Soyinka's Visit to Australia

The Nigerian writer and Nobel Prize Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has cancelled a visit to Australia because of what he sees as stringent visa requirements, according to the Australian newspaper report.

True to form, Soyinka, 71, objected to a certain item in the visa application form which warns that visitors older than 70 may be required to undertake a medical examination.

Soyinka regards this requirement as ageist.


www.theaustralian.com.au

New Australian Funds for Sierra Leone

The good news is that Australia has pledged a further $100,000 to help the West African nation of Sierra Leone try those responsible for violations of humanitarian law, according to the Sunday Mail report.

This takes the total Australian contribution to the UN mission in Sierra Leone to $6 million during 2005-06 financial years.

Nevertheless, it must be noted that International Humanitarian Law provides a framework for protection of civilians and combatants alike during armed conflict. Its principal legal documents are the Geneva Conventions of 1949 – four treaties signed by almost every nation in the world.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone needs all the help it can get. It is still a nation in distress, having emerged from a 10-year civil war in which thousands suffered horrendous brutality.


www.sundaymail.com.au