VOA News: Economy: Delta Airlines to Produce Its Own Jet Fuel

VOA News: Economy Economy Voice of America

Delta Airlines to Produce Its Own Jet Fuel May 1st 2012, 02:04 U.S.-based Delta Airlines will soon be the world's first air carrier to produce its own jet fuel. Delta announced Monday it is buying a struggling oil refinery near Philadelphia from the Phillips 66 oil company for $150 million. The refinery has been losing money and its owner had planned to shut it down, leading to thousands of job losses. Delta chief Richard Anderson calls buying a refinery an innovative approach to managing the airline's largest expense. Delta spent $12 billion on jet fuel last year, which was about 36 percent of its operating expenses. Delta says making its own fuel will save it about $300 million a year. Media files: AP_Delta_PLane_222_300.jpg

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VOA News: USA: Delta Airlines to Produce Its Own Jet Fuel

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Delta Airlines to Produce Its Own Jet Fuel May 1st 2012, 02:04 U.S.-based Delta Airlines will soon be the world's first air carrier to produce its own jet fuel. Delta announced Monday it is buying a struggling oil refinery near Philadelphia from the Phillips 66 oil company for $150 million. The refinery has been losing money and its owner had planned to shut it down, leading to thousands of job losses. Delta chief Richard Anderson calls buying a refinery an innovative approach to managing the airline's largest expense. Delta spent $12 billion on jet fuel last year, which was about 36 percent of its operating expenses. Delta says making its own fuel will save it about $300 million a year. Media files: AP_Delta_PLane_222_300.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: Security Official Urges Nigerians To Provide Intelligence

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Security Official Urges Nigerians To Provide Intelligence May 1st 2012, 01:28 The spokesman for Nigeria's Defense Headquarters has called on citizens to provide actionable intelligence to help combat the country's security challenges. Colonel Mohammed Yarima said a joint task force is implementing measures that will bolster security across susceptible areas. "What we are doing is that we have got all the vulnerable points, all the infrastructural facility…and we provide patrols all over the towns. We've also established check points at the entrance of the towns and the flash areas," said Yarima. "We are also seeking the collaboration of people to make us perform our duties effectively and to make them sleep with their two eyes closed [feel protected]" Yarima said credible intelligence from citizens will help the security agencies efficiently resolve the country's security problems. His comments came after authorities in eastern Nigeria said a suicide bomb targeting a police official has killed 11 people. Officials say a bomber on a motorbike rammed into a police convoy in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba state.  About 20 other people were injured in the blast, but the police official was not harmed. President Goodluck Jonathan has come under increasing international pressure to end the country's security crisis, which is often blamed on the violent activities of Islamic sect Boko Haram. The sect is believed to be responsible for more than 1,000 deaths since 2009. Boko Haram, which translates in the local Hausa language as Western education is sacrilegious, claims it is fighting to impose strict Islamic Sharia law and does not recognize Nigeria's constitution. Some analysts have accused the security agencies of failing to effectively deal with the threats posed by violent Islamic sect. But Colonel Yarima disagrees. "Whoever is saying that we are not doing enough to provide security and protect the lives and properties of people are not fair to us," said Yarima. "Rather, we will say people are not doing enough to give us more intelligence information. It is not the issue of carrying gun, carrying a whole battalion into town… The most important thing is to gather intelligent information on where those people are, where their factories are where they keep their weapons and so on and so forth." Colonel Yarima also said a Joint Security Task Force, which comprises all security forces in the country, seeks collaboration from all Nigerians to help the group decisively resolve the security threat posed by armed groups including Islamic sect, Boko Haram. "It is also the responsibility of the civilian populace to provide information to the security agencies," said Yarima. "There is nowhere without the cooperation of people for any security agency to excel, anywhere in the world…We are not saying they should do our work. But they should give us the basic information about the people dealing with them that have questionable character." Media files: afpNigeriaGoodluckJonathanNewspaperBombingBokoHaram28apr2012-resizedpx480q100dpi96shp8.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.2 MB) reuters_nigeria_church_eng_230_29apr12.jpg clottey-nigeria-security-information-yarima-01may2012.mp3 (audio/mpeg)

