Today on the Web
AlertNet scours the world's media for provocative articles on humanitarian themes. Below are our choice pickings, updated daily. Click on the links to read the full stories. February 2005 I March 2005 I April 2005 I May 2005 I June 2005 I July 2005 I August 2005 I September 2005 I October 2005 I November 2005 I December 2005 I January 2006 I February 2006 I March 2006 I April 2006 I |
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End Darfur carnage
Toronto Star, April 27, 2006
The U.N. has threatened for a year to get tough in Darfur. It is past time to act, writes this newspaper.
The looming chaos in Chad
Boston Globe, April 26, 2006
Chadian President Idriss Deby could soon lose power to rebels and that may not be a such a bad thing: he is a cruel, tyrannical and corrupt man who has squandered much of the country's new-found oil wealth. But the rebels who would replace him enjoy the deeply troubling support of the Sudanese regime, writes Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College in the United States.
Malaria missteps
LA Times, April 26, 2006
Anybody with a serious illness would rather see a doctor than a banker. So why does the World Bank still think it knows best how to eradicate disease in developing countries, asks this editorial, commenting on the Bank's efforts to combat malaria.
Making the UN work
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 26, 2006
Management and budget reform lacks the sizzle of other subjects typically debated at the U.N., such as war, peace or genocide, but it is vitally important to tackle these issues since the current procedures simply don't work, says this newspaper.
Still under Chernobyl's shadow
Christian Science Monitor, April 26, 2006
In the two decades since the Chernobyl disaster, global attention and aid have largely focused on Ukraine, where the plant is located. But the plight of Belarus, where 70 percent of Chernobyl's nuclear fallout descended, is less well known: over a fifth of the country is still considered to be heavily contaminated.
How to end Darfur slaughter
New York Times on the Toronto Star, April 26, 2006
"Those of us who want a more forceful response to genocide in Darfur should be sobered by Osama bin Laden's latest tape, in which he calls on good Muslims to go to Sudan and stockpile land mines and rocket-propelled grenades in preparation for a long-term war against U.N. peacekeepers and other infidels," writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who has advocated intervention in Darfur.
Nepal: the rising
www.opendemocracy.net, April 24, 2006
"I want to be back on the streets, to be part of this history-making people's tsunami," says Kanak Mani Dixit, editor of the magazine Himal, while being held in a Kathmandu police detention centre.
Nepal on the brink
www.opendemocracy.net, April 24, 2006
The battle for a new constitution in Nepal is only the first of many challenges the country will face in preventing a return to the failings of its past.
The Nepalese should decide
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 26, 2006
The Nepalese king's apparent capitulation offers a glimmer of hope, but it is no wonder that people are still angry and demonstrators are calling for him to abdicate, says this newspaper.
Barbed wire and bridges
The Guardian, April 26, 2006
The only viable solution to the Balkans' remaining problems would be for the European Union to make cooperation between the region's smaller countries the most important criterion for accepting them as members. "It would be silly to start talks with one or two small states that are not ready to have good relationships with their neighbours", writes Gyula Hegyi, Hungarian Socialist minister in the European Parliament.
Uganda’s soldier politicians
www.opendemocracy.net, April 24, 2006
Despite Uganda's steps towards democracy, military involvement in politics remains a dangerous presence, not just a troubling memory.
People of Darfur can only shed dry tears
China Post (Taiwan), April 25, 2006
The situation in Darfur begs for pressure on Sudan's regime to allow a serious U.N. peacekeeping intervention, says John Metzler, U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defence issues.
As Zimbabwe's economy collapses, a tiny few make huge profits
The Guardian, April 25, 2006
Zimbabwe has the fastest shrinking economy outside a war zone, with unemployment pushing 80 percent and inflation at 913 percent. But amid meltdown a small minority of legitimate investors is thriving alongside the crooks.
Behind a facade of normality, Zimbabwe is visibly falling apart
The Guardian, April 24, 2006
On the surface, Zimbabwe seems normal -- there's food in the shops, traffic lights work, children go to school. But behind this facade of normality, a crisis is eating away at the economy and society, causing incalculable suffering in what was once one of Africa's most developed countries.
War is over, so now the Congo army attacks its own people
Daily Telegraph, April 24, 2006
On paper, the Democratic Republic of Congo is at peace and recovering from years of civil war, yet it still has squalid camps filled with people fleeing fighting.
Uganda: aid and democracy
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, April 23, 2006
Aid continues to follow the pattern of Cold War politics: Countries which are strategic to the Western world still receive more money than those which are not, irrespective of whether they are democratic or not. U.S. aid to Israel is a case in the point, says this newspaper.
Standing behind the despot on the wrong side of history
The Guardian, April 24, 2006
There is one external power that does believe in a military solution to Nepal's Maoist uprising: the U.S., whose "security experts" visited Nepal to urge the king and the army to step up the war. India, for its part, has developed a new-found enthusiasm for the Nepalese king and the U.S. stance on the crisis, writes Isabel Hilton in this commentary.
While Nigeria simmers
International Herald Tribune, April 24, 2006
If Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo doesn't manage to get his bid to run for a third term approved by national and local legislatures, he may decide to pursue power by other means and push the country towards civil war, writes Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
Famine woes in Africa require new solutions: Improved roadways crucial for nomads
San Francisco Chronicle, April 23, 2006
The international community should intervene in food crises before images of starving babies hit the TV screens, aid workers say.
Five truths about Darfur
Washington Post, April 23, 2006
Emily Wax, the Washington Post's East Africa bureau chief, dispels some of the biggest misconceptions about Darfur with a list of five "truths" about the conflict in the western Sudanese region.
Rwanda innkeeper: I am not a hero
Miami Herald, April 23, 2006
Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan hotel manager who saved over 1,000 people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, catalogues the horrors his country lived through in his book "An Ordinary Man".
Lessons from Katrina
International Herald Tribune, April 22, 2006
Key lessons from the response to Hurricane Katrina are that the federal government must do a better job of relocating evacuated families to permanent homes, and that the authorities should provide ongoing medical care for the displaced, writes this newspaper.
Oil wealth and corruption at play in Chad's rebellion
Christian Science Monitor, April 21, 2006
Elements that are central to many conflicts across Africa are the basic factors behind the instability in Chad as well: growing oil wealth, complex ethnic ties that transcend borders and ambitious presidents aiming to stay in power longer than their constitutions originally allowed.
Five minutes to midnight for Hamas
Christian Science Monitor, April 21, 2006
Hamas blew its first big test by approving the most recent suicide bombing in Israel. It will undoubtedly have another chance to get it right, but it won't have time for many more opportunities, writes this newspaper.
Africa and Security Council seat
This Day (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, April 19, 2006
In a characteristic manner, Africa is unable to produce a compromise candidate for the proposed expanded permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, five months to the deadline. If this opportunity is frittered away, black Africans will remain the only race without representation in the most powerful organ of the United Nations, writes this newspaper.
Foreign experts killing the African dream
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, April 19, 2006
What the headline-grabbing images of perceived poverty in Africa do not tell is the double role international activists play in Africa's plight. For instance, the West prohibits the use of DDT spray as a protection against malaria yet hundreds of Africans are dying from the disease, says James Shikwati, director of the Inter-Region Economic Network and co-ordinator of the Africa Resource Bank.
How the fund can regain global legitimacy
Financial Times, April 19, 2006
The International Monetary Fund can address the changing global financial landscape only if it has legitimacy as a global institution, by recognising the needs of the poorest members. It should also help to meet the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals to slash global poverty, and give voice and vote to the developing world, says Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of End of Poverty.
More repression will not solve this crisis
The Independent, April 20, 2006
If the international community had imposing sanctions on Nepal, it might have forced the King's hand and prevented turmoil becoming a crisis, writes this newspaper.
From Texas to Chad: why one rebel fights
Christian Science Monitor, April 20, 2006
This is a story of a young man who left his job managing logistics for Coca Cola in the United States and went to Chad to join anti-government rebels.
The ethical deficit that plagues charity fundraising
Third Sector, April 19, 2006
Am I the only person who finds it hypocritical of Oxfam to campaign for fair trade while its Christmas cards are printed in China, asks Hilary Blume, director of the Charities Advisory Trust.
Free drugs alone not the answer to malaria
The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, April 19, 2006
A pledge for free, top-of-the-range anti-malarial artemisinin therapy in Kenya's public hospitals is commendable, but the country also needs to think about access to health facilities, training health workers to handle malaria cases and better measures to help people getting ill in the first place .
When debt isn't so bad
International Herald Tribune, April 19, 2006
If aid agencies want to learn from past crises and develop instruments to avoid future ones, then they should see loans as a crucial part of this rather than a hindrance, according to former IMF director-general Michel Camdessus and top French government aid official Jean-Michel Severino.
With fragile optimism
The Guardian, April 19, 2006
A staggering 4 million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998. That's more fatalities than in Iraq, the Middle East, the Asian tsunami, Darfur and the Pakistan earthquake combined, says Oona King, founding chair of the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region.
Why Millennium Goals may not empower the poor
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, April 19, 2006
Millennium Development Goals that include reducing poverty and hunger and improving health are commendable, but they won't work if the policies that generate poverty are not analysed and no alternatives are proposed, says Nizar Visram, political scientist and journalist.
Starving Niger hungers for foreign aid
Toronto Star, April 18, 2006
Niger's food crisis hasn't gone away. With drought a fact of life in one of the world's hottest countries, food often runs out in late spring or summer, before the autumn harvest.
Educated only in anarchy
LA Times, April 17, 2006
After 15 years of anarchy in Somalia, fewer than one in five children has ever stepped into a classroom, and even those who have been to school received only the most basic skills. Humanitarian experts predict that a lack of skills will hinder Somalia's prospects of recovery for at least a decade.
The tomatoes of wrath
LA Times, April 16, 2006
Hundreds of tonnes of tomatoes used to be exported from Gaza, but with Israel sealing its borders, they are being thrown away. Commerce in the Palestinian territories is down and U.N. workers fret that they will soon run out of food for refugees.
Out of patience in Nepal
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 17, 2006
Will Nepal's pro-democracy protests lead to the end of its monarchy or will the king be able to save his crown?
Blood and oil in Nigeria
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 17, 2006
Despite generating hundreds of billions of dollars since oil was discovered, the Niger Delta is one of Nigeria's poorest and least developed regions. The government should start to pay attention to the people who live around the oil wells that have sustained the country for so long, writes this newspaper.
Both sides dragging their feet over Kosovo
International Herald Tribune, April 17, 2006
Two months after talks began in Vienna on Kosovo's future, both the Serbian and Albanian sides appear to be manoeuvring to change the facts on the ground to help determine whether the province will become an independent state or remain a province within Serbia.
Try Charles Taylor in Africa
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 17, 2006
The benefits of trying Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone far outweigh the costs of activating internationally trained forces to help maintain short-term stability in the region.
A fearful symmetry in Chad
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, April 15, 2006
Out of all the causes of the recent coup in Chad, the one that should weigh on the world's conscience is the spillover effect from genocidal massacres in Sudan's Darfur.
Dying for water in Somalia's drought
Washington Post, April 14, 2006
In Somalia, a well with water is as precious as a town bank, controlled by warlords and guarded with weapons. During the region's relentless three-year drought, water has become a resource worth fighting and dying over.
Balancing AIDS prevention
Boston Globe, April 14, 2006
Ever since the U.S. Congress started requiring in 2003 that one-third of all U.S. money spent on preventing AIDS overseas should be used for promoting abstinence and fidelity, there have been complaints that this was holding back work to fight the disease.
Restoring peace to Nepal
International Herald Tribune, April 13, 2006
There is no question that the Maoist insurgency is a serious blight, but Nepal's king and his dictatorial measures are not the answer the country needs, says this newspaper.
While Darfur burns
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 13, 2006
It is enormously distressing to watch the sausage-making that passes for the world's attempt to do something about the carnage in Darfur, writes this editorial. Rwanda has taught us nothing.
Selfish generosity
Boston Globe, April 13, 2006
There are two self-serving reasons why the United States should spend more on foreign aid: poor countries are more politically unstable and can be a breeding ground for wars, revolutions, terrorism or diseases; and rehabilitating economically backward states would create new markets for U.S. products and services.
Resolution for earthly troubles
The Guardian, April 13, 2006
Google's quirky desktop mapping tool, Google Earth, is becoming increasingly important in efforts to coordinate disaster relief.
Africa should have resisted Taylor arrest
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, April 12, 2006
For the sake of Africa's honour and dignity, the whole continent should have rallied behind Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to stave off U.S. and British pressure to arrest Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor on war crimes charges, writes Magode Ikuya of the National Resistance Movement's Historical Leaders Forum.
Turn the tap off on wasteful use of precious fresh water
Daily Star (Lebanon), April 12, 2006
Just 3 percent of the planet's water is fresh,and we could soon run short of it. If we consider the fights we are capable of having over oil, it is chilling to think what a global water shortage could do, says Michel Rocard, former prime minister of France and member of the European Parliament.
Assessing AIDS
Washington Post, April 10, 2006
Recently revised AIDS figures turned out to be lower than previous doom-laden predictions, but infection rates are still devastating in countries like Botswana, where almost 35 percent of the population is HIV-positive.
Keep the peace or seek swift justice?
Christian Science Monitor, April 12, 2006
Although there is no guarantee that future warlords and dictators will not find a way to slip through the hands of justice, the system is slowly but surely closing in on them, says Ibrahim A. Gambari, U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs.
Nigeria: the young rebels
Le Monde Diplomatique, April 2006
More than ten years after the execution of the Nigerian writer Ken Saro Wiwa, the people of the Nigerian delta are looking for new heroes to fight their corner against the government and foreign oil companies. But today's idols are dubious figures, combining political activism and economic banditry.
India's poor left behind in push for growth
Die Spiegel Online, April 2006
India's stock markets are soaring and its economy is growing at incredible 8.5 percent per year, but 26 percent of its citizens live below the poverty line, there is no universal public health care system, no quality education for poor children and millions of minors are forced to go to work. What is going wrong, Spiegel asked Arundhati Roy, award-winning Indian author and civil rights activist.
New price for tyranny
USA Today, April 10, 2006
Liberian ex-warlord Charles Taylor and others like him need to know they live in a world where justice applies to them too, says this newspaper.
A President's Promise - Mr. Bush must not walk away from Darfur
The Washington Post, April 11, 2006
In 2004, the Bush administration described the killing in Darfur as genocide, then failed to stop it. In February this year, the president spoke of deploying NATO troops to the region; now this idea seems in danger of fizzling. This editorial asks why the United States cannot overcome Sudan’s obstructionism and deliver on the need for an effective peacekeeping force.
World Bank's changing role
Business Line (The Hindu), April 11, 2006
From an institution that ruthlessly marketed liberalisation and globalisation in the 1980s and 1990s, the World Bank has changed its tone to advocate causes that are the concerns of non-governmental organisations and civil society in India, says this report.
U.S. Public Backs More Humanitarian Aid
Inter Press Service News Agency, April 11, 2006
Despite a U.S. decision to halt direct aid to the Palestinian Authority and likely congressional cuts in the White House's foreign aid requests, a majority of U.S. citizens support their country's humanitarian and development assistance, according to a poll by Zogby International.
Assessing AIDS
The Washington Post, April 10, 2006
This editorial argues that a recent report in the newspaper (see below), highlighting how the AIDS toll in some African countries is lower than had been suggested by the United Nations, casts doubt on the credibility of the U.N.’s statistics.
Shaky Ground
The Statesman, April 10, 2006
According to TV Jayan, India’s seismic zoning map underestimates the risks of earthquake damage as measures adopted by India have failed to incorporate the latest understanding of geophysical processes.
Handed over by the big boys, to brutal rulers
The Sydney Morning Herald, April 8, 2006
As debate continues over how to deal with West Papuan refugees, former ABC Jakarta bureau chief Mike Carlton looks at the history of relations between Papua, the Indonesian government and the international community.
From the firing line into the frying pan
The Age, April 8, 2006
The recent influx of 8,000 refugees from Chad is changing the nature of the Darfur crisis, reports Daniel Pepper from Geneina, Sudan. It's now beginning to look more like Somalia, with tribal-based militias fighting each other and a steady flow of arms on both sides of the border.
How many more people have to die to get noticed?
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, April 7, 2006
Over 1,000 people are dying every week from violence or disease in northern Uganda's camps for internally displaced people which are overcrowded and lack health services and proper security. How many need to die in order for the world to pay attention, ask Adrian Bradbury and Peter Quaranto who helped found the pressure groups GuluWalk and UgandaCAN.
We must hear the unheard for a more stable world
Financial Times, April 7, 2006
Powerful countries get their way because of their power, but also because the world of diplomacy is skewed in their favour. But in this era of globalisation, agreements that fail to take into account the interests of weaker parties are not sustainable and often fall apart, which ultimately means a less stable world as people who are ignored often find violent ways of getting heard, says Carne Ross, a former British diplomat and founder of the advisory group Independent Diplomat.
Kandahar's economy dives for cover
Globe and Mail, April 7, 2006
Rising violence in Afghanistan is disrupting trade and hurting the city of Kandahar and the surrounding region's economy.
How AIDS in Africa was overstated
Washington Post, April 6, 2006
A report on AIDS figures in Africa suggests earlier projections of high death tolls in some African countries were too pessimistic. One such prediction stated that the death rate in Rwanda would be 30%, yet the actual figure falls below the U.N. estimate of 13%.
Liberia: the Taylor problem
Financial Gazette (Harare) on www.allafrica.com, April 6, 2006
By requesting the extradition of Charles Taylor, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becomes the first African leader to adopt a principled stance in confronting abuses and atrocities committed by a predecessor in an independent country.
South Africa: straight thinking about poverty
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, April 6, 2006
To tackle poverty, South Africa needs to make markets central to their development strategy. Rather than protecting poor people from markets, South Africa should ensure that markets work effectively and enable the poor to improve their lives, writes this newspaper.
Pandering to America has dealt Liberia a political blow
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, April 6, 2006
The pressure on Liberia to request the extradition of Charles Taylor came from Washington rather than Monrovia, Abuja or other African capitals. To ensure compliance the U.S. withheld its development assistance to war bankrupted Liberia.
Western reporters in Africa struggle over when to help
Christian Science Monitor, April 6, 2006
Western reporters covering developing countries often face unique conundrums: a little humanity - just the change in their pockets - can sometimes feed 10 or 20 people. But to what extent does it clash with their journalistic principles?
A replay of Iraq beckons in Darfur if we send in troops
The Guardian, April 6, 2006
Western military intervention is not the way to go in Darfur. What's needed is the same sort of international political effort that was invested in Sudan's north-south peace agreement - otherwise we could end up with a replay of Iraq or Somalia, says Dr Paul Moorcraft, a former Ministry of Defence policy expert who has been visiting Sudan regularly for 10 years.
Lesotho's painfully slow fight to treat HIV
Globe and Mail, April 6, 2006
A key problem in tackling HIV/AIDS in Lesotho is weak systems in the Ministry of Health. The bulk of trained health-care workers have either fled the country for better-paying jobs elsewhere in southern Africa or have fallen ill themselves. International organisations are trying to fill some of these gaps.
Paving the way for Hamas
New York Sun, April 6, 2006
The U.S. House International Relations Committee is considering legislation to codify the policy that no American aid should go to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. Nathan Diament, director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, writes that the committee's action comes not a moment too soon, but finds it troubling that representatives are poised to water down the legislation.
Rescuing the Red Cross
Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2006
For all its shortcomings, the Red Cross outperformed the federal government during last autumn's hurricane season, and has reach and experience that would be hard to re-create, writes this newspaper.
World Bank should link loans to press freedom
International Herald Tribune, April 5, 2006
"When you rattle a snake, you must be ready to be bitten," commented a Kenyan government official on the recent media crackdown in the country. This is one example of why the World Bank should make press freedom a condition for its loans, writes David Hoffman, President of Internews Network, an international non-profit organisation that promotes access to information for people around the world.
Ending African impunity
The Guardian, April 4, 2006
Charles Taylor has joined the ranks of Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein - a lesson that should make other African despots think twice before committing atrocities. But his trial needs to be efficient as well as fair, says this commentary.
Trying a tyrant
LA Times, April 4, 2006
Charles Taylor is a lot like avian flu: frightening, unpredictable and an unwelcome visitor to any country. The world is better off with him behind bars than at large, infecting the whole of West Africa, says this editorial.
Returning favor, Indonesians aid Katrina's victims
Christian Science Monitor, April 4, 2006
Eight Indonesian tsunami survivors and aid workers who witnessed international relief firsthand travelled to devastated communities along Mississippi's Gulf Coast to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their lives.
Women and 'gendercide'
Christian Science Monitor, April 4, 2006
A United Nations estimate says that between 113 and 200 million women around the world are "missing" and between 1.5 and 3 million women and girls die from gender-based violence and neglect. Just as we put an end to slavery, we must end "gendercide", says Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch politician who lives under 24-hour protection because of death threats against her by Islamic radicals.
National harmony? Not in this contest
Washington Post, April 4, 2006
The European Song Contest might sound bland, but this year's Armenian entry controversially declared himself a native of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Balkan rivalries regularly split votes for Serbia and Montenegro's representative.
Impunity of the war lords comes to an end
Public Agenda (Accra), April 2, 2006
The recent arrests of Charles Taylor, former Liberian president, and Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese military commander, offer hope that war criminals will be prosecuted for acts like recruiting child soldiers.
If not peace, then justice
New York Times, April 2, 2006
The Hague has become a symbol of both the promise of international law and its stunning shortcomings, writes Elizabeth Rubin in this feature on the workings of the International Criminal Court.
Bloody rise and fall of an African despot
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 3, 2006
"Taylor had a map he carried around with him called Greater Liberia," says Douglas Farah, who has written extensively about former Liberian leader Charles Taylor's links to criminal and terrorist networks. "It included parts of Guinea, diamond fields in Sierra Leone. It wasn't something abstract to him. He had a very clear idea of what he was trying to achieve. He had a grandiose plan, and he almost succeeded."
Milosevic, Saddam, Taylor. Who's next?
International Herald Tribune, April 3, 2006
The transfer of former Liberian president and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor to the U.N.-backed Special Court on Sierra Leone is yet more evidence that the world has become a less hospitable place for people accused of committing atrocities. The next test case for Africa should be the former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré, writes Reed Brody, special counsel with Human Rights Watch.
Severe drought threatens nomads' lives and way of life. Herders for centuries, they don't know any other way to live
San Francisco Chronicle, April 2, 2006
Prolonged drought, which has put 17 million people in East Africa on the brink of starvation, threatens to destroy a centuries-old way of nomadic life in the region.
Abstinence, not condoms, is the word in Mozambique
Baltimore Sun, April 2, 2006
Children under 15 are not hearing about condoms and their use in preventing AIDS in Mozambique's public schools. The country's Ministry of Education does not allow discussion of condoms in primary schools, and the U.S. government forbids grant recipients from delivering condom information to students younger than 15.
A story in which only the happy ending is unusual
New York Times, April 2, 2006
Helen Cooper tells the story of her sister and her family who managed to escape Charles Taylor's reign of terror in Liberia.
When foreign aid is an ATM
LA Times, April 2, 2006
Most of the $54 million the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria gave to Uganda went missing. Nowadays, armed guards stand at the entrance of the Fund's local office and the new receptionists read Bibles. Although it is heartening to see how seriously the Ugandans are taking the matter of the missing money, none of this can erase the fact that an enormous act of international goodwill that may not come again has been squandered, writes Helen Epstein, visiting scholar at the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton University.
Where will Africa trials lead?
LA Times, April 2, 2006
Many analysts say Charles Taylor's arrest will act as a deterrent for African tyrants and warlords, but some are warning that it may have the opposite effect - dictators won't have an incentive to step down peacefully.
The Milosevic lessons: faster and more efficient trials
New York Times, April 2, 2006
The trial of Slobodan Milosevic generated about 120 DVD's, 46,000 pages of transcripts and more than 300,000 pages of oral and written evidence. The number of documents had reached 1.2 million pages, and more were on the way. All that work was stopped in its tracks with his death, leaving lawyers and court officials, witnesses and victims abruptly bereft.
Preventable disease blinds poor in Third World
New York Times, March 31 2006
The World Health Organization estimates that 70 million people are infected with the blinding trachoma, while five million suffer from its late stages and two million are blind because of it.
Throwing money -- and missing
Business Week, March/April 2006
The real tragedy isn't the West's indifference towards the human crises in Africa and elsewhere, but the development community's dismal record on treating the most basic needs of the poor. The fatal flaw of big aid initiatives is that they derive from rich Westerners' utopian agendas rather than the needs of those they purport to help, says William Easterly in his new book "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good".
Marketing humanitarian crises
International Herald Tribune, March 31, 2006
Why do some crises attract global attention while so many others do not? While the international spotlight is no guarantee of peace or justice (witness Darfur) attention from the press and nongovernmental organisations can alter the dynamics of conflict, writes Clifford Bob, author of "The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents,
Media, and International Activism".
Hypocritical Arab generosity on Darfur
International Herald Tribune, March 31, 2006
It would be comical if it were not so cynical: Arab leaders at the Arab League summit in Khartoum offered to fund the African Union force in Darfur from Oct. 1. The problem with that is the African Union's mandate in the region ends a day before that, writes Julie Flint, co-author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War".
Unsolved killings terrorize women in Guatemala
Boston Globe, March 30, 2006
The number of women slain in Guatemala in the past six years has risen steadily, yet the authorities have devoted scant resources to the crisis. Amnesty International traces the culture of impunity back to the country's 36-year civil war in which 200,000 were killed.
The least surprising jailbreak ever
New York Times, March 29, 2006
Hopefully former Liberian President Charles Taylor's disappearance won't lead to a return of Taylor-style ethnic fighting in West Africa, says this editorial.
With desperation setting in, it's the second coup age in Africa
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 28, 2006
If African governments fail to reverse the scandalous levels of poverty and general failure in most places around the continent, faith in democratic politics could collapse and desperate anti-democratic alternatives such as coups will become more attractive and back on the African agenda, writes Charles Onyango-Obbo, Nation Media Group's managing editor for convergence and new products.
Water crisis will worsen our plight
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 28, 2006
Aid to African countries for water attracts little attention from donors, and when it is handed out it is usually in the shape of loans, pushing those heavily indebted countries deeper into debt, writes Oscar Kimanuka, a commentator on social and economic issues based in Kigali.
Rumors of Taylor's escape from Calabar - What does it mean for Liberia's security?
The Analyst (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, March 28, 2006
Liberians must never allow another round of conflict because of one man, says this editorial analysing what former Liberian President Charles Taylor's disappearance could mean for the security of Liberia.
Free trade and AIDS drugs
New York Times, March 28, 2006
The Bush administration is negotiating a free trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union. It's important that the United States does not in the process restrict poor people's access to generic drugs in countries with some of the highest rates of AIDS infection, says this editorial.
Act now to stop the genocide in Darfur
Detroit News, March 27, 2006
If the world waits much longer to stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, there may be no one left to save, says this editorial.
NGOs should stay out of politics
The Times of Zambia (Ndola) on www.allafrica.com, March 27, 2006
Instead of reaching out to the remotest parts of Zambia and making their presence felt in rural areas, NGOs are concentrating on workshops that are held in five star hotels and elegant lodges in big towns, says this newspaper.
We will handle bird or bad flu
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, March 26, 2006
The signs are that the bird flu will reach Uganda, and when it does, the only basis for optimism will be having good plans and preparations in place that should be strictly adhered to, says this newspaper.
Foreign aid may be key to Sudan conflict and averting new north-south war
Canberra Times, March 27, 2006
No peace process can survive when one party believes the other is eventually planning to attack them. If the north-south war in Sudan resumes, Darfur will look like a minor conflict, says Sonny Lee, who worked in the Australian defence department from 2003 to 2006.
A desperate wait for food -- meagre supply running out
San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2006
The United Nations says it need $170 million to feed Kenyans affected by drought, but so far it has raised only $74.6 million and people are struggling to survive.
In Nigeria, things fall apart
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, March 26, 2006
The last thing Africa needs is its most populous country Nigeria descending into civil war, writes this newspaper.
Why the camel is handy during famine
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 25, 2006
A story in Kenya's Gabra tradition tells how a man showed no emotion when his wife passed away. But when a favourite camel died, tears flowed down his cheeks. Camels are valuable because they provide food security in times of drought and famine when other livestock are dying.
Outrage in Afghanistan
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, March 24, 2006
An Afghan man is facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity. Should Afghanistan also return to stoning women to death for adultery, asks this editorial.
A needless toll of natural disasters
Boston Globe, March 23, 2006
Next week's Third International Early Warning Conference in Bonn is a unique opportunity for governments to demonstrate their resolve to make progress on disaster reduction through full funding of these efforts, writes Eric Schwartz, the U.N. secretary general's deputy special envoy for tsunami recovery.
Levies on medicines in developing nations are fatal
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, March 23, 2006
In the time it takes you to read this column at least 10 people in poor countries will die from diseases that are preventable and curable, says Roger Bate, fellow of the American Enterprise Institute and a Director of health advocacy group Africa Fighting Malaria.
Hasty poppy eradication in Afghanistan can sow more problems
Christian Science Monitor, March 23, 2006
Deteriorating security in Afghanistan reveals the high price of the slow pace of reconstruction. Winning Afghan hearts and minds isn't as quick or easy as growing poppies.
Aid agencies in battle to fight corruption in Aceh
Third Sector, March 22, 2006
CARE International, one of the charities trying to prevent corruption on projects in tsunami-hit areas, is expanding its 'postbox' system, which encourages local people to report any wrongdoing anonymously.
Clean water is a human right
The Guardian Weekly, March 2006
The pendulum is swinging back from privatisation towards the public sector. At some point international donors, banks and governments will recognise that clean water is a human right. Until then billions of poeple will die from water-borne diseases, waste hours of their day collecting water or go into debt to stay alive, writes The Guardian's John Vidal.
Facilitate Somali state structure
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, March 2006
All outside attempts at helping Somalia will come to nothing unless the Somali government moves to Mogadishu, the economy is propped up through aid and investment, displaced people are resettled and civil infrastructure rebuilt. The African Union and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development need to step up their efforts, since the wider international community will not get involved after U.S. losses in the early 1990s, argues this editorial.
Poor water and sanitation kills
The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com, March 22, 2006
There is no reason why water and sanitation shouldn't be made an election issue in Zambia when it affects lives in so many ways, writes this newspaper.
A step forward for international justice
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006
"For 100 years, a permanent international tribunal was a dream. This dream is becoming reality", says Luis Moreno-Ocampo, a chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.
Saving Central Asia from Uzbekistan
International Herald Tribune, March 22, 2006
Uzbekistan may not blow up today, but it remains a powder keg. The world needs to prepare the Uzbeks and their neighbours for turbulence ahead, says Chris Patten, former European Commissioner for external relations and chairman of the board of the International Crisis Group.
Backstory: Tapping the world
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006
Africans consume 37 litres of water a day on average, while Americans consume 420 litres a day. This is one of the interesting statistics that this article offers on the water issue.
Opening the tap for a thirsty planet
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006
Any picture form space shows that Earth has water everywhere, but finding a glassful to drink is another matter.
As experts ponder world water crisis, teenagers show creativity
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006
While adults argue over ideological differences at the World Water Forum, youngsters participating in the parallel Children's Water Forum are taking grass-roots action to reach those hardest hit by a lack of safe water and basic sanitation.
We have the tools to end global poverty
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006
Putting an end to poverty goes far beyond building physical infrastructure and elevating per capita income in the developing world. It is equally necessary to help individuals gain control over key decisions in their lives, says Peter Bell, who steps down as president and CEO of CARE on March 31.
Extraditing Charles Taylor
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, March 22, 2006
Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is taking a courageous and risky step by calling for Charles Taylor's extradition and America and Europe should make sure that Liberia gets the necessary security aid to handle any pro-Taylor backlash, writes this newspaper.
Where is Europe's voice against genocide?
International Herald Tribune, March 21, 2006
When we talk about genocide in Darfur, the one element that needs far more attention is the disgraceful role of Western Europe, which has neglected taking action by not labelling what is happening in Darfur as genocide, writes Kenneth Jacobson, associate national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Spreading genocide to Chad
New York Times, March 20, 2006
The African Union soldiers have done their best in Darfur, but they are poorly equipped, lightly armed, low in numbers and lack sufficient intelligence capability. That's a recipe for stalemate, and stalemate is the last thing villagers waiting to be massacred need, says this newspaper.
Dowries running dry in drought-stricken East Africa
Washington Post, March 20, 2006
Men of marrying age in East Africa are calling the current dry season "the drought that killed the dowry", as cattle originally intended to provide for marriage are dying fast.
For Serbia, a death that transforms - but how?
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, March 19, 2006
"Thanks for all the deceit and theft, for every single drop of blood that thousands shed because of you. Thank you for our fear and uncertainty, for lost lives and generations, dreams that were never fulfilled, horrors and wars that you lead on our behalf without asking, and the burden you have put on our backs", reads one of Slobodan Milosevic's death notices in a Serbian newspaper.
Selling 'pandemic flu' through a language of fear
Christian Science Monitor, March 21, 2006
What's lacking in the general discussion about pandemic flu is disagreement, criticism, and scepticism - once the bedrock of science - from researchers willing to question and test the data, writes one graduate student at Harvard University.
To conquer, or control? Disease strategy debated
New York Times, March 20, 2006
The struggling fight against polio has raised new questions about whether eradication of any disease is achievable, and, if so, whether the cost in terms of effort and dollars is worth it given all the other diseases that need attention.
The case for caring now
Washington Post, March 20, 2006
Why should the United States care about Liberia? Helping the country now is cheaper in the long run than the alternative, and its newly elected president espouses anti-corruption and a socially inclusive vision that aid officials can only dream of finding in most poor countries, says columnist Fred Hiatt.
