Honduran President Roberto Micheletti has called for ousted Manuel Zelaya to rejoin dialogue to form a unity government, though the deposed leader quickly responded by declaring the offer a “non-starter.” “The government of Honduras reiterates its readiness to proceed with the implementation of the agreement and urges the other side to return to the dialogue framework to [...]
Zimbabwe’s government has proposed that “indigenous Zimbabweans” take 51 percent ownership of all foreign companies, including mines and banks, according to a draft law. An official at the Chamber of Mines expressed surprise and concern at the proposed legislation, prepared by the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment. ”We haven’t seen the regulations but if what [...]
The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor today told Kenya’s leaders that he will proceed with trials against suspected perpetrators of postelection violence that left more than 1,000 dead. “I explained to them that I consider that the crimes committed in Kenya were crimes against humanity,” Luis Moreno-Ocampo said after meeting with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister [...]
The government of South Sudan has threatened to boycott next year’s presidential elections over rigging claims by the North. The Head of Mission at the GoSS liaison office in Nairobi John Duku also sent a warning to the North that any attempt to interfere with the referendum in 2011 will be tantamount to declaring war on the [...]
Officials of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme opened a four-day meeting in Windhoek, Namibia on Monday to decide among other matters whether to bar the sale of Zimbabwean diamonds on world markets due to alleged human rights violations. The Kimberly Process was under intense pressure from non-governmental organizations in Southern Africa and elsewhere who were urging [...]
Kenya will start to build a new voter register in December in preparation of referendum on a new constitution expected in April next year. According to a progress report prepared by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, the process will be automated in what is seen as one of the ways to improve the credibility of the [...]
A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end this morning, after the current administration agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office. The government of Roberto Micheletti, which had refused to let Mr. Zelaya return, signed an agreement with Mr. Zelaya’s negotiators late Thursday that would [...]
United Nations torture expert Manfred Nowak today stated that he would recommend that the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) take action against Zimbabwe after his expulsion from the country. Zimbabwean officials denied him entry and forced him to board a South Africa-bound plane on Thursday after he was detained by security officials on arrival overnight Nowak, the UNHRC’ [...]
A French court today convicted the Church of Scientology and six of its members of organized fraud, but stopped short of banning the church. The court also fined the members as much as 400,000 euros ($595,000) each. The decision follows a three-week trial in May and June, during which two plaintiffs said they were defrauded by the organization, [...]
A former guerrilla fighter jailed for 14 years and an ex-president were headed for a runoff for the presidency of Uruguay, after neither was expected to capture more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election. Jose Mujica, a former Marxist Tupamaro guerrilla who was the top vote-getter Sunday, will be challenged by Luis Alberto [...]
