Peter Singhatey

Girl held under Islam blasphemy law

August 26, 2012

Peter Singhatey World News Gambia, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment

ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani Christian girl detained on accusations of defaming Islam was too frightened to speak in a prison where she is being held in solitary confinement for her safety, an activist who said he had visited her said yesterday.

Religious and secular groups worldwide have protested over the arrest last week of Rimsha Masih, accused by Muslim neighbours of burning Islamic religious texts.

There have been conflicting reports on Masih’s age and her mental state. Some media have said she is 11 and has Down syndrome. Her lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said her family had informed him she was 14 years of age and mentally ill…

allAfrica.com: Senegal: Greenpeace Welcomes Cancellation of Fishing Authorizations

May 4, 2012

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

allAfrica.com: Senegal: Greenpeace Welcomes Cancellation of Fishing Authorizations.

Greenpeace welcomes the decision of the Senegalese government to cancel licenses of pelagic fishing vessels issued to 29 foreign trawlers from Russia, Comoros, Lithuania, Saint Vincent Grenadine and Belize.

“These kinds of licenses are a direct threat to employment and food security for millions of Senegalese who have been dependent on fishing for centuries,” says Raoul Monsembula, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace.

Most Irish believe overseas aid remains vital

May 3, 2012

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

Most Irish believe overseas aid remains vital.

A MAJORITY of Irish people believe overseas aid remains important despite the State’s economic crisis, a new survey suggests.

The poll from Ipsos MRBI, commissioned by Dóchas, an umbrella group of more than 40 development organisations, found that 85 per cent of respondents rated overseas aid as “important” or “very important”. The findings mirror a similar survey conducted by Eurobarometer last year, which also found less than half of Irish people believe the Government should increase its overseas aid budget.

Fear and Loathing in the Ivory Coast | Think Africa Press

April 26, 2012

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

Fear and Loathing in the Ivory Coast | Think Africa Press.

The word in Abidjan is that no-one leaves town after dark, that the road to the north becomes a bandits’ nest after 10pm.

The same story circulates in the central city of Bouaké. “Everyone distrusts everybody else”, one inhabitant told Think Africa Press. A graphic picture in the government newspaper Fraternité Matin shows a minibus that has veered off the road; the torso of the lifeless driver has slumped off the front seat and hangs suspended at an angle. “Killed just like that,” reads part of the caption…

Men are domestic violence victims too | Irish Examiner

March 14, 2012

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

Men are domestic violence victims too | Irish Examiner.

What about the male victims of domestic violence, of which there are also very many, but never spoken about? Male victims receive little or no funding compared to their female counterparts. Why are we still in total denial about men being victims of domestic abuse?

Envoy Annan warns against more force in Syria

March 9, 2012

Peter Singhatey International Security Middle East, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, world news Leave a comment

Envoy Annan warns against more force in Syria.

“I hope no one is thinking very seriously of using force in this situation. I believe any further militarisation will make the situation worse,” …“We have to be careful that we don’t introduce a medicine that is worse than the disease. We don’t have to go very far in the region to find an example of what I am talking about,”

Israel master of own fate

March 7, 2012

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Isreal, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, world news Leave a comment

Israel master of own fate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Barack Obama that Israel must remain the “master of its fate” in a firm defence of his right to mount a unilateral strike on Iran.

Senegal Elections: A First Take By John Cambell

February 29, 2012

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Abdoulaye Wade, Africa, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey, Senegal, United Nations Leave a comment

http://blogs.cfr.org/campbell/2012/02/28/senegal-elections-a-first-take/

The experience of Ivory Coast should temper unbounded optimism about the elections, however. The Ivorian 2010 polling — the first in a decade — went well. There was a subsequent runoff between the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara. But, the runoff was marred by irregularities with both candidates declaring victory, setting up parallel administrations, and there was a low level civil war resolved in the end by the UN and the French. The country now appears superficially calm, but divisions persist.

I am hopeful, even optimistic, that there will be no replay of the Ivory Coast scenario in Senegal. The former was characterized by “big man” rule under Houphouet Boigny that in effect stunted the development of a democratic culture. There was a recent history of civil war and the continued existence of parallel armed forces. There are ethnic and religious divisions often bundled together under the rubrics of “settlers” versus indigenes. Valuable commodities — cocoa, oil — distort politics.