Vol 52 No 7 | LIBYAAFRICA A family at war 1st April 2011 The tight circle of loyalists around the Gadaffi clan hope their military dominance and diplomatic tactics will derail the rebellion The resilience of Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi’s regime after ten days of aerial bombardment combined with the military weakness of the opposition groups has prompted Britain, France...
Vol 52 No 4 | AFRICA Activists versus authoritarians 18th February 2011 After two months of courageous campaigning by determined young Africans, the region’s autocrats are preparing their counter-offensive After two months of courageous campaigning by determined young Africans, the region’s autocrats are preparing their counter-offensive
Vol 52 No 4 | EUROPEAN UNIONAFRICA Cooking up those raw materials 18th February 2011 European companies want cheaper raw materials and propose ways of getting them from Africa European policy-makers are anxious to safeguard the supply of raw materials to their industries and the European Union has just presented guidelines for a ‘raw materials diplomacy’ to...
Vol 52 No 3 | AFRICABRITAIN Less bashing for bribers 4th February 2011 UK businesses lobbying against the new Bribery Act seem to be having some success (see Confidential Agenda, week ending 28 January). The government has postponed implementation of the Act, already...
Vol 52 No 2 | BRAZILAFRICA Rumbas in the jungle 21st January 2011 Brazil’s new President, Dilma Rousseff, does not have the enthusiasm for Africa of her predecessor, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, but the ties will remain President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, who worked closely with successive South African Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma on diplomatic issues, also presided over a sharp boost...
Vol 52 No 2 | BRAZILAFRICA Brazil’s natural allies 21st January 2011 Brazil’s political involvement in Portuguese-speaking Africa goes back to the independence struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. In July 1974, the military junta which then ruled Brazil recognised...
Vol 52 No 1 | AFRICA Elections on trial 7th January 2011 In a crowded year of elections, the standoff in Abidjan offers a serious challenge to democracy promoters At the start of one of Africa’s busiest political seasons – more than 17 elections are due this year – the deepening crisis in Côte d’Ivoire sends a...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 12 | CHINAAUSTRALIAAFRICA Insider trading 5th October 2011 Australian financial authorities are investigating the trading activities of resource company executives in two lucrative takeover deals The latest attempt by a Chinese company to secure African mining assets from Australian companies has hit the skids over concerns about insider trading by Hanlong Mining. Several suspicious deals...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 12 | ANGOLACHINASINGAPOREAFRICA China Sonangol is open for business 5th October 2011 Transparency has not been a major feature of China Sonangol’s and China International Fund’s activities in Africa, but one of the investment vehicles is now embarking on a human-resources drive...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 10 | CHINAAFRICATELECOMS Uganda to miss digital deadline 31st August 2011 As Huawei Technologies hits trouble in Uganda, Chinese communications projects encounter legal problems from East Africa down to Southern Africa Uganda may miss the East African Community’s deadline of December 2012 for all member states to switch from analogue to digital television. In early August, Uganda’s communications regulator sounded the...