Haiti: Artists to Fight Insecurity?

Karlito writes (Fr): “[We] hold the police and government responsible for not doing enough to fight insecurity. But we forget the role that artists can play in helping that fight. One organization that has caught my attention is ONE. An organization filled with international artists whose goal is to help...

Image from Tahiti: Market of Papeete

Senegal: To Run or Not to Run

Robert Sagna, a former minister in the Senegalese government and Mayor of Zinguinchor, Senegal reflects (Fr) on the upcoming presidential elections: “The whole electoral process is corrupt and managed according to the interests of the Senegalese Democtaric Party (PDS) in power.” He then explains that he is still pondering whether...

Tahiti: The End of Carnival

Fenua Blog posts pictures (Fr) of the 2003 Tahitian carnival which was canceled this year after a four year run.

Haiti: Annual Floods

JoJo from Collectif Haiti de Provence on floods in Haiti (Fr): ” It's the same every year. A part of the country flooded, victims and people made homeless by the hundreds. Recall the lot of people from the border and the catastrophe that hit the city of Gonaives [last year]...

Haiti: Wyclef Jean in Concert in Jacmel

Haiti-based blogger Yon Ayisyen says Haitian-American hip hop artist Wyclef Jean will be in concert in Jacmel, Haiti soon (Fr): “He will perform December 1st two days before the local and municipal elections. I wonder, will he take the opportunity to stay and vote on Sunday?”

DRC: Insurrection in North Kivu

UDPS Liege wrote yesterday (Fr): “According to the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), fighting resumed this Monday morning at Kasengezi, about 20 kilometers from Goma. UN troops from India intervened using helicopters and ground operations to bring the men loyal to [General Nkunda] back to their positions near Sake,...

Flooding in Haiti

JoJo at Collectif Haiti de Provence links to a Sunday AlterPresse story on the current flooding in Jean-Rabel, Haiti. The story states (Fr): “The Jean-Rabel community, a town in the northwest of Haiti, is currently facing serious difficulties after 3 days of incessant rains (November 23, 2006). Already at least...

DRC: “Bemba was to be defeated”

In a long post about Kinshasa's fervor for Bemba despite his defeat, Le Blog du Congolais writes (Fr):”It was written and we knew it: Bemba was to be defeated, for a reason or another. The court however did not this time around have to find the reason. Bemba's lawyers did...

Haiti: Impunity, President Preval and Farah Dessources

On November 15, Farah Dessources, a 20 year old first year University student was kidnapped and killed despite the payment of part of the ransom by her mother. Saturday during her funeral, a demonstration took place in Port-au-Prince, demanding that the Preval government do more to stamp out insecurity. There...

Cote d'Ivoire: France and UN Resolution 1721

Generation Consciente writes (Fr): “Despite its best efforts, Paris did not succeed in getting the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that might oust President Gbagbo. After intense negotiations at the UN headquarters, Resolution 1721 regarding Cote d'Ivoire, a French intitiative, was adopted by the Security Council. It maintains...

French minorities: Questioning the Republican Model

Togolese-origined French politician Kofi Yamgnane posts a December 13 conference announcement that questions the limitations of French republicanist integration (Fr): “Integration in the French tradition … is resolutely hostile to any differentiation or separation founded on individual origins … Contrary to the Anglo-Saxon model, the Republican model rejects communities and...

Tahiti: Market of Papeete

Photos de Tahiti et de Polynesie posts (Fr) pictures of the market of Papeete.

Haiti & Debt Relief: Will Government Measure Up?

Jojo at Collectif Haiti de Provence posts a Radio Kiskeya article on the World Bank and IMF conditions for permanent debt relief for the country and writes (Fr): “The conditions for permanent debt relief are clear and precise and for once seem human … Can our compatriots once in power...

Guadeloupe: Route du Rhum Video Podcast

InternetRapide.com reposts (Fr) a Guadeloupe.fr video podcast about this year's Route du Rhum transatlantic sailing competition.

Tunisia: Censoring Wikipedia?

Sami Ben Gharbia writes (Fr): “We don't yet know if it is censorship or not but what is certain is that the Wikipedia and Wikipedia Foundation sites have not been accessible from Tunisia since the 23rd of this month. According to a subscriber to the francophone Wikipedia mailing list …...

Reunion: Sarkozy and Nassimah Dindar

Pierrot Dupuy writes (Fr): “I am learning from different sources, some of which are close Parisian relations of [French Interior Minister] Nicolas Sarkozy, that if he is elected President, he will offer a minister job to Nassimah Dindar … Is the best way to avoid Nassimah the minister for Sarkozy...

Haiti: Picture of Kidnapped Schoolgirl

Collectif-Haiti-de-Provence posts (Fr) the picture of Farah Dessources, a 20 year old university student who was recently kidnapped and killed in Haiti.

Senegal: Criteria for Recruiting Ministers?

Senegalais Frustre at Blog Politique du Senegal has an unexpected theory about how ministers are recruited in Senegal (Fr): “When [Prime Minister] Macky Sall promises maximal efficiency of our ministers, does that mean that we are going to have an international golf team or an olympic champion in paper crumpling…”

Guyane:Commemorating 1996 Student Protests

Blada.com announced that a conference commemorating the 1996 high school student strikes that led to more local control of school administration took place yesterday. The event featured a photo exhibit, a film and a public debate.

Tahiti: Photos

Parlons Tahiti posts pictures of Tahiti sunsets, yachts, the Moorea port, the beach at Haapiti, a local hospital, a dance company and much more.