France’s Glavany Amendment: animals now considered “living beings gifted sentience”

France's Glavany Amendment animals now considered living beings gifted sentience
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While the French Civil Code considered animals to be “movable property” for 200 years, Parliament voted this Wednesday, Jan. 28 that a change in legal status was in order (even if the Senate rejected the Glavany amendment last week). Animals are now considered to be “living beings gifted sentience.” In this way, an animal is no longer defined by its market value but its intrinsic value. The Civil Code has been harmonized with Rural Code and Criminal Code on this matter.

FNSEA (the main French farmer’s union) criticized the new legislation, fearing the effects with regards to livestock. But after seeing that animals did not receive a new category, the representatives thought things could be worse. This amendment does not change the situation for farmers significantly because it does not create a special status for animals between the men and goods. Animals thus remain property under the Civil Code.

But the animals rights associations still saluted what they considered to be a great victory.

“The main lock popped! This breakthrough creates favorable conditions for the improvement of the animal’s lives,” said Reha Hutin, president of the Foundation 30 Millions d’Amis. Indeed, the group has worked toward this change for more than 10 years. they hope the new amendment will change attitudes and also allow judges to apply the existing law more easily (The Criminal Code allows up to €30,000 in fines and 2 years of imprisonment for any act of animal abuse).

However, it is worth noting that this change only applies to pets or wild animals tamed or held in captivity. The sentience of wild animals, meanwhile, is not recognized.

Concretely, in the short-term future, the law should not change much for our animals, but many still see a positive sign in the consideration of the daily suffering of animals. Even though the road still seems long toward the ban of bullfighting (which has a specific clause in the Act), geese feeding, vivisection and still dairy farms, this new amendment can only cause us to rejoice and to become more aware of the important place occupied animals in our society.

For Christiane Taubira, Minister of Justice, “It’s an act that has weight, meaning and consequences.”

Analysis by Esther Hervy

Corroboration: Vier Pfoten

Image: blurbrain/littlemiao

 

Eighth Küstendorf International Film and Music Festival

Eighth Küstendorf International Film and Music Festival
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BELGRADE, Serbia — Happy are the ones who retain childhood for their entire life time, enough to believe in fairy tales. Emir Kusturica decided to share his fairy tale, and he struggled hard throughout his life to bring it closer to his audience. A famous director, author of “Sećaš li se Doli Bel,” “Arizona dream,” “Underground,” and other movies, he is one of seven directors Bertrand Tavernier in Kustendorfwith two films that have won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Once he said, “Every time I’m shooting a movie I want to kill myself. Because I don’t see the light in the end of the tunnel.”

The eighth Kustendorf film and music festival took place Jan. 21-26, 2015, and the festival might be the light waiting at the end of Kusturica’s tunnel.

Kusturica has had a great influence on the seventh art with his movies. Many younger authors followed his approach and copied the surreal in their effort to allure the audience to dream and step into the movie scene.

Alex Garcia arrivalKusturica continues with his wonders, so he built Drvengrad (Wooden City) in Mećavnik, Serbia. Drvengrad is a whole village made of natural materials, mainly wood and stone, creating a magical structure of traditional architecture and new artistic trends.

Drvengrad hovers between museum, large art exhibition and gastronomic venue. Along with the cinema, musical events are organized all over the place. On top of everything, a small and cute wooden church reminds us of the Russian way of building.

one of many concertsStarting in 2008, this place has hosted the Kustendorf movie and music festival, creating a chance for young directors and actors to meet their older and globally famous colleagues. Over the years, many eminent actors and directors have visited the festival; we will mention only few of them: Nikita Mikhalkov, Jim Jarmusch, Johnny Depp, Isabelle Huppert, Monica Belucci, Andrei Konchalowski, Alfonso Cuarón, Bertrand Tavernier…

The Kustendorf movie and music festival awards young authors with three eggs: Golden, Silver and a Bronze one. For 2015, the winners were:

The Golden Egg – Giacomo Abbruzzese for the film “Stella Maris;”

The Silver Egg – Marko Sopić for the film “The Bag;”

The Bronze Egg – Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson for the film “Whale Valley.”

