WELCOME TO AFRICAN ECHO

Astonishing attack on Overseas Teachers
02.06.2006

Mick Brookes the secretary general of the National Association of Head- Teachers launched a scathing attack on the increasing numbers of overseas teachers working in British schools and warned that children’s education could be put at risk as schools are forced to take on unqualified staff.  He was responding to an annual Government survey of staffing levels in levels which revealed that there are approximately 11,800 overseas teachers employed in British schools. There has been a six- fold increase since 1993.   more....

LRA rebels ready to talk peace
02.06.2006

The insurgent Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is ready to engage the Ugandan government in talks to end two decades of fighting that has killed thousands and displaced close to two million people in the country's north, rebel leader Joseph Kony has said.  Rare video footage seen by IRIN shows Kony addressing a delegation of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) headed by south Sudan's vice president, Riek Machar. "The LRA is ready to talk peace and end the war in a good way, not by force. We are fighting for peace and I am not a terrorist," Kony said during the 2 May meeting.  more....

Pope calls for swift action to end Darfur hunger
02.06.2006

Pope Benedict has called for "concrete and swift" action to stop world hunger and in particular save hundreds and thousands of people from starvation in Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region. "I am thinking particularly of the urgent and dramatic situation in Darfur, in Sudan, where great difficulties continue in satisfying the most basic food needs of the population," he said in his weekly address to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. more....

Home affairs officials convicted at Beitbridge
02.06.2006

Two South African officials and a Zimbabwean have been convicted of trying to smuggle ivory and cigarettes from Zimbabwe, Harare's Herald newspaper reported today.  Its website said the trio would be sentenced in the Beitbridge Magistrates Court later in the day. They are home affairs officials Jacob Martin Venter (34), Ndwamato Nathatali Lukoto (49) and Takawira Mahachi (29) of Beitbridge. The two South Africans were stationed at Makhado.  more....

Ethiopia gets interim assistance from the World Bank
02.06.2006

World Bank Group Board has approved an interim country assistance strategy for Ethiopia, emphasizing improved governance and growth. The plan includes an immediate program to preserve the delivery Of basic services to the population through grants to local governments.  The board’s decision follows a period of intensive consultation with Ethiopia’s international partners and with various actors within the country’s political economy. The plan comes at a critical time for Ethiopia. A period where contested elections in 2005 were followed by public protests, mass arrests, and an increasingly polarized climate that created continuing risks for the country’s development agenda.  more....