African Govts; Stop Robbing the Sick

There are many people who used to be firebrand revolutionaries before who retreated into NGOs, often ambushing governments and others who hold power.
They are moving from cynicism to engagement and infiltrating global, regional and sub regional multilateral meetings and influencing their agenda both from within and without.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804221082.html

China May Give Up Attempt to Send Arms to Zimbabwe

As protests intensified across southern Africa against the shipment of Chinese-made arms intended for Zimbabwe, the government in Beijing said Tuesday that the ship carrying the arms — owned by a large Chinese state-owned company, Cosco — may return to China because of the difficulties in delivering the goods.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/africa/23zimbabwe.html?th&emc=th

Zimbabwe's church leaders warn the world: intervene to avert genocide

Zimbabwe is a deeply religious country. Daily discussions of the country's crisis end with Zimbabweans, black and white, saying: "We can only pray." So when the leaders of Zimbabwe's churches unanimously warn that the country faces "genocide" unless the international community intervenes, it is an important moment.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/zimbabwes-church-leaders-warning-to-world-intervene-to-avert-genocide-814042.html

Obama turns to securing a victory in Indiana

Defeated in Pennsylvania, Barack Obama quickly turned his attention to the next opportunity to dispense with Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in hopes of facing the Republican nominee-in-waiting.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-turns-to-securing-a-victory-in-indiana-814204.html

Wind of change blows in Tanzania

A group of villagers gather at the local bicycle repair shop at Njiapanda, a dusty roadside hamlet on the rift valley in Singida region in central Tanzania, to marvel at magazine pictures of massive electricity-generating wind turbines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7358776.stm

Nigerian polio cases soar

Polio cases have nearly doubled this year in the West African nation of Nigeria as officials struggle to fight various natural strains of the virus as well as an outbreak set off by the polio vaccine itself three years ago.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080422/FOREIGN/444062380/1003

US, France draft UN resolution to battle pirates off Somalia

The United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat, U.N. diplomats said Monday.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-somalia-ship-hijacked,1,2788628.story

Africa plans biggest dam project

A plan to build the largest and most powerful hydroelectric dam in the world is being discussed in London.
Financiers and African politicians will look at how to finance the $80bn (£40bn) cost of the Grand Inga project.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7358542.stm

Towards a green Nigeria

In current environmental discourse, talk of green culture generally centres round the enthronement of an ethic of social and cultural practice that is not liable to harm the state of our environment or upset the eco system.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7013&Itemid=0

Anyaoku, Oteh flay corruption in govt

FORMER Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, says Nigeria must sustain a deliberate fight against corruption and address the issue of poor infrastructure for the country to make meaningful progress in the economy.
http://odili.net/news/source/2008/apr/20/7.html

Africa's new colonialists?

"India and China have become Africa’s new colonialists,” declared respected international financier, George Soros, during a Reuters interview earlier this year. More recently, the Economist ran with a cover story titled “The new colonialists”, which detailed China’s huge appetite for acquiring global resources.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=336314&area=/insight/insight__economy__business/

Zimbabwe church leaders say people are being tortured

Zimbabwe church leaders say people are being tortured, abducted and some murdered in a campaign of political retribution.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080422/ap_on_re_af/zimbabwe

Masai return to their hunting grounds as tourism collapses

A leopard has been stalking Enkereri. Every night for the past week the hungry leopard has cleared a 10ft fence in the Masai Mara village with a single bound and made off with a goat.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/masai-return-to-their-hunting-grounds-as-tourism-collapses-813341.html

Mugabe’s good son

The president’s softly-softly approach to Mugabe resembles the reluctance of a son to openly correct an authoritarian father
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=337319&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/

Foreign policy begins at home

'Crisis? What crisis?" asked British Prime Minister Jim Callaghan as he arrived back in London from an international summit in late 1978. It was one of my first political memories. Britain had just commenced its infamous "Winter of Discontent".
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=337452&area=/columnist__richard_calland/

Libya Seeks Exemption for Its Debt to Victims

One by one, top executives of American oil companies met privately over the last year with Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, often in his signature Bedouin tent, as they lined up contracts allowing them to tap into the country’s oil reserves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/washington/22libya.html?th&emc=th

