http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:14:35 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA Togo's first legislative elections since 2007 will be held on July 21, according to an announcement on the government’s official Web site.   The deadline for submitting candidates was originally scheduled for Monday, but the Associated Press reports that government spokesman Yacoubou Hamadou said Friday the deadline had been moved back to June 16.   The run-up to the long-awaited vote is taking place alongside mounting concern over the government’s treatment of opposition ... http://www.voanews.com/content/togo-sets-date-from-legislative-elections-amid-torture-claims/1678782.html http://www.voanews.com/content/togo-sets-date-from-legislative-elections-amid-torture-claims/1678782.html Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:01:08 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/togo-sets-date-from-legislative-elections-amid-torture-claims/1678782.html#relatedInfoContainer Frustration with the International Criminal Court (ICC) is growing in Ivory Coast following Monday's decision that gave prosecutors more time to build their case against former President Laurent Gbagbo.  Both supporters and detractors of Gbagbo say continued uncertainty surrounding his fate could hinder the Ivory Coast reconciliation process.  In the Abidjan section of Yopougon, a group of about a dozen men stare intently at the Tuesday morning papers, which are laid out for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-court-ruling-breeds-frustration-in-ivory-coast/1674972.html http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-court-ruling-breeds-frustration-in-ivory-coast/1674972.html Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:01:01 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-court-ruling-breeds-frustration-in-ivory-coast/1674972.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast’s first-ever elected “Web Mayor” was officially sworn-in on Friday by a group of computer-technology enthusiasts hoping to shed the country's reputation for cybercrime and make Abidjan the continent’s latest tech hub.   Kneeling on the floor and surrounded by a team of advisers, Emmanuel Assouan, clad in a dark suit and red necktie, places one hand on an iPad and reads aloud the oath of office.   Following a hard-fought campaign against 11 other candidates, the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-web-mayor-campaigns-against-cybercrime/1669048.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-web-mayor-campaigns-against-cybercrime/1669048.html Mon, 27 May 2013 10:23:56 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-web-mayor-campaigns-against-cybercrime/1669048.html#relatedInfoContainer Two years since Ivory Coast’s post-election violence came to an end, rape remains a problem throughout the country. Though such attacks are now occurring outside the context of armed conflict, they show that the security situation for the country’s women remains bleak. On a recent Saturday morning, Durand Coffi delivered instructions to a moving crew as they cleared furniture out of his ground-floor apartment in Bouake - the second-largest city in Ivory Coast. Though he moved in with his ... http://www.voanews.com/content/rape-plagues-ivory-coast-long-after-conflicts-end/1666861.html http://www.voanews.com/content/rape-plagues-ivory-coast-long-after-conflicts-end/1666861.html Thu, 23 May 2013 10:36:23 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/rape-plagues-ivory-coast-long-after-conflicts-end/1666861.html#relatedInfoContainer Officials in Ivory Coast have begun disarming ex-combatants from the country’s decade-long political crisis. But in the former rebel capital of Bouake, unanswered questions about the process have fueled anxiety among former fighters, whose successful reintegration into society is seen as essential for lasting peace. Each morning, 47-year-old Dosso Abou makes the rounds of his neighborhood with his machete, looking for brush to clear. For the past two years, since the end of Ivory Coast’s ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ex-combattants-face-uncertain-future-in-ivory-coast/1659849.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ex-combattants-face-uncertain-future-in-ivory-coast/1659849.html Mon, 13 May 2013 08:19:54 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/ex-combattants-face-uncertain-future-in-ivory-coast/1659849.html#relatedInfoContainer Authorities in the West African nation of Guinea have handed down the first rape charges against a security official allegedly involved in the September 2009 massacre at a stadium in the capital, Conakry.  But the head of a local victims’ organization says the indictment is no guarantee that justice will be done in the case. Guinea’s stadium massacre occurred during a pro-democracy demonstration on September 28, 2009.  At about 11:30 that morning, security forces loyal to the former ... http://www.voanews.com/content/guinea-hands-down-first-rape-charges-for-2009-massacre/1657644.html http://www.voanews.com/content/guinea-hands-down-first-rape-charges-for-2009-massacre/1657644.html Thu, 09 May 2013 09:10:55 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) A new report from the environmental watchdog Global Witness says networks of political elites, forestry officials and logging companies are using small-scale permits to circumvent regulations in West and Central Africa. The group says the so-called “shadow permits” put the European Union and the United States at risk of importing illegal timber.   “Shadow permits” were originally intended for small enterprises and community forests, but according to the report they have been co-opted ... http://www.voanews.com/content/report-africa-logging-shadow-permits-forests/1652618.html http://www.voanews.com/content/report-africa-logging-shadow-permits-forests/1652618.html Wed, 01 May 2013 13:41:21 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/report-africa-logging-shadow-permits-forests/1652618.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast Justice Minister Gnenema Coulibaly said Monday that the country’s courts are capable of trying former First Lady Simone Gbagbo, who is wanted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, but said no official decision had been made on where her trial would take place.   Simone Gbagbo is wanted on four counts of crimes against humanity related to Ivory Coast’s 2010-11 post-election violence.   The conflict erupted after her husband, former President Laurent ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-minister-coulibaly-icc-hague-gbagbo/1651163.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-minister-coulibaly-icc-hague-gbagbo/1651163.html Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:42:23 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-minister-coulibaly-icc-hague-gbagbo/1651163.html#relatedInfoContainer Tension is flaring in parts of Abidjan as results trickle in from Ivory Coast’s first local elections in more than a decade. So far, independent candidates have taken more seats than either of the two main political parties that participated — a trend that could signal disenchantment with the ruling coalition.   Both the campaign and Sunday’s vote were conducted peacefully. But for the past two nights in the commercial capital, Abidjan, security forces have broken up demonstrations ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-election-unrest-rdr-fpi-ouattara/1647955.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-election-unrest-rdr-fpi-ouattara/1647955.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:54:11 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-election-unrest-rdr-fpi-ouattara/1647955.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast is holding local elections Sunday, marking the first time the government has organized a vote since a disputed presidential contest in 2010 plunged the country into violence. The party of former president Laurent Gbagbo has decided to boycott, turning the race into a showdown between parties in the current governing coalition. In front of a pharmacy at a busy intersection in Abidjan’s Yopougon district, women sing as they await the start of a rally on the final day of campaigning ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-partners-contest-local-elections/1645502.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-partners-contest-local-elections/1645502.html Sat, 20 Apr 2013 08:24:10 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-partners-contest-local-elections/1645502.html#relatedInfoContainer The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says time is running out for Central African nations to track down a group of Sudanese poachers accused of slaughtering hundreds of elephants in just the past two years.   But lack of coordination among countries in the region, the wildlife advocacy group says, is making it difficult to track roughly 300 heavily armed Sudanese poachers who travel on horseback and are believed to be hunting down elephants in the savanna regions of Cameroon, Chad and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/wwf-central-africa-elephant-poachers-world-wildlife-fund/1640035.html http://www.voanews.com/content/wwf-central-africa-elephant-poachers-world-wildlife-fund/1640035.html Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:39:34 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/wwf-central-africa-elephant-poachers-world-wildlife-fund/1640035.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast’s military tribunal has begun trying more than 30 soldiers for crimes including assault and murder.  Critics have been accusing the government of President Alassane Ouattara of shielding his military backers from the law. The tribunal announced this week that a total of 33 soldiers would soon be brought to trial. The proceedings Thursday concerned a December 2011 incident in which soldiers allegedly opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators in the central town of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-military-court-begins-proceedings-against-soldiers/1639373.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-military-court-begins-proceedings-against-soldiers/1639373.html Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:52:24 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) Campaigning is underway in Ivory Coast for municipal and regional elections, although the opposition party of former president Laurent Gbagbo has vowed to boycott.  The country’s U.N. peacekeeping mission is warning against intimidation and threats of violence surrounding the April 21 vote.  The election later this month is seen as an important test of whether Ivory Coast has moved past its recent electoral turmoil.  Following the November 2010 presidential election, former ... http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-party-vows-to-boycott-local-ivory-coast-polls/1637058.html http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-party-vows-to-boycott-local-ivory-coast-polls/1637058.html Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:15:04 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/gbagbo-party-vows-to-boycott-local-ivory-coast-polls/1637058.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast has begun exhuming dozens of mass graves containing bodies from the country’s 2010-2011 post-election violence.  