You are here

Month: June 2019

Africa 

U.S. “gag rule” linked to 40% jump in abortions in parts of Africa

Village Reporter
LONDON (Reuters) – A decades-old U.S. government policy reinstated by President Donald Trump in 2017 that restricts international aid to NGOs that support abortion is linked to a 40% rise in abortions in some parts of sub-Saharan African, a study showed on Thursday. The “Mexico City Policy”, also known as the “global gag rule”, also led to more pregnancies and… Read More
OP-ED Southern Africa 

Zambia: Will Government Stop Atheist Gathering in October?

Leo Igwe
By Leo Igwe  The government of Zambia has been urged to disallow a humanist meeting slated for October in Lusaka. A Zambian, Chibesa Kalandwe 11, made a post on his Facebook page urging the country’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Guidance to ensure that this event did not go ahead. The post reads: The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Guidance should immediately… Read More
Africa 

Libyan women beat odds to do business

Village Reporter
When inflation began eating into her state-paid salary, Libyan architect and assistant professor Seham Saleh joined a growing number of Libyan women launching start-ups in the conservative Arab country, where many still think a woman’s place is in the home. She has been selling drawings aimed at preserving the Libyan identity, while making some money. Men are the traditional breadwinners,… Read More
Africa 

Switzerland to mediate in Cameroon crisis

Village Reporter
Switzerland will mediate in the political crisis that has plagued Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions since 2016, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, made the announcement on Thursday. It said in a statement that the country has been accepted by a majority of the parties to facilitate an “inclusive negotiating process”. The Federal Department of Foreign… Read More
Human Rights 

Thursday’s Daily Brief: dire living conditions in Idlib, migrants at US southern border, end in sight for trachoma, Human Rights Council

Village Reporter
Syria’s Idlib ‘on the brink’ of a nightmare urge humanitarian chiefs, launching global solidarity campaign The heads of 11 global humanitarian organizations warned on Thursday that the embattled rebel-held province of Idlib in Syria, stands on the brink of disaster, with three million civilian lives at risk, including one million children. In a direct video address to launch a worldwide… Read More
Africa 

Madagascar villagers learn dangers of outdoor defecation

Village Reporter
©WSSCC/Hiroyuki Saito | Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world. (May 2019)  “The latrines in the village are not well maintained,” offered another participant, “so many of us go to the outskirts of the village to finish our business.” The village is Andoharanovelona, 60 kilometers south of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar – one of the world’s poorest… Read More
Human Rights 

‘Words must never be met with violence’ urges UN, following Taliban threat to journalists  

Village Reporter
Noting that “words must never be met with violence”, Tadamichi Yamamoto, Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), called on the threat to be rescinded, adding that “the only acceptable challenge to words is to advance a better argument”.   Mr. Yamamoto underlined that “international humanitarian law – which applies to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the… Read More