No crisis, says football boss as Parreira quits

THE national soccer team’s preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup have been plunged into turmoil after Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira confirmed his resignation from his R1,8m a month job yesterday, citing his wife’s ill health as the reason.
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/frontpage.aspx?ID=BD4A753452

UN looks to Africa for Zimbabwe resolution

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon held talks with African leaders yesterday on the political crisis in Zimbabwe, as reports of political murders and torture increased three weeks after an election yet to yield results.
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A752782

Miliband calls on African leaders to isolate Mugabe

Britain has urged African countries to take a stand against President Robert Mugabe's blatant attempts to rig the Zimbabwe elections, warning that the three-week stand-off posed "a threat to democracy" on the continent.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/miliband-calls-on-african-leaders-to-isolate-mugabe-813337.html

Tackling Nigeria's high rate of graduate unemployment

There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria does not have an impressive employment record.Even then, accurate statistics on the rate of unemployment in the country may not be an easy one to come by because of poor data and record keeping culture.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/analysis/features/8325.html

AFC probe: One too many

Government’s penchant for probe has spread to the African Finance Corporation. A request had earlier this week gone to government on the conferment of a legal status on the finance corporation (AFC) necessitating Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Michael Aondoakaa to institute a five-man panel to look into the activities leading to the establishment of the AFC.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/national/8232.html

Angola to upstage Nigeria in daily oil production

Angola may over take Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s leading oil producer, in the next few years, Business Day has gathered.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/energy/8332.html

Was Raila’s gaffe an attack on Museveni?

When Prime Minister Raila Odinga spoke after the swearing in of the grand coalition Cabinet at State House on Thursday, he referred to the chief guest, Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, as ‘‘President of the Republic of Tanzania’’.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=121485

'The Tata-fication of Africa

On the occasion of the India-Africa summit, key findings from the Emerging Economy Report were released today, which foreground the role of Indian corporations in driving new technology usage in Africa.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080409005783&newsLang=en

India Embraces Africa, Opens the Door to Competition with China

The first ever India-Africa summit concluded yesterday (Wednesday), having laid the groundwork for future cooperation between the regions.
In the years ahead, India will be competing with China for influence in a resource-rich continent that boasts strong supplies of gold, silver, cotton, cocoa, and copper and aluminum ore.
http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/04/09/india-embraces-africa-opens-the-door-to-competition-with-china/

China Covets Crude

China’s top oil producer, PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR), has raised its production estimate for the Jidong Nanpu oil field. The field is located in the Bonhai Bay area and is one of China’s biggest discoveries in recent history.
http://www.moneymorning.com/2007/09/25/china-covets-crude/

Is China Annexing Africa?

Trade between China and Africa hit a new high of $55.5 billion last year, up 40% from the year before. A special report from Tim Bennent and our U.K. affiliate, MoneyWeek Magazine, explores Beijing’s motivations for upping its trade relations in Africa.
http://www.moneymorning.com/2007/10/15/is-china-annexing-africa/

India follows China’s path in Africa

India will unveil on Wednesday a “blueprint” for its intensifying engagement with Africa, a symbolic step that reflects New Delhi’s anxiety over China’s growing influence on the continent and its desire to mimic the close economic and commercial ties forged by Beijing in recent years.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b077db20-057f-11dd-a9e0-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=a6dfcf08-9c79-11da-8762-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1

Liberia: Country is Still a Fragile State

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has told a gathering of political leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, that Liberia is still a fragile state that is on the threshold of being a post-conflict success story.
http://www.thenews.com.lr/story.php?record_id=3171&sub=News

India takes on China over Africa’s riches

India has granted Africa radically improved terms of trade in the clearest signal yet that it intends to compete head-to-head with China for access to the continent’s natural resources.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/india/article3708556.ece

Africa: Is China the Greedy Tiger It's Often Portrayed to Be?

