February 07, 2003
Liberia: Fighting Near the Liberian Capital Drives Thousands Into Bush
Fighting in recent days within striking distance of Liberia's capital, Monrovia, has led to panic among civilians and major disruption with thousands fleeing the area west of the… Read more »
February 03, 2003
Cote d'Ivoire: Anti-Government Riot Rocks Abidjan, AU Summit to Discuss Ivory Coast
Opposition demonstrators in Cote dIvoire stormed onto the streets of Abidjan, Sunday, one week after pro-government supporters launched a series of anti-French rallies in the… Read more »
Nigeria: Between 20 and 30 Killed in Lagos Blast, Bank Looted
At least 20 and as many as 30 people were reported dead, Sunday, in Nigerias main city, Lagos, after an explosion ripped through an apartment and shopping complex and destroyed… Read more »
February 01, 2003
West Africa: Ivory Coast Peace Plan in Tatters, W.African Leaders Meet
As West African leaders gathered in Senegal, Friday, in a bid to rescue the Cote dIvoire peace accord and find urgent resolutions to the escalating crisis, thousands of youths… Read more »
Africa: Balancing Trade Rules, the Environment and Sustainable Development
Some parts of the international business community are beginning to sound like development agencies. At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland in late January and… Read more »
January 31, 2003
Africa: Trusting the Private Sector with the People's Water
More than half the population in African cities lives without access to pipe-borne water and depends on buying water from standpipe owners, water tankers or street vendors. Far… Read more »
January 30, 2003
South Africa: Mandela Sharply Criticises Bush and Blair on Iraq Stance
Former South African president and Nobel peace prize laureate, Nelson Mandela, has strongly criticised the American leader, George W Bush, calling him arrogant and shortsighted.… Read more »
Africa: Bush Aids Pledge Stirs Hope and Questions
The announcement by President George Bush of an additional $10 billion in funding "to turn the tide against Aids in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean" came as… Read more »
South Africa: Mandela Blasts U.S. Policy Toward Iraq
Former South African President Nelson Mandela strongly criticised U.S. policy toward Iraq in a speech delivered Thursday to the International Women's Forum meeting in Sandton,… Read more »
January 29, 2003
West Africa: Ivory Coast Awaits President's Speech, Opposition to Accord Hardens
The people of Cote dIvoire are in a state of high anxiety as they await the word from their president, Laurent Gbagbo, on the faltering peace accord agreed last weekend in France. Read more »
January 28, 2003
Cote d'Ivoire: Gbagbo Comments Sow Doubt on Ivory Coast Peace Deal
Speaking in Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital, Abidjan, President Laurent Gbagbo has described the French-brokered peace plan he accepted at the weekend in Paris as a set of… Read more »
January 27, 2003
Djibouti: Turning Strategic Location into Economic Advantage
It's no mystery why Ismail Omar Guelleh, the leader of one of Africa's smallest nations, received red-carpet treatment during his visit to Washington last week. As the president of… Read more »
January 26, 2003
Congo-Kinshasa: Accusations 'Ridiculous' Says Rwanda's US Envoy
Charges made last week by Vital Kamerhe, the Democratic Republic of Congo's commissioner-general in charge of negotiations in the Great Lakes region, that a Rwandan-created "new… Read more »
West Africa: Ivory Coast Peace Deal Sparks Violence, Gbagbo Appeals for Calm
Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo appealed for calm, Sunday, as rampaging mobs attacked French targets in the main city, Abidjan, in an explosion of fury over perceived… Read more »
West Africa: Ivory Coast President Agrees to Share Power, Names New PM
Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo named a new prime minister, Saturday, agreeing in principle to share power, in line with a peace plan drawn up at all-party negotiations sponsored… Read more »
January 24, 2003
West Africa: Ivory Coast Peace Plan Agreed; Will Gbagbo Sign?
Cote dIvoires rival factions - including rebel and government representatives - agreed a French-brokered peace plan early Friday, to try and end the four-month civil war. Read more »
Africa: IMF Attempts New Approach To Debt Relief
The International Monetary Fund's plans for a "Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism" (SDRM), designed to reduce the complexity of debt negotiations and protect indebted countries… Read more »
January 23, 2003
Africa: Washington is Neglecting African Needs, Say Campaign Groups
If there is to be global security, Africa must be moved from the margins to the center of U.S. foreign policy; that's the view of three campaign organisations who Thursday called… Read more »
Africa: Climate Change Spells Disaster for African Agriculture - Unless We Adapt
In the next 50 years, the world's population is expected to increase from six billion to nine billion. At the same time the planet they must survive on is under pressure; the… Read more »
January 21, 2003
Liberia: Exiled Politician Brumskine Returns Home to Prepare for Elections
Former president pro-tem of the Liberian Senate, Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine returned to his country last week after many years in exile in the United States. He fled Liberia in… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: Peace Process Threatened by Uganda and Rwanda Militias, Warns DRC Negotiator
Continuing violence backed by Rwanda and Uganda in Ituri and Kivu provinces, as well as in other areas could "derail" the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),… Read more »
East Africa: Sudan Peace Talks to Resume This Week
Following a meeting on Thursday between President Omar Hassan el-Bashir and U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, John Danforth, delayed peace talks between the government and the Sudanese… Read more »
Africa: Finding Africa's 'Big Oil' - in Deep Water
When Gene Van Dyke, a native of Illinois, graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in geological engineering 50 years ago, he wasn't thinking about Africa. Read more »
January 15, 2003
Africa: Agoa - Apparel Importers Foresee Africa Trade Prospects Changing
U.S. apparel and textile imports from Africa have increased significantly in the two years since the Agoa trade provisions took effect. Major exporters to the U.S. include Kenya,… Read more »
East Africa: Agenda Change Likely to Delay Sudan Peace Talks Resumption
A claim by the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) that they now have a mandate to represent three areas in the center of the country, may delay peace… Read more »