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VOA News: Africa: Uneasy Calm Returns to Mali Following Heavy Fighting

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Uneasy Calm Returns to Mali Following Heavy Fighting May 1st 2012, 01:42 A prominent politician in Mali says an alleged counter coup d'état orchestrated late Monday night by a section of the military seems to have failed. Cheick Traore, leader of the African Convergence for Renewal (CARE) party and son of former President Moussa Traore, said Malians are confused by the state of affairs following heavy gun fighting between soldiers who support the junta and the Red Beret commandos. The commandos are said to support former President Amadou Toumani Toure. "The junta sent some soldiers to arrest Abidine Guindo, the former chief of staff of the Red Berets. The commandos refused to give him up [and fighting erupted]. And then the commandos went to the national television and tried to take it over. I believe some people lost their lives," said Traore. "The junta sent more soldiers towards the national television, and I can say this [late] evening they are in control so far of the national TV." Abidine Guindo, the former chief of staff of the Red Beret commandos, is believed to have taken former President Toure to safety after mutinous soldiers stormed the presidential palace during the March 22 coup d'état. Traore said the genesis of the alleged counter coup d'état is not yet clear. 'The question is who is behind that counter coup. That's what we might know in the coming hours or days…Captain [Amadou] Sanogo is supposed to make an announcement in [a] few hours on national TV, so we would know for sure what all of these things are about. Also, we would know for sure who is in control of what." The heavy fighting is believed to have started at the junta's headquarters in Kita, in Western Mali. Traore said an uneasy calm has returned to the capital, Bamako, following the fight between the Red Beret commandos and soldiers supporting the junta. "Now things are quiet, and the junta said that they are in total control." Meanwhile, during a live television broadcast, junta leader Captain Sanogo sharply denied the attempted arrest of former chief of staff, Abidine Guindo. He blamed foreign mercenaries for the attempted counter coup d'état. Traore said the junta leader promised to begin on Tuesday showing the lifeless bodies of the soldiers who he said orchestrated Monday's coup attempt. "They killed a lot of them and arrested a lot of them, and they [said] that there are a lot of mercenaries among them. So to them it was a coup d'état not coming only from Mali but coming from outside also. He said that they will show the bodies of all of the people involved in this thing and those arrested [who] came from other countries." The junta leader also vowed to arrest more of the perpetrators behind the coup who he said will attempt to flee the country. Media files: AFP_mali_Sanogo_7apr2012_eng_480.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) AFP_mali_Sanogo_7apr2012_eng_230.jpg clottey-mali-attempted-counter-coup-traore-01may2012.mp3 (audio/mpeg)

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VOA News: Africa: Residents Flee Rebel Soldiers in Eastern DRC

