New African articles from November 2002

New African archives from November 2002

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... Ever heard of Cabinda? Two points, among others, make your magazine great! It is unapologetically Afro-centric and has well-researched articles. Keep the good job up. We Africans have few magazines of your class. Your article on Diego...

In times of peace, prepare for war (3). (Baffour's Beefs).
November 1, 2002... Denying the humanity of other people has always been a way to justify oppressing and exterminating them, and science has a long, history of contributing to these atrocities"-Steve Olson, in his new book, Mapping Human History. I ended last...

Kora, Miss Malaika ahoy! The finals of the Kora Music Awards will be held on 2 November in South Africa, to be followed a month later by the Miss Malaika beauty pageant on 7 December in Zimbabwe. (The Gallery).
November 1, 2002... The stage is now set for the big extravanga. The Kora Music Awards, started in 1994 by the indefatigable Beninois, Ernest Coovi Adjovi, has grown to become Africa's answer to the American Grammys. And so has Miss Malaika, again started by...

South Africa land: a ticking time bomb. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2002... The plan in 1994 was to redistribute 30% of white-owned land within five years. It did not happen. Instead only 2% of the 87% of the best land in the country owned by whites has been redistributed so far. And time is running out. It could make...

A bit more like it: after the war, national reconstruction is well under way. The country has even found oil in commercial quantities, and the smiles are...almost back. (Around Africa: Sierra Leone).
November 1, 2002... There were doubts on 18 January this year when President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah officially declared the country's debilitating 10-year civil war over. The doubts were naturally justified as several moves towards peace in the past had failed. ...

One small step for Africa: for the first time, two Africans have been elected to the Swedish parliament. It is a victory for the marginalised African community in Sweden. (Around Africa: Sweden).
November 1, 2002... History was made on 1 October when King Karl Gustav of Sweden inducted the country's new parliament, the Riksdag. For the first time, among the 349 MPs were two Africans--Joe Frans (below) from Ghana, and Mrs Nyamko Sabuni (right) from DRCongo....

Mzungu at any cost: economic hardships have sent some Kenyan women to go a-hunting--for any white man at any cost. He is the ticket, they say, to eternal bliss. How sad! (Around Africa: Kenya).
November 1, 2002... Interracial daring is never uncomplicated, but in Kenya the topic has lately become even more controversial. Recently, a Swedish man put an advert in one of the local papers with the sole intention of finding a Kikuyu bride. Apparently the mans...

Uranium fantasies: did Saddam Hussein try to buy uranium from Africa? Hugues Leclercq, a Belgian economist, says "no, it's pure fantasy". (Around Africa: Drcongo).
November 1, 2002... In his "dossier of evidence against Saddam Hussein" presented to the British parliament in early October, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the Iraqi leader had tried to purchase "significant" quantities of uranium from Africa. He did not,...

Taylor proven right. (Around Africa: Liberia).
November 1, 2002... When President Charles Taylor claimed in a New African interview published in July that "some powerful countries" were out to get him, his opponents rubbished the claims. Now an Ecowas "confidential report" says Taylor is right. As the...

Muluzi wants to stay: two terms are not enough for President Muluzi, he wants three. (Around Africa: Malawi).
November 1, 2002... President Bakili Muluzi may have handed over the SADC chairmanship to the Angolan president, Eduardo dos Santos, but he seems to have difficulty accepting an end to his own rule at home. He has so far resisted calls to put an end to...

Moi gets his man! President Arap Moi has finally got his chosen heir nominated as his successor. (Around Africa: Kenya).
November 1, 2002... Uhuru Kenyatta has already pledged to President Arap Moi the one sure thing he (Moi) would expect of him: "seek his advice on running the country". Shortly after the ruling KANU party had endorsed him as its presidential candidate for next...

Trouble, trouble, trouble: Uganda is going through a difficult time. The war in the north has flared up again and President Museveni is under pressure to go for a negotiated settlement. (Around Africa: Uganda).
November 1, 2002... Poor Museveni. As rebels battle his troops in the north, he is coming under heavy flak from Ugandans at home and abroad for his government's "failure" to halt the deteriorating security situation. In early October, the pressure group, Reform...

Abacha loot deal collapses: Switzerland was poised to hand over $535m in blocked Abacha funds to the Nigerian government, but local difficulties in Nigeria mean the funds stay in Switzerland for the time being.
November 1, 2002... The Nigerian government's attempt to have Swiss banks return millions stashed abroad by General Sani Abacha has suffered a blow. Switzerland's federal court says it wants to hear an appeal by the Abacha family following the collapse of an...

Weapons of mass hypocrisy. (Lest We Forget).
November 1, 2002... Some day now a clever cartoonist will superimpose the image of condolezza rice over that of the white lady of the statue of liberty as the new image of a world divided not by colour or religion, but by money, greed and guilt. When in 1974...

The rejected testimony. (Dossier: Rwanda).
November 1, 2002... Uwe Freisecke is a German journalist who works for the American magazine, Executive Intelligence Review. He is one of three people who were to testify in June as expert witnesses in the defence of Andre Ntagerura, a former Rwandan transport...

