Lady Gaga Ban On Photography At Concerts in South Africa

The South African National Editors' Forum has noted with concern the complete ban on free news media photography at the Lady Gaga Concerts in Johannesburg and Cape Town. 

Previous accepted practice at such events has been for accredited news photographers to be allowed to take pictures during the first three songs and then to withdraw. Organisers confirmed on Wednesday to SANEF members seeking accreditation that no news photography at all would be allowed.

Fans went gaga as American superstar Lady Gaga touched down at Lanseria International Airport last night ahead of the South African leg of her "Born ... 

SANEF views the decision by the organisers to only make available selected publicity photographs as a form of press censorship fundamentally in conflict with the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of media in South Africa.

A better democracy is needed for Cameroon: Dr Christopher Fomunyoh

During the conference special November from 07 to 09, organised by la plate forme indépendante la Grande Palabre and its partners on the theme re-think and re-build the Cameroonian opposition, Dr. Chris Fomunyoh from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Washington emphasised the need to increase effort that will lead to the democratisation of Cameroon.

According to Dr Christopher, democracy can not flourish without active and effective opposition, if not how to capitalize the diversity of opinions, viewpoints, values ​​and perceptions of public affairs that exist in our societies. In addition, some political scientists renamed, such as Samuel Huntington have integrated the key factors of consolidation of democracy, alternating repeatedly (at least twice) to the public. He further added;  such an alternation allow those who yesterday were in the opposition, have the opportunity to manage public affairs and to put into practice some of their new ideas, while leaving those who have worked in the past the possibility of exploiting their former government experience, offering constructive criticism to improve the functioning of state institutions.

Dr Christopher believes the very concept of democracy is linked in a way intrinsic to the existence of a political opposition. Regarding Africa, although our oldest companies already complied with the principles and values ​​of democracy, it is only with the emergence of political opposition at the national level and the first alternation of power early 1990s that the modern world has seized the opportunity to recognize the efforts of democratization on the continent. In its various research, American political scientist Michael Bratton is also the enthusiasm and popular support for democracy in Africa - as elsewhere - are closely linked to the existence of alternations in the exercise of political power through elections.

Thus, the political opposition in Africa should not only be recognized but actively supported because it plays a vital role in the development of alternative political platforms, allowing citizens to explore different social projects and choose the one that is best suited to the circumstances through which each country has in place. 

It is hoped in years to come, such gathering will be reatained as a symbol that democracy was reflected and discussed by democratic participants for the greater future of Cameroon and Africa in general .

It is imperative to invest in childreen.

Investing any resources to help children survive and develop to their full potential is, first and foremost, a moral imperative. But investing in children is also important on practical grounds as it yields positive benefits not just to the economies but the societies as well. 

Therefore, the most opportune time to break the cycle of poverty, or prevent it from beginning, is in early childhood. Donate to Save the childreen's Annual Fund Appeal today through this link:

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.8461811/k.284D/Save_the_Children__Annual_Fund_2012.htm?msource=dmefuaufd112

Assassination attempt on activist Dr Denis Mukwege;

Ungent apeal: Democratic Republic of Congo must protect Dr. Denis Mukwege after violent attack.

Dr. Mukwege is a founding member of the Advisory Committee of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict regoins.

Dr. Denis Mukwege

Dr. Mukwege is a world-renowned surgeon and director of Panzi Hospital in Eastern Congo’s South Kivu province. The clinic has treated over 30,000 survivors of sexual violence.

According to the African Press Organization (APO); October 27, 2012, The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict (http://www.stoprapeinconflict.org) urgently calls on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect Doctor Denis Mukwege after a violent attack and assassination attempt at his home in Bukavu.

Campaign member Physicians for Human Rights, today reported that four armed men forced themselves into Dr. Mukwege’s home in his absence and held hostage several family members at gunpoint. Upon his arrival, they tried to force him out of his car; mean while shooting his trusted security guard and aide who attempted to intervene; he died on the spot. Dr. Mukwege lowered his head and body quickly when the armed men fired shots towards him, before driving off in his car, which was later found abandoned.

Check out this latest video of Meeting Grand Challenges for the 21st Century

Meeting Grand Challenges for the 21st Century. Global Agenda Council Members met to share ideas and real options to address the grand challenges of the 21st century.

With input from people around the world -- an international group of leading technological thinkers were asked to identify the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century. 

From urban centers to remote corners of Earth, the depths of the oceans to space, humanity has always sought to transcend barriers, overcome challenges, and create opportunities that improve life in our part of the universe. In the last century alone, many great engineering achievements became so commonplace that we now take them mostly for granted. Technology allows an abundant supply of food and safe drinking water for much of the world. We rely on electricity for many of our daily activities. We can travel the globe with relative ease, and bring goods and services wherever they are needed. Growing computer and communications technologies are opening up vast stores of knowledge and entertainment. As remarkable as these engineering achievements are, certainly just as many more great challenges and opportunities remain to be realized. While some seem clear, many others are indistinct and many more surely lie beyond most of our imaginations. Hope today such discussion from people like Valerie amos can be a begining of  a path to the future. 

This meeting was attended by the following key people; 

• Baroness Valerie Amos, Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), New York; Global Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risks.

