According to President Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, the Sudanese government is no longer engaging in a “coordinated” campaign of mass murder in Darfur. This is a change from previous characterizations of the violence there as an “ongoing genocide.” I suppose it is possible to try to […]
Bafana Bafana yesterday defeated New Zealand 2-0 in a Confederations Cup match that was even more lopsided than the score suggests. The South Africans dominated in most every way imaginable, and at times looked as if they were fielding fifteen men on the pitch. The narrative still is that the hosts blew it against Iraq […]
It appears that tensions are already brewing between the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and President Jacob Zuma. Who could have seen this coming? Other than me, and plenty of others, I mean. (Pardon the self indulgence.) COSATU feels as if it catapulted Jacob Zuma to the presidency, not only by its support […]
My editor sent me this story on rape statistics in South Africa with an apt one-word comment: “Wow.” The gist: South Africa’s Medical Research Council conducted a survey on rape in the country and by any measure, even taking into account questions about methodology, the statistics are shocking.
As the Confederations Cup heats up it is becoming more and more clear that South Africans are wildly enthusiastic, perhaps nowhere moreso than in Soweto, about their country hosting the 2010 World Cup. And why not? In sports mad South Africa football is hands-down the most popular sport, and Soweto represents the epicenter of football […]
Respected Africanist Robert Rotberg has an op-ed piece in The Boston Globe in which he reveals the tightrope that Morgan Tsvangirai has to walk in dealing with Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Mugabe still controls far too much of the government, is wildly unpredictable, and has shown no inclination either to give up power or to […]
My apologies for the light posting. I am taking a little vacation with Mrs. Africa Blog for our second anniversary. I will be back in full force next week, and after that will be blogging daily from South Africa. I would suggest looking at some of the recent posts by Texas in Africa, who has […]
All of my colleagues at the various Foreign Policy Association Blogs are doing wonderful work and I hope that you are reading all of them regularly even if your main interests lie in African affairs. (And I want to thank you if your interests lie elsewhere but you came over here anyway.) In recent weeks […]
In ten days Zimbabwe will embark on the process of writing a new constitution. This process will either represent a great step forward for Zimbabwe’s future or will mark President Robert Mugabe’s last intransigent stand. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai knows that his fellow Zimbabweans still live in fear. The question is whether the constitution-writing process […]
Refugees are fleeing strife-torn Somalia for Kenya by the thousands. This strikes me as a recipe for chaos. Kenya’s vast refugee camps, already stretched, will absorb them, but at a tremendous potential cost in health, safety, and lawfulness. The United Nations worries that its food supplies will not be sufficient to cover the needs of […]
President Obama’s speech in Cairo today revealed the difficult balancing act he faces in trying to address conflicts that have generally eluded most American presidents. Reaching out to the Muslim World while condemning Islamic extremism, shoring up alliances while pressing for greater democratization and freedoms, and generally wielding both carrots and sticks is always a […]
Doctors Without Borders has released a report and an accompanying video giving details on the struggles of Zimbabwean expatriates in South Africa.
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