Dilemma X

National Assembly’s makeup will look vastly different By Monique Muise The Gazette MONTREAL- The ornate rooms, plush chairs and sweeping staircases of Quebec’s National Assembly will look much the same when the province’s 125 MNAs file into work in a little over a month, but that is likely where the familiarity will end. The province’s […]

Africa’s first smartphone unveiled in Republic of Congo Xinhua BRAZZAVILLE– Verone Mankou, 25, the designer of the first African touch screen, on Thursday unveiled his latest product, a smartphone which is the very first of its kind to be designed in Africa. The smartphone which was christened “elikia”, meaning “hope” in the local Lingala language, […]

Little enthusiasm for US elections in Africa Deutsche Welle Barack Obama’s election as US president in 2008 was widely welcomed in Africa. That enthusiasm has largely given way to skepticism. Many Africans today do not trust either candidate’s policies towards Africa. As US President Barack Obama and his rival, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, prepare to […]

Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his MPLA party win landslide election By Pascal Fletcher and Shrikesh Laxmidas Reuters LUANDA – Angola’s long-serving President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his MPLA party scored a landslide win on Saturday in an election criticized as one-sided and not credible by opponents and civil society activists, according […]

African central bank governors seek continental monetary integration Xinhua ALGIERS– African central banks’ governors urged here on Thursday for speeding up the process of monetary integration in Africa, as a step towards achieving the goals of creating the African Central Bank (ACB) and ultimately issuing an African single currency. Representatives from 31 African central banks, […]

Brazil to spend $23 billion on low-income housing    Xinhua   BRASILIA– Brazil has earmarked 46.7 billion Brazilian reais (about 23 billion U.S. dollars) to build low-income houses, the government gazette Diario Official said Wednesday. The housing program called “My Home, My Life” began in 2009 and is projected to conclude in 2014. According to […]

London’s Heathrow airport expansion- 3rd runway ruled out Minister hints at resignation in Heathrow airport row By Rhys Jones Reuters LONDON- Britain’s transport minister said on Tuesday she would probably resign if the government gave in to pressure to expand London’s Heathrow airport. Prime Minister Cameron’s government has ruled out building a third runway at […]

Non-Aligned Movement Summit kicks off in Tehran   By Mohammad Davari | AFP   Non-Aligned Movement leaders should take a stand against Western sanctions at a Tehran summit later this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Sunday, adding that many NAM members backed Iran’s nuclear program.   “The NAM… should seriously confront unilateral […]

AFRICOM commander to visit Botswana Victor Muyakwabo Mmegi   The commander of United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM), General Carter Ham, will visit Botswana from August 15 -16. General Ham’s visit comes at a time when the US Army is collaborating with the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) in an exercise code-named Southern Accord 12. According […]

China completes railway link to Association of Southeast Asian Nations The 88-mile Yuxi-Mengzi Railway is part of an international railway project By Xinhua in Tonghai, Yunnan (China Daily) Construction workers on Tuesday laid the last piece of a railway that will link southwest China’s Yunnan province with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. The […]