Africa | Peter "Just Loves Flying"

BBC News – Irish climber Ian McKeever killed on Mount Kilimanjaro

January 5, 2013

Peter Singhatey Irish News Africa, Ireland, Kilimanjaro, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

BBC News – Irish climber Ian McKeever killed on Mount Kilimanjaro

via BBC News – Irish climber Ian McKeever killed on Mount Kilimanjaro.

An Irish mountaineer and charity fundraiser has died while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Ian McKeever, who was 42 and from Lough Dan in Wicklow, was leading a group of climbers when they were struck by lightning.

Mr McKeever was a leading member of the Kilimanjaro Achievers Team, a group of veteran climbers which led groups to the top of the mountain.

Guilty Pleasure: Slavery and Child Labour in the Production of Chocolate

December 30, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Child Labour, Peace & Security, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Guilty Pleasure: Slavery and Child Labour in the Production of Chocolate.

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Thomas Hauschildt

For many, Christmas is upon us once again. And like every other year chocolate will be sold in vast quantities. But unbeknownst to most consumers, some of the chocolate they buy will have partly been the product of slavery and child labour in West Africa.

A bittersweet product

West Africa was responsible for nearly three quarters of the 4.24 million tonnes cocoa beans produced worldwide last year – the Ivory Coast alone produced roughly 1.5 million tonnes, or one third of the world’s production, while Ghana produced over 1 million tonnes. According to some research, these two countries also rely on around 1.8 million child labourers…

Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post

December 26, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, People & Society, peter singhateh, Senegal Leave a comment

Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post

via Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post.

It looks a lot like Christmas in Senegal, where 95 percent of the 12.8 million residents are Muslim. Even the Grande Mosquee, a mosque that dominates the city’s skyline, is aglow in holiday lights.

“When they go to school, the children learn about Santa,” says Lo, wearing a flowing olive green robe known as a boubou. “We are born into the Senegalese tradition of cohabitation between Muslims and Christians. What is essential is the respect between people.”

Senegal, a moderate country along Africa’s western coast, has long been a place where Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully. Most Christians here are Catholic and live in the south of country and in the capital…

Africa, Sovereignty and International Law | Think Africa Press

November 6, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Gambia, peter singhateh, West Africa Leave a comment

3: Africa, Sovereignty and International Law | Think Africa Press.

Sovereignty is not solely a European invention that was extended and exported; its origins are mired in encounters with the rest of the world – a history of subjugation. This article will seek to identify key turning points in its evolution, comparing and contrasting various classic and contemporary qualities, in order to provide the necessary context in which to understand current projects in international law….

IPS – China Wants Peace in Africa | Inter Press Service

October 17, 2012

Peter Singhatey World News Africa, China, Peace & Security, peter singhateh Leave a comment

IPS – China Wants Peace in Africa | Inter Press Service.

BISHOFTU, Ethiopia, Oct 13 2012 (IPS) – China could soon expand its involvement in peace and security issues in Africa, according to government officials, researchers and academics from both the Asian giant and resource-rich continent who met at the second China-Africa Think Tanks Forum in Ethiopia from Oct. 12 to 13.

Mulugeta Gebrehiwot, the director of the Institute of Peace and Security Studies in Ethiopia that organised the forum, told IPS that it should not come as a surprise that China is interested in peace and security on the African continent.

“There is nothing that is not touched by peace and security. Whether you’re (looking) for investment collaboration, economic operation or anything else. Peace and security has to be in place. Because that’s the central instrument that keeps the environment for any other interaction and collaboration together,” Gebrehiwot said.

Child deaths down 40% – UN

September 14, 2012

Peter Singhatey World News Africa, Gambia, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Child deaths down 40% – UN.

COUNTRIES ACROSS the world are making rapid progress on child survival rates, showing it is possible to bring down child mortality significantly in two decades, according to Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

In its latest report on child survival, the organisation hailed a sharp drop of about 40 per cent in the number of children under the age of five dying, with the estimated global toll falling from nearly 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011…

Pambazuka – Libyan humiliation a driving force for anti-Americanism

September 13, 2012

Peter Singhatey World News Africa, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Pambazuka – Libyan humiliation a driving force for anti-Americanism.

Al-Nass (The People) and other television channels of ‘Satellite Salafism’ broadcast news of a year-old mediocre film trailer about the life of the Prophet Mohammad, made by an Israeli-Californian and championed by a Florida-based Christian pastor. Across the waters, radicals spurred each other on. The reactions in Cairo and Benghazi were swift. Crowds formed in front of the US embassy in Egypt and the US consulate in Libya, storming them and, in Benghazi, a rocket-fired grenade – it seems – killed four US officials, including the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens…

Obama condemns US envoy killing

September 12, 2012

Peter Singhatey World News Africa, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Obama condemns US envoy killing.

US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US diplomats were killed in a rocket attack on their car late yesterday, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a US-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

A 14-minute clip of the film, The Innocence of Islam, aired on YouTube shows a fictional attack by Muslims on a Christian family followed by an account of the origins of Islam depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a womaniser…