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St Helena and its dependencies – Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha – are remote islands about midway between Africa and South America in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Though far from each other, they form a single territorial grouping under the sovereignty of the British Crown. Apart from Ascension, the islands are only accessible by sea.
St Helena is probably best known as the island to which French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled in 1815 after his defeat at Waterloo. The Zulu Chief, Dinizulu, was confined to St Helena in 1890 and up to 6,000 Boer prisoners were held there after the South African war of 1899-1902.
After being discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, St Helena became a busy way station for sea farers up until the late 1800s when steam started replacing sail, and the opening of the Suez Canal changed the pattern of sea routes.
Its fortunes, however, have declined and several of its residents have left. But the British government hopes to reverse the trend and help the island become self-sufficient by making it accessible by air and therefore more attractive to tourists.
The plan is for an airport to be completed in 2011 or 2012. The (Royal Mail Ship) RMS St Helena is currently the only public form of access to the island.
Ascension Island, a desert island situated just south of the equator, is a vital staging post for Britain in the South Atlantic. Being about half way between Britain and the Falklands, it served as a key logistical base for troops heading for the Falklands war in 1982.
Ascension was an important communications and operations centre during both World Wars and its Wideawake Airfield is now shared by the British and American air forces.
The island has a transient population of about 1,000, mainly Britons, Americans and St Helenians involved in the military, telecommunications and satellite tracking. It can be reached by air or by the RMS St Helena.
Britain has expressed the intention of applying to the UN to extend its territorial rights around Ascension Island on the grounds that the island's landmass actually reaches much further underwater.
This would give Britain more extensive rights over any oil or gas reserves in the areas.
Tristan da Cunha was at one time on the main trading route between Europe and the Indian Ocean, but the small community living there is now extremely isolated.
It is situated 2,800 km west of Cape Town, South Africa, and is part of a group of islands which includes Inaccessible, Nightingale, Middle, Stoltenhoff, and Gough – which has a manned weather station.
Although Tristan da Cunha was discovered in 1506, it remained uninhabited until it was used by US whalers in the late 1700s. The British navy stationed a garrison there during Napoleon's exile on St Helena, and when the garrison was withdrawn, three men stayed behind and became the founders of the present settlement.
According to Tristan da Cunha's official website the island “was ignored by early explorers as a possible home due to its rugged mountain landscape, absence of natural harbour, lack of land for agriculture, and a harsh climate with heavy rain and high winds at all seasons. It took an extra-ordinary breed of people, ready to live at the margins of life, to settle and eventually thrive in the world's most isolated community.”
It says that Tristan da Cunha “offers the world a special social and economic organisation evolved over the years, but based on the principles set out by William Glass in 1817 when he established a settlement based on equality.”
The Kingdom of Lesotho is made up mostly of highlands where many of the villages can be reached only on horseback, by foot or light aircraft.
During the winter shepherds wearing only boots and wrap-around blankets have to contend with snow.
While much of the tiny country, with spectacular canyons and thatched huts, remains untouched by modern machines, developers have laid down roads to reach its mineral and water resources.
Major construction work has been under way in recent years to create the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to supply South Africa with fresh water.
Resources are scarce – a consequence of the harsh environment of the highland plateau and limited agricultural space in the lowlands. So, Lesotho has been heavily dependent on the country which completely surrounds it – South Africa.
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At a glance
Politics: Ruling party of Prime Minister Mosisili won early elections in February 2007, called after some of its MPs crossed the floor. Polls in 1998 led to violence; peacekeepers restored order
Economy: Lesotho depends on South Africa as an employer, and as buyer of its main natural resource – water. Textile exports have been hurt by the erosion of trade concessions, but appear to be expanding again
International: Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa
Over the decades thousands of workers have been forced by the lack of job opportunities to find work at South African mines. South Africa has on several occasions intervened in Lesotho's politics, including in 1998 when it sent its troops to help quell unrest.
The former British protectorate has had a turbulent, if not particularly bloody, period of independence with several parties, army factions and the royal family competing for power in coups and mutinies. The position of king has been reduced to a symbolic and unifying role.
Lesotho has one of the world's highest rates of HIV-Aids infection. A drive to encourage people to take HIV tests was spurred on by Prime Minister Mosisili, who was tested in public in 2004.
Poverty is deep and widespread, with the UN describing 40% of the population as “ultra-poor”. Food output has been hit by the deaths from Aids of farmers.