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Residents Flee Rebel Soldiers in Eastern DRC Apr 30th 2012, 23:10 Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after fighting erupted between government forces and soldiers loyal to General Bosco Ntaganda. Kambala Musavuli, a spokesperson for Friends of the Congo, said the current uprising, by rebel forces known as the CNDP, began in March as international pressure mounted against the group's leader. Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting child soldiers — a charge he denies. The ICC arrest warrant was issued in 2006; three years later Ntaganda and his fighters were made part of the Congolese army as part of a peace deal. "We're seeing now that people are suffering from that. It was predictable. You don't integrate a former human rights abuser into the military.  They will continue the human rights abuse," said Musavuli. The pressure to arrest Ntaganda increased after another former rebel leader in the DRC, Thomas Lubanga, was convicted by the ICC of war crimes in March.  Like Ntaganda, Lubanga was also accused of recruiting child soldiers.  After the verdict, Musavuli explained, President Joseph Kabila said he would arrest Ntganda, but the president said the Rwandan national would be tried in the DRC rather than at the ICC. "As you put the pressure little by little, we see actions on the ground," he added. "Kabila made a statement that Basco will be arrested, but he's been shying away from being strong on the statement." According to Musavuli, the Congolese justice institutions are not adequate to try Ntaganda, and he should go to the ICC. "We must bring these rebel leaders to justice so that they don't continue to repeat these crimes," he said. "There needs to be an end to the culture of impunity." But Musavuli also stressed that simply arresting Ntaganda would not put an end to the ongoing violence in the DRC. "We are arresting drug dealers, before arresting kingpins," he said. Musavuli said in this case, the problem will not be solved unless the DRC addresses tensions with the governments of neighboring countries, such as Rwanda and Uganda, which he says have provided support to these rebel leaders in the past. "If the political problem that exists in the Congo between Rwanda and the Congo is not solved, we will have another rebel leader." He likened the situation to crimes Liberia's former president Charles Taylor was recently convicted of by the United Nations-supported Special Court for Sierra Leone.  The former Liberian leader was found guilty of "aiding and abetting" war crimes in Sierra Leone. "He is not from Sierra Leone, but he was tried for crimes he committed in Sierra Leone, and this is the same case with Basco Ntaganda," said Musavuli, since Ntaganda is Rwandan and his crimes were allegedly supported by some in Rwanda. Musavuli added that he thinks international criminal bodies such as the ICC also need to widen their scope: "I'm also in agreement with the many people who do believe that there needs to be a shift in cases at the ICC where we don't just see Africans…We know crimes are taking place around the world." Though the ICC has received complaints about alleged crimes in more than 130 countries, the court's prosecutor has opened official investigations into seven situations – all in African countries. Media files: reuters_drc_Bosco_Ntaganda_eng_480_5oct10.jpg (image/jpeg, 0 MB) AP-Ntaganda-Teaser.jpg SHRYOCK-05-01-2012-DBA-DRC-VIOLENCE-SHRYOCK-MUSAVULI.Mp3 (audio/mpeg)

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VOA News: USA: Social Media Drives Publicity in Trayvon Martin Case

VOA News: USA USA Voice of America

Social Media Drives Publicity in Trayvon Martin Case Apr 30th 2012, 23:12 The shooting death in Florida earlier this year of an unarmed African-American teenager, Trayvon Martin, by a white, Hispanic neighborhood crime watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, sparked demonstrations across the United States, particularly within the black community.  Much of the attention the case has received has been driven by social media. Across the United States, African Americans mobilized in memory of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and in protest over the fact that the man who shot him had initially avoided criminal charges. Early on, African-Americans using social media kept the story alive, rather than the popular press. "The minute you get a message out there that has engagement that gets people's imaginations fired up or gets their emotions or passions stoked, it's going to go beyond your network because you may have your 130 Facebook followers but each one of them has 130 of their own so the message can spread like wild fire," said Michael Stricker, director of social media with the Internet marketing firm Webimax. During one week, more than a million people signed an online petition and numerous messages appeared on social media sites calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman,  the neighborhood crime watch volunteer who told police he shot Martin in self defense. Even on college campuses, like Howard University in Washington, students used Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets to communicate and even organize demonstrations. "It hit close to home for a lot of students here because they are not much older than Trayvon Martin when he was killed. So they [the students] wanted everybody to know about this story and how they felt it was simply an injustice to a young black man," said Ingrid Sturgis is an assistant professor of journalism at Howard University. She says young African-Americans often use social media to draw attention to social causes. "I think it is one of the best tools today to help people get out the messages that they want to get out depending whether it is racial injustice or whether it is to support a cause," Sturgis said. A Pew Research study says blacks use mobile phones and other devices to gain access to social media sites in larger numbers than Americans overall. "These conversations have always happened, but they have been in the barber shop or they have been in the drug store or they have been on the street corner. I think what is happening now is social media allows us all to see that conversation and how it has manifested in a more tangible way and it increases our awareness," said David Johnson, a journalism professor at American University in Washington. Social media have been used to publicize other cases involving race. And Sturgis sees the trend continuing. "Today, you don't have to be a part of an organization to get your voice out there. I think that social media is going to increase in the number of ways that people can get their message out and how much attention and whether or not you can make change. And I think it is going to take a greater role in doing that," Sturgis said. Other analysts predict social media use among African-Americans will spike again when George Zimmerman, the man accused of killing Trayvon Martin, goes on trial. Media files: Reuters George Zimmerman court 20Apr12 230.jpg Martin_Case_Social_Media_WEB_CQ-fixed-x264-Platform_YTHQFull__596500.mp4 (video/mp4)

