BBC News - Maldives ex-president Mohamed Nasheed was 'forced out': "Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has said that he was forced to resign "at gunpoint" by police and army officers in a coup.

He said the move was planned with the knowledge of Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik, who has replaced him. Mr Hassan denies the claims."

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BBC News - 'Europe is poor so should live within its means': "For decades the West has lectured the East on how to manage its economies. Not any more.

Now the emerging economies of Asia look like models of steady, consistent policy and sustained growth while Europe, America and Japan are mired in debt and are growing achingly slowly, if at all.

So what can the West learn from the East?"

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Prop 8, California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Declared Unconstitutional: "SAN FRANCISCO — Same-sex marriage moved one step closer to the Supreme Court on Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled California's ban unconstitutional, saying it serves no purpose other than to "lessen the status and human dignity" of gays.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave gay marriage opponents time to appeal the 2-1 decision before ordering the state to allow same-sex weddings to resume."

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BBC News - Gabon: Surfing hippos, lacking tourists: "Mr Swanborn tried to bring tourists to Loango by other means, involving a four-hour boat ride down the coast, followed by a car ride on pot-holed roads. But that proved too inconvenient and time-consuming for many tourists. Bookings dried up and the lodge shut down.

Lessons learnt

Continue reading the main story

Gabon facts and figures

Population: 1.5 million

Official language: French

Major religion: Christianity

Main exports: Oil, timber

Ranked by World Bank as upper middle income country

One-third of the population lives in poverty

Transparency International gives the country 3/10 on corruption scale

Sources: UN, US State dept, Transparency International, World Bank

Gabon profile

This may seem a straightforward tale of a well-meaning businessman stymied by alleged African corruption and inefficiency, but others who were involved say it is not that simple."

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BBC News - Egypt 'to put on trial foreign NGO workers': "Egypt says it is to put on trial at least 40 people - including Americans and other foreigners - over the funding of non-governmental organisations.

Egypt's ruling military council has accused foreign groups of funding street protests against them.

It has raided the offices of several NGOs and banned a number of foreign staff from leaving the country."

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Do-It-Yourself Deportation - NYTimes.com: "From the time I was just a baby in Mexico, I lived with my grandparents while my parents traveled to other Mexican states to find work. I was 6 in 2000 when they left for the United States. And it took five years before they had steady jobs and were able to send for me. We’ve been together in this country ever since, working to build a life. Now I am 17 and a senior in high school in New York City. But my parents have left again, this time to return to Mexico."

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BBC News - Malaria deaths hugely underestimated - Lancet study: "While most deaths were among young children and in Africa, the researchers noted a higher proportion of deaths among older children and adults than previously estimated. In total, 433,000 more deaths occurred among children over five and adults in 2010 than in the WHO estimate."

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Eyewitnesses: Police stood idle in Egypt football massacre - CNN.com: "Cairo (CNN) -- Horrified eyewitnesses described how Egyptian police officers stood by as violent clashes between rival fans at a football match in the northeastern city of Port Said left scores dead.

Hundreds of supporters of clubs Al-Ahly and Al-Masry were critically injured in the attacks and as they tried to flee. The violence is one of the world's worst sporting disasters and prompted officials to suspend indefinitely Egypt's football premier league."

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Washington state senate passes same-sex marriage bill - NY Daily News: "Washington is expected to become the seventh state to allow gay marriage after its Senate passed a bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed on Wednesday.

It's now headed to Gov. Chris Gregoire who has repeatedly said she will sign it into law.

The debate over the bill, which passed with a 28-21 vote on Wednesday night, was fraught with emotion at times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported, as state Senators spoke about their own experiences."

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Pregnant, and Pushed Out of a Job - NYTimes.com: "FEW people realize that getting pregnant can mean losing your job. Imagine a woman who, seven months into her pregnancy, is fired from her position as a cashier because she needed a few extra bathroom breaks. Or imagine another pregnant employee who was fired from her retail job after giving her supervisors a doctor’s note requesting she be allowed to refrain from heavy lifting and climbing ladders during the month and a half before her maternity leave: that’s what happened to Patricia Leahy. In 2008 a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled that her firing was fair because her employers were not obligated to accommodate her needs."

