A killing spree in Arizona: 6 confirmed dead, and 12 seriously wounded are now in surgery fighting for their lives, according to CNN.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D), representing Arizona in the US Congress was shot in the head at 10.00 today saturday (US-Arizona time). She was in a meeting with her constituents in what the Americans call market-meeting.

Many other people were also shot, among them a child and judge. It is reported they are all undergoing surgery.

The White House say the Congresswoman is gravely injured. It is now a wait and see situation hoping she survives the assassination attempt. President Obama has directed investigators to act quickly and solve the mystery surrounding the shooting.

America has seen shootings before, even the killing of presidents and every time someone is killed, people talk about changing gun laws. The shooting today is not likely to change the laws because Americans are crazy to own a gun and some even have more than five.

It will, however, send a clear signal on security to President Obama who likes holding town meetings. Other leaders will also have to look into security around them if they do not want to meet the same fate as Congresswoman Giffords.

Police report that the gunman is in custody and the handgun has been recovered. The suspect has been identified as Jared Lee Loughner 22 years old. Police believe he did not act alone. People, including a Dr. Steven Rayle who witnessed the shooting grabbed him and held him down until the police arrived at the scene.

By Chief editor Korir, African Press International.

By Terence Sesay, Liberia, 6th.january

Monrovia (Liberia)-The Liberian government has expressed fears that the delay in the delivery of food aid to over 24,000 Ivorian refugees could spark off tension in the host communities.

Media reports Thursday quoting the Development Superintendent of Nimba County, Mr. Cooper Mykers say the situation is serious, adding that whatever little stores of food the Liberian communities had after last year’s the harvest have run out.

“The severe food shortage has forced some refugees, amidst fear of reprisals, to return to the Ivory Coast rather go hungry,” the report said.

He said government wants urgent intervention by international partners, including donors and other organizations that are following developments in the Ivory Coast.

The reports quote UNHCR as saying that at least seven trucks will soon be leaving Monrovia for the border, five of them containing food for the hungry refugees. Recently, UNHCR distributed a supply of energy biscuits.

But bad roads and bridges could further delay the delivery of food. “If nothing is done and done now, the area could be more insecure because food is a major problem. We have raised the concern, but WFP says it has its own bureaucratic problem that has in some way caused the delays”.

He said relief agencies have already done some interventions in sanitation and health by building latrines and hand pumps and giving first aid treatment

End.

SWAZILAND: Thembi, “Even the children, they call a person with AIDS a `rotten potato’”

Photo: Kristy Siegfried/PlusNews

“I am worried that I messed up my treatment”

SIPOFANENI, 5 January 2011 (PlusNews) – Thembi (last name withheld) is a 33-year-old HIV-positive mother of three who has lived in rural poverty all her life. She lives alone with her children amid the low green hills of Swaziland’s central Manzini region, while her husband is away working in South Africa.

“I am worried that I messed up my treatment. I have missed clinic appointments. Sometimes when this happens I run out of medications. I started ARVs almost two years ago, but it is off and on. I am alone most of the time with my three small children. I have no money for bus fare and the clinic is too far to walk. Also I am very tired most days. If I could follow my treatment better maybe I would have more energy, but I do the best I can.

“The children have to be looked after. The neighbour’s two-year-old girl drowned in a bucket of water. She fell in head first. It was only five minutes, but when her mother returned she was dead. Something like that scares me more than missing my medications.

“I have not told my husband I am HIV positive. I got it from him, so I know he must have HIV but he hasn’t tested. They tested me when I was pregnant with my youngest. She is now two years old. I am silent because he chased away his first wife when he learned she was HIV-positive. I am [his] second wife. The first [wife] fell ill and when she told him she was HIV [-positive] he sent her to her parents’ homestead. He blamed her. He did not test because maybe he was scared but I tested, because of her.

“No one knows I have HIV but the clinic… No one must know I have HIV. They can blame me and chase me away. Even the children, they call a person with AIDS a `rotten potato’. People shun you. People die of AIDS and no one will say this is the reason because then some relatives will refuse you to be buried in the family graveyard.

