Global briefs
PALESTINE: Living conditions facing Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza — including their access to health, education, food and employment — have sharply deteriorated over the past several years. Palestinian women "have been deeply affected by movement restrictions, military incursions, and house demolitions, particularly in Rafah, where almost 10,000 Palestinians have been made homeless", because of Israeli actions, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The report says 52 pregnant women have given birth at military checkpoints since 2002, and that 19 women and 29 newborns died at those checkpoints between September 2000 and December 2002. Nearly 38 per cent of Palestinian mothers report that access to health services has become difficult, with 44 per cent attributing that to the Israeli siege and 28 per cent citing the lack of money to pay for health services.* * * SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Foreign Minister Ms Zuma says that if Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been forced from power against his will, it would have "serious consequences and ramifications for the respect of the rule of law and democracy the world over". She added, "the international community must not be seen to be wavering in its commitment to democracy and respect for the rule of law, particularly in the face of anti-democratic forces". South Africa fully supports the position of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in demanding the United Nations investigate the Haitian President's removal.* * * CHINA: Two companies in northeastern China have developed a computer allowing the blind and partially sighted to access the Internet with a Chinese-Braille keyboard. The new computer is equipped to code and decode Chinese and Braille, and has voice software to read the screen to the user. Blind users can now learn to send and receive e-mails within two days, said the inventor of the Chinese-Braille keyboard. The inventor is a teacher of blind students whose own vision is limited. Some nine million people in China suffer serious eye diseases, and over five million of them are blind.* * * SOUTH AFRICA: "Joe Slovo was a unifier, a non-racist, an anti-racist, builder of the alliance and a proud patriot committed to all the people of South Africa", said Nelson Mandela when he addressed the launch of the Joe Slovo Election Trail at the Slovo's grave in Avalon Cemetery. The Joe Slovo Election Trail is the official election campaign of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in its support and work for an overwhelming victory of the African National Congress in the April 14 national and provincial elections. Joe Slovo was the National Chairperson of the South African Communist Party at the time of his death. SACP-led marches across the country will be exposing the exploitation and victimisation of farm and other vulnerable workers. The first march was held in Phalaborwa on March 13 to highlight the case of the man fed to lions by his employer. The SACP will be calling on farm workers to come forward to report their cases. The SACP will also be using the campaign to educate farm workers about their rights and to mobilise them to vote for the ANC.