Africa

By William R. Polk With everyone’s attention focused either on the European elections, President Obama’s speech at West Point or the Ukraine, a story by Eric Schmitt in The International New York Times of Tuesday, May 27, 2014 may not have caught your attention. I believe, however, that it provides an insight into some of […]

Africa

Preying on the Weak: Like Big Tobacco, Big Oil Targets Developing Countries

contributors

By Michael T. Klare via Tomdispatch.com In the 1980s, encountering regulatory restrictions and public resistance to smoking in the United States, the giant tobacco companies came up with a particularly effective strategy for sustaining their profit levels: sell more cigarettes in the developing world, where demand was strong and anti-tobacco regulation weak or nonexistent. Now, […]

Africa

Nigeria’s Boko Haram Crisis: What the Drones Can’t See

contributors

By Allan Christelow On the night of April 14-15 2014, militants from the group known as Boko Haram broke into the dormitory of a secondary school in the town of Chibok, in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, and abducted some 300 girls who were scheduled to take exams the following morning. Some of the girls […]

Egypt

Top 5 Wars on Religious Extremism in Today’s Muslim World

Juan Cole

The Fox News commentators who say that the Muslim world is not doing enough to police its own extremist movements don’t actually seem to be reading the news. If anything in a number of countries they’ve gone overboard with a Bush style ‘war on terror.’ To wit: 1. On Wednesday, the commander of Libya’s Air […]

Africa

Sudan judge orders Christian woman to hang for apostasy

Juan Cole

A Sudanese judge on Thursday sentenced a heavily pregnant Christian woman to hang for apostasy, a ruling which Britain denounced as “barbaric” and left the United States “deeply disturbed”. Born to a Muslim father, the woman was convicted under the…

Africa

Boko Haram attack kills hundreds as Nigeria offers reward for girls

Juan Cole

Boko Haram attack kills hundreds as Nigeria offers reward for girls (via AFP) A new Boko Haram massacre has killed hundreds in Nigeria’s northeast, a senator said Wednesday, as police offered $300,000 dollars for information leading to the rescue of more than 200 schoolgirls held hostage by the Islamists. The latest insurgent… —– Channel […]

Africa

Boko Haram and the Lord’s Resistance Army: Hunted Children & the Problem of Fundamentalism in Africa

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The horrific story of the kidnapping of nearly 300 girls from their school in Borno Province, northeastern Nigeria, by the Boko Haram terrorist group has again underlined the problem of violent fundamentalism in Africa. Reports say more kidnappings have been undertaken today. Boko Haram, which was founded in 2002, has many resemblances […]

Africa

Triumph of the Immigrant American Spirit: Meb Keflezighi and the Boston Marathon

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Yesterday Boston responded with its vigorous spirit of community and transcendence to the cowardly terrorism that marred the Boston Marathon in 2013, coming out in record numbers for the 2014 event. The fastest man in the competition is being touted as the first American male to win since 1983. But of course […]

Africa

Kenya’s Green Economy will Generate $45 Billion by 2030, Build Climate Resilience and Boost Food Security

Juan Cole

(UNEP) Nairobi, April 2014 – Kenya’s transition to a green economy could produce major economic benefits – equivalent to an estimated USD 45 billion by 2030 – as well as greater food security, a cleaner environment and higher productivity of natural resources, according to a new study launched Tuesday by the Government of Kenya and […]