Weekly anb11141.txt #7



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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 14-11-2002      PART #1/7

* Afrique. UA: lutte contre le terrorisme - La Convention sur la prévention et lutte contre le terrorisme, adoptée en juillet 1999 par l'Union africaine, entrera officiellement en vigueur le 6 décembre. Elle interdit aux Etats membres de fournir "tout soutien aux terroristes, y compris sous la forme de délivrance de visas". Quinze Etats africains ont déjà signé la Convention. (La Croix, France, 8 novembre 2002)

* Africa. Doha trade deal unravelling - 10 November: One year after a new round of world trade talks began, there has been little progress in their central objective of shaping trade to help the world's poor. Instead, the rich countries have been arguing among themselves about who is to blame for the failure to make progress on agricultural reform. Next week, 25 key countries will gather in Sydney, Australia to review progress towards the free trade goals, while thousands of protesters are expected to demonstrate outside the meeting. It will be a key test of whether the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can meet its deadlines to liberalise trade in agriculture and provide cheaper medicines for developing countries. Meanwhile the US and the EU are involved in an acrimonious battle over steel tariffs, with the US using the "anti-dumping" clause to block imports of cheap steel from abroad. Agriculture is crucial to developing countries, yet in the past year the United States has increased subsidies to its farmers, while the EU has still to agree plans to reform its bloated system of agricultural subsidies known as CAP. The new trade round, called the Doha Development Agenda, was agreed after arduous negotiations on 9-13 November 2001 in Qatar. It was supposed to lead to further reductions in trade barriers for agriculture, services, and textile imports, as well as ensuring that trade agreements did not damage the environment. But Stuart Harbinson, the chair of the meeting and Hong Kong's trade ambassador, who now chairs the agricultural negotiations, said: "I think it's difficult to envisage a substantive outcome to the Doha Development Agenda as a whole without a significant result on agriculture because of the importance of trade in agriculture to so many countries." The agriculture negotiations are stalled, with the United States the only major country to have tabled a proposal to open markets for developing country produce. (BBC News, UK, 10 November 2002)

* Africa. Action against the Media - Sudan: On 11 November, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) condemned the arrest by state security officials of Sidiahmed Khalifa, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Al-Watan, and his son, Adil Sidahmed Khalifa, a journalist from the same newspaper. Togo: RSF has protested against the arrest on 5 November of Siliadin Kodjo, managing editor if the weekly La Tribune du Peuple. He has been accused of publishing an article, one month earlier, that denounced the suppression of an opposition demonstration by security forces. -- On 8 November, the Writers in Prison Committee expressed their deep concern over the continued imprisonment of Claude Améganvi, editor of the journal Nwayo, currently serving a four-month sentence. Zambia: On 8 November, Zambia's Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services told Parliament he was deferring the presentation of the government's media bills until later this month. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 November 2002)

* Africa. Bleak outlook for education - A new United Nations report has painted a grim picture of education in many countries, saying much more sustained investment is needed to help millions of children. The report by UNESCO published on 13 November says 57 countries are unlikely to meet internationally agreed targets for providing adequate education for all children by the year 2015. "Some Central and East European nations have even been moving backwards," the report says. Most of the countries listed are in Africa - countries plagued by conflicts and the cost of fighting HIV/AIDS. The report says an extra $5.6bn will be needed annually to achieve the universal primary education and gender parity goals set by the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. The report says total bilateral aid to education - which accounts for 70% of all such financial support - fell by 16% between 1990 and 2001. Some 35 million extra teachers are needed throughout the world -- three million for sub-Saharan Africa alone, the report says. The report says 28 countries - accounting for 26% of the world's population -- might not meet any of the three measurable goals set at the Dakar forum: universal primary education, gender equality and the halving of illiteracy rates. A total of 78 countries -- including Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan -- will not be able to halve their rate of illiteracy by 2015 unless a much greater effort is made, Unesco says. The report says 83 countries are on track to deliver by 2015 the Education For All target set in Dakar. (BBC News, UK, 13 November 2002)