Open any newspaper and you would get the impression that the African continent, and much of the rest of the world, is in the process of being "devoured" by China.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804071981.html

What’s Really Behind Asian Investment in Africa

As the home to 34 of the world’s 50 least-developed countries, Africa is the poorest and least-developed continent on the planet. It’s 11.7 million square miles of desert and jungle, with little in between.
Africa is malnourished, politically impotent, overrun with disease, and teeming with warlords, so it’s no surprise the typical life expectancy is 20%-30% below the global average.
http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/04/18/the-heart-of-darkness-whats-really-behind-asian-investment-in-africa/

South African union refuses to unload Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe

A South African union has refused to unload arms from a Chinese ship destined for Zimbabwe, in a politically charged move challenging President Thabo Mbeki's handling of relations with the neighboring state.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/18/africa/18zimship.php

Zimbabwe Arms Shipped by China Spark an Uproar

A Chinese ship loaded with armaments for Zimbabwe steamed into the port of Durban this week and set off a political firefight, putting newfound pressure on South Africa — and now China — to reduce support for Zimbabwe’s government as it cracks down on its rivals after a disputed election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/world/africa/19zimbabwe.html?th&emc=th

Mugabe casts Zimbabwe dispute as fight against colonialism

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe used a characteristically fiery speech in marking the anniversary of the country's independence from Britain on Friday, casting the dispute over the country's elections as a fight against colonialism and accusing Britain of being behind the opposition's calls for protests and civil action.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/18/africa/18zimbabwe.4.php

China to seal $9bn DR Congo deal

Ploughing through the long grass is a foreigner in a wide-brimmed sun-hat, scribbling away in a notebook.
Alongside, a deferential African bearing a long pole. The two are barely able to communicate with one another.
You're reminded, irresistibly, of images of Victorian era explorers such as David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, hacking their way across the continent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7343060.stm

In Africa, outages stifle a boom

The global commodities boom is claiming another casualty: Africa's already-shaky power grid.
With the continent's power-hungry mining sector booming and the economy along with it, national electricity grids are fraying. Higher prices for coal and oil are only intensifying the strain on electricity companies.
http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page94?oid=203733&sn=Detail

Strong Talk About Zimbabwe at the U.N.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council on Wednesday that he was “deeply concerned” by the delay in releasing the results of the March 29 presidential election in Zimbabwe and said that international observers should monitor any second round of voting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/world/africa/17zimbabwe.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

Ghana's 'hybrid' rice dilemma

Take a drive around rural Ghana and large swathes of the country appear green and fertile.
So you might then wonder why Ghanaians spend between $200 and $300 a year on imported rice.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7350856.stm

Odinga sworn in as Kenyan premier

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has officially become prime minister at the swearing-in of a coalition cabinet.
www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7351842.stm...

Mbeki isolated at UN as leaders demand action on Zimbabwe

Gordon Brown used the world's top diplomatic table to accuse Robert Mugabe of trying to steal the election in Zimbabwe, increasing pressure on the regime and embarrassing the President's chief political protector, South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/mbeki-isolated-at-un-as-leaders-demand-action-on-zimbabwe-810384.html

Hunt for water takes 'Lost Boy' back to Sudan

Every day, Manut Ngor Koot leads his family's cow for miles across the southern Sudan plains to a murky swamp that serves as his village's chief source of water. The cow is balky and has a limp. Looking after her is time-consuming, often frustrating.
The boy's routine is about to change.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0417/p04s01-woaf.html

U.N. Sees Peacekeeping Success in Liberia

The United Nations, which is battling a rash of political and logistical problems in its troubled peace missions in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, is rejoicing over the relative success of its peacekeeping operations in the once war-ravaged Liberia.
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=42016

THE FIGHT TO FEED AFRICA: HOW LIBERAL CHARITIES ARE KEEPING MILLIONS HUNGRY

Why are so many Africans desperately poor? The answer lies in the kind of work they do - more than 60 percent plant agricultural crops and graze animals - and in the fact that their farming lacks the productivity provided by modern science.
But the other, more tragic, answer is that Western charities are helping to keep them that way.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04062008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_fight_to_feed_africa_105148.htm

Cellphone and Internet access helps – and hinders – accurate reporting in Kenya

Citizen news reports of major events have become more commonplace as cellphones and broad Internet access have made it easier to share eyewitness accounts. But in Kenya, where tensions and violence escalated after the disputed presidential elections of Dec. 27, 2007, their shortfalls have been exposed – particularly their ability to quickly spread incorrect information and inflammatory words.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0131/p99s01-duts.html