• Céline Cousteau, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CauseCentric Productions, USA; Global Agenda Council on Oceans. 

• Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director-General, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden; Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment.

• Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Professor of Economics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany; Young Global Leader Alumnus; Global Agenda Council on Fiscal Sustainability.

Unfaithful husband deforms wife's face with acid

A WOMAN whose husband threw acid in her face after she divorced him has now been forced into remarrying him again.

Nurbanu divorced her husband of 18 years eight days before he returned and threw acid in her face in Shatkhira in south west Bangladesh. She had originally ended the marriage after she found him with another woman.

According to Nurbanu account to The Huffington Post, "My husband went into hiding. After 10 months he was caught and jailed for a year,"

Nurbanu's husband spent 12 months in jail for disfiguring her. He had been on the run for ten months before authorities caught up with him, but after his release his family coerced her into re-marrying him.

"His mother paid for his release on bail," she said. "She made me sign an affidavit to have him released. She used my sons to convince me to marry him again."

The acid attack has left the 36-year-old mother with horrific facial injuries. She is now blind and unable to even prepare a meal for herself.

Nurbanu is one of thousands of women in Bangladesh who have had acid flung at them by a relative or partner due to domestic arguments, financial woes or even rejected marriage proposals.

Violence against women remains an issue, according to Monira Rahman, the CEO of the acid survivors association in Bangladesh

"Having worked with survivors of acid and petrol attacks in Bangladesh for the past 14 years, I know that violence is a major obstacle for women's ability to access their rights," Ms Rahman said.

"Until women have real equality, they will continue to not only suffer the most from poverty but also be subjected to violence."

While government efforts have seen a decline in the number of acid attacks which has fallen from 500 in 2002 to 111 in 2011, there is still more work to be done Ms Rahman said.

TB Joshua sponsors a Nigerian Student to Oxford University

Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua who was recently named amoung others as one of the richest pastors in Nigeria, shocked congregants at his church, The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations on Sunday 18th November 2012 when it was revealed he has sponsored a Nigerian student to study a PhD in the University of Oxford to the tune of £100,000, approximately N26 million. T B Joshua is supposedly well known for his expansive philanthropic endeavours. 

Miss Yinka Oduwole, who according to her testimony was one of the youth who was brought up in The SCOAN and worked there extensively. she accounted that,  she had gained admission to study a PhD in Engineering Science in Oxford University, UK after a successful Master’s Programme in University College London (UCL). Yinka, who was equally sponsored in her Master’s Degree in Broadband Communication in UCL in which she came out with a distinction, said Prophet T.B. Joshua and Emmanuel TV Partners had paid the sum of £100,000 to enable her to study for a PhD in the prestigious Oxford University.

“My advice to youth all over the world is that they should pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on them,” Yinka, also a First-Class graduate from the University of Lagos, told the congregation and viewers worldwide on Emmanuel TV, equally counselling the youth to find a job in the church and actively engage in godly activities.

According to Forbes estimates; Joshua has spent up to $20m in charitable activities alone in the last three years. Thousands of less privileged students are currently studying in universities across Nigeria and around the world courtesy of SCOAN’s scholarship program.

Activist arrested and detained in Cameroon

Solomon Tembang Mforgham, AfricaNews Reporter in Yaoundé, Cameroon; Africanews.com

Four environmental activists have been arrested and detained in Cameroon. Nasako Besingi, the director of Struggle to Economise Future Environment (SEFE), was detained without charge on November 14, 2012 with three of his colleagues in the town of Mundemba in the South West region of Cameroon.

In a press release, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Africa have expressed disgust over the arrest of environmental activists and called for their immediate release. They have also called on the Cameroonian authorities to respect the rule of law and individuals’ human rights.

Besingi, it would be noted, has been a vocal and peaceful critic of the plans and working practices of US-based company, Herakles Farms, whose large-scale palm oil plantation project in the region, he says, would cause widespread environmental destruction and threaten the livelihoods of residents in an area home to vital biodiversity.

The activities of SEFE have always been based on legal court actions and peaceful social dialogue around the only real tangible asset of people in the region – land.

The business of agriculture is well promoted among young people in Ghana

“Yara is all about knowledge; we don’t believe we just sell fertilizer, but we bring the knowledge that comes with it”, said Mehdi Saint-André, Managing Director of Yara Ghana.

According to him, the Academy will discourage the perception that farming is a punishment and rather inculcate in students the knowledge and skills in land preparation, seed selection and fertilizer application as well as post harvest activities and storage.

The pilot project would be undertaken with inmates of the Royal Seed Home at Odupong Ofaankor, Kasoa, where the company has established a 15-acre maize farm to support the orphanage.

An empowering success story: Free the Children on 60 Minutes

Brothers and founders of Free The Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger are two of the world's leading figures in youth empowerment. Free The Children, which works with more than one million youth every year, is the world's largest network of children helping children through education.

Marc and Craig are syndicated columnists and co-authors of the New York Times bestseller, Me to We, and most recently, The World Needs Your Kid.

Their work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as on CNN, BBC, 60 Minutes and The Today Show, and in People, Time and the Economist.

What an empowering story and shows you dont have to have lots wealth to help; all you need is willingness and a soul.