"US & UK Owe Africa $Trillions"

Calling the Debt Relief Bluff
Speaking on the sidelines of a major U.N. summit Thursday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that the much-touted debt relief deal negotiated at the July G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland is in serious danger of being scuttled.

Why black kids fail at school
A HARDHITTING new education report has lifted the lid on a culture of racism in schools which holds black pupils back.

US & UK Owe Africa $Trillions
Bush knows that there are many American companies dealing in Africa's natural resources like Gold, Diamonds and Oil all over the continent. These companies will continue to pressure any US government to pursue a loose US policy to the continent in which chaos and wars reign to give them room for exploitation. This is why, instead of the US increasing aid and forgiving debts, Bush is pressing for the war elsewhere. For many people, Africa is full of wars, diseases and famine. But for American companies, the continent is a basket of wealth where they come and get cheap source of minerals like oil, gold, and diamond among others.

SA 'disqualified' as mediator
An Ivorian opposition leader said on Friday that South Africa's role as mediator in its long-running dispute with the government was "discredited" and it had "disqualified" itself.

Global warming could end Sahara droughts, says study
Global warming could significantly increase rainfall in Saharan Africa within a few decades, potentially ending the severe droughts that have devastated the region, a new study suggests.

New round of Darfur peace talks held in Abuja
Negotiators for Sudan's government and for two Darfur rebel movements launched a new round of peace talks in Nigeria on Thursday, but there were worries that disunity among rebels could hinder progress.

Rush to industrialise is eroding quality of life
Kenya's campaign to become a newly industrialised nation by 2020 has had a negative impact on its human development. The UN Human Development Report 2005 released recently shows that although the industrialisation drive has created opportunities for improving the living conditions of Kenyans, it has led to rapid urbanisation and a crumbling of the infrastructure.

African mediators optimistic of settlement of Darfur crisis
As the sixth round of African Union-sponsored talks toward resolving Sudan’s Darfur crisis gets underway in Abuja, the AU mediators are optimistic that this could be the final round, an official said here Friday.

Mbeki slams tepid response to UN reform
South African President Thabo Mbeki has blasted the failure of United Nations member countries to agree to a comprehensive package of reforms. He dismissed their attempts as a "miserable performance".

'A Miserable Performance,' Mbeki Scolds UN Summit
The United Nations World Summit 2005, originally billed as a review of progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the world body in 2000, saw a discontented South African President Thabo Mbeki, who described poverty-fighting efforts towards those goals as "half-hearted, timid and tepid."

Rich nations slow on debt relief -Rwandan leader
The international community has not moved quickly enough to provide debt relief to impoverished African nations and others in the developing world, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on Friday.
Kagame, who was in Atlanta to receive the Andrew Young Medal for Capitalism and Social Progress, said removing the debt burden was not enough to spur economic growth in developing nations.

France bans flights by Cameroon Airlines

March Toward MDGs Leaving Millions Behind
An African diplomat recounts a quote attributed to a former head of state who once remarked: "We fought a war against poverty -- and poverty won."

Violence Continues in Darfur Region After Peace Talks Open in Nigeria
The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today said violence against civilians in western Sudan's Darfur region continues, despite the opening of the sixth round of peace talks between representatives of the Government of Sudan and those of Darfur's rebels in Nigeria's capital.

Chávez Issues Challenge for a More Democratic U.N.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez criticised the United Nations General Assembly, the North and the United States, and denounced the U.N. World Summit's outcome document as "unlawful".

Hypocrisy in U.S. anti-terrorism laws
A few weeks ago, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on U.S. agents (albeit CIA personnel) to "take out" the democratically-elected President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela's Quiet Housing Revolution: Urban Land Reform

Hugo Chavez: United States a terrorist state

Chavez Takes Bush to Task Over Iraq War

Mexican volcano blasts ash, gas into sky

U.S. Military in Paraguay Prepares To "Spread Democracy"

A Reality Check on Bush's Speech to the UN World Summit

No Understanding of the Poor or Racism

Bush becomes Katrina mourner-in-chief

Race, Katrina and the Media