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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An ongoing struggle between the Federal Government and the people of the Niger Delta in the west African nation of Nigeria  has reached a new level in the aftermath of the May 13 military operation in the oil-producing region. The Movement for the  Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has... » read this article

Sponsored by Care2 Penguins, albatrosses, killer whales and of course people can all jump for joy at the latest news from the Republic of South Africa! The country is set to establish one of the world's largest Marine Protected Areas (MPA) around its Prince Edward Islands. This inspiring achievement will help... » read this article

Editor's Note: Important written updates on the Wiwa v. Shell trial follow this video. - LMB Update, June 3, 2009: The court hearing scheduled for today, June 3, 2009, has been canceled by Chief Judge Kimba Wood. The court order can be found on the Attend the Trial page of... » read this article

A newly reconfigured Transitional Federal Government established during early 2009 in Somalia has loss control of large areas  of the country to the al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam resistance organizations. On May 17 and 18, the towns of Jowhar and Mahaday, north of the capital Mogadishu, fell to al-Shabab. These developments... » read this article

1 May 2009 The use of force April 10 to recover five French hostages held off the Somali coast, on the yacht, the Tanit, demonstrates the contempt of the Nicolas Sarkozy government for the lives of the French hostages and the Somali pirates, as well as for French and Somali... » read this article

Thousands of Kenyans are registering themselves as refugees to benefit from food  rations as the hunger crisis bites, a report shows. However, they are unable to obtain Kenyan identity cards so the report proposes that  their cases be considered favourably. As many as 4,000 Kenyans are said to have been... » read this article

Radio Daljir By Mohamed Abshir Waldo Jan. 08, 2009 THE SHIPPING PIRACY & THE INVASION OF THE SOMALI SEAS Much of the world’s attention is currently focused on the Somali sea lanes. The navies of big and small powers are converging on the Somali waters in the Gulf of Aden... » read this article