Blue Lines
If there are any positive side-effects from the Ebola outbreak that
has
already cost more than 2,300 lives in West Africa, it may be to
highlight the short-sightedness of funding cuts to international health
agencies. Margaret Chan, the
Director General o...
Blue Lines
Asked about the qualities needed by a journalist, the late, great Nicholas Tomalin replied: ‘Rat-like cunning, a plausible manner and a little literary ability.’ The same could be said of many anti-corruption lawyers, judges and officials, such as Spain’s...
Blue Lines
Amid the gridlock and diplomatic glad-handing as over 50 high-level African
delegations descended on a humid Washington for a week, it looked as if straight talking might lose out. Economics and business, it quickly emerged, was what had brought the deleg...
Blue Lines
Will the grand Africa-United States summit with more than 40 leaders in attendance in Washington D.C. on 4-6 August produce the results wanted by its protagonists? The expected high attendance is due both to President Barack Obama's charisma and the searc...
Blue Lines
A sense of crisis loomed over the regional summit on 10-11 July as West African leaders gathered in Accra, with security, migration and the Ebola virus high on the agenda. Insurgencies, organised crime and political rivalries are intruding on grand plans ...
Blue Lines
The theme of the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea on 26-27
June was 'Agriculture and Food Security' but the part that really
resonated among leaders was the word 'security'. Egypt was readmitted
to the AU after last month’s election and on 26 Jun...
Blue Lines
It’s official: it started with a pain in the neck at the National
Executive Committee meeting of the African National Congress. That is Jacob Zuma’s neck and the pain was
severe enough for his fellow NEC members to send him to hospital. ANC
Secretary Gene...
Blue Lines
To see government leaders argue publicly about politics and security at the African Development Bank meeting in Kigali last week showed how much discourse, if not governance, has changed. When he was in office, South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki ...
Patrick Smith
On 13 February, President Jacob Zuma will take a formal break from
election campaigning – to give the annual State of the Nation address.
The accent will be on the word 'formal' as with national elections now
set for 7 May, the State of the Nation address...
Patrick Smith
Stronger
economies and troubled politics sum up the reports in Africa
Confidential’s
first two issues of the year, which focus on events and developments
ahead. The International Monetary Fund still forecasts African growth
at over 6% for 201...