Just visited a press conference of World Food Programm. James T.Morris executive director of the WFP is just back from a tour through the region. “I have seen many bad situations.” Morris was not able to visit Somalia because of security reasons and praised the Kenyan government and thanked them for their excellent cooperation. So far Kenyan government has distributed 60.000 tons of mais and rice, but more is needed. Kenyans are complaing about the fact that the there are stocks of food in the Western part of their country,

Africa is full of beautiful girls. Elsewhere in the world they would have had good jobs, equal rights and chances. Reality here is that a lot of girls are living just to survive, often with a kid, no parents and a husband or father who has left. The stories behind the beautiful faces of Africa are often very said. But they survive, somehow. Beautiful Girl (MP3)

I visited South Africa last december for reports on the Shell/BP refinery SAPREF in surf city Durban. Doing a report for the series “Forgotten stories” broadcast by public broadcast organisation Llink in Netherlands. Local people have more than average astma there and are complaining about the flaring, burning of poisonous gas. Last week Shell/BP made a statement in which they said they are going to renew the pipeline that runs through the domestic area. Report in Dutch/English with local South African Musicians Shell refinery in Durban (MP3)

On a trip last year, bumped into a weddingparty in Maputo. In Mozambique people are marrying on saturdays. Near the parc photographers with good old camera’s are offering their services to the fresh couples. Other Mozambiquans are selling soda’s and making hamburgers. Young and happy people are arriving in cars, followed by their singing families. Sometime singing families meet on the way. Maputo Weddings at the Parc (MP3)

Reporting in local media on the raid on KTN and The Standard is going on. This morning the board of directors (picture) gave a press conference (click here for Windows Media file, streaming comment of an angry Group CEO Paul Mshindi (right on picture and Paul Mely (Group Deputy Chairman). Standard and Nation Dailies came with extra editions on the raids this morning and afternoon. KTN is on air again and everybody is having his say including opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta who said that this act by the Kenyan government

At around 1 a.m. last night, printing presses and and editorial rooms of Kenya’s leading television station KTN and privately owned newspaper The Standard were raided by armed man. Printing presses were damaged and the complete edition of tens of thousands of newspapers were burned. The complete program was taken and computers were taken. Nobody until now has claimed any responsibility. The attack came as a surprise according to the management team of the The Standard Group, that just gave a press Statement. Last week three Standard-journalists were jailed because

Last ten days, I spent in Uganda for reports on the elections. One of the days i was invited, together with international press, on president Yoweri Museveni’s ranch. I took this picture, Museveni is sitting here under a tree, an historic place. This is the place where Museveni last met John Garang (the former SPLM/A-leader who played an important rol in the comprehensive Sudan peace agreement, signed more tha a year ago in Kenya) who left the ranch in Museveni’s helicopter and died hours later in a crash.

The old taxi park in the heart of Kampala, days before the elections. The picture on the Celtel advertising in the background shows president Yoweri Museveni.

Preparing reports on Uganda elections.