Scenes from a disaster in the making
Toronto Star, March 19, 2006
Desperate people search for water in barren regions as famine fears in Horn of Africa increase.
It takes a world to raise a village
Toronto Star, March 19, 2006
Nothing short of a miracle can prevent a drought in the Horn of Africa from becoming a human catastrophe.
Gaza below breadline as blockade starts to bite
The Times, March 20, 2006
Palestinian bakeries are rationing bread and humanitarian agencies have cancelled food handouts to Palestinian widows and orphans amid warnings of severe shortages in the Gaza Strip, the newspaper reports.
Hopes for natural anti-HIV drugs
BBC News Online, March 20, 2006
Scientists from Ohio State University have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that cells use to fight off HIV, sparking hopes that the breakthrough could lead to treatments to which the virus might be less able to adapt.
How can a space satellite track ebola?
The Guardian, March 16, 2006
A project funded by the European Space Agency has linked the epidemic spread of ebola or meningitis with dryness and drought, meaning that in the future officials may be able to warn people in villages that are at increased risk.
What now for war trials after Milosevic?
Christian Science Monitor, March 16, 2006
Tribunals have become the international community's tool of choice for responding to mass violence, and in the process, law has crowded out other options. But law is a fragile process with uncertain effects. Claims that international courts deter violence, create a record, or promote reconciliation remain speculative, says Timothy Waters, a member of the team at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that drafted the original indictment of Milosevic.
Fears of a lost generation of Afghan pupils as Taliban targets schools
The Guardian, March 16, 2006
The playground has become a battleground in the Afghan south, where the resurgent Taliban have launched a fierce campaign of arson, intimidation and assassination that has closed 200 schools in recent months and left 100,000 students at home.
Every tyrant should hear Banquo's ghost hissing: 'Remember the Hague'
The Guardian, March 15, 2006
There is a better, truly international court in which all future Milosevics should be tried rather than in ad hoc tribunals and that is the International Criminal Court in The Hague, says Timothy Garton Ash.
Remaking the mistakes of East Timor
The Age, March 15, 2006
By supporting Indonesia's sovereignty and negating West Papua's struggle for freedom, some Australian politicians are repeating the mistakes that their predecessors made in the case of East Timor and its fight for independence, writes Scott Burchill, senior lecturer in international relations at Deakin University, Australia.
The dictator who got away
New York Times, March 15, 2006
Now more than ever, Serbia can and must finally break free of Slobodan Milosevic's dark legacy so the country can take its rightful place in Europe, says Adam LeBor, author of "Milosevic: A Biography".
Death of a tyrant
Miami Herald, March 16, 2006
Milosevic's death is a reminder that the international community must insist that Serbia arrest and transfer Milosevic's henchmen, Ratko Mladic and Radovian Karadzic, to the Hague tribunal, writes this newspaper.
The death of Milosevic
International Herald Tribune, March 15, 2006
Milosevic's death in prison was bad news for the fledgling notion of international justice, but not a total defeat, writes this newspaper.
In Africa, the chicken crossed the road because it was free to
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 14, 2006
There's reason to worry about bird flu in Africa because diseases that take even a low toll on other continents can kill millions in Africa, writes Charles Onyango-Obbo.
Milosevic's death, reactions in Bosnia
Turkish Daily News, March 14, 2006
The premature death of Milosevic could have consequences for another big court case also taking place in The Hague: Bosnia's accusing of Serbia of genocide, writes Hajrudin Somun, former ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Turkey.
Taylor's surrender: a decision that could cost Liberia dearly
The Analyst (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, March 14, 2006
Less than two months into the elected government of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia, the issue of what to do with exiled former President Charles Taylor has taken centre stage.
One man's crimes
Washington Post, March 14, 2006
In the long run, Serbs, and Europeans generally, will remember Slobodan Milosevic as the last of the power-craving nationalists who all but destroyed the continent in the 20th century. The sooner that understanding takes hold, the more quickly Serbia will recover, says this editorial.
A corrupt French connection
Washington Post, March 13, 2006
Last year Democratic Republic of Congo earned more than $2 billion from oil, or $600 per person. If it spent that money competently, it would not have two-thirds of its people living below the $1-a-day poverty line. But despite this, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have cut Congo's debt payments, writes Sebastian Mallaby in this commentary.
The post-Katrina charity boom is going bust
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, March 14, 2006
Since Hurricane Katrina, a fast- track approval process has granted tax exemptions to almost 400 new charities planning to assist the disaster's victims, including one that distributes leather jackets to address the special needs of sadomasochists and another that hands out new underwear.
Don't bury The Hague with Milosevic
International Herald Tribune, March 14, 2006
For all the trial's weaknesses, its lessons and legacy bear learning and preserving. It would be rash and counterproductive to bury the trial with Milosevic, says David Kaye, legal adviser to the American Embassy in The Hague from 2002 to 2005.
Seeking made-in-Africa solutions
Globe and Mail, March 13, 2006
African states should work towards being in line with higher values of the international community if they are to be taken seriously on the international stage.
In Uganda, a fresh start for former child fighters
Washington Post, March 13, 2006
"The thing to remember is that there are two Ugandas. One of relative peace, and then one where children suffer more than in any country on Earth", says Rev. Carlos Rodriguez, executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission.
Milosevic's death won't undermine trials
Globe and Mail, March 13, 2006
Slobodan Milosevic may have evaded judgment and thumbed his nose at the hundreds of thousands of victims of his alleged war crimes, but he's not thought to have escaped responsibility nor permanently impaired the cause of international justice.
A hard lesson: James Nesbitt on the child victims of Aids in Africa - and what they taught him
The Independent, March 14, 2006
James Nesbitt, British actor, visits UNICEF's educational and HIV/AIDS projects in Zambia, where one in six of those aged between 15 and 24 is HIV-positive and where every year 40,000 babies are born HIV-positive.
Spectre of Milosevic still haunts Balkans
Globe and Mail, March 13, 2006
In death, Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic is proving to be as adept at creating division and turmoil as he was in life.
Festering war in Darfur
Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, March 10, 2006
The underfunded, ill-equipped AU peace-keepers have proved to be ineffective and are unable to match the fire-power and numerical strength of government-backed "Janjaweed" militias, says this editorial.
Open up Darfur to UN's scrutiny
The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 10, 2006
Sudan's territorial integrity should be respected, but it should not be used as a pretext for denying its citizens the right to peace and prosperity, argues this newspaper.
Quake aid gives radical Islam a stage
Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 2006
Militant groups have become a vital part of Pakistan's quake relief, raising concerns that extremism will spread.
But there is also hope that these groups, having seen the benefits of relief work, are trading the mantle of militancy for social work.
How to avoid another Iraq in Sudan
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, March 9, 2006
Sudan's Darfur region could become another Iraq, if recent calls for greater western involvement in the savage war are heeded. The "something must be done" syndrome isn't always best, says Paul Moorcraft, formerly in the UK Defence Ministry, now director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis in London.
America's and Africa's duty in Darfur
Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 2006
NATO is the best alternative to help Darfur's displaced people return home safely, since the U.N. -- which has more peacekeeping operations around the world than any time in its history -- would be stretched in mustering a Darfur force, argues this editorial.
Is Ghana a failed state?
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, March 9, 2006
More than 40 percent of Ghana's national budget is donor funded. So if another Great Depression hits Europe, the United States and Japan, Ghana's economy would automatically overheat.
Darfur's moment of decision
LA Times, March 9, 2006
Inertia and apathy ruled as killers ran amok in Rwanda and Somalia in the 1990s. Now the world has a chance to demonstrate that it has learned from its mistakes by acting in Darfur, writes this newspaper.
East African trade zone off to creaky start
Christian Science Monitor, March 9, 2006
"It is a very long journey, but at least the journey has started", says a Ugandan businessman, commenting on the plans to fast-track economic and political integration of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
Middle East neighbours living side by side and worlds apart
Christian Science Monitor, March 9, 2006
In Gaza, donkey-carts are a common form of transport for people and goods, many roads are unpaved and unemployment tops 40 percent. In Israel, on the other hand, high-tech entrepreneurs sip lattes in lavish shopping malls as conflict with the Palestinians seems comfortably distant, says Helena Cobban who's writing a book on violence and its legacies.
World warned it must do better as 20m face threat of famine in Africa
The Guardian, March 9, 2006
"Those crises that get the most attention in the media have the best chance of being funded. While an estimated 25,000 people died of hunger every day, "90% of them will not die in a high-profile situation", said James Morris, executive director of U.N. World Food Programme.
A grandmother's plea
Toronto Star, March 8, 2006
It's estimated that more than 50 percent of orphaned children live in grandparent-headed households in Botswana and Malawi, and more than 60 percent in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Uncertain future for quake survivors
BBC News, March 7, 2006
Anwar Gul, food aid monitor for the U.N. World Food Programme, reports on the uncertain future facing people affected by last year's earthquake in Kashmir.
Some say India deal ignores another energy need: food
LA Times, March 7, 2006
"...the Western world, and perhaps more so the United States of America, has a feeling that India is a highly developed country. So they are reluctant to face the reality of the other side of India, which is millions of people living in poverty", says Baby Mathew of ActionAid India.
World Bank's war on corruption
Christian Science Monitor, March 7, 2006
Paul Wolfowitz has called corruption "the biggest threat to democracy since communism", but this editorial advises the World bank chief to strike the right balance between fighting corruption and fighting poverty.
Before the drought
This Day (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, March 7, 2006
Knowledge garnered from fighting desertification and erosion can be employed to fortify Nigeria against any climatic adversity. The best time to act is now, says this editorial.
A call to outrage
Baltimore Sun, March 7, 2006
Can an individual do anything to stop genocide?
Why debt relief is a palatable painkiller
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 7, 2006
There's no one-size-fits-all prescription for curing poverty, whether we're dealing with debt relief, grants or loans to poor nations, says this editorial critiquing Jeffrey Sachs' approach in his book "The End of Poverty".
Floods are signs of things to come
New Era (Windhoek) on www.allafrica.com, March 6, 2006
Officials in Namibia should better prepare for sudden natural disasters as their response to recent floods in the country has been dismal, writes this newspaper.
Fighting the poverty of hunger
The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com, March 6, 2006
It is unbelievable that a world that has made so much technological progress still has over 800 million people going hungry, says this editorial.
Who created the Darfur crisis?
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 6, 2006
The African Union should get real, saying, "We did our best," and turning the whole mess over to the U.N., says this newspaper.
Underwriting Hamas
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, March 6, 2006
The Palestinian Authority is having a genuine financial crisis, but it is not the United States' responsibility. Continuing U.S. subsidies while Hamas is in power will not move the region one step closer to a fair and sustainable peace, writes this newspaper.
Take bird flu threat seriously
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, March 6, 2006
Images of Kenyans picking up dead birds with their bare hands and without protective clothing are in sharp contrast to pictures from Europe and Asia where scientists in gas masks and overalls handle infected poultry. This only shows health authorities in Kenya must start a more sustained campaign to educate the public on how to handle birds with suspicious diseases, the newspaper says.
Opinion
The Times of Zambia (Ndola) on www.allafrica.com, March 6, 2006
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Food crops going to waste for lack of proper storage facilities and the inability of authorities to buy and collect all the food that is produced every season are some of the reasons exacerbating Zambia's food crisis.
A nation on trial for its past
Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 2006
Serbia and Montenegro, already struggling to find a place in Europe, risks becoming the first state ever to be formally branded genocidal.
Why you should care about the Khmer Rouge tribunal
Chicago Tribune, March 5, 2006
In the six decades since the world vowed it would "never again" allow the mass killing of innocent people, other versions of the horror have unfolded in Cambodia, the Kurdish region of Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda.
Kashmir: Lessons from another insurgency
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, March 5, 2006
One of the first lessons taught to all soldiers deployed in Kashmir is that an insurgency can never be militarily defeated. It can only be managed until a political situation is found - a lesson the Bush administration would do well to remember in Iraq, says Anit Mukherjee, who served in the Indian Army for nine years.
Forecast shows Africa to face river crisis
The Guardian, March 3, 2006
Africa's rivers face dramatic disruption that will leave a quarter of the continent severely short of water by the end of the century. Even modest decreases in rain in western Africa will see rivers lose as much as 80 percent of their water, triggering a surge in "water refugees".
An exported genocide
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, March 3, 2006
The genocide in Sudan's Darfur region goes on and on because outside powers refuse to stage humanitarian intervention with the required level of force, writes this newspaper.
The plight of Malawi's child brides
Mail and Guardian, March 1, 2006
"I had no money to buy soap or lotion for my body, so I thought the only way was to find a boyfriend to take care of my needs," explains one of many Malawian underage girls who are marrying to escape the empty bellies, numbing work and overwhelming tedium of poverty.
Children born of rape come of age in Bosnia
The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2006
Most of the children living in an orphanage in the industrial town of Tuzla in northern Bosnia are part of a huge wave of babies born to women raped during the 1992-95 war.
Pakistan quake zone escapes dreaded 2nd wave of deaths
Washington Post, March 2, 2006
Despite stark warnings last autumn, a widely anticipated second wave of deaths from disease, hunger and exposure has not materialised in quake-hit Pakistan. As a result, aid workers are starting to shift their attention from emergency relief to the long-term challenge of reconstruction across a remote mountainous region.
The pariahs
Globe and Mail, March 2, 2006
With Serbia still isolated from the international community, its more moderate-minded citizens are becoming increasingly poor as business opportunities remain slim and the option of crime and extremism become more tempting.
Where prostitutes also fight AIDS
Washington Post, March 2, 2006
"If that's the way it's done in your culture, that's fine. But it's different here, and we'll do it our way", says a former prostitute commenting on U.S. pressure on Brazil to abandon its successful AIDS prevention programme of handing out condoms and working with sex workers and promote abstinence instead.
Congo's chance of survival
This Day (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, March 1, 2006
A new constitution that has been signed into law in Democratic Republic of Congo marks a landmark in Congo's transition from autocracy and a ruinous war to a decentralised democracy.
War on terror needs more humanitarian efforts
Christian Science Monitor, March 2, 2006
American humanitarian aid to Pakistan after the earthquake and to Indonesia after the tsunami improved the United State's image in those countries and that is how America should fight its war on terror, says Kenneth Ballen, counsel to the House Iran-Contra Committee and president of Terror Free Tomorrow.
African Union: Can it deliver?
The New Times (Kigali) on www.allafrica.com, March 1, 2006
How the African Union handles HIV/AIDS, armed conflicts and famines will determine the fate of Africa, writes this newspaper.
Bird flu on the move; Great Lakes region beware
The New Times (Kigali) on www.allafrica.com, March 1, 2006
Bird flu's economic impact on the Great Lakes region is likely to be exacerbated by the governments' lack of emergency funding.
Agreements are reached to be honoured
Shabait.com (Asmara) on www.allafrica.com, March 1, 2006
In the past few months various parties have been voicing their misgivings regarding the Sudanese government's unwillingness to reveal the exact size of the country's oil profits.
Africa's longevity curse
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, March 1, 2006
Uganda's president won it what looked like a free and fair election, but that doesn't make the vote a victory for democracy.
Will Montenegro be Europe's newest state?
Globe and Mail, March 1, 2006
There are three moves in the Balkans that could challenge the international community's nation-building skills: Montenegro might secede from Serbia, Kosovo is edging towards independence, and there are plans to try and unite the two regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Poverty can't be harnessed with impromptu promises
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, February 28, 2006
Unless Uganda cuts the cost of running its public services and diverts savings to help people in the countryside, any attempt to eradicate poverty will be nothihng but a pipe dream, writes this newspaper.
Poverty: there's hope in Africas
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 28, 2006
Good governance per se is inadequate if it is not measured and related to the alleviation of poverty, one of the major impediments to Rwanda's development.
Oil wars are coming to Africa
The East African (Nairobi)) on www.allafrica.com, February 28, 2006
U.S. military involvement in East Africa is on the rise, a disturbing sign that Africa's strategic importance is being redefined on the basis of what resources can be exploited from it, says L. Muthoni Wanyeki, executive director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network.
After Uganda's poll
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, February 28, 2006
One of the main challenges for Uganda's re-elected president will be to dispel fears that he's turning into a dictator, and these fears are well founded since teh constitution was changed to let him run for a third term.
Fight against chikungunya reaches new dimensions
L'Express (Port Louis) on www.allafrica.com, February 28, 2006
Even if there is no chikungunya epidemic, the disease is infecting more people every day. As this tropical disease only affected poor countries until now, there's no vaccine.
It's time for regional leaders to stop playing the blame game over Darfur
Daily Star (Lebanon), February 28, 2006
The Arab League has exonerated Khartoum in Darfur, blaming other factors for the conflict, including drought, tribal disputes and underdevelopment instead of protecting its people, says this newspaper.
Danger signs in Nigeria
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 28, 2006
The world needs a stable Nigeria for reasons that go beyond oil. Nigeria is crucial to all of West Africa, having often provided the military troops and negotiating forums to quell civil war and related violence in neighbouring countries, says this article.
For many, UN's grip worse than civil war
Globe and Mail, February 28, 2006
"This is a fake peace we're enduring, and we'd prefer to return to war than lose our freedom this way", says a Kosovo Albanian man who is part of a group of youngsters whose crusade is to make life difficult for the international peacekeepers in the region.
Red Cross had been warned of inefficiencies
LA Times, February 28, 2006
The work of the American Red Cross is under scrutiny as a senator and current and former employees complain of the organisation's hierarchy, lack of coordination between headquarters and the field and practices such as the use of contributions to hire consultants to buff up the Red Cross' image.
US tsunami aid still reaps goodwill
Christian Science Monitor, February 28, 2006
The number of Indonesians "with a favourable opinion of the US" has nearly tripled in the past three years, something experts attribute to American reconstruction efforts in the tsunami-hit Aceh province.
India's war on poverty: easy victory unlikely
International Herald Tribune, February 28, 2006
The Indian government is planning a programme that will guarantee 100 days of work for people living in rural areas who would be working on projects designed to improve condition for the village as a whole.
When food aid doesn't solve Africa's problems
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, February 27, 2006
Food aid has been used as a foreign policy tool allowing rich nations to dump farm surpluses generated with the help of subsidies on poorer nations like Uganda, the newspaper says.
On Hamas, patience
LA Times, February 27, 2006
If Hamas is given a chance to govern without interference, it will have to provide Palestinians with the clean, efficient government they thought they were voting for. But if Israel or the international community acts in a hostile manner, Hamas can blame them when things go badly, says this newspaper.
Stopping Uganda's war on children
LA Times, February 27, 2006
The U.N. Security Council, with U.S. leadership, should recognise the conflict in northern Uganda as a threat to international peace and security and develop a plan that, if necessary, authorises third-party states to use force to apprehend indicted rebel leaders.
New borders, old tensions key to volatile area's future
Globe and Mail, February 27, 2006
Parts of former Yugoslavia - Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo - are about to undergo dramatic changes which could see the birth of another two independent nations.
Polls gone, large issues remain
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, February 26, 2006
Uganda's polls are over but it now needs to tackle the really big issues of importance to its future such as poverty and corruption, says this editorial.
Hamas victory and moderation of extremists
Turkish Daily News, February 26, 2006
Hamas will not rush to Islamisise Palestinian society because it knows that this is the least popular part of its programme, but there will probably be a steady increase in Islamist legislation, mostly at the local level, says Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs Centre.
Museveni, Besigye; why it has been a tight race
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, February 26, 2006
Now that President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected, opposition leader Kizza Besigye should build his movement into a national political party to stop Museveni being able to use the military to clamp down on opposition supporters, argues this editorial.
For refugees, aid shortfalls - and slim diets
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 24, 2006
The system that funnels food to the world's needy rests almost wholly on the generosity of the well-off and each donor's impulse is subject to different forces. The latest example is that of of the U.N. cutting basic food rations to Angolan war refugees in Zambia to stretch its thinning supplies.
Starting over in Somalia: How to break the cycle of failure
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 24, 2006
The formation of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government in 2004 was supposed to stop the country's vicious cycle of statelessness, insecurity and humanitarian crisis. Instead, nearly one and a half years later, Somalia has rarely been in worse shape.
Self-styled justice in Guatemala
Washington Post, February 24, 2006
The recent surge in armed abductions and murders by self-appointed anti-crime squads throughout Guatemala is leaving a messy trail of blood and tears.
World Bank goes into the global crafts business
Washington Post, February 22, 2006
The World Bank is planning to open a store this spring that will sell crafts from developing countries to help promote socially responsible trade and help improve its image.
For AIDS orphans, lessons on life - and car repair
Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2006
A school in Malawi set up by an HIV-positive businessman to train AIDS orphans as car mechanics is an innovative way to fight the disease and help lift the country out of poverty.
Bird flu dangers
Business Day (Johannesburg), February 22, 2006
When it comes to bird flu, the terrible dilemma for all governments, but particularly for poor ones, is how much money and effort to pour into preparations for a nightmare scenario that might not happen.
Beyond talk on Darfur
International Herald Tribune, February 22, 2006
It's not the job of the U.S. to police the world, but Darfur is a special case that the Bush administration has rightly described as genocide. That's why America needs to play a role in finding a solution to the conflict, writes this editorial.
Eradicating slavery in Sudan
Boston Globe, February 22, 2006
Failure to eradicate slavery in Sudan, with all its overtones of racism and religious bigotry, would destroy any possibility of national reconciliation and undermine attempts at sustainable peace and stability, writes this editorial.
East Timor takes steps to avoid pitfalls of oil wealth
International Herald Tribune, February 21, 2006
Asia's newest nation, East Timor, is also its poorest, with about 40 percent of its one million inhabitants living in poverty. It's prospects are brightening with plans to tap into billions of dollars of oil and gas reserves below the Timor Sea.
Saving Hispaniola
Baltimore Sun, February 21, 2006
Allowing Haiti to fester would not only jeopardise its neighbours but also drain U.S. tax coffers to pay for yet another international peace operation, and Americans are growing tired of paying for transitions that have no end in sight, say Johanna Mendelson and Charlotte McDowell of the U.N. Foundation and Chetan Kumart, who worked on efforts to promote political dialogue in Haiti.
From Bosnia to Darfur
USA Today, February 21, 2006
Just like in Bosnia, Darfur needs a hard-charging, U.S.-led effort to bang together the heads of Sudan's leaders in a peace deal that would not only stick but also be enforced by NATO-led troops, says this newspaper.
Famine: an artificial African problem
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 21, 2006
Africa's hunger crisis is the same old story of poor leadership and over-zealous donor organisations that are not keen on long-term solutions, says James Shikwati, director of Inter Region Network and coordinator of the African Resource Bank.
To deal with Hamas, Israel might consider NGOs
Daily Star (Lebanon), February 21, 2006
The Israeli and Palestinian governments could benefit from the help of non-governmental organisations in negotiating a resolution to their conflict since NGOs are seen to be neutral and to represent civil society, says Yossi Ben Ari, Israeli coordinator of the Israel-Palestine Centre for Research and Information Strategic Affairs Unit.
Bird flu in Nigeria
Vanguard (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, February 21, 2006
Bird flu is the latest test of Nigeria's readiness to handle emergencies. It's important that it comes out of the crisis better prepared for future emergencies, says this newspaper.
Playing chicken with bird flu
New York Times, February 21, 2006
Rich countries should be sending platoons of veterinary experts to help Nigeria and its neighbours to fight bird flu, writes this editorial.
A broken taboo - and an uneasy peace
The Times, February 21, 2006
Negotiations in Vienna about Kosovo's final status may yield a deal pretty quickly but it will take far longer to ensure lasting peace, says this newspaper.
'Two Ugandas' split as election nears
Miami Herald, February 21, 2006
Days before presidential elections in Uganda, this newspaper tells a tale of two countries within a country - a prosperous south and a north wracked by Africa's longest running civil war.
Stop the crisis in northern Uganda
Philadelphia Inquirer, February 21, 2006
How do you end a 19-year insurgency led by a messianic guerrilla leader with an army of abducted, tortured and brainwashed children, ask John Predergast, senior advisor to the International Crisis Group, and Betty Bigombe, mediator in the northern Uganda peace process.
Challenges loom for Preval in Haiti
Washington Post, February 20, 2006
Haiti's new president will have to confront the problems of a nation with almost no functioning judicial system, corrupt and inept law enforcement, deep poverty and abominable public sanitation.
Fight terrorism by fighting poverty
Daily Star (Lebanon), February 20, 2006
The best way to target terrorism is to reduce global poverty, which has become a breeding ground of resentment, envy and despair, writes Fidel Ramos, chairman of Ramos Peace and Development Foundation and the Boao Forum for Asia.
Avian flu and hysteria: the myths and the realities
The Independent, February 20, 2006
This newspaper debunks myths about a possible pandemic outbreak of bird flu.
'We're a thirsty land of empty promises'
Washington Post, February 20, 2006
The Kenyan government, elected on a pledge to stamp out corruption, can barely afford to feed its hungry citizens much less make good on campaign pledges, largely because past and present administrations have looted the country's treasury in one corruption scandal after another, the newspaper says.
A chance for New Orleans
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 17, 2006
U.S. Congress needs to be quick in approving a proposed $4.2 billion more in aid to help Louisiana residents if its citizens are to have a chance at recovery.
Stumbling forward in Haiti
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 17, 2006
The internationally brokered deal that declared René Préval the official winner of last week's Haitian election provided the best available exit from a bad and worsening situation, writes this editorial.
In Kenya, 3 glasses of water a day - for the lucky ones
International Herald Tribune, February 17, 2006
Drought and a lack of government planning are widely blamed for a humanitarian crisis affecting a vast swathe encompassing northern Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.
Containing bird flu in Africa a huge job
Chicago Tribune, February 17, 2006
Despite recent cases of bird flu in Nigeria the disease remains an abstract worry for much of Africa, making identifying outbreaks more difficult, particularly if farmers are reluctant to come forward or simply don't recognise the disease.
Darfur: Stop the killing, or pay the price
International Herald Tribune, February 17, 2006
The current peace talks between the parties involved in the Darfur conflict need to succeed, otherwise some of them may be left with a smaller role to play than they would have achieved had they reached an agreement, writes Jack Straw, Great Britain's foreign secretary.
Hungry Ethiopia finds an answer at its feet
LA Times, February 17, 2006
The drought-resistant wild enset plant saved many of the tribes in southern Ethiopia during severe famines of 1973 and 1984 and it could one day play a role in alleviating African food crises.
In Rwanda, suicides haunt search for justice and closure
Washington Post, February 17, 2006
Rwandan officials have recorded a rash of suicides and attempted suicides in the past year among genocide suspects as traditional courts have begun to hear cases.
A chilling visit with Pol Pot's `brother'
Chicago Tribune, February 17, 2006
Ending years of delays, Cambodia and the United Nations are preparing to open a tribunal to offer the first full accounting of how, from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia into a labour camp, emptied cities, made torturers out of children and caused the death of 1.7 million people.
Campaign against corruption in Kenya: A convenient smokescreen?
Pambazuka News, February 16, 2006
It is surreal and hypocritical to find sleaze-engulfed states such as the U.S. and Britain, with their Enrons and Haliburtons, acting as 21st-century champions against graft and economic crimes, says Onyango Oloo, a Nairobi-based political activist.
Kosovo: countdown to independence?
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, February 16, 2006
"If the status of Kosovo has already been decided, what are we supposed to negotiate? Are we supposed to go, just to see how beautiful [U.N. Special Envoy for the future status of Kosovo] Athisaari is?" asks a local Serb leader in Kosovo.
Cambodia's quest to just get the basics
International Herald Tribune, February 16, 2006
In a sign of what might be called progress, road accidents in Cambodia have now displaced land mines as the number two cause of death after AIDS.
Africa's forgotten crises
The Guardian, February 16, 2006
Since the second intifada began in 2000 about 4,480 Palestinians and Israelis have died - but the toll is merely to that of a long weekend in the Democratic Republic of Congo where, according to the U.N., 1,200 people are dying every day from war-related causes.
Another pivotal Balkan moment
Christian Science Monitor, February 16, 2006
Gordon Bardos, Balkans analyst for Freedom House, asks: If Kosovo Albanians can secede from Serbia, why shouldn't Macedonian Albanians split from Macedonia? Or Croats and Serbs from Bosnia-Herzegovina? Or Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from Azerbaijan? Or Kurds from Iraq and Turkey?
War tourists fight to see Bosnia's past
Christian Science Monitor, February 16, 2006
War tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina isn't a positive development since it involves explanations that can rile some Bosnians in a country still divided into mostly ethnic halves.
Make poverty political
The Guardian, February 15, 2006
International aid and development has risen up the national and international policy agendas, but is becoming more and more politicised.
Why you should always look a gift goat in the mouth
The Times, February 15, 2006
The fashion of charities' selling goats as perfect Christmas gifts has angered a leading environmental charity, which says the trend is short-sighted and will damage farmland and create rather than alleviate poverty.
Billions pumped through NGOs, but no change felt
The East African Standard (Nairobi), February 15, 2006
Northeastern Kenya boasts one of the largest numbers of aid organisations dealing with humanitarian issues, but many people still go hungry, thirsty and live in squalor. Meanwhile, the suffering has created opportunities for fraudsters and outright corruption by some organisations purporting to work for their good to eradicate poverty.
Bird flu in Nigeria
Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, February 15, 2006
Nigeria is a country with a practically non-existent emergency management system, so it needs the help of the international community to avoid further spread of the disease, says this editorial.
Let's reclaim development in trade talks
Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, February 15, 2006
A one percent increase in Africa's share of world trade would deliver more development every year than the continent currently receives in total aid, says Peter Mandelson, European Union trade commissioner.
Why let the survivors drown?
The New Times (Kigali) on www.allafrica.com, February 15, 2006
Media houses all over the world are carrying horror stories of starvation in Africa. Hunger has now become the in-thing in many African countries, but since the hungry are the poor, rich nations are turning a blind eye, writes this newspaper.
The right way to pressure Hamas
New York Times, February 15, 2006
In the long, sorry history of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, there is not a shred of evidence to support the notion that pushing the Palestinian population into more economic desperation would somehow cause them to moderate their political views, argues this newspaper.
The vote in Haiti - a new hope
Christian Science Monitor, February 15, 2006
Haiti urgently needs stability and a period of reconciliation and dialogue between its political factions, and the last week's elections are the first sign of hope for the country, says this editorial.
Exposing deadly corruption
The Guardian, February 14, 2006
Exposing corruption, as John Githongo, Kenya's former anti-corruption chief, has done, is a moral duty and an act of courage, says this newspaper.
The fuss about the poor, not genuine
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone) on www.allafrica.com, February 14, 2006
National budget speeches in developing countries fuss about the poor. In spite of all this fuss, the poor are getting poorer. Is this fuss genuine, asks this newspaper.
The lost decade
Inter Press Service, February 13, 2006
Ten years after the United Nations launched the "Decade for the Eradication of Poverty", more than one billion people still live without access to safe drinking water, health care, adequate housing and other essentials of daily life.
How Kenya is caught on the thorns of Britain's love affair with the rose
The Guardian, February 14, 2006
Rising demand for flowers in the the West is leading to a tense trade-off between economic progress, environmental destruction and social problems in countries like Kenya, one of the main exporters of cut flowers in the world.
'Only God knows how we will survive'
The Guardian, February 14, 2006
Climate change, politics and a lack of development are some of the main causes of the hunger crisis northeastern Kenya.
Female Genital Mutilation: being conducted on the quiet with young girls exposed to infections and to HIV
The Chronicle Newspaper (Lilongwe) on www.allafrica.com, February 14, 2006
The widespread practice of female genital mutilation is a closely guarded secret that only heightens the risk of HIV infection.
The West can't save Africa
Washington Post, February 13, 2006
Everyone was invited to the "Save Africa" campaign of 2005 except for Africans. They starred only as victims: genocide casualties, child soldiers, AIDS patients and famine deaths on our plasma screens, says William Easterly, author of "White Man's Burden: Why the West's efforts to aid the rest have done much ill and so little good".
Towards real action in Africa
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, February 13, 2006
We have to ensure that we all deliver on commitments made by the international community and the leaders of Africa, says British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Five years on, Milosevic is still in the dock
The Independent, February 13, 2006
The trial of the former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, the first sitting head of state to be indicted for war crimes, enters its fifth year this week amid expectations that a verdict will be pronounced by the end of the year.
When globalization leaves people behind
International Herald Tribune, February 12, 2006
Kevin Watkins, director of the U.N. Development Programme's Human Development Report Office, highlights the worrying gap opening up between economic growth and social progress in India.
Why war is my medicine
The Sunday Times, February 12, 2006
‘War surgeon’ Jonathan Kaplan says life is less stressful in the world’s battle zones than back home dealing with mortgages and pensions.
'We were put in crates'
The Age (Australia), February 12, 2006
The massive report by East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, known by the Portuguese acronym CAVR, poses a dilemma for Canberra, which has already disputed its findings about Australia's role in events leading to independence in 1999.
Babies of war cruelly spirited away
The Age (Australia), February 12, 2006
Leaked versions of a truth commission’s landmark report on East Timor's ordeal under Indonesian occupation accuse the Indonesian army of abducting children during the war, and document the abuses suffered by the children of a "lost, stolen generation".
Sudan: Less censorship – but watch out for security agents
Inter Press Service on allAfrica.com, February 10, 2006
Sudanese journalists say that while censorship has decreased since last year’s peace agreement, they are still being harassed and detained by state agents.
Rough trade: Diamond industry still funding bloody conflicts in Africa
The Independent, February 10, 2006
In the approach to Valentine's Day, human rights campaigners warn that an international system of regulating the gem trade is being systematically bypassed. Millions of men, women and children are being killed, injured and made homeless as a result in Liberia, Ivory Coast and other countries.
The International Criminal Court: A Ray of Hope for the Women of Darfur?