The Republic of the future. (Tunisia-15 Years of the Change).
November 1, 2002... Anver Versi describes the extraordinary vision and the will to follow it through behind this modern miracle. On the 7th of November, Tunisia celebrates 15 years of The Change. These 15 years have seen one of the most remarkable...

Before Ghana became Ghana: I vouch for the accuracy of everything that I have been writing in this series. Those really were the good old days. (Under the Neem Tree).
November 1, 2002... It is difficult, almost impossible, to convey to those who were born only after Ghana had achieved its independence in March 1957, what a near paradise the country was before their time. They will either think one is idealising the situation,...

They are burning the country together. (Feature: Cote d'Ivoire).
November 1, 2002... To me, two quotations serve as a metaphor for what has been happening in Cote d'Ivoire since the military struggle for power began there on 19 September this year. One is a statement made by a spokesman for the late General Robert Guei, leader...

Europe no entry: the long-prophesied Fortress Europe is truly here. Beware African immigrants. Lokongo Bafalikike reports on recent moves in Europe to shut out illegal immigration. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... "Curbing illegal immigration" has become one of the top items on the agenda of the European Union and its member countries. When the EU met in June in Seville, Spain, the summit's key resolutions included imposing sanctions against countries...

World Trade: a scandal that must end. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... "While rich countries make use of heavy farm subsidies, they put pressure on poorer countries not to use them. It adds up to an international 'farmgate' scandal. It is a scandal that must end," says ActionAid. Lokongo Bafalikike reports. ...

Ecowas common currency postponed. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... Five West African countries were expected to replace their national currencies with a common currency in January 2003. But several factors have combined to make the launch date unfeasible. The currency has not even been designed. The new,...

Aids there is hope but. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... Mukai Chimutengwende-Gordon is a fifth-year medical student at Bristol University, England. Last summer, she carried out a Special Study Research Module (SSM) on "Aids in sub-Saharan Africa", using Zimbabwe as her base. This is what she...

Western Sahara: all hands on deck. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... Various means are being used by supporters of Saharawis to bring their plight to world attention. One of these is bringing Saharawi children to Europe for a short stay. Caroline Swinburne recently met some of them in Wales. On a cold and...

Eritrea ruins of history. (Feature).
November 1, 2002... Dahlak Kebr, one of the 200 islands of Eritrea's Dahlak Archipelago in the Red Sea, has some famous ruins dating back to the 2nd century. But only a few local fishermen and historians have been there. Our correspondent, Richard Greenfield, was...

So, we are living in the era of freedom's triumph? What does America's new national security strategy, this paean to "freedom's triumph", mean for Africans? What is the African continent's place in "the Bush Doctrine"?
November 1, 2002... What does America's new national security strategy, this paean to "freedom's triumph", mean for Africans? What is the African continent's place in "the Bush Doctrine"? Who can name the five continents of the world? Yes, I thought so, we are all...

How Israel treats its Ethiopian Jews. (Diaspora).
November 1, 2002... In 1984 and 1991, Israel mounted Operations Moses and Solomon respectively to airlift over 30,000 Ethiopian-Jews to Israel. But 11 years on from Operation Solomon, life has all gone sour for the Ethiopian-Jews who make up 1% of the Israeli...

Dream house in Ghana. (Diaspora).
November 1, 2002... For Ghanaians abroad, nothing spells success like a dream house back home. And the bigger, the better. Leslie Goffe reports from New York on the fashion sweeping the Ghanaian community across the Atlantic. The mark of success for many...

Ghanaian inventor. (Diaspora).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Isaac Anoom, a Ghanaian based in the UK, has become the toast of schools in the London metropolis with his invention of a learning device that makes it easier to conquer the intricacies of mathematics and numeracy. Meant for children aged...

USA: Black Caucus wants global understanding. (Diaspora).
November 1, 2002... When the Black Caucus met at their Annual Conference on September 11, not even the first anniversary of the terrible attacks on America could restrain them from lashing at their government's "close door, no talk policy". They want "global...

UK: Charles the black. (The Arts).
November 1, 2002... Britain's king-in-waiting was recently painted black, just to see how the future monarch would look in black skin as head of the Commonwealth. Nick Hordern went to meet the Russian-born painter behind it all. I have seen the future king of...

Senegal: Orchestra Baobab--a legend reborn: Peter Moszynski on the rebirth of the Senegalese band that is currently mesmerising European audiences. (The Arts).
November 1, 2002... Once every 10 years or so a band comes along that changes the shape of music. Few groups were as successful or influential as Senegal's Orchestra Baobab, whose innovative Afro-Cuban fusion style dominated West African music for over a decade...

The roots of the Great Lakes' conflict: we are ready and willing to pull out of Congo as soon as is feasible. Our withdrawal plan is already with the third party, South Africa. (Endtail).
November 1, 2002... The colonial powers in the Great Lakes Region sowed the seeds of antagonism and conflict which the region is experiencing today. They did this through the creation of racial theories, myths, artificial borders, and other divisive practices. ...