September 29, 2015
Peter Singhatey
Uncategorized
Africa, Development, Gambia, Illegal Migrants, International Security, Migration, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among African countries that will benefit from a $2.04 billion (€1.8 billion) emergency fund set up by the European Union to address the causes of migration and displacement of persons on the continent.
The fund, to be officially launched before the end of the year, will help the countries address socio-economic challenges that force people to migrate from their original homes.
“The EU will work to help African countries achieve economic development that tackles unemployment and prevents migration and radicalisation,” said the EU Commissioner for International Co-operation and Development Neven Mimica at a press briefing in Nairobi.
Other countries expected to benefit from the fund are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan. In the Sahel region and Lake Chad area, the beneficiaries will be Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. In North Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt will also be part of the group…
Source: EU Gives Africa U.S.$2 Billion to Stop Migration
September 17, 2015
Peter Singhatey
Uncategorized
Education, Ireland, Lack of Computers, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey
Intense computer use in class linked to ‘significantly poorer student performance’
Source: Lack of computers in schools may be a blessing – OECD report
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of internet use in schools in the world but, ironically, it may be doing students more good than harm, according to a global study published on Tuesday.
The report by the educational wing of the OECD into the impact of computer and internet use on test scores shows there is “no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in the countries that had invested heavily in ICT [Information and Communications Technology] for education”.
Ireland is ranked fifth from the bottom for use of ICT in schools, and fourth from the bottom for the use of ICT for schoolwork at home, the report shows. Irish teenagers spend on average 16 minutes on the internet at school during weekdays compared to an OECD average of 25 minutes, and a high of 58 minutes in Australia…
August 6, 2015
Peter Singhatey
International Security
Carnegie, International Security, Iran, Iran Nuclear Deal, JCPOA, Middle East, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey
Parsing the Iran Deal.
“On July 14, 2015, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) concluded a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning the future of Iran’s nuclear program. The deal, which is the outcome of more than two years of negotiations, includes limits on Iran’s nuclear program as well as provisions for verification, implementation, procurement, sanctions relief, and peaceful nuclear cooperation. It singles out specific nuclear sites in Iran for particular scrutiny and restrictions, including the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow and the heavy-water reactor, with its supporting facilities, at Arak. Unsurprisingly, the deal is complex—the text and its five annexes stretch to over 100 pages.
Our aim here is to analyze the deal as impartially and objectively as possible…”
Read more at: http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/08/06/parsing-iran-deal/iec5?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoguKjPZKXonjHpfsX66uskUK%2Bg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YUBTMN0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
August 3, 2015
Peter Singhatey
African Center for Strategic Studies
Africa, Cecil, Dentist, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Trophy Hunting
Sad About Cecil? These African Animals Are Slaughtered by the Thousands – The Daily Beast.
JUBA, South Sudan — A hopeful myth persists in this region that “wildlife refugees”—fauna in flight from war-ravaged habitats—will return one day when the conflict is over. Would that it were so. But in South Sudan, no end of the conflict appears in sight, and amid vast human suffering, nature is being ravaged as well.
The great icons of the wild—the elephants, the rhinos, the leopards and lions (so beloved of trophy hunting dentists and the heedless offspring of the outrageously rich) are gone or going fast. Conservationists say the “charismatic megafauna” are nearly wiped out here. No northern white rhino has been spotted in the region since 1981; only 2,500 elephant remain in all of South Sudan…”
August 3, 2015
Peter Singhatey
African Center for Strategic Studies
Africa, Ebola, Middle East, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Research, Vaccine
New vaccine may end the biggest Ebola outbreak in history | Daily Maverick.
Over a year – and 11,279 reported deaths – since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak, the first effective ‘armour’ against the virus has been developed. The VSV-ZEBOV vaccine showed 100% efficacy in offering protection from Ebola virus, according to preliminary results published in the Lancet on Friday. The vaccine is the result of a massive collaborative effort between the Guinean Government, World Health Organization (WHO), Doctors without Borders and others.
Beginning in March, the trial involved over 4,000 volunteers, all of whom had come into contact with Ebola patients. The participants were randomly divided into two groups. The first – the intervention group – immediately received the vaccine. To test the protection conferred by the vaccine, those in the second, or control, group were given the vaccine three weeks later. (Usually the control group is only given a placebo; however, this was decided against for ethical reasons).
Within 10 days of receiving the vaccine, both groups developed protection against Ebola…
July 26, 2015
Peter Singhatey
Articles on Africa
Africa, Camac Energy, Erin Energy, Gambia, Offshore oil, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Research, Seismic Survey
Erin Energy commences survey of Gambia’s offshore for oil – Foroyaa Newspaper.
Erin Energy Corporation through its subsidiary Camac Energy Gambia Limited, has commenced the shooting of a 3D seismic survey off the coast of The Gambia. Polarcus Ltd has been contracted by the Company to carry out the survey using the Polarcus Alima, an ultra-modern 12 streamer 3D/4D seismic vessel. The survey is expected to take approximately 50 days to complete and will cover approximately 1,500 square kilometres on Erin Energy’s A2 and A5 blocks…
July 19, 2015
Peter Singhatey
Space Science
Asteriod, Asteroid-Mining, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Platinum, Space
Asteroid with platinum core worth £3.5 trillion set to pass Earth.
An asteroid believed to contain a platinum core worth £3.5 trillion is expected to pass Earth at around 10pm on Sunday, attracting the interest of asteroid-mining companies.
The platinum-filled space rock which is also thought to contain other precious materials is only around half a mile wide, but its metallic core is estimated to weigh 100 million tonnes making it hugely valuable.
Asteroid 2011 UW-158 will pass 1.5 million miles away from Earth, meaning it will be 30 times closer than our nearest planet, according to Slooh Community Observatory.
However, it will be six times further away than the moon’s orbit meaning it will be impossible to see with the naked eye.
For those who don’t own a telescope, the Slooh Observatory will be live-broadcasting the asteroid’s path online from their base in the Canary Islands…
July 7, 2015
Peter Singhatey
African Center for Strategic Studies
Africa, China, Development, Gambia, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Research
Is ‘China in Africa’ something to fear? – The Washington Post.
Should the West fear China’s growing influence on the African continent? While there is no question that China and Chinese companies are changing the way African politicians seek aid and investment, the relationship between the two sides is far more complicated than simple narratives about “democracy or dictatorship” or “trade not aid” suggest. Veteran journalist Howard W. French explores this complexity in his book, “China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants are Building a New Empire in Africa.” He graciously took the time to answer my questions about the book and China’s role in Africa.
LS: Much of the discourse in American politics is that the U.S. should be afraid of China’s role in Africa because China is undemocratic or “trying to take over.” Is this a fair approach? Why or why not?
HF: I’m afraid the American discourse on China and Africa is very confused and generally not very insightful. Part of that is driven by the recent, still startled realization in this society of just how serious a competitor China is becoming, and part of that reflects the baggage of very old and nearly immutable American attitudes toward Africa, which are bound up in paternalism and in using Africa as a kind of vanity mirror to help us brighten our own self-image and feel better about ourselves…
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