Drvengrad 1There is also an award handed out for films yet to be made…

 

 

 

 

The festival is unique for its surroundings. Amid hundred year old pine forests and clean rivers, a narrow-gauge railway passes through the old train 2village of Mokra Gora (549 residents), just under Drvengrad. The railway was active from 1925 to 1974, connecting Belgrade with Adriatic Sea. Rebuilt in recent years, it is a tourist attraction now. Many visitors are here to experience the joy of the steam engine whistle and a cowboy-style coach. Unlike other parts of Serbian Railways, everything is in order here. The train starts when scheduled and arrives on time.The coach is clean, personnel dressed properly. Old train, old engine, new rails. A long time ago, this was a very convenient way to travel from Sarajevo to Belgrade. Now, another section of old railway has been reconstructed and will connect Višegrad with Kremna. The total length of the planned railway is around 50 kilometers. The entire area is 245 km away from Belgrade and another 136 from Sarajevo. Only half an hour away from Mecavnik, there are another two mountains, Tara and Zlatibor, both offering attractive tours and decent hotels.

And, in this picturesque and exciting area, Emir Kusturica created a unique hive, attracting others to come and contribute to this spring of creativity. Inactive in terms of politics, he is always ready to emphasize his anti-globalism and injustice towards small nations. We wish him many more festivals and bright light at the end of the tunnel.

By Miroslav Velimirovic

South Africa Apartheid Leader de Kock on Parole

South Africa
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A death squad leader in the South African apartheid, Eugene de Kock, was granted parole Thursday. This comes 20 years after initially being jailed for his role in the murder of activists protesting against white minority rule during the 1980s and 1990s.

South Africa
Justice Minister Michael Masutha

The reason for de Kock’s release, according to Justice Minister Michael Masutha, was “in the interest of nation-building.” He emphasized that this decision is in accordance with South Africa’s constitution. This brings to the forefront the struggle that South Africa has in balancing justice with reconciliation.

The release of the 66-year-old comes after his sentencing in 1996 to two life prison terms. De Kock, nicknamed “Prime Evil,” had also been sentenced to an additional 212 years for his crimes. There is much controversy surrounding the release of Mr. de Kock. For this reason, the location and timing would not be made public.

Families of slain victims had mixed responses to the news. Some felt that it was right to move on, letting de Kock go on parole, and in so doing, “a chapter could be closed.” Some family members spoke of reconciliation and the need to focus on rebuilding South Africa.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of the 1990s was an effort to promote unity after the divisiveness and trauma of apartheid. The granting of amnesty, in some cases, was part of this effort.

At his 1995 trial before the TRC, one year after the first democratic elections in South Africa, de Kock confessed to more than 100 acts of torture, murder, and fraud. He took full responsibility for the actions committed by the Vlakplaas police, his notorious undercover unit.

The unit, based on a farm near the capital Pretoria, conducted some of the most horrific crimes during the apartheid era. Their trademark murders, which used explosives, would both kill the victim and destroy the evidence of the death.

One of the key factors in South African apartheid leader de Kock’s parole is that he has expressed remorse for his deeds. Some critics, however, express strongly that because he was ruthless in his brutality, he does not deserve mercy. They say that he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

In the TRC hearings, de Kock recounted murders of African National Congress (ANC) members in other countries, including Angola, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The police commander above him was complicit in all of these crimes. However, de Kock is the only one who was charged with the crimes. The others are living in freedom.

De Kock took some actions while in prison that have influenced the reactions of victims’ families as well as his release on parole. In 2007, he did a radio interview, accusing the last white ruler of South Africa, FW de Klerk, of ordering specific killings. He said that President de Klerk “had blood on his hands.” This accusation was denied by the former president.

Justice Minister Masutha also said that de Kock has been helpful to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Missing Persons Task Team in recovering the remains of some of his victims. While in prison, de Kock also reached out to victims’ families. He asked them for his forgiveness.

Another former official within the apartheid era, Clive Derby-Lewis, has not been granted parole. He had been convicted in the assassination of Chris Hani, but has not shown remorse in the way that de Kock had expressed. Moreover, Derby-Lewis has medical reasons – undergoing chemotherapy for stage three lung cancer – that caused the Medical Parole Advisory Board to deny his release.

