NAIROBI, October 2012 (IRIN) – The number of flood-affected people in Chad has risen to 700,000, up from 445,000 in September, according to humanitarian agencies, which also report the loss or damage of 255,720 hectares of cropland, 94,211 houses and 1,015 schools. Some 70,000 people have been displaced by the flooding, one of several challenges to the country’s humanitarian situation. The areas worst affected by the floods include the regions of Moyen Chari, Tanjile, the two Logones, the two Mayo Kebbis and Salamat, according to a 15 October update by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). At least 16 of the... Continue Reading
By Elias Mhegera – Once again African countries have been counseled to revival railway systems which currently seem to be neglected in many countries due to a number of reasons. The call was part of the conclusions that were drawn in a two days seminar of African Logistics Conference that was conducted at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam recently. An expert conference was organized by the National Institute of Transport (NIT), in collaboration with the Kuhne Stiftung drawing engineers, transporters, drivers and other stakeholders. The moderator of the occasion Mr Giliard Ngewe, Head of Business Administration at the... Continue Reading
ZANZIBAR CITY, October 2012 (IRIN) – The Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar has experienced three anti-government protests so far this year; the latest, in mid-October, saw one police officer killed, roads blocked and shops closed across the capital, Zanzibar City. The group behind the demonstrations, Uamsho (the Association for Islamic Mobilization and Propagation), has plastered messages across the capital agitating for the archipelago’s independence. One such message, “if the coat doesn’t fit, take it off”, refers to disbanding the United Republic of Tanzania, which was born out of the 1964 union of Zanzibar and the mainland area of Tanganyika. The most... Continue Reading
LONDON, 22 October 2012 (IRIN) – Enter the dignified portals of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine this week, and the first thing you will see is a gold-plated turd, resting on a scarlet silk cushion. It is labelled “The Golden Poo”, and is actually a Japanese good luck charm (a word play on the similarity between the words for “luck” and “poo” in Japanese.) It is the most eye-catching exhibit in a Sanitation and Hygiene Exhibition on display at the London School until the end of next month. The director of the School’s Hygiene Centre, Valerie Curtis,... Continue Reading
By Nyasha Chingono – Bulawayo based outfit Family Voices has broken new ground by invading into a seemingly conquered music territory as it has almost become norm for the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church gospel ensembles to dominate acapella music in Zimbabwe. Inspired by Shower Power one of the oldest acapella groups from SDA, Family Voices is out to prove that they have learnt the art from their predecessors and can scale greater heights. “For us nothing is impossible.We know that acapella music in Zimbabwe has been an SDA domain for many years,but we are here to present acapella in... Continue Reading
