Vol 50 No 23 | ERITREASOMALIA Al Shabaab targets Eritrea 20th November 2009 Al Shabaab, Somalia's main Islamist insurgent movement, has a new country in its sights. Its Spokesperson, Suldan Mohammed Aala Mohammed, has announced the addition of Eritrea to the...
Vol 50 No 21 | SUDAN Washington unveils its new policy as tension rises throughout Sudan 23rd October 2009 Amid a spreading feeling at home and abroad that Sudan may be at a crossroads, the United States announced its long-postponed policy. This departs from the usual cautious diplomacy of interested governments by leaving the National Congress Party in no doubt that it will be held responsible for most of the country's political woes. The only sanction that the NCP really fears is military action: this is included in a confidential annex. As elections and referenda draw near, the Khartoum regime pursues its own military action west and south and perhaps soon again in the east. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the new United States' policy on Sudan on 19 October, press reports focussed on 'engagement', a concept beloved of President Barack...
Vol 50 No 21 | KENYASOMALIA Jolly Roger justice 23rd October 2009 As attacks by Somali pirates increase in the Gulf of Aden, the trials of those captured during the last ten months begin in Mombasa The trials of suspected Somali pirates captured by United States and European Union navies began on 8 October in Mombasa. One hundred Somalis accused of attacks against cargo...
Vol 50 No 21 | KENYA Turkana hunger 23rd October 2009 As neighbouring Ethiopia takes the unusual step of asking for food aid, for 6.2 million people, Kenya's Turkana Province members of Parliament are coming under pressure to force...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 12 | UGANDACHINA The race to give Museveni what he wants 19th October 2009 In Uganda, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation has taken the pole position in discussions to buy out part of Irish oil company Tullow's interests in more than one billion barrels...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 12 | TANZANIASOUTH KOREA The next great land sale 19th October 2009 Seoul is trying to buy into Tanzania's farm sector shortly after Daewoo precipitated a political confrontation over the same issue in Madagascar South Korea is desperately trying to manage the political fallout as it negotiates the acquisition of 100,000 hectares of farmland with the Tanzanian government. It is trying to avoid a...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 12 | ETHIOPIACHINA Power surge in Addis 19th October 2009 The Ethiopian government is launching one of Africa's most ambitious cooperation programmes with China to build several new power stations Ethiopia has signed contracts with Chinese construction companies to build two huge dams as part of a US$12 billion, 25-year Power Sector Master Plan to harness the country's hydropower potential. It...
Vol 50 No 20 | KENYA Leaving the door open 8th October 2009 Eighteen months after the murderous clashes, the government remains ambivalent about trying the sponsors of the post-election violence Kenya's politicians continue to obstruct the efforts of the International Criminal Court to try those most responsible for last year's political violence. This comes despite the recent hopeful...
Vol 50 No 20 | SUDAN Opposition in search of unity 8th October 2009 The Northern opposition and the SPLM combine to pressure the Khartoum government on elections and human rights The Sudan People's Liberation Movement's unprecedented hosting of Northern opposition parties in Juba last week points to some important shifts in political alignments. The Juba Declaration on Dialogue...
Vol 50 No 19 | KENYAAFRICA The row over Aaron Ringera 25th September 2009 The reappointment of the anti-corruption chief opens a rift between Parliament and President Mwai Kibaki as top politicians come under fire For the first time in Kenya's history, Parliament has voted to reject a presidential order, duly noted in the official Gazette. At stake is the survival both of...