Catholics in Africa; Boomtown church
[...] The African church's vitality is marked not only by its size but by the devotion of its faithful. "The African is incurably religious," explains the Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle. A 2010 survey by the Pew Research Centre in Washington ranks sub-Saharan Africa as the most religious part of the world. Though Christianity has displaced traditional African religions, the zeal of former animistic rituals has been passed on. The Economiste
Islamic extremists moving freely between Nigeria, Mali, raising terror attack fears
The United States ambassador to Nigeria has said Islamic extremists continue to move freely from the nation to northern Mali, despite the ongoing French military operation there. U.S. Ambassador Terence McCulley told journalists on a telephone conference call Thursday that officials "have seen reports for years" about fighters from the radical Islamic extremist network Boko Haram traveling to the region. Boko Haram is the main extremist group fighting Nigeria's weak central government in a guerrilla campaign of shootings and bombings. Fox News
Why the World Needs a Global Arms Treaty
This month, from March 18 through 28, the international community will gather in New York City to vote on what would be the first-ever rulebook for the global trade in war-grade weaponry, the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. The Treaty, if enacted, would establish basic standards for the global arms trade, such as licensing of brokers and blocking sales to terrorists and human rights abusers. Exactly one year ago, I was in a dusty capital in East Africa's newest nation, listening to stories from those at the lethal spigot end of an unregulated arms pipeline. The Atlantic
Maghreb countries wrap up military exercise
A multi-national military exercise aimed at improving maritime security and communication co-operation ended Thursday (March 14th). The new marine drill, dubbed "Saharan Express 2013", was launched off the Mauritanian and Senegalese coasts. Mauritania, Morocco, France, Britain, the United States, and several other African and European countries took part in the week-long exercise. "The importance of this exercise lays in co-ordinating the efforts of participating marine forces in countering different threats, including illegal fishing and arms smuggling," US exercise director Captain Andrew Lennon explained. Magharebia Morocco's Liberal Facade
In the early hours of February 17, Morocco's military penal court sentenced 25 criminals in a high-profile trial seen as a litmus test of Morocco's human rights record and position on the contested territory of Western Sahara. The trial's process in a military court was so controversial that two weeks later, Morocco's King Mohammed VI bowed to pressure from his human rights council and agreed that civilians should not be tried anymore in a military court except in certain circumstances. The Atlantic Protests mount in Algeria
A series of reforms convinced Algerians to end their protests during the Arab Spring, but economic hardship and corruption are prompting people onto the streets again. Globalpost Sources: Benghazi suspect detained in Libya
A man suspected of involvement in the September attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi is being held in Libya, according to two sources who have spoken with CNN. Both sources confirmed the man's name as Faraj al-Shibli (also spelled Chalabi). One of the sources, who has been briefed on the arrest by Western intelligence officials, said al-Shibli was detained within the past two days and had recently returned from a trip to Pakistan. CNN Unknown armed group burns Coptic church in Libya
An unknown armed group set fire to the building of an Egyptian Coptic church on Thursday in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, according to witnesses. The witnesses said the militants fired shots in the air at first and then set fire to the church on al-Mehdwi Street in the downtown area of the eastern Libyan city. Xinhua Shia-Sunni Friction Growing In Egypt Some of Egypt's leading Islamist parties are planning a demonstration this week in Tahrir Square to protest what they believe are warming relations between Iran and Egypt. Their concerns are not focused solely on a possible diplomatic rapprochement, but what they fear more -- creeping Shiism in Sunni lands. Since the Egyptian revolution, Sunni animosity in Egypt toward Shia Muslims has increased and gone public in a country where, in the past, doctrinal differences between the two Islamic sects were barely mentioned. The Huffington Post Why Are We Funding Abuse in Ethiopia?
In 2010, the Ethiopian government began moving thousands of people out of the rural villages where they had lived for centuries to other areas several hours' walk away. The Ethiopian government calls this program the "Commune Center Development Plan and Livelihood Strategy" and claims it is designed to bring scattered rural populations closer to schools, health clinics, roads, and other public services. But the Commune Center program has been marked by a string of human rights abuses linked to government attempts to clear huge tracts of land for foreign investors. According to testimony collected by Human Rights Watch and other groups over the past two years, the relocations have involved beatings, imprisonment, torture, rape, and even murder. The New York Review of Books Exit Eritrea: How Could it all End for Isaias Afewerki?
