Patrick Smith
Pan Pacifico Conference Centre
Yokohama
Japan
Kunichiwa Confidentialers,
The strains of Senegal's star musician Youssou N'dour singing 'Seven Seconds' wafted through the conference centre here yesterday as Japan's grand African jamboree opened. Fellow ...
Patrick Smith
Nigeria's post-election crisis has taken a very different turn from Kenya's. Unlike Kenya's thwarted politicians, Nigeria's opposition leaders are contesting the election results through the courts and this time seem to be confident of success – even if ...
Patrick Smith
Wednesday 16 January 2008
The AC Office
Farringdon Road,
London
Dear Confidentialers,
As you all will have read, the New Year has started badly in Kenya. Breaking with tradition, I am writing this letter and account of the election debacle jointly with a...
Patrick Smith
Tuesday 23 October 2007
United Nations Secretariat
New York City
USA
Dear Confidentialers,
A whirlwind trip through New York and Washington this week shows that Africa has moved up the diplomatic and economic agenda - despite the Iraq-Iran obsessions h...
Patrick Smith
Recently in New York,
11 October 2007
Dear Confidentialers,
In those days when grown hacks used to fight over datelines and the scrupulousness of sub-editors ruled, a favorite dateline would start with the words 'recently in...' followed by some interes...
Patrick Smith
27 August 2007
Lagos
Dear Confidentialers,
First of all, a belated apology for the long time, no write. Back at maison Africa Confidential, I've been working with colleagues on a couple of new projects. Firstly, we will be launching a new publication...
Patrick Smith
Black Star Square
Accra
Ghana
Dear Confidentialers,
This is where it all started just over 50 years ago with Ghana's declaration of independence from the British colonial authorities and founding President Kwame Nkrumah announcing his vision of a United...
Patrick Smith
Volume 48 No 12
Paris,
Thursday
Dear Confidentialers,
Here in the city of light, the most dramatic news about last week's G8 summit in Heiligendamm was the release on the internet of a video showing France's new President Nicolas Sarkozy holding a press...
Patrick Smith
20 May 2007
Shangcheng Road
Pu Dong
China
Dear Confidentialers,
It's been a week of supersonic statistics and global asymmetry here in Shanghai, which this week hosted one of the most successful annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to...
Patrick Smith
Luxembourg Gardens
Paris,
France
Dear Confidentialers,
After sending another Africa Confidential to the printers in the smallish hours of Thursday morning, I jumped on a Eurostar on a mission to see President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy spend an uncomfortable...
