Africa

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that more than a million children below the age of five in the Sahel are facing a disaster amid the ongoing food crisis in the drought-prone region of Africa.

YouTube launched Kony 2012 video made Kingsley Sheteh Newuh do a rethink. In the end, not in the way anyone might assume – as an African moved by what he saw. Yes, he did react like the millions of others who were so moved by the story that they immediately shared it to their friends and followers. He shared it on twitter and within a few moments it was retweeted.

After escaping Ethiopia, Oromia refugees were subjected to further human rights violations including being hunted by armed groups. Within the last two days, Somaliland Authorities destroyed belongings of refugees and asylum seekers outside of the Social Welfare Center in Hargeisa. They used bulldozers to clear the surrounding with armed men inside the Social Welfare Center.

NAIROBI – Huge mirrors in space, petrifying carbon dioxide, algae farms, and lots of white paint – these are some of the ideas being proposed to offset global warming amid fears that temperatures might rise by more than two degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

On 19 March last year, the UN Security Council decided to intervene militarily in Libya to protect unarmed, civilian citizens. The military intervention, which lasted more than seven months, consisted of continuos air surveillance, raids, reported ground actions and arms provision to the “insurgents” as part of such “protection” to the population of the oil-rich country.

Tullow Oil plc announced that it has completed the farm-down of two thirds of its Ugandan licences to China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) Limited and French oil major Total for $2.9 billion earlier today. The news that British firm Tullow has finally brought in partners to develop its oil fields in Uganda paves the way for commercial oil production to begin in the country.

In an activity bringing a different viewpoint to bear on common situations of violence, CHERIF V. Abou, a Togolese member of The Community, is holding workshops through his region. His aim and the aim of the organisation is wider participation among the local schools. Without such endeavours young people just follow the usual system, thinking there is no other way.

An estimated 10 million people or more are struggling to get enough to eat across the Sahel region, including 5.4 million in Niger alone, representing over one third of its total population. More than a million children under the age of five risk severe acute malnutrition in the region, up from 300,000 last year.

Food shortages have worsened, with the number of South Sudanese without enough to eat rising from 3.3 million last year to 4.7 million currently, according to a new UN [report.](http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/high-levels-food-insecurity-south-sudan) This figure represents more than 50% of the recently independent oil-rich country, estimated in less than 9 million.

Journalist Pepe Naranjo writes from Dakar the the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, has acknowledged for some time that he is not legally able to run for a third term of office. Now, he has changed tack and the outstanding issue is that having changed his ‘opinion’ he is going for it and the population sees its democracy endangered.