Category Archives: Africa

By Robert Asketill Africa continues to be seen through many eyes today as the centre for obtaining immensely valuable materials that can be channelled to increase the power of so called leading nations that are supposedly steering the planet towards more peace and well-fed populations. So often now we see large gatherings of world political leaders and well known entertainers in various fields of pop culture, hoping for some sort of vicarious worthiness, in luxurious settings in countries often with very serious social problems of their own, indulging in costly wining and dining while telling the world that they are assembled for serious negotiations to improve the lot of African … Continue reading →

By David Nyekorach Matsanga The African Union (AU) is holding its 19th extraordinary Summit meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The week-long summit started Monday and will culminate in the election of a new Chairperson of the AU Commission. My organization has considered the main pillars during the formation of the OAU (now called AU). My organization has looked at the dream of the founding fathers of UNITY. The dream of the late founding fathers, namely Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Tanzania’s Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Senegal’s Ahmed Sekou Toure, Egypt’s Abdel Nasser, Congo’s Patrice Lumumba, Uganda’s Milton Obote and many others, was to have a United Africa … Continue reading →

By Robert Asketill All eyes will today be on Cairo where already there are fears of the imposition of an Islamic state and the fear Christians will not have the same right as yesterday. From many sides including the ladies of Egypt we are hearing: “We don’t want speeches or promises, but in the coming period, it is about taking action for the good of us all.” Just a week ago, when the polls were closing in the runoff election, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued constitutional amendments that stripped the president’s office of most of its major powers. The ruling generals made themselves the final arbiters … Continue reading →

By Robert Asketill As the American GI hands in his gun, the Drone takes over. With news that President Obama has taken over the command of drone actions despite protests from his military command who have had to accept the movement of these lethal craft come under the CIA, Africa must be getting very concerned with the news that up to now secret bases for counterterrorism have been established to cover the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. One of the installations is being established in Ethi­o­pia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group that controls much of that country. Another base is in … Continue reading →

By Heather Yundt When Invisible Children’s KONY2012 campaign video received more than 100 million views in less than a week, it got people talking. Journalists, academics, and activists fervently applauded and criticized the video. Under the scrutiny of the public eye and the weight of near-instant, contentious fame, Invisible Children campaigner and video star Jason Russell broke down. There is no question that all of this was newsworthy. The story was replete with heroes and victims, celebrity and tragedy, and, of course, controversy. This was a story with legs. With each news story, the video was embedded into another website and the number of views continued to rise. Some media … Continue reading →