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VOA News: Asia: Clinton Heading to China Vowing to Raise Human Rights Concerns

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

Clinton Heading to China Vowing to Raise Human Rights Concerns Apr 30th 2012, 23:34 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to China vowing to again raise human rights concerns at a time of tension between the countries over a blind Chinese dissident who recently escaped from house arrest. A U.S.-based China rights organization says Chen Guangchen is under U.S. protection in Beijing. President Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton Monday both refused to comment on the whereabouts of Chen Guangchen or whether there are talks under way with Chinese officials about his future. Clinton spoke to reporters at the State Department before leaving for Beijing. "I am not going to address the specific case at this time, but I just want to put it in a broader context. The U.S.-China relationship is important. It's important not only to President Obama and me, but it's important to the people of the United States and the world. And we have worked hard to build an effective, constructive, comprehensive relationship that allows us to find ways to work together," she said. She says a constructive relationship includes talking frankly about areas where the United States and China do not agree, including human rights. "That is the spirit that is guiding me as I take off for Beijing tonight, and I can certainly guarantee that we will be discussing every matter, including human rights, that is pending between us," she said. Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner lead Washington's delegation to an annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the United States and China, which this year is expected to include discussion of Syria, Sudan, and the nuclear programs of both North Korea and Iran. But there is no ignoring how much Chen Guangchen is overshadowing the start of those talks. State Department reporters again tried to get Secretary Clinton to comment on his case, this time asking about the detention of members of his family. "I have a full agenda of many issues of great concern to us including human rights and the freedom and free movement of people inside China who have a right to exercise those freedoms under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," she said. Chen is a lawyer and activist who received a four-year jail sentence in 2006 after documenting abuses in China's policy on restricting the size of most families. Since 2010, he has been held under house arrest. He disappeared April 22 from a village in the eastern province of Shandong, although authorities did not realize he was missing until last Thursday. Media files: ap_clinton_state_300_eng_30apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB)

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VOA News: Africa: Analyst Delves Inside the Mind of LRA

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Analyst Delves Inside the Mind of LRA Apr 30th 2012, 22:05 Matthew Brubacher, the Public Affairs Officer for the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), has been studying the Lord's Resistance Army for years. He tells VOA Correspondent Gabe Joselow what he's learned about the psychology of the group based on interviews with defectors. Listen to the interview Joselow: Matthew, you have worked on LRA for a long time and you have a good point of view and insider perspective on their operations. Tell me a little about their command structure, how do they operate? Brubacher: Well their command structure depends on their environment. Currently they're spread out over an area of three different countries that's the size of California. The way they're functioning in that area of operation is basically they have a type of, what we call, "sector commands". [Joseph] Kony is always at the top of the organization but underneath him there's different groups that have sub groups and underneath them again subgroup's and each of those sub-groupings seem to meet on a fairly regular basis at rendezvous points and that's the way messages can be passed down, that's the way resources and abductees can be shared and it's a way of keeping the organization cohesive. Joselow: And I want to ask you about how they communicate within the groups, I mean years ago they would use satellite phones, mobile phones, but they've stopped using all electronic communications. What do they do now? How do they get their message to each other? Brubacher: Yeah we always ask that question to people when they come out of the LRA, and usually they tell us that the top commanders have a satellite phone or they have a mobile phone, some of them even have a high frequency radio, but that they rarely, rarely use them. And what we've found is that after the launch of the joint operations in December 2008, that the LRA really stopped using electronic communications because they knew it was being tracked. So what they've done instead now is they're using runners. So they'll have one trusted commander with several escorts that will basically run to find the other groups and inform them of what the orders are. Joselow: The LRA is also known for a culture of violence - training young kids to kill their parents - what is the effect psychologically on the kids? And how does it work to keep them trapped in the group? Brubacher: If there's one theme that's in Kony's communications it's that he wants to create his own tribe, a pure sort of tribe that's loyal to him. And those that are outside of that community are sort of impure. And that's how he justifies the killing often to the new recruits. That, you know, you killed your brother because he's not part of us, that he wasn't as pure as you are and what you did was a good thing. So I think that kind of spiritual element is very important. And Kony also uses spiritualism a lot within the LRA, first to try to cultivate this idea that he is linked with spiritual powers that are above, also to create a perception of omniscience, that he knows what you're thinking that he knows if you want to escape. In northern Uganda, when kids defected we would have to go through ceremonies of burning their clothes because they thought that Kony could always see what they were thinking and could always affect them or even mentally make them do something that they don't want to do. Joselow: I have a leaflet here, and this is something that the U.N. would drop from airplanes in LRA territories to try to encourage members to defect. What can you tell me about what's going on here? Brubacher: We're trying to cultivate within them a sense of homesickness, that their families are waiting for them, that their wives and brothers and sisters and mothers wanting them to come home and they're very concerned for their well-being. And it's also telling them that their families understand that they were forced to do things they didn't want to do and they're ready to forgive them for that. Joselow: And then on the other side, there's a picture of what looks like a family. What is this picture? Brubacher: Yeah, the picture changes, so this picture now is the picture of some of the older returnees, so now we've replaced that picture with the newer returnees. But basically all these people are people who have defected.  Some of them are more senior commanders within the LRA who defected, others of them are wives of commanders. And why we put them all together is that then people can see that these people who defected are still alive and are doing well. In fact we had a wife of Kony who defected in the Central African Republic after picking up one of these leaflets, and she said she saw the wife of Odhiambo, who is another LRA commander, and she was told that that person had died, that she had been killed because she tried to surrender, but then when she saw the picture she saw that actually she's still alive so that means if I escape I also can remain alive. Media files: AP Uganda LRA Kony 30Apr12 480.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) RTR1JA2B_230_Reuters_Kony_08MAR12.jpg JoselowQnALRA_30Apr12-32b.mp3 (audio/mpeg)

