April 23, 2009
South Africa: ANC Loses Support in Heartland
9.05pm: The African National Congress has lost support in the region of the country popularly held to have been the crucible of the struggle against apartheid. Read more »
South Africa: Ruling ANC Cruises to Polls Victory
[Report updated] Energized by a split in the liberation movement which led South Africa to freedom, voters turned out in huge numbers for the country's fourth democratic elections… Read more »
South Africa: 'New Kid on the Block' Still Third
6pm (SA time): The ruling African National Congress has exceeded the five million mark and stays in the lead with opposition Democratic Alliance receiving over one million votes,… Read more »
South Africa: ANC Announces Victory Rally
1.50pm: Fresh figures from the Independent Electoral Commission's result centre continue to show the ruling ANC leading the pack with 3,721,550 votes, while the DA has 1,054,819… Read more »
South Africa: Five Million Votes Counted
12:12pm (SA time): With 18 percent of votes counted, the tally reported by the SA Press Association from the national results centre was: ANC 3,434,611 votes; DA 988,923 votes;… Read more »
South Africa: Four Million Votes Now Counted
11.20am (SA time): The latest incoming election count gives the ruling African National Congress 64.64 percent of the vote, with the Democratic Alliance receiving 18.64 percent.… Read more »
South Africa: Electoral Officer Faces Fraud Charges
4.20pm (SA time): A presiding officer at a polling station in the former heartland of the Inkatha Freedom Party faces criminal charges after a ballot box was found stuffed with… Read more »
South Africa: Early Election Results Trickle Out
9:30am: At 8.30am South African time (06h00 UTC/GMT), 3.3 million votes had been counted, reported the SA Press Association. The ANC won 2.1 million of them, the DA 636,637 and… Read more »
South Africa: ANC Heads for Comfortable Victory as Votes Counted
Energized by a split in the liberation movement which led South Africa to freedom, voters turned out in huge numbers for the country's fourth democratic elections on Wednesday,… Read more »
April 22, 2009
Lesotho: Prime Minister Attacked
Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili was the victim of an assassination attempt on Wednesday, according to the chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC),… Read more »
Madagascar: Ravalomanana Refuses to Share Power
The deposed president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, has visited two Southern African capitals in his bid to be restored to power. Read more »
April 21, 2009
Africa: Continent's 'First Ladies' Meet to Promote Health, Education
Fifteen spouses of African heads of state and government, from countries ranging from Swaziland to Kenya and Sierra Leone, have joined in a unique summit in Los Angeles,… Read more »
South Africa: Food Used as Election Weapon, Say Monitors
South African civil society election monitors are expecting largely violence-free polls in the country’s national elections, but say party activists have been using access to… Read more »
April 20, 2009
South Africa: Ruling ANC Will Respect Judiciary, Says Zuma
South Africa’s president-in-waiting, Jacob Zuma, has given voters an election pledge that his administration will respect the independence of the judiciary and the separation… Read more »
Africa: Diplomatic Advocates for the Continent
Among the many advocates for Africa's well-being and development are the African-Americans who have served as America's ambassadors to African nations. Having just come from the… Read more »
April 18, 2009
Somalia: Pirates Stage Daring New Attacks
Somali pirates hijacked a Belgian-owned ship off Somalia on Saturday but a Dutch naval frigate foiled an attack on a Greek-owned chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden. Read more »
April 15, 2009
Somalia: Pirates are Well-Organized, Resilient
Somali piracy is "a highly structured enterprise" built around well-organized syndicates which regularly extort U.S. $1-million ransoms for shipowners to release ships and their… Read more »
Africa: Soyinka Attacks Political Leaders
Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka has launched a new attack on Africa's political leaders, this time singling out heads of state who retain their grip on power by entering into… Read more »
April 14, 2009
Somalia: Pirates Seize More Ships
Pirates have captured four more ships and taken more than 60 crew members hostage in the Gulf of Aden in the last two days, following the death of three pirates in a standoff with… Read more »
April 13, 2009
Somalia: U.S. Congressman Sees Signs of Hope Despite Mortar Attack
Donald Payne, a veteran Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, has landed safely in Nairobi after his plane drew mortar fire while departing Mogadishu, Somalia. Read more »
April 12, 2009
Somalia: U.S. Mariner Freed as Pirates Move to Seychelles
An American merchant ship captain was freed from Somali pirates by U.S. Navy forces Sunday, as a new warning was issued about pirate activity in East African sea lanes near the… Read more »
April 11, 2009
Somalia: Pirates in New Hijacking In Gulf of Aden
American merchant ship captains have called for harsh action against Somali pirates, even as an American-owned tug was seized Saturday in the Gulf of Aden. Read more »
April 10, 2009
Somalia: U.S. Pirate Hostage Drama Continues, Air Patrols Begin
As a hostage drama involving an American merchant ship's captain and a group of pirates continued into Friday, the European Union's anti-piracy force began regular air patrols off… Read more »
Somalia: Pirates Try to Hijack North Korean Ship
Pirates have made another attempt to hijack a ship, this time north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, the Nato Shipping Centre reports. Read more »
Africa: U.S.-Africa Relations Hampered by Colonial Legacy
The following is the text of a lecture delivered at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) by Haskell Ward, one of the UCLA African Studies Center's first master's… Read more »