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Weekly anb03151.txt #8
ANB-BIA - Av. Charles Woeste 184 - 1090 Bruxelles - Belg
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 15-03-2001 PART #1/8
* Africa. Media Watch - Women across the globe celebrated International
Women's Day on 8 March -- a day designed to draw attention to their
achievements but also to highlight the discrimination and difficulties they
face. This week's Africa Media Watch looks at how women are faring there.
According to Kenya's Daily Nation, much more work needs to be done in
matters relating to women in the continent. It said that of the 41 million
African children not in school, 56% are girls. Women are therefore denied
access to professions such as medicine, engineering and law. "Poor
health... and environmental degradation affects more women than men. And,
though they are the primary producers of agricultural commodities, they
benefit the least. It is one of the tragic ironies of human life, that
although women rarely start wars, they and their children suffer most in
times of conflict." In Zambia, President Frederick Chiluba came under fire
from the head of the National Women's Lobby Group for paying only "lip
service" to the promotion of gender equality, the Zambia Post reported.
Chipo Lungu said only two women held cabinet office compared to 22 men,
adding that fair political competition could exist between the sexes only
when the playing field was levelled. However, a Zambian official pointed
the finger at society itself for failing to value the importance of women.
"Parents would rather marry off their daughters than send them to school
because they still feel that it is a waste of money," said acting permanent
secretary for gender Edwidge Mutale. The reigning Miss Gambia, Astou Njie,
agreed that the best thing a parent could do for the community was to
educate its female children. "If parents give priority to the education of
the girl-child, our society will develop faster," she said, according to
the Daily Observer. At a ceremony to mark International Women's Day in
Tanzania, Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume admitted that there had
been mistakes. "Education for women has been neglected...especially in
rural areas, where most women live," he said. The office of South African
President Thabo Mbeki declared on 8 March that the country had carved a
"structured place in society for women... to break out of what has been a
form of permanent slavery to men" and recalled that it was one of the few
countries which had enshrined non- sexism in the constitution. But earlier
in the week Security Minister Steve Tshwete was forced to deny his comments
that most criminals in the country were female, the Business Day
reported. (BBC News, 9 March 2001)
* Africa. ECOWAS-EU sign agreement - The Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS ) and the European Union have signed a 1.95 million
Euros financing agreement on the West African statistical development
programme, ECOSTAT , paving the way for the take-off of the project later
in the year, an ECOWAS statement said. ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lansana
Kouyate and Veli Ollkainen, head of the European Union Commission in
Nigeria signed the agreement in Abuja, headquarters of the 15-nation West
African economic bloc. The statement said the money, which comes from the
European Development Fund was meant to facilitate the economic and monetary
integration process among ECOWAS member states and to strengthen
cooperation between the two organisations. Specifically, it will assist in
the formulation of a strategy on statistical development and provide a
common statistical framework for the surveillance mechanism in the sub-
region. On take-off, ECOSTAT will commence a survey on national statistics
systems, prepare and harmonise framework of national accounts as well as
the production of a consumer price index, collection and dissemination of
external trade statistics. (PANA, Senegal, 11 March 2001)
* Africa. Action against the Media - Burkina Faso: 35 African newspapers,
members of the "Press and Democracy" network, appeal (on 9 March) for an
end to impunity in Burkina Faso. Ethiopia: On 8 March, The Committee for
the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) call on the authorities in Ethiopia to
free all Ethiopian journalists in detention. On 8 March, journalist Tilahun
Bekele, editor of the defunct Amharic-language weekly Fetash is charged
with criminal defamation. The Gambia: According to a report issued by the
International Press Institute on 9 March, there are fundamental flaws in
the National Media Commission Bill, 1999, that need to be immediately
addressed. Uganda: Three editors of the independent daily The Monitor were
acquitted of sedition charges on 6 March. The trio had been on trial for
nearly two years on charges of sedition and publishing a false report in
their paper in May 1999. Zimbabwe: On 12 March, the Minister of State for
Information and Publicity said that journalists in Zimbabwe would be
required to produce professional qualifications before being issued with
press cards under proposed accreditation regulations. (ANB-BIA, Brussels,
13 March 2001)
* Afrique/Europe. Echanges commerciaux - L'Union européenne vient
d'adopter une loi novatrice sur les échanges commerciaux qui prévoit la
suppression des quotas et des taxes sur tous les produits en provenance des
pays les plus pauvres du monde, les armes exceptées. Selon une déclaration
publiée le 14 mars à Lusaka (Zambie), le conseil des ministres de l'UE a
accepté le plan aux termes duquel l'UE doit totalement ouvrir son marché
aux pays les plus pauvres de la planète. "Un signe prouvant que nous avons
la ferme intention de partager les retombées de la libéralisation du
commerce avec les plus démunis", a indiqué Pascal Lamy, commissaire
européen au commerce. D'après la déclaration, la suppression des droits de
douanes et des quotas sur pratiquement tous les produits, a pris effet
depuis le 5 mars dernier. Toutefois, la libéralisation totale du sucre, du
riz et de la banane se fera par étapes progressives pendant une période de
transition. (PANA, Sénégal, 14 mars 2001)
* Africa. Cheaper drugs for Africa - One of the world's biggest drugs
companies yesterday relaxed its patent over two Aids drugs, allowing
manufacturers in South Africa to produce cheaper copies for local use,
after protests from the scientific community. Pressure from students at
Yale University helped persuade the New York company Bristol-Myers Squibb
to make the biggest concession yet by the pharmaceuticals industry to
widening the availability of medicines in Africa. It is to relax its patent
protection over the Aids drugs Zerit and Videx. Its decision follows a
series of protests about the high price of the treatments from students and
scientists at Yale, where d4T, the key chemical compound within Zerit, was
invented. A pressure group at Yale demanding the availability of cheaper
drugs has been backed by Professor William Prusoff, the semi-retired
scientist who pioneered research on d4T. A Yale spokesman said yesterday
the university was still examining Bristol-Myers Squibb's announcement and
would make a statement as soon as possible. (The Guardian, UK, 15 March 2001)
* Algeria. 58 suspected militants killed - Algerian soldiers killed 58
suspected Islamic militants during an ongoing crackdown on armed groups
that have waged a bloody nine-year insurgency, the media reported on 10
March. The North African nation's army killed 50 suspected insurgents who
had been hiding out in the scrub near Setif, 300 kilometers east of
Algiers, Le Jeune Independant newspaper reported. Security forces had
circled the hideout for more than two weeks before deploying 500 soldiers
to launch the attack on 7 March, the daily said. In another military
operation, soldiers killed eight suspected insurgents on 8 March in El
Adjiba, about 120 kilometers east of Algiers, El Watan newspaper reported.