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BBC News - Senegal police deploy for M23 opposition rally: "A large number of Senegalese police have deployed in central Dakar ahead of a rally against President Abdoulaye Wade's re-election bid.

The opposition grouping, June 23 Movement (M23), says Mr Wade should be barred from seeking a third term.

Two people were shot dead on Monday in Podor town during protests after a court ruled Mr Wade's bid was legal."

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BBC News - Senegal opposition activist Alioune Tine freed: "Prominent Senegalese opposition activist Alioune Tine has been released without charge after two days in detention - ahead of more protests.

Mr Tine is a member of the June 23 Movement (M23), formed last year to oppose President Abdoulaye Wade's plans to run for a third term."

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Senegal waits for decision on Wade - Africa | IOL News | IOL.co.za: "Dakar - Senegal's top constitutional body on Sunday weighed appeals to its controversial decision to allow President Abdoulaye Wade to run for a third term amid opposition vows for mass protests.

The Constitutional Council, appointed by 85-year-old Wade and known as the “five wise men”, had on Friday declared his renewed candidacy valid, sparking deadly riots in the normally peaceful West African nation.

Seven candidates - including the leader of the main opposition party, two of Wade's former prime ministers and two ex-foreign ministers - have lodged appeals with the council against Wade running again."

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BBC News - Senegal clashes erupt as court clears Wade poll bid: "Violence has broken out in Senegal after the country's top court ruled that President Abdoulaye Wade can run for a third term in office next month.

Protesters set buildings and barricades on fire in the capital. A policeman was killed in the unrest, officials say.

The court also barred Senegal's best-known music star Youssou N'Dour - an opponent of Mr Wade - from standing."

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Welfare Drug Testing Bill Withdrawn After Amended To Include Testing Lawmakers: ""After it passed, Rep. McMillin got pretty upset and pulled his bill," Dvorak said. "If anything, I think it points out some of the hypocrisy. ... If we're going to impose standards on drug testing, then it should apply to everybody who receives government money.""

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Senegal opposition urges more resistance after riots | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Senegal's opposition said on Saturday it would make the country "ungovernable" if President Abdoulaye Wade insisted on running for a third term in elections next month, raising the spectre of renewed riots in West Africa's most peaceful nation."

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BBC News - Davos 2012: Africa leaders urge co-operation: "Mr Zuma said infrastructure was at the heart of one of the key issues for the continent, namely how Africa leads itself.

"Africans must trade amongst themselves," he said.

"Intra-Africa trade is negligible," Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga pointed out. "Europe trades more with itself that with the rest of the world.""

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BBC News - Sopa and Pipa anti-piracy bills controversy explained: "The Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) is the bill being considered by the House of Representatives.

The Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) is the parallel bill being considered by the Senate.

The proposed legislation is designed to tackle online piracy, with particular emphasis on illegal copies of films and other forms of media hosted on foreign servers."

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BBC News - Sopa: US backers end support for anti-piracy bill: "Eight US lawmakers have withdrawn their backing from anti-piracy laws, amid "blackout" protests on thousands of internet sites.

Two of the bill's co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those backing away.

Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and blog service WordPress are among the highest profile sites to block their content."

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Strike Against SOPA & PIPA: "Today, we are striking against censorship

Join the largest online protest in history: tell Congress to stop this bill now!"

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BBC News - Youssou N'Dour announces Senegal presidential bid: "Musician Youssou N'Dour has announced he is running in February's presidential elections in Senegal.

"I have listened... and I am responding favourably," Mr N'Dour said on his own TV network, referring to requests that he put himself forward, AFP reports.

Mr N'Dour will run against incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, who is seeking a controversial third term."

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BBC News - How a Senegalese flower grew into a huge US business: "Senegal's Magatte Wade, a self-described serial entrepreneur, is convinced that Africa's future depends on its ability to develop a strong manufacturing sector.

