IDEX Newsflash Week of March 30, 2009

Senegal
Tense elections build-up ends calmly - IRIN – 23 Mar 09
Local elections took place in Senegal on the 22nd under widespread calm according to the country’s national electoral commission.

South Africa
Women Farm-workers Threaten Election Boycott - IPS – 28 Mar 09
Women from South Africa’s three Cape provinces have marched to parliament in Cape Town to denounce the country’s “slow and unbalanced” land redistribution programme.

Will Scaling Up Pre-Positioned Food Aid Save Time and Money?
- allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
USAID is setting up several food aid warehouses around the world this year in an effort to respond more quickly to hunger crises. While other food-aid agencies may follow suit, some experts have raised concerns about its long-term viability.

Zimbabwe
IMF Hails Fiscal Reforms - allAfrica.com – 28 Mar 09
An IMF official stated that Zimbabwe has taken steps towards re-integration in the international financial system and potentially new loans for reconstruction. The country has recently received U.S $18.7 million from the World Band and Denmark to refurbish water and sewage treatment plants.

Tsvangirai Vows to Crush Land Grabbing - allAfrica.com – 28 Mar 09
PM Tsvangirai has ordered police to arrest people spearheading the new wave of farm invasions. Tsvangirai said on Friday that the invasions were impacting negatively on agricultural production and the economy in general.

MPs Press for Affordable Passports - allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
Outrage over high passport, birth, and death certificate fees has spilled into Parliament with MPs demanding reductions to make them affordable to all citizens.

Declining Food Prices Force Inflation Down - allAfrica.com – 26 Mar 09
Official figures showed a decline in month-to-month inflation for the first time since July 2006.

Turning Waste into Fertilizer - allAfrica.com – 27 Mar 09
Two NGOs teamed up with local residents in several Zimbabwe communities earlier this year and started up sustainable waste management programs. The program includes backyard composting and small-scale gardening.

Africa
Requests for Asylum Rise 82 percent, Says UN Body - allAfrica.com – 26 Mar 09
A UNHCR report said the number of people seeking asylum rose last year for the second year in a row, partly due to a significant increase in applications by people originating from Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka.

Mining-Africa: Help Yourself, There’s Plenty - IPS – 27 Mar 09
Article talks about issues highlighted in a newly published report entitled “Breaking the Curse: How Transparent Taxation and Fair Taxes can Turn Africa’s Mineral Wealth into Development”.

Guatemala
Guatemala’s President Colom suspends official trip to address security crisis - Guatemala Times – 25 Mar 09
President Colom suspended his trip to a SICA meeting in Nicaragua after the latest killings of several bus drivers. Soldiers are reportedly patrolling the streets of Guatemala City and National police check points have been set up throughout the city as well.

Guatemalans haunted by violence
- Prensa Latina – 30 Mar 09

Mexico
Mexico abstentions may plague polls - Prensa Latina – 30 Mar 09
CESOP forecasts predict abstentionism may exceed 70 percent in mid-term elections.

Mexico Unemployment at Record High
- Prensa Latina – 25 Mar 09
Unemployment numbers for February reached a record rate of 5.30 percent of the economically active population, according to the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI).

Nepal
Long-term IDPs still living in poverty - IRIN – 13 Mar 09
Thousands of internally displaced persons, estimated to be between 50,000- 70,000, inhabit crowded slums in Katmandu and other cities.

Ethnic identity crisis gathers momentum
- IRIN – 20 Mar 09
At least two major ethnic groups in the southeastern Terai region bordering India have joined strikes and protests in recent weeks against their classification in the new draft constitution as Madhesi, Nepal’s dominant ethnic group.

Bangladesh
Fears for social stability as migrant workers return - IRIN – 26 Mar 09
Layoffs and forced repatriation of Bangladeshi workers from the Middle East and Malaysia are increasing at an alarming rate because of the global financial crisis.

India
On a 50-km march to create awareness on water pollution - newKerala.com – 30 Mar 09
Environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal will be leading a march to bring more awareness to communities about the importance of safeguarding their water resources. The march will be divided into two phases; first phase, April 1-6 covering Punjab and the second phase to cover Rajasthan.

Labels:

Share/Save/Bookmark

Comments

Post a Comment