Saturday, February 28, 2009
BBC Africa
BBC World News: Africa consistently provides high-quality news coverage of events in all parts of Africa, as well as original features on a variety of topics. Here's a sample of today's top stories:
Darfur Video
Here's a great video by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. In it, he tells the story of a young Darfuri refugee living in a refugee camp in Chad.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Recent Events
For my first blog post, I want to outline some of the most important recent events in Africa.
In December 2008, following the death of President Lasana Conte, a military coup overthrew Guinea's government. Most sources say the coup was bloodless and that the Guinean people welcomed its leaders. The new government, led by President Moussa Camara, has promised democratic elections by the end of 2009, but observers are skeptical.
In January 2009, Ghana held a Presidential election. The West African country, a prime example of democracy in Africa, enjoyed a free, fair, open election, and its result, in favor of the opposition party, did not face any major challenge.
Perhaps Africa's most notorious states, and arguably the world's most failed states, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and Zimbabwe all face worsening situations. In the DRC, fighting continues among several groups. More fighting has broken out in the Somali capital of Mogadishu during the past few days, and a recent attack on an African Union base killed 11 Peacekeepers. Zimbabwe is suffering from a severe cholera epidemic. Following one of history's worst cases of hyperinflation, the Zimbabwean government abandoned its currency.
Also this month, there was a coup in Madagascar, an attempted coup in Sao Tome and Principe, and a possible attempt in Equatorial Guinea.
Finally, fighting has recently flared up in south Sudan, killing 14 civilians so far.
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