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VOA News: Africa: Nigeria Seeks to Become Food Exporter

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Nigeria Seeks to Become Food Exporter Apr 30th 2012, 22:05 West Africa imports a large amount of the food it consumes, leaving the region vulnerable to volatile international market prices that can cause riots in even the most peaceful countries.  Nigerian officials say there is enough land and farmers for Nigeria to stop importing food and help feed the region. Food import Every year, Nigeria spends more than $8.2 billion importing basic foods like sugar, fish and wheat.   Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan called the country's 11-percent increase in food imports this year "unsustainable," and promised to make Nigeria a major food exporter during the next few years. Member of Parliament Yakubu Umaru Barde says food imports are high because it can be more profitable to import than to grow food. Especially, he says, if you are a well-connected business person that can get a low-interest farming loan, even when you are not farming. "It is easier, it is more profitable for me to import rice with the loan I took for agric[ulture].  To get my waiver, bring the rice to Nigeria and sell it," said Barde. "It is very easy. It brings more money to me." Corruption Barde says the government's more than $40 million plan to eliminate rice imports by 2015 could be realistic, if the government can also eliminate corruption in the industry.   Nigeria is the world's second-largest rice importer, consuming two-million metric tons of rice per year from countries like China and Thailand. Senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Abuja, Abubakar Kari, says importing any rice to Nigeria at all is unnecessary.  "Nigeria has the capacity not only to be sufficient in food production, but even to feed the entire West African region," said Kari. "There are so many rice belts in the country that, if encouraged, can produce as much rice as we want." Kari calls the powerful merchants that control the rice importing industry a "cartel" that floods local markets, forcing small farmers, who are most of the farmers in Nigeria - to abandon commercial prospects. He says the government appears to lack the political will and the capacity to ignore special interests and provide farmers the help they need to commercialize, like fertilizer and irrigation.  "If the government gets the right focus, can have the necessary political will, it can easily ban the importation of rice, ignore the vested interest of the rice sector and give the necessary incentives to farmers," said Kari. Food security The main danger of having large amounts of food staples imported is that it makes food security directly tied to international market prices. In 2008, the United Nations reported riots across Africa after a sharp rise in food prices.   The United Nations says food prices are dangerously high in the Sahel, the semi-arid region that touches northern Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, northern Senegal and northern Cameroon. The Sahel is facing a food crisis in which millions of people are expected to go hungry in the coming months.  Analysts say if West African countries produced more food, this kind of crisis could be averted or at least its impact could be reduced. Officials say home-grown food will create jobs, stabilize food prices and help build a more equitable distribution of wealth. Shehu Sani, the president of Nigeria's Civil Rights Congress, says a drastic reduction of food imports would help the country, but adds that he has heard it all before. "From 1999, all the governments have made that pledge of stopping the importing of food from either the West or the East or anywhere and they also promised to pump in more money for local farmers to produce more," he said. "But it is very clear that that has never happened." Sani says current farming policies in Nigeria tend to benefit the rich and powerful. For elected officials, he adds, it makes implementing new policies harder because these wealthy individuals pay for their campaigns.   Media files: AFP_nigeria_food_eng_480_14jan12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) AFP_nigeria_food_eng_230_14jan12.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: African Economists Push to Sever Colonial-Era Monetary Ties with Europe

