UN starts work to set up camps for Haiti’s earthquake survivors

Engineers from the United Nations mission in Haiti have started preparing the ground for the establishment of new and better camps to house hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after January’s catastrophic earthquake, the head of UN peacekeeping operations said today.

Today on New Scientist: 25 March 2010

All today’s stories on newscientist.com at a glance, including: why hot water freezes faster than cold, the perils of unethical lab coats, and why the Templeton prize is bad news for religion

Experienced official to head integrated UN mission in Burundi

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed today a veteran United Nations official with experience in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and humanitarian action as his new Executive Representative in Burundi.

UN backs project to improve cassava processing in Nigeria

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Japan and a Nigerian cassava processing group today signed an agreement to support a project to improve cassava processing in a bid to enhance the quality and value of food in the African country.

UN Human Rights Council calls for independent inquiry into Gaza conflict

The United Nations Human Rights Council today, echoing the General Assembly, called on the Israeli Government and the Palestinian side to carry out independent and credible investigations into the deadly conflict in the Gaza Strip that ended early last year.

UN welcomes Pakistan’s move to extend validity of Afghan registration cards

The top United Nations officials for refugees today welcomed Pakistan’s decision to extend the validity of official identification cards for 1.7 million registered Afghans whose cards had expired at the end of December 2009.

UN official briefs Djibouti’s President on latest developments in Darfur

The top United Nations official in Darfur has concluded a two-day visit to Djibouti, where he briefed the country’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh on recent developments in the conflict-affected region of western Sudan.

Sharp Rise in South Africa Police Shootings

Sharp rise in SA police shootings

The number of people shot and killed by South African police in 2009 increased by more than 25% on the previous year, new figures show.

The Independent Complaints Directorate say that 556 people died in 2009.

The news comes as politicians debate an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act about the use of force by police.

Recent comments by senior ministers recommending a shoot-to-kill policy have provoked a heated argument about police violence in the country.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the world and the country’s police chief Bheki Cele has defended the use of “deadly force” by police when necessary.

But opposition parties and other rights groups claim lethal force has caused an increase in the loss of innocent lives.

In November 2009 there was outrage over the shooting of a three-year-old boy by a police officer who allegedly mistook a pipe the boy was carrying for a gun.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8587560.stm
Published: 2010/03/25 16:26:41 GMT

Guateng Premier Speaks on What’s Behind Financial Woes in South Africa

Whites cause Tshwane’s financial woes: Mokonyane

Mar 12, 2010 6:16 PM
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Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane’s statement that Tshwane’s financial problems are largely a result of defaults by white ratepayers was based on fact, spokesman Dumisani Zulu said.
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Zulu said the premier’s knowledge was based on a report done by the municipality. Reacting to Mokonyane’s Thursday comments, the Democratic Alliance said: “She is being a divisive factor in our province and she is undermining nation building and promoting racism through her comments, so she must prove it”.

“The race card is always shown when the ANC does not have answers to a problem. The easy way out is just to blame the ‘whites’ and avert attention from the real problems,” the DA said in a statement on Friday.

Zulu said however, that it was “unfortunate” that rate payers were predominantly white. He said Mokonyane’s statement was reflective of [Cooperative Governance] Minister Sicelo Shiceka’s statement that Tshwane was “vulnerable”.

Mokonyane reportedly told a Pretoria Press Club that “the City of Tshwane does not deserve to be what it is today because it has a turnaround strategy but has not been able to implement it”.

According to Mokonyane, a large number of predominantly white rate payers’ associations in the Tshwane metro were not paying for services.

They were rather putting their money into trust accounts and this, she said, was rendering the municipality dysfunctional.

She said some of them were even deliberately withholding payments. She urged residents to work closely with government.

The DA challenged the MEC to prove her statements, saying it believed Mokonyane was being “economical with the truth” by blaming one population group for what is essentially the ANC’s failure to properly manage the Tshwane Council.

California gears up for fight over legalising cannabis

As the Golden State debates a bold relaxation of drug law, scientific and financial arguments will rage, says Peter Aldhous