The Afterlife of Cellphones

Americans threw out just shy of three million tons of household electronics in 2006. This so-called e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the municipal waste stream and, depending on your outlook, either an enormous problem or a bonanza. E-waste generally contains substances that, though safely sequestered during each product's use, can become hazardous if not handled properly when disposed. Those products also hold bits of precious metals like silver, copper, platinum and gold.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1DD1F3CF930A25752C0A96E9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

Africans' newest form of dissent: blogs

From his kitchen table in the bustling capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cédric Kalonji types an entry on his blog, in which he writes about the many problems facing his country while trying to avoid government censors.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0416/p07s03-woaf.html?page=1

Uganda gives go-ahead to biotechnology policy

Uganda's cabinet has approved its first National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy, after eight years of deliberation.
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/uganda-gives-go-ahead-to-biotechnology-policy.html

Africans Lost in 'The Promised Land'

The young man who agreed to be called Hamed has come a long way to do nothing. The Ivoirian would prefer to work but, after sneaking into Israel from Egypt about a month ago, he's got nothing better to do than sit in a park everyday in central Tel Aviv, wait, and hope for a government decision on his refugee application.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41991

Apartheid: Dead or alive?

If apartheid had died, we would have an African country where African values, customs and languages prevail; a country in which the latent talent of black 10- to 15-year-olds is exploited to ensure they represent their provinces and their country at cricket and rugby, ahead of convicted murderers, as happened in Mpumalanga and Limpopo recently.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=337055&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/

White SA needs an attitudectomy

For me, though, the white noise after David Bullard was fired was loud enough to get through. Whatever the merits of his column, the racist acidity that reared its head in online comments was quite something. It was a font of bile. The truth is the bubble is tiny. Venture out of the cities and onto farms and the truth is searingly obvious: many white South Africans, young and old, are racist. They use the K-word, call blacks “munts” and “savages”.
http://www.businessday.co.za/weekender/article.aspx?ID=BD4A746940

A reason to eradicate poverty

In the media we make a song and dance about what some call the WaBenzi class (a thinly disguised slur showing discomfort and disdain for wealthy blacks) and forget about the masses who cling to open train doors just so they can make it to their poorly paying jobs on time.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=336935&area=/Columnist_Fikile_Ntsikelelo_Moya/

Ghana's economy and match towards e-commerce

Over the past couple years, the phenomenal escalation of information communication technology (ICT) across Africa has ascertained it as the region with the most successful high-tech growth. This growth is clearly evidenced by the mushrooming of the cellular and internet markets in recent years.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/analysis/features/8031.html

New technology foresees trees, not grain, in the tank

Conventional biofuels like rapeseed oil and ethanol are ecologically problematic and threaten food supplies. Now a Germany company says it has the solution: an advanced fuel made from wood and other non-food biomass.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?infoId=17592

Confidence at new low as South Africa feels the pinch

CONFIDENCE in the economy and business prospects fell to a near five-year low in February, hammered by rising inflation, higher interest rates and power cuts, a global marketing and social research firm said yesterday.
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/frontpage.aspx?ID=BD4A749305

Mugabe extends life of Cabinet

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has deepened the crisis over the March 29 elections by controversially extending the life of his Cabinet, which was dissolved ahead of the polls as he clung to power amid revelations of an elaborate plan by his ruling ZANU-PF to regain control.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/cabinet150408.htm

Zimbabwe turmoil scares investors

Investors in New York have expressed fears about the political situation in Zimbabwe, raising concerns that it is negatively affecting the business confidence in the Southern Africa region.
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/southern_africa/0,2172,167748,00.html

Protest by Zimbabwe’s Opposition Falters as the Army Makes a Show of Force

The call by Zimbabwe’s political opposition for people nationwide to stay away from work on Tuesday to protest a 17-day delay in releasing the results of the presidential election largely failed to interrupt the normal flow of life in the cities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/world/africa/16zimbabwe.html?th&emc=th

UN praises Mbeki

The UN and children's rights groups have welcomed President Thabo Mbeki's signing into law of the long-awaited Children's Amendment Act.

