New African articles from January 2002

New African archives from January 2002

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2002... Gold report is dynamite! Once again you have outdone yourselves with an excellent coverage of the Durban Gold Summit (NA, Dec). This is the first time I ever heard these revelations. This proves once again that Baffour has plenty to beef...

Africa's Miss World: Proud of the girl! (The Gallery).(Agbani Asenite Darego of Nigeria)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Ladbrokes, the British and official bookmakers of the Miss World beauty pageant did not even rank her 100-1 to win. In fact, Ladbrokes did not give any of the African beauties in the tournament a dog's chance. In the end, some nice people...

Our friend Tony (part 2). (Baffour's Beefs).(British Prime Minister Tony Blair)
January 1, 2002... "The West only manages to live at such a high standard because its resource base is the whole planet, not just where we happen to live. We luxuriate in the goods of others, who go short" -- Edmund Davey, Tamworth, England (in a letter to The...

Beware of B-52 bombers. (Around Africa - Somalia).
January 1, 2002... America's attempt to extend its "war for enduring freedom" beyond Afghanistan appears to have two African nations, "the old enemy" Sudan and "the old irritant" Somalia, firmly in its sights. On 23 November, America gave teeth to its...

Who is a minister? (Around Africa - Canada).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... One year into office, President John Kufuor's government has come unstuck on the size of the very government he heads, and the opposition wants him to come clean on the matter. Depending on whose definition you accept, the government has...

Tale of two countries. (Around Africa - Zimbabwe/Guinea).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The recent response of the "international community" to political developments in Guinea and Zimbabwe has been stunning in its double standards. Guinea's president, Lansana Conte, in power since 1984 through a coup d'etat, held a referendum on...

Poor Gold. (Around Africa - Africa/World).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Recent remarks by leading metal dealers that the current global terrorist upheaval and the uncertainty in world stock markets were unlikely to lead to a gold surge in 2002, appear to support the claims made by the Gold Anti-Trust Action Group...

Basson's fancy footwork enchants court. (Around Africa - South Africa).(Wouter Basson)
January 1, 2002... Arguments in the case against Dr Wouter Basson, alias "Dr Death" (see NA, Nov) resumed on 5 November and continued throughout the month and early December, with the state prosecutor, Dr Tone Pretorius, addressing the drug-related charges among...

Physician heal thyself. (Around Africa - Africa/Belgium).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The New York-based December 12 Movement is launching an international campaign on 25 January to get Belgium tried for genocide in Congo, and for sponsoring the murder of Patrice Lumumba. The campaign comes at a time when Belgium has...

A prince called Garang? (Around Africa - Sudan).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the rebel movement at war with the Sudanese government for the past 18 years, has recently unveiled its post-war development programme in the territory it controls. The Movement, led by Dr. John...

L' 'etat c'est Moi. (Cover Story 1: Kenya).
January 1, 2002... After 24 years in power, President Daniel arap Moi is to retire at the next elections in December 2002. It will be a new beginning for the east African nation. But as our Kenya correspondent reports, the battle for succession has just begun...

Foreign news, what fore foreign news?: Compassion Fatigue. By Prof Susan Moeller. Published by Routledge (New York and London). (Book Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... This book, subtitled, "How the Media Sell Disease, Famine and Death", could easily have been subtitled: "I Accuse the Media," for it is nothing less than an accusing finger at the American media for the way they have made Americans to become...

Paragons of press freedom? (Cover story 2: American tragedy).
January 1, 2002... Press freedom has been under attack in America since the 11 September events. This report was written by two representatives of the Paris-based anti-censorship group, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) who recently went to New York to examine the...

When Yoweri wrote to Clare. (Feature: Uganda/Rwanda).(Ugandan PresidentYoweri Museveni discusses Uganda-Rwanda relations with British Prime Minister Clare Short)
January 1, 2002... Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda came to London on 6 November to hold talks with Tony Blair and his minister for overseas development, Claire Short. New African can now reveal that the meeting was called after...

Tide turning against invaders: The days of the Ugandan and Rwandan occupation of Congo are numbered, as America gets tough on its allies in Kampala and Kigali. (Feature: Congo).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The London talks between Presidents Museveni and Paul Kagame on 6 November, co-chaired by Tony Blair and Glare Short (see p26-27), ended without any substantial new developments to bring lasting peace to the Great Lakes region. The talks...

Saving the burkha woman? (Not in black or white).
January 1, 2002... All the things Western women take for granted are denied Afghan women, said Mrs Blair. "Here, we can dress as we please; in Afghanistan, that's forbidden." Well, what happened to Hillary Clinton? And will British voters have the confidence to...

The Ghanaian spirit - abroad: Congratulations on making me feel proud to be a Ghanaian. And wait -- I am coming to "chop you Christmas". (Under the Neem Tree).(personal narrative on customer service)
January 1, 2002... Something happened to me the other day that convinced me that God has blessed Ghanaians with something unique which they should cherish and carry with them wherever they happen to be - good human nature. If Ghanaians recognise it in...

Lumumba: Belgian report a whitewash. (Feature: Congo).(Patrice Lamumba)
January 1, 2002... The report of the Belgian parliamentary inquiry into Lumumba's death has finally been published. It says "certain members of the Belgian government" of the time and "other Belgian actors" bear only "a moral responsibility" for Lumumba's...

SOAS, a long 40 years ago. (Diaspora: Africans in Britain).(comparison of the School of Oriental and African Studies then and now)
January 1, 2002... Forty years ago, our correspondent Clayton Goodwin was a student at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the same school that other former students have accused of academic racism. "The Battle of Adwa, won...

African-American farmers in trouble: Leslie Goffe reports on the tribulations of African-American farmers in 'God's Own Country'. Harlem is nowhere. (Diaspora: Blacks in USA).(discrimination by the Department of Agriculture and banks agains African American farmers)
January 1, 2002... It is not just in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa that whites and blacks are in conflict over land. In the United States, African-Americans are in a life and death struggle with the American government over the future of black farmers. ...

The Blue Book they didn't want us to read: How Britain, Germany and South Africa destroyed a damning book on German atrocities in Namibia.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2002... In 1926, both the British and South African governments ordered the destruction of a 212-page "Blue Book" on the "first organised genocide of the 20th century" committed by the German colonial government in Namibia, for which the Herero people...

Eritrea's man in Washington. (The Interview).(ambassador Girma Asmerom)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... "We don't have diplomatic relations. They have their embassy, we have our embassy, but there's no official contact with Ethiopia anywhere in the world. I can meet the Ethiopian ambassador here in Washington and even joke with him, but I cannot...

Mali, here we come. (Football: African Nations Cup Finals).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The 23rd Nations Cup finals kick off in Mali from 19 January to 10 February. With all the stars on show, and a new trophy to fight for, this is one event you cannot miss. Even BBC-TV is broadcasting it for the first time in Britain. This...

The Groups. (Football: 2002 Nations Cup Finals).(soccer teams from African nations evaluated)
January 1, 2002... GROUP A (based in Bamako) Mali, Nigeria, Liberia, Algeria MALI (Fifa ranking 117): They return for their first finals since 1994, with the tournament a new experience for most of the current squad. The replacement of their Italian...

Five of the best: Osasu Obayiuwana, our football correspondent, profiles five players likely to play a pivotal role for their countries in Mali. (Football: 2002 Nations Cup Finals).
January 1, 2002... Sunday Oliseh -- Nigeria. As captain of the Super Eagles at the last Nations Cup finals, the weight of expectation that this affable man had to shoulder was overwhelming. Nigeria were co-hosts of the tournament with Ghana and in the final...