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

African Economists Push to Sever Colonial-Era Monetary Ties with Europe Apr 30th 2012, 22:48 While weak European economies create concerns around the world, economists in Africa are pushing to sever ties binding the continent to former colonial powers. One idea is to decouple the CFA franc, the currency in 14 African countries, from the euro.   One of the speakers at the Revival of Pan-Africanism Forum was economist Salomon Samen, who advises several African countries on economic policy. Samen calls the post-World War II CFA franc, which is used in West and Central Africa, an umbilical cord that needs to be cut. A good start, he says, would be to loosen the fixed relationship between the euro and the CFA franc. "The fixed parity between the CFA and the euro is no longer justified because trade between Africa and Europe has changed drastically over recent years with the greater role being played by Asian countries and China, and with a lot of trade being done with the United States as well. So it is not acceptable to have a simple fixed parity between the CFA franc and the euro. It has got to be overhauled," he said. Another African economist, Ivory Coast national Nash Kpokou, wants CFA franc countries to have their own currencies, so that African economies can increase their competitiveness and not be so influenced by the uncertain standing of the euro. "If we have our own currency, this will really help our economies to deal with most of the countries and they will be able to sell their goods to the rest of the world," he said. Kpokou calls the current system "banking tourism" that has benefited France and French-backed leaders, not African populations, even when their countries post solid economic growth. "When we talk about growth it should be inclusive.  They miss that it should take into consideration reducing poverty. So when growth is not taking into consideration the population, then there is no growth," he said. Kpokou also notes that the current system requires participating countries to hold most of their foreign reserves in accounts held at the French Treasury. Other participants at the forum said that instead of relying on this system to reassure investors who are wary of doing business in a highly-indebted region, African states need to improve their business and investment environments, and increase intercontinental trade. Media files: voa_colombant_Africa_Money_480_eng_30apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) voa_colombant_Africa_Money_230_eng_30apr12.jpg

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VOA News: Economy: African Economists Push to Sever Colonial-Era Monetary Ties with Europe

VOA News: Economy Economy Voice of America

African Economists Push to Sever Colonial-Era Monetary Ties with Europe Apr 30th 2012, 22:48 While weak European economies create concerns around the world, economists in Africa are pushing to sever ties binding the continent to former colonial powers. One idea is to decouple the CFA franc, the currency in 14 African countries, from the euro.   One of the speakers at the Revival of Pan-Africanism Forum was economist Salomon Samen, who advises several African countries on economic policy. Samen calls the post-World War II CFA franc, which is used in West and Central Africa, an umbilical cord that needs to be cut. A good start, he says, would be to loosen the fixed relationship between the euro and the CFA franc. "The fixed parity between the CFA and the euro is no longer justified because trade between Africa and Europe has changed drastically over recent years with the greater role being played by Asian countries and China, and with a lot of trade being done with the United States as well. So it is not acceptable to have a simple fixed parity between the CFA franc and the euro. It has got to be overhauled," he said. Another African economist, Ivory Coast national Nash Kpokou, wants CFA franc countries to have their own currencies, so that African economies can increase their competitiveness and not be so influenced by the uncertain standing of the euro. "If we have our own currency, this will really help our economies to deal with most of the countries and they will be able to sell their goods to the rest of the world," he said. Kpokou calls the current system "banking tourism" that has benefited France and French-backed leaders, not African populations, even when their countries post solid economic growth. "When we talk about growth it should be inclusive.  They miss that it should take into consideration reducing poverty. So when growth is not taking into consideration the population, then there is no growth," he said. Kpokou also notes that the current system requires participating countries to hold most of their foreign reserves in accounts held at the French Treasury. Other participants at the forum said that instead of relying on this system to reassure investors who are wary of doing business in a highly-indebted region, African states need to improve their business and investment environments, and increase intercontinental trade. Media files: voa_colombant_Africa_Money_480_eng_30apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) voa_colombant_Africa_Money_230_eng_30apr12.jpg