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20080410054400671C595413

The good son

I am told, by some who know these things, that Uhuru (Freedom) Kenyatta is the good son of Mzee Jomo ­Kenyatta, our first president. His younger brother, a businessman, is said to be bad tempered and mean. It is said that the Gikuyu council of elders have anointed Uhuru Kenyatta to be their anointed candidate to replace Mwai Kibaki.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=336446&area=/insight/insight__columnists/

Why Ghanaians Must Cool Temper

Let me start by saying that Ghanaians and Nigerians are like two proud husband and wife. They are madly in love with each other, yet hate each other’s guts. They fight so much that on-lookers expect one to divorce the other. A few times, they attempted a separation, which ended up in tragedy of monumental proportions, but they soon came back together, like all great lovers do.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=107765

Zimbabwe: 'We are under siege'

As Zimbabweans wait for the outcome of the presidential vote, some of the country's remaining white farmers have reported incidents of harassment by "war veterans" in scenes that seem to echo the land invasions in 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7335273.stm

US still considers Mandela a terrorist

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked for "embarrassing" travel restrictions on Nelson Mandela and South African leaders to be lifted.
http://www.myjoyonline.com/international/200804/15195.asp

Why Obasanjo needed a third term

Slightly more than two years ago, I wrote a column titled, Why Obasanjo needs a third term. Two days ago, a friend who had just reread it, categorised it prophetic. He told me he had looked again at the column in light of former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s evolution into Nigeria’s villain-in-chief. Prodded by my friend, I too stole a peek at the said column, which was originally published in The Guardian of Thursday, March 2, 2006. Given that ours is a country in which memory is often weak and fleeting, it seemed to me apt to begin today’s reflections by sharing some of the insights from two years ago.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/offside/offside-apr-08-2008.htm

The high cost of darkness in Nigeria

Late last week, I placed a telephone call to a close friend of mine, a highly successful businessman who lives in Ikoyi, an address that is home to many of Nigeria’s rich, famous and connected—as well as expatriates who work in the diplomatic service or oil sector. This friend has a booming, exuberant voice and usually speaks energetically. In short, his verbal manner over the phone leaves you in no doubt about his cheerful spirit. On this occasion, however, I detected an unaccustomed weariness in his voice. He sounded like a man beset by a crisis he was unable to see his way out of.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/offside/2008/offside-mar-18-2008.htm

Africa seeks to reclaim global copper producer role

Africa is seeking to reclaim its historic position as a major global copper producer and will succeed if it plays its cards right, the head of an exploration company in Zambia said Tuesday.
Output from two countries rich in the red mineral, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), accounted for a third of global copper in 1960, before the start of a long period of decline.
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=130879

Regional summit called on Zimbabwe crisis as court delays election results

Zimbabwe's agonising wait for the results of its presidential election is set to continue until Monday at least after the High Court in Harare said it would rule then on an opposition appeal for disclosure of the count.
Regional leaders will convene an emergency summit to discuss the political crisis on Saturday in Zambia. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, yesterday launched a tour of neighbouring countries in an attempt to persuade leaders to talk Robert Mugabe into accepting a peaceful transition of power.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/regional-summit-called-on-zimbabwe-crisis-as-court-delays-election-results-807019.html

Stop skills haemorrhage in Africa

People are emigrating. We develop them and they go. This is real. It's facing us as a country. We need to deal with it," says Chamber of Mines (CoM) president Sipho Nkosi on the skills deficit, which he describes as "a national crisis".
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=130931

U.N. Peace Missions Falter in Africa

The United Nations remains virtually crippled as two proposed peacekeeping missions -- one in Darfur and the other in Somalia -- are making little or no progress.Since 2004, the Security Council has adopted seven resolutions related to Darfur, where the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 civilians, and reduced over 2.2 million to the status of refugees or internally displaced persons.
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=41889

Towards a New and Improved Green Revolution

As food prices soar and hundreds of millions go hungry, experts from around the world will this week present a new approach for ensuring food security, at the intergovernmental plenary for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). The Apr. 7-12 conference is taking place in South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg, and will be attended by representatives of an estimated 60 governments.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41877

Egypt elections proceed amid protests

Amid turmoil and demonstrations over crippling price rises, Egypt went ahead with local elections on Tuesday much to the frustration of activists and the leading opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/04/08/egypt_elections_proceed_amid_protests/9988/

