Officials in the state of Chihuahua recently announced their plans to exhume the remains of more than 4,000 unidentified bodies buried in common graves in Ciudad Juarez, after beginning a similar process in Chihuahua City. Although local authorities deny a direct link to the murders and disappearances of several hundred local women in the past 14 […]
(Apologies for the delay in posting- have been out of town) A leader dies in a Muslim country, one in which chaos always seems a possible destiny, in a time of frail uncertainty, leaving the country in a new and vertiginous and dangerous world. This is case in Pakistan, with the unsolved murder of Benazir […]
At The Mail & Guardian Jean-Jacques Cornish has a feature in which he provides an overview of Africa's 2007. I may as well also remind you of my own South Africa: Year in Review feature for the Foreign Policy Association and this blog.
What does the ANC have in store for it in 2008? The party will have the chance to paint its picture in its traditional “January 8” statement at a gathering in Pretoria to honor the ANC's 96th birthday next week. A day before the newly constituted National Executive Committee will meet. Two key issues will be Thabo Mbeki's lame-duck […]
As Kenya entered the New Year much of the country was on the brink of the very chaos so many hoped that it would avoid as the country continues its tentative but measurable transition to liberal democracy. Even as President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over challenger Raila Odinga, despite the incumbent having been […]
SUMMARY: The old Chinese curse declaims “May you live in interesting times.” Times are always interesting in South Africa, and 2007 proved to be one of the most interesting years of all. In South Africa everything is political and politics seems to be everything. In 1999 Nelson Mandela yielded control of the ANC and thus […]
Many people have already written some great comments on former President Bhutto's assassination. Here are the links to what I think are the quality discussions: The New York Times has a feature story, plus Biographical Timeline on Ms. Bhutto, some of her own writing, and other details accessible on the linked page. Peter Marton at […]
Kenyans went to the polls yesterday to vote in an election in which the battle is both metaphorical — the election has and is going to continue to be closely fought — and literal, as fears of violence pervaded the day yesterday and will hover over the country until and maybe even after the results are known. Exit polls conflict […]
New America Media has compiled a summary of the top news in Latin America for 2007, ranging from natural disasters and the election of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as President of Argentina, to the failure of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to consolidate his power through an electoral referendum. President Calderon of Mexico also made the […]
Tomorrow Kenyans go to the polls. In what is becoming an increasingly intense campaign (in what has almost certainly been the most open election in Kenya's history) it appears that the opposition, led by 62-year-old Raila Odinga — a businessman and former political prisoner, is pulling ahead of President Mwai Kibaki, who has held office […]
John CK Daly, a really good analyst on Former Soviet states and energy, has written a new article on the duality of Caspian oil negotiations, currently focused on the Kashagan field. One duality is that of environmental concerns over energy extraction. In April, Antoine Blua at RFE/RL reported Caspian seals dying in great numbers from unknown […]
An Oliver Guitta article in the Middle East Times from yesterday analyzes the ascent of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, particularly Algeria (Here is an earlier post about the Dec 11th Algiers bombings). Basically, the thrust of the article is that al-Qaeda is consolidating its influence in the region, and that “One of its primary goals is to […]
I want to wish each of you peace, prosperity, and joy during this holiday season. Geseende Kersfees! Sinifisela Ukhisimusi Omuhle! Ikresimesi emnandi!
Interesting story on grafitti art on NPR this morning. In Bethlehem, Israel's security wall is being tagged by both international and local artists, in what can be seen as a display of defiance or, alternately, just an outlet for frustrated young people. You can listen to and read the story A British grafitti artist (I […]
South Africa is a sport-mad society and 2007 was a year to fuel the country's passions. The Proteas’ participation in the cricket World Cup and the run-up to South Africa's hosting the 2010 World Cup would ordinarily have been the stories of the year, but by winning the Rugby World Cup the Springboks became the […]