Taxonomic results of the Bryotrop expedition to Zaire and Rwanda : 26., a new checklist of the mosses of Central Africa

Central Africa was one of the first regions in the tropics, if not the first, for which a checklist of mosses was compiled. In 1940, Demaret published the "Prodrome des Bryophytes du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi", followed by a supplement in 1946. In the 50 years since that time, numerous new contributions to the bryophyte flora of Central Africa have been made. Demaret added seven more publications on Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo). Potier de la Varde studied the bryophyte collections made during the surveys of the flora of the Central African volcanoes by Hedberg

Rwanda, Burundi, and Their Ethnic Conflicts

This paper demonstrably dispels the assumption that ethnic conflict in Rwanda and Burundi is a chronic endemic phenomenon. It emphasizes the consolidation of the caste system during the colonial era, intra regional disparities within the two communities, high population densities, very weak economic bases, poverty, and international interference as some of the cardinal dynamics behind the current deadly contentions within the two states. An analysis behind the genocidal tendencies in the two countries is well illustrated, with special emphasis on the Rwandese tragedy of 1994 as well as its parallels and divergences with the Nazi Holocaust

El genocidio ruandés. Desde la radio del odio: La Radio-Televisión Libre des Mille Collines

El objeto de este trabajo es abordar algunas de las causas que condujeron al genocidio en Ruanda de 1994. Para ello nos hemos apoyado especialmente en una fuente peculiar, la transcripción de las emisiones de la Radio-Televisión Libre des Mille Collines, una estación informativa y propagandística del extremismo hutu, empleada como prueba fundamental en el Tribunal Penal Internacional para Ruanda. La riqueza e interés de esta fuente radica en la inmediatez de sus informativos, la brutalidad de sus mensajes y la eficacia movilizadora entre una población masivamente analfabeta. Para acercarnos a la realidad de Ruanda en los años noventa resulta imprescindible repasar las complejas interrelaciones entre hutus y tutsis, empezando por reflexionar sobre la naturaleza de dichas identidades: ¿estamos ante etnias, castas, grupos sociales…? ¿evoluciona la naturaleza de estas relaciones con el paso del tiempo? Así mismo, repasaremos el entramado colonial, en particular la etapa belga, sus intereses y los trasfondos ideológicos; el proceso de independencia del país, así como las primeras presidencias; todo ello contribuyó a las nefastas consecuencias conocidas. De todas maneras, no nos encontramos ante una peculiaridad ruandesa; muchos de estos factores, y de sus resultados, son comunes a buena parte del continente africano. (Castellano

Radikalisierte Identitäten. Der Genozid in Ruanda und seine (post-)koloniale Vorgeschichte

Revue du tiers mondeInternational audienceEs wäre zu kurz gegriffen, den Genozid in Ruanda 1994 direkt auf die koloniale Rassenpolitik zurückzuführen. Zwar legte die Unterscheidung in Tutsi und Hutu durch die belgischen und deutschen Kolonialherren die Grundlage für eine rassialisierte Identitätspolitik. Doch erst ihre Zuspitzung durch postkoloniale Politik im unabhängigen Ruanda führte in die Katastrophe

Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa

We investigate jointly the importance of contemporary country-level institutional structures and local ethnicity-specific pre-colonial institutions in shaping comparative regional development in Africa. We utilize information on the spatial distribution of African ethnicities before colonization and exploit within ethnicity (across countries) and within-country (across ethnicities) regional variation in economic performance, as proxied by satellite light density at night. The fact that political boundaries across the African landscape partitioned ethnic groups in different countries, thus subjecting identical cultures to different country-level institutions, offers a regression discontinuity framework. After identifying the partitioned ethnicities we document a positive cross-sectional association between national institutions and regional economic development. However, our ethnicity fixed-effects specifications show that differences in countrywide institutional arrangements do not explain differences in regional economic performance within ethnic groups. In contrast, we document that local ethnic traits proxied by tribal pre-colonial political institutions and class stratification exert even today a significant effect on regional development. The positive within country effect of pre-colonial institutions also obtains in regions of partitioned ethnicities along the national boundaries.Africa, Borders, Ethnicities, Development, Institutions