Unrest in Kenya as Peace Plan Falters

Riots erupted in Kenya on Tuesday as opposition leaders announced that they were suspending talks with the government over a stalled power sharing agreement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/world/africa/09kenya.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

Africa: Continent is Leading the World in Mobile Banking

IN A move to accelerate the global roll-out of mobile wallets, Fundamo, a local mobile banking and transaction solutions provider, has entered into a partnership with Accenture, a global management consulting and technology services company.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804080632.html

Former slave, Hadijatou Mani, is suing state of Niger over cruelty

A former slave is suing the state of Niger in a landmark legal challenge, claiming that the country failed to protect her from being sold into a life of servitude and sexual slavery.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3708849.ece

First India-Africa summit pledges close partnership

India on Wednesday ended its first-ever summit with African nations, aimed at deepening ties with the resource-rich continent and trying to ensure it is not eclipsed by Asian rival China
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jiXGqwaYhLM1_3j1ebcTJ4tL0kCg

EU aid chief says rising food prices risk African 'humanitarian tsunami'

As food riots sweep the developing world, the EU's foreign aid chief has warned that sky-rocketing food price rises threaten a "humanitarian tsunami" in Africa, and has promised a boost in aid to support food security.
http://euobserver.com/9/25947

Even Africa has few options on Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's neighbours lack the will and the means to take action against President Robert Mugabe to avert a likely deeper economic collapse and possible bloodshed if he stays in power, analysts say.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL07632838.html

Remembering Ellen Johnson's historic victory

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist and former World Bank official who waged a fierce presidential campaign against the soccer star George Weah, emerged victorious on Friday in her quest to lead war-torn Liberia and become the first woman elected head of state in modern African history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/12/international/africa/12liberia.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

In Egypt, Technology Helps Spread Discontent of Workers

What began as a widespread call for a general strike ended Sunday as the police cracked down across the nation, dispatching thousands of riot troops, arresting more than 200 demonstrators and fighting with protesters in the north.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/world/middleeast/07egypt.html?th&emc=th

AngloGold Ashanti revises Q1 output upwards

South Africa's largest gold producer Anglogold Ashanti on Friday revised and increased its production outlook by 8% for the first quarter, and forecast production of about 1,19-million ounces.
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=130619

Canadian oil firm signs contract with Cameroon

Canada's Addax Petroleum Corp. has signed a production sharing contract with Cameroon to explore an offshore license area near the Nigerian border in the Gulf of Guinea, the two parties said on Friday.
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=130638

West African migrants bailed

A new program aimed at engaging West African women migrants in the development of their countries has been launched in Italy.Bankrolled by the Italian government, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) brainchild dubbed Migrant Women for Development in Africa (W-MIDA) builds on IOM's existing efforts to involve African migrants in the development of their countries of origin through investment and business creation.
http://www.afrol.com/articles/28458

Mugabe demands vote recount as 'war veterans' arm for battle

Zimbabwe's ruling party has demanded a recount of votes in the country's presidential election, a move dismissed by the opposition as a tactic calculated to buy more time for Robert Mugabe as he arms his militant supporters for a "war" aimed at winning any run-off vote.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mugabe-demands-vote-recount-
as-war-veterans-arm-for-battle-805403.html

Kenya's cabinet branded 'wasteful'

Kenyan newspapers have criticised the size of the new coalition cabinet, saying 40 ministers was a waste of money in a country where many live in poverty.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A5468D1F-5711-458D-AFD2-9BFBE3F43586.htm

Can world afford global warming fight?

With global markets in turmoil and the U.S. threatened by recession, negotiators at a climate change conference are asking: can nations afford to make rapid cuts in emissions to fight global warming without going into an economic tailspin?
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VQDQQO0.htm

A costly thirst

Slum-dwellers in Dar es Salaam pay the equivalent of £4 ($8, €5) for 1,000 litres of water, bought over time and by the canister. In the same Tanzanian city, wealthier households connected to the municipal supply receive that amount for just 17p. In the UK, the same volume of tap water costs 81p and in the US it is as low as 34p.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c12a800-0197-11dd-a323-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Mass protests are needed to force Mugabe’s hand