Economic woes have been compounded by the scrapping of a global textile quota system which exposed producers to Asian competition. Thousands of jobs in the industry have been lost.
Destiny Africa Choir visit the Pierhead / Côr Destiny Africa yn ymweld â’r Pierhead 18/5/2010
Image by National Assembly For Wales / Cynulliad Cymru
A choir of Ugandan orphans visited the Pierhead on 18 May 2010 to deliver a special performance.
The Destiny Africa choir is made up of 15 children, aged eight to16, who have been orphaned or left with a parent who can no longer look after them due to war, HIV and AIDS related illness.
Watch the video here
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Daeth côr o blant amddifad o Uganda ar ymweliad â’r Pierhead ar 18 Mai i roi cyflwyniad arbennig.
Mae côr Destiny Affrica yn cynnwys 15 o blant rhwng wyth ac 16 oed, sydd wedi eu gadael yn amddifad neu gyda rhiant na all ofalu amdanynt bellach oherwydd rhyfel, HIV ac afiechyd sy’n gysylltiedig ag AIDS.
Gwyliwch y fideo yma
Protesters threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas
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Related Stories
Youssou N'Dour: Singing for people power
Senegal profile
Clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital Dakar, after the top court said President Abdoulaye Wade could run for a third term in next month's poll.
Angered by the decision, protesters threw stones at riot police, who responded by firing tear gas.
Mr Wade, 85, has already served two terms. But the constitution was amended since he was last elected, and he has argued the law is not retroactive.
In its ruling, the court barred famous singer Youssou N'Dour from running.
The opposition had earlier warned it would hold street protests if Mr Wade's candidacy was approved, and crowds had gathered in central Dakar to await the ruling.
After the decision came through, youths in the area around Place de l'Obelisque set fire to tyres and engaged in running battles with police.
There were no immediate reports of injuries in Friday's clashes.
The authorities said the protest would be tolerated in spite of an official ban on demonstrations.
The constitutional court's statement, issued late on Friday, listed 14 candidates – including Mr Wade – as eligible to stand in the 26 February election.
Abdoulaye Wade has been in power since 2000
Mr Wade – who came to power in 2000 and was re-elected in 2007 – has insisted that as his first term pre-dated the 2001 constitutional change establishing the two-term limit he is not affected by it.
As well as Mr Wade, the list of candidates includes Idrissa Seck, Macky Sall and Moustapha Niasse and the main opposition leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng, according to AFP news agency.
The court ruled that Youssou N'Dour's candidacy was invalid because he had not gathered the required number of signatures.
The Grammy award-winning musician announced he would stand earlier this month, saying “the people are fed up with career politicians who almost all enriched themselves with the state's money”.
Youths at Place de l'Obelisque told Associated Press that they planned to turn the square into the equivalent of Egypt's Tahrir Square if Mr Wade's candidacy was allowed to go ahead.
Senegal is seen as one of the most democratic and stable countries in West Africa – it is the only country in the region never to have experienced a military coup.
However, tension is rising ahead of the election and one prominent politician has been charged with murder.
KANO, Nigeria – The emir of Kano and the state’s top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people killed in a coordinated attack by a radical Islamist sect, though fear kept many Nigerians from coming to the mosque.
Emir Ado Bayero, 81, whispered to God through a microphone at a mosque in Kano, a city of more than 9 million in Nigeria’s Muslim north. The mosque sat half empty for the special service Monday. Secret police officers in ill-fitting suits stood guard with assault rifles out of fear the sect known as Boko Haram could strike again.
“I call on people from all groups to pray for this place,” said Bayero, who was joined by Kano state Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso. Residents of Kano tried to restore a semblance of normality, but nerves were on edge.
The Nigerian Red Cross estimates more than 150 people died in Friday’s attack in Kano, which saw at least two Boko Haram suicide bombers detonate explosive-laden cars. The attack hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria’s secret police, leaving corpses lying in the streets across the city, many wearing police or other security agency uniforms. The scale of the attack left President Goodluck Jonathan speechless as he toured what remained of a regional police headquarters Sunday.
A Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message to journalists Friday. He said the attack came because the state government refused to release Boko Haram members held by the police.
The coordinated attack in Kano represents Boko Haram’s deadliest assault since beginning a campaign of terror last year. Boko Haram has killed 226 people so far in 2012, more than half of the 510 people the sect killed in all of 2011, according to an Associated Press count.
Nigeria’s weak central government has been unable to stop the killings, and its heavy-handed military response has been criticized by civilians who live in fear of sect attacks.
