Archive for the 'Palmwine' Category

Angelique Magnifique

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo – or Angélique Kidjo – is one Africa’s greatest voices and my favorite singer. Last night we had the great fortune to experience her and her band live at Durham’s Hayti Heritage Center. Plus … a guest appearance of none other than Branford Marsalis. Yes, that Branford Marsalis. […]

R.I.P. Nelson Mandela

Thursday, December 5th, 2013

Rest in Peace, Madiba. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this […]

John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, dies at 68

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Ghana’s President, John Atta Mills died today at age 68. Mills narrowly won the presidency in 2009 and was reportedly planning to run for a second term in December. According to the BBC, mills died of throat cancer. John Dramani Mahama, his vice-president, has been sworn in as his replacement in a ceremony in the […]

M. Ouattara’s opportunity

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

In Cote D’Ivoire, it looks like the battle is coming to a head between incumbent, but reluctant-to-leave president Laurent Gbagbo, and incoming, UN-supported, supposed election-winner Alassane Ouattara. Ouattara’s supporting rebel forces have captured the capital Yamoussoukro and they reportedly have entered the country’s largest city Abidjan. Apparently the military’s support for Gbabgbo is dwindling. Hopefully […]

Congratulations, Egypt

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Historic day in Egypt! Amazing turn of events … congratulations to all those stubborn activists on Tahrir square and all over the country.

Assalaamu alaykum

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

“Peace be with you” – that’s how Barack Obama greeted the audience at Cairo University in June 2009. During his speech in the “timeless city” he said I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things:  the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; […]

Atta Mills opposes war in Côte D’Ivoire

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

Finally – a voice of reason in the presidential tug-of-war in Côte D’Ivoire: Ghana’s president Atta Mills refuses to take sides, the BBC reported on Friday. Mr Ouattara called this week for a special forces operation to remove Mr Gbagbo. But President Mills appeared to reject such an idea in a speech on Friday. “I […]

The UN supports Ouattara – now what?

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Not sure this is going to help resolve the crisis in Côte D’Ivoire: The UN Security Council has issued a statement saying that Ivory Coast opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara won the disputed presidential election. The statement came after three days of debate at the UN, in which Russia expressed concern that the UN was exceeding […]

The crisis in Côte D’Ivoire

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

As of last weekend, Côte D’Ivoire has two competing presidents: incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, and is challenger Alassane Ouattara, whom the international community considers the winner of the run-off election. The electoral commission, controlled by Ouattara’s party RDR, certified the result of the Nov. 28 runoff and declared Ouattara the winner with 54 percent of […]

Solar-powered fridges from Swaziland

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

If you have ever traveled or lived in a tropical country, you can appreciate the value of a fridge there – especially in rural areas with no access to the electrical grid. There is nothing quite like getting a cold drink from the only refrigerator within miles on a scorching hot day. However, beyond cold […]

The Touareg and the yellowcake

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

This is not just another story of how a large corporation exploits poverty in Africa to extract the wealth from African soil and make lots of money. Even if you don’t care that much about whether the Touareg people have a place to live and whether they can breathe, you might still want to pay […]

Togo election-fraud protest in DC

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Over at Au Village, Togbui posted his account of the CMAF protest in Washington, DC against the fraudulent “election” in Togo earlier this month. (Yeah – you guessed it … the ruling RPT’s candidate “won” by a landslide.) Togbui writes: We marched from the Togo embassy to the White House singing Togolese independence songs and […]

Togo diaspora demonstration in DC

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Tomorrow, the Togolese anti-RPT diaspora in the US will demonstrate to protest the ridiculous “election” that confirmed Togo’s president earlier this month.  Apparently a North Carolina representative has arranged for a meeting of representatives of the protesters with President Obama. Not that I expect much of that. Obama has got bigger fish to fry right […]

Togo votes, hopes and gets teargassed

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Surprise! The Gnassingbes did it again! 40 years in power and counting! The CENI published the “election” results and Faure Gnassingbe, son of  Togos late dictator apparently won by a landslide. To celebrate this victory he had a couple hundred protesters in Lomé teargassed. The military is in the streets of Lomé, making sure no  […]

Togo votes – and hopes

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Today is election day in Togo. The borders are closed, the military patrols the streets and 6000 polling stations are open across the west African nation. Fraud and violence marred the last election in 2005, so several hundred international observers have been deployed across the country. The hope is that this presence of observers can […]

Togo elections: a new generation emerges

Monday, March 1st, 2010

On March 4, voters in Togo for the first time ever will have a choice between two young-ish leaders, as a new generation of politicians is slowly emerging from the shadows of the aging post-colonial crop of politicians. At least they are supposed to be able to choose. Considering that the election committee that oversees […]

Togo’s team caught in the crossfire

Monday, February 1st, 2010

It was bad enough when the convoy of  Togo’s national football team was machine-gunned by a rebel army in Angola’s Cabinda Province as the team was traveling to the Cup of African Nations. Two staff members and the Angolan driver died. Several are still in the hospital and it seems clear that the whole team […]

Attack on Togo Nat’l Team in Angola

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

2010 should be a great year for African football, but so far it has come off to a bad start, after Friday’s attack on the bus of Togo’s National Team in Angola’s Cabinda Province. The team was traveling to the CAN venue in Cabinda City in a bus with a police escort. The convoy was […]

Ghana beats Brazil in Cairo

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Congratulations to Ghana’s U20 football team! At the U20 Worldcup final in Cairo on Friday Ghana beat 4-time champion Brazil despite being one player down due to a red card in the 37th Minute. Neither team scored during regulation time and overtime, and so penalty kicks decided this game. This is the first time Ghana […]

Trafigura settles with Ivorian toxic waste victims

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Not sure if this is good news or bad news: Trafigura, the company responsible for the Probo Koala toxic waste scandal 3 years ago, settled with the lawyers representing the Ivorian victims for $46 Million – that’s a little over $1,500 per person. Yes, that’s real money for most folks in Cote d’Ivoire – a […]