Pambazuka News, February 9, 2006
The International Criminal Court offers hope and an alternative avenue for justice for the women and firls who comprise almost 90% of the victims of the Darfur conflict, says Christine Butegwa of African Women's Development and Communication Network.
Breakthrough to help feed hungry
BBC News, February 9, 2006
The solution to a 50-year wheat-breeding problem that could help feed the world's growing population has been found by UK scientists: crossing commercially grown wheat with wild varieties that have greater tolerance to drought or extreme conditions.
U.S. must act now to end genocide in Sudan
Baltimore Sun, February 9, 2006
Darfur's desolate terrain may not be of much value to America's larger strategic interests, but the mass killing of innocent men, womena nd children should provoke moreal outrage in the U.S., says Joseph Biden, Democrat senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Aid agencies urged to return to Afghanistan
BBC News, February 9, 2006
International aid agencies that have largely abandoned southern Afghanistan need to do a "gut check" and return, according to Colonel Steve Bowes, the outgoing commander of the Canadian provincial reconstruction team.
Aceh’s shelter project stalls over timber shortage
Financial Times, February 8, 2006
Only 800 of the planned 20,000 shelters had been finished because of a shortage of timber that met the strict environmental standards set by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
A leaking ship: The role of debt, aid and trade
Pambazuka News, February 2, 2006
Africa is not as poor or as helpless as is often presented. Instead, it is a continent that leaks heavily: between 1970 and 2000, Africa received about $100bn in aid including loans, but it lost $274bn in capital flight induced by debt, trade misinvoicing and imputed interests, writes Charles Abugre of Christian Aid.
The government must think beyond food aid
The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 9, 2006
What is most shocking about the food crisis in Kenya is that the government seems resigned to begging for relief food and reinventing the wheel each time tragedy strikes. But the time to prepare for next year's drought is already now, says this newspaper.
Is tied aid a panacea or a curse to Africa's development?
Concord Times (Freetown) on www.allafrica.com, February 9, 2006
When you consider the large diamond deposits in countries like Sierra Leone, Angola, South Africa and Botswana, you have to ask: Why is the African continent still so poor?
Make Poverty History mobilised young
The Guardian, February 8, 2006
It has been written off as wristband idealism, but last year's Make Poverty History campaign mobilised a generation of politically active young people, according to a survey for Oxfam.
Drought of democracy
Vanguard (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, February 8, 2006
A newer, more subtle and more dangerous form of dictatorship is creeping into Africa. It involves shutting opponents out of politics, rigging elections and changing constitutions to let leaders rule for life, writes this newspaper.
Fighting corruption Africa style
Financial Gazette (Harare) on www.allafrica.com, February 8, 2006
Fighting corruption African style means shooting the messenger, arresting one or two sacrificial lambs to detract attentions from the real culprits and then burying your head in the sand and pretending the problem will go away or the people will be duped.
The looming conflict over West Papua
The Age, February 8, 2006
Indonesia, fearful of Australian support for Papuan independence, is watching closely to see whether Canberra lets West Papuan asylum seekers stay in Australia, writes Hugh White, professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University.
The looming conflict in eastern Sudan
Daily Star, February 7, 2006
If eastern Sudan goes the same way as Darfur the tragedy will be compounded by the fact that it could have been prevented, says Julie Flint, co-author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War".
Cruel to deny Africa a hand up
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, February 7, 2006
African farmers already suffer from drought, disease, internal trade barriers, corruption and lack of poverty rights. Refusing them the benefits of genetically modified food is a cruel and nasty trick, says Jennifer Thompson, head of molecular and cell biology department at the University of Cape Town.
Racist tells Africans to eat beef, mutton, pork, chicken, eggs...
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 7, 2006
Anger over the shipment of Kiwi "dog food" as food aid for starving Kenyans is a luxury only affordable to people with full fridges. If the hungry were asked to vote, they'd overwhelmingly choose to eat it, says Charles Onyango-Obbo, the Nation Media Group's managing editor for convergence and new products.
Who is fuelling the conflict in north Uganda?
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 7, 2006
This analysis piece explains how Uganda's neighbours - Sudan, Rwanda and possibly DR Congo - are fuelling conflict in the northern part of the country.
Haiti's orphan democracy
New York Times, February 7, 2006
Haiti's elite must accept that regime change can only come from the electorate. In the same spirit, the United States - for so long insincere over the question of Haitian democracy - has to give its backing once and for all for the Haitian people, writes Amy Wilentz, author of "The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier".
In Haiti, 'the least imperfect elections'
Globe and Mail, February 7, 2006
People in Haiti have been promised a free and fair vote in today's elections, but uncertainty and fear of violence linger.
Wrong fix for foreign aid
International Herald Tribune, February 6, 2006
Under Washington's foreign aid reforms, the Agency for International Development will be under tremendous political pressure to take money away from effective antipoverty programmes and use it to serve the government's geopolitical goals, which have little to do with development, writes this newspaper.
West's economic prescriptions fatal to Africa
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone) on www.allafrica.com, February 6, 2006
So-called Structural Adjustment Programmes, a set of free market economic reforms designed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, were deliberately designed by the West to ruthlessly exploit African countries and increase their dependence on the West, says this editorial.
Secure our destiny
The NEWS (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, February 6, 2006
This newspaper urges Liberia's government and the international community to speed up security sector reforms before allowing U.N. peacekeepers stationed in Liberia to redeploy to Ivory Coast at the request of Kofi Annan.
Well done U.S., EU should follow
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, February 6, 2006
The decision by the U.S. Congress to scrap major subsidies in the cotton industry should be good news to cotton-producing countries in the developing world and the European Union should follow, says this newspaper.
A bitter conflict's end may be in sight
International Herald Tribune, February 6, 2006
If Armenia and Azerbeijan can reach a compromise settlement over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, that will be good news for the whole troubled Caucasus region and the free flow of energy westward from the Caspian, the newspaper says.
Mixed U.S. Signals Helped Tilt Haiti Toward Chaos
New York Times, January 29, 2006
The newspaper investigates the role the U.S. and a non-profit organisation close to the Bush Administration played in the removal of a democratically elected Haitian, former President Aristide.
A steady first step forward
The Guardian, February 6, 2006
A review of the commitments made by world leaders in 2005 with respect to lifting millions out of poverty around the world.
'Does aid really help ordinary people?'
The Guardian, February 6, 2006
Ten people across Africa give their views on whether 12 months in the political spotlight have seen progress for the citizens of their countries.
Will the campaign bubble burst?
The Guardian, February 6, 2006
As the Make Poverty History movement winds up, the newspaper assesses the prospect of keeping up the momentum in the year ahead.
Congo: Bringing justice to the heart of darkness
The Independent, February 6, 2006
The massive loss of life during some of the worst massacres in eastern Congo over the years largely went unnoticed by the world. Prosecutions of those responsible by the International Criminal Court could send a message that the world will no longer turn a blind eye to such atrocities, says Steve Crawshaw, London director of Human Rights Watch.
Colombian peasants pay with lives, limbs
Chicago Tribune, February 6, 2006
Mines are among the many perils of the four-decade-long civil war between right-wing militia fighters and leftist insurgents in Colombia.
Kidnappers exploit Haiti's lawlessness
Christian Science Monitor, February 6, 2006
Hundreds of abductions have taken place in the last two months amid poverty and political uncertainty in Haiti.
The hidden legacy of war
International Herald Tribune, February 5, 2006
Children that survive a conflict demonstrate a remarkable resilience that helps their recovery once normality is restored. But what happens when they continue to live in a highly stressful situation, asks Marry Anne Fitzgerald, UNICEF consultant.
Destabilizing Haiti
International Herald Tribune, February 3, 2006
The International Republican Institute (IRI) ran a "democracy building" programme in Haiti with U.S. government funds, that undermined the democratically-elected government at the time. Next week's election will hopefully undo some of the damage done by the IRI type of democracy building, says this newspaper.
Head-to-head: Africa's food crisis
BBC News, February 2, 2006
If food aid works, why was Live 8 necessary in 2005, asks Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, director of Justice Africa in a debate with Nicholas Crawford of the U.N. World Food Programme. The debate looks at the main causes of Africa's deepening food crisis and possible solutions.
The Hungry Can't Chew On Power
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 3, 2006
It's time we put our foot down and placed the responsibility for ensuring every Kenyan's basic needs where it belongs - squarely with those who collect taxes from us, says Lucy Oriang', Nation's managing editor for magazines.
Why They Ridicule Kenya
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, February 3, 2006
Beyond the outrage over the dog food being sent to starving children in Kenya, the harsh reality is that if we the country is unable to fix the problem of starvation and other man-made afflication, Kenyans will be open to all manner of abuse and ridicule, says this editorial.
At last, a bridge of sorts to the future
The Economist, February 2, 2006
Few Haitians seem optimistic that the coming presidentail election will mark a change in their fortunes.
Hamas at the helm
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 2, 2006
It will be up to the Palestinians and their new Hamas government to determine the future of their own people. But no government should strap bomb belts to its young people and send them onto buses and into restaurants to kill others, writes this newspaper.
Promiscuity personified, on the road in Africa
Globe and Mail, February 2, 2006
As many as 80 percent of the sex workers who work on Africa's truck routes and highways are living with AIDS but little has changed in trucking culture despite the grim swath the disease has cut through so many countries.
After quake, the nightmare lingers
New York Times, February 2, 2006
Despite an enormous aid effort over the three months since the Kashmir earthquake, rescue workers are still finding new villages in need of the most basic assistance.
Africa's hunger - a systemic crisis
BBC News, February 1, 2006
Hunger in Africa is the product of a series of interrelated factors, such as underinvestment in rural areas, wars and instability, soaring HIV/AIDS cases and unchecked population growth.
Can aid do more harm than good?
BBC News, February 1, 2006
NGOs and journalists in rich countries often paint too simplistic and bleak a picture of food emergencies, and while this can help raise funds, it does nothing to address the fundamental problems and causes of a crisis.
How to move Bosnia forward
International Herald Tribune, February 1, 2006
Institutions that have been created at the imposition of the international community will never function effectively unless all the Bosnians buy into them, says the new High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schwarz-Schilling.
The price of ignoring Palestinians' needs
International Herald Tribune, February 1, 2006
Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections is the logical outcome of a "peace process" that for more than a decade completely overlooked what was happening within Palestinian society, says Natan Sharansky, candidate for the Likud Party in Israel's forthcoming parliamentary elections.
News analysis: Putting off hard choices on Hamas
International Herald Tribune, February 1, 2006
This news analysis looks at the possible directions the Palestinian-Israeli relationship can develop in following Hamas' victory in Palestinian elections.
A home-grown solution to African hunger
Christian Science Monitor, February 1, 2006
Aid is "killing us" by creating a culture of dependency, says a Malawian who has been awarded an honorary doctorate for his innovation in agriculture.
A no-flight zone is key
International Herald Tribune, February 1, 2006
If NATO is serious about helping Darfur, it should offer immediate air cover for the African Union force, argues Kurt Bassuener, senior associate at the Democratisation Policy Council.
What should Israel do?
Ha'aretz, February 1, 2006
How Israel responds to Hamas' electoral win could serve as an important model for the way others deal with Hamas, writes Yossi Alpher, former senior adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
No American perplexity needed on Hamas
Daily Star, February 1, 2006
The right thing to do now is to explore how to take advantage of the fact that Palestinians have a legitimate, democratically elected leadership, comments this editorial.
2006: A decisive year for the Balkans
Christian Science Monitor, February 1, 2006
Experts forecast a whirl of diplomatic activity in the Balkans in coming months, making 2006 a decisive year for the war-torn region.
In Mideast, Hamas win is a setback
Christian Science Monitor, February 1, 2006
In part, the victory of Hamas is due to the failure of Fatah, the former governing party, to shed the legacy of corruption and ineptitude left by its architect, Yasser Arafat, says John Hughes, chief operating officer of the Deseret Morning News.
Requiem for a development dream
Inter Press Service, January 30, 2006
Foreign affairs experts debate whether bringing the U.S. Agency for International Development under the State Department's wing is a good idea or not.
'We cannot leave the people in their hour of need'
Spiegel, January 30, 2006
It is wrong to withhold development assistance from countries that are not unblemished democracies, says U2 lead singer Bono in an interview with Spiegel magazine.
Kenya's deadly dependency on food aid
Spiegel, January 2006
Overpopulation in northern Kenya is the result of years of Western aid shipments to areas that don't have the potential to feed so many people.
Papua likened to East Timor
Sydney Morning Herald, January 31, 2006
Alarm bells are ringing that the Indonesian military is using the same tactics of terror in West Papua that it employed during its bloody reign in East Timor.
28 days to save Darfur
New York Times, January 31, 2006
With its mandate to lead the U.N. Security Council next month, the United States has a chance to show the world it can do more than just talk about genocide in Sudan's Darfur, says Kenneth Bacon, president of Refugees International.
In praise of ... Paddy Ashdown
The Guardian, January 31, 2006
Paddy Ashdown deserves praise for the job he did as the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and his successor will have a hard act to follow, comments this editorial.
How not to help Hamas
LA Times, January 31, 2006
The coming months will prove unusually tense following Hamas' win in the Palestinian elections. The Bush Administration can help ease the tension by using its leverage not to punish the Palestinian people but to promote the cause of peace, writes this newspaper.
AU's historic sanction on Sudan
Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, January 30, 2006
The African Union's decision not to give Sudan the chairmanship because of its bad human rights record is commendable, says this newspaper.
Taylor not priority for now
The NEWS (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, January 29, 2006
While it's important to send former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the U.N. Special Court in Sierra Leone, it is not top priority for a country facing a lack of basic services, high levels of poverty and HIV/AIDS, writes this newspaper.
Hamas' victory exposes double standards, hypocrisy
The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com, January 28, 2006
Those who put so much pressure on the Palestinian Authority to hold elections are the ones now trying to undermine the results of those elections, says this editorial.
Crisis of communications
The Guardian, January 30, 2006
Western self-interest determines whether or not natural and humanitarian disasters earn column inches, according to a new study by Carma International.
Kenyans want to know why we're feeding corruption
The Guardian, January 30, 2006
Determined to engage with Africa, Western governments seem all too ready to go along with massive cons perpetrated by some African governments on both Western taxpayers and their own voters, says Michela Wrong, author of "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz" and "I didn't Do it for You".
Activist brings `A' game to cause
Chicago Tribune, January 29, 2006
Tactics similar to those used to fight apartheid help change South Africa's approach to treating AIDS patients.
Poor nations complain not all charity reaches victims
New York Times, January 29, 2006
Some foreign governments have begun to criticise international aid agencies for the way they raise and spend money.
Bosnia 10 years later--successes, hopes
Chicago Tribune, January 29, 2006
Doug Hostetter, Mennonite Central Committee's liaison to the United Nations, revisits Bosnia and Herzegovina and concludes that the Dayton Accords that brought peace to the country have reinforced ethnic divisions by dividing the country into ethnic "entities".
Clouding Ivory Coast's peace: Ivoirité
Christian Science Monitor, January 27, 2006
A key factor exacerbating ethnic divisions in Ivory Coast is the concept of "Ivoirité", which means the state of being a true Ivorian.
Ugandan aid cuts: Good riddance to ‘phantom’ aid
Pambazuka News, January 26, 2006
Aid cuts to Africa could be an opportunity for the continent, and it is worth exploring how Kenya has moved on over the past few years with neither aid nor loans from the World Bank, argues Julius Kapwepwe, programme officer for the Uganda Debt Network.
The rise of Hamas: A blessing in disguise?
International Herald Tribune, January 27, 2006
First America allows Hamas to run for elections, and when it wins, America says: "Oops, sorry, I didn't mean you." Uri Dromi of the Israel Democracy Institute comments on the surprise election win by Hamas, a group Washington has branded "terrorist".
The world's lost people: neither refugees nor citizens
Christian Science Monitor, January 27, 2006
Beyond moral and humanitarian imperatives, mass internal displacement brings chaos that can serve as a breeding ground for terrorism or pandemic diseases, and the failure to return internally displaced people quickly to their homes can doom peace agreements and reconstruction, writes Donald Steinberg of the International Crisis Group.
Protecting free elections for Palestinians
Christian Science Monitor, January 27, 2006
Hamas will lose its popularity if it doesn't deliver peace and good governance and Palestinians must retain the freedom to vote out Hamas, or any other group, says this editorial.
Haiti: A coup regime, human rights abuses and the hidden hand of Washington
Pambazuka News, January 26, 2006
Ben Terrall, an activist who works for Haiti Relief Fund, examines Haiti's coup regime, human rights abuses, the sham of planned elections and Washington's complicity on a military and diplomatic level.
Africa gets it half-right
International Herlad Tribune, January 26, 2006
Giving Sudan the African Union presidency next year will be just as unacceptable as it was this year.
The AU must look beyond summits
The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 26, 2006
The African Union needs to to become the continent's Big Brother, especially on humanitarian matters, comments this editorial.
Darfur greatest test for AU
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 26, 2006
It should be some consolation that Sudan lost its bid to chair the African Union, but more serious action is needed to quell fighting in Darfur, writes this newspaper.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta
Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, January 26, 2006
The latest attack on Shell oil facilities in the Niger Delta reminds us that the rapprochement between oil-bearing communities and the oil companies is yet to achieve positive results, says this newspaper.
Outside the Canadian camp, danger at every turn
Globe and Mail, January 26, 2006
Canadian troops preparing to take charge of NATO's military and rebuilding efforts in southern Afghanistan have a lot on their plate before they can tackle humanitarian aid.
To lead Africa
LA Times, January 25, 2006
If the African Union is serious about fighting corruption, it will have to focus harder on finding leaders who aren't themselves corrupt, writes this editorial.
Bush courts charities in bid to change foreign food-aid program
Bloomberg, January 25, 2006
The Bush administration is reviving a plan to buy some of the food for its overseas aid from local sources rather then U.S. farmers and is trying to get the charities on board.
Darfur descending
Washington Post, January 25, 2006
Only a political agreement among the parties in conflict in Darfur, and not external forces, can secure the future of refugees and the return of 2 million people to their homes, says U.N. chief Kofi Annan.
Fear and death ensnare U.N.'s soldiers in Haiti
Washington Post, January 24, 2006
Increased violence in Haiti has raised calls in capitals from Brasilia to Ottawa for an explanation of what has gone wrong with the country's transition to democracy.
Wolfowitz under fire
Financial Times, January 24, 2006
Paul Wolfowitz, the World Bank president, must move quickly to appoint people who are credible to senior international staff rather than to those close to President Bush. Otherwise his "presidency risks ending in paralysis and disappointment," the Financial Times writes in this editorial.
VIEW: World Economic Forum — 2006
Daily Times (Pakistan), January 24, 2006
The World Economic Forum, the high-profile meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, will pay too little heed to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, development consultant Syed Mohammad Ali writes in this commentary.
Not afraid to do the job
The Guardian, January 24, 2006
Communication is a woman's thing, but conflict resolution, one of the most important professions in the international arena, is almost completely devoid of women, says Antonia Potter, project manager at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva.
Operations of compassion
Baltimore Sun, January 24, 2006
The newspaper reports on a doctor that takes her trade to the developing world from Niger to Bangladesh where she repairs vesicovaginal fistula that affects women after they have given birth.
The long road out of Darfur
Christian Science Monitor, January 23, 2006
The world hasn't completely forgotten Darfur, but it nearly has. And that lack of attention is a luxury those living miserably in the region's refugee camps can't afford, comments this editorial.
Malnutrition, the silent emergency
The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com, January 23, 2006
The causes and consequences of malnutrition in Zambia are complex, and it will require the concerted efforts of all the country's social, economic and political institutions to combat it effectively, writes this editorial.
Don't short-change Afghanistan again
International Herald Tribune, January 22, 2006
Next week's conference on Afghanistan in London represents both a milestone and a challenge for the U.S. and the international community, write Karl Inderfurth of George Washington University, Frederick Star of John Hopkins University and Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute.
Deciding Kosovo's fate
The Economist on Hamilton Spectator, January 21, 2006
What is at stake in the forthcoming negotiations over Kosovo is the status of the Serb minority in the disputed province.
The bad guys who got away
LA Times, January 21, 2006
Ten years after the International Criminal Tribunal indicted Karadzic and Mladic for war crimes in Bosnia, a culture of impunity remains, writes Ljiljana Smajlovic, editor of the Politika daily newspaper in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro.
Kenya's parched cattle roaming far and wide
International Herald Tribune, January 20, 2006
Because of severe drought, a new species may soon join the endangered black rhino, zebra, buffalo and wildbeast in Kenya's protected national parks: the cow.
Kenya's parched cattle roaming far and wide
International Herald Tribune, January 20, 2006
Because of the severe drought a new species may soon join the endangered black rhino, zebra, buffalo and wildbeast in Kenya's protected national parks: the cow.
Passing the buck won't help
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.co.uk, January 20, 2006
Many of the famine-related problems facing Kenya today are caused as much by bad policies and misplaced priorities as by failed rains and systematic environmental destruction, writes this newspaper.
Sudan's refugees, sticks and stonewalling
Daily Star, January 20, 2006
Author Maria Golia comments on recent events in Egypt where police forcibly removed Sudanese refugees from a makeshift camp in Cairo.
The pirate attacks that threaten Somalia's poor
The Guardian, January 19, 2006
The hijacking of cargo ships carrying humanitarian aid for Somalia is on the inscrease.
A proposal to 'rebrand' peace
Christian Science Monitor, January 19, 2006
When we consider how individuals can influence world affairs, we often think of terrorists and the impact them make through violence. Isn't it time to demonstrate the power of individuals through the actions of peace, asks Deepak Chopra, author of "Peace is the Way" and president of the Alliance for New Humanity.
People die of famine in nation that exports food
The Times, January 18, 2006
Kenya's silos are full while the famine bites hard in the neglected northeastern parts of the country.
We Must Help Her Succeed
International Crisis Group on www.allafrica.com, January 18, 2006
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and first lady Laura Bush's presence at the inauguration of Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson as Liberia's new president signals a serious American commitment to the country's future. But will the U.S. match its money to its rhetoric, ask Mike McGovern and Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group.
Development: Christian groups find new allies at USAID
Inter Press Service (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.co.uk, January 17, 2006
The AIDS pandemic in Africa has provided an entry point for U.S.-based Christian evangelical organisations that view some of the small countries on that continent as an opportunity for religious, political and social transformation.
AU's dismal date in Khartoum
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 17, 2006
It doesn't bode well for the new-look African Union to be headed by Sudan, which is still under investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in the Darfur region, says L. Muthoni Wanyeki, executive director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network.
How aid ends up buying fancy cars
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 17, 2006
With so much aid going to line the pockets of corrupt state bureaucrats and officials, more aid is not the answer to eradicating poverty in Africa, writes Oscar Kimanuka, a commentator on social and economic issues based in Kigali.
Liberia's break with the past
International Herald Tribune, January 17, 2006
Liberia's recovery will mainly depend on Liberians themselves, but it will require strong international support, say Steve Radelet and Jeremy Weinstein, advisors to the Liberian president on economic strategy.
Palestinians in disarray
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, January 17, 2006
One critical question lost in the hubbub over who will succeed Ariel Sharon is whether there will be any valid authority left among the Palestinians when the Israelis sort out their politics.
Liberia, please get it right!
Accra Mail (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, January 17, 2006
Every Liberian must know that the country's newly elected president, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson, cannot turn Liberia around overnight, says this editorial.
Africa's parties don't deliver because they promise nothing
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 17, 2006
Africa needs a new generation of political parties to focus on development policies rather than ethnic interests, say Calestous Juma and Allison DiSenso of the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Send Habré to Belgium for trial
International Herald Tribune, January 17, 2006
Chad's former dictator should be tried in Belgium now rather than in the future in some expensive "African court" that could take years to set up, says Souleymane Guenguend, founder and vice-president of the Chadian Association of Victims of Crime and Political Aggression.
Can Africa's first woman president get Liberia back on track?
Christian Science Monitor, January 17, 2006
Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, will need more than photo ops with the United States' first female African-American secretary of state to lift her country out of the ruins of two decades of war, says Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Forgotten generation puts uneasy peace at risk
The Guardian, January 16, 2006
Discontent and anger mount in Burundi among 3,000 child soldiers demobilised from armed groups.
Job of fixing Africa is in Africa's hands
Chicago Tribune, January 15, 2006
Bold proposals to transform poverty-mired Africa with huge infusions of international aid and freer trade mostly fizzled, but those failings have left the job of fixing Africa where it belongs: in African hands.
Arrest Those Stealing Food for the Starving
The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 13, 2006
Theft of relief food intended to help starving Kenyans in the north of the country raises disturbing questions about the security and efficiency of the distribution chain, says this newspaper.
Why Africa Keeps Failing
The Independent (Banjul) on www.allafrica.com, January 13, 2006
It is high time for Africa to get rid of self-righteous despots and start the march toward viable peace, progress, freedom and prosperity and that should be it's agenda for 2006 and beyond, writes this editorial.
Food Security is a Sham
Concord Times (Freetown) on www.allafrica.com, January 13, 2006
No Sierra Leonean would go to bed hungry by 2007 is one of the failed promises that the political leaders have been trading and defending since 2002.
How Prepared Are We?
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, January 13, 2006
Just how prepared is Ghana in the event of a major tremor?
Colombia seeks peace in the middle of war
Christian Science Monitor, January 13, 2006
Eduardo Pizarro, head of a new "reparation and reconciliation" commission set up by Columbian President Alvaro Uribe, sheds light on reconciliation efforts.
Aid to Africa: more doesn't have to mean worse
Public Agenda (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, January 12, 2006
Why are we condemned to conduct the public debate about aid to Africa in such grossly simplified terms, asks David Booth, research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute.
Fixing the humanitarian aid system
Africa Renewal (New York) on www.allafrica.com, January 12, 2006
Fixing the global humanitarian emergency response system and anchoring it more firmly in long-term development goals is an important part of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan for UN reform. It is also a moral obligation.
New female Liberian leader needs support
USA Today, January 12, 2006
The new, democratically-elected regime in Liberia needs significant support for security and socioeconomic development and that's where the United States can make a difference, Dorothy Height, chair emerita of the U.S. National Council of Negro Women.
Africa's tinderbox
LA Times, January 12, 2006
Success in averting war between Eritrea and Ethiopia would go a long way toward renewing international respect for the power of U.S. diplomacy, writes this newspaper.
Liberia votes, West Africa smiles
Concord Times (Freetown) on www.allafrica.com, January 12, 2006
Liberia is emerging from a prolonged civil war to become a truly promising place that holds great hope for the region, says Umaru Fofana of West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR).
Curing poverty or using poverty?
Baltimore Sun, January 12, 2006
Reports that millions of Chinese are being lifted out of poverty suggest that wealth creation via relaxed market restrictions and foreign investment has helped more Chinese escape the clutches of poverty than foreign aid, says Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Has Kashmir aid gone too far?
BBC Online, January 12, 2006
Aamer Ahmed Khan reports on a rift over quake aid, with Pakistan’s military saying promises from international agencies have given people unreasonably high expectations and deterred survivors from getting on with their lives.
Solutions remain distant for IDPs
The Monitor (Kampala) on allAfrica.com, January 11, 2006
Spending a week with displaced people in Lira, northern Uganda, Stephen Abili discovers high levels of violence against women and aid swindling, and wonders whether people wouldn’t be better off returning home from squalid camps.
Our final goal must be to offer a global new deal
The Guardian, January 11, 2006
Britain’s finance minister calls on rich countries to come up with the cash to prove that “making poverty history” is more than a fashionable slogan.
Haiti's hope and search for a president
Christian Science Monitor, January 11, 2006
Author Kathie Klarreich says once Haiti has a new government, it will have to institutionalise the rule of law and unite groups that have traditionally undermined one another.
World Social Forum: Will the Bamako meeting tackle Africa's sore spots?
Inter Press Service on allAfrica.com, January 10, 2006
Moyiga Nduru asks why HIV/AIDS and good governance don’t appear on the World Social Forum conference agenda.
Colombia: Conflict to heat up ahead of elections, say analysts
Inter Press Service, January 10, 2006
The run-up to the May elections - which could give right-wing President Álvaro Uribe another term - is likely to bring increased military activity, economic sabotage and attacks on state institutions and politicians, Constanza Vieira reports.
Making a difference
The Guardian, January 10, 2006
The UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee - an umbrella group of top British aid agencies - responds to criticism that it hasn’t told donors what it did with their tsunami money.
Charity: new cultural revolution
The Guardian, January 10, 2006
As international donors phase out their aid to China in response to its phenomenal economic growth, the government is calling on charities and the new middle class to help out the country's poor, reports Jonathan Watts.
Donors spend money on activities harmful to Somali peace process
The Standard (Nairobi), January 9, 2006
Fragmented policy at international level means that those in charge of Somali affairs are failing to implement U.N. resolutions, protect human rights or mainstream good governance, argues Mohamud Uluso, a former cabinet minister and central bank governor.
Africa must take a leading role
International Herald Tribune, January 9, 2006
As U.N. negotiations over a proposed new Human Rights Council resume, Archbishop Desmond Tutu argues that the Africa Group of member states should take a leading role in pressing for a strong body.
Backstory: Can you program peace?
Christian Science Monitor, January 9, 2006
A Nigerian TV series now in production aims to deal with issues of powerlessness and identity by infusing conflict-resolution into its story lines, reports Abraham McLaughlin.
To fight Al Qaeda, US troops in Africa build schools instead
Christian Science Monitor, January 9, 2006
U.S. troops in Djibouti are on a hearts-and-minds mission to tackle factors they believe could contribute to the growth of extremism.
Ivory Coast: A baptism of fire for the new prime minister
Inter Press Service on allAfrica.com, January 7, 2006
Diplomatic sources interviewed by IPS argue that recent attacks on military bases in Ivory Coast mark a vote of no confidence in the new administration.
Global ghoulishness
The Guardian, January 6, 2006
Rolling news has led us into perpetual mourning about stricken strangers. Mark Lawson asks, do we care or do we merely stare?
Africa's first lady
The Guardian, January 6, 2006
Newly inaugurated Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf – the continent's only woman head of state – knows her performance will influence the progress of women throughout Africa, says Ghanaian novelist and journalist Cameron Duodu.
Congolese mineral wealth as coveted as ever
Inter Press Service on allAfrica.com, January 4, 2006
Illegal gold mining in Democratic Republic of Congo undermines long-term peace, and should be a top priority, reports Eva Weymuller.
Sierra Leone touted as success in war-torn continent
Inter Press Service on allAfrica.com, January 4, 2006
The United Nations hails its recently ended mission as a success, but these achievements could be overshadowed by economic problems, argues Thalif Deen.
Attack on donors not wise
New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, January 4, 2006
Confrontation between Ugandan President Museveni and international donors could prove disastrous for the country, says this editorial.
Famine: Government was clueless
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, January 4, 2006
It is simply unacceptable that more than 30 Kenyans have starved to death while farmers in breadbasket regions are stranded with hundreds of thousands of bags of maize, beans and rice they cannot sell, says this editorial.
Sorry, but AIDS testing is critical
Washington Post, January 4, 2006
Isn't it obvious that AIDS will continue to spread more rapidly as long as 90 percent of those affected do not know their status? Richard Holbrooke, president of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, responds to his critics.
Focus on tsunami overlooks Sri Lanka's war refugees
Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2006
The 90,000 people displaced by civil war in Sri Lanka have received little aid, threatening to deepen ethnic grievances.
A failure of purpose
The Guardian, January 3, 2006
Jeevan Vasagar asks whether well-meaning Western aid agencies, whose efforts often seem to be a story of misunderstandings and disappointments, are what Africa really needs.
Few choices for Egypt's Sudanese migrants
Christian Science Monitor, January 3, 2006
Deadly clashes in Cairo highlight growing tensions between refugees and host governments as rich countries reduce the number of resettlement slots available for asylum seekers, says Dan Murphy.
Serbia praised over trials of alleged war criminals
International Herald Tribune, January 3, 2006
Serbia is slowly prosecuting alleged perpetrators of some of the war crimes committed during 1999 in Kosovo, even as it fails to deliver key suspects to the tribunal in The Hague.
Wishes for a new world
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, January 3, 2006
The newspaper says 2006 will be a year to remember if the following happen: Israelis and Palestinians negotiate a two-state solution; Burma's military junta permits democratic revival; Sri Lanka grants self-government to the Tamil minority; and if India and Pakistan overcome their differences.
In charity, too, the rich get richer
International Herald Tribune, January 3, 2006
Americans should continue to help those in need, but they should also look around before sending a check or clicking the "donate" button, says Richard Walden, president of international relief agency Operation USA.
In Indonesia, the battleground has shifted
International Herald Tribune, January 3, 2006
While Aceh may be moving towards peace, West Papua has been witnessing the opposite trend - a sudden escalation of military activity by the Indonesian government, says Tom Benedetti, moderator of the West Papua Action Network.
Vote signals hope for democracy in long-besieged Congo
Chicago Sun-Times, January 2, 2006
The vote for the new constitution in the Democratic Republic of Congo provides hope in a land long shrouded by the heart of darkness, says Richard Williamson, a Chicago lawyer and former U.S. ambassador at the United Nations.
Beating the 'curse' of natural riches
LA Times, January 2, 2006
Chad is reneging on its promise to the World Bank, which financed the construction of an oil pipeline, to put aside some of its oil profits for education and health, sparking yet more calls for international lenders to stop financing projects that end up hurting the poor. But Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Centre for Global Development, says it is now a question of how to finance responsible development rather than not finance at all.
Kidnapping an election
TIME, January 1, 2006
In the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, kidnappings is a booming industry that coincides with Haiti's preparations for a crucial presidential election.
Making poverty history
International Herald Tribune, January 1, 2006
The world's new year resolution should be to keep track of how many of last year's promises about making poverty history turn into something more than words, writes this newspaper.
Foreign disaster aid: New to U.S.