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VOA News: Asia: Obama Sidesteps Issue of Asylum for Chinese Dissident Chen

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

Obama Sidesteps Issue of Asylum for Chinese Dissident Chen Apr 30th 2012, 21:39 President Barack Obama avoided comment on Monday when asked by reporters whether the United States would offer political asylum to an escaped Chinese dissident. The president and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a news conference after meeting at the White House. With high-level U.S.-China talks set to start on Thursday in Beijing, the president sidestepped the delicate issue of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng. The blind lawyer fled house arrest last week and is reported to have entered the protection of U.S. diplomats in Beijing. Obama would not confirm that Chen is under U.S. protection or that American and Chinese diplomats are trying to negotiate an agreement for him to receive asylum. "Obviously, I am aware of the press reports on the situation in China, but I am not going to make a statement on the issue. What I would like to emphasize is that every time we meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up," he said. Analysts say the issue could have implications beyond the upcoming strategic and economic talks between Washington and Beijing. China has been cooperating with the United States on global economic issues, working to discourage North Korea and Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and trying to prevent a war between Sudan and South Sudan. Obama and Noda criticized North Korea's recent failed missile launch. The president said he has tried to ensure that Pyongyang is punished for provocative behavior. "The old pattern of provocation that then gets attention and somehow insists on the world purchasing good behavior from them - that that pattern is broken. What we said is that the more you engage in provocative acts, the more isolated you will become," said Obama. The Japanese leader said North Korea's action undermined efforts to resolve the situation peacefully. Noda also called on the international community to work together to discourage Pyongyang from conducting nuclear tests. Both leaders highlighted their agreement to move about 9,000 U.S. Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa to other locations in the Pacific region. Obama praised Noda and the Japanese people for their country's recovery from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck Japan more than a year ago. Noda thanked Americans for their support. Media files: AP_obama_japan_noda_rec_30A.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) AP_obama_japan_noda_sq_30Ap.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: Gunfire Erupts in Mali

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

Gunfire Erupts in Mali Apr 30th 2012, 21:46 Witnesses in Mali say gunfire has broken out in the capital, Bamako, about a month after a military coup d'état. The witnesses say the shoot-out on Monday involved troops who took part in the March coup and presidential guard members loyal to Mali's deposed president Amadou Toumani Toure. Renegade soldiers seized power in Mali on March 22, accusing President Toure of failing to properly equip the army to handle a Tuareg rebellion in the north. The new military government, under pressure from the regional bloc ECOWAS, later agreed to form a civilian transitional government to organize new elections. Last week, Mali's interim leaders announced the formation of a new government that gave military officers three posts in the new government - defense, interior security and interior ministry.  The rest of the 24-member government is made up of civilians. Since the coup, Tuareg rebels fighting alongside the Islamist group Ansar Dine have captured three northern regions.  The rebels declared an independent state, a move that was rejected by neighboring countries and the African Union. Media files: Mali Curious Map.jpg

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VOA News: Asia: Cambodian Committee to Investigate Killing of Environmental Activist