Security forces on Sunday shot dead four people they accused of being Boko Haram members after finding explosive-making materials in their car in the sect’s stronghold of Maiduguri, said Col. Victor Ebhaleme, a military field operation officer in the northeastern city. Local police said at the same time on Sunday, a suspected sect member killed a Maiduguri High Court registrar at his home.
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north, wants to implement strict Shariah law and avenge the deaths of Muslims in communal violence across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people split largely into a Christian south and Muslim north.
While the sect has begun targeting Christian living in the north, the majority of those killed Friday appeared to be Muslim, officials have said.
The emir left the mosque Monday morning leaning on a cane, moving slowly. Dark sunglasses hid the bags under his eyes. The emirates of Nigeria, which date back to the early 1800s, still remain spiritual leaders for Muslims in Nigeria’s north. British colonialists used the emirates to rule the north by proxy until independence in 1960. Many believe Nigeria’s corrupt politicians now do the same.
The waning influence of traditional rulers and the rise of Boko Haram has many fearing more violence will come in Nigeria’s north. Aminu Garba, 38, who stood outside the mosque after the prayer service, said his wife suffered a miscarriage during Friday’s attack.
“We are not safe at all. We are not safe,” Garba said. He described hearing a tire burst on Sunday, causing people nearby to drop whatever they were carrying and run away.
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Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
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Associated Press writer Njadvara Musa in Maiduguri, Nigeria contributed to this report.
Many observers have criticised Joseph Kabila's re-election as president
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DR Congo Seeks Democracy
No end to the tears
Kabila victory questioned
Profile: Joseph Kabila
Failed state: Can Congo recover?
The Democratic Republic of Congo's main opposition leader has condemned the results of parliamentary elections.
Etienne Tshisekedi said his party members who had won seats should boycott the parliament as November's general elections were rigged.
He also called for a general strike on Monday in protest at his house arrest.
President Joseph Kabila's PPRD and their allies say they will be able to muster a parliamentary majority, with 432 of the 500 seats declared.
He was declared the winner of the presidential election last month, although Mr Tshisekedi has rejected this and tried to swear himself in as president, leading to his house arrest.
On Thursday, police fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters who were trying to accompany Mr Tshisekedi to the presidential palace in the capital, Kinshasa.
In reaction to his treatment he called for a national strike on Monday until “further notice”, AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
In December, Mr Kabila admitted there were mistakes in the electoral process, but said no poll was 100% perfect and rejected concerns that the results, criticised by Western observers, lacked credibility.
Candidate prosecutions
In the early hours of Friday morning, the electoral commission announced the results of the parliamentary poll – contested by 18,000 candidates – which gave the PPRD 58 seats and Mr Tshisekedi's UDPS 34.
The BBC's Thomas Hubert in Kinshasa says nearly 100 parties will be represented in the National Assembly, along with many independents, and it will take a broad alliance to create a majority.
Our correspondent says that, with recently formed parties known to back the president and his twin sister Jaynet – elected as an independent – Mr Kabila hopes to reach the 250-vote majority needed to pass any legislation.
Alphonse Awenze Makiaba, who uses his bicycle to transport people and goods in the third city, Kisangani, and campaigned as the candidate of the poor, was also elected.
Our reporter says the long-awaited announcement of the results is not the end of DR Congo's electoral woes – many candidates are expected to file legal challenges to the results.
The electoral commission has asked the Supreme Court to order a rerun of the polls in seven constituencies where violence disrupted the election and prosecute the candidates involved.
Many of the remaining 68 seats still to be declared are in Kinshasa, which is seen as an opposition stronghold.
But Mr Tshisekedi called for new elections to be held on the grounds that the election commission lacked legitimacy and said newly elected UPDS MPs should not take up their seats.
Last November's elections were the first Congolese-organised polls since the end of a devastating war in 2003, which left some four million people dead.
The poll was also criticised by Catholic bishops, who complained in a statement of “treachery, lies and terror” and called on the election commission to correct “serious errors”.
The head of UN peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, who is currently touring on the country, has urged dialogue between both sides to overcome the frustration over the flawed electoral process.
Inside DR Congo
SIZE
MINERAL WEALTH
TRANSPORT
POPULATION
DATA
The Democratic Republic of Congo covers 2,344,858 square km of land in the centre of Africa, making it the 12th largest country in the world.