The actions as well as the parole of South African apartheid leader Eugene de Kock have been met with mixed response. A former employee of the South African Council of Churches spoke out. He had worked there when the Church headquarters were bombed in 1988 and said that South Africans are accustomed to having mixed feelings.

By Aliza Baraka

Sources:

BBC, News Africa
The New York Times
Eyewitness News

Photo courtesy of United NationsFlickr license

Neon and history: Museum of Vancouver’s permanent light show

Neon and history: Museum of Vancouver’s Permanent Light Show
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The 50s and 60s were gaudy times in Vancouver, not only because of the people, but also the neon lights that cluttered most of its main streets. The incessant buzzing sound in the Museum of Vancouver’s Neon Vancouver/Ugly Vancouver exhibit is an impassioned window into what Vancouver might have looked like before it was this boring.

The exhibit, which is run by the museum’s curator Joan Seidl and was created by Revolve Design, has been open since 2011. It is a riveting look at a period when people did not have to worry about electric bills shutting their business down, and lobbying did not have much pull in town hall.

The MOV website claims that there were around 19,000 signs in Vancouver through the uncanny decades of fluorescent debauchery.

“The exhibition raises interesting questions about how we collectively construct the way our city is portrayed,” says Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver curator, Joan Seidl, Director of Exhibitions and Collections at MOV. “There was a real push in the 60s and 70s to redefine Vancouver as a green, natural space. While we may love neon today, there was a real outcry against neon signs, which represented a more industrial, urban city.”

Yet there is more to neon, at least back then, than meets the eye — or better said, burns it. It was undoubtedly a sign of economic growth, at least among small business owners, whose efforts in trying to catch people’s attentions with the most luminous designs usually paid off, until the streets simply got too busy, and even too shiny.

Vancouver, experienced a surge of industrial expansion, especially in the 60s, which translated into relatively better wages and generally a better standard of living. Still, for many this did not mean that they wanted neon signs taking over their city. The contrast must have been exceptional, between the nature that surrounds Vancouver, and the signs that buzzed in the streets.

The surprise that is not so evident however is that a great deal of Vancouverites have failed to see the exhibit, let alone visit the Museum of Vancouver which holds so much treasure-in historical format. It seems that when I ask someone my age if they have seen or heard about it, it is astonishing to find out that they did not. Not only that, but they did not know that at one point in its history Vancouver was lighted up with pink and red, and not just grey concrete, and blue glass.

By Milad Doroudian

Images by Suzanne Rushton.

Smarter phones that smell, taste and feel great

Smartphones
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Imagine an Apple iPhone that smells like an apple or a Blackberry that taste sweet or a Windows Touch-phone that squeezes you in mid-conversation. Scientists in London have made more progress in the now-common smartphone to make the audio-visual communication transcend tool what engineers call “the glass barrier” and create an experience that is more 4-D.

Professor Adrian David Cheok of the University of London said of his technology, “In the real world, we can open up the glass, open the window. We can touch, we can taste, we can smell in the real world.”

How do inanimate smartphones deliver the sensation of senses?

First you will have to open your mouth and say, “Ah!” The human tongue’s surface has molecules, also known as tastebuds, that through chemical ionization send the brain electrical signals of a specific amplitude depending on which type of taste: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. Scientist have found a way to send these signals — minus the calories — to savor. This process was explained by Professor Cheok.

Smartphones
Professor Adrian David Cheok

“You put these two silver electrodes in your mouth, you put your tongue in between and then it stimulates electrically your tongue and you get a virtual taste perception in your brain.” So far, scientists have reproduced sour, salty, sweet and bitter tastes, it will take further exploration to make all the taste we are accustomed to eat like Bacon.

At the push of a button you are now able to deliver an array of scents to smell. The device and app “Scentee” is an attachment to plug into your smart phone that holds a cartridge of 100 different smells, from fresh fruits, lavender or jasmine, to fresh ground coffee, that can be sprayed when prompted by the other side of the conversation. Professor Cheok relayed, “Basically what happens, we have an app, it connects to the Internet and then this will release scent from your mobile phone.” Think of the added benefit of sending your friend a hint of lemon scent when they say they are having a bad day or the scent of cookies because you know they are not hungry when you are.