VOA News: Asia Asia Voice of America

Cambodian Committee to Investigate Killing of Environmental Activist Apr 30th 2012, 21:06 The Cambodian government says it will establish a joint committee to investigate the killing of the country's most prominent environmental activist, as well a military policeman killed in the same incident. Military police commander Sao Sokha told VOA Monday the committee will include officials from the ministries of the Interior and Justice, as well as the Council of Ministers and the military police. Environmentalist Chut Wutty and two local journalists had been investigating illegal logging in a remote area of Koh Kong province last week when security forces stopped them, demanding their cameras. Shots were fired after a lengthy argument between Chut Wutty and the officials, who appeared to be military policemen. Chut Wutty and military policeman In Ratana were fatally wounded in the incident. Authorities had said last week that In Ratana fatally shot Chut Wutty then turned the gun on himself, but witnesses say the security official was shot twice in the chest, raising questions about the validity of the story. Sao Sokha said the investigation would uncover the "real situation" behind the shooting. He offered no details about when the investigation would begin. Chut Wutty's son, Cheuy Oudom Reaksmey, is calling for a full investigation to bring the killer to justice. He said he did not believe the killer was In Ratana, or that In Ratana shot himself twice. "I would like to request both the international and national communities find justice for my patriotic father," Cheuy Oudom Reaksmey said Friday, weeping. "He's well known in Cambodia, so please find him justice, find the real killer." Chut Wutty was the director of the Natural Resource Protection group and had acted as an environmental advocate and researcher. He had been sharply critical of government officials and military forces engaged in deforestation. Chhim Savuth, a project coordinator with the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said he suspects the activist's death was politically motivated. "I conclude that the shooting of Wutty was [a plan] to shut him up by businessmen and powerful people who are doing business in the central Cardamom forest, because he was once arrested there," said Chhim Savuth, who worked closely with Chut Wutty on educating forest communities about their rights to protest their land. Chut Wutty had been threatened in the past, but he could not be stopped, nor bribed, said Marcus Hardtke, a program coordinator for ARA, a German conservation group that supported Chut Wutty's work. Hardtke said the "biggest tragedy" would be for others "not to stand up, not to speak up." "It would be the opposite of what he wanted," Hardtke said. "People should take him as an example. We need a few thousand Chut Wutty's now in Cambodia." Media files: voa_cambodia_logging_480_eng_30apr12.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.2 MB) voa_cambodia_logging_300_eng_30apr12.jpg

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VOA News: Africa: DRC Prime Minister Unveils Smaller Government

VOA News: Africa Africa Voice of America

DRC Prime Minister Unveils Smaller Government Apr 30th 2012, 20:04 The new prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Matata Ponyo Mapon, has named the ministers who make up his new government. Political observers say the new team contains more technocrats and fewer politicians, but also does not include any members of the opposition. When he was appointed by President Joseph Kabila last week, Ponyo promised not to have a jumbo-sized government. He followed through on his pledge, naming a government with 36 ministers compared to more than 60 in the previous administration.   Only seven members of the previous government retained their posts. And, in a notable change, this Cabinet includes fewer heads of political parties and others who have made a name for themselves in politics. Many of the new ministers are unknown to the public, and  likely have been chosen for their technical and managerial experience. A political analyst at the University of Kinshasa, professor Philippe Buyoya said that having fewer heads of political parties means ministers can concentrate more on running the country, rather than internal politics. He said the choice of ministers shows that the president wants to have an administration that will govern, rather than just distribute the fruits of victory in the elections. However, Buyoya notes that the new government is less politically diverse than the old one. He said that compared with the previous government of Antoine Gizenga and Adolphe Muzito, this one is essentially a government of the ruling party, with other parties as allies but dominated by the ruling party, the PPRD. Jean Claude Katende heads of one of Congo's leading human rights organizations, ASADHO [African Association for the Defense of Human Rights]. He said he is disappointed that the new government is not more inclusive. He said his organization is concerned that there are no members of the opposition in the new government, as the president appeared to have promised when he was sworn into office. Katende said that after the controversy surrounding the last elections, he thought it was necessary to include some opposition members in government. Kabila won re-election in November but his challengers rejected the results, and observers noted significant disarray during the vote-counting process. The U.S.-based Carter Center suggested the true results of the parliamentary elections may never be known.   Over the weekend, Congo's Supreme Court announced the final results of its investigations following legal challenges to the election results.  After ruling on Wednesday that 32 members of parliament were not rightfully elected, the court confirmed the elections of the other MPs. Media files: afp_drc_pm_ponyo_480_19april2012.jpg (image/jpeg, 0.1 MB) afp_drc_pm_ponyo_230_19april2012.jpg

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