, North-West Province, where police shot 34 striking miners dead on 16 August (AC Vol 53 No 17,The Marikana massacre). The worst state violence since the end of apartheid looked as if it might cost Zuma his chances of re-election as President of the governing African National Congress (ANC) at its December conference. Continue reading Zuma hits back as mining unrest spreads
Drone attacks in Pakistan are counterproductive, says report
US academics’ report says drones kill large numbers of civilians and increase recruitment by militant groups
Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent
The CIA’s programme of “targeted” drone killings in Pakistan’s tribal heartlands is politically counterproductive, kills large numbers of civilians and undermines respect for international law, according to a report by US academics. The study by Stanford and New York universities’ law schools, based on interviews with victims, witnesses and experts, blames the US president, Barack Obama, for the escalation of “signature strikes” in which groups are selected merely through remote “pattern of life” analysis. Families are afraid to attend weddings or funerals, it says, in case US ground operators guiding drones misinterpret them as gatherings of Taliban or al-Qaida militants. Continue reading Drone attacks in Pakistan are counterproductive, says report
snddenJPIC 