Have you even been in a conversation and the other person for a moment stops paying attention or loses focus? Well, as long as you put a ring on them that is connected wirelessly to your smartphone, you can gently squeeze their finger to regain their attention or focus in mid-conversation. “I can be in London and my friend can be in Tokyo, and I can squeeze my finger and then they’ll get a squeeze on their finger through the Internet. It’s a way of touch communication with small mobile devices,” said Professor Cheok.

With the development of smart technology, from phones to homes, the barriers of pan-sensual communication will soon be memories of the past. Professor Cheok hopes the devices developed will soon be added to smartphone and homes to further transcend the current limitations of long distance communication.

By Mark A.G. Cox

Can we say everything in the name of freedom of speech ?

Can we say everything in the name of freedom of speech ?
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Can we say everything in the name of freedom of speech ?

While France rises in the name of freedom of expression — under threat after the attack against Charlie Hebdo — a 34-year-old man was sentenced to 4 years in prison for making an apology for the Kouachi brothers — “There should be more Kouachi… . I hope you will be the next… . You are a godsend for terrorists” — would he responded to the police who arrested him while he was drunkeness and had a car crash.

The naive question we could ask is: Why can we not say everything in the name of freedom of speech and expression?

First, we must redefine what freedom of expression is. Freedom of expression is defined by the great dictionary of the French language as “the fundamental right allowing any citizen to express his opinion.” OK. But what is an opinion? An opinion is a feeling, an individual or group of individuals think a certain way about a topic, based on facts… It is what he thinks.

Can we say everything in the name of freedom of speech ?

What he thinks. That’s the difference between his opinion and the performance of a speech act. The speech act is “a means used by a speaker to act on his environment through his words,. He seeks to inform, encourage, ask, persuade, promise etc… his interlocutor by this means.”

— I hope you will be the next –– is not an opinion but a speech act called a perlocutionary effect, which refers to the psychological effect felt by the recipient (here intimidation, intended to frighten). According to Austin, British philosopher and founder of the theory of language, the speech act is neither true nor false. It is successful or not.

Can we say everything in the name of freedom of speech ?

Finally, a perlocutionary speech act contrary to an expression of opinion, intended to cause effects (disturbances, changes …) in the communication situation.

An order, abuse, or harassment is not an opinion and can not therefore claim to freedom of expression.

Letter and photos by Esther Hervy

PARIS, France

Chinese charge government officials for being part of “illegal underground Tibetan independence organization”

Chinese charge government officials for being part of "illegal underground Tibetan independence organization
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It has come to light that officials within the Chinese government have been charged and punished with crimes such as providing intelligence to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and participating in activities found to potentially be “harmful to national security.”

Fifteen officials of the Chinese government in central Tibet were charged with the crimes in 2014 and have since been punished. The cases were brought to light Tuesday by official Chinese media organization China News Network.

The officials violated political discipline, according to the Wang-Gang, secretary-general of 27th Commission for Discipline inspection committee, the body that uncovered the Chinese crimes. Wang said that the officials, “participated in an illegal underground Tibetan separatist organization,” providing information to the Dalai clique,” “funded activities that endangered national security, and committed other serious violations. The officials, including six Communist party members and civil servants, had been dealt with, Wang stated.

In addition, 45 officials had been found to have abandoned their posts or neglected their duties had been “seriously punished,” according to Wang.

Complaints about misbehaving officials in the Tibetan region were on the increase, according to the discipline commission — up 132 percent between 2013 and 2014.

The commission reported that “the struggle against the separatist situation [in Tibet] is still complicated and grim. The political stance of the minority party members and cadres is not firm, and work needs to continue to strengthen the maintenance of stability.”

Read more: China to increase urban population in Tibet 30% by 2020

Under Xi Jinping, China has undergone visibly heightened corruption investigations, including within the continually resistant region of Tibet, which has been ruled by the Communist Party since China invaded Tibet in 1951. Within Tibet, no Tibetan has ever been placed in the position of Party Secretary for the region.

