Africa News Update
Africa News Update offers news, background and feature articles from African sources twice weekly. The newsletter is free of charge and is edited by the Norwegian Council for Africa. Some of the articles may be shortened.
Africa: Global slowdown, but African economies growing strongly
Johannesburg (South Africa) — Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow at 4.8 percent in 2012, broadly unchanged from the 4.9 percent growth rate in 2011 and largely on track despite setbacks in the global economy, according to the World Bank's new Africa's Pulse, a twice-yearly analysis of the issues shaping Africa's economic prospects. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
World Bank press release
Africa: Tutu wins extraordinary Ibrahim Award
Cape Town (South Africa) — The foundation which presents Africa's premier prize for good governance has announced a "one-off extraordinary award" of U.S. $1 million to Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
AllAfrica.com
Swaziland: MPs vote to kick out Cabinet (analysis)
Johannesburg (South Africa) - There is a battle royal looming in Swaziland after the country's much-maligned and justifiably-derided parliament took an incredible, historic step yesterday - by passing a no confidence motion in the Cabinet. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (South Africa), by Richard Lee
Africa: Is Africa's digital revolution under threat? (analysis)
Back in the 1990s, before everyone had two mobile phones and Skype was still a distant dream, if you were an African living elsewhere, with a need to call home, you either made frequent visits to a local call centre or you bought an international calling card. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
African Arguments, by Dele Fatunla*
South Africa: Reducing poverty by cutting time in traffic
Cape Town (South Africa) - In South Africa, Bus Rapid Transit systems, which were pioneered to great effect in Latin American countries such as Colombia and Brazil, are being promoted as potentially effective ways of delivering improved public transport services to the urban poor. But experts question whether systems such as these can alleviate poverty to any meaningful extent. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
Inter Press Service (IPS)
Senegal: In search of justice for victims of the African Titanic (opinion)
An open letter to former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade Dakar (Senegal) - On 26 September 2002, the Senegalese government-owned ferry Le Joola capsized off the coast of The Gambia, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths. Thought to be the second worst civilian maritime disaster, families of the victims are still seeking justice. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
Pambazuka News, by Serge Sagna
Ghana: Nation opens space research centre
Accra (Ghana) — Ghana is set to embrace space science, with the inauguration of the country's first space science and technology institution. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
SciDev.Net
Nigeria: More flood warnings as crocodiles and hippos invade homes
Abuja (Nigeria) - Despite the ravaging flood which has sacked thousands of persons in several communities, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned that there will yet be even more flood in the days ahead. The warning is coming as dangerous animals like crocodiles and hippos are already invading homes in several communities in the north. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
This Day (Nigeria)
Sudan/South Sudan: Abyei region still a stumbling block
Juba (South Sudan) - Pressure from ethnic groups along the border, security concerns, and keen interest in resources like oil and land are making it difficult for Sudan and South Sudan – the world’s newest country – to resolve their dispute over the fertile, oil-rich region of Abyei and demarcate their common border. Read >
Thursday, 04 October 2012
Inter Press Service (IPS)