Category Archives: United Kingdom

London conference awaits ‘vision to take Somalia forward’

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

By Mark Tran The United Kingdom recently held yet another big conference on Somalia, bringing together officials from 50 countries and organisations, including the UN, African Union and International Monetary Fund. The most significant difference from last year’s London event is that instead of a tottering and discredited transitional regime, Somalia now has a fully fledged government, led by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Elected last September, the 57-year-old professor and activist is the first leader chosen inside Somalia since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre, which sowed the seeds for the country’s descent into chaos. The Somali Conference can be seen as a concerted attempt to bolster the Somali government’s legitimacy … Continue reading →

Posted in Somalia, United Kingdom | Leave a comment

Reginald Mengi Vs Sarah Hermitage
Tanzanian tycoon’s claim falls flat

Posted on February 3, 2013 by

By Justin Castelan In 2004, Sarah Hermitage, an English solicitor, and her husband, Stewart Middleton, an agronomist, bought a lease to Silverdale Farm in Tanzania for $112,000. They wanted to live there peacefully and build up an agricultural business, exporting vegetables to Europe. The African investment all sounded very idealistic, but the ideal for the couple did not last long. Unfortunately, the person they bought the lease from was Benjamin Mengi, who happened to be the younger brother of Reginald Mengi, a man who built himself up into being a Tanzanian version of Rupert Murdoch and the Claimant in this case. Apart from owning various Tanzanian media, from 2003, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Tanzania, United Kingdom | Leave a comment

What happened to British diplomacy?

Posted on July 29, 2011 by

By Robert Asketill Those of us who have spent all our adult lives enjoying learning what is going on in the world from our daily newspapers still remain loyal readers of the mix of news, pictures of notable people and the differing opinions of inspired essayists. Of all the contributors, those with the most difficult job are, arguably, the cartoonists who must somehow seize our attention by mirroring in just a picture or two a whole current many sided argument. In ‘The Times’ on Thursday 28th July there was just such a series of sketches by Peter Brookes showing Britain’s present Foreign Secretary, once a rank commanding international respect, flying … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, United Kingdom | Leave a comment

Libyan impasse: West may have created a monster too difficult to deal with

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

By Robert Asketill  As we expected, and often warned, the fallacious belief by some foreign powers that they could bring about an ‘Arab Spring’ of democratic government and individual security in Libya by short sharp military action has produced far more problems than they bargained for. Citizens fleeing from gunfire or murder on religious grounds or the bombs from the sophisticated aircraft of imperious foreign powers bent on ‘protecting’ them are unlikely to appreciate their proclaimed altruism.  We now hear from the western journalists covering both sides of the Libyan war that on the rebel side, those they have always described as heroes, are becoming less welcoming and are requiring … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, United Kingdom | Leave a comment

Foreign Secretary stirs it up

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

By Robert Asketill British Foreign Secretary William Hague is increasingly on the defensive over his continuing policy of backing the ‘Arab Spring’ with military force now that the situation both in the Middle East and Africa needs him to take great care. Over the centuries where the British through their Foreign Secretaries have made many friends, it has been by tackling overseas problems with scrupulous analysis based on the experience of their predecessors as recorded in that great office of state and the contributions of those with relevant personal experience and a reputation as unbiased observers. In those days, too, Britain led a great empire and had the resources to … Continue reading →

Posted in United Kingdom | Leave a comment