A ton (or if you prefer, tonne) of stories making waves:
Least Surprising Headline Award Goes to: Robert Mugabe ‘In Bid to Wreck Unity’.
The Lord’s Resistance Army rebels are back at it in Uganda.
The death toll from the clashes in northeastern Nigeria is now above 700.
The Washington Post reminds us that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nightmare.
At Foreign Policy William G. Mosely opposes the militarization of humanitarian aid.
I’m not sure if this is a case of blaming the messenger or if it is true that South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) comitted a no-no and released state secrets. Either way, the ANC is miffed.
Finally:
Apparently several of the most prominent of South Africa’s opposition parties, most notably the DA and the Congress of the People, have met and are considering joining forces. The question is, what, other than a desire for greater power or at least trying to stop the ANC, would be the ideological driving force? Wanting power is a necessary but far from sufficient condition for the establishment of a viable opposition. Better for COPE to continue to build, and take ANC voters along with it, rather than jump in bed with the DA, which for now has the most leverage among the opposition groups. This strikes me as a short-term palliative and not an even remotely viable long-range plan.