“When I go to the clinic I take my children. I tell my in-laws we are going for their check-ups. I hide my ARVs where no one will find them. I feel very alone doing this. But I don’t want to die. I love my children so much. I love my husband even though he can be ignorant and cruel. But he is better off with me in his life than with me dead.

“We have nothing, no electricity, and the water comes from far away. I like to sing. We sing and pray together as a family. My children like to hear me sing. They have their favourite songs they ask me to sing. I will stay alive so I can sing for them a long time.”

jh/kn/cb

source http://www.irinnews.org

Network Amplifies Groundbreaking Satellite Sentinel Project, Calls on Young People to Show that the “World is Watching”

New York, NY – January 7, 2011 – MTV and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, are teaming up with George Clooney and the Satellite Sentinel Project– along with Not on Our Watch, the Enough Project, Google, the United Nations UNITAR Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and Trellon, LLC — by calling on young people to help deter violence in Sudan, and send a loud message: “the world is watching.”

On January 9, 2011, southern Sudan began a week-long vote on independence from the rest of the country and analystshave warned that this could plunge the country back into civil war.  Starting yesterday january 7, MTV and mtvU will promote the Satellite Sentinel Project across an array of on-air and online properties, encouraging young people to become peace monitors, inform their friends of the latest happenings in Sudan and be prepared to mobilize support should violence emerge.  Specific calls to action can be found at Sudan.mtvU.com.

“Satellite Sentinel Project welcomes MTV and its viewers — who have been standing up for years to end human rights crimes in Darfur and southern Sudan — to our early warning system team,” said George Clooney, who initiated the project. “Frankly, our team of policy wonks and super nerds could use an injection of MTV style.”

In order to generate rapid responses to human rights concerns, the Satellite Sentinel Project combines satellite imagery analysis, field reports and crowd-sourced map data from Google Map Maker to prevent violence, and focuses world attention on Sudan.  The project uses commercial satellites passing over the border of northern and southern Sudan to capture possible threats to civilians, observe the movement of displaced people, detect bombed and razed villages, or note other evidence of pending mass violence.To become part of the open-source, early warning system for Sudan, young people can follow the Satellite Sentinel Project on Twitter @SudanSentinel. By doing this, they’ll get the latest updates and action alerts, and be ready to help put pressure on public officials to respond, if necessary.

“We know the Millennial generation is fearless, and that they strongly believe in their power to affect change,” said Stephen Friedman, General Manager of MTV.  “We’re proud to act as a megaphone for the Satellite Sentinel Project’s efforts, amplifying their message to young people so they can join forces with the world to help maintain peace in Sudan during this potentially volatile moment in history.”

Through mtvU, MTV has a history of partnering with its audience to generate awareness and take action on issues affecting Sudan.  In 2006, as part of mtvU’s Sudan campaign to empower college students with tools to fight genocide in Darfur, the network launched “Darfur is Dying.”  In this narrative-based simulation, the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her refugee camp.   To date, the game has beenplayed more than 3.9 million times by over 2 million players, and led to over 50,000 actions taken, including emailing the president, petitioning local representatives for legislation supporting Darfur, and learning how to start a divestment movement on campus.

The Satellite Sentinel Project marks the first sustained, public effort to systematically monitor and report on potential hotspots and threats to security along a border, in near real-time (within 24-36 hours), with the aim of heading off humanitarian disaster and human rights crimes before they occur. The Satellite Sentinel Project is available at http://www.satsentinel.org. The project’s funder, Not On Our Watch — co-founded by Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman, and Jerry Weintraub — focuses global attention and resources toward putting an end to mass atrocities around the world.

MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand.   With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people.  MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile.  MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is the leading destination for music, news and pop culture.  MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

MtvU Broadcasts to more than 750 college campuses and via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches nearly 9 million U.S. college students – making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S., as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on campus. mtvU programs music videos from emerging artists that can’t be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change. mtvU is always on campus, with hundreds of events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more.

END.

Jonathan Hutson, New York, NY – January 7, 2011

IRAQ: New government plans to tackle population displacements

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

A displaced family in a camp erected in an orchard in Diyala province, about 90 km east of Baghdad (file photo)

BAGHDAD, 5 January 2011 (IRIN) – Iraq’s new government plans to tackle internal displacement and closely monitor and assist Iraqi refugees abroad, the country’s newly appointed migration and displacement minister said on 3 January.