Will he or won't he? It has been nearly a week since the polls closed, and still no word from Robert Mugabe on when he will begin his journey into political oblivion.
It now seems clear that the more Mr Mugabe's hand-picked electoral authorities stall on announcing his apparent loss to long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai, the more manoeuvring Mr Mugabe is doing to hang on.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mass-protests-are-neededto-force-mugabersquos-hand-804539.html

End of days for 'Africa's Hitler'

Africa's Hitler may finally be losing his nerve.
Tuesday night, Zimbabwe was abuzz with rumours that Robert Mugabe's security henchmen are deep into negotiations with opposition leaders and South African diplomats to push the 84-year-old President into a face-saving and prosecution-free retirement.
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=415128

Zimbabwe and the new Cowardly Colonialism

‘We’ve beaten Mugabe’, said a frontpage headline in the London Evening Standard yesterday. Only there were no quote marks around the words ‘We’ve beaten Mugabe’, which made it difficult to tell if the paper was reporting the thoughts of Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) upon its electoral victory over Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF Party, or its own back-slapping relish at the thought that its journalism may have played a part in toppling Mugabe.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/4942/

Political crisis ‘puts the poor at risk of starving’

Instability and the anxiety over the formation of a new coalition Cabinet are a threat to food security in Kenya, a UN official warned Thursday.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=120449

Investors eye Zimbabwe with new interest, caution

Having long written off Zimbabwe as one of the world's least appealing economies, international investors are beginning to show signs of interest as they suspect the end of President Robert Mugabe's rule approaches.
http://www.namibian.com.na/

New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s government staged separate police raids on Thursday against the main opposition party, foreign journalists and at least one democracy advocate, raising the specter of a broad crackdown aimed at keeping the country’s imperiled leaders in power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/world/africa/04zimbabwe.html?th&emc=th

Ghana; 27,000 to go home, repatriation begins April 14

The Ghanaian government has taken a firm decision that all 26,967 Liberian refugees in the country should return home, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, Minister of the Interior said on Tuesday.
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/200804/14947.asp

Zim Polls: UK’s hidden hand exposed

THE British government and its prime minister, Gordon Brown, have now come out in the open as the real power behind the MDC Tsvangirai faction, demanding the release of the results of Zimbabwe’s elections that show an opposition victory.
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=32782&cat=1

Ghanaian entrepreneurs challenged to invest in oil

Ghanaian entrepreneurs were on Wednesday challenged to invest in the country’s oil production in order to retain its wealth for the local people.
http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/200804/14974.asp

Lessons in democracy from Gaddafi, East Africa's best friend

The other week, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi was in Uganda and, as he is wont, he left behind a cloud of controversy.
First, in one of his speeches in Kampala, he said “revolutionary” leaders like President Yoweri Museveni who came to power through the gun (Gaddafi too came to power the same way, although his miThe other week, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi was in Uganda and, as he is wont, he left behind a cloud of controversy.
http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/Opinion/oped310320081.htm

Addressing Nigeria's brain drain

Dr Peace Babalola is one frustrated scientist.
At her lab in Nigeria, she just wants to get on with her research into drugs to combat endemic local diseases like malaria. But things are not easy. "It is a real sacrifice. It is patriotism," she says of her work.
She can't afford to buy enzymes. Her lab is missing a critical machine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7322365.stm

Liberian refugees a threat to Ghana’s security – Minister

Interior Minister, Kwamena Bartels says Liberian refugees at the Buduburam Refugees Settlement in the central region have become a threat to Ghana’s security.He said government is aware that a number of ex-combatants in Liberia’s decade old civil war have infiltrated the camp and are planning to cause trouble in the country.
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/200804/14930.asp

All Eyes on Zimbabwe’s Election Results

Hanging in the balance is the presidency of Robert G. Mugabe, whom The New York Times characterized today in a dispatch from Harare as “immensely crafty and thoroughly ruthless,” and “not a man likely to give up his hold on power without a fight.” Every comment on the situation that The Lede turned up this morning reflected that worry, made worse with every minute that passed without word of voting results.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/all-eyes-on-zimbabwes-election-results/

Africa needs to weigh the benefits of using biofuels

With the atmosphere choking under carbon emissions, and crusaders of the green planet shouting from the roof-tops, who can resist the allure of a product that promises to drive the economy while at the same time cleaning our environment?
http://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Biofuels.aspx?infoId=17412