In The News

Fundamental Failures

Merle Lipton July 23, 2008
South Africa confronts many struggles: Unemployment is high, crime has increased dramatically, and the government fails to provide even the most basic security for its citizens. In terms of infrastructure, power failures are common and supply problems are foreseen in other critical areas such as water. Such problems have impacts on the entire region. For example, the African National Congress...

Zimbabwe Can't Paper Over Its Million-Percent Inflation Anymore

Marcus Walker July 9, 2008
After losing a March election, Robert Mugabe clung to power in Zimbabwe and his supporters relied on irregularities and violence to discourage the opposition. German politicians have been among the most outspoken in rejecting Mugabe’s refusal to transfer power – and quickly pressured a Bavarian printing company to stop providing expensive blank notes used for printing money to Zimbabwe. With...

Zimbabwe and the AU: Getting Away With Murder

July 5, 2008
Robert Mugabe lost an election to Morgan Tsvangirai in March. But instead of gracefully transferring power, he intimidated Tsvangirai’s supporters with threats and violence, A June 27 run-off election offered a ballot that carried only Mugabe’s name. While some leaders in Africa have demanded Mugabe’s ouster, most have remained timid, as Zimbabwe's dictator attended and addressed an African...

Nestlé Asks EU to Soften Line on GM

Raphael Minder June 30, 2008
The European Union sets trends in trade, agriculture and culture, and so the decision to reject genetically modified food for its markets carries influence beyond European borders. For example, African nations produce crops for export to Europe, and most African countries do not want to risk including genetically modified organisms in their harvests, for fear of being excluded from the lucrative...

Population Woes

Salama A. Salama June 27, 2008
Tragedy unfolds in countries that fail to emphasize family planning or discourage people from having children they cannot afford – and economic hardship compounds the tragedy. Preaching and advertising fail to engage the poor in developing nations, particularly when large numbers are illiterate, argues Salama A. Salama for Al-Ahram Weekly. For some cultures, a large family represents economic...

Once a Bright Point, Senegal Teeters Toward a Crisis

Lydia Polgreen June 20, 2008
Historically, Senegal has been one of Africa’s more prosperous and stable nations, winning respect and admiration. Ironically, though, the country's recent investments in five-star hotels and conference centers have backfired. Luxury development is a slap in the face for the poor who struggle daily to survive. Civil groups resist government plans and accuse political leaders of nepotism and...

Anti-Immigrant Terror in South Africa

Megan Lindow May 21, 2008
South Africa has many shantytowns for the crowds of immigrants from neighboring nations, many hungry, impoverished and desperate for basic opportunity, legal or illegal. But resentment against immigrants is building in South Africa and mobs descend on the poorly protected and impoverished communities with a series of attacks, warning the foreigners to leave the country. “South Africans have been...