* Afrique. Commerce de l'ivoire réautorisé - Le 12 novembre à Santiago du Chili, la Convention sur le commerce international des espèces de faune et de flore sauvage menacées d'extinction (Cites) a autorisé trois pays africains (Afrique du Sud, Botswana et Namibie) à vendre leurs stocks d'ivoire sur le marché international. Cette décision a provoqué la désapprobation des associations de protection de la nature et d'autres pays, comme l'Inde et le Kenya, qui craignent une relance du commerce et donc du braconnage. Les ventes d'ivoire ont été interdites en 1989, afin de mettre un terme aux massacres d'éléphants qui menaçaient l'espèce. Les pays qui ont obtenu l'autorisation affirment que les 60 tonnes d'ivoire mises en vente proviennent d'animaux morts naturellement et qu'ils doivent aujourd'hui faire face à une surpopulation des pachydermes. L'accord de vente doit être approuvé, le 15 novembre, par l'assemblée plénière du Cites. (Le Monde, France, 14 novembre 2002)

* Afrique australe. Aide européenne - Lors d'une réunion à Maputo (Mozambique) qui se déroule actuellement, l'Union européenne et les quatorze membres de la Communauté de développement de l'Afrique australe (SADC) ont trouvé un accord sur l'octroi d'aides de la valeur de 101 millions d'euros. Les aides européennes seront destinées à des secteurs cruciaux tels que l'intégration économique et commerciale, les transports, la communication et la lutte contre le sida. L'accord aura une durée de cinq ans. (Misna, Italie, 7 novembre 2002)

* Afrique australe. Nouvelle stratégie britannique - Le 12 novembre à Pretoria, le Département pour le développement international (DFID) du Royaume-Uni a lancé sa nouvelle stratégie de développement pour l'Afrique australe. Le DFID dépensera un total de 45 millions de livres sterling par an pour financer la nouvelle stratégie en Afrique du Sud, au Botswana, au Lesotho, en Namibie et au Swaziland, ainsi que des projets régionaux dans le cadre de la SADC. Le DFID continuera à appuyer l'offre de services d'éducation, de santé et d'approvisionnement en eau pour les zones les plus pauvres, mais dans le futur, la priorité sera accordée à la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA, à la promotion de l'emploi et de la croissance, ainsi qu'à des questions régionales telles que les conflits, le commerce et la sécurité alimentaire. En outre, le DFID a offert 81 millions de livres pour des secours d'urgence. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 novembre 2002)

* Afrique de l'Ouest. Campagne anti-polio - Le 12 novembre, l'Unicef a annoncé le lancement d'une campagne destinée à immuniser contre la polio quelque 60 millions d'enfants de 16 pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. La campagne vise les enfants de moins de cinq ans. Des campagnes de vaccination analogues menées les deux dernières années ont permis de ramener le nombre des pays africains touchés par ce fléau de 20 en 1999 à trois cette année. L'Unicef attribue le succès de cette campagne à son partenariat avec le plus important fabriquant de vaccin anti-polio, Adventis Pasteur, qui a offert la semaine dernière 30 millions de doses de vaccin. (Centre nouvelles Onu, 12 novembre 2002)

