SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 396 for 4 - 10 October 2008
JOHANNESBURG, 12 October 2008 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:
SWAZILAND: Go west young man or woman
ZIMBABWE: WFP makes emergency US$140 million appeal
ZIMBABWE: You have to plant before you can harvest
MALAWI: Charcoal is a burning issue
MADAGASCAR: No welcome for sex tourism
SOUTH AFRICA: Congo Fever scare
MALAWI: Green belts to boost food production
SWAZILAND: Go west young man or woman
King Mswati has directed Swaziland's college graduates to leave the country to find employment, admitting that a lack of jobs at home gives them no alternative. "We can export our skills to other countries and international organisations in order to bring home foreign currencies," said the king, speaking at the University of Swaziland in Kwaluseni, 30km east of the capital, Mbabane.
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ZIMBABWE: WFP makes emergency US$140 million appeal
Emergency food assistance for nearly half of Zimbabwe's 12 million population could run out at the peak of the crisis if donors fail to provide US$140 million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement on 9 October. "Millions of Zimbabweans have already run out of food or are surviving on just one meal a day - and the crisis is going to get much worse in the coming months," said Mustapha Darboe, WFP Regional Director for East, Central and Southern Africa. "WFP can prevent this crisis from becoming a disaster but we need more donations - and we need them now."
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ZIMBABWE: You have to plant before you can harvest
Zimbabwe faces yet another disastrous agricultural year: with hardly a month to go before the planting season starts, many farmers have not received the fertiliser and seeds they need. Agricultural inputs are hard to find on shop shelves in rural areas, and farmers in many parts of the country are yet to prepare the land for the coming farming season.
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MALAWI: Charcoal is a burning issue
Faisoni Kandoje, 38, has sold charcoal for nearly two decades. Each day he sets up his stall along one of the major highways in Blantyre, Malawi's commercial hub, to provide for himself and his four children. Charcoal production has been illegal since independence from Britain in 1966, and although the authorities turned a blind eye to the industry after Malawi's autocratic leader, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, was voted out of office in the 1994 elections, the government is once again clamping down on the practice.
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MADAGASCAR: No welcome for sex tourism
The warning posters start at the airport in the capital, Antananarivo, informing visitors that Madagascar says "NO to sex tourism" and "Malagasy women are not tourist souvenirs". Large billboards notifying arrivals that the authorities will also prosecute those caught having sex with children line the route into the city, and at tourist hotels - along with a colourful "Welcome to Madagasikara - the land of the lemurs" - there is likely to be a sign saying the hotel has a right to check the age of anyone accompanying guests to their rooms.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Congo Fever scare
At least three people have been confirmed dead in Johannesburg, South Africa, in an outbreak of what officials believe to be contagious hemorrhagic fever. Almost one month ago, Zambian tourism operator Cecilia van Deventer was airlifted to a private hospital in Johannesburg, where she died of what health officials say is likely to be Crimean-Congo fever.
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MALAWI: Green belts to boost food production
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has pledged to embark on a "green belt" programme to enable the country, in the long run, to say goodbye to hunger and international food aid. "Malawi appeals to the G-8 countries to support us to create a green belt around our lakes and along our rivers to irrigate land up to 20 kilometres from the shores. The Malawi government plans to grow a lot of rice, wheat, maize, millet, cassava, potatoes and beans for the local and international market," he told the United Nations General Assembly recently.
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Theme(s): (PLUSNEWS) Aid Policy, (PLUSNEWS) Avian Flu, (PLUSNEWS) Children, (PLUSNEWS) Conflict, (PLUSNEWS) Drought2006, (PLUSNEWS) Early Warning, (PLUSNEWS) Economy, (PLUSNEWS) Education, (PLUSNEWS) Environment, (PLUSNEWS) Food Security, (PLUSNEWS) Gender Issues, (PLUSNEWS) Governance, (PLUSNEWS) Health & Nutrition, (PLUSNEWS) HIV/AIDS (PlusNews), (PLUSNEWS) Human Rights, (PLUSNEWS) Migration, (PLUSNEWS) Natural Disasters, (PLUSNEWS) Refugees/IDPs, (PLUSNEWS) Urban Risk, (PLUSNEWS) Water & Sanitation
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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] |
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