In The News

Heartland Farmers Visit West Africa

Laura Rusu July 18, 2006
A group of US farmers traveled to the West African country of Mali to witness the struggles of farmers that contend with drought, poverty and unfair competition from the world’s wealthiest countries. US farmers and relief agency Oxfam America took the trip to coincide with the latest session of Doha talks – and plan to continue speaking out against unfair policies in developed nations that reward...

Africa Beyond Aid and Bono

Ferial Haffajee July 15, 2006
Africa is vast and diverse, making it meaningless to talk about an “African dilemma” or an “African solution.” The continent has had both successes and failures of governance and reform during the past year, and Mail & Guardian Editor Ferial Haffajee notes that humanitarian aid will be necessary for the foreseeable future in areas of crisis. However, African countries cannot develop stable...

Sudan Rejects UN Peacekeepers for Darfur

Xan Rice July 6, 2006
The African Union (AU), sent to Darfur after the government launched attacks against civilians, is under-funded and struggling. Many agree that a more powerful force is the only way to end fighting and enforce a fragile peace deal. Sudan’s president, Omar el-Bashir, rejected the UN offer of peacekeepers on the grounds that it would represent western occupation of Sudan and draw Islamic militants...

Somalia: Why the International Contact Group Should Support the Islamic Courts Union

Abukar Arman July 1, 2006
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) currently controls Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, and has managed to bring a level of security to the city that had been unimaginable for the last decade. The ICU’s ability to bring a modicum of peace to the country means that the movement has, writes Abukar Arman, been embraced by Somalis as a “spontaneously formed populist uprising against the abuses and...

Push for New Tactics as War on Malaria Falters

Celia W. Dugger June 30, 2006
Malaria should be easy to control. Mosquito nets, insecticides and even medicine are inexpensive – and yet funds have tended to go toward consultants and research rather than treatment. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of children die from malaria, more than any other disease – a statistic that attracts yet more funds from major donors along with new scrutiny. In the US, Bush administration...

Chinese Premier Boosts Trade with Seven-Nation Africa Tour

Rory Carroll June 29, 2006
Chinese foreign policy officials have dubbed 2006 “the Year of Africa,” a policy in action as Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, visits with leaders of seven countries on the continent. While Africa’s natural resources pose the most obvious interest for the Chinese, Wen will also conduct talks on issues as varied as nuclear power, textile imports, regional alliances, and investment and trade. African...

Migrants, Bound for Spain, Set off a Boom

Meg Bortin June 21, 2006
Many West Africans pool funds to finance their own illegal immigration to the Spanish Canary Islands by boat. Fish was the lead export for Senegal in 2003, but the bountiful oceans of Western Africa have long been decimated by massive foreign fishing trawlers that took advantage of the coast’s once abundant fish supply. So the one-time fishermen of Senegal have found another way to generate...