Flood of refugees fleeing violence at home poses threat to Liberia and other neighbouring countries The British government has announced an emergency aid package for refugees fleeing violence in Ivory Coast amid concerns that the fighting could spread and destabilise west Africa. The Department for International Development said it would provide £16m to humanitarian agencies to provide emergency aid to Ivory Coast and Liberia. On Friday, the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million people could now be displaced following Ivory Coast’s disputed presidential election last November. More than 100,000 people are estimated to have crossed the border into Liberia, around 62,000 of them arriving between 24 February and the middle of last week. “Most refugees are seeking safety in Nimba County [in Liberia]. However, since this week, we have been seeing many more cross into Grand Gedeh County, further south. On Tuesday alone, more than 6,000 Ivorians entered the region and settled in remote areas in and around Janzon, Tuzon and Sweaken, including in villages that are inaccessible by car. The new arrivals fled from Blolequin,” said spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. The news comes as Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of last year’s election, rejected the representative chosen by the African Union to negotiate a settlement to the presidential crisis with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, further raising the prospect of civil war in the country. Fleming said that as well as avoiding being caught in the crossfire, some people told the UN they were leaving their homes because they “can no longer cope financially due to closures of banks and businesses, and resulting unemployment. Costs of food have risen, and there is little available in the markets.” Last week the UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, visited Liberia and warned that the influx of refugees threatened the country’s eight years of peace, following a civil war that left up to 300,000 people dead and thousands more displaced. “The amount of human suffering is horrendous. All neighbouring countries can be dramatically impacted,” he said. The Liberian president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has already expressed her concerns, telling Reuters : “We’re already at war. We hope there will not be an escalation of war. It’s a serious threat to the stability of Liberia, and I might say to the stability of all neighbouring countries.” IRIN news agency reported that some Ivorians have begun to head to Ghana. As of Saturday, 3,000 Ivorian refugees were understood to have been registered by immigration officers. Aid agencies and NGOs are warning of a humanitarian disaster caused by the displacement. Giuliano Vascotto, Save the Children ‘s director of operations in Ivory Coast, said: “Violence is increasing in Abidjan and the west of the country, with more and more people fleeing their homes every day.” Oxfam warned that the situation could become Africa’s forgotten crisis. Chals Wontewe, Oxfam’s country director in Liberia, said: “Fighting is spreading across cities in Ivory Coast, and the risk of large-scale refugee flows is high. But despite the gravity of the situation, it is not getting the attention or funding it deserves. “The border areas are dangerous, and living conditions there are desperately poor. There is an urgent need for transportation to help refugees move to camps further inside Liberia, where food and shelter can be safely provided. This needs to happen before both the rainy season and further refugee flows make the challenge even harder.” Meanwhile, a coalition of 32 international and African civil society groups , including Human Rights Watch, called for an increase in humanitarian aid, more peacekeepers and an inquiry to investigate post-election human rights violations. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf) has allocated $10.4m to seven agencies working in Ivory Coast to help meet the urgent humanitarian needs. In January, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed for $32m to tackle the crisis, but has only received $7m. The UK government said the £16m will provide food, shelter and basic services for 20,000 Ivorian refugees in camps and border villages in Liberia and for 25,000 men, women and children displaced in Ivory Coast. The aid will be channelled through the UN and NGOs. Ivory Coast Liberia Refugees Aid Liz Ford guardian.co.uk
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Raising Malawi’s decision to drop plans for $15m elite academy for girls cost workers’ their jobs, claims lawyer Eight charity workers in Malawi are suing Madonna after the collapse of her $15m (£9.4m) academy for girls cost them their jobs. The employees’ lawyer said they are taking the US singer to court for unfair dismissal and non-payment of benefits. The board of Raising Malawi was ousted after failing to start the building of an elite girls’ school amid allegations of financial mismanagement , including lavish spending on offices, cars and golf membership. Madonna, who has adopted a boy and a girl from the southern African country, lent $11m (£6.9m) to the charity and now sits on the board. The charity workers’ lawyer, Mzondi Chirambo, said the singer had 14 days to respond to their concerns. “Their employment was terminated by the trustees of Raising Malawi Academy for Girls ostensibly following the change of plan not to build the school as planned,” he told Reuters news agency. “My clients are also being forced to sign a discriminatory termination agreement before they are paid their benefits.” The papers were filed with Malawi’s industrial court, which handles employment disputes. Madonna’s US representative was not immediately available for comment, but there were reports that the singer is considering filing a counter-suit. Chirambo said some of the workers he represented were directly connected to the school project, while others