Group items tagged

This article states that the Prime Minister declared recently that the Ebola Outbreak is soon to be over with. The article goes on to explain that they have had experience in fighting Ebola in the past and their medical caretakers are performing extremely well. This article relates to the DRC's past run ins with Ebola and how they wil overcome it before other contries.

This article discusses how soldiers are taking advantage of the people they have come to assist and serve. this relates to our discussion because it relates to how different factions in Somalia are using anything to gain power, even through shady deals and offers

This article discusses the challenges that the DRC faces and offers solutions to these major problems. The author states that problems like rape and child soldiers are a global issue, since the rich minerals and rainforests in the Congo affect industries all over the world. The only way to unite Africa is to fix the Congo. This article discusses how strong, just government where its people have a say can end this conflict and fix the broken country. This relates to Part F because it discusses some of the continuing conflict in the region, including rape and corruptness, and offers solutions to these problems.

This article describes how legislation that was meant to keep companies from buying minerals from armed groups actually harms honest miners. The legislation requires that companies track where their supply chains get their minerals to ensure that business is not going to armed groups. However, since small-business miners are hard to track, most companies now do not support these miners. What happens instead is that armed groups smuggle the minerals out of the Congo and sell it to those companies anyway, so this legislation actually helps them more than it hurts them. This relates to Part F since it discusses the armed groups' control over the minerals in the Congo.

This article discusses new legislation in the DRC saying that mining firms need to track their supply chain. It discusses the flaws in this law because not only does it hurt small mining firms, but also creates a source of funding for rebel groups. This relates to the activity because it discusses the presence of rebel groups around mining area since the start of the civil war.

This article talks about the possibility for Somaliland to vote like Scotland recently did to become independent. It discusses the pros and cons of different political actions the government could take to try to achieve international recognition. This relates to our discussion about Somaliland and its failure to be recognized by other countries.

This article compares Somaliland to Scotland, because Scotland just had a vote on becoming independent from the UK, just as Somaliland would like to be recognized as independent of Somalia. The article says that in a vote for a constitution, 97% of people voted in favor of becoming a full independent state. This relates to our studies, because it shows the nationalism of Somaliland.

This article details Somaliland's struggle to gain recognition as an independent country to foreign powers. Foreign countries said that they would recognize Somaliland as such if they worked it out with Somalia. Negotiations between the two fell apart twice before: the first time because there was not a strong central government in Somalia, the second time because Somalia blatantly disregarded cooperation with Somaliland. However, the writer believes that the time is ripe for Somaliland to seek recognition as an independence country once again, for issues such as Scotland seeking independence from the United Kingdom are fresh in the public memory. This relates to NPR's Somaliland story because the fact that these efforts continue to this day show the strong nationalism that the people of Somaliland feel for their country.

Somalia Ambassador Mohammed Abdi Affey has dismissed claims that Kenya is keen on creating Jubbaland in Somalia as a buffer state against the AL-Shabaab militants. Instead, it is the people of Jubbaland that want to create a state. Creating this state would require massive investment. This article relates to or studies because it discusses the terror in Somalia right now with the al-Shabaab militants.

This article explains that Somaliland is looking for international recognition, but says that this hope is merely a daydream. It states that the only reason Somaliland wants to be independent and recognized is because Somalia is a failed state. This relates to the audio story because it describes why Somaliland independence and recognition has failed.

This article discusses Robert Mugabe's views on whites and land reform. In a speech, Mugabe said that all whites in Zimbabwe should go back to England and that all those who oppose his policies on land reform should just leave. It also mentions other times where he has insulted the US and Britain, saying that these countries want Zimbabwe's leader to be weak so that they can once again take over the country. This relates to the packet because It mentions Robert Mugabe's views on land reform and his hatred for the whites in and outside of his country.

This article discusses a claim made by Sadc's Director for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources saying that land reform in Zimbabwe has created a surplus of cereals. The writer states that while agriculture has slightly improved, there is not a surplus since the country still imports tons of cereals. Also, the author refutes the Sadc director's statement that other African countries should pursue land reform because reform in Zimbabwe damaged the economy and only sought to increase voter support. This relates to Part E since it details some of the failures of land reform.

The BDS-SA, an organization that wants to raise awareness for the Palestinians, put up billboards advertising their cause. However, they were taken down because they violated a city law about insensitive advertising. The BDS-SA made a lawsuit saying that the billboards' removal, and the city law, violated the constitution's freedom of speech. They won this case on Thursday, which shows how South Africa is recovering more from the apartheid because of freedom of speech and fair trials.

This article explained how twelve civilians were killed in a suicide attack on the African Union troops fighting a continuous war against terrorism in Somalia. This article really explains how civilians are the ones paying the price for these brutal attacks.

This news article is another on Zimbabwe's massive debt, but this time the debt lies with China. They recently paid China $180 million of a loan taken years ago to keep China on their side. This article seems a little odd to me since they also owe the IMF around the same amount, but China was paid first. Its now obvious of Zimbabwe's financial problems.

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa made a policy that at least 50% of the professional sports team must be colored. The article says that some teams have failed to meet this requirement.

Friday morning a church collapsed in Nigeria killing at least 70 people, many of which were definitely from South Africa. President Zuma said that 67 of his compatriots died on Friday night, which is thought to be one of the worst tragedies in South African history, even more than many of the massacres during the time of Apartheid.

Dutch farmers are suing the government of Zimbabwe because they say that they were illegally evicted from their land. After Zimbabwe took control of this land they found a lot of diamonds and other minerals on the farm land. The Dutch farmers think that they should get the diamonds and money because the Zimbabwean government took away their land. This refers to the article from Part E because people were evicted from their homes unfairly.

This article discusses how Al Shabaab has named a new leader, Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah, after Ahmed Godane was killed in a US airstrike. The article mentions the group's acts of terror in Somalia and beyond, but says that the group suffered a huge loss with the death of its leader. This relates to the packet since it discusses Al Shabaab and some of its acts of terror in and outside of Somalia.

After the death of the Al-Shabaab leader, Ahmed Godane, the terror group has announced its new leader. The group states that even without Godane, the actions of Al-Shabaab will continue as usual. This relates to our studies, because the Al-Shabaab is a terror group that is active in Kenya and other nations in Africa that we are studying.

This article describes Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe's opinion on sanctions against Russia. Mugabe says that the sanctions that have been placed are illegal and he does not like that "lawless" countries are having such a large impact on the world. This relates to our studies, because President Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe and this article gives insight to the President's international policy and how he views the laws of the world.

It has been found out that the outbreak of ebola in the DRC is not connected to the outbreak in West Africa right now.

70 people have died in the northern DRC from an outbreak of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis but the WHO state that it is not Ebola. It has many of the same symptoms but the death rate is not even close to the rate in West Africa as well as the DRC doesn't share any borders with the countries in West Africa.

In this article, it says that in 2001, the citizens of Somaliland voted if they wanted to be independent or still be part of Somalia. 97% of voters wanted to be independent. Now the citizens of Somaliland are looking for global recognition, like it said in the 2nd article in Part D. This is why it relates to one of the topics that was required to read.

This article about Somaliland and its freedom from the rest of Somalia. The article suggests that it may be time for another referendum to see if Somaliland can become recognized as an independent entity.