International Herald Tribune, January 1, 2006
The chaotic response to Hurricane Katrina by government agencies and the Red Cross has led organisations like Oxfam to wonder whether they have a role in disaster response in the U.S.
Mideast still key to a more peaceful world
Toronto Star, December 30, 2005
Close attention must still be paid to Africa and the Middle East if the push toward worldwide peace is to continue, despite a study led by a former United Nations official concluding armed conflict is on the decline around the world, argues Gwynne Dyer.
Good, orderly elections are worth waiting for
Miami Herald, December 29, 2005
If more time to prepare for elections in Haiti is needed, so be it, says Roger Noriega, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington.
In Burma, a setback on AIDS
Washington Post, December 30, 2005
The decision by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to cut funding for Burma highlights a moral dilemma over how to operate in a country that has one of the world's worst human rights records but is also on the brink of a humanitarian crisis affecting millions of people.
In tsunami's spindrift, a calming peace
Christian Science Monitor, December 30, 2005
Indonesia's peace and Aceh's new self-rule need constant care so as not to let any violent incidents tap into lingering distrust between Indonesia's military and the Achenese, says this editorial.
Inclusive security: Hope for Congo
Boston Globe, December 29, 2005
Long-term stabilization of the Democratic Republic of Congo requires coordinated, wide-ranging disarmament and integration efforts that involve all stakeholders, men and women alike, says Swanee Hunt, who serves on the board of International Crisis Group.
Openness vital in fighting HIV and AIDS
The Herald (Harare) on www.allafrica.com, December 29, 2005
A lot still needs to be done in the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the first step is to remove stigma, comments this editorial.
Ugliness behind beautification project
Newsday, December 29, 2005
Six months after the "cleaning" away of illegal shantytowns in Zimbabwe, thousands remain displaced.
Hope for Sumatra ...
LA Times, December 29, 2005
The Indian Ocean tsunami accomplished what years of halfhearted negotiations had not, stopping the violent, decades-long campaign for the independence of Aceh, comments this newspaper editorial.
... discontent in Sri Lanka
LA Times, December 29, 2005
Last year's tsunami exposed the fragility of a cease-fire between the government and Tamil rebels fighting for independence, unlike in Indonesia's Aceh where it brought peace.
War and disasters aside, 2005 brought world progress
Christian Science Monitor, December 29, 2005
The gloomy headlines this year obscure a positive underlying trend: On average, people across the planet are living longer, healthier lives, with greater opportunities for education and political freedom than ever before, says Brian McCartan, director of Global Trends Project.
A sea change in Aceh
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, December 29, 2005
One of the unexpected benefits of the tsunami has been the peace agreement between Indonesia and the Acehnese separatist movement and it is up to Indonesia to ensure that this agreement lasts, says this editorial.
One year after the tsunami
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, December 29, 2005
It is important that both donor governments and the countries hit by the tsunami stay the course in reconstruction, writes this newspaper.
Peace on Earth? Increasingly, Yes.
Washington Post, December 28, 2005
Contrary to popular belief, armed conflict and nearly all other forms of political violence have decreased since the Cold War and the world is far more peaceful than it was, says Andrew Mack, who directs the Human Security Center at the University of British Columbia.
What about Kashmir?
New Straits Times, December 28, 2005
For the world to turn its back on Kashmir would demean everything associated with this week’s tsunami remembrances, says this newspaper editorial.
Tourist videos vs. unseen anguish
Toronto Star, December 28, 2005
Why does the world's focus on global poverty last no longer than the time it takes to get a bunch of musicians together, set up the show and then strike the sets?
Building on hope
LA Times, December 27, 2005
Despite plenty of reasons for disappointment, most notably the Doha trade talks, there are reasons to be hopeful that the world's attitude toward poverty has evolved: it's no longer hopeless or somebody else's problem, writes this newspaper.
'Bracelets and pop concerts can't solve our problems'
The Independent, December 27, 2005
How can plastic bracelets and pop concerts solve Africa's problems?
So much need, so little help for the deathly Ill in Myanmar
LA Times, December 27, 2005
The nation suffers from high numbers of AIDS, TB and malaria cases, but gets minimal foreign assistance because of its repressive regime.
Have we made poverty history?
The Independent, December 27, 2005
The newspaper gives its verdict on the aims of the Make Poverty History campaign and whether its have been achieved.
A wave that reshaped global response
Christian Science Monitor, December 27, 2005
The tsunami relief phase demonstrates that the international community has the capacity and the will to respond quickly and effectively to major catastrophes - if it chooses to do so, say Karl Inderfurth and David Fabrycky of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs and Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institute.
Killing field
The Beacon Journal, December 26, 2005
Darfur remains a crisis after three years, to the great shame of Sudan and an international community that cannot get its act together to stop the slaughter of innocents, writes this editorial.
Young and homeless fill Africa's city streets
Washington Post, December 23, 2005
The number of homeless youths in Africa's exploding urban centres could be as high as one million, according to Save the Children and UNICEF.
Editorial: What about Kashmir?
New Straits Times, December 28, 2005
For the world to turn its back on Kashmir would demean everything associated with this week’s tsunami remembrances, says this newspaper editorial.
Tourist videos vs. unseen anguish
Toronto Star, December 28, 2005
Why does the focus on world poverty last no longer than it does to get a bunch of musicians together, set up the show and then strike the sets?
Building on hope
LA Times, December 27, 2005
Although there are plenty of reasons for disappointment, most notably the Doha trade talks, there are reasons to be hopeful that the world's attitude toward poverty has evolved: it's no longer hopeless, or somebody else's problem, writes this newspaper.
'Bracelets and pop concerts can't solve our problems'
The Independent, December 27, 2005
How can plastic bracelets and pop concerts solve Africa's problems?
So much need, so little help for the deathly Ill in Myanmar
LA Times, December 27, 2005
The nation suffers from high numbers of AIDS, TB and malaria cases, but gets minimal foreign assistance because of its repressive regime.
Have we made poverty history?
The Independent, December 27, 2005
The newspaper gives its verdict on the aims of the Make Poverty History aims and whether these have been achieved.
A wave that reshaped global response
Christian Science Monitor, December 27, 2005
The tsunami relief phase demonstrates that the international community has the capacity and will to respond quickly and effectively to major catastrophes - if it chooses to do so, say Karl Inderfurth and David Fabrycky of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs and Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institute.
Killing field
The Beacon Journal, December 26, 2005
Darfur remains a crisis after three years, to the great shame of Sudan and an international community that cannot get its act together to stop the slaughter of innocents, writes this editorial.
Young and homeless fill Africa's city streets
Washington Post, December 23, 2005
The number of homeless youths in Africa's exploding urban centres could be as high as one million, according to Save the Children and UNICEF.
For girls in Africa, education is uphill fight
International Herald Tribune, December 23, 2005
Researchers throughout sub-Saharan Africa say a significant number of girls are driven out of school because of the lack of girls-only latrines and clean water.
A U-turn on reforms could starve North Korea
International Herald Tribune, December 22, 2005
A short-term solution to North Korea's food problems is to maintain the integrity of the multilateral food aid effort while encouraging the country's government to grant farmers and traders greater leeway, says Stephan Haggard of the University of California and Marcus Noland of the Institute for International Economics, Washington.
Relief but little rebuilding
The Economist, December 20, 2005
By most accounts, the emergency relief effort in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami was a notable success, but much remains to be done.
The mountain man and the surgeon
The Economist, December 20, 2005
This article juxtaposes the lives of an unemployed man in the U.S. and a relatively well-off doctor in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Promising aid strategy turning sour
Toronto Star, December 19, 2005
American and French governments, together with Exxon Mobil Corporation need to take a lead in persuading Chad's government to continue spending its oil revenues on poverty-reduction programmes, rather than on security forces, for instance, writes this newspaper.
The Year of Charitainment
Time, December 19, 2005
Celebrities are attention filters: a pretty face and a famous name are a convenient excuse to focus on one problem in the midst of a thousand equally unignorable others.
Aceh reconstruction still slow one year on
Jakarta Post, December 22, 2005
A year after the Indian Ocean tsunami ravaged parts of Indonesia's Aceh province, many are disappointed by the rate of progress in the region.
What next after donor aid cuts?
The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com, December 22, 2005
The British government's cuts to direct aid for Uganda will certainly have an adverse effect on the government's ability to deliver services, but most Ugandans won't necessarily feel the pinch, writes this newspaper.
Turning tides in Aceh
The Age, December 22, 2005
If Indonesia can continue to democratise and keep its military in check, there is a chance that Aceh can reap some benefit from the tsunami disaster and its people can look to a better future, says Damien Kingsbury, director of international and community development at Deakin University, Australia.
The search for truth divides East Timor
International Herald Tribune, December 21, 2005
It remains to be seen whether the perpetrators of war crimes in East Timor will be prosecuted or granted amnesty. Whatever the outcome, the public's demand for justice will not fade, says Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Tokyo's Temple University.
Hong Kong holding pattern
International Herald Tribune, December 21, 2005
The interests of textile companies in America and farmers in France and Japan continue to mean more to world trade negotiators than the fate of hungry children in West Africa, says this newspaper editorial.
Return to Lundazi
The Economist, December 20, 2005
The magazine's former foreign editor travels to Zambia, where he lived 40 years ago, to find the country has made some progress in education and agriculture, but is ravaged by AIDS and nearly two-thirds of its inhabitants are living on less than $1 a day.
Courageous struggle for survival in AIDS-ravaged Uganda
CBC, December 20, 2005
Nowhere in the world has the HIV/AIDS pandemic been more disastrous than the southern Ugandan district of Rakai, where the virus has orphaned around 40,000 children, says a Canadian writer.
Democracy in Africa improving
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 20, 2005
Recent leadership changes in Liberia, Tanzania and Burkina Faso are symbolic of Africa's steady progress on the path to democratisation, says this newspaper.
Africa's war on poverty begins at home
Financial Times, December 20, 2005
Blaming poverty on forces beyond the control of Africa's political elite takes the spotlight away from decades of failed economic policies, wholesale looting of the continent's wealth and the loss of countless lives to political repression and ethnic conflicts, says Marian Tupy of the Cate Institute.
It's not all bad news
The Guardian, December 20, 2005
It's essential that the Doha round of trade talks be stepped up in 2006 and not killed off by the existing mood of selfishness, writes this newspaper.
'Young teachers are dying'
The Guardian, December 20, 2005
Under the colonial system, AIDS was not discussed in South african schools because it meant talking about sex. Nowadays, the government is only marginally more willing to address the topic in schools.
Forgotten famine, forgotten people
The Age, December 20, 2005
Aid agencies have learned that allowing communities to identify who gets food aid when there isn't enough for everyone - as is the case in Malawi - is the best way to avoid conflict over the fairness of distributing scarce rations.
A ray of hope in the heart of Africa
The Economist, December 19, 2005
If the Democratic Republic of Congo prospers, the rest of Africa should also benefit, but if it slips back into war, economic and political recovery in central Africa will be forgotten too.
Silver lining in WTO talks
International Herald Tribune, December 19, 2005
Hong Kong trade talks have probably done just enough to halt, for now, the trend towards regional and bilateral trade deals that promise much but deliver confusion and trade discrimination, writes this newspaper.
No easy way out as an encore looms
The Guardian, December 19, 2005
Wrangling at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Hong Kong exposes the hollowness of the notion that the talks launched in Doha four years ago constitute a development round, argues Larry Elliott.
The world pays a heavy price for our cheap Christmas miracles
The Guardian, December 19, 2005
The rich world’s unstoppable thirst for cheap, fashionable clothes is damaging developing countries and the environment.
Aceh's next generation
Christian Science Monitor, December 19, 2005
Progress has been slow, but the lot of children in Indonesia's troubled Aceh Province is gradually improving after a year-long outpouring of humanitarian aid.
Rich nations must dig deeper, says humanitarian chief
Irish Examiner, December 19, 2005
Richer nations are still not giving enough money to tackle lingering humanitarian crises, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief says in an interview, also criticising political leaders for failing to end the wars that have created crises.
Zimbabwean evictees return, find no refuge
LA Times, December 19, 2005
People displaced when the government dismantled urban squatter camps are unable to survive in the countryside, and are returning to the city, where they live in fear and poverty.
Nigeria faces AIDS treatment crisis
Globe and Mail, December 16, 2005
With the advantage of billions of dollars in oil revenues and broad international support, Nigeria should be at the forefront of African countries battling the AIDS pandemic, but it is failing miserably in its response to the disease.
Trade Talks May Fail Again
The Nation (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 15, 2005
If the World Trade Organisation meeting is to bear any fruit, the habit of arm-twisting Africa by dangling short-term gains in its face must stop. A fair world trade system can only be achieved if the playing field is levelled, says this editorial.
The destructive strings of U.S. aid
International Herald Tribune, December 15, 2005
The support of international donors in the fight against AIDS in Africa should be used to empower people living with AIDS, not to empower religious fundamentalists who want to turn AIDS into a moral issue.
Global benefits of trade
Washington Times, December 15, 2005
Negotiators at the WTO meeting in Hong Kong must not lose sight of the greater goal: raising living standards across the world for rich and poor alike, writes this newspaper.
No time to trade off a good deal
Sydney Morning Herald, December 15, 2005
It is widely acknowledged that time is running out for ministers in the WTO meeting to reach any groundbreaking deal over agricultural subsidies that are hurting poor nations, says Tim Costello, chief executive of World Vision Australia.
The Rock Star's Burden
New York Times, December 15, 2005
The impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can only be saved by outside help is a destructive and misleading conceit, says Paul Theroux, author of "Blinding Light" and "The Dark Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town".
How EU, US 'dumping' hurts West African farmers
Christian Science Monitor, December 15, 2005
Thousands of West African poultry farmers are being squeezed out of business by frozen foreign imports.
Let's Stop Free Market Rhetoric
The Herald (Harare) on www.allafrica.com, December 14, 2005
By maintaining a stronghold on their share of world expoerts, particularly agricultural commodities, rich countries remain part of the primary problem to the underdevelopment of poor countries, writes this newspaper.
At the end of the chain, the farmers who face ruin
The Independent, December 15, 2005
World cotton prices have dropped to a historic low because of EU and U.S. trade subsidies which have artificially distorted world markets and this is the reason cotton producing in west African countries is being killed off.
Bill Clinton, America and the genocide
The New Times (Kigali) on www.allafrica.com, December 14, 2005
The world's lone superpower has never had "strategic interests" in Rwanda which is why the U.S. did not intervene to stop the genocide in 1994, says this newspaper.
WTO Hong Kong: Would our voices be heard?
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com, December 14, 2005
In the 10 years of Ghana's membership of the WTO, the country has been nothing more than a by-stander on the organisation's stage, says this editorial.
Making aid effective
Financial Times, December 14, 2005
The plan to bring the U.S. Agency for International Development into the government fold has the benefit of making aid a direct tool of U.S. foreign policy, but it has serious drawbacks, writes this newspaper.
Beating malaria means understanding mosquitoes
New York Times, December 14, 2005
Working out which part of a population is most likely to get bitten by mosquitoes and get malaria could help health officials target prevention efforts more accurately.
The Ivory Coast's cocoa war
Christian Science Monitor, December 13, 2005
While the cocoa farms of southern Ivory Coast are a long way from the frontlines of the 2002-3 civil war, land disputes there could reignite the ethnically based conflict.
Africa's economic fate in its own hands
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, December 13, 2005
Africa can achieve prosperity, but it has to be more open to trade, it must stop blaming others for its problems and it has to improve the institutions of a free society, says Jasson Urbach, researcher for the Free Market Foundation and Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria advocacy group.
Push a little harder
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, December 13, 2005
The only way the trade talks in Hong Kong will succeed is if developed countries are prepared to make sacrifices.
It's suicidal to ignore farmers
The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 13, 2005
Rwanda can reduce poverty levels by raising its budgetary allocation for agriculture and rural development to 10 per cent, says Oscar Kimanuka, a commentator on social and economic issues based in Kigali.
Free trade for a better future
LA Times, December 13, 2005
The world community can look back at 2005 with pride when it comes to helping its poorest citizens, says World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Bosnia's rape babies: abandoned by their families, forgotten by the state
The Independent, December 13, 2005
A psychologist working with survivors of rape during the Bosnian war says politicians have used the women's suffering for their own ends.
The East African quake
This Day (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com, December 12, 2005
The earthquake that recently hit East Africa should underline the continent's need to prepare for natural disasters, writes this newspaper.
We will pay for cheap bananas with prisons, fear and fragmentation
The Guardian, December 12, 2005
Whether it is water provision in Bolivia or health insurance in Kenya, the WTO is set to cement international trading according to the golden rule - those who have the gold make the rules.
The Tsunami report card
Foreign Policy, December 2005
World leaders often rush to make aid pledges in the aftermath of disasters, only to leave them unfulfilled as interest and attention wanes. But last year's Indian Ocean tsunami spurred a response that may be a model for future disaster relief, say Karl Inderfurth and David Fabrycky of George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs.
EU has offered concessions
USA Today, December 12, 2005
There are more than five times as many farmers in Europe as the United States, and Europe's average farmer now gets less than half as much as his American equivalent does, says European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.
Americans, poorer nations pay high price for farm aid
USA Today, December 12, 2005
Around the world, farming is giving farmers and governments alike a serious migraine. Curing it couldn't be more important, says this newspaper editorial.
The WTO: food for thought?
Le Monde Diplomatique, December 2005
If the U.S. and the European Union import more food from developing countries, that's a small price to pay for increasing service sector exports, as agriculture generates only two percent of GDP in the two trade giants.
Africa's poorest fight hypocrisy and vested interests
The Guardian, December 12, 2005
There are fears the Hong Kong trade talks could result in Africa losing its few advantages from previous trade deals without winning beneficial new terms.
Destabilization Again
The Inquirer (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, December 12, 2005
Just as the international community is making frantic efforts to restore peace in Liberia, some people are destabilising the country, says an editorial commenting on riots in Monrovia.
Preying Tigers eye aid
Globe and Mail, December 12, 2005
Contractors in Sri Lanka hired for tsunami reconstruction say they have been harassed by Tamil rebels.
‘Everyone here is thinking of replacing lost children’
The Herald, December 12, 2005
All across Banda Aceh, in villages that bore the brunt of the destructive force of nature, women are rushing to get pregnant and replace the lost children.
A good day for international justice
The Independent, December 12, 2005
The transfer to The Hague of the Croatian war crimes suspect Ante Gotovina marks a milestone in the history of the U.N. crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia.
AU struggles to calm Darfur
Christian Science Monitor, December 12, 2005
The African Union's mission in Sudan has become a test of its ability to quell conflicts on the continent.
As drugs lose effect, new HIV crisis looms
Globe and Mail, December 12, 2005
As African countries rush to get life-saving drugs to people with AIDS, a new crisis looms because the medications required to continue treatment are hugely expensive and often unavailable on the continent.
Britons have not tired of giving
The Times, December 12, 2005
Non-tsunami fundraising efforts in Britain have not been affected by donor fatigue, says National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Peace slowly taking hold in Congo
Miami Herald, December 11, 2005
After years of false starts and costly failures, peace is finally taking hold in Congo's remote northeastern Ituri region, a key battleground in a pan-African war that's claimed four million lives so far.
Localised Food Aid
New York Times, December 11, 2005
Buying food locally for food aid provides the best chance of preventing starvation.
Liberia, Haiti share many of the same woes and lessons
Miami Herald, December 11, 2005
Liberia and Haiti offer tough lessons about the difficulties poor nations face in pursuing democracy when bad governance destroys opportunities for generations.
Red Cross sees sense
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, December 9, 2005
The newspaper welcomes the fact that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies is to allow the Israeli national society Magen David Adom to join its ranks.
Africa's New Despots
Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com, December 9, 2005
Some of the African leaders previously lauded as new hopes for the continent that turned into despots should be made aware that the world is watching them, writes this newspaper.
In Kabul, a Stark Gulf Between Wealthy Few and the Poor
Washington Post, December 9, 2005
Four years after the Taliban was ousted from power, most residents of Afghanistan's capital Kabul are without electricity at the onset of winter, apart from a small minority that can afford to have generators.
In Africa, a new commitment to treat AIDS
Baltimore Sun, December 8, 2005
The new Liberian president, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson, is refusing to support any war crimes tribunal in the country, something that she ought to do, if she wants the country to avoid a return to armed conflict, says Jeremy Levitt of Florida International University College of Law in Miami.
For Gazans, crossing border with pride
Baltimore Sun, December 8, 2005
For the first time, Gazans are free to come and go between Gaza Strip and Egypt without Israeli-controlled security ro the delays and humiliations that became one of the most common hardships of Palestinian life.
On India's Roads, Cargo and a Deadly Passenger
New York Times, December 6, 2005
As many as 11 percent of truckers in India may be HIV positive, but it is difficult to reach them with educational messages as they are often owner-driven and part of very small companies.
Make a long-term commitment to Haiti
Miami Herald, December 6, 2005
The international community must make a commitment for long-term support for Haiti with money, expertise and security long after the country goes to polls in January next year, says this newspaper editorial.
Pakistanis wary of army's next job
Christian Science Monitor, December 8, 2005
There are fears that the Pakistani army will dominate the reconstruction process. The real problem, critics say, is not their involvement in the logistics, but that they may take the upper hand in decision-making.
In Aceh, trust rebuilds
Christian Science Monitor, December 8, 2005
Members of the Free Aceh Movement feel now is the time to test the peace process, while European observers are still in Aceh to keep an eye on both parties.
Famines, fallacies and free markets
Business Day (Johannesburg), December 7, 2005
Niger is a victim of its own government which still runs a command economy, says Thompson Ayodele, director of the Institute of Public Policy Analysis in Lagos, Nigeria.
Amid squalor, an aid army marches to no drum at all
New York Times, December 7, 2005
Neither charity workers nor economic structural adjusters have done much to lift Malawi out of poverty and save it from the latest in a series of hunger crises.
Critics slam system as food aid to Guatemala lags
Christian Science Monitor, December 7, 2005
A shortfall in food aid following a string of devastating natural catastrophes this year sparks fresh debate over international food aid programmes.
For aid, just help yourself
Sydney Morning Herald, December 7, 2005
Shunned by traditional lenders, people in developing countries can now get low-collateral loans to help improve their lives and the results are encouraging.
Step up the war on AIDS
Japan Times, December 7, 2005
Efforts to halt the scourge of AIDS should focus on prevention and the distribution of medicine to HIV-positive people to allow them to live longer, more productive lives.
War against AIDS must start with poverty
East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
Being poor in the developing world is hard, but being poor, HIV-positive and the parent of young children in a slum is living hell, says James Morris, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, in this guest column.
Ugandan democracy on a slippery slope
East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
The coming years will be ones of increasing civil and political strife in Uganda and will affect the whole region, says Dr J. Oloka Onyango, director of the Human Rights and Peace Centre at Makerere University in Uganda.
Dilemma of Pakistan army's quake role
BBC News Online, December 6, 2005
Following successful cooperation with the Pakistani army after the Asia quake, some relief workers are urging the U.N. to rethink its policy of not working directly with military forces in emergency situations.
AIDS: Peace now brings a new killer to Sudan
East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
Sudan's 22-year civil war displaced more than four million people, but it also guarded the region against the spread of AIDS. That isolation is now over.
Museveni is good, Kenya can do no right - hey, that's economics
East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
The bigger the aid programme for a developing country, the less likely donors are to rock the boat and criticise that country's government, writes Charles Onyango-Obbo.
Aids in retreat in EA?
East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
In a year when HIV/AIDS figures have worsened worldwide, the East African region has registered improvements, with Kenya showing reductions in infection rates.
Should Botswana emulate the Swiss war against HIV/Aids?
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone) on www.allafrica.com, December 6, 2005
As Sub-Saharan Africa struggles to make progress in its war on AIDS, isn't it time for countries in the region to review their fighting tactics?
Somalis wait as militias slow delivery of aid
LA Times, December 6, 2005
Aid groups report setbacks in Somalia as their convoys have to negotiate dozens of checkpoints to get aid to those who need it.
Slack aid groups face boot from Aceh
The Australian, December 6, 2005
Non-performing aid organisations could soon be thrown out of Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh if they fail to deliver.
Leading player in Darfur's drama: the hapless camel
New York Times, December 5, 2005
Sometimes one factor emerges as a defining element in a conflict: salt or gold or these days, hardy Toyota pickups or Stinger missiles. In Sudan's Darfur, the war has been shaped by camels.
Where they hide the cash
The Guardian, December 5, 2005
Corrupt African leaders and governments tend to get the flak for the continent's woes, but this commentary argues they are small fish compared with the rich corporations and Western profiteers who use the world's tax havens and banking systems to hide sums of money that would be large enough to cover most of Africa's financial needs.
Himalayan winter fires opening salvo on quake survivors
The Guardian, December 5, 2005
While aid agencies squabble, villagers are left to make life or death decisions.
Short fuse in Sri Lanka
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, December 4, 2005
Sri Lanka needs help from international mediators to avoid slipping back into a bloody war that was suspended three years ago, says this newspaper editorial.
Aid worker's diary: Battle for shelter
BBC News Online, December 3, 2005
Isabelle Giasson of the International Organisation for Migration reports on the battle to provide shelter for earthquake victims in remote mountain villages.
How To Succeed In Kosovo
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, December 2, 2005
The prospects for a negotiated solution for Kosovo's future are not looking good, despite the U.N. special envoy's considerable talents, according to Daniel Serwer of the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Tough Road Ahead For Kosovo Talks
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, December 2, 2005
The U.N.'s special envoy in Kosovo, Marti Athisaari, is racing against time to create a viable solution to the issue of Kosovo's status, writes Tim Judah, a leading Balkan commentator and author of "The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia" and "Kosovo: War and Revenge".
Response to Hashim Thaci's article on Kosovo's independence
Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, December 5, 2005
Jan Oberg and Aleksandar Mitic respond to a former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaci, who wrote My people deserve their independence.
Africa Must Engage Directly in Fight Against Malaria
SciDev.Net on www.allafrica.com, December 2, 2005
Because African institutions lack the necessary facilities and expertise, malaria vaccine researchers in developed countries have a near-monopoly on malaria research.
One Kenyan man's mission: free Africa from yoke of aid
Christian Science Monitor, December 2, 2005
More and more Africans think that aid from rich nations often ends up fostering a welfare mentality that just mires Africans in dependence and laziness.
Africa's HIV sufferers need access to free medical care
The Guardian, December 2, 2005
Tentative signs of progress in the fight against AIDS are outweighed by the failure of both donors and recipient governments to confront the pandemic with the urgency it deserves. Nowhere is this more true than Nigeria.
Keep The Promise Or
The News (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com, December 2, 2005
Unless Liberia acts now, it risks being seriously hit by the HIV virus.
World AIDS Day 2005: Stop AIDS. keep the promise
Manila Bulletin, December 1, 2005
The fate of many HIV-positive people depends less on science than on the ability of large numbers of people to change their behaviour, says this editorial.
HIV prevention in Asia
Jakarta Post, December 1, 2005
Until AIDS becomes a priority for governments in Asia and the Pacific, we will continue to lose ground in our battle against this growing threat, says UNAIDS's Prasada Rao and Bindu N. Lohani of the Asian Development Bank.
Fulfilling vows on AIDS
New Straits Times, December 1, 2005
Malaysia should not allow myopia to hinder the battle against this totally preventable disease, says this editorial.
The missing face of AIDS
Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 1, 2005
Because parents are hesitant to be forthright about the disease, the plight of AIDS children is not being adequately addressed.
Malawi's big dry tempers AIDS relief
The Age, December 1, 2005
The double-whammy of AIDS and famine creates such challenges for health and development workers that they have little time to celebrate pharmacy shelves now stocked with precious antiretrovirals.
The state of AIDS
New York Times, December 1, 2005
The AIDS story this year is mostly one of failure: the failure of rich countries to give promised money and the failure of poor nations to muster political will. All around, it's a failure of leadership, writes this newspaper.
In South Africa, AIDS' toll also felt in schools
LA Times, December 1, 2005
A million children in South Africa have been orphaned and 40 percent of childhood deaths are HIV-related. Some students drop out to care for ill relatives.
Volunteers stalk HIV ignorance on a trek around India
Christian Science Monitor, December 1, 2005
Awareness programmes such as an AIDS Walk carried out by volunteers along India's highways are some of the most effective methods for stopping the spread of AIDS.
Saudi Arabia should export its AIDS awareness campaign
Daily Star, November 30, 2005
Community-level AIDS campaigns in Saudi Arabia should be replicated in Sudan, Egypt and other Arab countries, writes this newspaper.
Dispelling the topmost myths about HIV/AIDS
www.allafrica.com, November 30, 2005
The article dispels some of the common myths surrounding HIV/AIDS.
A vital weapon against HIV/AIDS
www.allafrica.com, November 30, 2005
To overcome the AIDS catastrophe, we must increase awareness, raise money, and do everything we can to find better ways to fight the disease, says Payne Lucas, former Africare president and senior advisor to the Pan African Health Foundation and the AllAfrica Foundation.
'Peacekeeping' a struggle in Sudan
USA Today, November 30, 2005
Lacking money and equipment, the African Union is struggling to protect Sudanese civilians caught in the crossfire of warring groups.
The deadly shot
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, November 27, 2005
The practice of reusing hypodermic needles is killing and making sick millions in poor countries.
How to keep Africa from backsliding
Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2005
What has gone awry after a decade of democratisation in Africa?
The new Rwanda
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, November 28, 2005
Sudan is the same old Rwanda story, with the same indifference from the world's governments.
The war on third-world remittances
International Herald Tribune, November 28, 2005
The most numerous casualties of the "war on terror" are migrant workers and their families, whose global remittances now run at over $200 billion a year or three times official aid budgets.
Charities accused over 'cheap' cows given to Africa
The Daily Telegraph, November 28, 2005
The trend for buying virtual Christmas gifts from charities has increased in recent years, but one group warns that the warm glow of "ethical gifts" is not always matched by the reality.
Campaigners get into the business of business
The Guardian, November 28, 2005
International NGOs used to be outsiders challenging the system, but are increasingly working from within to develop the market itself as an instrument for change, says this article, which accompanies the newspaper’s annual review of corporate responsibility.
Nepal: Democracy in thin air
International Herald Tribune, November 27, 2005
Nepal's Maoist rebels and opposition parties agreement to try to end King Gyanendra's rule is the latest twist in the country's decade-long civil war.
Disaster makes strange bedfellows between aid groups, military relief
The Canadian Press, November 27, 2005
Recent natural disasters have forced reluctant but pragmatic humanitarian agencies to work more closely than ever with soldiers.
After tsunami, a rarity: donated dollars remain
The New York Times, November 27, 2005
As the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami approaches, relief groups find themselves in the rare situation of still having money in the bank. This allows for long-term reconstruction, but also brings pressure for greater accountability on how the funds are spent.
Facing up to Darfur
The Washington Post, November 27, 2005
If the U.S. administration is serious about preventing genocide in Darfur, it should support an expanded peacekeeping force, and not just rely on slow-moving diplomacy, argues this editorial.
'I asked what happened to her. She just stared at the ground'
The Times, November 26, 2005
Actress Helen Mirren visited northern Uganda with Oxfam, hoping to raise the profile of this little-reported crisis. She calls on the UK government to use its forthcoming presidency of the U.N. Security Council to work towards ending the conflict.
What is the point of a UN goodwill envoy?
The Guardian, November 25, 2005
U.N. goodwill ambassadors are essentially there to sprinkle stardust, says Laura Barton.
The Bosnian lesson for Iraq: patience
The Age, November 25, 2005
Anyone who expects peace to come soon in Iraq should consider the arduous process in Bosnia, where many challenges remain even 10 years after the Dayton accords, argues this commentary.
Hopes fade for trade talks
The Guardian, November 25, 2005
Draft texts seen by the newspaper highlight disagreement and division, dimming prospects for a breakthrough in stalled world trade talks at a December summit in Hong Kong.
Wrong-headed food policy
Monterey Herald, November 24, 2005
Oakland Institute Director Anuradha Mittal argues that the way the U.S. distributes food aid is not effective in reducing hunger. She says the U.S. should work with local farmers in developing countries so that they can provide for their own populations.
Poorest were neglected in tsunami relief effort
Miami Herald, November 24, 2005
Those who were already relatively well off are doing better with assistance from international donors, while those who were struggling before the tsunami are still struggling, reports Ken Moritsugu of Knight Ridder News Service.
By fits and starts, Africa's brand of democracy emerges
New York Times, November 23, 2005
Africa, with its long tradition of tyrants, is improving the quality of its leadership even as recent television images from the east show a region in crisis.
Crackdown in Ethiopia
Washington Post, November 23, 2005
A government crackdown in Ethiopia has put opposition politicians, journalists and intellectuals behind bars.
How to turn the corner on AIDS
Washington Post, November 23, 2005
Why are some public health officials optimistic about stopping AIDS despite a new U.N. report that says infection rates are are on the rise?
Earthquake aid: 'leave it to the experts'
Third Sector, November 23, 2005
Relief organisations say well-meaning people who travel to earthquake-hit Pakistan are hampering the aid effort and making it harder for official agencies to do their work.
Pakistani quake orphans endure an unstable world
LA Times, November 23, 2005
Some Pakistani children who lost families in the earthquake are falling into the hands of human traffickers.
How a simple meal helped the world's top marathoner
Christian Science Monitor, November 23, 2005
If just 10 cents of every dollar spent in the U.S. on diet products went to fighting world hunger, millions of deaths would be avoided, says marathon runner Paul Tergat.
Six years in transition, Kosovo eyes final status talks
Christian Science Monitor, November 23, 2005
Determining Kosovo's final status is seen is a key to wider stability in the Balkans.
Coping with the domino effect of disaster
Computer Weekly, November 23, 2005
Last year's tsunami posed big challenges for Oxfam's IT systems and highlighted the need to keep business continuity simple.
