Nigeria Fears e-waste 'Toxic Legacy'

By Liz Carney
BBC World Service's Dirty Business

The accumulation of mountains of electronic waste in Nigeria - increasingly the world's PC dumping ground - has so alarmed the country's government that there is now a national committee to deal with the problem.

Up to 50 million tonnes of old PCs are thrown away each year on waste dumps where they pose a pollution threat to the environment and to people.

Legislation exists that should prohibit the simple sending of old PCs to be dumped - but the problem is that Nigeria's booming second-hand computer industry gives ample scope for computer waste to be smuggled in.
read more

Tourists 'Fuel Kenya's Sex Boom'

BBC Africa
Up to 30% of girls in some Kenyan resorts are involved in the sex industry, according to a UN report.

The UN children's fund Unicef, which looked at resorts along Kenya's coast, found that 15,000 girls aged 12 to 18 were engaged in casual sex for money.

Another 2,000-3,000 girls and boys were involved in full-time prostitution, said the study - carried out jointly with the Kenyan government.

European men represented half of all their clients, the report said.

The 15,000 girls are said to live in the resort areas districts of Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi and Kwale.
Poverty is the reason, Unicef says: many families see the sex industry as the only way of putting food on the table.
read more

Heavy Clashes Reported in Somalia

Heavy fighting is being reported on at least two fronts near the weak Somali interim government's base in Baidoa.

A deadline from Islamists for Ethiopia to withdraw troops from Somalia or face "major attacks" expired on Tuesday.

Residents say pro-government forces and the Islamic militia exchanged mortar shells at Burhakaba, 25km from Baidoa.

A European Union envoy is in Baidoa meeting officials. There are fears an all-out war would plunge the entire Horn of Africa region into crisis.
read more

Libya firm on HIV death sentences

Libya says that it will not bow to international pressure over death sentences passed on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.
The group were sentenced by a court in Tripoli for knowingly infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV.

The sentences have drawn international criticism, while academic bodies have argued that the guilty verdicts run counter to scientific evidence.

But Libya's foreign minister said it was now up to Libya's Supreme Court.

"Libya will never deal with such pressure from any side - from America, from Europe, from anywhere," Abdurrahman Shalgham said.
read more

Three killed In Kenya after rally turns violent

Nairobi - Police were deployed to the sprawling Kibera slum, which houses an estimated 800 000 people, after a political rally became unruly, with opposing sides pelting each other with stones and some forcing a passing train to ground to a halt.
It was unclear who shot at the crowd. The independent Daily Nation newspaper said on Monday some of the rally attendees were armed.

Of the four people shot in the clashes, three had died by late Sunday night. The fourth person was said to be in serious condition in hospital.

The rally was called in support of Ndura Waruinge, a leader of the banned Mungiki sect, who is looking to run in Kenya's elections next year
read more

Two explosions in Nigeria's Delta..Oil Properties Hit

At least two explosions have hit separate oil facilities in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta region.
One blast hit property belonging to the Royal Dutch Shell in Port Harcourt. The other hit the fence of a compound belonging to Italian company Agip.

Little damage has been reported, and no-one was hurt.

The militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) has claimed responsibility for what it described as car bomb attacks.

Correspondents say it is the first time Mend have targeted residential compounds.

Shortly before the attacks, Mend emailed a statement to local reporters saying a series of car-bomb attacks were imminent.
read more

Mbeki Warns On Africa-China Ties..

Africa must guard against falling into a "colonial relationship" with China, South African President Thabo Mbeki has warned the continent.

His comments come as fast-growing China is continuing to increase its push for raw materials across Africa.

Mr Mbeki said African nations must strive for their relationship with China to be based on equal trade. read more

Death Sentence For Ngugi Attack

A Kenyan court has sentenced three security guards to death for attacking and robbing renowned Kenyan novelist and playwright, Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

His wife was also raped and burnt with cigarettes during the attack on the apartment in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.
full story

Two More Years For Zimbabwe's Mugabe??

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has backed a move to extend the mandate of President Robert Mugabe by two years.

The annual party conference approved a plan to postpone the next presidential election - when Mr Mugabe has said he will retire - from 2008 to 2010.
read more