Group items tagged

This article announced Zimbabwe's bid to host an African soccer tournament called the Nations Cup in 2017. The ability of Zimbabwe to hold such a tournament shows how much the country has advanced economically since its early independence days. This relates to our studies about Africa, because it shows Zimbabwe's progress until the now.

This article is about how Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe plan to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Zimbabwe is considering using finances from Zambia or another South African nation. This article relates to our reading because it shows how Robert Mugabe is using finances incorrectly and also tells about another failure of Zimbabwe which was about the 2000 Nations Cup which failed in Zimbabwe because they failed to follow schedule. 

This article explains the recent deal just made between Zimbabwe and Russia which states that Russia will supply the investment funds for the largest platinum mine in Zimbabwe. President Mugabe expects the mine to create 8,000 jobs and it will be a smart move for the nation. This article is important because it shows that the African nations are trying to get out of their debt.

This article was focused around the DRC president's quick speech given to the UN on terrorism and Ebola affecting global development and of course the development of his own nation. He stressed the DRC's policy of peace keeping and how the situation against terrorism is not in their favor right now. This article basically reinforced everything I just learned about the DRC including their terrorism and Ebola problems.

This article basically highlighted that South Africa will be donating about 24 million dollars for Ebola-affected countries. South Africa has already committed 3 million dollars to the fund, and wishes to finish the donation as soon as possible.

This article talks about the possibility for Somaliland to vote like Scotland recently did to become independent. It discusses the pros and cons of different political actions the government could take to try to achieve international recognition. This relates to our discussion about Somaliland and its failure to be recognized by other countries.

This article compares Somaliland to Scotland, because Scotland just had a vote on becoming independent from the UK, just as Somaliland would like to be recognized as independent of Somalia. The article says that in a vote for a constitution, 97% of people voted in favor of becoming a full independent state. This relates to our studies, because it shows the nationalism of Somaliland.

This article details Somaliland's struggle to gain recognition as an independent country to foreign powers. Foreign countries said that they would recognize Somaliland as such if they worked it out with Somalia. Negotiations between the two fell apart twice before: the first time because there was not a strong central government in Somalia, the second time because Somalia blatantly disregarded cooperation with Somaliland. However, the writer believes that the time is ripe for Somaliland to seek recognition as an independence country once again, for issues such as Scotland seeking independence from the United Kingdom are fresh in the public memory. This relates to NPR's Somaliland story because the fact that these efforts continue to this day show the strong nationalism that the people of Somaliland feel for their country.

This article shows how the British oil company Soco is exploiting Africa's oldest national park to search for oil and how they committed illicit acts along the way. Among these acts are paying a park ranger to spy on the National Park's chief warden, attacking park rangers that oppose Soco, and intimidating people with fear and violence to let them proceed with their work. These people are "vampires" as described in the CNN article--foreign people who exploit African resources.

This article described Zimbabwe's financial situation which is that they owe the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $142 million and they can not loan Zimbabwe anymore money until the current debt is paid of. This really opened my eyes to how serious the debt of African nations is.

On September 18, an international conference directed at renovating Somali National army and improving security in Somalia is being held in London. Prime Minister Abdiweli is supplying details of security expansions including the successes of government forces in seizing areas from Al-Shabaab and the need to build strong Somali forces capable of taking over security from the more than 20,000 military forces. Somalia's government will outline its vision for the development of the national army and the pathways for alliance of regional militias, adherence with the arms embargo, economic planning and human rights agreement.

This article discusses bringing peace to DRC. There has been a genocide in the DRC that has been going on for 129 years with over 6 million deaths. This relates to the articles because it talks about the physical rape of women and children and how the children are forced to kill, work in the mines, and become addicted to drugs, thus ruining their childhood.

This article talks about the problem of rape in in Congo--Kinshasa. The article goes on to say that the DRC is being "raped of resouces", and that the currents events are a "rape of a nation" which of course would be the DRC.

This article talks about both the literal and figurative rape occurring within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Women have been raped, leaving mental scars, and the country suffers from exploitation of its resources and corruption (the figurative rape). Empowerment of women and stronger government institutions are needed to resolve these problems. This relates to many issues in the activity: rape of women, exploitation of resources, and corrupt government, all within the DRC.

