Africa

TeleSur | – – “In our 10-year experience as first responders in Mogadishu, we haven’t seen anything like this,” the Aamin Ambulance service posted on Twitter. Somali officials say the death toll from Saturday’s truck bombing in Mogadishu has risen to 276, with another 300 people injured. Medical personnel in the Somali capital have described […]

Afghanistan

What if we Gave Seven Wars and No Americans Noticed?

contributors

By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Consider, if you will, these two indisputable facts. First, the United States is today more or less permanently engaged in hostilities in not one faraway place, but at least seven. Second, the vast majority of the American people could not care less. Nor can it be […]

Africa

The Dragon Arrives: 1st Chinese overseas Military Base in Djibouti

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – China has just inaugurated its first military base abroad, in the tiny Red Sea country of Djibouti. Beijing has a long way to go to catch up with the United States, which is estimated to have some 800 military bases around the world. In fact, you […]

Israel/ Palestine

S. Africa ruling party will downgrade ties with Israel over Illegal Occupation

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – PRETORIA (Ma’an) — The African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party of South Africa, voted on Tuesday in favor of downgrading South Africa’s diplomatic representation in Israel in protest of the occupation. The decision, made during ANC’s National Policy Conference, was hailed as a “major victory for human rights […]

Africa

Is the European Refugee Crisis being Driven by Drought and Climate Change?

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – ROME (IPS) – Water–everybody talks about it, warns against its growing scarcity, excessive waste, the impact of climate change, the frequent severe droughts and so on. Now, a global action network with over 3,000 partner organisations in 183 countries comes to unveil the dangerous nexus […]

Desertification

20 Million People Could ‘Starve to Death’ in Next Six Months

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – ROME (IPS) – Urgent action is needed to save the lives of people facing famine in North Eastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the UN leading food and agriculture agency’s chief on April 28 warned. “If nothing is done, some 20 million people could […]

Africa

The Coming Muslim Century: Bad news for President Bannon

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Demographically, the 21st century will be the Muslim Century, as the Pew Research Center on Religion in Public Life has shown. Muslims will go from 24% of the world’s population today to 31% by 2060. I.e. they will equal the Christian population of the world by […]

Africa

Does Trump’s slashed Foreign Aid Budget give China the Advantage?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US foreign aid budget is not mainly about helping the poor. It is an instrument for buying influence in countries important to the US. The poorest countries in the world do not get much help from the US. Israel, which is a wealthy country, gets […]

Africa

Africa Trade Summit in US Had Zero Africans After Visas Denied

contributors

TeleSur | – – “This year it was 100 percent. Every delegation,” organizer Mary Flowers told the media. An African trade summit organized by the University of Southern California ended up with zero Africans as they were all denied visas to enter the United States just days before the summit despite applying months ahead of […]