AFRICAN UNION SLAPS SANCTIONS ON GUINEA JUNTA

Leaders of African States have imposed a barrage of new sanctions on the military rulers in Guinea due to the massacre on many supporters of the opposition. The head of states that are part of the African Union Peace and Security Council decided that it was necessary to take such actions such as denying visas, travel restrictions, and the freezing of assets. A list of of those that are going to targeted by the sanctions will be sent to the Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Conference and a group of French-speaking nations in order to give the issue a global perspective. The EU has also placed an arms embargo on members of the junta.

By: Aminat T. Odunewu

Guinea Placed Under Arms Embargo

Members of ECOWAS, Economic Community of West African States, have decided to place a weapons embargo on Guinea's military government. This decision was made during a special summit in Nigeria on Saturday. The chairman of ECOWAS, Umaru Yar'adua, has been asked to gain support from the African Union, European Union and the United Nations in order to condemn the attacks that Camara's troops carried out on an opposition rally. The attack killed 157 civillians and 1200 more were injured. Amnesty International also claims that women were raped and sexually abused by Camara's troops and the African Union has asked for him to resign. The case is currently being looked at by the International Court of Justice.

By. Aminat Odunewu

Nigerians upset over "District 9" Depictions

After going to see the movie District 9 many Nigerian officials and natives left the theater upset. The movie, which was directed by South African director Niel Bloomkamp, is set in South Africa and is about an alien space ship that breaks down in Johannesburg which cause the aliens to be stranded in a huge battle between humans. In the movie, Nigerians are excited about the aliens arival and begin to exploit them. The movie depicts Nigerians as criminals, cannibals and prostitutes who sleep with extra-terrestrials. In the movie, Nigerians are seen attempting to eat the alien's flesh in order to cure illnesses and gain superhuman powers. One of the characters in the movie is called Obesandjo, a play on former Nigerian president Obasanjo. The movie is currently not being played in Nigeria.
By: Aminat T. Odunewu

Misconceptions about Child Soliders

by Jeff Gimm
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4944&page=0

A recent article by Foreign Policy laid out several misconceptions that many in the West have about child soliders. Often overlooked in reports about Africa and the Middle East, one key misconception is that child soliders are a new phenomena, created by globalization. This, Foreign Policy tells us, is not true at all because during the 17th and 18th centuries there were children assisting on ships and in armies with hauling supplies and loading cannons. The other major misconception is that these "Child Soliders" are just that, soliders. It is in fact a misnomer, as these children are also messengers, spies and sex slaves.
While there has been increased awareness of the problem of child soliders in the past few years, there has not been nearly enough attention on why this is important besides the atrociousness of the notion of making children fight in wars. According to the article, many of today's top Taliban leaders got their start as childen fighting against the Soviets invading Afghanistan. If we do not learn the from the mistakes of the past 20 years, we may be fighting these children 15 years from now.