How Africa’s ordinary souls ascend to power, then embrace ‘semi-divine’ tag to stifle political competition
When long-serving, neo-patrimonial leaders in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Zimbabwe and Sudan were forced to step down because of popular and youthful protests in recent years, the era of “presidents for life” in Africa seemed to be ending. Yet, for every such leader who has been forced from power, new ones...
Ukrainian revolution put Russian president in crosshairs as he resisted ‘colour-revolution’ scenarios
In 2014 Ukraine’s “revolution of dignity” culminated in the ouster of a Russian-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, and this created fear in Moscow. For Russian President Vladimir Putin the revolt in Ukraine hit too close to home. He reacted by annexing Crimea (after a referendum that violated Ukraine’s constitution), while working...
War of Surprises: Ukrainian resistance to Russian invasion has confounded military mavens world over
Some wars acquire names that stick. The Lancaster and York clans fought the War of the Roses from 1455-1485 to claim the British throne. The Hundred Years’ War pitted England against France from 1337-1453. In the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648, many European countries clashed, while Britain and France waged the...
Holocaust: Be it actual war or potential nuclear catastrophe, it’s certainly looking mighty ugly right now
In my youth, atomic war was, culturally speaking, all around us. It was even in outer space, as in the 1955 film This Island Earth in which another planet goes up in a version of radioactive flames, scaring the living hell out of the 11-year-old Thomas M. Engelhardt. So, yes,...
Everywhere in our lives there lurks the possibility we might be next victims of nuclear wipe out
Indulge me for a moment. This is how “The Prophecy” in my 1962 high school yearbook began. It was written by some of my classmates in the year we graduated from Friends Seminary in New York City. “Being an historian, I am jotting down these notes out of habit, but...
African military mission in Somalia needs $90 million to push al-Qaeda supported al Shabaab insurgents
The African Union appealed for nearly $90 million on Wednesday for its peacekeeping force in Somalia, which is providing support to its military forces battling al-Shabab extremists. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, the AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, told two reporters that the more than 19,600-strong AU force won’t...
Fact finding mission: AU set to play an enhanced role in stabilisation of war-torn eastern DR Congo
An African Union (AU) field mission spent three days in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) “obtaining first-hand information” regarding ongoing violence and attacks on civilians, particularly in the eastern part of the country. An AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) statement has it the field mission, under the leadership of...
Senegal’s resident remains ambiguous about plans to amend constitution to run for third term
Senegal’s president has rejected claims that it would be unconstitutional for him to seek a controversial third mandate, again refusing to confirm whether he plans to do so in an interview published on Monday in a French newspaper The opposition claims that Senegal’s constitution prohibits Macky Sall – who was...
Scars of American jingoism can’t fade from Iraqis collective memory, 20 years after vague war
During the more than eight-year war and ensuing years of violence after the 2011 US pull-out, more than 200,000 civilians were killed and over 9 million others displaced in Iraq. Much of the country’s infrastructure was also destroyed during the relentless bombings launched by the US-led coalition. Although 20 years...
Ukraine war: Japanese prime minister lands in Kyiv hours after Chinese president meets Russian president
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a surprise visit to Ukraine early Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighbouring Russia for a three-day visit. The duelling summits come as the long-time rivals are on diplomatic offensives. Kishida will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital. He...
