"Death of a democracy"

Death of a democracy
Gangs of killers roam freely, rape is systematic and the poor eat mud to survive. In Port-au-Prince, Andrew Buncombe finds a people crushed by the dark hand of US foreign policy

S.Africa leads on GMO, other African states wary
South Africa is striding ahead with genetically modified maize and cotton but many other African countries shun GMO crops, fearful of environmental damage and reduced exports to Europe.

Thousands in Central Africa welcome former ruler
Thousands of people turned out blowing whistles and honking horns to welcome a former military ruler of Central African Republic, who returned from exile on Sunday to contest presidential elections next month. Since independence from France in 1960, the diamond-rich landlocked country which is slightly larger than the Iberian peninsula, has endured long periods of brutal dictatorship and was rocked by a series of army mutinies in the 1990s.

Unfair Trade Practices Causes Economic Loss - Vice Prez
Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama has indicated that unfair trade practices, such as highly restrictive quotes and high-priced tariffs against African products on the international markets are the major causes of low economic gains in the African Sub-region.

Deadly Stampede Mars African Film Festival
A deadly stampede has marred the start of the African Fespaco biennial film festival in Burkina Faso. Two young girls died in the melee, and 17 people were injured, several seriously.

Thousands died in Africa yesterday
When a once-in-a-century natural disaster swept away the lives of more than 100,000 poor Asians last December, the developed world opened its hearts and its checkbooks. Yet when it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of poor men, women and children die needlessly each year from preventable diseases, or unnatural disasters like civil wars, much of the developed world seems to have a heart of stone.

Uganda to hold vote on party ban
The Ugandan government has announced the new political roadmap ahead of elections early next year.

Congo ambush kills nine UN troops
Nine United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh have been killed in an ambush in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says. The attack happened on Friday morning in the north-eastern Ituri region, where 4,800 peacekeepers are deployed.