Lured by the vast natural resources of the Black Continent, Washington decided to set up AfriCom. But the GI deployment to Africa does not coincide with any needs in particular: everything is up for grabs. Seizing a windfall opportunity, they first went into Somalia militarily in the early 1990’s. Their... » read this article

We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia's largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel... » read this article

The media blitz in the Western and American press against Nigeria which is an age - long practice assumed a frightening dimension recently following the unfortunate December 25, 2009 incident in which a Nigerian child adopted by the West attempted to blow up a plane in the United States. But... » read this article

On 23 December 2009 the UN Security Council took an illegal and unjust resolution (1907/2009) imposing sanctions on Eritrea. The sanctions adopted include an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes for both officials and individuals. This resolution was adopted on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations and has therefore no... » read this article

Jason Hickel asks whether ‘environmental determinism’ – the theory that Africa’s development has been hindered as a result of ‘the environmental conditions that Africans inhabit’ – accurately explains Africa’s poverty. While he commends its attempt to stop blaming underdevelopment 'on the presumed genetic inferiority of black people’, he finds the... » read this article

In a landmark decision this month, the African Union endorsed a 2009 ruling by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights which ordered the Kenyan government to restore the traditional land base of the Endorois People. In May 2009, the Pan-African Commission found the government was guilty of violating... » read this article

Editor's Note: With this interview of Mohammed Hassan by Grégoire Lalieu & Michel Collon, we introduce "Understanding the Muslim World", an exemplary journalistic effort consisting of a series of interviews like the one below. In Understanding the Muslim World, Hassan provides intriguing analyses of the role of imperialism inside Gaza,... » read this article

When Barack Obama took office as president of the United States in January 2009, it was widely expected that he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarised and unilateral national security policy toward Africa (as well as toward other parts of the world) that had been pursued by the... » read this article

KASSALA, 3 December 2009 (IRIN) - Eastern Sudan hosts more than 66,000 registered Eritrean refugees, the first of whom arrived in 1968 during the early years of Eritrea’s war of independence against Ethiopia. These days, Eritrea’s policy of indefinite military conscription, coupled with drought and poor economic opportunities, prompt some... » read this article

October 8, 2009 On July 15, the Pelindaba Treaty, which established Africa as a nuclear-weapon-free zone, finally entered into force. The treaty is the latest regional agreement to ban nuclear weapons in its area of application. The other five are the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco (for... » read this article

Baka Gbiné recording "Nawa" for their album "Gati Bongo" in the rainforest of Southeast Cameroon while a strange forest spirit dances. Listen to "Gati Bongo" at http://www.baka.co.uk/radio.htm . Just click on the album in the middle top with the old woman staring at you. If you buy the album, money... » read this article

Editor's Note: The first video is 3 minutes and the second 7 minutes - both important films for us to have a full understanding of the drought in Kenya. The Kenyans have developed strategies for dealing with drought which historically occurred about once in a decade, but due to global... » read this article

The American government must reevaluate its attitude toward African affairs. George W. Bush’s final major presidential act in African military affairs was also the first military activity for the newly created US Africa Command, or AFRICOM. The unintended outcome of the AFRICOM-supported military action – “Operation Lightning Thunder,” which was... » read this article

About 20 million ha of land have been transferred to investors in recent months, most of it in Africa. Given the scale of the phenomenon, many people are calling for safeguards to protect the interests of local communities. Will African businessmen one day buy thousands of hectares of rich cereal... » read this article

Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 22, 2009 (SL Times)  Somaliland’s opposition parties, KULMIYE and UCID held huge rallies in several Somaliland cities. The organizers of the rallies insisted that these were not demonstrations but gatherings to explain to the people their opposition to the suspension of the voter-registration list and their rejection... » read this article

Good morning. It is an honour for me to be in Accra, and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries... » read this article

Somali pirates marauding the East African coastline will now find it hard to hijack ships sailing along the Indian Ocean waters following a new agreement between Tanzania and Kenya to safeguard a greater area of the continental shelf. The two neighbouring East African states are at the same time finalising... » read this article

Signatories to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) - an international initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds - restated their commitment to the scheme at the close of a three-day meeting in Namibia on 26 June, but campaigners warned that more action, not talk, was needed now. "There... » read this article

Resistance forces control large sections of the country; Ethiopian troops re-enter A worsening security situation in Somalia has prompted the US-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to declare a state of emergency and issue a call for military support from both neighboring countries as well as the "international community." Attacks on... » read this article

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