SOMALIAHORN OF AFRICA A threat to the Horn and beyond 8th September 2006 Rising tension between the regimes of President Yusuf and Chairman Aweys could escalate into a regional war Despite two impressive-looking agreements on security in Somalia this week, the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the crisis are poor. For now there is little middle ground, let alone appetite for sharing power between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) under President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in Baidoa and the Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SICC) under Sheikh Hassan Dahir 'Aweys' in Mogadishu. On 4 September in Sudan, the TFG and SICC agreed in talks held under the auspices of the Arab League to reconstitute the Somali national army and police force, and to work towards the integration of the forces of the Islamic Courts, the TFG and other armed factions. Talks on political relations between the two sides were scheduled for late October in Khartoum.
SOMALIAARMS Mission Mogadishu 8th September 2006 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site An American private security company, Select Armor, has been planning military operations in support of President Abdullahi Yusuf's Transitional Federal Government in Somalia and r...
SOUTH AFRICAMINING Heading north 8th September 2006 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Africa's biggest gold-mining company is now a prime takeover target South Africa's giant Anglo American Corporation (AAC) is moving away from its African roots. It is restructuring and may be taken over by an American corporation. It controls Anglo...
SOUTH AFRICA New powers, new policy 8th September 2006 The government reshapes strategy to address new political realities - and life after Thabo Mbeki A growing and diversified economy, a liberal constitution, a big army and residual post-apartheid moral high ground makes Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) a natural centre for African d...
CAMEROON Biya goes on and on 8th September 2006 The President's inaction keeps Cameroon peaceful, but far from prosperous President Paul Biya, an expert at staying in power, has presided over two decades of economic and social disaster. Many think him the main obstacle to political and economic reform...
BURUNDI Dubious coup 8th September 2006 Opposition leaders are rounded up after claims of a plot to kill the President Efforts at national reconciliation are threatened by the arrest and maltreatment of opposition leaders after the government claimed that there was a plot to overthrow it and to ass...
SUDANBRITAIN Gosh again 8th September 2006 As the Sudan government gears up for a massive new military offensive in Darfur, its intelligence chief Salah Abdullah 'Gosh' has again held secret talks in Britain, apparently abo...
ZAMBIACHINA A bull in China's shop 8th September 2006 With its threat to cut diplomatic ties with Zambia if Michael Sata, the opposition leader, wins the 28 September general elections, China has at last lost its political virginity i...
GAMBIA Easy for Jammeh 8th September 2006 The opposition has dashed its hopes of victory by failing to field a single candidate. The two rival alliances stand almost no chance against President Yahya Jammeh in the national...
