24 November 2011- Egypt military ‘appoints Kamal Ganzouri as new PM’
Egypt’s military rulers have appointed ex-Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri to form a new government, state media say. The previous military-appointed civilian cabinet resigned earlier this week in the wake of violent protests in Cairo and other cities. The military council has said parliamentary elections will begin across Egypt next week as scheduled. Clashes near Cairo’s Tahrir Square have subsided but activists are calling for renewed protests on Friday. Large numbers of demonstrators are spending the night in the square ahead of a mass rally after Friday prayers. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) is overseeing a transition to civilian rule following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February. Despite promises by the council to speed up the process, many Egyptians fear the military intends to cling to power. Mr Ganzouri headed Egypt’s government from 1996 to 1999 under Mr Mubarak. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15883031
Pope visits Africa, reaffirms ban on condoms
Pope Benedict XVI refused Wednesday to soften the Vatican’s ban on condom use as he arrived in Africa for his first visit to the continent as pope. He landed in Cameroon, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Angola. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by AIDS and HIV than any other region of the world, according to the United Nations and World Health Organization. There has been fierce debate between those who advocate the use of condoms to help stop the spread of the epidemic and those who oppose it. The pontiff reiterated the Vatican’s policy on condom use as he flew from Rome to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said. Pope Benedict has always made it clear he intends to uphold the traditional Catholic teaching on artificial contraception — a “clear moral prohibition” — Allen said. But his remarks Tuesday were among the first times he stated the policy explicitly since he became pope nearly four years ago. He has, however, assembled a panel of scientists and theologians to consider the narrow question of whether to allow condoms for married couples, one of whom has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/03/17/cameroon.pope/
Ivory Coast: Ouattara urges calm after rival’s capture *april 2011
Ivory Coast’s UN-recognised President, Alassane Ouattara, has urged restraint after the dramatic capture of his rival Laurent Gbagbo. He promised Mr Gbagbo a fair trial and said a truth and reconciliation commission would be set up. Mr Gbagbo, who surrendered after an assault on his Abidjan residence, said he hoped normal life could resume soon. He had provoked a crisis by refusing to cede power, insisting he had won November’s presidential election. But forces loyal to Mr Ouattara advanced on his residence on Monday, while French tanks backing the UN peacekeeping mission in the country stood by. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the detention of Mr Gbagbo, saying it had brought to an end months of unnecessary conflict, and the UN would support the new government. US President Barack Obama also welcomed his capture, and called on armed groups in Ivory Coast to lay down their arms to boost the chances of a democratic future. He added that victims and survivors of violence in the country deserved accountability for the crimes committed against them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13044818
UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle *july 2011
The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as the region suffers the worst drought in more than half a century. The UN said the humanitarian situation in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had deteriorated rapidly. It is the first time that the country has seen famine in 19 years. Meanwhile, the UN and US have said aid agencies need further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia to allow staff to reach those in need. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009, but has recently allowed limited access. An estimated 10 million people have been affected in East Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia. The UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said $300m (£186m) was needed to address the famine in the next two months. The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, said the response by many European and developed countries to the crisis in the Horn of Africa had been “derisory and dangerously inadequate”. ”The fact that a famine has been declared shows just how grave the situation has become. It is time for the world to help,” he said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington would provide an extra $28m in emergency aid to counter the famine. She said the US had already provided $431m this year in emergency aid to the Horn of Africa, but that was “not enough”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14211905
Ammo dump explodes in Congo, killing 100-plus *march 2012
A series of explosions at an ammunition depot killed 123 people and wounded about 2,000 more in Brazzaville, the capital of Africa’s Republic of Congo, Congolese officials said. The explosions occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday (2 a.m. ET) when a fire at the depot set off a cache of tank shells, said Betu Bangana, director of protocol for President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Bangana said 123 people had been confirmed dead by Sunday evening, and many bodies may be “unfindable.” Ministry of Information press attache Bruno Impene said hospitals were overflowing, with the wounded lying in the corridors. The blasts destroyed numerous homes in the neighborhoods surrounding the installation, Bangana said. The force of the explosions broke windows up to 5 km (3 miles) away in Kinshasa, the capital of the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC’s military responded by putting tanks and troops on the streets and the banks of the Congo River, which separates the two cities, until it became clear that no attack on the capital was under way. Impene said a short circuit the suspected cause of the fire. Authorities are treating the blaze as accidental, Bangana said. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/04/world/africa/congo-explosion/index.html?hpt=wo_c2/
