In Cameroon, jailed editor sentenced for ‘insulting’ Biya
A Cameroonian newspaper editor, jailed this month after publishing a
book excerpt that alleged sexual activities by President Paul Biya, was
convicted on Monday of "insulting the head of state."
Judge Ibrahim Ba sentenced Jean-Bosco Talla, managing editor of the
weekly Germinal, to a one-year suspended term and a fine of 3.15
million CFA francs (US$6,800), the paper's editor-in-chief, Duke
Atangana Etotogo, told CPJ. Talla, who has a week to file an appeal,
remained behind bars today at Kondengui Central Prison in the capital,
Yaoundé, pending payment of the fine, he said.
30 Dec 2009 By Night : Le boulevard des déviances
Les alentours du site de Yaoundé en fête se prêtent à des scènes insolites.
Le
visiteur de Yaoundé en fête qui emprunte de nuit la ruelle partant du
magasin Toile d’avion vers la tribune principale du boulevard du 20 Mai
court le risque de vivre un spectacle grandeur nature. Sur le chemin,
bon nombre de noceurs ont choisi de prendre de l’air en couple. Peu
importe le regard du passant. Comme si de rien n’était, la plupart se
livrent à un bouche-à-bouche langoureux assorti des caresses le long du
corps. Les murs alentours servent généralement d’appui sur lequel les
tourtereaux s’appuient pour s’assurer un meilleur équilibre. C’est
connu, la saison sèche qui touche déjà l’ensemble du pays n’épargne pas
la capitale. La tribune principale du boulevard du 20 Mai s’est ainsi
vidée de la grande marre d’eau dans laquelle elle est généralement
trempée. L’endroit semble plutôt confortable pour ces couples qui ont
choisi des positions idoines pour leurs déviances. Sur…du carton.
L’absence d’éclairage public et des forces de l’ordre à cet endroit,
donne libre cours à ces orgies
Marketing : Les bayam-sellam prennent un comptoir
Les revendeuses se donnent une nouvelle visibilité à Yaoundé en fête.
A
l’évocation des bayam sellam, beaucoup s’attendraient à voir des tas de
macabo, des régimes de plantains, des sacs d’ignames ou de manioc ou
encore des cagots de tomates. On se prépare également à s’introduire
dans un univers bruyant où des gens de classes différentes se
bousculent et marchandent inlassablement. Mais à Ya-fe, les revendeuses
exposent vêtements, bières, tableaux, jouets, chaussures, oranges,
avocats, etc., dans un cadre douillet.
De temps à autre, le calme
y est interrompu par des clients qui demandent sereinement les prix des
articles. Sur la diversité de produits, qu’on ne connaît pas toujours
aux bayam sellam, en l’absence de Marie Mbala Biloa, coordonnatrice de
bayam-sellam, Patrick Eric Menye, l’un des six animateurs du stand
explique : «nous sommes ici à la foire pour promouvoir l’entreprenariat
des bayam-sellam et partant sortir celles-ci de l’informel. Nous
voulons montrer que le métier de revendeuse ne se confine pas seulement
aux vivres ou à la tomate. On peut tout acheter et revendre».
Sur le
pagne de l’Association des bayam-sellam (Asby) qui orne les murs du
stand, on peut voir l’évolution de l’activité des revendeuses,
notamment dans la ville de Yaoundé. «La bayam-sellam étalait d’abord
leurs marchandises au sol. Grâce à l’action du délégué du gouvernement
auprès de la Communauté urbaine de Yaoundé, elles disposent déjà de
comptoirs dans des marchés modernes. A présent, la bayam sellam s’ouvre
au monde en apprenant par exemple l’informatique», souligne Eric Menye.
An Absolute Must Watch :Kirikou and the Sorceress December 30, 2009
Watch Kirikou and the Sorceress in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
A Daughter Deficit in Africa?
An excellent special issue of the New York Times magazine on Women and Development had an article on the “daughter deficit”—the
phenomenon, observed in India and China, of many fewer girls than boys
being born, and surviving to age 5. Up to now, I had been thinking of
this as an Asian phenomenon, associated with cultural values in India
and China. But the finding by my colleagues Jed Friedman and Norbert
Schady,reported
that in Africa the mortality rate from a drop in income is about twice
as high for girls as for boys, makes me think that the daughter deficit
(or “son preference”) may be coming to Africa.
What AIDS Leaves Behind: A Heavy Burden on African Women
Unlike
other diseases in Africa (malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal worms,
etc.), which mainly affect the young and the old, HIV/AIDS takes its
toll on prime-age adults during the most productive years of their
lives. The death of an adult family member can have large consequences
for the surviving family. Given prevailing social norms in many African
societies, the burden may likely be heaviest for women.
Most studies focus on the consequences for orphaned children – their schooling and health. We know less about how older adults are impacted. In our study,
we track individuals and their households in northwest Tanzania, an
area of high HIV prevalence in the 1990s, over a 13-year period.
We find that, when a family member dies, women (even old women) end
up working more on the farm; men do too, but not as much. Having an
asset such as goats enables them to work less.
But elderly individuals’ health is generally no worse off after the
deaths of their prime-age relatives. Surprisingly, if an adult child
living outside the home dies, his/her parents’ health or workload do
not suffer . It appears then that support from adult children is either
replaced by other family members or the support is much lower than is
currently speculated.
How many monies does Africa need?
By Thorvaldur Gylfason
Professor of Economics, University of Iceland and CEPR Research Fellow
Does every country in Africa need a currency of its own?
No. This column describes the monetary zones in-the-making in Africa
and how a further reduction of the number of currencies in Africa would
likely encourage trade and growth and attract investors who are
understandably wary of weak and volatile currencies.
Despite
Africa’s great diversity of culture and languages, many Africans
identify themselves as Africans first, then as Congolese, Kenyans,
Nigerians, South Africans, and so forth. Most Europeans, North
Americans, and Asians have it the other way round – country first, then
continent. Even so, national boundaries within Africa are generally
less open than those within Europe, due to a variety of legal and
regulatory restrictions that hamper the cross-border flow of goods,
energy, services, capital, and labour. Many of these restrictions need
to be relaxed to spur growth.
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