With that in mind, she co-founded Adina World Beat Beverages in 2004 and recently launched her second company, The Tiossano Tribe, which produces high-end skin care products based on traditional Senegalese recipes.

For years, Mrs Wade has been very critical of the condescendence with which, in her opinion, often well-intentioned people in the developed world - and especially in the country where she conducts most of her business, the United States - treat Africa."

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BBC News - Malaysia court finds Anwar Ibrahim not guilty of sodomy: "Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy after a two-year trial.

Judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah said DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable and discharged the case.

Mr Anwar, 64, has consistently denied the charges and called them a government bid to cripple his political ambitions and influence."

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BBC News - US flag ceremony to mark end of Iraq war role: "Some 4,500 US soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war.

It has cost the US some $1tr.

Republicans have criticised the pullout citing concerns over Iraq's stability, but most Americans support the move."

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BBC News - Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped, study reveals: "Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says.

Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said.

The findings form part of the first set of results from a nationwide study surveying sexual violence by intimate partners against men and women."

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Kenya's Samburu people 'violently evicted' after US charities buy land | World news | guardian.co.uk:

Members of the Samburu people in Kenya have been abused, beaten and raped by police after the land they lived on for two decades was sold to two US-based wildlife charities, a rights group and community leader have alleged.The dispute centres on Eland Downs in Laikipia, a lush area near Mount Kenya. At least three people are said to have died during the row, including a child who was eaten by a lion after the Samburu were violently evicted in November last year.The London-based NGO Survival International said the Samburu were evicted following the purchase of the land by two American-based charities, the Nature Conservancy and the African Wildlife Foundation.The groups subsequently gifted the land to Kenya for a national park, to be called Laikipia National Park.Survival International said the land was officially owned by former president Daniel arap Moi, although AWF simply said it bought it from a private landowner.

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BBC News - US Supreme Court to rule on Arizona's immigration law: "The US Supreme Court has said it will rule on the legality of Arizona's tough immigration law.

It requires police to demand proof of citizenship if they suspect anyone they stop is in the US illegally.

Key parts of the law were suspended last year after a challenge from the White House, which holds immigration to be a federal, not state, issue."

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BBC News - Gambia's Yahya Jammeh ready for 'billion-year' rule: "The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh has told the BBC that he will rule for "one billion years", if God wills.

He said critics who accused him of winning last month's elections through intimidation and fraud could "go to hell".

The West African regional body Ecowas said the electorate had been "cowed by repression"."

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Malaysia: UN experts warn new bill restricts right to peaceful assembly: "7 December 2011 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today warned that a new bill in Malaysia restricts the right to peaceful assembly with measures such as a ban on street protests and conditional access for media to public gatherings.

The Peaceful Assembly Bill, which has been approved by the Malaysian Parliament, also includes a prohibition on non-citizens and citizens under the age of 21 to assemble peacefully, according to a news release issued by the experts."

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U.S. Backs Gay Rights Abroad, Obama and Clinton Say - NYTimes.com: "In a memorandum issued by President Obama in Washington and in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here, the administration vowed to actively combat efforts by other nations that criminalize homosexual conduct, abuse gay men, lesbians, bisexuals or transgendered people, or ignore abuse against them.

“Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct,” Mrs. Clinton said at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, “but in fact they are one and the same.”"

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BBC News - Exodus: movement of rich people - a life at home abroad: "The cross-border migration of highly-educated people from upper-middle income countries rose by 44% between 2000 and 2006, according to a recently published study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In low income countries the cross-border movements also jumped significantly, by 28%.

Intra-company transfers in developed countries rose 39% between 2005 and 2008, and this does not include intra-company transfers within the European Economic Area, says OECD policy analyst Jonathan Chaloff, even though the scale of those "can be considerable"."

