East
Africa may delay trade pact with EU - 30 July
The East African Community bloc is likely to delay signing a new trade
deal with the European Union because fresh issues have been introduced in
the negotiations,
Tanzania's trade minister said. The five bloc members,
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda
and Burundi, are among nearly 80 countries of the Africa,
Caribbean
and Pacific group in talks on a new pact with the EU. - Eye
Witness News website
Sierra Leone
Charles
Taylor denies cannibalism - 27 July
Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor has denied eating human
flesh or ordering militias to eat their enemies. Speaking at
his war crimes trial in The Hague, Mr Taylor was quoted as saying
accusations of cannibalism levelled against him were "total
nonsense". Some of Mr Taylor's former fighters have
previously told the court that he had ordered them to eat their
enemies. Mr Taylor has denied 11 charges related to the civil war
in Sierra Leone, Liberia's neighbour. - BBC
News website
Sudan
SA
will enforce Bashir warrant - 31 July
South Africa will arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir if he
visits the country, despite an African Union decision to ignore a
war crimes warrant against him, the foreign ministry said yesterday.
Civil society and human rights groups across Africa called yesterday
for African states to commit themselves to enforcing the
International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for al-Bashir. - The
Times website
SA
would arrest Bashir : department - 30 July
Sudanese President Omar el Bashir - who faces an international
warrant of arrest for alleged war crimes - would be arrested
"today" if he were to land in South Africa, the department
of international relations said today. - The
Times website
Zimbabwe
SA
farmers feel let down in Zim - 26 July
Louis Fick was one of 13 South African farmers who, along with 65
Zimbabwean white farmers, won their case at the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Tribunal, to be allowed to remain on
their land, or what is left of it. A few weeks ago, the tribunal
ruled that Zimbabwe was in "contempt" for defying the
judgment it delivered in late 2007. The South African embassy in
Harare has met the farmers as a group once, for several hours, and
says it sends diplomatic notes to Zimbabwe's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs when its farmer citizens' rights are abused. Deputy Governor
of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Edwin Mashingwani seized about 98
percent of Fick's small farm about 130km north of Harare, but has
allowed Fick's 55 worker families to remain. Fick is chairman of a
group of white South African farmers in Zimbabwe, a few of whom are
still on small portions of their land. Others are living in poverty
in urban areas in Zimbabwe and some have fled back to South Africa,
or emigrated, mainly to Australia and New Zealand. - IOL
website
Zim
withdraws controversial mining Bill - 27 July
Zimbabwe's new inclusive government has withdrawn from Parliament
the country's controversial mining Bill, which would have forced
foreign-owned mining firms to cede a controlling stake to
Zimbabweans. Citing Zimbabwe's Mines and Mining Development
permanent secretary Thankful Musukutwa, the Zimbabwe
Guardian said on Monday that the draft law had been
withdrawn to allow for stakeholder consultation. The withdrawal
of the Bill is in line with promises made by Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last month. - Mail
& Guardian website
Zimbabwe
faces lockout from diamond trade - 30 July
The Kimberley Process (KP), the international watchdog body fighting
trade in "blood diamonds," has called for Zimbabwe to be
barred from the international diamond trade for at least six months,
Zimbabwean state media reported Thursday. The Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme (KPCS), which was implemented in 2003 and
counts Zimbabwe among its member countries, requires
diamond-producing countries to have controls in place certifying
shipments of rough diamonds as "conflict-free". - Business
Report website