It is my last full day at England’s Keele University, where I have spent the last month as a fellow at the David Bruce Centre for American Studies. Tomorow I begin a tortuous journey toward London and on Friday I’ll depart Heathrow for my return flight to Texas. I am wrapping up lots of loose ends and as a result only have time to toss out a bunch of links of stories that have caught my eye:
Many in South Africa are looking to the 2010 football World Cup as a tourism bonanza for the country not only during the tournament, but beyond.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was supposed to broadcast a documentary on political satire last month but canned it at the last minute largely because of the presence in the doc of Jonathan Shapiro, the controversial and incomparable political cartoonist known as “Zapiro.” SABC was scheduled to broadcast the documentary last night. In a related story, Zapiro has decided to remove the image of the shower attached to jacob Zuma’s head, an image that Zapiro has used ever since Zuma was charged with rape a few years back. The cartoonist wants to give Zuma’s presidency a chance to get off the ground — it is quite clear that he reserves the right to reattach the shower-head down the road.
South Africa is officially in a recession, the country’s first in 17 years. The 6.4% drop in the first quarter of 2009 marks the worst decline since 1984.
A combination of factors has led to some African immigrants to the United States returning back to their homes in Africa. The economy is one factor, but there are also cultural motivations as well.
The Washington Post has an interview with Nuhu Ribadu, head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria whom it calls an “anti-corruption crusader.”
Add to Zimbabwe’s list of dubious achievements the fact that it is now the most food aid-dependent country on earth.
President Mamadou Tandja of Niger has dissolved the country’s parliament after the country’s highest court refused his request to hold a referendum on his desire to extend his term in office despite constitutional prohibitions. His critics are, not surprisingly, accusing him of attempting to turn Niger into a dictatorship. Be sure to check out Texas in Africa’s take.
In the Mail & Guardian David Smith tours Soweto and ponders the fine line between tourism and voyeurism.
