In The News

Whither Africa Avenue?

V. Sudarshan June 20, 2005
As a result of maneuvering by the so-called G4 (Japan, Germany, Brazil and India) to gain permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a meeting of African Union members in early July will play a large role in determining which of the four will be successful. The meeting, which will take place in Sirte, Libya, will decide on two African countries which will put forward their own...

A Truckload of Nonsense

George Monbiot June 15, 2005
The recent agreement by seven of the G-8 nations to cancel impoverished countries' debts to the World Bank and the IMF requires debtor nations to eliminate corruption and promote private-sector development. A close analysis of the past, however, reveals that corruption has seldom been a barrier to foreign aid and loans. In fact, corporations in first-world countries often take advantage of...

Lifting Africa's Debt Sentence

Doug Saunders June 13, 2005
A summit of financial ministers from the G-8 announced on Saturday that 18 of the world's poorest nations, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, will be relieved of their debt burdens. The beneficiaries – deemed to have satisfactory governments and economic structures – were selected via an intensive vetting system. The agreement has sparked opposition on both sides of the African aid...

Think Continental

Gamal Nkrumah June 10, 2005
Amidst controversy over the arguably paltry US aid offerings to Africa, many countries on that continent are meeting at this week's Cairo African Trade Conference to discuss regional and continental trade as an independent path to prosperity. African nations are interested in forming a unified front at WTO negotiations to increase their trade power and improve their disadvantaged position...

Marching in Europe Will Not End African Poverty

DR Tajudeen June 3, 2005
Sir Bob Geldof, organizer of the 1985 Live Aid concert to benefit famine in Africa will be reviving the event under the moniker "Live 8," in reference to the G-8 summit. Live 8 differs from its predecessor in that it seeks to facilitate action – encouraging demonstrations against poverty in Africa and in favor of free trade, debt write-off and more aid – not simply raise awareness....

Reviving an Old Dream of Afro-Asian Cooperation

Thomas Abraham May 24, 2005
In 1955, the giants of the developing world gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, in an historic attempt to promote Asian-African solidarity. Despite their hopes, few of the participating countries were stable enough to ensure meaningful change. Fifty years later, developing country leaders gathered in the same city, with the same purpose: to promote cooperation between the two regions. Though the...

Sudan Aviation Set to Take Wing as Curtain Falls on 21-Year Civil War

Catherine Riungu May 4, 2005
In the wake of a diplomatic resolution to a decades-old civil war, Sudan is attempting to rebuild its aviation industry. While fighting continues and many thousands of refugees still live in fear and abject poverty, the country's Ministry of Civil Aviation is looking for ways to pick up the pieces and move forward. In the past, Sudan's air travel industry was among the region's...