Ever since 1993, when Eritrea gained independence and the national assembly elected him president, Isaias Afewerki has ruled over the small East African nation. In these two decades, Afewerki has largely disregarded civil and political rights, jailing dissidents, neglecting to hold elections, banning opposition parties, and restricting freedom of movement. Regionally, Eritrea became diplomatically isolated after disputes with Ethiopia over access to ports erupted into bloody conflict between 1998 and 2000. Many Eritreans have had to rely on food aid, and thousands of ordinary Eritreans have fled, with many finding themselves at the mercy of human traffickers. Think Africa Press South Africa: 'up to 28% of schoolgirls HIV positive'
Unveiling the statistics, minister Aaron Motsoaledi added that four percent of schoolboys have the virus. "It is clear that it is not young boys who are sleeping with these girls. It is old men," the Sowetan newspaper quoted Mr Motsoaledi as saying on Thursday. "We can no longer live like that," he said. Mr Motsoaledi called for an end to the trend of young girls becoming involved with "sugar daddies". The Telegraph Shaking Côte d'Ivoire's political system: A young man's game
Kouadio Konan Bertin is looking to shake up the leadership of former president Félix Houphouët-Boigny's party, PDCI. Aged 43, Kouadio Konan Bertin is the leader of the youth wing of the Parti Démocratique de Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), a situation he admits is incongruous. "It's an aberration," says Kouadio, known by his initials KKB. Africa Report UN seeks almost $1 billion aid for war-ravaged Sudan
The UN and its aid partners in Sudan need almost $1 billion to help victims of the Darfur conflict and wars in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, officials said, as funding becomes harder to obtain for the country's long-running crises. Times Live Botswana apologises to Kenya over Kenyatta ICC warning
Botswana's foreign minister has apologised for saying that Kenya's newly elected president would be banned from the southern African nation if he refuses to co-operate with the ICC. Phandu Skelemani made the apology after Kenya's government accused him of being contemptuous towards Uhuru Kenyatta. The International Criminal Court has charged Mr Kenyatta with crimes against humanity. BBC
Electoral fraud and democratic struggles in Kenya
Unlike the elections of 2007, the recent elections in Kenya avoided massive bloodshed and gave victory to the Jubilee Coalition. An analysis of the significance of the elections is given and it is argued that political power cannot be monopolized by one section of the capitalist class Pambazuka News What will Uhuru's Election Mean for Kenya's Asians?
With Kenyatta, a Kikuyu and business behemoth, set to take over the reins of power, some of Kenya's Asian community is concerned for the future. Think Africa Press Foreign correspondents in Africa still struggle to tell the whole story
Western journalists in Africa are rightly criticized for simplistic coverage of African affairs, writes Tom Murphy, but are they doing the best with the resources they have? CS Monitor Army, police shadow looms over Zim polls
Zimbabweans go to the polls on Saturday to vote on a new constitution that would pave the way for elections, but many believe the army and police, not voters, may ultimately decide the country's fate. While the referendum on the constitution is largely expected to be fair, the main event - elections slated for July - may be decided by the outsize influence of a handful of those close to President Robert Mugabe, 89, the country's leader for the past 33 years. News 24 US calls for 'broad' monitoring of Zimbabwe referendum
The United States Thursday called for the "broadest possible monitoring" of Zimbabwe's upcoming referendum on a new constitution. "That's the best way to ensure the integrity of the process for the Zimbabwean people who've been waiting a very, very long time to have more democracy," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. After four years of debate, the southern African country finally has a draft constitution that will be put to citizens Saturday in a referendum. Times Live Attack in Western Ivory Coast Kills Six
At least six people have been killed in western Ivory Coast after an attack by unidentified armed men. Officials say the gunmen stormed the village of Zilebly early Wednesday, sparking clashes with security forces. Two soldiers were among the dead. The town is located just kilometers from the border with Liberia. The fighting prompted residents to flee the area for safety. VOA UN predicts huge expansion of wealth in developing world that will shift power
The middle class is growing - just not in the United States or Europe - but in the far reaches of the globe, a change that very likely will move power away from the world's current centers of prosperity, a United Nations study released Thursday concludes. The middle class in developing countries is rising "at an unprecedented speed and scale" and will require "an epochal global rebalancing," the study says. By 2025, 1 billion households will be earning more than $20,000 a year, and three-fifths of those will be in countries that today are better known for their poverty than their wealth, among them Rwanda, Brazil, Chile, Tunisia, Turkey, Ghana, Mauritius and some 30 similar nations. McClatchy |