Opinion
Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com, November 22, 2005
Zambia needs well-grounded and sustainable measures to handle drought, the newspaper says in an editorial.
Avian flu: why the chicken virus crossed the border
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, November 22, 2005
North America and Western Europe should help Asian governments pay for an effective bird flu eradication programme, says Zahin Hasan, director of production at the largest poultry breeder in Bangladesh.
Aceh aid 'may cause over fishing'
BBC Online News, November 22, 2005
The number of boats being provided to tsunami survivors in Aceh could lead to problems of over-fishing, relief workers warn.
Gates takes on malaria
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, November 22, 2005
If the campaign to cut malaria deaths in Zambia by 75 percent over three years is successful, the country will show the world how cost-effective the fight against the disease can be, writes the newspaper.
Trade and aid: stars are aligned
Washington Post, November 21, 2005
Campaigning for trade is more complex than campaigning for aid, because trade creates losers as well as winners.
Barbershop rises from the ruins in quake-stricken Pakistani town
LA Times, November 21, 2005
Streets come back to life as one entrepreneur sparks a business boom amid the rubble of the Pakistani city of Bakalot.
China wages classroom struggle to win friends in Africa
New York Times, November 21, 2005
China's appeal to Africa and much of the developing world lies in the idea that nations will be drawn to an emerging superpower that doesn't lecture them about democracy and human rights or interfere in what Beijing considers "internal affairs".
Lend Liberia a hand
LA Times, November 21, 2005
Disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration of ex-combatants is a matter of life and death for Liberia, say Chris Fomunyoh of the National Democratic Institute and John Predergast, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group.
Peace force in Darfur faces major challenges
Washington Post, November 21, 2005
African Union peacekeepers in Darfur are vulnerable to attacks, lack body armour and often cannot investigate violence because they don't have enough helicopters at their disposal.
No peace in Darfur
LA Times, November 21, 2005
The U.N. should bolster the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur and, if necessary, transform it into a U.N. force, says this newspaper.
Liberia is Africa's success story
Washington Times, November 21, 2005
Liberia's history is strewn with broke peace accords and this one may be no different, but some stability has been attained, argues this newspaper editorial.
Dayton, 10 years after
New York Times, November 21, 2005
Bosnia and Herzegovina's development remains hamstrung by the very peace agreement that rescued it from destruction and saved countless lives, says Laura Silber, a senior policy adviser at the Open Society Institute and the co-author of "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation".
In a disaster, local media need support
Christian Science Monitor, November 21, 2005
There is abundant evidence supporting the need for reliable information as an indispensable component of any aid or post-conflict recovery plan, says Edward Girardet, a journalist who writes on conflict and humanitarian and media affairs.
Charities take to the streets, but at what cost?
Christian Science Monitor, November 21, 2005
Street fundraising, common in Britain for years, has come to major U.S. cities.
A rebuilding plan full of cracks
Washington Post, November 20, 2005
What happened to Bush's ambitious $73 million plan to construct schools and clinics in Afghanistan?
Money, not excuses
The Observer, November 20, 2005
The United Nations must be properly funded if it is to provide effective worldwide relief, says Alex Renton, who was in Pakistan in support of Oxfam's humanitarian operation.
Shaky future
LA Times, November 20, 2005
The newspaper lists some earthquake prediction theories.
Clashes mar African political gains
Washington Post, November 18, 2005
Political violence in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania suggests a growing loss of confidence in leaders elected in the 1980s or 1990s as part of Africa's new wave of democracy but who have clung on to power or been accused of corruption.
Liberia: A society at a crossroads
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, November 17, 2005
Soccer star George Weah, the defeated candidate for the presidential race in Liberia, is threatening the democratic process in the country and this threat should not be taken lightly, says this editorial.
The post-election Liberia
This Day (Nigeria), November 16, 2005
As a country racked by myriad problems, Liberia requires nothing short of a totally selfless leader and the newly elected president seems well equipped for the big challenge, writes this newspaper.
War crimes in Africa
This Day (Nigeria), November 14, 2005
In order to combat war crimes in Africa, we need to ensure accountability for serious human rights crimes and implement strategies to prevent situations that could lead to systematic war crimes, says Fatima Waziri, legal officer with the Human Right Law Service
'Treason' rises in Africa
Christian Science Monitor, November 17, 2005
Accusations of treason are on the rise in Africa, exposing how a winner-takes-all political paradigm prevails in the continent, even in countries that have made significant progress when it comes to democracy.
Familiar tale in Africa politics
Toronto Star, November 16, 2005
Less than a week after Liberia elected Africa's first female president, Burkina Faso's election resembled the old style of politics in the continent, where big men with big guns and ambitions rule by fear.
Focus on Myanmar
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, November 16, 2005
If Bush is serious about backing democracy, he should raise the issue of Myanmar at the next Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting, argues this editorial.
The price of survival
The Guardian, November 16, 2005
A controversial project is underway in Zambia: Oxfam has begun handing out cash instead of food, hoping this will enable people to buy the food they want from local traders and stimulate the local economy.
Quake survivors now mired in squalor
LA Times, November 16, 2005
A German medical team discovered a camp with more than 2,000 people crammed into ramshackle tents surrounded by sewage, with no clean water.
Waiting for their moment in the worst place on earth to be a woman
New York Times, November 16, 2005
No one can be sure what kind of president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will be, but it's a good bet she'll do a better job than the presidents before her. Mind you, says Helen Cooper, that wouldn't be difficult.
A Marshall Plan for the third world
Boston Globe, November 15, 2005
UNICEF's annual budget is spent on the world's military purposes every 15 hours. World security depends upon changing spending priorities, the Globe says.
A Combustible Mixture in Nigeria's Oil-Rich Delta
LA Times, November 15, 2005
Communities in Nigeria's Niger delta region are angry that oil profits are not trickling down to local people.
Selling input disrupts famine prevention efforts
Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com, November 15, 2005
It is dehumanising to depend on food hand-outs forever when Zambia has been given enough help to lift it out of the dependency trap, writes this newspaper.
I was a jaded hack. A trip to Sri Lanka changed my life
The Times, November 15, 2005
This is a story of the Times journalist who turned into an aid worker after visiting Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
More trade, not aid
Business Standard, November 15, 2005
Doling out aid packages to the least developed countries can perpetuate dependence on foreign assistance rather than helping poor nations acquire the capacity to trade in the global market, this editorial says.
Withdraw support from the despot of Darfur
Daily Star, November 15, 2005
The 'election' last week of rebel leader Minni Minawy as chairman of the Sudan Liberation Army was no more than a power grab dressed up as a step towards "democratisation", says Julie Flint, co-author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War".
Poverty, not just an economic phenomenon
Business Line, November 15, 2005
Poverty in India cannot be tackled without improving governance and creating mechanisms to empower marginalised groups, the newspaper says.
Watching brief
The Guardian, November 14, 2005
Sanctions are a growth industry, especially in Africa, but do they work, asks Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at London's Chatham House. He says a semi-permanent panel should be set up to monitor the effects of sanctions.
Mr Weah, don't break our hearts!
Accra Mail, November 14, 2005
Geroge Weah, who lost the presidential election in Liberia to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, should accept the results, use his period in opposition to gain more experience and offer himself up again in subsequent elections, the newspaper writes.
New start for Liberia!
Star Ledger, November 14, 2005
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the new president of Liberia, knows she must find a way of bringing Weah's supporters on board or spend more time fending off their threats than tackling the country's daunting economic and social problems, the paper says.
In African showcase, democracy fails a test
International Herald Tribune, November 14, 2005
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once hailed as a rebel turned democrat and darling of international donors, is now being criticised as a dictator.
Treasure Island
Newsweek, November 14 2005
Both locals and foreigners are reluctant to invest in Sri Lanka and if this doesn't change soon the country risks being consigned to has-been status.
Keepers of the peace
Newsweek, November 14, 2005
Some studies show that women are better at creating and keeping the peace in post-conflict societies because they are generally less violent than their male counterparts.
When One Tragedy Gets More Sympathy Than Another
New York Times, November 14, 2005
"I don't think it's a donor fatigue. I think it is donor identification", says George Rupp, president of International Rescue Committee, explaining why the world hasn't done more for the victims of the Asia quake.
Faith and Conscience
Washington Post, November 14, 2005
Bush has so far not delivered on his three foreign-aid promises: the Millennium Challenge Account, a new international effort against AIDS and doubling assistance to Africa.
At Tsunami's Epicenter, a Town Is Reborn but Housing Is Scarce
New York Times, November 14, 2005
A strong drive in Indonesia's Aceh to move residents out of tents into temporary instead of permanent housing represents a major policy shift since the organisations misjudged how mammoth a process rebuilding was.
War's children
Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2005
The newspaper details the lives of three children, an ex-child soldier and two girls, in post-war Liberia
Orphaned by war, enslaved by peace
Skilled at killing, confused by postwar life
Haitians risk lives, savings to reach South Florida
Miami Herald, November 14, 2005
Haitians trying to escape their impoverished homeland by boat often just lose what little money they have.
Q&A: 'Cured' of HIV
BBC Online News, November 14, 2005
Following reports that an HIV-positive British man apparently become clear of the virus, the BBC looks at the issue and answers some of the general questions about the virus.
A historic opportunity
LA Times, November 13, 2005
Malaria is a killer unlike any the world has known -- and it's getting worse.
Hope for an end to seasons of hunger
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) at www.allafrica.com, November 13, 2005
Lack of irrigation systems, population growth, infertile soil and an HIV/AIDS infection rate of 15 to 20 percent have led to deepening food insecurity in Malawi.
A Harvest of Hunger In Parched Malawi
Washington Post, November 13, 2005
Today, Malawi resembles arid Niger, which is suffering from a systemic food shortage of its own. Both countries are dependent on a rudimentary form of agriculture, cannot afford to import enough food to make up shortfalls and are liberalising economies that have failed to provide promised benefits.
A Wave of Aid That Doesn't Match the Disaster
Washington Post, November 13, 2005
Even allowing a degree of hype about the current crisis, it is hard for anyone who has witnessed relief operations in both tsunami-hit countries and the region devastated by the Kashmir quake to argue with their basic point: The world has been stingier in its response to the earthquake.
Poisoned children
Toronto Star, November 13, 2005
Roma children living in camps near a derelict mine in northern Kosovo have high levels of lead in their bloodstreams due to one of the "most serious environmental health crises in contemporary Europe", according to the World Health Organisation.
An Especially Cruel War Makes Reconciling Tough
LA Times, November 13, 2005
Healing the rift between victims and combatants is key to Liberia's process of reconciliation, but it's a delicate balance. Pursuing too many former combatants deprives them of a stake in the peace while pursuing too few of those responsible for the killings means a failure to address the culture of impunity.
Stand fast, third world
International Herald Tribune, November 11, 2005
If the European Union refuses to abolish the subsidies which are hurting developing countries, the trade talks should just not move.
Africa rising
International Herald Tribune, November 11, 2005
A lot has changed for the better in Africa, and the press covering the continent needs to recognise this, says Jonathan Power, a commentator on foreign affairs.
Today's Bosnia: a dependent, stifled, apartheid regime
The Guardian, November 11, 2005
The peace agreement that ended war in Bosnia was achieved by U.S. Democrats, but the Bush administration desperately wants to tout a U.S. triumph in bringing peace and light to a Muslim country, says Guardian columnist John Steele.
A vision of hope amid AIDS-ravaged South Africa
Sydney Morning Herald, November 2005
Thabi Khoza, an HIV-positive educator from South Africa, is touring Australia with photographs from AIDS-ravaged southern Africa that give cause for optimism.
A recipe for predicting disaster?
Newsday, November 11, 2005
Dogs and cats may do the trick when it comes to knowing an earthquake is on the way.
An Enduring Ribbon of Stars
New York Times, November 11, 2005
While dozens of charities remain without star support, for more than two decades Hollywood and the fashion world have stayed true to AIDS causes. Why?
The ugly face of corruption in Africa
Ghanaian Chronicle, November 10, 2005
If corruption is not rooted out of African societies, the anticipated benefits of debt relief will not be felt and the continent will be back to square one.
NGO Watch: Pakistan quake puts aid agencies in the limelight
PR Week, November 10, 2005
Oxfam and Red Cross dominated October press coverage in Britain as the clean-up after the Asia quake took place.
'A Miracle'
Newsweek, November 10 2005
Newsweek talks to Paddy Ashdown, who will be stepping down as a high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a few months' time, about a period in office variously likened to the rule of a colonial governor, imperial viceroy or medieval pope.
Life and loss in Kashmir
BBC News Online, November 10, 2005
A survivor of the Asian earthquake describes his efforts to help survivors in remote parts of Pakistani-administered Kashmir despite losing a brother and a sister in the disaster.
Aid lacking for Africa's hunger crisis
The State, November 9, 2005
A surge in natural disasters this year, ranging from the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina to the Pakistan earthquake, has tightened competition for aid donations and left many of the world's less-noticed trouble spots struggling for the help they need.
Rehabilitation plan trickles in
Business Recorder, November 9, 2005
Given the absence of any effective disaster management organisation or crisis management plan, the response of the Pakistani government and international community to the Kashmir earthquake is commendable.
The Islamic charities flex their muscles
Third Sector, November 9, 2005
Islamic charities are now a serious force to be reckoned with on the international humanitarian scene.
Freedom Is Not Enough
Newsweek, November 9, 2005
Malawians got rid of their dictator more than a decade ago, but food crises have only grown worse since the arrival of democracy.
Sudan at the head of a global sweep to mop up world's oil resources
The Guardian, November 9, 2005
China's search for energy resources worldwide has triggered unease in Washington, but it has also sparked an unprecedented engagement with Africa.
Starvation, child labour and war still stalk Asia and the world
Joongang Ilbo, November 9, 2005
The newspaper highlights the plight of children in Malawi, Peru and Sri Lanka as part of its special report that aims to draw attention to children living in poverty and post-conflict situations worldwide.
Aid to Pakistan will earn us more goodwill
Newsday, November 9, 2005
U.S. assistance to Pakistan after the Asia quake is a win-win situation, helping to save lives and boosting Washington's image in the region, says this commentary.
Getting your goat
The Guardian, November 8, 2005
What happened to all the goats given last year through various international charities as feel-good Christmas presents?
It is Trade, Not Aid That Will Lift Africa From Poverty
East African on www.allafrica.com, November 8, 2005
Trade and foreign investment, rather than aid money and debt-write offs, will provide sustainable ways of lifting Africa out of poverty.
Mysterious kingdom: North Korea remains an enigma to outside world
Star Phoenix, November 8, 2005
Ravaged by famine and facing economic collapse, North Korea remains one of the world's most unpredictable and mysterious countries.
Diddling on Darfur
Akron Beacon Journal, November 8, 2005
The U.S. shows no inclination to send its troops to Sudan's Darfur, which is all the more reason to ensure the African Union receives the necessary financial backing, says this editorial.
Speed Kashmir aid
Toronto Star, November 8, 2005
The international community and private donors must do more for those affected by the Asia quake while there is still time, the newspaper says.
Winking at genocide
Boston Globe, November 8, 2005
Sudan should be warned that if it doesn't halt the genocide, the U.S. and NATO allies will provide funds and logistical support for African Union's mandate to use force, not just observe events on the ground, the newspaper says.
After the Quake, the Cold
LA Times, November 8, 2005
Relief agencies are urging survivors of the Asian earthquake who live in remote mountain areas to move to tent communities at lower altitudes with higher temperatures and better assistance, but some people are deciding to stay put.
Keeping the peace process on track
Business Recorder, November 8, 2005
The fact that India has not pointed its finger at Pakistan after the recent bombing in New Delhi shows "a measure of maturation" in the ongoing peace process between the two countries, the newspaper writes.
The Pakistan quake: Why 10,000 schools collapsed
Christian Science Monitor, November 8, 2005
The massive devastation of schools during the Asia quake can be put down to widespread corruption in the construction business, leading to schools being built with poor material.
A blueprint for disaster control system
Business Recorder, November 8, 2005
Pakistan needs a better system to handle disasters as the government has so far only come up with ineffective relief measures.
Pakistan and India: Pioneers in global disaster response?
Christian Science Monitor, November 8, 2005
India and Pakistan can use their twin tragedies, the bombing in New Delhi and the earthquake, to lead the world in rethinking how we manage natural disasters and large-scale terrorist attacks, writes Mansoor Ijaz, co-author of the blueprint for the 2000 cease-fire between India and Muslim militants in Kashmir.
Liberia: About to bounce back?
BBC, November 7, 2005
The next president of Liberia needs to act with urgency to bring about progress in a country unwilling to wait years before the promised changes and prosperity.
The West is not alone in failing quake victims
The Independent, November 7, 2005
The West must do more for those affected by the Asia quake, but we also have to call on rich and powerful Muslims around the world to deliver assistance, says Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.
Quake refugees eye return home
Christian Science Monitor, November 7, 2005
Some of the survivors of the earthquake in Pakistan insist on returning to their homes in the remote mountain villages to tough out the winter.
It works well. Tweak it.
LA Times, November 6, 2005
No amount of the U.N. reform will satisfy reform mongers, because in their eyes the real reason for the failure of the U.N. is the fact that the world body does not submit to the will of the United States, writes Stanley Meisler, author of "United Nations: The First Fifty Years".
Corruption, hypocrisy will always prevail
LA Times, November 6, 2005
The remedy for U.N. misfeasance is transparency and accountability, but it is difficult to see how the world body will ever achieve these, says Joshua Muravchik.
In Africa, are 'donor darlings' stifling democracy?
Christian Science Monitor, November 7, 2005
Some African heads of state - once heralded as the next generation of great leaders - appear to be backsliding when it comes to democracy but are being abetted by the U.S. and other rich donors, partly because of the war on terror.
In Botswana, refugee camp shelters Africans from strife
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 6, 2005
Hundreds of refugees in Botswana's Dukwi camp, opened in 1978, see no end to their stay in tattered tents or two-room concrete houses that lack electricity and running water.
The hidden wealth of the poor
The Economist, November 3, 2005
Financial services for poor people in developing countries - a business known as 'microfinance' - have mostly been awful or absent, but the situation has begun to change.
In Ivory Coast, French seek to mend image while keeping peace
Boston Globe, November 3, 2005
The negative image of France in Ivory Coast reflects the complex relationship between the West and much of Africa.
Drought Deepens Poverty, Starving More Africans
New York Times, November 2, 2005
Southern Africa's staple food, maize, has become too expensive for poor people to afford, with prices skyrocketing because of regional shortages and Hurricane Katrina.
So what happened?
BBC Online, November 2, 2005
It's four months since Live 8, and world poverty has not become history at all.
Nearly a Year After the Tsunami, Sri Lanka Strife Flares
New York Times, November 2, 2005
Sri Lankan human rights activists are calling for an independent mechanism to protect civilians, with assassinations and political violence on the rise.
A shot at malaria
San Francisco Chronicle, November 2, 2005
Weakening malaria's grip on Africa would be real proof of the value of science, says this newspaper editorial.
Malawi Is Burning, and Deforestation Erodes Economy
New York Times, November 1, 2005
Widespread illegal logging is drying up Malawi's streams, polluting the air, and eroding the soil.
Why Africa is as poor today as it was 40 years ago
Arusha Times, November 2005
Vincent Obiro Orute, a banker and microfinance expert, explains why Africa is just as poor as it was forty years ago.
Tsunami survivors in Aceh province feel forgotten
Jakarta Post, November 1, 2005
Aceh's tsunami survivors are feeling abandoned as foreign aid agencies start to pull out.
Has our charity gone to waste?
Western Daily Press, October 31, 2005
Are international relief agencies and government overseas aid packages merely a way of rich countries softening their guilt for causing a lot of the problems developing countries face, asks Baptist minister Jonathan Skinner.
Ivory Coast's Ethnic Lines Harden, Hobbling Economy
New York Times, October 31, 2005
Ivory Coast is suspended between peace and war, its economy in shambles, its infrastructure crumbling and its future uncertain.
Where Maoists Still Matter
New York Times, October 30, 2005
Vast changes have swept through South Asia in 30 years, but Maoists have kept going. In Nepal's case, they have even thrived.
Not another war
The Guardian, October 31, 2005
Another pointless and little-noticed war in Africa may be about to break out between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Uganda Takes Up Abstinence Campaign
LA Times, October 31, 2005
AIDS activists are warning that the focus on abstinence and a related backlash against condoms is threatening Uganda's progress in combating AIDS.
A message for Iraq from the graves of Bosnia
The Sunday Times, October 30, 2005
What happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be a lesson to Iraq that different communities won't start working together just because foreigners tell them to, says Michael Portillo, a former British Member of Parliament and a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons.
Youth Power in Liberia: From Bullets to Ballots
New York Times, October 29, 2005
Africa's future belongs to young men and women, members of a generation orphaned by conflict and AIDS, hardened by combat and want, often illiterate and unbound by deep traditions and taboos.
Who's responsible for Africa?
Globe and Mail, October 29, 2005
In his review of Stephen Lewis' "Race Against Time", Steven Langdon supports the book's fundamental call for fairness for Africa, but notes its failure to acknowledge that more leadership in this fight for justice needs to come from African institutions themselves.
Building on Afghanistan's Elections
New York Times, October 28, 2005
The $1 billion that the Bush administration wants for Afghan development next year is less than half what the country really needs, especially as the country becomes safer and open to agriculture and rural development, says this newspaper.
Give Them Shelter
New York Times, October 28, 2005
The onset of winter in the high mountains of quake-hit Pakistan, India and Kashmir presents a mortal threat and requires an immediate response, something that the U.S. has the means to do, says Alexander Saunders, founder of environmental organisation Clearwater.
Kosovo moves toward a messy independence
International Herald Tribune, October 28, 2005
An independent Kosovo will require international forces and strong oversight for a long time, the newspaper writes.
The merits of healthy scepticism
The Independent, October 28, 2005
The launch of the Live8 DVD cannot disguise the fact that the lustre of this summer's anti-poverty crusade is starting to dim, says this newspaper editorial.
Left behind but not forgotten: AIDS-devastated villages
China Daily, October 27, 2005
Villages in China's Yunnan Province are participating in a pilot project aimed at providing comprehensive care and controlling HIV/AIDS, but funding is a problem.
Ripples of Rwanda's genocide still rock the eastern Congo
Globe and Mail, October 26, 2005
It is crucial to deal with the main Rwandan Hutu rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the principal drivers of continuing Congolese conflict, now that a peace deal in the country is finally beginning to be implemented, says John Prendergast, special adviser to the president of the International Crisis Group.
They profit while the hungry die
LA Times, October 27, 2005
Increasing flexibility in food-aid sources for humanitarian emergencies wouldn't hurt American farmers or stunt future export growth. Instead, it would save money and lives by speeding up aid deliveries, write Daniel Maxwell of CARE International and Professor Christopher Barrett, authors of just-published "Food Aid after Fifty Years".
Post-quake giving unites Pakistan
International Herald Tribune, October 27, 2005
The Pakistani public's overwhelming response to help earthquake survivors is an expression of the nation coming together after a long period of dislocation. What it will mean for the current government is still up in the air, says the IHT.
Needed now: a better disaster aid capability
The Age, October 27, 2005
Setting up a new Australian Asia-Pacific Emergency Response Team to offer instant aid to neighbours caught up in tragedy would deliver enormous benefits to Australia and the whole region, says Bob Brown, Greens senator for Tasmania, Australia.
Do stars really aid the cause?
The Independent, October 26, 2005
The Make Poverty History campaign was doomed from the start because it relied on lobbying and celebrities, excluded Southern social movements, watered down demands agreed at the World Social Forum and legitimised the G8 summit.
Lifesaving diplomacy
LA Times, October 26, 2005
While earthquake survivors scramble for blankets, water and food, Islamabad and New Delhi play diplomatic one-upmanship.
Help Africans help themselves in Sudan
Christian Science Monitor, October 25, 2005
Africa needs local peacekeeping forces -- with international standards and legitimisation -- to reduce conflicts and keep humanitarian channels open, says Jeremy Barnicle of humanitarian agency Mercy Corps.
Abuse by UN peacekeepers remains unchecked
New York Times, October 25, 2005
U.N. peacekeepers and their countries need to be sent a crystal-clear message that sexual abuse will not be tolerated, anyone who does it will be punished and countries that fail to impose discipline will not be allowed to take part in peacekeeping operations.
In Aceh, recovery effort rides on roads
Christian Science Monitor, October 25, 2005
The Indian Ocean tsunami damaged and destroyed hundreds of miles of roads in Aceh, slowing down economic recovery which depends on these vital links for trade and aid.
A graveyard for humanitarian intervention
The Daily Star, October 24, 2005
The failure to deploy an adequate civilian and security presence and to create legal mechanisms immediately after the 1999 NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo means that interethnic hatred has been left to simmer, argues Marek Antoni Nowicki, the U.N.-appointed ombudsman in Kosovo.
Avoiding global bio-apartheid
The Toronto Star, October 23, 2005
The international community should establish clear ethical guidelines for dealing with pandemics, to avoid a scenario where the wealthy pay for oppressive measures to cordon off the infected, says Peter Stoett, professor of international relations at the Department of Political Science at Concordia University. (Free registration)
Figures reveal dynamics of disaster giving
New York Times, October 23, 2005
Donations for the survivors of the South Asia earthquake have come nowhere near the level of giving that followed the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. But experts say that generosity towards the survivors of these two disasters should not be used as a yardstick to measure giving for other emergencies. (Free registration)
Kashmir disaster gives peace a chance
The Age, October 21, 2005
The atmosphere of goodwill between Pakistan and India in the aftermath of the earthquake is encouraging and should be followed by increased diplomatic steps, but the Kashmir problem will not be solved overnight, says Amin Saikal, professor of political science.
One-woman mission works for Ugandan peace
Globe and Mail, October 20, 2005
Betty Bigombe, a former Ugandan politican who is trying to broker peace in Uganda's north, says the International Criminal Court's indictment of rebel leader Joseph Kony has jeopardised the country's chances for peace.
Mugabe's colonial ghosts
International Herald Tribune, October 20, 2005
The time when Mugabe was respected as a fighter against white-minority rule is long gone and now he is a millstone around the neck of one of Africa's best endowed lands, says this newspaper editorial.
Call for emergency disaster fund
International Herald Tribune, October 19, 2005
There is a need for a new humanitarian world fund into which donors pay and from which humanitarian coordinators can immediately draw funds when a crisis threatens, say Britain's finance minister Gordon Brown and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn.
Irony runs deep on U.S. HIV policy
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 19, 2005
The U.S. administration is again witholding funds for U.N. family-planning programmes. For the extremists in Bush's party the U.N. represents a cesspool of liberalism and sex education can be summarised in a single word: abstinence, says this editorial.
EQUAL TIME: Population curbs earn U.S. disfavor
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 19, 2005
Bush's decision to withold funds to U.N. family-planning programmes is commendable and reiterates the strong commitment by the U.S. to protect and defend persecuted women and children, says Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican.
Hunger and AIDS tear apart a family and a nation
Globe and Mail, October 18, 2005
Five million people are critically short of food in Malawi, which is teetering on the brink of what may become a full-scale famine by January.
Earthquakes to tsunamis: How do worldwide disasters compare?
Christian Science Monitor, October 20, 2005
Spending money on preventative or mitigating measures would be much cheaper than rebuilding after a disaster strikes, says Mark Bartolini of International Rescue Committee.
Unending disaster
The Guardian, October 18, 2005
Humanitarians could have responded much more quickly after the south Asian earthquake and other disasters if the U.N. central emergency fun had enough cash in it, argues the Guardian .
Guatemalans wary of military aid
Christian Science Monitor, October 19, 2005
At a time when military aid has been crucial for relief efforts in recent natural disasters from the U.S and Central America to Pakistan, governments and citizens are questioning the limits of appropriate military action.
Undermining the AIDS fight
Baltimore Sun, October 18, 2005
The Bush administration's policies are reducing the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid, squandering our reputation and alienating our scientifically minded public health allies in Africa by reserving funding for the groups that promote abstinence as the only answer to the AIDS problem, writes Paula Tavrow of Population and Reproductive Health, University of California.
Achieving the MDGs:
Empowering the Poorest of the Poor
Accra Daily Mail, October 18, 2005
If we are to end the cycle of extreme poverty, we must ensure that the poor -- especially women -- are empowered to take charge of their own development, says Kemal Dervis, U.N. Development Programmes Administrator.
AIDS disaster relief
Boston Globe, October 18, 2005
Disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in south Asia should not divert public attention from the failure of countries to adequately support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, write this newspaper.
Kashmir: brothers in aid
www.opendemocracy.org, October 17, 2005
The humanitarian dynamics in Kashmir in the aftermath of the earthuake may have the healing potential that was blatantly missing in Louisiana, says Michel Thieren of the U.N. World Health Organisation.
Liberia is where it's at
International Herald Tribune, October 17, 2005
After 14 years of civil war, Liberia needs a president who knows what he or she is doing, rather than a football player or an ex-warlord, says Helen Cooper of the New York Times editorial board.
Somaliland’s democratic lesson
www.opendemocracy.org, October 2005
Somaliland's first parliamentary elections mean it has notched up another feature of a functioning and democratic state, in sharp contrast to Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
Where Others Mined Wealth, Congo Villagers Scrape Living
LA Times, October 17, 2005
Congolese government officials are increasingly frustrated by the export of their minerals to neighbouring countries, much of it done ilegally without paying taxes.(free registration)
Between emergencies
Baltimore Sun, October 17, 2005
World attention on Niger exposed a chronic problem in sub-Saharan Africa that can't be solved with frantic, last-minute aid appeals, write this newspaper.(free registration)
Halting the spread of AIDS
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, October 17, 2005
A study in South Africa shows that circumcision may help in curbing the AIDS explosion in some countries, but that's no excuse for unprotected sex, and people performing circumcisions need good training, says this editorial.
Donations Slowing as Disasters Mount Worldwide
Washington Post, October 16, 2005
Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami appear to have sapped funding for other causes and contributed to "donor fatigue" among government donors and individual givers.(free registration)
The Rwandan Reconciliation
Washington Post, October 16, 2005
Sarel Kandell Kromer, a retired U.S. attorney, witnesses a 'gacaca' trial in Rwanda, a process emphasising reconciliation between perpetrators and victims of genocide in Rwanda.(free registration)
How not to control malaria
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, October 16, 2005
Kofi Annan should appoint a malaria tsar to dole out tasks and take the heat if goals for cutting deaths from malaria are not met.
Chain of disasters strains aid groups
International Herald Tribune, October 13, 2005
In a year full of disasters -- and let's not forget the ongoing manmade ones -- the donor response has been lukewarm so far.
Liberia's Recovery
Washington Post, October 13, 2005
Liberian will not really believe their country is on the way to recovery until former Liberian president Charles Taylor is brought to justice, writes this editorial.(free registration)
Food aid for Africa languishes in Congress
International Herald Tribune, October 13, 2005
A proposal that would allow the U.S. government to buy food in Africa for Africans facing starvation is up against a brick wall, because the changes challenge the premise of current law, that American generosity should be good for American agribusiness.
Kashmir's double tragedy
Boston Globe, October 12, 2005
In Kashmir, humans are more adept at killing than nature, whether we're talking about unsafe construction or acts of violence. (free registration)
U.S. forces: The world's best relief group
International Herald Tribune, October 12, 2005
U.S. army participation in relief missions like Kashmir is a good way of improving the country's image and "win without firing a shot", says Robert Kaplan, author of "Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground".
But FEMA village seen as a dead end
Toronto Star, October 7, 2005
Trailer parks set up to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina have sparked national debate over the best way to handle the homeless in the region where hurricanes have changed the makeup of communities.(free registration)
Give Aid To The Desperate
Hartford Courant, October 6, 2005
The U.S. witheld money for the U.N. Population Fund for the fourth year running and this is "a blight on a nation that prides itself on compassion", says this newspaper editorial.
Not if, but when
Baltimore Sun, October 6, 2005
The threat of an avian flu outbreak requires thorough and agressive preparation rather than President Bush's plan to deploy the U.S. army to enforce quarantine, says this newspaper. (free registration)
Somewhere, there is justice
International Herald Tribune, October 6, 2005
A Belgian court's indictment against former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré is a powerful reminder of the benefits of international justice as a last resort, writes Reed Brody, special counsel with Human Rights Watch.
Liberia's 'Iron Lady' Goes for Gold
Washington Post, October 5, 2005
If Liberians elect her, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf would be the first female president in Africa.(free registration)
To improve U.N. peace brokering
Washington Times, October 5, 2005
Several long-running civil wars may eventually call for U.N. mediation, and the international body needs to be ready to take on the task, says Ibrahim A. Gambari, U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs.
In Indonesia, Democracy Isn't Enough
New York Times, October 5, 2005
Aid for tsunami victims in Aceh has improved Indonesian attitudes towards the United States, writes Scott Atrian, a research scientist at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris.(free registration)
Caring for Katrina victims
International Herald Tribune, October 5, 2005
Medical aid is integral to disaster relief and recovery, and the White House should approve a proposed bill that would extend medical cover for Hurricane Katrina victims, says this editorial.
Father Tom ventures to help where others no longer dare
Christian Science Monitor, October 4, 2005
A year after most international organisations abandoned the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil on safety grounds, small non-profit organisation "Hands Together" continues to work there, headed by a Catholic priest.
Kosovo's difficult road
International Herald Tribune, October 3, 2005
A new Kosovo will have a reasonable chance of survival and prosperity, with NATO providing security and EU efforts in the economic development arena, writes Hans Binnendijk, director of the National Defense University in Washington.