DR Congo has abundant mineral wealth. It has more than 70% of the world’s coltan, used to make vital components of mobile phones, 30% of the planet’s diamond reserves and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite. This wealth however has attracted looters and fuelled the country’s civil war.
Despite the country’s size, transport infrastructure is very poor. Of 153,497km of roads, only 2,794km are paved. There are around 4,000 km of railways but much is narrow-gauge track and in poor condition. Waterways are vital to transport goods but journeys can take months to complete. Overcrowded boats frequently capsize, while DR Congo has more plane crashes than any other country.
With an estimated population of 71 million, DR Congo is the fourth most populous country in Africa. Some 35% of the population live in cities and the capital Kinshasa is by far the largest, with more than 8 million inhabitants. DR Congo has around 200 ethnic identities with the majority of people belonging to the Kongo, Luba and Mongo groups.
Given its size and resources DR Congo should be a prosperous country, but years of war, corruption and economic mismanagement have left it desperately poor. In 2011 it lags far behind in many key development indicators, with average life expectancy increasing by only 2 years since 1980, after a period when it actually fell during the mid 1990s.
One of Africa's newest oil producers, Mauritania bridges the Arab Maghreb and western sub-Saharan Africa.
The largely-desert country presents a cultural contrast, with an Arab-Berber population to the north and black Africans to the south. Many of its people are nomads.
In the Middle Ages Mauritania was the cradle of the Almoravid movement, which spread Islam throughout the region and for a while controlled the Islamic part of Spain.
European traders began to show interest in Mauritania in the 15th century. France gained control of the coastal region in 1817, and in 1904 a formal French protectorate was extended over the territory.
Morocco opposed the country's independence in 1960 and for a time tried to absorb it. But Morocco's King Hassan II later improved ties as part of his plan to divide Western Sahara.
The eventual deal in 1976 brought more problems, though, with Mauritania coming under attack by Polisario Front guerrillas, who opposed Moroccan control of Western Sahara, and the subsequent downfall of the leader since independence – Moktar Ould Daddah – in a military coup.
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At a glance
Politics: A coup in 2005 ended President Taya's two decades of authoritarian rule; presidential polls in March 2007 marked the start of a short-lived move towards democracy – another coup followed a year later
Economy: Mauritania depends heavily on drought-prone agriculture; its rich coastal fishing grounds are threatened by over-exploitation; offshore oil exploitation began in 2006
International: Al-Qaeda militants are presenting a serious challenge and have kidnapped and killed several foreigners
Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring
Peace was agreed with the Polisario in 1979, but this in turn worsened relations with Morocco, until a detente in 1985. More recently, ties with Senegal have been strained over the use of the Senegal River, which forms the border between the two countries.
Mauritania officially banned slavery in 1981. The government has denied accusations that it is still being practised.
One of the world's poorest countries, Mauritania has pinned hopes for future prosperity on the exploitation of its offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. The Chinguetti and Tiof fields are expected to yield millions of barrels of oil.
The country forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 1999, one of three Arab nations to have done so, but suspended them in January 2009 in protest at Israel's military operation in Gaza. It closed the Israeli embassy in March.
Under former President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, Mauritania was an ally of the US in its “war on terror”. American special forces were despatched to train Mauritanian troops.
Al-Qaeda militants operating in Mauritania, Algeria and Mali have become increasingly active, kidnapping and killing several foreigners.
Mauritania's response has been to take an increasingly tough line against the militants, refusing to negotiate with al-Qaeda over hostages.
Africa Day 2010 – Iveagh Gardens
Image by infomatique
Africa Day Dublin took in the Iveagh Gardens Sunday 16th May from 12 noon to 7pm and the organizers gave me access to all areas.
Irish Aid has chosen a food-related theme for its Africa Day celebrations in 2010, with a particular focus on issues such as food security and hunger.
Upon arrival at the Iveagh Gardens, visitors were greeted by the sights, sounds and smells of Africa. As expected the African Bazaar proved to be a hub of activity, showcasing the food, music and unique cultures of over 20 different African countries.
Music was the key feature of Africa Day 2010, with performances from high-profile African and Irish acts on the Main Stage. A new feature this year was the Music Tent, which featured interactive workshops over the course of the day.
LAGOS, Nigeria – A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press on Friday that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man’s release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.
The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Georgia, by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.
Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.
“The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location,” Patterson said by telephone.
She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.
It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.
The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation’s Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.
Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.
Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria’s government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.
In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.
In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.
A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.
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Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.