Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has rejected any effort to mediate a border dispute with arch-foe Ethiopia, calling it a "wicked ploy", according to the Daily Monitor. The once-close Horn of Africa neighbours have been locked in a bitter row over their 1000-km (625-mile) frontier since a 1998-2000 war that killed 70,000 people. Last week, Ethiopia said it supported efforts by Libyan leader and new African Union chairman Muammar Gaddafi to arbitrate between Addis Ababa and Asmara, but doubted the manoeuvre would be successful. "The political and diplomatic campaigns undertaken by (Ethiopia) ... are but wicked ploys designed to appease the Eritrean people and international community," state media quoted Isaias as saying. "He further underlined that as long as sovereign Eritrean territories remain under occupation, engaging in dialogue about any issue is totally illogical," it said on the government website, www.shabait.com.

New Internet cable to Europe planned in West Africa

Main One Cable company announced that it has embarked on a submarine cable project, building an open access fibre optic transmission cable which will run from Portugal into the crest of west Africa, with initial landing in Nigeria and Ghana according to VANGUARD. This project is to bridge the gap of Satellite network and to construct the most trusted, scalable and professionally managed international fibre optic network in Africa. The project will provide telecommunication infrastructure that will enable cost effective access to global information. The company said that in order to face this challenges, it has arranged a 1.92 Terabits per second capacity cable system which will terminate in Seixal, Portugal where it will interconnect with other cable systems to London, New York and key cities in Asia. The cable will also span 14,000 kilometers with approximately 7,000 kilometers in the first phase between Lagos and Portugal.

Ghana Rice Farmers' Markets So Close And Yet Out of Reach

Last year, rice farmers took to the streets of Ghana's capital of Accra and accused the government of allowing imports to destroy their livelihoods according to the Inter Press Service News Agency. Among those who have campaigned hard for the farmers over the past year is Edward Kareweh, presently deputy general secretary of the General Agricultural Workers' Union (GAWU) of the Ghana Trade Unions Congress. Before his present position Kareweh was a rice farmer in the 1980s. He has suffered what farmers are today demonstrating about. "My 60 hectare rice farm in the Fumbisi Valley in the Upper East Region (in the north of the country) was destroyed because of the policies that the government pursued in the past. I lost everything," he laments. Kareweh blames the World Bank and International Monetary Fund for "the unbridled liberalisation policy that they made the government pursue and which resulted in the removal of subsidies to rice farmers", a move that favoured imports.

Botswana Diamond Exports Plunge 90 Percent

Mmegi has reported that Diamond exports plunged by close to 90 percent in the four months between August and November 2008 as the global recession hit demand for luxury goods, figures availed by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveal. According to the CSO, diamond exports which amounted to P3.3 billion in August, fell to P2.3 billion in November and to P821 million in October before plummeting to a mere P371 million in November as a result of falling demand and weakening prices. Global demand for rough diamonds, which are the mainstay of the economy, is expected to drop by some 60 percent this year and the government has already estimated that revenues will be cut by over 50 percent.The latest figures call for serious belt-tightening measures. In the 2009/10 budget, the government announced that it will pump P10 billion into the economy for developmental projects in a bid to boost economic activity, a decision which has been labeled ambitious by some analysts in view of the global economic crisis. The irony is that Debswana was struggling to meet demand for diamonds barely six months ago.

Kenyans don’t have Confidence in Leaders

Majority of Kenyans are demanding that all people mentioned in corruption scandals leave the cabinet according to a survey by Steadman. The survey showed a shocking collapse of the confidence in the grand coalition. 70 Percent of said the government has achieved nothing apart from restoring peace after the disputed election. The poll also showed significant marginalization from political parties.