At a ceremony in Abidjan’s Yopougon district on Thursday, officials said the process would provide closure to families and help bring perpetrators of crimes to justice.  A government census has identified 57 graves for exhumation in the commercial capital of Abidjan, and many of those are believed to contain multiple bodies.  A national census of mass ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-exhuming-dozens-of-mass-graves/1635002.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-exhuming-dozens-of-mass-graves/1635002.html Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:05:19 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) A new report from the international rights group Human Rights Watch says Ivory Coast is risking a return to violence because of its failure to provide balanced justice for the country’s 2010-11 post-election conflict. The report, released nearly two years after the conflict ended, says that despite the government’s claims, very little progress has been made in bringing some of the most notorious alleged perpetrators to justice. More than 3,000 people lost their lives in the five months after ... http://www.voanews.com/content/human_rights_watch_report_says_uneven_justice_in_ivory_coast_could_increase_conflict_violence/1634665.html http://www.voanews.com/content/human_rights_watch_report_says_uneven_justice_in_ivory_coast_could_increase_conflict_violence/1634665.html Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:56:05 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/human_rights_watch_report_says_uneven_justice_in_ivory_coast_could_increase_conflict_violence/1634665.html#relatedInfoContainer On a recent Saturday night, a group of young men mingled outside what looked like an ordinary warehouse in Abidjan’s southern industrial zone. Inside, a DJ improvised a set list made up mostly of club tracks, including Rihanna and Chris Brown from America, and Chidinma and Iyanya from Nigeria. The crowd danced in front of an oversize mirror bordered with red Christmas lights, sipping beer and sparkling wine. It was one of the last nights Ivory Coast’s most prominent gay bar was open for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/prominent-abidjan-gay-bar-shuts-its-doors/1632517.html http://www.voanews.com/content/prominent-abidjan-gay-bar-shuts-its-doors/1632517.html Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:31:58 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) http://www.voanews.com/content/prominent-abidjan-gay-bar-shuts-its-doors/1632517.html#relatedInfoContainer Ivory Coast officials say exhumations of mass graves dating back to the country’s 2010-11 post-election violence will begin next week.  Both the government and rights workers say this process could produce a fuller picture of what went on during the six-month conflict and help in the fight against impunity.    The Justice Ministry announced this week that exhumations would begin on April 4 in the Abidjan district of Yopougon, which was a flashpoint during the post-election ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-to-exhume-bodies-from-post-election-conflict/1631121.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ivory-coast-to-exhume-bodies-from-post-election-conflict/1631121.html Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:54:39 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) In the past two weeks, three attacks have killed at least 13 people and displaced thousands in western Ivory Coast. Local officials say the attacks in Ivory Coast were carried out by armed groups crossing the border from neighboring Liberia.  Ivorian combatants and Liberian mercenaries fled into Liberia when Ivory Coast's post-election conflict ended nearly two years ago, and Human Rights Watch has accused them of involvement in sporadic attacks dating as far back as July 2011. The ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new-unrest-in-western-ivory-coast-displaces-thousands/1629612.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new-unrest-in-western-ivory-coast-displaces-thousands/1629612.html Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:23:30 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) says officials in Cameroon have resorted to torture and other forms of abuse while pursuing cases under the country’s notorious anti-gay law.  The rights watchdog says Cameroon prosecutes homosexuality “more aggressively than almost any country in the world," even though police say there has been only one arrest for homosexuality in the past six months and the country's president says he may be rethinking enforcement of the laws. ... http://www.voanews.com/content/cameroon-homosexuality-human-rights-watch/1626171.html http://www.voanews.com/content/cameroon-homosexuality-human-rights-watch/1626171.html Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:54:19 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet) A new report from Amnesty International says reckless and illegal arms transfers to Ivory Coast continue to fuel instability and human rights abuses. The release of the report was timed to coincide with ongoing talks at the United Nations about the adoption of a global Arms Trade Treaty. Amnesty International's new report documents arms transfers to Ivory Coast beginning in 2002, when an attempted coup against then-president Laurent Gbagbo allowed rebels to take control of the north of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/reckless-illegal-arms-transfers-in-ivory-ocast-continue-to-fuel-instability/1625083.html http://www.voanews.com/content/reckless-illegal-arms-transfers-in-ivory-ocast-continue-to-fuel-instability/1625083.html Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:31:52 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Robbie Corey-Boulet)