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11 Myths About Global Hunger | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide:

"There isn’t enough food to feed the world, most of the world's hungry live in Africa, and it's mostly a question of droughts and other natural disasters. All of these statements are wrong. But they reflect a common set of misconceptions on hunger. Here are 11 of the most common myths - with the reality they mask."

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Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed - Bloomberg: "Lim Guan Eng turned Malaysia’s second-smallest state into the nation’s biggest economic success after he bumped into two National Instruments Corp. (NATI) executives at the local airport in 2008.

Elected in March that year as Penang’s first chief minister from an opposition party in 36 years, Lim was struggling with the prospect of federal funding cuts. He convinced the managers to set up a research and production center in the state, and within two years the former British trading post was Malaysia’s top destination for foreign manufacturing investment."

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BBC News - Michael Petit: Why child abuse is so acute in the US: "Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?"

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Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say - NYTimes.com: "A few years ago the World Health Organization estimated that malaria killed one million people a year, and in 2008 it said that mosquito nets, DDT and newer artemisinin-based drugs paid for by donor nations were making a dent. But the estimates are controversial and change when new statistical methods are applied. Also, malaria can bounce back frighteningly fast as soon as control measures are relaxed or even in hotter, wetter weather.

It is far harder to make a vaccine against parasites like malaria than to make one against a virus."

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Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money | ThinkProgress: "But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:

Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.

Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. [...]"

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Montclair's Peace Corps volunteers look back at their service : page all - NorthJersey.com: "Weaver was shocked to be asked to join a special group of Peace Corps volunteers who were to train athletes in newly independent African countries with the goal of participating in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

He was going to Senegal, where athletes had competed internationally before, but not under their own flag; they ran for the French flag. Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960."

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Small Fixes - Volunteers Forge Better Health Care in Rural Thailand - NYTimes.com: "Thailand’s Village Health Volunteers, as they are known, have been a source of reliable caretakers in a country perpetually beset by military coups and changing governments. Health care has marched forward in Thailand even as its politics have been mired in conflict.

The volunteer system has helped even out inequalities in a society where wealth — and medical resources — are heavily concentrated in the sprawling metropolis of Bangkok. Volunteers, who number more than one million in a country of 65 million people, spread awareness of disease and screen for chronic illnesses. They have also helped bring down the infant mortality rate to one of the lowest levels in Asia by assisting pregnant women."

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In Thailand, an Innovative Fight Against Cervical Cancer - NYTimes.com: "Nurses using the new procedure, developed by experts at the Johns Hopkins medical school in the 1990s and endorsed last year by the World Health Organization, brush vinegar on a woman’s cervix. It makes precancerous spots turn white. They can then be immediately frozen off with a metal probe cooled by a tank of carbon dioxide, available from any Coca-Cola bottling plant.

The procedure is one of a wide array of inexpensive but effective medical advances being tested in developing countries. New cheap diagnostic and surgical techniques, insecticides, drug regimens and prostheses are already beginning to save lives."

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Almost 1 in 6 Americans living below poverty line - Americas, World - The Independent: "Last year an additional 2.6 million Americans fell below the poverty threshold, set at $22,113 for a family of four. Moreover, median household incomes dipped to a level not seen since 1997. The US has not seen such an extended period without growth in household income since the Great Depression.

The Census Bureau statistics amount to a study in gloom and lost optimism. The percentage of Americans living below the poverty threshold was the highest it has been since 1993 – 15.1 per, up from 14.3 per cent the previous year and 11.7 per cent in 2001."

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Development studies: Key first-year reads | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "What binds much of development studies together is a set of key debates about the relationships between history, culture, politics, economics and wellbeing. What kinds of public policies drive economic growth? Who benefits from growth, and in which ways? How have global economic structures – including the international aid system – impacted on local politics and key development outcomes? How have the recent food, financial and fuel crises affected developing countries? What will it take to meet the millennium development goals?"

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BBC News - Syria unrest: 'First woman dies in detention': "According to the London-based human rights group, the 18-year-old's body had been decapitated, the arms cut off and the skin removed.