taught Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism of which Madonna, 52, is a devotee. The group includes Dr Anjimile Oponyo, who had been recruited to head the school. An audit by the Global Philanthropy Group , brought in by Madonna to rescue the charity, reportedly said of Oponyo: “Her charisma masks a lack of substantive knowledge of the practical application of educational development, and her weak management skills are a major contributor to the current financial and programmatic chaos.” The school was to take in 500 girls and prepare them as female leaders of the future. When news of its demise emerged two months ago, the Malawian government expressed concern and there was anger among villagers who had sacrificed their homes to make way for the 47.4-hectare (117-acre) site near the capital, Lilongwe. It was reported by the New York Times last week that $3.8m (£2.4m) had been spent on the abortive project. The charity’s executive director, Philippe van den Bossche, the boyfriend of Madonna’s former personal trainer, left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns. Malawi Madonna Universal primary education David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Raising Malawi’s decision to drop plans for $15m elite academy for girls cost workers’ their jobs, claims lawyer Eight charity workers in Malawi are suing Madonna after the collapse of her $15m (£9.4m) academy for girls cost them their jobs. The employees’ lawyer said they are taking the US singer to court for unfair dismissal and non-payment of benefits. The board of Raising Malawi was ousted after failing to start the building of an elite girls’ school amid allegations of financial mismanagement , including lavish spending on offices, cars and golf membership. Madonna, who has adopted a boy and a girl from the southern African country, lent $11m (£6.9m) to the charity and now sits on the board. The charity workers’ lawyer, Mzondi Chirambo, said the singer had 14 days to respond to their concerns. “Their employment was terminated by the trustees of Raising Malawi Academy for Girls ostensibly following the change of plan not to build the school as planned,” he told Reuters news agency. “My clients are also being forced to sign a discriminatory termination agreement before they are paid their benefits.” The papers were filed with Malawi’s industrial court, which handles employment disputes. Madonna’s US representative was not immediately available for comment, but there were reports that the singer is considering filing a counter-suit. Chirambo said some of the workers he represented were directly connected to the school project, while others taught Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism of which Madonna, 52, is a devotee. The group includes Dr Anjimile Oponyo, who had been recruited to head the school. An audit by the Global Philanthropy Group , brought in by Madonna to rescue the charity, reportedly said of Oponyo: “Her charisma masks a lack of substantive knowledge of the practical application of educational development, and her weak management skills are a major contributor to the current financial and programmatic chaos.” The school was to take in 500 girls and prepare them as female leaders of the future. When news of its demise emerged two months ago, the Malawian government expressed concern and there was anger among villagers who had sacrificed their homes to make way for the 47.4-hectare (117-acre) site near the capital, Lilongwe. It was reported by the New York Times last week that $3.8m (£2.4m) had been spent on the abortive project. The charity’s executive director, Philippe van den Bossche, the boyfriend of Madonna’s former personal trainer, left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns. Malawi Madonna Universal primary education David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Theresa May says face coverings could be banned and known troublemakers barred from political rallies in the wake of violence after Saturday’s anti-cuts march The government will consider giving the police new powers, including the banning of face coverings, following the weekend’s anti-cuts march, the home secretary, Theresa May, has said. May said police could be given the power to ban known troublemakers from attending political demonstrations – similar to how known hooligans can be banned from travelling to football matches. She told the Commons that 149 of the more than 200 demonstrators arrested during violent clashes with police have now been charged, as she praised officers for learning the lessons of the tuition fees protests. “The message to those who carry out violence is clear,” she said. “You will be caught and you will be punished.” Organisers of Saturday’s protest through central London, which culminated in Hyde Park, estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 people took part in a peaceful rally. But in separate violent clashes, activists threw missiles at officers in parts of the West End, while others attempted to damage the Olympic countdown clock in Trafalgar Square. Describing the demonstrators who clashed with officers as “gangs of thugs”, May said she “utterly condemned” those responsible for the “mindless” violent behaviour. She said that “on the whole” the police operation was a success, adding that 56 officers were injured, 12 of whom needed hospital treatment. Fifty-three members of the public were hurt. May added: “The police might not have managed to prevent every act of violence but they were successful in preventing wider criminality and are now actively engaged in investigating the perpetrators so that they can be brought to justice.” She said that the tactics deployed on Saturday reflect that the Metropolitan police has learnt lessons from the student demonstrations in December, but added that there was more that could be done. “Just as the police review their operational tactics, so we in the Home Office will review the powers available to the police,” she said. “I am willing to consider powers which would ban known hooligans from rallies and marches and I will look into the powers the police already have to force the removal of face coverings and balaclavas. “If the police need more help to do their work, I will not hesitate in granting it to them.” May said parliament would always back the police “when they do their important work”, adding it was necessary they operated within the “right legal framework”. