Vol 49 No 23 |
- FRANCE
- AFRICA
The leaked diaries of former French intelligence chief Yves Bertrand have enraged and amused the political establishment in Paris, which is already intrigued by the accusations of high-level...
African citizens enthuse about the prospect of an Obama presidency,
but their governments are much more cautious
A victory for Barack Obama in the United States Presidential elections on 4 November would be greeted with a roar of approval across Africa and the diaspora. For...
Barack Obama is taking no chances on foreign policy, seen as one of his weaknesses against Senator John McCain who has been in Congress since 1983.
There some 300 foreign policy advisors working on Barack Obama's campaign, about 50 on Africa alone; this compares to about 50 advisors on all foreign policy for McCain’s...
Africa’s economies growing faster on average than all other regions, except Asia, but how will they fare when the global slowdown bites?
Africa’s economies will lose momentum as the effects of the global credit crisis work through the international system – but the damage will be less severe than in...
As equities and corporate fortunes plummeted outside, diplomats discussed aid pledges and peackeeping
After a year of the worsening credit crisis, the cost of external finance for African and other states has risen and the availability of credit is shrinking. That...
The Millennium Goals remain elusive and controversial
After five days of grand summitry in New York last week, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was able to announce that US$16 billion had been raised in...
The United States government's facility for ignoring the crimes of its allies in the 'Global War on Terror' is again being challenged, this time from the inside. ...
The United States Republican Party seems eager to rival the African credentials of Democratic contender Barack Obama with its international links. The Republicans’ Vice-Presidential candidate and Governor of...
Vol 49 No 10 |
- AFRICA
- ANALYSIS
It is easy to find culprits for the food crisis in Africa,
from the West's push for biofuels to China's newly well-fed middle
class. The fact is that food supplies are short and prices therefore
high in the short term - and probably in the long term too.
The 75% increase in food prices reported by the World Bank is pushing down nutrition standards in poor countries and wreaking havoc across developing economies. The big...
President George Bush's five-country African tour on 16-21 February met with varied reactions. He was burned in effigy in Dar es Salaam and praised in Kigali by Irish singer and activist Bob Geldof, who said that Bush has 'done more (for Africa) than any other president so far...This is the triumph of American policy really. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion.'
Responding to their President's call, Tanzanians turned out massively on 18 February, day two of President George Walker Bush's Tanzania visit, following an anti-climax the previous night...