A younger man has won the presidential elections in Senegal, sending the former president into oblivion.

According to Kenya’s Daily Nation “Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dakar early Monday after Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade admitted defeat in his bid for a third term, scotching fears he would try to hang on to power. With early results from Sunday’s second-round run-off giving his rival Macky Sall a commanding lead, Wade chose to phone Sall to congratulate him the same evening rather than wait for the definitive results.”

The problem in Africa is that old leaders want to sit in power until they die instead of retiring honourably and handing over power.

Wade had managed to change the constitution to allow him to get a third term, but the people had other plans for him – to send him to retirement. He may now have to answer questions because when he refused to step down earlier, people died during demonstrations to get him to understand that he had to go. The new administration may want to ask him to take responsibility for the deaths of innocent people. It is believed that the courts are waiting for him.

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Kim’s son, according to President Obama, is young and has no experience. The American president doubts his ability to lead the country.

Many join the president in his thinking. The young leader is actually not the one running the affairs of the country, he is just a figure-head and those pulling the strings are the military leaders.

It is therefore dangerous if he is misled by the military men to give orders to attack the South Korean people.

The North is soon testing their nuclear weapons, and this is a scare to the Southern neighbour.

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MYANMAR: UN convoy reaches Kachin displaced

Photo: United Nations

 

YANGON,  – A UN convoy of urgently needed humanitarian assistance has reached conflict-affected areas of Myanmar’s northern Kachin State. 
 
“This is a major step forward and follows sustained advocacy on the part of the UN with both the government and Kachin Independence Organization [KIO],” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam told IRIN in Yangon.
 
The convoy (four trucks and two UN vehicles) arrived in the KIO-controlled township of Sadang from the government-controlled town of Myitkyina on 24 March.

Food assistance for more than 1,000 people for one month is being provided, along with a variety of non-food items ahead of the upcoming monsoon season in May.
 
This is the second time the Burmese government has allowed the UN to access KIO-controlled areas since the armed conflict between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army broke out June. The last convoy allowed into the area was in December.
 
“We now need to make these convoys a regular occurrence,” Nigam said.
 
Thousands displaced
 
According to UN estimates, more than 60,000 people have been displaced by the conflict, including 20,000 in government-controlled areas and up to 40,000 in KIO-controlled areas; the vast majority are in camps. 

Several thousand others are believed to be in China staying with host families.

Following the government’s request for support, in September 2011 the UN, with the support of international and local NGOs, undertook an inter-agency assessment of nearly 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in five government-controlled townships in Kachin State.  

Major needs identified included emergency supplies, water and sanitation, food, medical assistance and education materials. At the time, there were about 20,000 IDPs in Kachin State and the northern part of Shan State, but by December their numbers had grown to over 55,000.
 
The UN and international agencies have had regular access to IDPs in government-controlled areas, but not in KIO-controlled areas, leaving the latter largely dependent on charity groups and local authorities. 

Aid agencies do not see a speedy solution: 60,000 people in Kachin and Shan could need sustained humanitarian assistance for at least a year. 

Food insecurity is also likely to prevail until at least the end of 2013, since many IDPs left their farms and lost their harvests, and longer term assistance will be needed to rebuild lives in their areas of origin.
 
“We hope this access to people in need will be sustainable and we will be able to continue to provide assistance to those in need, regardless of where they are,” said Hans ten Feld, country representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Myanmar.  

ds/cb
source www.irinnews.org

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CONGO: Thousands still homeless after munitions blast

Photo: Laudes Martial Mbon/IRIN

Last respects: Relatives of the dead at a memorial service

BRAZZAVILLE,  – Around 14,000 people are homeless in Congo’s capital, Brazzaville, two weeks after munitions in an army barracks exploded killing 223 people, wounding 2,500 and destroying large parts of the city.

“It was like nothing I had seen since I was born,” said Irène Ithos, 44, who is staying with relatives with her four-month-old baby, while her two adolescent children live in the open.

“The explosions caused more damage than all the civil wars the country has experience in the 1990s,” she said.

“I do not know if there is a future for my children. They no longer have a house, they no longer go to school,” added Ithos.

The displaced, mostly women and children, are seeking refuge in six sites scattered across the city: a covered market, four churches and a stadium.

