A human rights group has charged the United Kingdom with “breaching its international legal obligations” by failing to take action against British companies buying ‘conflict minerals’ from armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
 
"It is a sad day when we have to sue the UK government,” said Gavin Hayman of the group Global Witness, “but we hope that this case will mark a turning point. The issues at stake have global significance for how wars are financed."
 

Kansas businesses interested in trade opportunities with Africa are invited to the ninth annual United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum on Aug. 5-6 at the Marriott in Kansas City, Mo.

                          Robyne taking questions from the audience.

Minneapolis, MN.– Since her selection by Matt Entenza as his Lieutenant Governor, Former FOX 9 news anchor , business-woman Robyne Robinson has been meeting  people to introduce herself as a politician not the newscaster.

By Ben H. Rome

Beginning tomorrow, the fifth annual African Diaspora Film Festival kicks off at the National Geographic headquarters here in Washington, DC. Showcasing a selection of independent films from around the world, the festival runs through Sunday and is presented in collaboration with the National Geographic All Roads Film Project and TransAfrica Forum. The festival will exhibit 10 films, eight of which are premiering in the DC area.

Energy efficiency rebates, programs help rental property owners save money 

Share The City of Minneapolis, Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy and Minnesota Housing are teaming up to help rental property owners take advantage of programs and rebates to help make their properties more energy efficient. Rental license renewal notices are being mailed to every rental property owner in Minneapolis in the next few days, and property owners will receive special energy efficiency information with their renewal notice. 

Critically Acclaimed, Deeply Thought Provoking African Identity Drama Begins Coming to the Screens of St. Anthony Main Theatre

MINNEAPOLIS, MN,-TEZA, Haile Gerima’s dramatic and thought provoking Ethiopian cultural portrait highlights St. Anthony Main theatre’s summer lineup July 16th through 29th.

ARUSHA, TZ --The Bureau of the ICTR Association des Avocats de la Defense (ADAD), notes with sadness and alarm the murder of our ICTR colleague University of Dar es Salaam Law Professor Jwani Mwaikusa, who was shot to death at his home on July 14.  Professor Mwaikusa had recently prevented the transfer of  ICTR defendants to Rwanda on “lack of fair” trial grounds, and recently annnounced the appeal of his client’s July 3 conviction.  

Census Bureau Reports Minority Business Ownership Increasing at More Than Twice the National Rate.    

The number of minority-owned businesses increased by 45.6 percent to 5.8 million between 2002 and 2007, more than twice the national rate of all U.S. businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, the number of women-owned businesses increased 20.1 percent during the same period. The total number of U.S. businesses increased between 2002 and 2007 by 18.0 percent to 27.1 million.

Share In its continuing efforts to bridge the digital divide, the City of Minneapolis announced on Friday, June 25 that residents and visitors will now be able to access the Internet for free from 117 “Wireless Minneapolis” hotspots throughout the city. These hotspots are one of the many community benefits that resulted from the City of Minneapolis’ contract with USI Wireless, the company that built the wireless network blanketing the entire city. 

New MPI Estimates: As Many as 2.1 Million Young People Could Be Eligible for the DREAM Act, Though Far Fewer Would Meet its Education or Military Service Requirements for Legalization

WASHINGTON -- Slightly more than 2.1 million unauthorized immigrant youth and young adults could be eligible to apply for legal status under the DREAM Act legislation pending in Congress, according to a new Migration Policy Institute analysis that offers the most recent and detailed estimates of potential beneficiaries by age, education levels, gender, state of residence and likelihood of gaining legalization.

(GIN) - Sierra Leonean writer Olufemi Terry has won this year's Caine Prize for African Writing, for his story “Stickfighting Days” of life and death in a city rubbish dump.
 
The Caine Prize of $16,000 is regarded as Africa's leading literary award for a short story published in English by an African writer. Judges called Terry a “talent with an enormous future.”
 
Three of the five judges are Africans, but this is a prize decided in England, awarded in Oxford for work written in English, noted editor Ellah Wakatama Allfrey in the Guardian newspaper.

By Bernadeia Johnson
Superintendent of Schools

As your new Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, I am extremely hopeful for the future and excited to lead our efforts to raise academic achievement for all students. I believe more strongly than ever that our top priorities lie in narrowing the achievement gap and offering all of our students a high-quality education that prepares them for college or a career.

Nigerian families got the go-ahead this week from the U.S. Supreme Court to sue the drug company Pfizer for carrying out an illegal trial of a new antibiotic on their children that produced fatalities.
 
The families say Pfizer did not get the proper consent to test the drug Trovan on 200 sick children during a meningitis outbreak in 1996. Later testing linked the drug to liver failure. It is banned in the European Union.