Nelson Mandela withdraws from public life

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:58:53 +0000

First the good news: Nelson Mandela is in reasonably good health for someone who is 91.

So the bad news is not so bad: Mandela — the icon of African liberation — will withdraw almost entirely from public life in order to rest and spend time with his family.

The announcement by the Nelson Mandela Foundation was made to squelch speculation that Mandela was gravely ill.

Zimbabwe back on brink

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:07:00 +0000

Zimbabwe is on the brink of sliding back into the violence that marred the country following its elections last year, according to a bulletin issued by Amnesty International.

Zimbabwe detains UN torture expert

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:11:01 +0000

President Robert Mugabe's government has detained a United Nations expert on torture, preventing him from carrying out an investigation into widespread charges of systematic state violence against the opposition.

The detention of the U.N.'s special rapporteur on torture, Michael Nowak, comes amid a new wave of arrests, intimidation and allegations of state-sponsored violence.

Madonna breaks ground in Malawi

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:22:11 +0000

Madonna broke ground Monday in Malawi to start building a girls' academy which she called a "gift" to the country where she had adopted two children.

The pop star, 51, cut a cake, planted a tree and dug a shovel into the earth where the school will be built, at an estimated cost of $15 million. Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, 13, and about 500 Malawians attended the ceremony on the outskirts of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. It will take two years to build the school.

South Africa's white farmers lease land in Congo

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:35:13 +0000

South Africa’s white farmers are to rent nearly 500,000 acres of land from the Republic of Congo, according to an agreement signed late Tuesday.

Congo's agriculture minister said the lease is for 30 years. He said the South African farmers would bring expertise to the Congo and reduce its dependence on imports.

Sorry, Thabo Mbeki. No African leadership prize this year.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:11:42 +0000

It was bound to happen. The prize for good African leadership found that no one qualified this year.

The Mo Ibrahim prize is for an African leader who steps down after serving his/her term of office and who has a record of good governance. Now in its third year, the prize is substantial — $5 million over 10 years and then $200,000 for life, making it the world's largest cash prize for an individual. The first two winners were worthy: Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano and Botswana's Festus Mogae.

Re-jailing of Roy Bennett in Zimbabwe is an outrage

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:08:52 +0000

The latest outrage from Zimbabwe is that Roy Bennett, a key aide to Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has been thrown back in jail on spurious charges.

The re-jailing of Bennett highlights how Mugabe still holds the power to jail and persecute his critics. Mugabe's actions jeopardize the viability of the power-sharing government, according to many analysts in Harare.

Burkina Faso leader in Guinea to mediate political crisis

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:23:56 +0000

The situation in the West African country of Guinea is volatile and tense. The country experienced a military coup in December and although the junta leaders pledged to hold democratic elections, there has been considerable violence against people supporting the opposition.

Death sentence for 3 of Tanzania's albino killers

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:13:07 +0000

A Tanzanian court has sentenced three men to death by hanging for the murder of a 14-year-old albino boy.

The death penalty is seen as attempt by Tanzanian authorities to stop the wave of killings that has seen 50 albinos murdered over the past two years. Traditional healers pay high prices for the body parts of albinos, which they use to make potions that they claim will bring good luck and prosperity. Besides the murders, albinos face considerable stigma in general society.

Meet the Beatles

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:39:00 +0000

The Beatles are enjoying a smashing revival with the new release of all their albums, freshly remastered, on CDs. There has been a great deal of press about the Beatles lately, too, in Rolling Stone and other glossy mags.

But the most excitement has been generated by the release on September 9 of The Beatles: Rock Band video game. This animated preview captures some of the early excitement of the Beatles' movies and follows the Fab Four from Liverpool to London and through their psychedelic phase to their puzzling end. See for yourself.

Will this graphic video stop you from texting while driving?

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:03:13 +0000

Texting while driving — it's a worldwide phenomenon and a global danger.

It's obvious that text messaging while driving is dangerous. Your eyes and attention are off the road ahead. A driver who is texting is more than 23 times more likely to get into an accident than a non-distracted driver, according to a new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which urges that texting while driving should be illegal.

Movie of the summer: District 9

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:59:58 +0000

Extraterrestial beings land in Johannesburg. A million of the creatures — part insect, part robot — are cordoned off in a township called District 9. Angry South Africans want to get rid of the aliens. Tensions and fear grow. Violence looms. Apartheid meets science fiction.

Clinton heads off to visit 7 African countries

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:34:32 +0000

Hillary Clinton sets off Monday to visit seven African countries.

Clinton's African trip follows up President Barack Obama's visit last month to Ghana and highlights the administration's priority to the African continent. Clinton will visit Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

The more Zimbabwe changes ... the more it stays the same.

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:03:53 +0000

There is a lot of confusion about Zimbabwe. Is it changing or not?

The creation of a power-sharing government created high expectations that President Robert Mugabe's grip on power would loosen and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai would start the troubled country on the road back to democracy.

But most reports point to the conclusion that Mugabe remains firmly in control. Tsvangirai manages a half a step forward and then Mugabe takes a full step back.

Zimbabwe's economy still struggles

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:51:10 +0000

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the country's economy is improving but needs a lot more work. Biti is the bright and outspoken lawyer and secretary-general of Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who is finance minister in the power-sharing government.

Zimbabwe's prime minister booed in London

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:47:48 +0000

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was loudly jeered in London over the weekend by a large group of Zimbabwean exiles, according to AFP.

Mr. Tsvangirai goes to Washington

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:15:44 +0000

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s veteran opposition leader and now prime minister, is in Washington this week to woo the Obama government to lift its sanctions and give aid to Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai’s visit to the U.S. is part of a three-week tour to other Western capitals to try to raise funds.

And Tsvangirai's visit has brought the cult indie band Dispatch to hold a rare reunion concert.

Africa's longest serving ruler, Gabon's president Omar Bongo, dies

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:13:09 +0000

Gabon's President Omar Bongo, Africa’s longest serving ruler, has died at age 73, sparking a security clampdown across the country, according to the BBC.

Rumors had swept through Libreville, the capital city, Monday before Bongo’s death was confirmed by Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong. He said Bongo died of a heart attack at midday.

Gabon, an oil rich West African country, will observe 30 days of mourning.

Plight of Zimbabwean refugees still dire

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:05:26 +0000

Neither Zimbabwe's new power-sharing government nor South Africa's new president Jacob Zuma has lessened the misery of the estimated three million Zimbabweans who have fled Zimbabwe for South Africa, according to "No Refuge," a report issued today by Doctors Without Borders (the American wing of the French group Medecins Sans Frontieres).

See Amnesty International's world map of human rights

Sun, 31 May 2009 20:08:48 +0000

How do countries of the world measure up in terms of human rights? Amnesty International has put the impressive research of its latest annual report into a cool interactive world map.