A lack of adequate tents at the sites is a problem. “Most of the people here are sleeping outside,” Martin Bouity, who is in charge of the Sacred Heart Cathedral site, told IRIN. “When it rains, we open the church, which unfortunately cannot hold all of them.”

At least 6,500 people are seeking shelter at the cathedral which has about 20 tents that were set up by the French military.
 
Health fears

At the site, as in others, children are defecating in the open, raising fears of disease outbreaks; latrines are under construction.

At least 2, 500 children at the sites have been vaccinated against measles; some cases of malnutrition have also been recorded.

Supplying and providing access to potable water, hygiene, sanitation and treatment to the displaced is a priority, according to Yann Diplo, head of the Médecins Sans frontières (MSF) mission in Congo.
 

Blasts in Brazzaville

View slideshow

The government is also appealing for more assistance in the form of building materials, blankets, clothes and food. “We are calling on the Congolese people to show their solidarity with their brothers and sisters who have been affected by the explosions,” said Emilienne Raoul, the social affairs minister.

At present, the displaced are relying on food and non-food assistance provided by aid agencies, but this is inadequate. “We certainly are eating, but it is not like being in our homes,” Raoul Monguète, one of the displaced, told IRIN. “Sometimes we make do with one meal a day which is served early in the evening. Sometimes we eat late in the night.”

“We can do nothing [about it]. It’s a disaster, it’s an accident.”

Each affected family is set to receive a three million CFA francs (US$6,000) subsistence allowance as well as a compensation payment.

Education disrupted

Learning has also been interrupted for some 20,000 students.  

At the Lycée de la Révolution, 500 metres from the Mpila barracks where the explosions took place, some 5,000 students have been affected, among them at least 1,400 who were preparing to sit their leaving exams. The students have since been transferred to the Edouard Nganga College downtown to enable them to prepare for the examination, but challenges remain.

“It will be difficult to prepare… for the exams. We have lost our houses and all that we need,” said Chinella Galoy, 19.
 
To facilitate the movement of the students, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Rosalie Kama announced that each will be entitled to a 10,000 CFA franc ($20) monthly transport allowance. But the students say this is not enough. “It’s very little…10,000 FCFA will cover fares for 10 days at the most,” said Brunela Ngala Ondaye, 18.

Classroom construction is also under way for others out of school. “We are struggling to build classrooms with planks and iron sheets in the other schools which were spared during the explosions. This will allow the students to complete their school year,” said Kama. The government plans to extend learning for the affected students by a month after schools break up in June.
 
The displaced could be away from home for a long time with the area of Mpila still littered with dangerous munitions.

The Congolese armed forces, as well as UN and NGO demining experts, are helping to decontaminate an area within a 1km radius of the blast, with fencing erected to prevent public access.

According to Charles Frisby, a UN demining expert, at least 1,500kg of munitions have been collected so far. The European Union has urged the Congolese government to consider relocating all munitions depots away from residential areas.

lmm/aw/cb
source www.irinnews.org
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“I condemn the coup against the legally elected Government of Mali and President Touré. The armed forces must return power to the legitimate authorities as soon as possible,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

A group of military officers have declared that they have deposed Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré and seized control of the country.

“Those responsible for the coup must restore power to the democratically elected president. Mali is already suffering from drought and famine. This is on top of the Tuareg rebellion, and now there is a military coup. More than 150 000 people have fled their homes. Many of them have gone to neighbouring countries that are also experiencing drought and facing a food crisis,” said Minister of the Environment and Development Erik Solheim.

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Mali on 29 April. President Touré has served two terms and had announced before the military coup that he would not stand for re-election.

There are about 70 Norwegians in Mali. Many of them are missionaries or aid workers from NGOs.

“The Foreign Service Response Centre is in contact with Norwegians in Mali and with the NGOs that have aid workers there. We advise the Norwegians in Mali to stay indoors until further notice. We are following the situation closely and continually assessing the need for further measures,” said Mr Støre.

Norway does not have an embassy in the Malian capital of Bamako. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now working with other countries to get an overview of the situation and assist Norwegians in Mali. The Ministry warns against all travel to Mali.

end

source mfa.no

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