2008-09-06

Dear Family and Friends,
If you come first in a running race, why would you give ninety-nine percent of the gold medal and prize money to the person who came second? The answer is obvious but as each day passes it seems the real winner, and the will of the majority of Zimbabweans is not going [...]

Sitting here on a Saturday morning in the first days of spring in southern Africa, we must all contemplate the possible consequences of the failure of the negotiations launched by the SADC States in March 2007. At that time the concern of South Africa was the protection of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, which was [...]

2008-09-01

Today the new Zimbabwe currency devalued to one South African cent. Issued just a month ago at parity with the Rand, it was a desperate move by the regime in Harare to try and meet the demand for cash in an environment where the local currency is halving in values every week or less.
Even though [...]

2008-08-27

When Tsvangirai refused to sign the agreement already approved by both Mugabe and Mutambara two weeks ago, it is sure that the one person who was not surprised was Mugabe. He knew from the beginning that Tsvangirai would never agree to the post of Prime Minister with responsibility but no power.
In fact the wily old [...]

2008-08-23

Dear Family and Friends,
Our days and weeks blur into ongoing nightmare as we reel from one crisis to another. I’m not talking about the politics of our country where talks have either collapsed or stalled, or become corrupted - at this time it’s not really clear what is happening. The only hint we are getting [...]

I think the most significant contribution to the Zimbabwe debate came from a South Africa ANC stalwart, Kadar Asmal, last week. In a speech delivered in South Africa, he stated that the democrats who have struggled so long to secure democratic rights and practices in Zimbabwe and who clearly won the last election despite irregularities, [...]

2008-08-17

I watched Mugabe last night at the SADC Summit in Johannesburg as he listened to the Zambian Foreign Minister lambaste him for his disregard for any sort of democratic principles in his effort to hold onto power. Mugabe had his eyes nearly closed, the camera was focused right up close and you could see his [...]

2008-08-06

In fiscal year 2005, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership was established to eliminate terrorist safe havens in northwest Africa by strengthening countries’ counterterrorism capabilities and inhibiting the spread of extremist ideology.
Funds obligated for TSCTP in fiscal years 2005 through 2007 and committed for fiscal year 2008 by the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for [...]

2008-04-26

On Wednesday, US Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced a new federal strategy in the fight against international organized crime that will address this growing threat to the US security and stability.
The Law Enforcement Strategy to Combat International Organized Crime was developed following an October 2007 International Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOC Threat Assessment) [...]

2008-03-06

Somalia has lacked a functioning central government since 1991. In December 2006, the Ethiopian military intervened in Somalia to support Somalia’s transitional government, opening what many considered a window of opportunity to rebuild the country and restore effective governance.
The United States has been the largest bilateral donor to Somalia, providing roughly $362 million in [...]

2008-01-12

Many people who observe the Zimbabwe situation fail to recognise that Mr Mugabe has made several serious errors of judgment in the past year - errors that, in my view, will cost him the Presidency in 2008. For the purpose of this missive I will deal with each of those errors of judgment in sequence, [...]

2008-01-07

Ghana’s President John Kufuor is expected to travel to Kenya this week to help resolve the escalating violence that has plunged Kenya into a political crisis. This comes after Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki sent an envoy to brief the Ghanaian president, who is also chairman of the African Union on the current situation in Kenya. [...]

2007-12-21

by Jim Kouri, CPP
A Crespatown, Maryland man was sentenced on Friday to 50 years in prison for two counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography.
William Edward Wray, II, was sentenced before US District Judge Richard D. Bennett to 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, announced [...]

2007-12-20

President Umaru Yar’Adua took office in May with pledge to urgently address critical issues like growing insurgency in oil-producing region, uncertain power supply, crumbling infrastructure

2007-12-01

by Jim Kouri, CPP
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress has provided about $542.9 billion, as of May 2007, to the US Department of Defense for the Global War on Terrorism. That figure doesn’t include the amount spent on domestic security operations and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
Prior reports have found [...]

2007-11-29

An Ohio man has been sentenced to serve ten years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, according to an announcement on Tuesday by Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nuradin M. Abdi, 35, a Somali national living in Columbus, Ohio, was named in a four-count [...]

2007-11-28

A British teacher working in Sudan was arrested on Sunday after parents allegedly complained that she had insulted Islam by naming a teddy bear Muhammad. She faces a possible six months in prison, 40 lashes, or a fine.

A blasphemous bear?
Gillian Gibbons, 54, who had arrived at Khartoum’s Unity High School in August, polled the six [...]

2007-11-26

by Jim Kouri, CPP
In the United States, Tuberculosis infection and disease occur most often among people born in areas of the world where TB is common, such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In most cases, these foreign-born persons become exposed to and infected in their country of birth and bring the contagious disease into [...]

2007-11-02

Oprah Winfrey’s heart was in the right place. She used a significant portion of her abundant wealth to start the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa earlier this year.
The $40 million facility would give about 150 students from disadvantaged families a quality education and, ultimately, a better life. Unpretentious as always, [...]

2007-07-16

Erica Powell OBE, who was the Private Secretary to Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana and later to Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone, died last month at the age of 86. She died at Peterborough on June 5, 2007. She was made an MBE in 1958 and OBE in 1960.
Erica was born on March 15, [...]