Rachael Taylor
Rachael joined AlertNet in February 2006 after completing a Master's degree in International Politics at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, focusing on the variants of Islamism. Before this she worked for two years at the International Crisis Group in its Brussels and Senegal offices, researching among other issues U.S. counter-terrorism policy in West Africa. She is learning French and Arabic.
International justice versus local needs in Uganda
The International Criminal Court (ICC) launched its first war crimes indictment in July 2005 with a set of warrants against Joseph Kony, leader of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and four of his commanders. But since the rebels and the Ugandan government signed a truce in August, there have been growing calls for the charges to be dropped - including from Uganda's president. The 33 charges against Kony include crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enslavement, rape and using child soldiers. Few in northern Uganda question his guilt, but according to a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper, many worry that the ICC's determination to pursue the arrest warrants could prove an obstacle to ending Uganda's 20-year civil war. ...
S.Africa AIDS: Beets give way to drugs
South Africa is promising to increase the availability of AIDS drugs and expand education and prevention programmes - a dramatic shift in a country where officials were earlier this year promoting beetroots and lemons as treatments. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has stressed in recent meetings that the government now believes unequivocally that HIV causes AIDS - something once questioned by the president - and that antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) must be at the core of its response. ...
