South Africa’s almost universally respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has continued to argue that his country is not in the grips of a recession. This is obviously good news, though for those who work or rely on those industries, such as manufacturing, that have seen contraction, will find the news to be of small semantic […]
Depending on what source one chooses to believe, the judges on the International Criminal Court (ICC) either have or have not issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. Whatever the reality of the situation, two things appear clear: 1) Whether the warrant has been issued or not, the noose is circling around al-Bashir, […]
Morgan Tsvangirai has taken office in Zimbabwe. (You can read his inauguration address here.) His calls to restore the rule of law and to revive the country’s devastated economy coupled with the belief among masses in Zimbabwe that he is the country’s rightful leader have resulted in Tsvangirai’s receiving a hero’s welcome. Naturally optimists want […]
Authorities in Gabon have arrested two journalists, one French, the other Swiss, for posing as tourists. According to an official the two men were trying “to dig up a story on French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner,” who went before France’s parliament last week “to reject accusations made in a new book of having unethical ties […]
There have been some new pharmaceutical developments that seem to hold out promise in combating HIV/AIDS. According to The Washington Post: Two experiments in monkeys showed that antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, given by mouth or by vaginal gel, were highly effective in blocking infection by the virus that causes AIDS. A third study, in 3,100 women […]
In an interview with SABC on Sunday South African President Kgalema Motlanthe suggested that perhaps Zimbabwe could adopt the rand as its currency. What he surely means (or what I hope he means, if this gains traction, anyway) was that at some point down the road, under the right conditions, Zimbabwe could tie the Zimbabwean dollar to […]
There have been some interconnected developments on the Sudan/Darfur front that bear watching. First, the Sudanese government is set to sit down with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels in Qatar in order to try to kickstart peace talks. It is frankly difficult to muster up a whole lot of optimism that these talks […]
After some legal wrangling (and what would current South African politics be without at least some legal wrangling?) around the issue of the voting status of South Africans living abroad, President Kgalema Motlanthe has announced that South Africa’s elections will take place on 22 April. By the way, is it just me, or has Motlanthe […]
So there is a deal in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe has yielded enough to allow Morgan Tsvangirai finally to take his place in government, as Prime Minister to Mugabe’s President. Tsvangirai’s MDC and Mugabe’s ZANU-PF will govern together. Tsvangirai was even able to appoint his chosen finance minister, Tendai Biti, the MDC’s General secretary, and he, at […]
Troops opened fire on political protesters near the presidential palace in Antananarivo, the national capital, on Saturday. Reports indicate that thirty people died and many more were wounded. As a result, the country's defense minister, Cecile Manorohonta, has resigned, saying the violence to weighed on her conscience. Ever since opposition leader Andry Rajoelina publicly challenged President […]
Cakewalk Sonar 7.02 + Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 + SPSS 16 The life-or-death question that dominates Somalia right now: Can newly elected President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed “boost security and stability”? If so, maybe there is at least a dim ray of hope. I would not stake my future on it, but perhaps the new […]
After all of the machinations and missed deadlines and bureaucratic holdups, Jacob Zuma's corruption trial date has been set for August. The timing of this could not bode worse either for justice or for South African politics. Despite the very real political threat from the Congress of the people (COPE) the reality is that the […]
At Pambazuka News Shailja Patel looks at last year's Kenya crisis, crediting the country's left with saving the country from the precipice and pulling no punches in apportioning blame .
South Africa's economy is sending mixed signals. One of the positive signs is that manufacturing activity was stable last month after record lows at the end of 2008. The global economic crunch will likely continue to play out over the next year and more, but at least South Africa has not succumbed right away and […]