African Briefs

Unrest threatens Myanmar
SITTWE – Communal violence in western Myanmar poses a threat to the country’s shift towards democracy, a UN rights envoy warned, as the death toll from almost a week of unrest rose to 28.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, urged the country’s reformist government to tackle the ‘root cause’ of discrimination against Muslim Rohingya living in the strife-hit region.’The underlying tensions that stem from discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities pose a threat to Myanmar’s democratic transition and stability,’ he said in a statement released late on Wednesday in Geneva.Cameron testifies at inquiryLONDON – Prime Minister David Cameron says press regulation needs to be improved in Britain as he testified before a UK media ethics inquiry.The judge-led inquiry was set up following revelations of phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid. The scandal has shaken the British establishment and raised questions about whether top politicians helped to shield Murdoch from scrutiny.Relations with Murdoch’s media empire have been problematic for Cameron. The prime minister has faced criticism for the way his government handled Murdoch’s bid to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting. His ties to Murdoch have also been questioned because he hired former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications chief.Coulson has since been charged with perjury in a case touched by the hacking scandal.