"The Government of Seychelles invited us here to fight against piracy and that is its mission. However, these aircraft have a great deal of capabilities and could be used for other missions... that is always a possibility" - Craig White, US Embassy Mauritius deputy chief of mission

Sometimes the best information does not come from the media, but right from the government. This past week in Victoria the capital of the beautiful Seychelles, the AFRICOM website released a recap of a public overview of the unmanned aircraft the MQ-9 (pictured above). The unmanned aircraft carries nor drops any arms and apparently there are "no plans" to do so. Spokesman Vince Crawley did not limit the drones to tracking pirates, but other missions may include "flights over Somalia to track Islamist militants fighting to overthrow a government backed by the US, the United Nations and the African Union".

 

"But our situation in Somalia is different, we were attacked in our own home. I haven’t attacked Ethiopia or Kenya. I live in thecountry where I was born and where I have been subjected to all sorts ofatrocities. We are defending ourselves against our external enemies whoattacked us. Even animals defend themselves. If you lock a cat in a room, beat it up, and block its exit- then it will

 

 The fall premiere of PBS' Masterpiece Contemporary Theatre this past week was a film entitled Endgame. It outlines the secret negotiations between the white minority led apartheid regime and the ANC (African National Congress). The discussions begin thanks to a British business executive, Michael Young, who is concerned with losing assets in a diamond company. Young enlists deputy representative, Thabo Mbeki to the president of the ANC, Oliver Tambo, to be the voice for the ANC. Finding people to take with Mbeki was Young's challenge as the ANC was being depicted as violent and dangerous at this time, which is arguably true. Fortunately, Young is able to find voices to speak for the whites, among them Professor Willie Esterhuyse.

Just this past week, the remains of bodies from the Rwandan Genocide were unearthed in the northern part of Tanzania. During the genocide bodies were thrown into tributaries of the grand Lake Victoria in Rwanda, which eventually enter into Tanzania. It has been reported that upwards of nine hundred and seventeen bodies were thrown into rivers and ended up in Tanzania.

Tanzanian nationals, mainly local farmers, took responsibility for taking care of the remnants. However, now that the bodies have been re-discovered, Rwanda and Tanzania are seeking how to appropriately deal with the bodies that did not receive a proper burial. There is discussion that perhaps a memorial might be the best solution. Whatever is done, it is just another reminder for a region that has had to deal with violence as a part of everyday life. 

"This is the simple truth of time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world's health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere...I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story."                            

-Excerpt from President Barack Obama's Address to Ghanaian Parliament in Accra on July 11th, 2009

It is always suprising to log onto www.nytimes.com and find a story from Africa as the top story. What is not suprising is the subject matter, whether corrupt elections, bloody civil wars or terrorists. In this case, the headline reads, "Key Militant in Somalia Killed in U.S. Attack". The article goes on to mention how Aden Hashi Aryo is one of "Al-Qaeda's top operatives in Iraq" and is one of

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." -Charles Darwin

I was perusing the AFRICOM website today and came across a few interesting findings, but none more so than the "Fact" Sheet of US-Africa Relations Chronology. In light of

Much of the discussion that revolves around the creation of the US African Command Center (AFRICOM) deals with the notion that the increased US interest in Africa comes at a time when Chinese development and economic exploration in Africa is at an all-time high. Despite the US downplaying this claim, there is no doubt that China is still very interested in investing in Africa. Just today, a few news releases back up this claim, and convey both a positive and negative appreciation for China.

This past Wednesday in Congress, the Pentagon, with the backing of high-ranking government officials, pushed for the ability to have the authority to train and equip foreign militaries. Although the article focused on the positive implications this would have on various parts of the world and did not mention Africa at all, it is impossible to neglect the connection between this shift in authority and the United States African Command (Africom).

Well the answer to that question is two fold. Over the course of this election campaign, it has become very apparent that certain members  of the ESPN staff have been interested in either interviewing Obama, or even simply shouting "OBAMA" during basketball highlights whenever someone takes a three pointer. Although this seems harmless and humorous, it is not seen as that to those "in charge".

A report released from the UN Office for the Coordinating of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nairobi today attempted to simplify the reasons for the current humanitarian crisis in Somalia into three factors:

Rather than breaking down each news site individually this week, I would rather talk about the Mainstream media's coverage as a whole in relation to certain sites that exxclusively cover African news, which would thus be classified as alternative news sites.

For the second week in a row, I have found the mainstream media to have continued, up to the minute, day in day out, coverage of the

Seeing as April is sexual assault awareness month, it is important not to only just talk about the issue and the repeated occurrences that have been plaguing college campuses, but to also discuss the ways in which people are combating this issue. In my own personal opinion, I believe that the most efficient way to deal with sexual assaults is to take a more proactive approach.

Attempting to find consistent African news, specifically pertaining to the United States interests in Africa, is not as easy as it should be.

As the mainstream media's gaze shifts from Kenya to Zimbabwe, this week's anaylsis of the mainstream media's coverage of Africa has a heavy focus on the elections in Zimbabwe, allowing for little coverage of anything else. So, without further ado, here is a recap of the same six sources of news I used last week: CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, Fox News and the BBC.

A report from the Washington Post this past week outlined the continued violence and reaction to the ill-received transitional government in Somalia. Additionally, it mentioned that the US is looking into opening a new military base in Somaliland , a self-declared country in the Horn of Africa.

I know my blog has focused a great deal on Africom and the intentions of the US government in Africa, which is a very underreported story, but I do not think it is too far fetched to say that Africa itself is an underreported news story. I thought it might be interesting to do a weekly look into what the mainstream media is saying about Africa in their daily news.

A short time ago, the US government added a new Islamist group to their terrorist organization list. al-Shabaab, an Islamist group based in Somalia, was designated as fitting a terrorist profile according to the US. However, the United Nations disagrees. The UN sees al-Shabaab as an internal Somali resistance group, resisting against the US-backed invasion and occupation by Ethiopian forces.

In this entry I will briefly stray away from my African news focus to bring a few insider views on the current situation in Tibet.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this past week, according to a report by United Press International (UPI). Aimed at a "known al-Qaida terrorist," the bombings resulted in the injury of eight people. The Pentagon released a scarce amount of information, but mentioned the intent to work towards their goals while keeping their partners in the

When all you hear in the news is political unrest, massive inflation and widespread disease, it is tough to think that the future for Africa is anything but bleak. However, as Julius Coles lays out in this article, there may in fact be a reason to hold out hope for the continent.

In the following video, produced by "AfriSynergy", T. West comments on events of the past year, including the perceived "genocide" by Ethiopian forces against Somalis. It is a very complex issue, as there is certainly a degree of a tribal tension. As this video makes very clear, however, one thing remains certain: the United States is funding the Ethiopian army. Ethiopian P.M. Meles Zenawi

"In interaction and communication between people from different countries, let alone from different continents...(language) proved to lead to recurrent misunderstandings, to problems with the fine-tuning of everyday social behaviour...words- even translated- never mean the same thing to peple from different cultures or epochs, because they fit into a network of different denotations, connotations and association.
-Jaap van Ginneken, Understanding Global News: A Critical Introduction,
Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications, 1998.

As I mentioned in my previous post, President Bush recently paid an official visit to Africa. The reaction by Africans towards Bush has been fairly mixed to say the least. There is no doubt that in the appearances he has made there have been scenes of joy, which allowed one CNN correspondent to remark that Bush was being treated as a "rock star".