By James Haleavy

The Great Russian Sacrifice- the overlooked Eastern Front

The great Russian sacrifice- the overlooked eastern front
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Twenty-four million dead. That is the egregious number that few people have overlooked in the decades since the end of the Second World War — number which symbolizes the dead Russian men, women, and children who died defending their motherland. It is no wonder then that Russians refer to the war as “The Great Patriotic War.”

Since Putin has been in power, which now seems like an exceptionally long time, every May Victory Day, as well as every chance he gets, he reminds the West and the Russian people that it was the Soviets that bore the greatest weight in the war, and that it is they who sacrificed the most. With morbid statistics like that, it is hard to argue with him.

In 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa which was a 3 million man invasion of the Soviet Union that resulted in the greatest offensive over the widest front in human history. With lighting speed — almost literally — the Wehrmacht managed by 1941 to reach the outskirts of Moscow, even the metro station of its suburbs. The destruction and devastation that the German army left from Poland to Stalin’s capital was unthinkable.

Yet most of our history books are filled with the heroic doings of the West, from the famous D-Day landing to the North African heroism and French resistance. The Eastern Front however was a completely different type of war, that outstretched and out-tumbled the title of “total war.” One which Hollywood has not made many movies about, not just because of its grim nature, but because it is truly an example of the savage mannerism to which humanity has descended. It was, in all its fury, a conflict of survival.

By 1942, the Nazi flag had reached the Volga in Stalingrad, where some historians say the outcome of the war itself was decided. The number of dead in the city reached close to 2 million, roughly equal between both sides. If we take the entire casualty list of the British and American sides it would not amount to that number. Stalingrad was without a doubt a turning point in the war, although not the only one. If the Germans would have taken the city, it might have caused the collapse of the Eastern Front.

Stalin had ordered that the German army would be stopped in his city, not only because it held his name in a suit of vanity, but strategically the Volga was essential to the oil fields in the Caucasus. Only a few weeks before the Germans reached the city he proclaimed his famous line that permeated across the U.S.S.R: “Not a step back!”

If it would have been lost, a counterattack would have been that much harder. Yet, the harsh conditions that the Russian winter produced, along with the vast armies behind the Urals resulted in one of the greatest and longest battles. Operation Uranus, which commenced on November 19th, 1942, was the turning point in the battle itself which finally led to a much awaited Soviet victory.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt told Stalin in 1944 that “the siege of September 13, 1942 to January 31, 1943 will inspire forever the hearts of all free people. Their glorious victory stemmed the tide of invasion and marked the turning point in the war of the Allied nations against the forces of aggression.”

Yet, the actual sacrifice, one which has rung through ages, was one that was held by both men and women who enlisted across the Soviet Union to defend that which they called their motherland. Stalin’s murderous regime mobilized millions to be sent to the front, while millions of others were dying in Siberia’s gulags.

The famous British historian, Andrew Roberts, has commented in some of his writing that the grim reality might have been that it took a Stalin, to defeat a foe like Hitler. When one considers the implications he might not be far off. In other words one brutal dictator to defeat the other.

The war was won through a two-front ordeal that put pressure on the Nazis. In other words the Allies in the West were extremely important in helping not prolong the war as a whole, but the devastation in the East, not just in Russia but across most Eastern European countries was entirely a different world-one which the volunteers of American and British armies did not experience fully. In the Soviet Union, no one was a volunteer, but was forced to fight.

We must consider the fact that the war was brought to the Soviets’ lands, and to their blood, while the American and British never saw their nations invaded, and their people massacred with such barbarity.

After the war, the Soviet Union continued its despotism, and willingness to believe in a socialist utopia brought on by unfavorable conditions. In 1991, after the Berlin wall came down, and Gorbachev gave in to the West, Stalingrad changed its name to the more humble Volgograd.

Every 6 days out of the year, however, the city changes its name back to Stalingrad for celebrations, commemorations and out of respect for the men, and women that died defending not only the physical place itself, but a relentless invader. The huge towering statue of a woman holding a sword pointed towards the West  named “Mother-Motherland” now watches over the city.

