Africa Horn Now

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A New Tool to Fight Genocide

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John Prendergast and Brad Brooks-Rubin | December 15, 2016 | Foreign Affairs Why Anti-Money-Laundering Measures Could Be Game Changing It has been 65 years since the Genocide Convention, drafted in reaction to the Holocaust, first came into force, but the international response to mass atrocities remains largely ineffective. The usual actions—the provision of … [Read more...] about A New Tool to Fight Genocide

Mother and Daughter. They escaped Islamic State. But their horror hasn’t ended.

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Selam Gebrekidan | Dec. 14, 2016 | Reuters Islamic State in Libya kidnapped dozens of African migrants and turned them into sex slaves. But when the group lost ground, the women became a burden rather than a prize. SIRTE, Libya – One mild morning in October, when the roar of fighter jets over Sirte had died down and the crackle of gunfire had paused, Minya Mesmer … [Read more...] about Mother and Daughter. They escaped Islamic State. But their horror hasn’t ended.

Has Africa had its fill of ‘strongmen’?

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Jason Burke | Sunday 11 December 2016 | The Guardian After 38 years during which his family has hoarded wealth and power, Angola’s leader José Eduardo dos Santos is quitting. Is this more evidence of a continent in the process of transition? Under the blistering heat of the southern African sun, the dignitaries did not linger. The ceremony was short. The … [Read more...] about Has Africa had its fill of ‘strongmen’?

The Soccer-Star Refugees of Eritrea

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 Alexis Okeowo | December 12, 2016 Issue | The New Yorker Athletes from the national team plan a mass defection. Around eleven o’clock on the night of October 10, 2015, Samson Arefaine learned that he had been selected to play on the national soccer team of Eritrea, a sliver of a nation in the Horn of Africa. For two months, he had been in a training camp in the … [Read more...] about The Soccer-Star Refugees of Eritrea

The story of the forgotten shipwreck

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Stephen Grey and Amina Ismail | Dec. 6, 2016 | Reuters The single biggest loss of life in the Mediterranean this year shows how authorities in Europe and elsewhere routinely allow those behind migrant deaths to get away with it. ALEXANDRIA, Egypt – At around 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, a large blue fishing boat carrying hundreds of African migrants and their children … [Read more...] about The story of the forgotten shipwreck

Trump’s leadership traits are bad news for democrats in Africa

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John J Stremlau | December 4, 2016 | The Conversation African governments are understandably concerned about how Donald Trump’s surprise election as the 45th president of the United States might affect their interests. Thus far Trump has given no sign that he will accord Africa any higher priority than his predecessors. His promises to expand and escalate … [Read more...] about Trump’s leadership traits are bad news for democrats in Africa

Can wind and solar fuel Africa’s future?

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Erica Gies | 02 November 2016 | Nature With prices for renewables dropping, many countries in Africa might leap past dirty forms of energy towards a cleaner future. At the threshold of the Sahara Desert near Ouarzazate, Morocco, some 500,000 parabolic mirrors run in neat rows across a valley, moving slowly in unison as the Sun sweeps overhead. This US$660-million … [Read more...] about Can wind and solar fuel Africa’s future?

Castro in Africa

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 Jamie Miller | Dec 3, 2016 | The Atlantic The contradictions of exporting revolution For nearly three decades, Fidel Castro devoted vast amounts of Cuba’s limited resources to the project of exporting his revolution to Africa, even as it stuttered at home. As leader of Cuba, Castro advocated a radical departure from the prevailing post-war liberal … [Read more...] about Castro in Africa

To so many Africans, Fidel Castro is a hero. Here’s why

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Sean Jacobs | Wednesday 30 November 2016 | The Guardian ‘A source of inspiration to all freedom-loving peoples’: that’s what Nelson Mandela called the Cuban revolutionary leader. And with good reason If Africa is a country, then Fidel Castro is one of our national heroes. This may come as a surprise to many oblivious of Africa’s postcolonial history and Castro’s role … [Read more...] about To so many Africans, Fidel Castro is a hero. Here’s why

The Lessons of Henry Kissinger

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Jeffrey Goldberg | December 2016 Issue | The Atlantic The legendary and controversial statesman criticizes the Obama Doctrine, talks about the main challenges for the next president, and explains how to avoid war with China. Author’s note (November 10, 2016): Over the past several months, I’ve interviewed Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state, numerous times on the … [Read more...] about The Lessons of Henry Kissinger