Rescue workers identified 62 of the 84 South Africans killed in the Nigeria building collapse. The building is a guesthouse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) at Ikotun in Lagos. The collapse is currently being thought of as an accident.

This article discusses how Al Shabaab has named a new leader, Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah, after Ahmed Godane was killed in a US airstrike. The article mentions the group's acts of terror in Somalia and beyond, but says that the group suffered a huge loss with the death of its leader. This relates to the packet since it discusses Al Shabaab and some of its acts of terror in and outside of Somalia.

After the death of the Al-Shabaab leader, Ahmed Godane, the terror group has announced its new leader. The group states that even without Godane, the actions of Al-Shabaab will continue as usual. This relates to our studies, because the Al-Shabaab is a terror group that is active in Kenya and other nations in Africa that we are studying.

This article discusses the challenges that the DRC faces and offers solutions to these major problems. The author states that problems like rape and child soldiers are a global issue, since the rich minerals and rainforests in the Congo affect industries all over the world. The only way to unite Africa is to fix the Congo. This article discusses how strong, just government where its people have a say can end this conflict and fix the broken country. This relates to Part F because it discusses some of the continuing conflict in the region, including rape and corruptness, and offers solutions to these problems.

On September 9, Somali refugees in Kenya are facing threats to their security and rights. Refugees International has called upon the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) to enlarge its efforts to protect the Somali refugees. The UNHCR was called to increase its staff in Kenya in order to uphold its urban refugee policy, and on Kenya to sustain its obligations under the agreement between Kenya and Somali governments.

The National Railway of Zimbabwe's entire railway system has been ruined to a point where enginemen have to fall back on using cellphones to communicate. This system is becoming a hazard for travelers because there are no available signals for trains.

Famine is nearing Somalia. After a year of little rain and heavy fighting, millions of people are at risk. There have also been many people trying to escape the country due to the al-Shabab militants. They have prevented food from traveling roads. Another famine would also jeopardize the fragile process of rebuilding Somalia. This relates to the article about the terror of al-Shabab militants and how they are controlling the residents in Somalia.

Somalia is very close to reaching a famine that would deplete the population of Somalia by nearly one million. Many people in Somalia have already been considered on the brink of famine, and are very hungry. Currently people are asking for $1 billion to help the people of Somalia, but it is more likely that they will get around $313 million.

This article talks about the food shortages in Somalia. This connects to the issue that if America has strict restrictions on areas that the Shabab are in, then the innocent civilians cannot receive the aid they need.

The National Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo has shown its refusal of all attempts to amendment Article 220 of the Constitution of 2006 that currently provides for repeated rotation in the presidency after two terms of office. The Church has gone further to eliminate its participation in a religious committee to follow up arrangements of elections called on priests to transmit the message of the conference to all Christians for them to stand up against all attempts to amend the Constitution.

This article shows that the religion of the people is a valuable asset fro propaganda. The church rejects all attempts to amend the constitution, specifically areas involving the rotation of presidents after 2 terms. The presidential majority in the country want to amend the constitution to allow their president to serve 3 terms. This article relates to our discussion by showing that authoritarian rulers tend to want to stay in power, and other will resist.

This article talks about protests against a constitutional amendment that would force leaders out of office after two terms. This has been a problem with Congo-Kinshasa in the past, and it is being put in the spot-light.

Although South Africa is developing quickly and may be Africa's most advanced country, the youth unemployment rate has drastically soared to about 36%. Many people believe that the youth unemployment statistic is more accurately 50%. In addition, the brand new parliament in this nation is at "war with itself," in that there is a disagreement in socialist and capitalist views. Some believe that the new method will not work or pay off and the country should return to the previous socialist system.

A new requirement, states that parents, regardless of nationality, must produce unabridged birth certificates for children travelling with them. Also, one parent travelling with a child must have the written consent of the other parent or a court order granting them legal guardianship.

This article discusses piracy in Somalia. It states that the reason that piracy became a large threat in the first place was the chaos that remains in the failed state. While piracy has been declining lately, some believe that the pirates are only waiting until ships stop arming themselves before they attack again. This relates to Part D since it discusses the illicit activities that continue to go on due to the anarchy in Somalia.