“The Ministry has a strategic plan to tackle some of the sensitive issues related to displaced people,” Minister Dendar Najman Al-Doski said. One of the top priorities is “to work to end internal displacement as much as we can… and to cooperate with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international bodies to follow up with [Iraqi] refugees abroad,” he said.

Al-Doski said the plan was to encourage internally displaced persons (IDPs) to go back to their areas of origin, stay in the areas they have ended up in, or help them move to a new area.

He said his Ministry would “soon” open representative offices in Syria and Lebanon to assist refugees there, and would also be monitoring the situation closely in Jordan and Egypt.

“We need such representative offices now to collect information about the refugees and strengthen our bonds with them so that we can meet their needs, facilitate and expedite their return to the country and reintegrate them,” he said.

On 19 December, Iraq’s new government was sworn in after nearly eight months of political wrangling in the wake of elections which produced no clear winner.

Azhar Al-Mousawi, deputy minister for migration and displacement, said the improved political and security environment would be a major catalyst in ending internal displacement.

“I believe the atmosphere is better now in most of the country,” Al-Mousawi told IRIN. “The sectarian strife has ended now and political parties have started to work closely and cooperate”, although he acknowledged the security situation was still fragile in Ninevah, Kirkuk and Diyala.
The 2003 US-led invasion and the sectarian violence following the 2006 bombing of a Shia shrine triggered the current wave of migration.

As of the end December 2010, there were just under one million registered IDPs, Al-Mousawi said, though the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Refugees International and the Brookings Institution say there are 1.5 million IDPs in Iraq.

sm/at/cb

source http://www.irinnews.org

COTE D’IVOIRE: Chaos blocks yellow fever vaccination drive

Photo: Koffi Samuel/IRIN

Residents of Odienné, northwestern Côte d’Ivoire, receiving yellow fever vaccination amid an outbreak in 2009

DAKAR, 5 January 2011 (IRIN) – Unrest following Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election is blocking a nationwide vaccination drive against yellow fever, a fatal mosquito-borne disease that is affecting people throughout the country.

In the past month 11 people have died in the centre-north departments of Séguéla, Katiola, and Béoumi; two cases of yellow fever have been confirmed and there are a further 21 suspected cases in those departments and in nearby Mankono, according to local health workers and the World Health Organization (WHO). Health officials are still investigating the suspected cases, some of which could be dengue, WHO said.

A yellow fever immunization drive initially planned for the end of November as part of a worldwide WHO and UN Children’s Fund initiative has been postponed twice due to the current political situation.

Rivals Alassane Ouattara and incumbent Laurent Gbagbo claim the presidency and have formed governments. There have been violent clashes, particularly in the west; in the commercial capital Abidjan pro-Gbagbo youth have attacked UN personnel and vehicles. The UN says it recognizes Ouattara as president.

“[The vaccination drive] was set again for 10-15 January but now again it looks like that won’t be possible due to the insecurity,” John Mulangu, WHO-Africa emergency and humanitarian action adviser, told IRIN.

Nationwide campaigns imply that UN and local health workers go to communities in teams over a period of days, but WHO workers said this was currently not feasible. Another problem is that many district health directors who travelled to Abidjan to vote have not made it back to their posts because of insecurity on the roads and severely limited bus services.

Yellow fever has no cure; it causes severe illness and kills about half of its victims, mostly due to lack of treatment for symptoms like dehydration. WHO says the single most important preventive measure is vaccination.

WHO and local health officials told IRIN people were being vaccinated on a small scale, but said it was critical to cover the entire country.

Coulibaly Seydou, Séguéla health district director, said health workers were able to vaccinate people in some affected villages there on 26-28 December.

“But given that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes, it spreads easily; it doesn’t stop at a village or district boundary,” Coulibaly told IRIN.

“It is important that the vaccination campaign be conducted in all targeted regions of the entire country,” WHO’s Mulangu said. “If we do not do this we might see a spread of the disease with high morbidity and high mortality.”

np/aa/cb

source http://www.irinnews.org