A checklist of the Limnichidae and the Lutrochidae (Coleoptera) of the world

A checklist of the world species of Limnichidae (35 genera, 345 species) and Lutrochidae (1 genus, 11 species) is presented. The author, year of publication and page number, synonyms, distribution by country, and a terminal bibliography are given for each genus and species. Biological information is also reviewed

CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE AND MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCES - AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH

The empirical evidence upon the macroeconomic performances of the independent central banks do not always have been successfully. In some cases, the consistency of the indices based on the interpretation of central banks statues used for measuring the degree of central bank independence is controversial, particularly for some of the indices. Moreover, the correlations between central bank independence and macroeconomic performance variables are not always confirmed, the causal relationship between central bank independence and inflation is controversial, and the higher disinflation costs, as a result of a higher sacrifice ratio correlated with the degree of independence is controversial, too. The effects of central bank independence upon macroeconomic performances focalized upon the empirical evidence of inflation, output or economic grouth and the disinflation costs. This is due to the lack of studies vis - á - vis of relationship between central bank independence and macroeconomic performances regarding some variables like interest rates and budgetary deficits. Specialists consider inflation and output as the main determinats of the social welfare. The economic literature regarding this fact suggests that the central bank is seen as a free lunch institution. This hypothesis sustains that independent central banks will have social benefits in terms of lower inflation rates, but without any costs in terms of the real macroeconomic performances as a higher output volatility or a lower economic growth. In this article we provide a qualitative analyses regarding the relationship between central bank independence and macroeconomic performances. For this purpose the authors' used the new index for measuring central bank independence and inflation targeting based on three pillars: political and legal central bank independence, central bank governance and conduct of monetary policy, central bank transparency and accountability. For estimating the connections between the evolution of central bank independence and macroeconomic performances we used five macroeconomic variables: GDP in constant prices, Harmonised Price Consumer Index, unemployment rate, budgetary deficit and current account deficit. Both measuring the degree of central bank independence and evaluating the average levels of the macroeconomic variables were analysed in the period 1990 - 2009, within 20 less developing countries. The final results will help clarify the complex relationship between central bank independence and macroeconomic performances in countries who fostered a large amount of institutional shift in recent years.Central bank transparency, central bank accountability, inflation targeting, macroeconomic outcomes, free lunch hypothesis

Taxonomic results of the Bryotrop expedition to Zaire and Rwanda : 20., Grimmiaceae, Funariaceae, Bartramiaceae (Philonotis), Amblystegiaceae, Plagiotheciaceae

For worldwide monograph see Bremer (1980a, b, 1981). Unfortunately, this treatment is not particularly useful because the author accepted an exceedingly broad species concept and actually very many distinct and easily recognizable exotic species has simply been lumped with S. apocarpum (Hedw.) Bruch & Schimp. in B., S. & G. In tropical East Africa at least five distinct species have so far been recorded (Kis 1985), but it is very likely that this number will increase with progress in taxonomic study of the genus and floristic exploration of the bryologically undercollected areas

La Corte africana condanna il Ruanda nel caso Ingabire: violati il diritto alla difesa e la libertà di esprimersi sul genocidio del 1994

Commento alla sentenza della Corte africana dei diritti dell’uomo e dei popoli, emessa in data 24 novembre 2017, che ha deciso sul ricorso presentato dalla leader ruandese delle opposizioni, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, condannando lo stato del Ruanda per violazione del diritto alla difesa dell'attivista politica e per la concussione della libertà di esprimersi sul genocidio avvenuto in Ruanda nel 1994 prevalentemente ai danni della popolazione Tutsi