* Horn of Africa. US Marines for Horn of Africa - On 7 November, Defense officials said that the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney -- to be used as a floating headquarters off the coast of Djibouti -- will leave its Norfolk, Virginia, homeport with a contingent of Marines who will coordinate future military operations in the region. "This is... focused on looking for al Qaeda, looking for terrorist cells and dealing with them expeditiously, and directly," said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones. The Americans will join a multinational force of thousands already in Africa -- including some who have been trying to catch terrorists there since al Qaeda began fleeing Afghanistan a year ago. Several months ago 700 to 800 Americans were deployed to a French military base in Djibouti for what defense officials would describe only as "training and contingencies." Countries and waterways in and around the Horn of Africa have long been teeming with terrorist activity -- al Qaeda and others hide, pass through, train, organize, ship weapons, plot and launch attacks there, US intelligence and defense officials say. Defense officials have been unwilling or unable to name all the countries or the numbers of terrorists they believe may be there. Officials no longer assert there are terrorist training camps in Somalia, as feared after the September 11 attacks on the United States. But the region is still regarded as a potential haven for terrorists with its porous borders, as well as harsh terrain and lack of resources that make it difficult for even willing governments to tackle a terrorist problem. CNN, USA, 7 November 2002)

* Afrique/USA. Subventions à l'exportation - Les Etats-Unis envisageraient d'éliminer les subventions à l'exportation aux produits agricoles à la suite des plaintes formulées par les pays africains qui parlent de concurrence déloyale sur le marché international. S'exprimant le 13 novembre à Accra, le secrétaire américain au Commerce, M. Donald Evans, a affirmé que les Etats-Unis ont déjà initié un programme hardi pour préparer la voie à l'élimination des subventions aux produits d'exportation. Il a fait savoir que ce programme, qui devrait être en place pour cinq ans, cherche également à réduire les tarifs douaniers élevés appliqués aux importations américaines en provenance du continent africain. (PANA, Sénégal, 13 novembre 2002)

* Algérie. L'autodéfense des villages - Le 10 novembre, le ministre algérien de l'Intérieur, Norredine Yazid Zerhouni, a reconnu que les familles habitant des villages isolés devaient prendre en charge leur propre défense contre les attaques des groupes armés islamistes. "L'Etat a mis au service de la lutte antiterroriste tous ses moyens. Pour les zones qui sont difficilement accessibles, il appartient aux populations qui y habitent d'organiser leur autodéfense", a déclaré le ministre sur les ondes de la station francophone de la radio algérienne. M. Zerhouni a toutefois estimé que les groupes armés "ont définitivement perdu; ils n'ont plus d'autre choix que celui de se rendre aux forces de sécurité ou de se suicider". Les propos de M. Zerhouni interviennent à la suite d'une série de massacres perpétrés ces dernières semaines par des groupes armés dans la région de Chlef (un département à 250 km à l'ouest d'Alger) réputée pour être un des fiefs du GIA (Groupe islamiste armé). (AP, 10 novembre 2002)

* Angola. Angolans celebrate peace dividend - 12 November: Youth groups and women's organisations paraded past President Jose Eduardo dos Santos at Angola's Independence Day celebrations on 11 November. It was the first time that this celebration has been held in peace time, since the country gained independence from Portugal 27 years ago and the messages over the PA system are about peace and reconciliation. In his address to the nation, the president said that this year, 11 November was not only a celebration of independence, but of a new era of history which was brought about by peace. He even suggested that the Angolan people should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- something that is unheard of, since the prize is only awarded to individuals. It is probably true to say that President dos Santos would not object to collecting the peace prize himself. At the celebrations, one of the T-shirt slogans was "Dos Santos -- architect of peace", and the whole occasion looked more like a rally of the ruling MPLA party than anything else. (BBC News, UK, 12 November 2002)

* Angola. Gunmen seize, kill 17 on north Angola road - Angolan police are searching for gunmen who bound and killed 17 travellers on a highway in northern Angola, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on 13 November. Police found the bodies of the victims, most of them refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, on a road near the city of Malange, about 400 kilometres east of the capital Luanda. The incident was the most deadly reported in Angola since an April ceasefire halted the 27-year civil war in the oil-producing southwest African nation. Alberto Joaquim, a survivor, said that a group of armed men stopped a truck carrying passengers on the highway near Malange on 11 November. (CNN, USA, 13 November 2002)

Weekly News - anb1114.txt - #1/7