Media Review for August 22, 2012

By Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Updated: 08/22/2012

Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.

Today’s News

Meles leaves behind richer, less tolerant Ethiopia
Ethiopian strongman Meles Zenawi led one of Africa’s most populous nations for more than two decades, steering it along the path of economic growth while clamping down on dissent. A towering figure in Africa’s political landscape, Prime Minister Meles died late on Monday aged 57 at an overseas hospital where he had been recovering from an undisclosed illness for two months, state-run television said on Tuesday. Reuters

Why the West backed Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has died at the age of 57, was rightly described as an important Western ally in the Horn of Africa.  Yet, he is an unlikely partner for Western democracies. A hardline Marxist-Leninist, who once believed the Soviet Union and China had sold out and looked instead to Albania, Mr Meles believed in running a tightly controlled country. BBC

Meles death: Leaders’ reaction
African and other leaders have been reacting to the news that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57. He was one of the continent’s most prominent leaders and had dominated Ethiopian politics for more than 20 years. BBC

Ethiopia’s Deputy PM Takes Over After Meles’ Death
Ethiopia’s deputy prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegne, has become the country’s acting leader after the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He is the first Protestant Christian head of government in the history of Ethiopia, and one of few southern region politicians in the Cabinet. VO

African Leader’s Death Highlights Gap Between U.S. Interests and Its Ideals
There was probably no leader on the African continent who exemplified the conflict between the American government’s interests and its highest ideals better than Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. New York Times

Militant S. Africa union marches with Bible, witchcraft
Its leaders call themselves devout Christians and say life is sacred. But its supporters march with spears, machetes and clubs and anoint themselves with magic potions to ward off police bullets. Reuters

Lonmin fears sackings could re-ignite S. Africa violence
Platinum producer Lonmin fears that sacking 3,000 striking South African mine workers, who face a Tuesday deadline to report back to their posts, could lead to more violence after police last week shot dead 34 miners in scenes reminiscent of apartheid bloodshed. Reuters

Mali Announces New Government
Mali has announced a new government of national unity, five months after a military coup ousted the country’s elected government.   The new government replaces a transitional government created in April that was plagued by infighting. VOA

Islamists Excluded from New Malian Unity Government
An official of Mali’s interim government said radical Islamists who are in control of the country’s north have no place in a new national unity government. The government, announced Monday, comprises 31 ministers, including five believed to be supporters of former coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo. VOA

Uganda government intimidating rights groups, HRW says
Rights groups in Uganda are facing increased harassment and intimidation from government officials, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.  The New York-based HRW said in a report that rising hostility from the government was making it difficult for civil society groups to freely conduct their work. CNBC

Togo police teargas opposition protesters in vote run-up
Police in Togo fired tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse thousands of opposition protesters in the capital Lome on Tuesday, as tensions over upcoming legislative elections boiled over. CNBC

Liberian president suspends son Charles Sirleaf
Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has suspended one of her sons from the post of central bank deputy governor for failing to declare his assets, her office has said.  Charles Sirleaf was among 46 officials suspended for not making the disclosure to anti-corruption officials, it said.BBC

Somalia Olympic runner ‘drowns trying to reach Europe’
A Somali Olympic athlete has reportedly drowned while attempting to reach Europe on a migrant boat. Runner Samia Yusuf Omar was trying to cross from Libya to Italy in April when the boat she was travelling in sank, according to Italian media. BBC

Nigerian police kill four kidnappers
Nigerian police said on Tuesday they killed four kidnappers in southern Edo state following a car chase where the hostage escaped, in the latest abduction in a region home to Africa’s biggest oil industry. Criminal gangs kidnapping for ransom have blighted Africa’s second largest economy for years, with the vast majority of people abducted Nigerians, although foreign oil workers have also been targets. News 24

IMF Chief in Egypt for Talks Over $3.2 Billion Aid
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is in Egypt to try to revive stalled talks over a $3.2 billion aid package for its battered economy.
Lagarde is set to meet Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his newly appointed Cabinet during two days of talks, starting Wednesday. ABC News

Egypt water causes illness, protests
Egyptian authorities and witnesses say villagers have locked the health minister and a provincial governor inside a local hospital room after allegedly contaminated water caused more than 50 residents to become ill. Health Ministry official Amr Qandil says a hospital in the Nile Delta province of Menoufia, 60km north of Cairo, on Tuesday received dozens of people vomiting, feverish and with severe cases of diarrhoea. News 24

Sudan’s destroyed plane was piloted by Russian national
The Sudanese plane that crashed in South Kordofan state on Sunday was driven by a Russian pilot, the Russian embassy in Khartoum said.  An Antonov AN-26 belonging to Alfa Airlines crashed in an accident near Taoldi airport, killing 26 people including six high ranking Sudanese government officials, military personelle and a politician. Stars & Stripes

Unamid 2 missing in Sudan’s Darfur
Two peacekeepers from the African Union-UN mission in Darfur (Unamid) have been missing since Monday, Unamid said on Tuesday, the latest incident in a region witnessing an upsurge of unrest. A brief statement from Unamid said only that “two of its peacekeepers have gone missing” from Kebkabiya town, about 140km west of the North Darfur state capital El Fasher. News 24

Algeria earmarks 6 bln USD to construct trams in 14 cities
Algeria will invest more than 447 billion DZD (6 billion U.S. dollars) to equip 14 big cities with trams, CEO of Algiers Subway Company (EMA) said Tuesday. “A financial envelop of more than 447 billion DZD is earmarked by the government in a bid to modernize public transport through the introduction of trams in several big cities countrywide,” the official, Aomar Hadbi, was quoted as saying by the official APS news agency. Xinhuanet

Ghanaian Traditional Ruler Cautions Against Campaign Insults
In Ghana, the Omanhene (king) of the New Juaben Traditional Area has called on Ghanaians to reject politicians who insult their opponents in the campaigns leading up to the scheduled December general election.

U.S Africa Command Denies Plans of Establishing in Bases in Botswana
Responding to a recent newspaper article in Botswana, U.S. Africa Command’s commanding officer, General Carter Ham, once again denied reports that the United States is seeking to establish a base or move the command’s headquarters to Botswana or anywhere else on the continent. U.S. AFRICOM

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This entry was written by Africa Center for Strategic Studies, posted on August 22, 2012 at 7:00 am, filed under Media Review and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.