Africa
Africa
Fair Observer provides insightful and informed analysis of important issues, events and trends on the African continent.
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360° Analysis / Algerian War / Colonialism / Extremism / France / Informed Comment / Islam / Juan Cole / Muslims / Russia / Stalin / terrorism / Tsar / United States / World War 1 / World War 2 / Europe / Middle East / Africa / Global Security / AsiaBy Juan ColeTerrorism is a tactic of extremists within each religion, and within secular religions of Marxism or nationalism. No religion, including Islam, preaches indiscriminate violence against innocents, argues Juan Cole. Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States. As for political violence, people of Christian heritage in the 20th Century polished off tens of millions of people in the two world wars and colonial repression. This massive carnage did not occur because European Christians are worse than or different from other human beings, but...
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Ban Ki Moon / carbon dioxide / Carbon Emissions / climate change / Cristina Simonetti / greenhouse gases / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Global Change / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / Environment & SustainabilityAs the last significant climate change conference took place six months ago, it is essential to observe developments and create awareness about the issue. Background It was not until after the efforts of a few highly committed scientists in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Hubert Lamb in England and J. Murray Mitchell in the US, that climate change was accepted as a scientific concept. Today, however, the issue is no longer about finding proof, but solutions. At the simplest level, we can define weather as what is happening to the atmosphere at any given time, while climate is what would be expected to occur at any given time of the year based on statistics built up over a long period of time....
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Economic Development / Ethiopia / India / Indonesia / Lee-Roy Chetty / Mobile Technology / Nigeria / Social Development / Wireless Technology / Focus Article / Global Change / Africa / Asia / Science & TechnologyMobile technology offers extensive help on various forms of social and economic development. Lee-Roy Chetty explores why such initiatives can have a positive impact in Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, and beyond. Technological innovation and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) represent a way for developing world nations to foster economic development, improve levels of education and training, as well as address gender issues within society. Entrepreneurship is crucial for economic development around the world. In countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Indonesia, micro-entrepreneurs generate 38% of the gross domestic product. Analysis from the World Bank in 2011 indicates that small...
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360° Analysis / April 6th / Arab Spring / Cairo Art / Egyptian Revolution / Egyptian Uprising / Essam Hanafi / Hosni Mubarak / Makhlouf / Marie-Jeanne Berger / Arts & Culture / Middle East / AfricaMarie-Jeanne Berger looks at the (post)revolutionary art scene rising from the streets of downtown Cairo. I’ll Die Anyways “I feel lucky that I as an artist haven’t been persecuted during the time of Mubarak,” says Egyptian cartoonist Makhlouf. “Not like [assassinated Palestinian cartoonist] Naji al-Ali, or [imprisoned and released illustrator] Essam Hanafi. But I also think that if it happened, it means you are stronger than them. I’ll die anyways. If I die and am influential in society, that’s okay.” Makhlouf, who uses only his first name, is the co-founder of Tok Tok, an illustrated magazine. The publication is one of many local initiatives...
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360° Analysis / Africa / African Change / developing world / economy / Lee-Roy Chetty / Socio-Economic Development / Sub-Saharan Africa / Finance & Economics / Global Change / AfricaAfter a decade of disappointing progress on development, many people attributed Africa’s poor performance to persistent governance failures. Today, the picture is changing dramatically. Africa is the second most populous continent after Asia. Its current population of nearly 1 billion people is expected to rise to 2.2 billion over the next 40 years. Between 2000 and 2010, GDP grew at 5.6% a year, topping 7% in 2002, 2004 and 2007 respectively. The global economic crisis of 2008 continues to affect the continent, particularly resource-rich countries. Growth in sub-Saharan Africa slowed to 2.8% in 2009 as international banks cut back on letters of credit to exporters. Demand for exports...
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360° Analysis / Africa / China / diversification / Dubai / Economic growth / governance / Leadership / Solomon Appiah / Finance & Economics / AfricaAs Africa's economy continues to grow, questions arise over how to make that growth sustainable. The World Bank released the latest Africa’s Pulse Volume 7 on April 15, 2013. It reports that Africa has maintained impressive growth momentum as well as having made progress towards the Millenium Development Goals. Another highlight of the report includes a graph on the fastest growing economies which depict a number of African countries outperforming China and India in terms of economic growth. This growth is making a dent in poverty on the continent but not as deep as we would like to see. The growth phenomenon is not new. The IMF World Economic Outlook 2012 declared...
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Best of the Month / Egypt / European Union / Glenn Carle / India / North Korea / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaFair Observer's five best articles of April. It is already the end of April and 2013 is speeding up fast. Boston has suffered the tragedy of a bombing, Italy finally has a government, New Zealand and France have legalized gay marriage, Syria continues to implode, and the North Korean drama seems to be simmering down. Obama's budget continues to upset many people and the battle for gun control rages on in the US. Margaret Thatcher, an iconic British leader, died at the age of 87. The Economist called her a freedom fighter because she championed free markets when her Big Bang unleashed the City of London to emerge as a rival to Wall Street. Yet, the August 1843 publication...
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Arab Human Development / Arab World / economy / Foreign Direct Investment / Jean AbiNader / Private Sector / Unemployment / World Bank / WTO / Finance & Economics / Focus Article / Middle East / AfricaJean AbiNader analyzes the newest World Bank report on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The World Bank has issued its fourth volume in the series Jobs for Shared Prosperity – Time for Action in the Middle East and North Africa. Well over 300 pages, the study provides its five main messages separately for those who need a super condensed summary. Reading through the messages, I noticed how clear it is that very few results can be achieved without strategies that integrate the resources and talents of the public and private sectors. Drawing on my experiences across the MENA region, there is much to be gained from cross-border sharing of best practices regardless...
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360° Analysis / Chris Ogbondah / Nigeria Media Freedom / Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) / Politics / ThisDay / Arts & Culture / AfricaAlthough Nigeria’s civilian government has adopted many methods of suppressing the free media from its military predecessors, Chris Ogbondah argues that the crushing brutality of the dictatorship years has subsided – albeit with disturbing exceptions. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. Physical attacks on media houses, as well as the assault and killing of journalists, highlight the recurring violence against Nigerian journalists and partly explains why the Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), listed Nigerian police as one of the worst 40 press predators in the world in 2010. For example, on August 30, 2003, security officers of...