The price of democracy
The Guardian, October 4, 2005
Indonesia has shown the world how a predominantly Islamic country can embrace democracy, but the Bali bombings are partly a result of the openness that has accompanied that transition, argues this comment piece. (free registration)
Some experts say it's time to evacuate the coast (for good)
New York Times, October 4, 2005
Having seen the devastation wrought by this year's hurricanes, U.S. experts are starting to take the risks of coastal development more seriously. (free registration)
Bearing the burden
Washington Times, October 3, 2005
More of the foreign aid pouring into Afghanistan should be earmarked to help women struggling to eke out a living and raise their children in the poorest and most remote regions, argues Kathryn Cameron Porter, president of the Leadership Council for Human Rights.
Iraq war delayed Katrina relief effort, inquiry finds
The Independent, October 3, 2005
Relief efforts to combat Hurricane Katrina suffered near catastrophic failures due to endemic corruption, divisions within the military and troop shortages caused by the Iraq war, says a confidential report from an official American inquiry.
For real trade justice, barriers must come down slowly
The Guardian, October 3, 2005
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson warns that ending trade subsidies could mean more expensive food imports for developing countres in the short term, and argues in favour of gradual trade liberalisation.(free registration)
Give aid to everyone, with papers or not
The Miami Herald, October 1, 2005
Undocumented residents on the U.S. Gulf Coast need a government assurance they will not be arrested if they try to get humanitarian relief, proposes this opinion piece.(free registration)
Hungry for Human Rights
Washington Post, September 28, 2005
North Koreans will only have guaranteed food security when they achieve the human, civil and political rights necessary to hold their government accountable, write Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland, authors of "Hunger and Human Rights: The Politics of Famine in North Korea".(free registration)
Nightmare for African Women: Birthing Injury and Little Help
New York Times, September 28, 2005
Thousands and thousands of women live with incontinence after problems giving birth lead to ripped bowels or urethra. The number of new cases far outpaces repairs of obstetric fistulas and the problem is most concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.(free registration)
At 60, United Nations fails to fulfill promise
Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2005
It is time to seek substantive reforms from the U.N. for it to live up to its name as a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope for humanity, write Ron Silver and David Bossie, co-executive producers of a new documentary, "Broken Promises: The United Nations at 60".(free registration)
Poor response towards bird flu
Bangkok Post, September 28, 2005
Hurricane Katrina should serve as a lesson to the world to start preparing for the possible outbreak of bird flu, another disaster waiting to happen.
Democracy and development belong together
Globe and Mail, September 28, 2005
If the Canadian government is serious about democracy, the criteria for choosing development partners should include a reference to democratic potential, says Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom of the University of British Columbia. (free registration)
Message fatigue
New Straits Times, September 28, 2005
Has the Malaysian government warned people about dengue so many times that they no longer hear it, asks this newspaper.
Overdue in Myanmar
International Herald Tribune, September 28, 2005
Could anywhere deserve a U.N. peace-seeking mission more than Myanmar under the generals?
Banking on Wolfowitz
LA Times, September 27, 2005
It's hard for even liberal critics to find fault with Wolfowitz, now that he has shifted the bank's focus to Africa and shamed U.S. officials into signing a concrete agreement on debt relief for some of the world's poorest nations, writes this editorial.(free registration)
Small States need a stronger UN
Caribbean Net News, September 27, 2005
Without the U.N., small states -- like Caribbean islands -- would have no forum to voice their concerns to the global community, writes former Caribbean diplomat Ronald Sanders.
Aid in Burma: When it's time to give up
BBC, September 25, 2005
When does a situation become so bad that it is no longer worth staying? Charities face a near-impossible dilemma.
Send cash, not food, says study to free up $750m a year in aid
The Guardian, September 27, 2005
Food aid shipped all the way from donor countries often arrives late, disrupts local markets and costs up to 50 percent more to deliver than cash, concludes a new report for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.(free registration)
Ready or not, Haiti preps for vote
Christian Science Monitor, September 27, 2005
Haiti is set to go to polls in November, but some observers say the country is moving steadily closer to become a permanently failed state, and is certainly not ready for the elections.
Wall Street shouldn't trump the government in emergency response
Christian Science Monitor, September 27, 2005
The argument that the government should hand over emergency response to the private sector is flawed and Hurricane Rita shows how efficient government response can be, says magazine columnist Dante Chinni.
Africa's TB Crisis May Spur AIDS Treatment
Washington Post, September 26, 2005
Tuberculosis treatment can prompt HIV-positive patients to seek medical help early enough for life-saving retroviral drugs to work.(free registration)
Poverty and violence are still commonplace in Kosovo
Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2005
Daily life in Kosovo is still marked by random cuts in water and electricity, low-level violence, soaring unemployment and an economy that is supported by donations from relatives abroad and an illegal black market. (free registration)
A new way of doing the world's business
International Herald Tribune, September 25, 2005
Instead of opening a new chapter for the U.N., we got a summit of fudge where some of the previously agreed goals were simply restated, comments Mary Robinson, president of Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative.
Housing Katrina's victims
International Herald Tribune, September 24, 2005
Bush's plan to dole out parcels of federal land in return for each participant's commitment to build a home is a fine concept, but it addresses only the tiniest and most self-reliant group of evacuees, writes this newspaper.
The Afghan difference
International Herald Tribune, September 23, 2005
We shouldn't underestimate Afghanistan's serious problems but no one can fail to see the many signs of progress -- unlike in Iraq, writes this editorial.
Putting steel into Karzai
The Economist, September 22, 2005
Afghanistan's recent elections are a milestone on the country's post-conflict journey, "but the promised recovery lies further ahead than ruination lies behind", says this editorial.
In Niger, Hungry Are Fed, but Farmers May Starve
New York Times, September 22, 2005
Drought-hit Niger is now producing a bumper crop of millet, but this means the newly harvested crop and donated food aid will reach market stalls at the same time, disrupting local markets.(Free registration)
Peace and justice in conflict in Colombia
Chicago Tribune, September 22, 2005
There are concerns that a new disarmament law in Colombia does not guarantee that paramilitary commanders will dismantle their organisations, give up the wealth they've gained from violence or be honest about their crimes. (Free registration)
Peace and justice in conflict in Colombia
Chicago Tribune, September 22, 2005
To make development policy effective, rich countries needs to think beyond aid, trade and debt relief and take account of migration, the environment, poorer countries' military security, and access to investment capital and useful technology, writes this editorial.(Free registration)
The View From Srinagar
Indian Express, September 22, 2005
The battle for Kashmiri hearts and minds has entered a new phase and peacemakers are gaining ground over the naysayers, says Radha Kumar, a trustee of the Delhi Policy Group.
Why Africans offer little help after Katrina
Baltimore Sun, September 21, 2005
Americans are the first to help victims of any disaster, but usually with strings attached and "with thick ears and big feet". This could be one of the reasons Africans didn't respond more generously to the Katrina crisis, the paper writes.
Indian women face peril of HIV
BBC, September 21, 2005
Without a massive increase in awareness programmes, particularly ones aimed at women, India risks an epidemic that could cost millions of lives.
Letter from Africa: Continent-wide Katrina just waiting to happen
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, September 21, 2005
A perfect storm is building in Africa - a confluence of the AIDS epidemic, extreme poverty, mass hunger, illiteracy and potentially devastating climate change. If we don't act now, we'll have to spend hundreds of billions later, writes the newspaper.
A big idea for aiding Africa -- think small
LA Times, September 21, 2005
The World Bank should move away from financing large projects in Africa that absorb vast amounts of money, argue Korinna Horta of Environment Defense in Washington and Lori Pottinger, director of the Africa programme at the International Rivers Network.(Free registration)
Cities' new job 1: disaster plans
Christian Science Monitor, September 21, 2005
Analysts say that learning and applying the lessons from Katrina are crucial because despite the devastation, the hurricane actually wasn't a worst-case event.
Kids to study the ABCs of peace-building
Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 20, 2005
Ask "Why is my toy broken?" rather than "Who broke my toy?", advise guidebooks on peace-building that are to be integrated into elementary and high school courses in the Philippines.
In Africa, AIDS programs target fathers
Boston Globe, September 19, 2005
The focus of AIDS programmes in sub-Saharan Africa is expanding from babies and mothers to saving the lives of fathers as well.(Free registration)
Myanmar: A job for the Security Council
International Herald Tribune, September 19, 2005
Whether the U.N. can find a way to deal with the situation in Myanmar is a test of the international body's ability to carry out its own charter, writes Jared Genser, co-author of a report titled "Threat to the Peace: A Call for the U.N. Security Council to Act in Burma".
Angelina and Jeff in Africa
International Herald Tribune, September 19, 2005
A programme featuring Angelina Jolie and Jeffrey Sachs in a village in Kenya is being aired on MTV with the aim of raising awareness about global poverty in the United States.
The world needs a stronger UN
International Herald Tribune, September 19, 2005
Perhaps the best way to understand the U.N.'s continuing importance is simply to try imagine a world without it, says Melita Gabric, senior adviser on foreign affairs to the president of Slovenia.
A Wimp on Genocide
New York Times, September 18, 2005
Nicolas Kristof wonders why President Bush is so "wimpish on genocide" in Sudan's Darfur region.(Free registration)
World Bank and IMF must help us fight corruption
New Nation (Bangladesh), September 18, 2005
Big donors such as the World Bank and IMF should not only brand the Bangladeshi government corrupt but also insist that it introduce effective ways to fight corruption, says this editorial.
Help China help itself
LA Times, September 17, 2005
The U.S. should support rather than cripple the U.N. Population Fund to coerce China into acting on its promise to abolish its one-child policy, says Kerry Kennedy, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Centre for Human Rights.(Free registration)
Afghan parliament will have big visions, few rules of the road
Christian Science Monitor, September 16, 2005
Many candidates and foreign observers say the problem with the coming election for the Afghan parliament is a system whereby voters choose candidates as individuals rather than as members of a party.
Not always with us
The Economist, September 15, 2005
The poorest people in Latin America get little notice since all countries except Nicaragua and Haiti are classed as "middle-income".
World Bank, Gates Foundation present study showing poor left out of global health programs
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 14, 2005
A study by the World Bank finds that donors often believe that simply throwing money at low-income countries will help the poor.
Poverty Is Not a Statistic
Inter Press Service, September 14, 2005
The criterion set by the World Bank that defines poverty as living on one dollar a day cannot be the same for all countries, says the Social Watch annual report.
On helping the poor
International Herald Tribune, September 15, 2005
The newspaper applauds Bush's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals but it urges the U.S. to start acting on its promises.
In order to redeem, the United Nations must be redeemed
Daily Star (Lebanon), September 15, 2005
If world leaders rise to their responsibilities at the U.N. summit, the rebirth and renewal of the world body will be at hand and with it our hope for a fairer and safer world, says Shashi Tharoor, undersecretary general of the U.N.
The alternative UN
Le Monde Diplomatique, September 2005
If the U.N. cannot be reformed, and the major powers refuse to give up their privileges and stop controlling most of the world's resources, a new global organisation must be invented soon, writes Monique Chemillier-Gendreau.
To save the world from hell
Le Monde Diplomatique, September 2005
If there is one reform that the U.N. secretariat can achieve alone, it is a refusal to allow the U.N. flag to be used to screen member states' discord and indifference, says Samantha Power, author of "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide".
United Nations to the rescue (of itself)
Christian Science Monitor, September 15, 2005
The move away from a single global body such as the U.N. to shifting networks of permanent and temporary alliances may better reflect the historic globalising forces of the 21st century.
Genocide, One Year On
Washington Post, September 14, 2005
If the U.S. and its allies lose interest in Darfur, violence may resume, humanitarian access may dry up and consequently the death rate could easily return to the horrific levels of a year ago.(Free registration)
Why the millennium goals won't work
International Herald Tribune, September 14, 2005
Under the present top-down model, the Millennium Development Goals have been broken up compartmentally into project mode to suit donors and governments, which is the ultimate recipe for disaster. That's why the MDGs will only work on paper, says Bunker Roy, founder of the Barefoot College and chairman of the Global Water Harvesting Collective.
Why the millennium goals matter
International Herald Tribune, September 14, 2005
The Millennium Development Goals can make the next 10 years the decade we finally turn the corner on extreme poverty, says Kemal Dervish, administrator of the U.N. Development Programme.
Squandered opportunity at the United Nations
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, September 14, 2005
Each of the more than 170 national leaders attending the U.N. summit, including with President Bush, should be embarrassed about letting this rare opportunity to reform the world body slip away.
Meet the Fakers
New York Times, September 13, 2005
Rather than toasting themselves, world leaders attending the U.N. summit should apologise for the continuing holocaust in the world where poverty is far from being eradicated, says columnist Nicholas Kristof.
In search of a new mission
The Times, September 13, 2005
U.N. special summits are rituals that give world leaders a five-minute turn at the podium for speeches about their undying faith in the U.N., to which no one listens.(Free registration)
A visit to Guatemala's past
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, September 12, 2005
The files found by the office of Guatemala's human rights ombudsman that cover the 36-year civil war need to be physically secured and made available to the country's citizens, says this editorial.
Picking up the pieces
The Economist, September 12, 2005
It is not the survival but the credibility of the U.N. that is at stake at the body's make-or-brake summit, says The Economist.
Why aid does work
BBC, September 11, 2005
One big test of the forthcoming summit is whether the U.S. government will stick stubbornly with its overwhelmingly military approach to global security or realise that by helping the poor, it could also help the rich to benefit from a safer and prosperous world, says Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Why Aid Doesn't Work
BBC, September 11, 2005
The question is not if rich countries can afford to give more aid to the developing ones, but whether this aid can reduce poverty by promoting economic growth, writes Frederik Erixon, author of "Aid and Development: Will it Work This Time?".
Contemplating different disasters, counting on the same government
Christian Science Monitor, September 13, 2005
Katrina has shaken Americans' faith in their government's ability to protect them, and this has to change, says columnist Dante Chinni.
Africa's peace seekers: Betty Bigombe
Christian Science Monitor, September 13, 2005
The Monitor looks at the tireless work of Betty Bigombe, the top mediator between the Ugandan government and northern rebels.
Bush's Missed U.N. Opportunity
Washington Times, September 12, 2005
This week's U.N. summit is a squandered opportunity because of Bush's refusal to get behind plans to reform the world body, says columnist Sebastian Mallaby.
U.N. Stretched Thin in Congo
LA Times, September 12, 2005
The U.N. mission in Congo, stretched to the limit despite a $1 billion budget, gets a mixed score card for its work.(Free registration)
A limited UN is best for America
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, September 12, 2005
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, says the U.N. must be a fundamentally limited institution because it has no democratic accountability.
Three months ago Bob Geldof declared Live 8 had achieved its aim. But what really happened next?
The Guardian, September 12, 2005
Some of the Make Poverty History organisers are increasingly critical of Geldof's role in the campaign and his endorsement of the G8 meeting outcomes on aid and debt.(Free registration)
Africa's peace seekers: Lazaro Sumbeiywo
Christian Science Monitor, September 12, 2005
The magazine charts the successes of Kenya's General Lazaro Sumbeiywo in mediating peace during Sudan's 21-year-long civil war.
The Un-U.N.
New York Times, September 11, 2005
A new organisation should be created instead of the U.N. that would only consist of members with a shared understanding of the world order and a willingness to confront threats to that order, writes author James Traub.(Free registration)
Putting the warlords out of business
International Herald Tribune, September 11, 2005
The world has fewer wars than it used to and this trend is down to economic growth and the fact that we are getting better at dealing with conflict, says Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. under secretary general for peacekeeping operations.
Our last chance
The Observer, September 11, 2005
If the G8 leaders cannot put global poverty centre stage and keep it there, they will be complicit in the greatest crime against humanity of this century, writes Jonathan Dimbleby.
The nightmare of northern Uganda
International Herald Tribune, September 11, 2005
Bush must do more if a happy ending is to be achieved in the northern Uganda conflict, say Don Cheadle, an actor, and John Prendergast of International Crisis Group.
No Fixed Address
New York Times, September 11, 2005
Many experts say the U.S. government should look for long-term strategies among the groups that have resettled millions of refugees from past disasters.(Free registration)
Power to the victims of New Orleans
The Guardian, September 9, 2005
Some survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami are calling for a people's planning commission for post-tsunami recovery that would oversee relief agencies and the same idea should take hold in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, writes Naomi Klein.(Free registration)
Aspirations and obligations
The Economist, September 8, 2005
The rich world can't simply pour a given amount of money into one end a Millennium Development Goals pipeline and expect to see emerging from the other a predictable number of people free from destitution and disease, says The Economist.
Afghanistan struggles to keep warlords off the ballot
Christian Science Monitor , September 8, 2005
With elections in Afghanistan looming, the Elections Complaints Commission has to decide whether to disqualify 21 candidates for being warlords or having links to illegal militias.
High stakes in New York - the point of no return
Christian Science Monitor, September 8, 2005
The U.N.'s Human Development Report is a sharp reminder to the international community of its Millenuium Development Goals' promises.
The Bolton backfire: Weaken UN, imperil Americans
Christian Science Monitor, September 8, 2005
If the U.N. is made any weaker, the world would be less safe for everyone in it, and that includes Americans, writes Helena Cobban.
Longstanding disaster threats can't be ignored
USA Today, September 7, 2005
The United States should prepare for future natural disasters at a time when Americans are willing to share reasonable sacrifices, writes former President Jimmy Carter.
Katrina's Global Lessons
Washington Post, September 7, 2005
The situation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is roughly similar to the one people in much of the Third World 's people find themselves in every day of their lives, with no hope unless there is significant outside help, especially from the U.S., write columnist Jim Hoagland.(Free registration)
Hands across the sea
Washington Post, September 7, 2005
Sympathy for the plight of ordinary Americans is one thing, but their president and his policies are different matters, says this newspaper.(Free registration)
A foreign aid twist: U.S. gets, others give
USA Today, September 6, 2005
If the United States accepted most international offers of post-hurricane aid, it would show newfound humility and appreciation for the value of international cooperation, and that would help the country's shattered image abroad, says this editorial.
Congo's hope
Boston Globe, September 6, 2005
For the first time in more than 40 years, Congo will have a free election and the U.N. should not stint on resources for the voting, says this editorial.(Free registration)
Secret Lives of Servitude in Niger
LA Times, September 6, 2005
Niger outlawed slavery in April 2004, but the practice is still widespread and critics say the government has done little to enforce the law.(Free registration)
And still he stays silent
The Guardian, September 6, 2005
"Bob Geldof asked us to focus not on the harm the G8 leaders were doing, but on the help they might give. When they failed to deliver, he praised them anyway,"writes George Monbiot.(Free registration)
It's Your Failure, Too, Mr. Bush
Washington Post, September 6, 2005
President Bush is to blame for the lack of a plan to evacuate a major American city in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and for not thinking about what to do with hundreds of thousands of evacuees, the newspaper says.(Free registration)
In the tsunami region, disbelief over U.S. woes
International Herald Tribune, September 5, 2005
In tsunami-hit Aceh the first reaction to the disaster in New Orleans was sympathy and then disbelief at America's inability to take care of itself.
Global lessons learned from Katrina
Washington Times, September 5, 2005
The Washington Times interviews Salvano Briceno, director of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, on the lessons from the devastation wrought on the U.S. Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina.(Free registration)
The missing condoms
International Herald Tribune, September 5, 2005
U.S. pressure on Uganda to promote abstinence rather than condoms to fight AIDS threatens to undermine the country's success in bringing the epidemic into the open.
How Could This Be Happening in the United States?
Washington Post, September 4, 2005
The images from New Orleans of rubble, dead bodies and desperate survivors are reminiscent of Haiti, Baghdad, Sudan or Bangladesh - not the United States.(Free registration)
In Sudan, the Pull of Peace and Oil
Washington Post, September 4, 2005
More than 2,000 Sudanese professionals have returned from East Africa and the West since the north-south peace accord was signed in January.(Free registration)
Blaming Bush
The Guardian, September 3, 2005
Is it really more important to use deadly force against looters than to deliver humanitarian aid effectively, this newspaper editorial asks.(Free registration)
UNdiplomatic
Washington Post, September 2, 2005
John Bolton should be trying to get the best benefits for the U.S. from U.N. reforms, without picking fights over the fine print, according to this editorial.(Free registration)
Where the Money Is
Newsweek, September 1, 2005
NGOs, increasingly visible players on the global political scene, have become a multibillion-dollar industry.
Kosovo Albanians push for talks about self-determination
Christian Science Monitor, September 1, 2005
In order to start negotiations on Kosovo's final status, the U.N. is due to assess its progress in areas like democracy and minority rights.
UN finds peacekeeping in Haiti slum a tall order
International Herald Tribune, August 30, 2005
Bringing a semblance of order to the broiling Cité Soleil slum and giving its residents a chance to vote in upcoming elections is seen as an important step in establishing a credible government in Haiti.
Ghosts in the dark
The Guardian, August 30, 2005
Africa wants to change its image - but its history casts a long shadow. Jonathan Jones on a telling photography show.(Free registration)
Bolton's mischief
Los Angeles Times, August 30, 2005
Amendments to a draft proposal for UN reforms introduced by Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, including the scrapping of all references to Millennium Development goals aimed at halving world poverty by 2015, "would be a death sentence for millions", the newspaper says.(Free registration)
Swazi girls celebrate as king lifts ban on sex for under-18s
The Independent, August 24, 2005
Thousands of girls removed tasselled scarves symbolising their chastity, abandoning an ancient rite revived to combat HIV/AIDS.
The wealth of the west was built on Africa's exploitation
The Guardian, August 20, 2005
Britain has never faced up to its dark side as the principal slaving nation of the modern world, let alone begun to apologise, argues Richard Drayton of Cambridge University.(Free registration)
Africa: Feeding more for less
The International Herald Tribune, August 20, 2005
Reforms to outdated U.S. food aid programmes could prevent crises like Niger's famine, rather than cleaning them up.
The settlers' retreat was the theatre of the cynical
The Guardian, August 19, 2005
There was no 'sensitivity training' when bulldozers went into Rafah, writes columnist Jonathan Steele.(Free registration)
India surrounded by 'failed states'
The Times of India, August 19, 2005
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan are all in danger of going over the edge, the newspaper says.
Starving for the cameras
The Economist, August 18, 2005
People dying from hunger like those in Niger should not have to wait for the TV crews to arrive, this op-ed piece says.
Niger's women and children starve as men hoard food
The Independent, August 18, 2005
In the midst of starvation and disease, many men in rural areas are determined to control the meagre supplies, seemingly oblivious to the suffering of their families.
A rare view of everyday North Korean people
The Korea Herald, August 18, 2005
The paper reviews "State of Mind", an unusual documentary that traces the everyday lives of people in the isolated, famine-hit country.
Poachers eased tsunami's path
The Guardian, August 17, 2005
The Indian Ocean tsunami killed thousands in Sri Lanka because poachers had removed coral reefs that would have shielded the coastline from the worst of the waves.(Free registration)
Global Aid System Stalled as Niger's Crisis Deepened
Washington Post Foreign Service, August 17, 2005
"This is not a story of donors being mean," says one expert quoted in this article. "This is a story of a failed system."(Free registration)
Niger needs long-term commitment
Toronto Star, August 17, 2005
The president of Niger says food shortages in his country do not constitute a famine, but there is no nutrition in semantics, the newspaper says.
Requiem for a peace process
The Hindu, August 15, 2005
The assassination of Sri Lanka's foreign minister has shattered the last remaining illusions about the Tamil Tigers, Norway's role as a peace facilitator and the peace process itself, the newspaper says.
Why Sharon?
Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2005
Aluf Benn, diplomatic editor of Israeli newspaper Haaretz, says Ariel Sharon's deep conviction in unilateralism and the unique nature of his public persona are behind his watershed decision to force the evacuation of remaining Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip and northern West Bank.(Free registration)
Struggle Against a Shifting Shore
Washington Post, August 13, 2005
Months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, dramatic shifts in topography are hindering Indonesa's reconstruction efforts.(Free registration)
The Rise of a Market Mentality Means Many Go Hungry in Niger
Washington Post, August 11, 2005
The hunger crisis in Niger is not only the result of food shortages but also of vendor profiteering, a government policy shift towards a free market and a decline in the traditional culture of generosity.(Free registration)
Starving for funds
LA Times, August 11, 2005
One of the ways to get the images of starving children off our television screens is to create an international emergency fund, says this newspaper.(Free registration)
Captured in time
The Guardian, August 11, 2005
The arrest of Milan Lukic, a Bosnian Serb gang-leader who killed a still unknown number of Bosnian Muslims, is a victory for his victims, for those who still suffer from his crimes and for the international court, says this editorial.(Free registration)
Entrenched Epidemic: Wife-Beatings in Africa
New York Times, August 11, 2005
South Africa has the highest mortality rate from domestic violence ever reported, where a male partner kills a girlfriend or spouse every six hours, according to the estimates of the Medical Research Council.
Bangladeshis learn flood survival
Christian Science Monitor, August 11, 2005
A community-based approach has changed how Bangladesh experiences its annual floods and provides a model for South Asia.
Sudan Hits The Pause Button
Christian Science Monitor, August 11, 2005
For now, the gloomy scenario of a return to violence in Sudan following the death of First Vice President Garang is not playing out.
Listen to the voices of East Timor's victims
International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005
Reconciliation between Indonesia and East Timor is important but justice is indispensable to the success of true reconciliation, says Adérito de Jesus Soares, human rights lawyer and a former member of East Timor's Parliament.
It's worth bringing tyrants to justice
International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005
Experience suggests that the benefits of prosecuting those responsible for atrocities can be secured without the prolonged wars and extended dictatorships that critics often claim, says Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Female circumcision surfaces in Iraq
Christian Science Monitor, August 10, 2005
A German aid group finds the first solid proof that female circumcision is becoming practice in Iraq.
An avian flu vaccine
The New York Times on International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005
Now that a vaccine against avian influenza has been discovered, new production techniques should be developed to guard against a pandemic, writes this newspaper.
Niger leader denies hunger claims
BBC, August 9, 2005
Niger's president claims the idea of a famine in his country is being exploited for political and economic gain by opposition parties and U.N. aid agencies.
Mali's food crisis goes little noticed
USA Today, August 8, 2005
Malnutrition is a yearly blight across the dry and dusty West African region.
Hope for Hungry Children, Arriving in a Foil Packet
New York Times, August 8, 2005
Plumpy'nut, a beige paste that contains 500 calories of fortified peanut butter, milk, vitamins and minerals, is doing wonders in parts of Niger.(Free registration)
Drought decimates desperately poor
New Zealand Herald, August 8, 2005
To make poverty history, we have to give more and better-targeted aid and rewrite the rule book on unfair trade, write Georgina Newman, communications manager for UNICEF New Zealand.
Drought decimates desperately poor
Washington Post, August 8, 2005
History will remember President Bush as someone who played an important role in Africa's economic progress, writes Julius Cole, president of Africare.(Free registration)
Net gains for Africa
LA Times, August 7, 2005
The World Health Organisation should weigh the pros and cons of free versus subsidised mosquito nets, says this editorial.(Free registration)
Niger is dying, and the world is merely watching
USA Today, August 7, 2005
In acute crises, humanitarian aid can make a lifesaving difference for so many, so quickly, for so little cost, says U.N. humanitarian relief chief Jan Egeland.
Afghanistan's forgotten war
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, August 5, 2005
The 10th anniversary of the Operation Storm, in which Croatian army captured Knin, is marred by the Hague tribunal's accusations that the offensive's main goal was to premanently remove the Serb population from the region by force.
After John Garang
Washington Post, August 5, 2005
The challenge after the death of former south Sudanese leader John Garang is to keep the north-south peace process moving, says this editorial.(Free registration)
AU Failure Calamitous
The Nation (Kenya), August 4, 2005
The African Union should have been at the forefront of an early response to Niger's crisis, writes this newspaper.
How to call a crisis
The Guardian, August 4, 2005
In the wake of Niger's food crisis, we must question the right of charities to have a monopoly on "calling famines", says Simon Harrigan, a freelance anthropologist with experience of famine relief in Sudan.(Free registration)
Help: charities in crisis
The Independent, August 3, 2005
New figures show four out of 10 charities say donations by big businesses have dropped in the wake of the huge outpouring of support for the tsunami appeal.
No More Nigers
Washington Post, August 3, 2005
Niger is not an isolated island of desperation - it lies within a sea of problems across Africa, says Nobel Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.(Free registration)
Ten Years on, Refugees Remain on the Outside
IWPR, August 2, 2005
Hostility in Serbia towards refugees from Bosnia and Croatia stems from poorly managed integration and from the fact that some abused the system.
The United Nations: Fractured
Business Week, August 2, 2005
The U.N. is experiencing a brand crisis, say Rachel Simmons and Lisa Marchese of Prophet, a consultancy specialising in the integration of business, brand and marketing strategies.
A death in Sudan
International Herald Tribune, August 3, 2005
It is time for Africans to stop pinning their hopes on magnetic strongmen and instead empower the democratic institutions the continent desperately needs, says this editorial.
Strife slows Sri Lanka's aid effort
Christian Science Monitor, August 3, 2005
Unlike the situation in Indonesia where the rebels are set to sign a peace accord, the relief effort in Sri Lanka has not helped bring about a permanent settlement.
Our stories aren't all tragedies
The Guardian, August 2, 2005
It's up to African writers to provide positive alternatives to the global media's preoccupation with hunger, war and catastrophe, says Doreen Baingana, Ugandan poet and novelist.
Hunger is spreading in Africa
Christian Science Monitor, August 2, 2005
Niger's 2.9 million hungry are just a fraction of Africa's 31.1 million food-deprived scattered across Sudan, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda and other countries.
Plenty of food - yet the poor are starving
The Guardian, August 1, 2005
Starvation in Niger is not only an inevitable consequence of poverty, drought and locusts but also the result of applying free market policies to try to lift the country out of poverty.
Behind the famine footage
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, August 1, 2005
It is shocking that the crisis in Niger developed in a year heralded as a year for Africa, says this editorial.
Cleaning up Bangladesh's deadly wells
International Herald Tribune, August 1, 2005
Since tube wells became popular as a source of drinking water in Bangladesh in the 1970s, tens of millions of people have been slowly poisoned by arsenic.
Children of Sudan's Cattle Camps
Washington Post, July 31, 2005
Emerging from years of conflict, people in south Sudan are facing hard choices between passing down traditional skills or sending their children to schools that prepare them for urban life and technical job opportunities.(Free registration)
Too much morality, too little sense
The Economist, July 31, 2005
To contain AIDS, morality must take second place.
A New Face of Hunger, Without the Old Excuses
New York Times, July 31, 2005
Helping young democracies become functioning nations is probably the only way to inoculate countries like Niger against catastrophe, says the paper.(Free registration)
The world has turned away - but Darfur's misery goes on
The Observer, July 31, 2005
The constant rattle of gunfire over the past two years in Sudan's Darfur was just an opener for a longer-term disaster unravelling in the province.
Deborah Orr: Maybe building roads would do more for Africa than wearing wristbands
The Independent, July 30, 2005
Isn't it possible for anti-poverty campaigners to focus on one thing at a time, such as a road-building project across Africa that would provide employment and attract foreign investment, asks columnist Deborah Orr.
The UN needs a permanent force
The Independent, July 30, 2005
It is time for the U.N. to seriously consider establishing a permanent force of expert peacekeepers instead of the present ad hoc arrangements, says the newspaper.
Deserving cases, getting too little help
Economist, July 28, 2005
By helping to catch terrorists, Mali - the fourth-poorest state in the world - is hoping to shame the U.S. into slashing the subsidies for its cotton farmers, which are hurting Mali's exports.
Stop the hunger horror tour
The Guardian, July 28, 2005
"Debt relief means very little to a starving child who needs food now", says James Morris, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme.
China and its chums
The Guardian, July 28, 2005
China's veto on the U.N. Security Council action in Sudan and its new trade agreement with Zimbabwe may be signs that in the future China will be more active in "defending the indefensible", says this editorial.
Pressuring Myanmar
Baltimore Sun, July 28, 2005
The United States and Europe must continue to pressure Myanmar for democratic reforms, says the newspaper.(Free registration)
Extra support for tsunami kids pays off
Christian Science Monitor, July 27, 2005
Children in tsunami-hit countries are beginning to see some gains as they go back to school.
Deaths foretold
The Guardian, July 26, 2005
The Niger food crisis demonstrates why the U.N. should set up a rapid
response fund for humanitarian emergencies.
All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on Brad Pitt
New
York Times, July 26, 2005
Just like President Bush, the U.S.
media has been shamefully passive in the face of the Darfur crisis,
says
Nicholas Kristof.(Free registration)
Preventable disaster
Baltimore Sun, July 26,
2005
Niger's food crisis is not so much a failure of
generosity,
but poor planning by the country's government and international aid
agencies, says this newspaper.(Free registration)
UN seeks to leave Kosovo, but a deal is elusive
International Herald Tribune, July 26, 2005
Negotiations about
the final status of Kosovo are set to begin this year, but the
framework
for the talks is far from clear.
It's a long, bumpy road to the next Doha round - and
there's still no real route map
The Guardian, July 25,
2005
Trade alone is not the answer for African development,
says
Ian Gillson of the Overseas Development Institute.
Actions, not words
Baltimore Sun, July 25,
2005
There is a danger that Sudan's abundant oil will persuade
the Bush Administration to lift economic sanctions without much change
in Khartoum's behaviour, says this editorial.(Free registration)
Africans turn up heat on Mugabe
Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 2005
A growing number of Africans are pushing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to change his ways.
Success in tsunami's wake
International Herald Tribune, 25 July 2005
The fact that a second wave of deaths from water-borne diseases in tsunami-affected regions
failed to materialise, is a great success story, says this
newspaper.
Bosnia and terrorism
Baltimore Sun, July 25, 2005
The Srebrenica massacre and the bombings in London are closely related events, in that the war in Bosnia represented a turning point in global Muslim consciousness.(Free registration)
Does US care about Niger now?