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Labour condemned the “few hundred mindless idiots” responsible for violence. “In a democracy this kind of violence is no form of political protest,” she said. “It is violent assault and criminal damage, it is thuggish behaviour of the worst kind and it must face the full force of the law. “I welcome the speed with which the police have acted to charge 149 people with offences already. They will have the opposition’s support in taking a strong line.” Police Public sector cuts Public services policy Theresa May Protest guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Theresa May says face coverings could be banned and known troublemakers barred from political rallies in the wake of violence after Saturday’s anti-cuts march The government will consider giving the police new powers, including the banning of face coverings, following the weekend’s anti-cuts march, the home secretary, Theresa May, has said. May said police could be given the power to ban known troublemakers from attending political demonstrations – similar to how known hooligans can be banned from travelling to football matches. She told the Commons that 149 of the more than 200 demonstrators arrested during violent clashes with police have now been charged, as she praised officers for learning the lessons of the tuition fees protests. “The message to those who carry out violence is clear,” she said. “You will be caught and you will be punished.” Organisers of Saturday’s protest through central London, which culminated in Hyde Park, estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 people took part in a peaceful rally. But in separate violent clashes, activists threw missiles at officers in parts of the West End, while others attempted to damage the Olympic countdown clock in Trafalgar Square. Describing the demonstrators who clashed with officers as “gangs of thugs”, May said she “utterly condemned” those responsible for the “mindless” violent behaviour. She said that “on the whole” the police operation was a success, adding that 56 officers were injured, 12 of whom needed hospital treatment. Fifty-three members of the public were hurt. May added: “The police might not have managed to prevent every act of violence but they were successful in preventing wider criminality and are now actively engaged in investigating the perpetrators so that they can be brought to justice.” She said that the tactics deployed on Saturday reflect that the Metropolitan police has learnt lessons from the student demonstrations in December, but added that there was more that could be done. “Just as the police review their operational tactics, so we in the Home Office will review the powers available to the police,” she said. “I am willing to consider powers which would ban known hooligans from rallies and marches and I will look into the powers the police already have to force the removal of face coverings and balaclavas. “If the police need more help to do their work, I will not hesitate in granting it to them.” May said parliament would always back the police “when they do their important work”, adding it was necessary they operated within the “right legal framework”. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Labour condemned the “few hundred mindless idiots” responsible for violence. “In a democracy this kind of violence is no form of political protest,” she said. “It is violent assault and criminal damage, it is thuggish behaviour of the worst kind and it must face the full force of the law. “I welcome the speed with which the police have acted to charge 149 people with offences already. They will have the opposition’s support in taking a strong line.” Police Public sector cuts Public services policy Theresa May Protest guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Facebook is in talks with to hire former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, reports the New York Times . Gibbs would reportedly be up for a “senior role” in the company’s communications team. The move comes as Facebook ramps up preparations for an IPO, which many think could come early…
Continue reading …Japan’s nuclear disaster is not just an environmental tragedy—it has started claiming political victims. Germany’s Green Party appears poised to win a state government for the first time, trouncing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in their stronghold in southwest Germany. The Greens and Social Democrats won 47.3 percent in…
Continue reading …European nations are beginning to yank any Simpsons epsiodes including nuclear gags in deference to the ongoing catastophe in Japan. Broadcasters in Swtizerland, Austria and Germany are checking though upcoming episodes of the popular cartoon, which often features near-doomsday accidents at the nuclear reactor workplace of the series’ beloved buffoon…
Continue reading …Often-controversial clothing retailer Abercrombia & Fitch is in another pickle, this time for marketing push-up bikini tops to young girls, reports the New York Daily News . Labeled “push up triangles” before Internet outrage prompted a re-naming, the tops are for sale on the Abercrombie Kids website, aimed at children younger…
Continue reading …Rising hip hop star DJ Megatron was shot dead yesterday while walking to a Staten Island store to buy a cheap cigar. “It’s earth-shattering,” said his mom. “He was our golden child.” Megatron, whose real name was Corey McGriff, got his start on local Hot 97 radio and was a…
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