The BBC asks whether burning charcoal contributes to climate change in Africa.
VOA looks at the continued effects of flooding in West Africa, and the possibility that the end of the rainy season will cause more problems. Amidst the flooding coverage, it’s worth pointing out an under-reported story as well: the aid that North African countries like Tunisia are giving to Mauritania and others of their neighbors to the south. Morocco offered aid to Niger and Burkina Faso earlier this month.
In Chad, the “Association of the victims of the political crimes and repression in Chad under the regime of Hissène Habré (AVCRP)” calls upon Senegal, the former leader’s current residence, to bring Habre to trial.
Venezuela’s Chavez woos African leaders this weekend at a summit in the Caribbean.
Chavez hopes to widen anti-U.S. alliances [...], but his radicalism and Brazil’s greater economic clout put limits on his appeal.
The anti-empire message of the socialist former soldier is shared by leaders like Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, while his nationalist oil policies have drawn interest from fellow OPEC members such as Nigeria and Angola.
But big economic players in the region, especially South Africa, are more inclined to work with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, analysts say. Popular with the poor and business, he also has the weight of an emerging world power.
Dozens of leaders from the two continents are expected on the Venezuelan island of Margarita for the two-day Second Africa-South America summit starting on Saturday.
The summit will also look to create a united front in future talks to increase developing countries’ weight in the International Monetary Fund and other global institutions.
Chavez, who is of African and American Indian descent, would like Venezuela to be as important to Africa as Cuba was for years under his mentor Fidel Castro.
And finally, some perspectives on Somalia’s Puntland: IRIN discusses chronic insecurity for IDPs in Galkayo and elsewhere, while J. Peter Pham argues for “engagement” with the region.