"If it is confirmed that Zainab was in custody when she died, this would be one of the most disturbing cases of a death in detention we have seen so far," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa."

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Josh Fattal And Shane Bauer, Americans Freed From Iran, In Seclusion With Families In Oman: "MUSCAT, Oman — Two Americans released from an Iranian prison spent their first full day of freedom Thursday in seclusion, enjoying a joyous reunion with their families in the Gulf State of Oman after being held for more than two years accused as spies.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer arrived late Wednesday night in Oman under a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal and were embraced by relatives."

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Troy Davis: Supreme Court justices unanimously reject last minute appeal | Mail Online: "Georgia officials stopped the process just before the scheduled 7pm death.

A last minute appeal by Davis' lawyers challenged ballistics linking the death row inmate to the 1989 murder of off-duty policeman Mark MacPhail and eyewitness testimony identifying Davis as the killer.

After more than four hours the appeal was denied by the Supreme Court Justices. Five of nine Supreme Court judges were needed to stay the execution. "

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Who Is the Peace Corps For: American Volunteers or Communities Abroad? - Culture - GOOD: "For its volunteers, the Peace Corps experience also promises personal transformation and through it, the promise of a brighter, more connected America.

“I think it’s a wanderlust combined with the sort of glamour of having done it,” says my friend Mia Farber"

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BBC News - India: Half a dollar a day 'adequate', says panel: "India's main planning body has said half a dollar a day is "adequate" for a villager to spend on food, education and health.

Critics say that the amount fixed by the Planning Commission is extremely low and aimed at "artificially" reducing the number of poor who are entitled to state benefits.

There are various estimates on the exact number of poor in India.

Officially, 37% of India's 1.21bn people live below the poverty line.

But one estimate suggests the true figure could be as high as 77%."

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BBC News - 'Don't ask, don't tell' ban on gays in US military ends: "A policy banning open homosexuality in the US military has been repealed after nearly two decades.

The dropping of "don't ask, don't tell" means service members can now reveal they are gay without fear of investigation or discharge.

"Repeal Day" parties have been organised across the country to mark the victory for gay rights."

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IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: No quick fix for the economy | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Economy | Food Security | Governance: "ABIDJAN, 15 September 2011 (IRIN) - When banks and ports in Côte d’Ivoire reopened some five months ago it was a blast of oxygen for the economy, but many in the commercial capital Abidjan are seeing jobs vanish and food prices soar.

Higher food and transport costs coupled with the fallout of unprecedented post-election violence and economic stagnation mean it will be some time before relative political stability translates into better living conditions.

Pauline Brou and her family cannot afford to eat meat more than twice a month. “Milk and sugar prices have been rising all year,” the mother of four told IRIN. She said the price of a 50kg sack of rice has gone up twice since January, from the equivalent of US$29 to $35. Meanwhile her civil servant husband’s pay has stayed at $200 a month for the past four years."

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The Associated Press: Iran: Court to commute sentences for 2 Americans: "TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's foreign minister said Saturday that the courts are willing in "the near future" to commute the prison sentences for two Americans convicted of spying. The Americans' lawyer, meanwhile, was in court trying to arrange a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal.

The release rests in the hands of the hard-line judiciary, and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi gave no clear timetable. He also raised the issue of Iranians held in U.S. prisons, suggesting the Americans' release might be drawn out to bring attention to inmates Iran wants freed.

In a case that has added to the acrimony and deep distrust between Iran and the U.S., Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 with their friend Sarah Shourd. Shourd was released last September with mediation by the Gulf nation of Oman after $500,000 was paid."

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China Carmakers Told to Seek Fuel Efficiency, Not Sales - NYTimes.com: "A succession of government officials at a weekend conference called for China’s automakers to shift their focus from making ever more cars and toward producing more fuel-efficient and more advanced models, including gasoline-electric hybrids and all-electric cars.

“The government must take the leading role in controlling unrealistic growth” of the auto industry, Jiang Kejun, the influential director of the Energy Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency, said Sunday during a speech at the conference."

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