Blog by Milad Doroudian

Image: Ria Navosti

Can the River of Life survive? – Drina River and how to deal with plastics and heavy metals in Serbia

Can the River of Life survive? – Drina River
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BELGRADE, Serbia — The Drina River runs from south to north after its birth in Montenegro, created from two beauties: the Tara and Piva rivers. Locals tend to call her the River of Life, while the Old Slavic name is Zelenika (Green One). To be honest, she is still green and pure for the most of her flow. Water pours in from many mountains and the Drina is one of the cleanest rivers in Europe. The Drina joins the Sava River at the end of her 346 kilometers long flow. Along with the waters of the Danube, these rivers will reach the Black Sea in the end.

Drina is also a border line between Republika Srpska (BiH) and Serbia for some 220 km. Somewhere at around half of that distance Perućac Dam shelters a power plant, contributing power to Serbian grid. The concrete wall of Perucac has turned out to be a very problematic spot, as it stops the river’s flow and gathers plastic waste, which has proved to be very hard for cleaning and removal.

Both states tried to solve this problem, but obviously not strongly enough. Plastic bottles, bags and similar garbage are washed down with high waters and all that mess piles up at the dam, creating a very ugly site. One little boat, modified to collect the garbage, tries his best to clean it up but this effort seems pointless when you see all those new garbage piles coming downstream.

This place really gives us true picture of plastic waste problem. Approximately 5000 cubic meters of waste are removed from the river annually, but the problem is not solved since trash dumps of the upper towns are located on the banks while the local population is not educated to care about the effects on surrounding nature.

The municipalities of Rudo, Priboj, Prijepolje, and Bijelo Polje have placed their trash disposal dumps next to the Lim River (a tributary of Drina), and high spring water washes the trash down to the Drina. This problem affects Montenegro, Serbia and BiH.

 

 

We are driving down the road next to the Drina River heading north, and after Ljubovija, a nice little place, we can see next a sad example of human indifference. Zajaca mine, which has a history of mining going back to Roman times, has released dangerous toxic waste into the Drina. Heavy rains that occurred in the spring of 2014 caused flooding in this area and tailings sludge from Zajaca Mine was washed down to the Drina.

The mine is privately owned now by Farmakom Company from Sabac. Ash, a by-product of lead and antimony extraction, has very small particles and prevents oxygen from reaching any organism underneith it. This ash contains lead, zinc, etc. Farmakom’s company owner has detained for financial violation and tax fraud.

The sludge pond is under control now. Until the next heavy rain.

But tap water in Zajaca is still prohibited for drinking. Local children are monitored now because many of them have had increased lead percentages in blood testing.

In a nearby place, Stolice, another mine (also owned by Farmakom) released additional amounts of toxic sludge into Korenita River, and it all ended up in the Drina. Many farmers decided not to crop their fields due to the pollution.

Another spring is coming, and no solution is offered yet.

By Miroslav Velimirovic

South Sudan’s prices double as dollar crisis hits Juba

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JUBA, South Sudan — Prices of commodity goods have doubled over the past two months in South Sudan’s capital and across the country as the dollar exchange rate has risen from 450 South Sudanese pounds for 100 US dollars to 720 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars on the black market.

The chairperson of the traders union, while speaking to reporters in Nyakuron market, said that they are unable to buy dollars from the banks and Forex bureaus easily, so they resort to buying on the black market, but at a higher price, which also influences the final prices of the commodity. He urged the government to take bold action on this issue, as the increase in price is not only the traders’ problem, but is a national problem as well.

As the festive season approaches, a piece of soap which previously was sold at 1 South Sudanese pound rose to 2 South Sudanese pounds, and a kilogram of sugar, which used to be at 6 South Sudanese pounds now costs 8 South Sudanese pounds. The prices doubled amidst the ongoing conflict in the country and the falling prices of oil in the world market.

Oil has been the main revenue/income generating source for South Sudan over the past years, but its production has been diminished by the latest conflicts that have ravaged the country since Dec. 15, 2013.

