"How multinational drug companies took liberties with African lives"

The true story of how multinational drug companies took liberties with African lives
The pharmaceutical industry is bracing itself for criticism when the film 'The Constant Gardener' opens next month. But Jeremy Laurance reports that away from the Hollywood script is a true story of how multinational drug companies took liberties with African lives with devastating consequences.

Vast oil and gas opportunities in Africa
THERE are vast oil and gas investment opportunities in Africa’s major producing countries, most especially Nigeria, but also Algeria, Angola and Libya, it emerged at the eighteenth World Petroleum Congress (WPC) today.

Media blackout on Darfur
Fewer villages in Darfur are left to be destroyed,butthe killing — and the use of rape as a weapon by the Sudan government’s Janjaweed and soldiers — continues. As U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the BBC on July 3: "We have learned nothing from Rwanda," an atrocity which we were told would never happen again.

Pan-African oil corporation expected to be set up
Africa's energy ministers are considering to establish a pan-African oil company to ensure the continent's resources are exploited to the benefit of African people, the South African energy minister said here Sunday.

Ethiopian police arrest 43 opposition members
Ethiopian police have arrested 43 opposition supporters for allegedly plotting violent subversion ahead of a weekend demonstration called to protest disputed May elections, the official Ethiopian News Agency reported on Monday.

Debt Victory for Some But Billions Left Out
Christian Aid is relieved the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have ratified the decision taken by the G8 leaders in Gleneagles to cancel the unfair debts of 18 of the world's poorest countries. However, it warns that five billion of the world's poor are still mired in debt.

'Intelligent Design' Trial Begins Today
In the beginning, members of the Dover Area School District board wrangled over what should be required in their high school biology curriculum. Some were adamant that science teachers should stick with the widely taught theory of evolution and random selection. Others said the teaching of "intelligent design" should also be required, arguing that certain elements of life, like cell structure, are best explained by an intelligent cause.

Haiti must hold legitimate elections to rejoin Caricom
Haiti is not likely to be welcomed back into the 15-nation Caribbean Community unless the country holds free and fair elections later this year, the bloc's secretary general said yesterday.

Sudan and UN Security Council
The situation was so bad three non-governmental organizations have withdrawn their aid workers, the mission said. There were only the barest of details on the most recent developments.

Police in Ghana gets tough on crime
A team of Police Officers drawn from the National Headquarters, CID Headquarters, Accra and Tema Regions has been put together to deal with armed robberies within the Accra-Tema Metropolis and other parts of the country.

Army reopens Nigeria oil stations
The Chevron oil company has reopened two oil stations in Nigeria's Niger Delta region under army protection. They were closed last week after attempts by a local militia group to sabotage oil facilities. The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force had issued the threats in protest at the detention on Tuesday of their leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari.

Rwanda accuses states of harbouring suspects
Rwanda on Monday accused unnamed states of harbouring suspects in the country's 1994 genocide and called for international pressure on those nations to hand over indictees to a UN-backed tribunal.

Israel strikes Gaza City, Khan Yunus

Iran rejects UN atomic resolution as 'illogical'

Lessons From a Fallen Empire

'You Can't Wash Your Hands When They're Covered in Blood'

Iran Criticizes Threat of U.N. Action

Ice Age babies set to rewrite history books

Newsview: in Two Storms, Two Worlds Seen

Recruitment of Katrina victims in Astrodome
"Doling out food to the hungry crowds overflowing Houston’s Astrodome, the National Guard has engaged in ad hoc recruiting in recent days... the U.S. military is conducting a Job Fair in the Astrodome in a blatant effort to exploit the despair of masses of Americans evacuated from the Gulf Coast. Once signed up, even if purportedly to reconstruct their region, they could easily find themselves deployed to Iraq..."