In other violence during the past several days, militants killed two
soldiers, two civilians and a religious leader, newspapers reported.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika tried to restore peace in Algeria by
offering amnesty to rebels who had not committed murder, bombings or rape
and who turned in their arms by a January 2000 deadline. Bouteflika
promised a "fight without mercy" for insurgents who refused the offer, and
the army has been combing the country for militants. Despite Bouteflika's
peace efforts, new rebel attacks are reported almost daily. (CNN, 10
March 2001)
* Algeria. OPEC president says production cuts possible - Algerian Energy
Minister Chakib Khelil, who holds the presidency of OPEC, said this weekend
that the organization was still studying production cuts ahead of an
upcoming meeting. Speaking on 10 March on the sidelines of a conference in
Algiers, Khelil said two OPEC committees were evaluating whether to cut
production for a second time this year when the group meets on 16 March in
Vienna. New cuts have been widely expected. "We cannot rule out that OPEC
could decide to reduce production based on the conclusions of the
surveillance committee and the organization's economic commission," Khelil
said. The Algerian energy minister did not specify a figure for possible
production cuts. Representatives of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries are meeting to coordinate a strategy for an expected drop in oil
demand as winter demand ebbs in many consumer countries. "We know that
world demand for oil traditionally drops during the second trimester, and
the two committees are currently studying the impact of economic growth in
certain countries, notably in the United States, to draw the necessary
conclusions," he said. Khelil said OPEC's continuing objective was to hold
prices steady at about $25 a barrel. (CNN, 11 March 2001)
* Algérie. Baisse de la natalité - En quinze ans, de 1984 à 1999, le taux
de natalité en Algérie a baissé de près d'un tiers, selon les statistiques
du ministère algérien de la Santé rendues publiques la semaine dernière. Le
taux de natalité atteignait 50 naissances pour 1.000 habitants dans les
années 70, puis a baissé pour atteindre 40 pour 1.000 en 1985, et 20 pour
1.000 en 1999. Pour la prochaine décennie, le ministère prévoit une
réduction de l'ordre de 50% des naissances. Parmi les explications à cette
régression, au-delà de la contraception, figurent la dureté de la vie, la
récession économique, la crise du logement et de l'emploi, ainsi que le
terrorisme des dix dernières années. (AP, 12 mars 2001)
* Algérie. Regain de violences - L'armée a tué près d'une centaine
d'islamistes armés, a annoncé la presse algérienne. Selon Le Jeune
Indépendant, des soldats auraient tué de 50 à 70 rebelles près de Sétif
(300 km à l'est d'Alger). L'armée encerclait leur cachette depuis des
semaines et est passée à l'offensive le mercredi 7 mars. Le 10 mars,
l'armée a encore abattu une dizaine d'extrémistes à Djebel Wastili (430 km
à l'est d'Alger). Huit autres ont été tués à El Adjiba (également à l'est
d'Alger). D'autre part, les groupes armés ont aussi repris leurs attaques,
tuant 38 personnes en trois jours. Dans la nuit du 12 au 13 mars, 25
personnes ont été tuées lors de massacres à Tipaza, El-Affroun et Médéa.
Notons encore que la recrudescence de la violence dans la région de Médéa,
à 70 km au sud d'Alger, a contraint les moines trappistes de Tibhirine à
différer leur retour au monastère. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mars
2001)
* Benin. President faces runoff - President Mathieu Kerekou fell short of
a first-round victory in his re-election bid in the West African nation of
Benin, official results showed Monday. Kerekou received 47% of the vote in
the first- round election on March 4, to 28% for Nicephore Soglo, Benin's
constitutional court said. Kerekou would have needed 51 percent support to
win the election outright. The outcome means a runoff with longtime rival
Soglo, the only other person to have held the presidency in the 10-year-old
democracy. No date has been announced for the runoff, although it is
expected to be held next week (18 March). Kerekou, Benin's Cold-War era
Marxist dictator, and Soglo, a former World Bank administrator, have traded
Benin's top post since the country's first presidential election in 1991.
Kerekou lost that vote to Soglo, making for West Africa's first peaceful
and democratic transfer of power. But Kerekou later defeated Soglo in his
1996 re-election bid. (AP, 12 March 2001)
Weekly, ANB0315.txt - End of part 1/8