Boston Globe, July 22, 2005
The United States should not be standing on the sidelines when it comes to helping Niger that has been hit by last year's locusts invasion and drought, says this newspaper editorial.(Free registration)
Rays of hope amid violence
Miami Herald, July 21, 2005
Guatemala is but a nominal democracy, but there have been some positive, if small, changes, says Marifeli Perez-Stable of the Inter-American Dialogue.(Free registration)
Undemocratic UN
India Post, July 21, 2005
If attempts to reform the U.N. fail, the five permanent members will be responsible for refusing to let the New York institution become a world institution, the paper says in an editorial.
Post-tsunami Aceh: It takes a woman to rebuild a village
Christian Science Monitor, July 21, 2005
Six months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the disproportionate toll on women is still being felt.
In Sudan, cautious hope for peace
Christian Science Monitor, July 20, 2005
Condolezza Rice's visit to Sudan represents an acknowledgement that Khartoum is beginning to be "welcomed back into the civilized world, so to speak", says John Ashworth, a longtime Sudan observer.
China rising: Lots of wealth, lots of people, lots of flaws
International Herald Tribune, July 21, 2005
China may be a giant factory pawning its environment, but predictions of world domination are premature. So vast is China's potential, however, steady world leadership is needed to help the country rise and change argues Fei-Ling Wang.
Aceh's new deal
Jakarta Post, July 19, 2005
Urgency surrounding this latest peace deal was prompted by fears of a "second tsunami" - a wave of hunger and poverty - if reconstruction is delayed by ongoing fighting between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government, says this editorial.
Iraqi-run tribunal is major progress toward democratic rule of law
Christian Science Monitor, July 19, 2005
Not only are Iraqis willing and able to conduct Saddam's trials, but their doing so within Iraq can play a key part in establishing the legitimacy of the new Iraqi government and promoting the rule of law, say Eric Ward and Matthew Heiman.
Everybody's problem
The Guardian, July 19, 2005
Much has been made of governance in the run-up to the G8 summit but the experience of the world's better-off countries suggests that corruption is easier to rail against than eradicate, says this Guardian leader.
Zim's new homeless live 'worse than animals'
Mail and Guardian online, July 18, 2005
South Africa's Mbeki defends his softly-softly approach to Zimbabwe's ongoing slum clearance programme as others ask what would have happened if the world had stood back from South Africa during apartheid.
For Poor Women, an AIDS Safety Net
Washington Post, July 15, 2005
Young women around the world need a prevention tool for HIV/AIDS that they can control and the answer is an effective microbicide, says Ilene Wong, a physician at Stanford University Hospital and Clinics in California, USA.(Free registration)
Find Mladic and Karadzic
International Herald Tribune, July 15, 2005
Capturing Karadzic and Mladic is the only way to bring about reconciliation among Serbs, Croats and Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the newspaper says.
Why 'never again' recurred
Christian Science Monitor, July 14, 2005
Ten years after the Srebrenica massacre, survivors and witnesses remind the world it was not an isolated horror executed by a few "nutty peasants".
A flu nightmare
Boston Globe, July 13, 2005
The risk of a global flu pandemic should have been at the top of the G8's agenda.(Free registration)
Enough handouts for Africa
International Herald Tribune, July 12, 2005
Africa doesn't need a never-ending stream of handouts that do little more than play to Africa's weaknesses and give donors a false sense of gratification, says Nicky Opperheimer of De Beers Group.
Sudan's chance
Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2005
After swearing in former rebel leader John Garang as the nation's vice president, Sudan has a chance to consign its north-south civil war to the history books. (Free registration)
Fatal denial: Muslims and AIDS
Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2005
A generation into the global HIV epidemic, there are no accurate figures on the impact of AIDS in the Islamic world.(Free registration)
Faced with this crisis
The Guardian, July 12, 2005
The G8 communiqué used the words "promote" and "encourage" in reference to proposed efforts to tackle climate change. These words are too weak to make an impression and are symptomatic of an age when everything must be seen through the lens of capitalism, writes George Monbiot.
The three lessons of Srebrenica
Boston Globe, July 11, 2005
One of the lessons of Srebrenica massacre is that we must expand our idea of peace-building to include a broader range of stakeholders, including women, writes Swanee Hunt, author of "This Was Not our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace".(Free registration)
Srebrenica — time to own up
USA Today, July 11, 2005
If Serbia arrests Ratko Mladic, it would be a sign that Serb society might be ready to pull down the wall of silence and denial about its involvement in the Bosnian war, says Louise Branson, editorial writer for USA Today.
Too white, too small
Los Angeles Times, July 11, 2005
Koffi Annan wants a decision on U.N. Security Council reform before September. The current front-runner proposition is for six new permanent seats and three non-permanent, with Japan, Germany, India and Brazil topping the list of contenders for permanent seats. The catch is that Washington wants fewer newcomers. Karl Inderfurth urges Bush to show leadership at this important time.(Free registration)
UN to Integrate Blue Helmets and Humanitarians
Inter Press Service News Agency, July 9, 2005
Humanitarian aid is all part of the peace-building process, says UN aid chief Jan Egeland, but for the Red Cross the emphasis must not stray from coordination toward integration.
Too little, too late at the G8
Haaretz, July 11, 2005
G8 politicians were good at contrasting their good intentions with the bad will of bombers in London, but the agreed aid increase was too small and will take too long to take effect, argues Danny Rabinowitz. African countries are still crippled by commercial loans and the G8 leaders just left the issue of trade subsidies for another time.
Srebrenica: Lessons of a terrible blunder
International Herald Tribune, July 9, 2005
Ten years ago, the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serbs who went on to massacre thousands. Lessons learnt: don't send multi-tasking UN peacekeepers into an ongoing war situation; improve UN intelligence perhaps under the guises of a conflict prevention centre; don't look the other way, says Alexander Ivanko.
Swaziland's sugar farmers face ruin as EU takes axe to special price deal
The Guardian, July 8, 2005
A fixed price for EU sugar farmers has for three decades been extended to farmers in Swaziland and 17 other African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Sweeping EU subsidy reforms will change this, slashing prices for these 18 and devastating livelihoods of the poorest, reports Kristy Siegfried.
AIDS: Africa's doctors
International Herald Tribune, July 8, 2005
Across Africa 1.3% of the world's health workers fight 25% of the world's disease. Fighting AIDS will be a losing battle until Africa can retain health workers and access money targeted for health and procure drugs reliably, writes Malawi's health minister.
Philip Bowring: Don't blame AIDS on Muslims
International Herald Tribune, July 7, 2005
A U.S. think tank has released a report describing the spread of HIV/AIDS among Muslims as "the newest phase in the global pandemic". Look beyond religion is the response of this editorial.
The repatriation of Liberian refugees
The Guardian, Nigeria, July 7, 2005
The last of thousands of Liberian refugees who fled to Nigeria when war broke out in 1989 are now to return home. But forthcoming elections must proceed smoothly if Liberia's peace process is not to be derailed, says this editorial.
Sudan: What's wrong with this picture?
Christian Science Monitor, July 5, 2005
Interest in Darfur that had built up in the international community has waned and the tsunami now seems to have been a deadly distraction writes G. Jefferson Price III, emergency correspondent with Catholic Relief Services.
The monsoon enters a critical phase
The Hindu, July 5, 2005
The Hindu gives an intriguing insight into the twists and turns of the monsoon, the annual rains that can make or break an Indian harvest.
The Chinese in Africa
Channel 4 News, July 4, 2005
Lindsey Hilsum reports on Chinese investments in Sierra Leone's Freetown and finds plenty of enthusiasm but some concern over regulation.
HIV-AIDS should be the top priority
Sydney Morning Herald, July 5, 2005
It's more urgent to fight malnutrition and malaria than to tackle climate change, writes Bjorn Lomborg.
Trading places
The Guardian, July 4, 2005
John Kamau, a Kenyan journalist, spent a day in Edinburgh at the Make Poverty History march, while Guardian writer Oliver Burkeman saw Live8 unfold from Nairobi. The two writers compare notes.
Dreaming of a new dawn
The Observer, July 3, 2005
BBC journalist George Alagiah draws on his school days in Ghana, his years as an Africa correspondent and his recent travels through the continent to reach his conclusion that trade more than aid is the answer.
Third Term bad, Movement Act worse
The Daily Monitor, Uganda, July 1, 2005
What is needed to halt Museveni's path to life-presidency is not so much a focussing in on the two term constitutional provision, but separation of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary writes Sam Akaki, external coordinator UK of Uganda's Forum for Democratic Change.
Monster of the moment
The Guardian, July 1, 2005
World Bank projects have evicted 10 million, hundreds of thousands are regularly moved on by governments around the world for urban development work and the only reason Mugabe is the West's pet monster is because he chose to reclaim and redistribute land grabbed by whites, John Vidal points out.
Giving and taking away
International Herald Tribune, July 1, 2005
The U.S. has made some important steps, for instance in approving generic anti-retroviral drugs, but at the same time polices such as refusing to fund needle exchange programs, and influencing other UN actors to do likewise, are dangerous , according to this Washington Post editorial.
A continent's success stories go unreported
International Herald Tribune, June 30, 2005
It's not all bad news in Africa - for instance this year economic growth will be double that of the EU - but the reporting is overwhelmingly negative and this is not helpful, damaging investor confidence by its obscuring of the positive, argues Niall FitzGerald.
One in six countries facing food shortage
The Guardian, June 30, 2005
UN scientists warn that emerging patterns show that current food shortages caused by drought may become semi-permanent due to climate change.
Debt relief: a delusory venture for Africa
The New Times, Kigali, June 29, 2005
Julius Mwesigye writes of proponents of recently announced debt relief plans: "Time will certainly prove them wrong by glaringly bringing to the fore that this much-lauded design is just another of those funny ruses by the West to keep Africa in check, and permanently shackled in servitude."
Bringing the D word into the World Bank
International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2005
Democracies perform better for their citizens in education, health and food production but the World Bank's charter prevents considering how a government came to power when making funding decisions, says Joseph Siegle, arguing that the bank's new president should change this and bring the charter into line with that of Europe's development bank.
The long and the short
The Guardian, June 29, 2005
The rhetoric on Iraq is changing in Washington and while the debate goes on over the degree to which the insurgency is fuelled by the American presence, the timetable for withdrawal may yet be set by the American people, according to this Guardian editorial.
Zionism is not a 'settler-colonial undertaking'
Mail and Guardian, June 28, 2005
Rabbi David Hoffman, a member of the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation, argues that by understanding Israel's "affirmative action" to be "colonial oppression", one is not far from the kind of insensitivity that leads to "yet another Holocaust".
Refugees in their own lands
The Guardian, June 28, 2005
Dennis McNamara, head of the UN's internal displacement division, says a lot of good work is done on refugees but the internally displaced, those driven out of their homes but remaining in their own country, have precious little support and more often than not fall between the cracks of assistance.
Mugabe's true colours clearer as exit looms
Zimbabwe Independent, June 24, 2005
Harare-based writer Chido Makunike argues that as well as terrorising his citizens, Mugabe is allowing Zimbabwe to become a virtual client state of China, ridiculing his claims that the country will never be a colony again.
David Brooks: Liberals, conservatives and aid
The New York Times, June 27, 2005
Jeffrey Sachs thinks money will solve poverty, George Bush blames corruption. David Brooks' editorial argues for a reformed Bush approach and discredits Sachs.
Four ways to fix America's failure on Africa
The New York Times, June 27, 2005
Writing in the New York Times, Jeffrey Sachs calls for more US money for Africa, clear targets, a revival of Bush's Millennium Challenge Corp. and a public awareness campaign for America's people.
Why I will march
The Observer, June 26, 2005
Ruaridh Nicoll finds a rap duo's reason for playing a tsunami benefit gig, 'thumbs down to bad things', compelling at a time when in liberal circles marching is increasingly seen as a naive response to Africa's problems.
Cruel to be kind?
The Guardian, June 24, 2005
In the run up to Live8, aids expert David Rieff argues that LiveAid in 1985 may have done as much harm as good.
Without greater UN help, Haiti will soon collapse
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, June 24, 2005
Haiti is on the brink and the only thing that can save it is if Washington commits marines, money and diplomatic muscle to help the U.N. mission there, says Mark Schneider of International Crisis Group.
Seven Questions: Capturing Balkan Justice
Foreign Policy, June 2005
David Scheffer, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, answers Foreign Policy's questions about war crimes suspects still at large, the status of prosecutions and the price of justice.
Recovery still has a way to go
International Herald Tribune, June 23, 2005
Post-tsunami reconstruction will advance more smoothly in Aceh and Sri Lanka -- and may even bolster peace processes there -- if all parties to the longstanding conflicts there are involved, says Bill Clinton.
Sabotaging the U.N.
Baltimore Sun, June 22, 2005
If President Bush wants to reform and not destroy the U.N., he should see that Mr Bolton is the wrong man for the job, says this newspaper.
For Serbs, a slow road back to Kosovo
Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 2005
Six years after the NATO bombing of Kosovo, only 10 percent of the province's Serb population have returned to their homes.
The Injuries Need More Than Band Aid
Inter Press Service, June 21, 2005
Economic opportunities, rather than band-aid measures such as debt relief and more aid on their own, are what the developing countries need in order to escape the poverty trap\.
Freeing up aid to Africa
International Herald Tribune, June 21, 2005
Bush's Millenium Challenge Account has wasted years with its narrowly defined strategies for growth to fit a certain ideological bent and as a result very few countries have benefited so far, the paper says.
UN tackles sex abuse by troops
Christian Science Monitor, June 21, 2005
Following the increased number of accusations of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers, the world body has taken vigorous measures to address the problem.
Global warming in Africa: The hottest issue of all
The Independent, June 20, 2005
A new report produced by a coalition of 18 aid and environmental groups says that without addressing the effect of the climate change on Africa it is pointless to pour aid into the continent.
Sudan's shame
Boston Globe, June 20, 2005
Khartoum's idea of peace is the extermination of the population that gave birth to the rebels, says this newspaper's editorial.
South African grandmothers shoulder the care of AIDS orphans
Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse, June 19, 2005
Hundreds of thousands of grandmothers are struggling to care for their grandchildren, orphaned by AIDS.
Poverty that defies aid
Washington Times, June 19, 2005
Sending more aid to Africa will not help the continent in its fight against poverty, and this well-meaning idea of Westerners is "likely to crash on the hard rocks of African reality".
The Donors and Darfur
Washington Post, June 20, 2005
Killing in Darfur continues as donors fail to honour pledges for humanitarian assistance to the region.
'Hotel Rwanda' manager asks what you're doing on World Refugee Day
Christian Science Monitor, June 20, 2005
Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda", is calling on all nations to act now to solve the conflicts in Sudan and Congo.
The first embedded protest
The Guardian, June 18, 2005
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are feigning serious engagement with the issues at the heart of Make Poverty History and Live 8 in a cynical attempt to buy off mass protest, this op-ed piece says.
The Donors and Darfur
New York Times, June 17, 2005
Bush's Millenium Challenge Account, announced more than three years ago and aimed at helping poor countries with honest governments and low trade barries, is facing criticism over delays in dispersing money.
Class action
The Guardian, June 17, 2005
Uganda has made substantial progress on gender equality but outside its capital women are often still treated as the property of men.
China takes a new tack on AIDS prevention
The Guardian, June 17, 2005
Attitudes regarding China's HIV/AIDS problem are slowly changing but there is still a long way to go.
Wise ideas for the UN
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, June 17, 2005
The U.S. Congress should not be threatening cuts in America's U.N. dues at the time when so many good ideas for U.N. reform are set for discussion later this year, says the newspaper editorial.
Plight of Africa's children
Washington Times, June 16, 2005
While technology has changed the face of civilisation in the last four decades, in Africa twice as many children under five die each year than in 1960.
British arms supplies fuelling abuses in Nepal, says Amnesty
The Guardian, June 15, 2005
Amnesty International calls for a suspension of military assistance and arms supplies to the Nepalese government by countries such as Britain, France, South Africa and others.
U.N. reform proposals
Washington Post, June 15, 2005
Any U.N. reforms will require American leadership as Washington provides much of the organisation's budget, says the newspaper.
Africa's future is threatened by U.S. neglect
International Herald Tribune, June 15, 2005
The United states is failing Africa by refusing to boost aid critical to helping the continent solve its problems, says Jeffrey Sachs.
UN forces toughen up
Christian Science Monitor, June 15, 2005
U.N. peacekeeping forces are increasingly responding with force in conflict zones in a bid to restore lost credibility.
Meeting Africa's genuine need
Christian Science Monitor, June 15, 2005
One reason Washington should change its tune and start helping Africa is that poor and underdeveloped countries are breeding grounds for discontent and terrorist networks.
A first step on African aid
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, June 15, 2005
Bush has taken a step in the right direction by agreeing to ease the burden of debt in Africa but has yet to commit to Blair's proposal of increased aid and a further cancellations of debt.
Unhappy Burmese birthday
Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune, June 15, 2005
The U.S. should block Myanmar from chairing the forthcoming meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos in the protest against the country' dictatorial government, says the newspaper.
A truckload of nonsense
The Guardian, June 14, 2005
Debt relief comes with conditions such as the elimination of "impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign", which means that yet again poor nations are kept on a short leash, writes George Monbiot.
Concern Grows Over Nepal's Child Fighters
Washington Post, June 14, 2005
One of the most troubling aspects of the escalating war between Maoist insurgents and King Gyanendra's government is the rebels' use of child soldiers.
In Congo, 1,000 die per day: Why isn't it a media story?
Christian Science Monitor, June 14, 2005
Journalists are increasingly questioning the lack of media coverage of the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo and Andrew Stroehlein of the International Crisis Group finds this "coverage of the non-coverage" absurd.
G8 and poverty
Washington Times, June 13, 2005
Those marching on the G8 will be buying in to the feel-good factor of thinking they have done something about poverty, writes David Cowan of Regent's Park College, University of Oxford.
War crimes prosecutions at The Hague gather steam under the radar
Baltimore Sun, June 12, 2005
Ten years after the end of the Bosnian war, the United Nations war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia is busier than ever.(free registration)
A noose, not a bracelet
The Guardian, June 10, 2005
"Africa is poor because its investors and its creditors are unspeakably rich", writes Naomi Klein.
Africa's unmended heart
The Economist, June 9, 2005
Whoever the next president of the Democratic Republic of Congo is, he faces the difficult task of keeping militias in check and ensuring donors don't pull out and leave the country to its own devices.(free registration)
In Africa, life after AIDS
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, June 10, 2005
Columnist David Brooks finds Namibian health workers are optimistic in their fight against HIV/AIDS. They are treating more patients, and anti-retroviral drugs are becoming more widely available.
Global law claims new turf in Sudan
Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2005
The International Criminal Court has a difficult time ahead investigating war crimes in Sudan's Darfur, since it's the first time it's taken on a case referred by the U.N. Security Council rather than the country in question.
India's popular soap operas become a national soapbox
Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2005
One of India's most popular soap operas uses its influence to encourage viewers to donate to tsunami victims, and raises awareness on women's rights, and how to treat diarrhoea.
Hatemongers ousted, Bosnia media rallies
Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2005
Bosnian media is finally recovering from the war years, providing a more professional service.
Prosecuting Charles Taylor
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, June 10, 2005
U.S. efforts to help rebuild Liberia will not bear fruit unless former leader Charles Taylor is behind bars, says this newspaper's editorial.
Full house for The Hague's war crimes unit
The Guardian, June 9, 2005
The trickle of war crimes suspects at the ICTY has turned into a torrent, and the prison in the Hague is filling up.
Serbia confronts an awful truth
Chicago Tribune, June 9, 2005
A video showing a Serbian paramilitary unit executing Muslim prisoners in Bosnia forces the Serbian government and people to acknowledge massacres committed by their forces during the Bosnian war.(free registration)
Crumbs for Africa
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, June 9, 2005
The notion that vast amounts of U.S. aid money flow to Africa "is one of (the) great national myths".
Mexico tackles discrimination to fight AIDS
Christian Science Monitor, June 9, 2005
The Mexican government launches an anti-homophobia campaign in an attempt to get people to test for HIV and reduce the country's AIDS rates.
A woman's approach to ending a perilous rite of passage
Christian Science Monitor, June 8, 2005
Three women from Kenya's Masai community hope to end the practice of female genital mutilation.
Uncover your eyes
International Herald Tribune, June 8, 2005
President Bush values a frozen embryo but he keeps ignoring Darfur atrocities, the first genocide of the 21st century, writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
Partners for peace?
Baltimore Sun, June 7, 2005
Spending a few billion on improving the lives of people in Africa is a small bargain for President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, who have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on war in Iraq.(free registration)
Getting Bush on board
The Guardian, June 7, 2005
While Tony Blair tries to make a deal over Africa with President Bush, he should not overlook other donors -- France, Germany and Japan -- who are discussing their own debt relief proposal.
Mr. Bush and Africa
Washington Post, June 7, 2005
President Bush has shown he understands the case for more development spending and he should follow his instinct when it comes to making a deal with Tony Blair over aid to Africa.(free registration)
The naive lead the naive in a campaign of liberal guilt
International Herald Tribune, June 7, 2005
"Too much of the Make Poverty History campaign reeks of middle-class Europeans trying to feel good about themselves by prescribing dubious solutions to Africa's problems", writes Martin Kettle.
Doing the right thing
International Herald Tribune, June 7, 2005
By providing his support for Blair's plan for Africa, Bush could improve Washington's image abroad and establish the world's richest country as the moral leader in the world.
Sudan's policy of systematic rape
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, June 6, 2005
A systematic campaign of rape is continuing as the world barely bothers to protest, says New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
Unloved, but Not Unbuilt
New York Times, June 5, 2005
The financing of a hydroelectric dam in Laos signals the World Bank's return to controversial big dam projects. (free registration)
AIDS threatens African girls' gains
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, June 4, 2005
The AIDS pandemic threatens to reverse positive social trends in Africa such as higher school-attendance rates for girls and a tendency to marry later.
Taming the king of Nepal
International Herald Tribune, June 4, 2005
Nepal's king should seize the chance to enter the history books as a progressive reformist by changing the country's political system as soon as possible, argues Surya Sebedi, chairman of the Britain-Nepal Academic Council.
Darfur's Real Problem
Washington Post, June 3, 2005
The challenge for the U.S. government is to persuade other countries that Sudan's government is part of the problem, rather than the solution, argues this newspaper editorial.(free registration)
UN and firms team up to tackle hunger
Christian Science Monitor, June 3, 2005
The U.N. and its partner organisations map hunger around the world.
It's crunch time at the United Nations
International Herald Tribune, June 3, 2005
U.N. members face becoming "yesterday's men", if they fail to reform the institution.
Children of Iraq: A face of grief as war takes toll
International Herald Tribune, June 2, 2005
Since the war in Iraq began, the country has fallen from 96 to 127 on the U.N. Development Programe's Human Development Index, one of the most dramatic declines in human welfare in recent history.
Can Paul Wolfowitz Transform from Hawk to Dove?
Spiegel Online, June 1, 2005
Should more World Bank funds be available to developing countries, or should they reform their often undemocratic and corrupt systems first? These are the crucial questions in the Bank's future as Paul Wolfowitz starts his new job at its head.
Revealed: the new scramble for Africa
The Guardian, June 1, 2005
There is little hope that the G8 summit will change the course of the ongoing scramble for African resources by Western corporations.
Cynical politicians, pipedreams - and how we can make a difference
The Independent, June 1, 2005
Africa's winner-takes-all politics lies at the heart of everything that has gone wrong with Africa, and turning the continent around with aid and debt relief is at best doubtful, writes Richard Dowden of the Royal Africa Society.
Alarm bells sound over massive loans bankrolling oil-rich, graft-tainted Angola
The Guardian, June 1, 2005
A British bank approves an oil-backed loan to Angola, a country with a corrupt and non-transparent government.
A game of double bluff
The Guardian, May 31, 2005
Promises by Britain and the EU to help lift poor nations out of poverty amount to nothing but fancy language, says George Monbiot.
War not over for children born of rape
Miami Herald, May 31, 2005
A decade after the war ended in Bosnia, children born out of war rape have started to ask questions about their origins.(free registration)
Anti-poverty bands made with forced labour, Oxfam says
New York Times, May 31, 2005
Charities admit that some Make Povery History campaign wristbands have been made in Chinese factories accused of using forced labour.(free registration)
Just Like Bodies, Psyches Can Drown in Disasters
New York Times, May 31, 2005
Disaster relief should include immediate aid for the body and the mind at the same time, argues Laurie Leitch from the Foundation for Human Enrichment.
Day 141 of Bush's Silence
New York Times, May 31, 2005
The world's moral indifference is indirectly killing people in Darfur, says New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.(free registration)
The U.S. and the U.N.
Chicago Tribune, May 29, 2005
Cherif Bassiouni, former U.N. human rights investigator in Afghanistan, was fired because of his reporting of alleged abuses by U.S. forces, says Douglass Cassel of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University.(free registration)
Seeking a change in Africa
BBC, May 28, 2005
The BBC asks Africans what they think could turn the continent around.
We are not instruments of US power
The Guardian, May 28, 2005
The claim that some NGOs do the work of a Washington-sponsored regime change programme is morally wrong and almost criminally irresponsible, says Guardian columnist Martin Woollacott.
NATO to Darfur
International Herald Tribune, May 27, 2005
NATO could and should do much more to halt Darfur's humanitarian crisis, says a group of prominent politicans including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Robin Cook of Britain.
U.N. Official Sees Language Bias Skewing Aid to Africa
Inter Press Service, May 26, 2005
Jan Egeland, the U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, accuses the international donor community of discriminating against non-English-speaking countries.
On India's coast, a plea for jobs
International Herald Tribune, May 26, 2005
Five months on, tsunami survivors grapple with the lack of permanent housing and regular employment.
Darfur: A peaceful option
Washington Times, May 26, 2005
Despite improvements in some parts of Darfur, the international community is not doing enough to provide aid funding or to support the African Union, according to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Alpha Oumar Konare of the Commision of the African Union.
Africans ask: 'Why isn't anyone telling the good news?'
Christian Science Monitor, May 26, 2005
The media only portrays Africa as a land of poverty, famine and disease and fails to highlight positive stories that could boost the continent's image in the world.
Bird flu virus 'close to pandemic'
The Guardian, May 26, 2005
The current estimate of 7.5 million deaths in the event of an avian flu pandemic is too optimistic, says Professor Osterhaus of the Erasmus Medical Centre.
Latin American poverty
New York Times, May 26, 2005
A combination of sustained growth and aid programmes that directly target the poorest people could help lift millions out of poverty in Latin America.
Death and despair plague Haitians in one of hemisphere's worst slums, despite UN's presence
Christian Science Monitor, May 25, 2005
Rival gangs in Cité Soleil, a slum in Port-au-Prince, have joined forces against U.N. troops and the number of civilian deaths is rising.
A Balkan question
The Guardian, May 24, 2005
Six years after the NATO war with Serbia, Jonathan Steele returns to Kosovo and finds ethnic divisions as strong as ever.
Afghans left out of their own rebuilding
Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2005
A lot of Afghanistan's reconstruction work is done by international companies, as Afghans still lack the skills to take over.
Bolivia Epitomizes Fight for Natural Resources
New York Times, May 23, 2005
The struggle for control of Bolivia's natural resources is even more polarised than anywhere else in Latin America.(free registration)
High-Profile Help for Africa
Washington Post, May 23, 2005
The real challenge for the star-studded One campaign in the U.S. is to get the government to commit new money to lifting Africa out of poverty.(free registration)
U.N. Forces Using Tougher Tactics to Secure Peace
New York Times, May 23, 2005
The U.N. Security Council's notion of "robust peacekeeping" is most evident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.(free registration)
Rebuilding the Balkans, brick by brick
International Herald Tribune, May 23, 2005
Developing the market economies of the Western Balkans means investing in political stability, says Jean Lemierre, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Preparing for the worst
Baltimore Sun, May 22, 2005
The world needs to get its act together to prepare for bird flu when it strikes.(free registration)
The Emerging Water Wars
Global Politician, May 20, 2005
Sam Vankin argues that water is wasted because it is too heavily subsidised. He says more realistic prices could prevent scarcity, and remove the need for conflict.
An 'Anti-Terror' Tyrant
LA Times, May 20, 2005
The U.S. should only give aid to Uzbekistan if authorities improve political and religious freedoms, this editorial says.
Misspent: A people's good will
International Herald Tribune, May 20, 2005
Attacks against the U.N. and aid agencies in Afghanistan show the extent to which the international community is perceived as linked to U.S. actions.
Election over, Zimbabwe is back to bad old days
International Herald Tribune, May 20, 2005
After a brief spell of well-stocked gas stations and freshly printed money prior to elections, Zimbabwe's economy is slowly grinding to a halt.
The global AIDS fund
The New York Times on International Herald Tribune, May 20, 2005
If Randall Tobias is elected as leader of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, religious conservatives would have a direct channel into the Fund.
Comment: Joint State With Albanians Would be a Disaster
Institute for War & Peace Reporting, May 19, 2005
Ivan Ahel, author of "A Systematic Approach to the Kosovo Problem", explains how holding on to Kosovo would be a burden and a threat to Serbia.
Europe's Next Independent State
Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 2005
Kosovo should be granted independence, but with limitations, argues this newspaper.
Comment: Broad Autonomy Vs Independence
Institute for War & Peace Reporting, May 19, 2005
Any viable solution for Kosovo needs the participation of Serbia, argues the Serbian ambassador to Greece.
A witness's plea to end Myanmar abuse
International Herald Tribune, May 19, 2005
A new report on human rights abuses committed by Myanmar's ruling junta shows that some regions of the country have become "kiling fields".
Dealing with a despot
International Herald Tribune, May 19, 2005
President Bush should be more outspoken against the despotic Uzbek leader Karimov in the wake of anti-government protests.
Africa Can't Be a World Apart
Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 2005
Donor nations should pay the same attention to crises in Africa as they do to the ones that "play well on TV", like the Asian tsunami.
Expelled by Germany, Roma face a bitter Kosovo
International Herald Tribune, May 18, 2005
The U.N. quietly agrees to let Germany deport thousands of Roma refugees back to Kosovo, where they still risk attacks by Kosovo Albanians.
In Divided Darfur, a Shared Will to Fight
Washington Post, May 17, 2005
There are growing fears that fighting in Darfur is becoming one of Africa's interminable conflicts, Washington Post reports.(free registration)
Balance of terror
The Guardian, May 17, 2005
There is a worrying double-standard in the West's geopolitical strategy that allows human rights abusers to be crushed in some countries and to remain unchecked in others, suggests this Guardian editorial.
Afghanistan's new jihad targets poppy production
Christian Science Monitor, May 16, 2005
The second part of this investigation looks at the long and complex international effort to halt the drugs trade. Needed are alternative livelihoods, infrastructure and a viable criminal justice system. A far less complex drugs control program took 30 years in Thailand.
Shepherd to a dying flock
The Mail and Guardian, May 16, 2005
Stefan Hippler, Catholic priest and HIV/AIDS counsellor, warns the church that without swift action it may be making an official confession of guilt 50 years from now. He invites theologians to "visit a woman living with an HIV-positive man and advise her, face-to-face, that she is not allowed to use a condom".
We've got to talk to Mugabe
The Times, May 16, 2005
Zimbabweans are too busy looking for something to eat or leaving the country for popular uprising, so unlike in Ukraine, Georgia or Madagascar, there will be no de-throning of their leader. The only thing that can save Zimbabwe from ruin is a deal with the IMF and this requires the outside world to start talking with Mugabe, writes Richard Dowden.(free registration)
Beyond Darfur
The Washington Post, May 15, 2005
Prioritising peace in south Sudan over atrocities in Darfur brought peace to that region early this year, but did not make Darfur go away. Now Darfur is back in the spotlight but Khartoum's reluctance to arrest LRA leaders sheltering in the south allows a crisis to continue in neighbouring Uganda. The U.S., Europe, Russia and China need a coordinated diplomatic effort if progress across the region is to be made, argues the Washington Post.
The future of Kosovo's past
Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2005
Preserving both Ottoman and Orthodox cultural monuments could be the foundation for lasting peace, according to the director general of the U.N.'s heritage body.
Afghanistan riddled with drug ties
Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2005
"Whatever number of police cars there are in Kabul, I can tell you that more than 50 percent of them are carrying drugs inside from one place to another," says a senior police commander in Kabul.
Seeds of Hope in Africa
Washington Post, May 12, 2005
Britain's Barclays Bank is investing a record $5.5 billion in South Africa, and plans to expand throughout the continent. The Washington Post says it's a vote of confidence in the country's economists and a ray of hope for African nations not yet as stable as South Africa.(free registration)
When war-crimes prosecutions are counterproductive
Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 2005
Tribunals are divisive and a waste of money that would be better spent on reintegrating both "perpetrators" and "victims" into productive civilian life argues this opinion piece.
The untapped might of the Himalayas
International Herald Tribune, May 11, 2005
If South Asian countries got together to harness the hydro-electric potential of Himalayan rivers, it could solve conflicts and poverty.
Tallying Darfur terror: Guesswork with a cause
International Herald Tribune, May 11, 2005
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick accuses advocacy groups of exaggerating the death toll in Darfur to force Washington into action.
You gotta have faith in Africa
Mail and Guardian, May 10, 2005
Religion in Africa is succeeding where the state fails, in health, in education, even in a postal service. Religious goals often coincide with western development aims but there are shortcomings according to some, reports Madeleine Bunting.
Why Togo matters
International Herald Tribune, May 10, 2005
The international community should label Togo's government as illegitimate and "isolate the virus of dictatorship" that threatens other African nations, says Robert LaGamma of the Council for a Community of Democracies.
Colombian villagers want own peace deal
Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2005
Rather than waiting for a national peace deal, villagers in a Colombian hamlet in the Andes are trying to persuade rebels to remove the landmines they sowed during years of conflict.