The official exchange rate for the dollar at the central bank stands at 317 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars and the Forex bureau rate is at 319 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars. The Ministry of Finance had in April 2014 banned the sale of dollars on the street, but many street dollar vendors are still seen roaming around the town.

The president, in an attempt to curb the escalating prices of commodities and the dollar, sacked National Minister of Finance Mr. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, and replaced him with the former finance minister, Mr. David Deng Athorbei, who had served as finance minister in the government of Southern Sudan in the early months of post-independence in 2011.

The national minister of finance has now issued a new directive regarding the giving dollars in bulks of about 2000 dollars and above, and also has caused the Forex bureaus to cease operations for at least one week. Banks are allowed to give dollars normally, but are cautioned to follow well-approved procedures to make sure the money does not get into the hands of the street vendors.

By Taban Ronald Setimo

South Sudan: 9 killed, thousands flee village over tribal clashes

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JUBA, South Sudan – Over 3000 residents of Kworijik village, Central Equatoria state fled their homes after unknown gunmen attacked the village on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 19, 2015.

Armed men from the Mundari tribe (cattle keepers) attacked the village in a claimed revenge attack over the killing of one of their tribesmen in December 2014 by the Bari tribe (farmers) of the same village.

Eye witnesses say that one cattle keeper (Mundari tribe) drove his cattle into the farm of a Bari farmer, and when the farmer tried to chase away the cattle using a stick, the cattle keeper opened fire at him and he had to run for his life.

Over Five people are reported dead and several others severely injured, and the displaced are taking refuge at Juba One Primary School near Juba town. Some residents were said to have crossed the river Nile for safety. Police and military personnel were deployed to the village to restore calm.

According to one Mundari elder who spoke on condition of anonymity, the attacks were not planned by the Mundari as a tribe but this was individuals who chose to discredit their mutual and peaceful co-existence with the Bari people. The elder expressed hope that the police wl bring the culprits to justice.

The two tribes of Mundari and Bari belong to the Main Bari speaking group of Central Equatoria and have lived peacefully for many years.
While addressing internally displaced people in Juba One Primary school, the Central Equatoria governor Major General Clement Wani Konga assured the people of continued efforts to bring a lasting solution to the problem facing the village and also that the culprits would be brought to book.

Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), Red Cross, and other humanitarian organizations are on the ground to make needs assessments for internally displaced persons.

Kworijik village is home to Vice President of South Sudan Hon. James Wani Igga and former Mayor of the Juba City Council Mr. Babala Abdullah.

By Taban Ronald Setimo

Luxury hotel in Tripoli stormed by armed gunmen – 8 dead

Luxury hotel in Tripoli stormed By armed gunmen - 8 dead
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Five masked gunmen attacked the luxury hotel, Corintha, on the Mediterranean in Tripoli, Libya Tuesday killing three guards and five foreign guests. Three others were injured.

The working staff said that the men came through the doors and began shooting erratically in the main lobby, killing the guardsmen on duty, and later taking hostages inside of the hotel. A car bomb that was located in the parking lot went off as well, reports say.

Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the Special Deterrent Forces commented that the situation is currently “under control,” yet there is no Luxury hotel in Tripoli stormed By armed gunmen - 8 deadsign of the five masked men who left destruction in their way.

One of the men working at that time told sources that the hotel which usually staffed British and Turkish nationals was largely empty. This is also the site where Libya’s prime minister was kidnapped in 2013.

The Libyan state is currently in a pseudo-civil war between two factions — rather two governments fighting for power. One is found in Tripoli, and the other which is internationally recognized, in Eastern Libya. In fact, ever since former Libyan ruler Omar Qaddafi’s death in 2011 Libya has been stuck in constant rifle.

Sources were not clear on what happened to the men inside the hotel. Some say that they might have blown themselves up inside, or even escaped. The flow of information has been terrible since fighting commenced last summer, leading to a great deal of the embassies in Tripoli closing shop and heading home.

Information was cleared up earlier today however as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made it clear in a tweet that the five men were killed in an exchange of fire with police forces.

By Milad Doroudian

Image: Abdul-Jawad Elhusuni