[IRIN] Nairobi -In a new column, Christopher Horwood, who has worked in humanitarian and development aid for over three decades and is the founding coordinator of the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat (RMMS) in Nairobi, Kenya, urges EU leaders to rethink their contradictory approach to irregular migration.
[African Arguments] Review of: Harry Verhoeven, Water, Power and Civilization in Sudan: The Political Economy of Military-Islamist Statebuilding, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
[UN News] The capacity of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) to fulfil its mandate rests on "persistent engagement" with the authorities, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the Mission, Martin Kobler, told the Security Council today.
[The Journalist] The riches that lie buried beneath the soil, the bounty of the oceans and our countless other resources are a blessing and a curse. Throughout history there have been powers eager to grab as much as they can while giving back as little as possible. In recent times the tensions in the mining industry exploded into the Marikana tragedy. Next week at the Durban Film Festival a documentary that is making waves internationally brings it down to a standoff between two cousins and the titanium of the pristine
[JusticeInfo.net] The Democratic Republic of Congo government and United Nations peacekeepers should "urgently act to arrest the rebel leader Sylvestre Mudacumura and transfer him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague", says Human Rights Watch. It said forces under Mudacumura's command continue to be implicated in serious abuses against civilians in eastern DRC.
[African Arguments] The UK's decision to ban Khat a year ago surprised many in the country who had not heard of the drug - let alone were aware that there was a campaign to stop its use. However, for those familiar with the cultures of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and in particular Somalia and Yemen, the leafy plant Khat acts as a stimulant, commonly chewed by men.
[UN News] The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of the Organization's interim peacekeeping force in Abyei - a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan - as part of ongoing efforts to maintain peace and protect civilians in the disputed territory.
[Chatham House] Tanzania's next president will need to balance political and economic stability while delivering change for the country's expectant youth.
[IRIN] Nairobi -Burundi's political crisis is centred on a leader who is refusing to leave office after almost 10 years. The man sent in to mediate has been in power for almost 30. Apart from that irony, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's arrival in Bujumbura underlines just how high the stakes are for regional leaders.
