Africa

“Small solar home systems bring good quality light and phone-charging to off-grid households and save them money. Yet their upfront costs render them out of reach for the people who would benefit most from them. UK-based startup Azuri has developed a pay-as-you-go interface which allows households [in Kenya and East Africa] to pay for solar […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel’s District 9: Its Biggest Ethnic Cleansing since 1948

Juan Cole

30,000 Palestinian-Israelis of Bedouin heritage are are being forcibly transferred by the Israeli government, and thousands of acres of their land is being stolen from them. The 972 article compares it to Apartheid South Africa’s District 6, the inspiration for the film, “District 9” The Palestinian-Israelis are mounting big protests today. Aljazeera English reports Amjad […]

Africa

Obama at Soweto University: New Generation of Africans taking its Place on World Stage

Juan Cole

President Obama’s address at Soweto University, via Channel 4 News:

Africa

Seven things you can learn from Mandela’s Life (CNN Video)

Juan Cole

CNN/Buzzfeed review the 7 things we can learn from the life of Nelson Mandela.

Africa

Goree, Senegal’s Notorious Slave Island (Video) (President Obama’s Itinerary)

Juan Cole

Here is a UNESCO documentary on Gorée, the Slave Island off Senegal,: which President Obama and his family are visiting during their visit to that country. Although the island was itself a relatively minor point of departure for slaves, who were more often sent off from St. Louis to the north, it stands as a […]

Africa

Will Mali get back stolen Timbuktu Manuscripts?

Juan Cole

A trove of three boxes of rare manuscripts from Timbuktu has turned up near the Algerian border and seems likely to be returned to its original library. Timbuktu was a major intellectual center for the Muslim world during the past millennium, with its scholars producing loads of books on a whole range of subjects, from […]

Afghanistan

Obama: US will Continue its Targeted Killing with Drones (Woods)

Juan Cole

Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism Barack Obama has made it clear that the US will continue with its controversial targeted killing programme. In a major speech the US president also announced that he has signed into force a new – and secret – rule book for lethal action that provides ‘clear […]

Africa

US Covert Drone War in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia – Jan. Update (Woods et al.)

Juan Cole

Chris Woods, Jack Serle and Alice K Ross write at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism Yemen was hit by the highest number of airstrikes in one month since June 2012, though none have been formally confirmed as US operations. No US operations were reported in Somalia. The United Nations also launched a major investigation into […]

Africa

Algeria’s Botched Rescue Leaves Dozens of Hostages Dead, Angers West

Juan Cole

Reuters reports that the Algerian government’s intervention against the hostage crisis at a BP natural gas plant in southern Algeria has left 30 of the hostages dead. British Prime Minister David Cameron seemed visibly upset with the hamfisted Algerian operation, and British foreign ministry officials complained about not having been warned the operation was coming. […]