A tougher UN starts taming Congo
Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2005
Civilian kidnappings are down and disarmament is starting to work thanks to the uncompromising Pakistani contingent of the U.N. forces stationed in Congo.
Charlotte, Grace, Janet and Caroline Come Home
New York Times, May 10, 2005
The New York Times charts the course of four girls' lives after their escape from the ranks of northern Ugandan rebels.(free registration)
Bush and Georgia's faded 'rose'
Christian Science Monitor, May 9, 2005
Irakly Areshidze calls on Washington to put pressure on Georgian President Saakashvili to restore democracy in Georgia.
Nicholas D. Kristof: The pope and AIDS
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, May 9, 2005
The Catholic Church's worst sex scandal is the Vatican's hostility to condoms, which creates new AIDS orphans every day, says New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
India's poverty: Help the poor help themselves
International Herald Tribune, May 9, 2005
Kirsty Hughes looks at four different Indian approaches to tackling poverty.
Philip Bowring: The puzzle of Bangladesh
International Herald Tribune, May 9, 2005
Philip Bowring hails Bangladesh's economic and social progress and singles out areas that still need development.
Charity weaves a new Cambodia
International Herald Tribune, May 7, 2005
A small weaving business in Cambodia could be a model to prove that people don't t need millions of dollars to get on their feet.
Empowering Afghan women
Washington Times, May 5, 2005
Don Ritter and Saad Mohseni criticise 'women-only' initiatives. They argue that integration is better than segregation for empowering women in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
A Better Way to Fight Poverty
New York Times, May 5, 2005
The Kenyan village of Sauri is one of two test villages the U.N. is showcasing to demonstrate how poverty can be ended through programmes that help people directly.(free registration)
Justice for Charles Taylor
Washington Post, May 5, 2005
Nigerian President Obasanjo, who offered asylum to former Liberian president Charles Taylor, needs support from U.S. President Bush to bring Taylor to justice, says the Post.(free registration)
Fighting complacency over AIDS in India
International Herald Tribune, May 5, 2005
Despite acknowledging an AIDS problem, the Indian government has been slow in developing a national strategy to fight the spread of the virus.
Truckers Contribute to the Spread of AIDS
Inter Press Service, May 5, 2005
In Swaziland, truck drivers are accused of being the main cause of infection.
Nicholas D. Kristof: Day 114 of Bush's silence
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, May 4, 2005
Nicholas Kristof of New York Times explains why Bush is backtracking in his actions over Sudan's Darfur.
Sudan's Unbowed, Unbroken Inner Circle
Washington Post, May 3, 2005
The Post charts the course of Sudan's ruling elite's rise to power.(free registration)
Repeating Clinton's Mistakes
Washington Post, May 3, 2005
Bush's inaction over Darfur echoes Clinton's initial passivity to atrocities in Bosnia, says Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch.(free registration)
Reform, engage the U.N.
Christian Science Montitor, May 3, 2005
"By reforming and engaging the U.N., America wins", says Robert Charles, former assistant secretary of state for internatinoal narcotics and law enforcement.
NATO's Toe in the Darfur Crisis
Christian Science Montitor, May 3, 2005
The Monitor argues for a bigger NATO role in solving the Darfur crisis, saying the U.N. cannot do much without a Western role and expanded African troops.
Business has responsibility and opportunity in Africa
Christian Science Montitor, May 2, 2005
"Business has a responsibility to engage with Africa and its challenges", says Reuters chairman Niall Fitzgerald.
Sudan Poses First Big Trial for World Criminal Court
The New York Times, April 29, 2005
Champions of the world court are eager for it to succeed with its first high-profile case, investigating atrocities in Darfur.(free registration)
After 10 years at the helm, a controversial new UNICEF
Christian Science Monitor, April 29, 2005
Carol Bellamy, stepping down as head of UNICEF, has gained fans and critics from her rights-based approach during 10 years in the job.
A Meal and a Chance to Learn
Washington Post, April 28, 2005
The Indian government's initiative to provide free school lunches is getting poorer children back into school. (free registration)
In Ethiopian Hills, Five Years to Create Something Out of Nothing
New York Times, April 27, 2005
The Ethiopian village of Koraro, chosen as a U.N. test case in the fight against poverty, could become a model for other villages all over Africa.(free registration)
Conquering malaria
Washington Times, April 27, 2005
A new antimalarial drug based on the Artemisia plant offers hope of conquering the deadly disease, says Kent Hill of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Rx for the U.N.
Washington Times, April 27, 2005
Bolton is the right choice for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. because "being a gentle soul at the U.N. is a recipe for disaster as America's representative", says a Hoover Institution research fellow.
The Best Man for the U.N.
New York Times, April 27, 2005
The best man for the job of U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is George Bush senior, argues Thomas Friedman, who says the ex-president has the right skills to get the world body to "support, endorse and amplify U.S. power".(free registration)
For a real UN commission on human rights
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, April 27, 2005
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights is a "showpiece of dysfunction" and should be replaced by a smaller Human Rights Council.
Kosovo: Poisoned camps for the Gypsies
International Herald Tribune, April 26, 2005
Displaced Roma in Kosovo are living in a U.N.-built camp where toxic levels are so high that children are likely to die of lead poisoning or suffer brain damage, says the head of mission in Kosovo for the Society for Threatened People.
Mourning for Democracy
Inter Press Service, April 26, 2005
In her latest book, "An Elegy for Democracy - Forget Katmandu", Manjushree Thapa tells us to expect more massacres "with more political activists, students...and ordinary people dying in a war they did not support but could not avoid".
Backsliding in Haiti
Boston Globe, April 25, 2005
The U.N. mandate in Haiti should be extended and the Bush administration should encourage reconciliation of the country's armed factions, says this newspaper.
Indonesia prepares for baby boom
Globe & Mail, April 25, 2005
Aid agencies get ready for a potential rise in births in the tsunami-affected parts of Indonesia.(free registration)
Too scared to sleep and too young to fight
Globe & Mail, April 25, 2005
The scale of death and displacement from the conflict in northern Uganda equals or exceeds that of Sudan's Darfur, but this conflict has never attracted a single resolution from the U.N. Security Council.(free registration)
The 'Chinese tsunami' that threatens to swamp Africa
Independent, April 25, 2005
The exodus of Chinese textile factories from southern Africa following the end of U.S. import quotas for Asian textiles is hurting African economies - so much so that some speak of a "Chinese tsunami".
In Sudan, the Daily Battle to Provide Aid
Washington Post, April 25, 2005
An African nurse working for an international medical charity writes about his stressful but rewarding work with refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.(free registration)
Meanwhile: A fragile success story in 'the pearl of Africa'
New York Times, April 25, 2005
Despite its problems, Ghana's progress shows it's possible to bring Africa back into the global fold, says this editorial.(free registration)
World view - Michela Wrong sees Kenya running off the rails
New Statesman, April 25, 2005
Kenya is showing every sign of running off the rails over "governance" issues, which means corruption, but donor nations can't admit it, says this New Statesman article.
Darfur's Real Death Toll
Washington Post, April 24, 2005
Mortality figures matter, the newspaper says, because international players risk basing their response on underestimates of those killed in Sudan.(free registration)
Blunt but Effective
Washington Post, April 24, 2005
Lawrence Eagleburger, a veteran of the Foreign Service and a former U.S. secretary of state, defends John Bolton's nomination for U.S. ambassador to the U.N.(free registration)
Crosses, crescents and stars
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, April 23, 2005
The newspaper urges the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement to leave politics aside and solve the issue of Israel's membership.
If Kosovo is left in limbo, it will be a victory for Milosevic
The Guardian, April 22, 2005
"...to keep this place in limbo for much longer would be rather risky" says Soren Jessen-Petersen, administrator of the UN mission in Kosovo. Guardian writer Jonathan Steele looks at the possible solutions.
Two paths back from tsunami
Christian Science Monitor, April 21, 2005
Over the coming year, the Christian Science Monitor will chart the course of two families rebuilding their lives and homes in Banda Aceh after the tsunami - one relying on foreign aid and the other going it alone.
In Rural Zimbabwe, AIDS Still Means Death
Washington Post, April 20, 2005
While increased access to antiretroviral drugs makes AIDS a controllable disease for a growing number of people in Africa, HIV/AIDS remains an unavoidable death sentence in Zimbabwe.(free registration)
Aid Appears Like a Mirage in0 a Desert
Inter Press Service, April 19, 2005
The amount of money donors have pledged for Sudan recently is unlikely to be paid up and if it is, it would only create inbalances, says Tim Allen of the Development Studies Institute at the London School of Economics.
Russia must act quickly to check spread of AIDS
Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19, 2005
The Russian government's policies are fuelling an AIDS epidemic instead of keeping it in check, says César Chelala, author of "AIDS: A Modern Epidemic".(free registration)
War crimes - have we learned anything?
BBC, April 19, 2005
There needs to be a consensus about what constitutes a crimes against humanity if the International Criminal Court is to be effective, writes John Simpson, BBC world affairs editor.
Help for children with AIDS
New York Times in International Heralb Tribune, April 19, 2005
The issue of children living with HIV/AIDS should be given more attention, argues this editorial. (free registration)
Where are the antiwar activists on Darfur?
Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 2005
Max Boot of the Council on Foreign Relations says only a large and effective capable expedition can save Darfur.
Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive
New York Times, April 18, 2005
Two different systems representing different notions of justice are being implemented to solve the conflict in Uganda. (free registration)
Allure of the blank slate
The Guardian, April 18, 2005
Reconstruction, whether in post-tsunami Asia or post-war Iraq, is about nothing less than radical social and economic engineering, argues Naomi Klein.
Rowan Williams: A planet on the brink
The Independent, April 17, 2005
Perhaps the time is ripe for a U.N. "Charter of Rights to Natural Capital" before we spiral into brutal and uncontainable conflict, writes the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A Broader View of Aid
The Washington Post, April 15, 2005
Aid money is booming but it can't be used effectively in developing countries that lack skilled administrators, the newspaper says, arguing that the answer is to channel foreign assistance into research programmes in rich or middle-income countries that help the poor in low-income countries. (free registration)
Meeting aid promises
International Herald Tribune, April 15, 2005
Several countries are creeping toward the world's target to spend 0.7 percent of GDP on aid. Perhaps British Prime Minister Tony Blair will succeed in persuading U.S. President George W. Bush to up his spending when the G8 meets in July.
Can Bush and Rice really be turning Washington all warm and fuzzy?
The Times, April 15, 2005
This Times editorial says John Bolton's job as ambassador at the U.N. "will be not to pour scorn on multilateralist approaches to international problems, but, however improbable it may seem, to use his rather special skills to make them work".
In Jeans or Veils, Iraqi Women Are Split on New Political Power
New York Times, April 13, 2005
The constitution of Iraq, expected to be drafted by mid-August, will be one of the main battlegrounds for two women's groups at loggerheads -- those in favour of introducing Islamic Sharia law in the country and the secularists.(free registration)
While dirty money flows, the poor stay poor
International Herald Tribune, April 13, 2005
The amount of 'dirty money' - criminal, corrupt or commercial - flowing from developing to rich countries is much larger that actual foreign aid, say Raymond Baker and Jennifer Nordin of the Center for International Policy.
Questioning Mr. Bolton
New York Times, April 13, 2005
The last thing America needs at the moment is someone like Bolton as its representative at the United Nations, the newspaper says. (free registration)
Billions of Promises to Keep
New York Times, April 13, 2005
Sudan needs resources to keep peace in the south and more African Union soldiers and political pressure to settle the Darfur conflict, says Kofi Annan. (free registration)
The U.N., Preying on the Weak
Washington Post, April 12, 2005
The United Nations is "a vital institution that needs a housecleaning", argues Peter Dennis, who witnessed abuses by staff of the U.N. and NGOs when he was a legal aid worker in refugee camps in Sierra Leone. (free registration)
Lessons from Rwanda
International Herald Tribune, April 12, 2005
There is a tendency to be too abstract in identifying causes and in assigning blame for the total lack of international response to the Rwandan genocide in 1994, says Roméo Dallaire, commander of the U.N. Assistance Mission to Rwanda at the time.
The Bolton hearings
Washington Times, April 12, 2005
This editorial argues that Bolton is the right choice for the role of U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Women get down to business in Aceh
Christian Science Monitor, April 12, 2005
After the tsunami, women in Indonesia are attending classes that will help them open small businesses and get back on their feet.
The West's bitter harvest
The Times, April 11, 2005
Chris Martin, lead singer with UK rock group Coldplay, travels with Oxfam to Ghana to see firsthand how unfair Western trade rules devastate millions of lives in developing countries.
Doing Better by Darfur
Washington Post, April 11, 2005
The U.S. should lead the way in stopping genocide in Sudan's Darfur, an editorial argues. (free registration)
Move the U.N.?
Washington Times, April 10, 2005
Victor Hanson criticises the U.N.'s track record and argues its headquarters should be moved from comfortable Manhattan to one of the world's hotspots.
The Bolton Nomination
Washington Post, April 10, 2005
This editorial weighs the pros and cons of George W. Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and concludes there is no compelling case against the selection. (free registration)
To spur rebuilding, Indonesians struggle to salvage records
Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2005
Post-tsunami reconstruction in Meulaboh and elsewhere in Indonesia has been hampered by severe damage to land ownership records.
AIDS hopes, fears in Botswana
Chicago Tribune, April 8, 2005
Botswana has one of the world's highest HIV/AIDS rates but is the first country to offer free antiretroviral treatment. If it succeeds in keeping more people alive for longer, will the state be able to bear the burden of its own success, asks this editorial.
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Independent, April 8, 2005
Clare Short, former British secretary of state for international development, praises Sachs' book in which he offers solutions to ending world poverty.
In Thailand, a 'land grab'
Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2005
Tsunami survivors that live close to the coast in Thailand battle to keep their land from being snapped up by the developers.
A Fragile Peace in the Desert
Inter Press Service, April 7, 2005
As drought and famine intensify in northern Kenya, ethnic clashes are increasingly common in a region awash with weapons.
Sirens of America's defeat
Independent, April 7, 2005
Some U.S. officials are "tsunami dreamers", argues Michael Sheuer, taking issue with those who cite polls showing increased support for Washington following U.S. relief efforts.
The Pope and Hypocrisy
New York Times, April 7, 2005
Nicholas Kristof argues for more action by the international community in Sudan's Darfur. (free registration)
End This African Horror Story
Washington Post, April 7, 2005
John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group calls for the internatinoal community, the U.S. in particular, to support the peace plan for Uganda, otherwise, military defeat and ICC prosecution may be the only other avenues - albeit longer and bloodier - to end the war. (free registration)
After 21 Years of Fighting, the Nuba Feel Betrayed
Inter Press Service, April 6, 2005
The minority Muslim Nuba people in Sudan that sided with the south Christians in the recent war feel betrayed by the peace deal signed at the beginning of this year.
Mental Health of Aceh Women Survivors Overlooked
Inter Press Service, April 6, 2005
The mentail health of women tsunami survivors in Indonesian Aceh remains precarious.
Africa spurns female circumcision
Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2005
Female circumcision in Senegal is on the way out, thanks to a programme that works with communities on health and human rights issues and changes in social conventions.
Kenyan Village Serves as Test Case in Fight on Poverty
New York Times, April 4, 2005
An innovative project to reduce poverty led by Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute of Columbia University is being tested in a remote village in Kenya. (free registration)
A Khmer Rouge tribunal, now or never
International Herald Tribune , April 2, 2005
James Goldston of the Open Society Justice Initiative argues for the tribunal for Khmer Rouge killings in Cambodia, saying it would mark the beginning of a process of accountability and coming to terms with the past.
Special Report: Is Kosovo Up to Standard?
Institute for War and Peace Reporting , April 1, 2005
Kosovo is unlikely to satisfy the requirements for independence given its political and economic problems, says IWPR.
No more business as usual
Washington Times, April 1, 2005
William Middendorf of the Heritage Foundation argues that Wolfowitz's appointment as head of the World Bank can only bring about positive change in this international agency.(free registration)
Think Again: AIDS
Foreign Policy, March/April, 2005
New York Times' Tina Rosenberg examines seven misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and argues that the world still has a long way to go in arresting the epidemic.(free registration)
Time for UN to embrace reform or accept irrelevance
Christian Science Monitor, March 30, 2005
The U.N. should follow through with reforms recently tabled by an independent panel or "fade into irrelevance", the publication says.
A rising China counters US clout in Africa
Christian Science Monitor, March 30, 2005
China is increasingly present on the African continent - from building roads in Kenya and Rwanda to increasing trade with Uganda and South Africa.
U.S. Obstructs Global Justice
Los Angeles Times, March 29, 2005
Washington's fears of show trials of its soldiers at the International Criminal Court are groundless and the U.S. government should start supporting the court, the newspaper says. (free registration)
An Idea Paul Wolfowitz and Kofi Annan Can Agree On
New York Times, March 29, 2005
Military intervention in the name of human rights is a "recipe for a recapitulation in the 21st century of the horrors of 19th-century colonialism", argues David Rieff in his new book.(free registration)
Don't let US politics affect world's poor through World Bank manipulation
Christian Science Monitor, March 28, 2005
If elected to the helm of the World Bank, Wolfowitz may re-introduce ideological aspect into the debate on market reforms, poverty reduction and development, argues Carol Graham.
Jakarta Tenure Offers Glimpse of Wolfowitz
Washington Post, March 28, 2005
Wolfowitz's tenure as U.S. Ambassador in Indonesia during Suharto's autocratic rule may offer clues as to how Wolfowitz would run the World Bank.(free registration)
A step too small for Sudan
Washington Times, March 27, 2005
The U.N. Security Council's decision to deploy 10,000 peacekeepers in Darfur is welcome but remains an adequate response to the world's worst humanitarian disaster, the newspaper says.
United Nations, heal thyself
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, March 26, 2005
The United Nations cannot be effective if it is constantly being "cold-shouldered" by the U.S., its largest financial contributor and most powerful member, the newspaper says.(free registration)
John Bolton, Terror of Turtle Bay?
Business Week, March 25, 2005
Despite fierce criticisms of his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton may prove to be the right man for pushing the international body's reforms through.
Back to the Balkans
Washington Post, March 24, 2005
The Bush administration and the EU should start working together on the Balkans questions again, formulating a workable plan for Kosovo's independence, lifting Bosnia from its current status of international protectorate and encouraging Serbia to pursue the path of EU integration, the newspaper says.(free registration)
Survivors keep hope for missing
Christian Science Monitor, March 24, 2005
Almost three months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, some 93,000 people in Indonesia are still missing.
Wolfowitz's idealism may serve us well
International Herald Tribune, March 23, 2005
A candidate for the World Bank's presidency like Wolfowitz should be supported since he will undoubtedly have the ear of the president, James Rubin argues.
A Uniquely Savage War
All Africa, March 23, 2005
All Africa's reporter visits camps for internally displaced people in northern Uganda and finds only starvation and disease among 1.6 million uprooted by the government following its failure to defeat the rebels in the north.
Battling Insects, Parasites and Politics
New York Times, March 22, 2005
Aid agencies and donors argue whether mosquito nets should be distributed for free or sold at discounted prices in Africa.(free registration)
A better UN, for a safer world
Economist, March 21, 2005
The Economist mulls over Kofi Annan's proposed U.N. reforms and warns of the possible "futile squabbling" among members.
Polio: Can 2008 Eradication Deadline Be Met?
AllAfrica.com, March 21, 2005
The goal of eradicating polio in Nigeria by 2008 -- and then stamping out the disease in the rest of the world -- requires greater advocacy and mobilisation of community leaders, religious groups and greater deployment of resources to hard-to-reach zones, the website says.
In Zimbabwe, people power fails to ignite
Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2005
In the run up to the elections Zimbabwe. this newspaper questions the lack of people-powered revolution in Zimbabwe.
Easy Ways to Aid Africa
Washington Post, March 21, 2005
The cost of helping Africa is minimal for the rich nations but the obstacle to action is "entrenched lobbies" in the developed nations with their agricultural subsidies and trade barriers.(free registration)
Aid for the poor promised, not given
Miami Herald, March 21, 2005
Help to Africa to adept to climate change should not be called charity or aid, but a compensation for damages being imposed by the rich nations, Jeffrey Sachs argues.
Bush, Blair and Africa
New York Times in International Herald Tribune, March 21, 2005
It is time for Bush to return the favour and stand shoulder to shoulder with Blair on the issue of aid to Africa, the newspaper argues.
Bush's Man at the World Bank
Christian Science Monitor, March 21, 2005
Despite the neoconservative outlook that Wolwofitz is likely to bring to the World Bank, should he get elected, his basic qualifiers "add up to a plus for the bank", this editorial says.
Chechnya's Loss
Washington Post, March 20, 2005
Yo'av Karny ponders over the possible outcomes of the death of the Chechen rebel leader Mashkadov and urges the renunciation of violence - a path that East Timor followed in its struggle for independence.(free registration)
In Darfur, My Camera Was Not Nearly Enough
Washington Post, March 20, 2005
Brian Steidle, who served as a U.S. military observer for the African Union in Sudan, recounts his experience in the conflict-ridden region of Darfur.(free registration)
An Opportunity in Darfur
Washington Post, March 20, 2005
It is now up to the United States and the international community to bite the bullet and organise a peacekeeping force in Darfur, this editorial says.(free registration)
Africa can jump-start its own revival
International Herald Tribune, March 19, 2005
The U.S. should more agressively support African attempts to foster stable African markets and economies in which to invest.
A world built on corrupt foundations
International Herald Tribune, March 19, 2005
The impact of increased development aid to Africa will be undermined and nullified if unaccompanied by stringent anticorruption measures.
Africa to world: We can handle war justice ourselves
Christian Science Monitor, March 18, 2005
The debate on the role of the International Criminal Court in Africa is about how it should balance the Western notions of justice -- all about punishment -- with African traditions that are more conciliatory.
The United Nations under siege
Christian Science Monitor, March 18, 2005
The appointment of unilateralist John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. shows that the Republican Party is not ready to cast aside its historical antagonism toward the international body, says Stephen Schlessinger of the World Policy Institute.
Why Paul Wolfowitz?
New York Times, March 17, 2005
The leader of the World Bank should be someone who lives, eats, drinks and sleeps economic development and poverty reduction, rather than someone like Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination is all about scoring triumphalist points for President Bush, says this editorial.(free registration)
Privatizing Afghanistan
Washington Times, March 17, 2005
Don Ritter and Saad Mohseni outline the long-term negative consequences that NGOs and government-engaged businesses can have on Afghanistan, when the country could be improving its private sector economy instead.
A hawk to ruffle the World Bank's feathers
Economist, March 17, 2005
The Economist speculates that President Bush's appointment of Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton as leaders in the international community may mean he is interested in working in the global arena, rather than merely snubbing Europeans or the rest of the world.
Save nation from sliding into more violence
Miami Herald, March 17, 2005
If illegal groups continue to act without fear of prosecution, Haiti's slide into chaos will become unstoppable, says Crisis Group.(free registration)
The wrong Chechen
International Herald Tribune, March 17, 2005
Genuinely democratic parliamentary elections would be a first step towards building a Chechnya capable of real self-rule, says this editorial.
Asia needs better ways to protect its people
International Herald Tribune, March 16, 2005
The Indian Ocean tsunami shows the need for Asia -- already known for successes in trade liberalisation and interstate security -- to focus on making its citizens' lives more secure by tackling poverty, environmental degradation and disease.
China, the new kid on the charity block
International Herald Tribune, March 16, 2005
China's contibrutions to tsunami response may signal a new realisation of how involvement in international relief can bring benefits.
Impunity is threat to freedom
Chicago Tribune, March 15, 2005
A Liberian human rights lawyer and a former U.N. peackeeping chief in Rwanda argue that bringing Charles Taylor to trial would put an end to his influence in Liberia from his exile in Nigeria and deliver justice to the victims of his regime.
A World Without the UN?
Forbes, March 15, 2005
Mexican former president Ernesto Zedillo believes the U.N. can work for both strong and weak countries, as long as it's reformed and strengthened.
I believe this is Africa's best chance for a generation ...
The Guardian, March 12, 2005
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he believes the Commission for Africa's blueprint for recovery on the continent is deliverable and it's up to the developed world and Africa itself to make this possible.
... only if we stay in the market
The Guardian, March 12, 2005
Yao Graham examines the Commision for Africa's report and questions its "biggest policy condition of all" - the monoculture of a single development model rooted in neoliberal economics.
Now let the Chechens select their leaders
International Herald Tribune, March 12, 2005
If Moscow fullfils its promise of parliamentary elections in Chechnya, the West should show its support through engagement and pressure on Russia to live up to its commitments in the region, the newspaper says.
Kosovo: A stern test of maturity
International Herald Tribune, March 12, 2005
Only the international community can resolve Kosovo's untenable status quo, says John Norris, special adviser to the president of International Crisis Group.
Time to end US cotton subsidies
Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 2005
A WTO ruling against U.S. subsidies for its cotton industry is an opportunity for poor countries to push for "trade not aid" development policies.
Let the war crimes tribunal do its work
International Herald Tribune, March 9, 2005
Western Balkan states may be growing tired of the International Criminal Tirbunal for former Yugoslavia, but it would be a mistake to downgrade its importance, says Borut Grgic.
Kosovo's New Chance
New York Times, March 9, 2005
The resignation of Kosovo's prime minister shows the province deserves independence, argues this editorial.(free registration)
Timber trouble in Aceh
Christian Science Monitor, March 9, 2005
Environmentalists are warning that post-tsunami rebuilding efforts threaten to accelerate the destruction of Indonesia's rainforests.
Foreign aid sabotages reform
International Herald Tribune , March 8, 2005
Foreign aid only exacerbates government corruption and incomepetence and create disincentives to fiscal reform, argues African journalist Andrew Mwenda.
South African radio program ambushes cheating lovers
Christian Science Monitor, March 8, 2005
A South African radio show contributes to 'partner reduction', an important tool in fighting HIV/AIDS.
US 'could end world poverty by 2025'
The Guardian, March 7, 2005
In his book 'The End of Poverty', Jeffrey Sachs argues that the U.S. is barely participating in global efforts to end poverty and protect environment.
AIDS drugs threatened
International Herlad Tribune, March 7, 2005
The Indian Parliament is fighting to hold on to the country's right to provide generic life-saving medicines, such as antiretrovirals to combat HIV, which could help millions of people at home and abroad.
Crime of Crimes
Washington Post, March 6, 2005
Squabbling over the labelling of Darfur attrocities should not be used as an excuse for the international community not to act.(free registration)
UN Paradox in Darfur and Congo
Christian Science Monitor, March 4, 2005
The editorial notes the U.N.'s military boldness in Congo and relative inaction in Sudan, arguing that Africa needs consistency when it comes to tackling mass slaughter.
When peacekeepers behave badly
Washington Times, March 3, 2005
If the U.N. fails to improve its control over peacekeeping operations, already dogged by sexual abuse allegations, the United States should withhold precious funds to the international body, the newspaper says.
Africa, climate change, and the G-8 summit
Daily Times, March 3, 2005
Places from Tigre in Ethiopia to Darfur in Sudan need development strategies to fight hunger and drought more than they need peacekeepers, says Jeffrey Sachs.
Waiting on Kosovo
International Herald Tribune, March 3, 2005
Crucial decisions are in the pipeline on the status of Kosovo but the newspaper argues that the province is not yet ready for independence.
Changing men's attitudes to reduce AIDS in Africa
Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 2005
Non-governmental organisation EngenderHealth battles AIDS in Africa by conducting workshops for men to help them change their behaviour and attitudes towards sex and relationships.
The American Witness
New York Times, March 2, 2005
U.S. President George W. Bush and his European, Arab and African counterparts are to blame for inaction in Darfur, but so is the American public with its passivity towards Darfur's genocide, argues Nicholas Kristof.(free registration)
A swift recovery obscures the tsunami's lessons
International Herald Tribune, March 1, 2005
Has the tsunami taught Asia how to offset disasters or will prosperity give the region a false sense of security when bird flu and inevitable natural disasters still loom large?
U.N. Is Transforming Itself, but Into What Is Unclear
New York Times, February 28, 2005
The view that the United Nations should focus on helping individual states and assisting local powers rather than trying to be above its member states is one of many on the future of the global body.(free registration)
At the bar of world opinion
Mail & Guardian, South Africa 28 February 2005
U.S. opposition to an international criminal court could deny Darfur's victims any practical chance of justice.
West Africa Wins Again, With Twist
New York Times, February 27, 2005
Pressure for Togo's Faure Gnassingbe to step down after his coup came from Africa rather than the West, but action in Africa by Africa faces stiffer tests. (free registration)
A year after Aristide ouster, Haiti is remarkably unchanged
Christian Science Monitor, February 28, 2005
With no legitimate government and a rogue security force, even the perennially unaffected Carnival is muted as Haiti awaits international pledges of assistance that have so far failed to materialise.
Thousands died in Africa yesterday
New York Times on International Herald Tribune, February 28, 2005
If the United States is concerned about security threats, it should pay more attention to Africa's needs, argues this NYT editorial.
Focus on Africa: Why we quit Darfur
Third Sector, February 23, 2005
Save the Children UK Director Mike Aaronson explains the organisation's decision to withdraw from Darfur and calls for lessons to be learned from this "depressive collective failure of the international system."
In Afghanistan, comedians joke their way to civic renewal
Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2005
Comedy is gaining legitimacy as a healer in post-conflict Afghanistan, successfully delivering educational messages such as the dangers of opium or the benefits of voting.
Tiny Togo tests Africa's commitment to democracy
Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2005
The response of African leaders to recent events in Togo may show a new willingness to deal with antidemocratic action on the continent - an attitude necessary to secure the world's future economic and political support.
Concern in Africa over private doctors giving AIDS drugs
Christian Science Monitor, February 21, 2005
HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries may be at risk due to incorrect prescriptions by private doctors.
AIDS and Custom Leave African Families Nothing
New York Times, February 19, 2005
Malawi's inheritance traditions lets relatives cash in on AIDS.(free registration)
Hollow on Darfur
Washington Post, February 18, 2005
The editors argue that the best way to strengthen the African Union's mandate in Darfur is to supply NATO assistance.(free registration)
Ethnic Chinese key to Aceh fix-up
Christian Science Monitor, February 18, 2005
Ethnic Chinese own 60 percent of shops in Banda Aceh but many have fled the city. The speed of recovery will largely depend on their return.
Horror movies
The Guardian, February 18, 2005
Michela Wrong wonders what the new films about the Rwandan genocide can teach us about the horrific events of 1994.
Africa's 'Huge Blot'
Washington Post, February 17, 2005
Development aid for Africa is more likely to flow if the continent is ready to address its shortcomings, the newspaper argues in an editorial, urging Nigeria and South Africa to act tough with Zimbabwe just as they have with Togo.(free registration)
MSF's tough succour
Prospect, February 2005
David Rieff, the author of "A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis", argues that by admitting it did not need more funds for its tsunami appeal, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was questioning the oversimplified humanitarian fundraising machine.
Truth Aid
Prospect, February 2005
Sebastian Mallaby traces the growth of disaster relief profession and its image that prompts people to donate money for disasters.
Stop appeasing Putin in Chechnya
International Heral Tribune, February 16, 2005
Akhmed Zakayev, special envoy to Aslan Maskhadov, the separatist leader and former president of Chechenya, critices Bush's hands-off policy on Chechnya and his appeasement of Putin can only breed more terror rather than increase security.
Nepal--Nursing the Pinion
Foreign Policy in Focus, February 15, 2005
Despite criticising recent developments in Nepal, the United States, India and Great Britain have intervened for their own foreign policy interests rather than out of concern for the Nepalese people, this article argues.
Condi, don't forget Nepal and Togo
The Boston Globe, February 15, 2005
United States is urged to do more than issue "deadpan outrage and travel warnings" when it comes to Togo and Nepal, even if they are not of immediate interest.
The U.N.'s Broken Vow: Member nations must prosecute abuses
Dallas Morning News, February 15 2005
Why isn't the public outraged by the crimes committed by U.N. peacekeepers on duty in the world's trouble spots?(free registration)
Harnessing the power of the multinationals
International Heral Tribune, February 14, 2005
The positive influence of big global companies shouldn't be ignored in the fight against world poverty, says Paul Lewis.
If not in Darfur, then where?
The Guardian, February 13, 2005
Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook says it's time for Blair to call in some favours owed him by Bush.
A losing strategy on war crimes
International Herald Tribune, February 12, 2005
Wrangling over where and how to try Darfur's killers is straightjacketing the U.S. and U.N. response to the crisis, Stephanie Giry argues.
For Congo's Mothers, Unceasing Loss
Washington Post, February 12, 2005
Congo's child mortality rates are among the world's worst. Read mothers' own accounts of losing their children due to the idirect consequences of war such as malnutrition and disease.(free registration)
The court of first resort
New York Times, February 12, 2005
Samantha Power slams the United States for refusing to endorse the International Criminal Court as an appropriate place to try Darfur war crimes.(free registration)
Calm before the Chechen storm?
Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2005
Does a surprise ceasefire ordered by two Chechen rebel commanders offer hope of real peace?
Bosnia moves to help families of the missing
Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2005
A new law in Bosnia dealing with missing persons and benefits for their families may become a model for hotspots such as Iraq, Kosovo and tsunami-affected countries.
Seven deadly trends in Darfur
Washington Times, February 10, 2005
Don Cheadle, an Oscar nominatee for his performance in "Hotel Rwanda", and John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group outline current trends in Darfur and say the time has come to "set aside the carrots and bring out the sticks".
Think Again: U.S. Foreign Aid
Foreign Policy, February 10, 2005
Steven Radelet addresses questions about the United States and its foreign aid policy and practice.(free registration)
Jeito to the Rescue
AlterNet, February 10, 2005
A landmark condom programme slows HIV infections in rural Mozambique.
