Presidential Rule Still Dominates African Politics; Majorities in most countries think armed forces are loyal to the president.
Byline: Magali Rheault Synopsis: Majorities of respondents in most sub-Saharan African countries Gallup surveyed say their military is primarily loyal to the president, even in nations considered "free." WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After almost two decades of institutional reforms, political regimes across sub-Saharan Africa are shifting...

A Portrait of Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa; Before price hikes, many often went without enough to eat in past year.
Byline: Julie Ray Synopsis: Gallup Polls in 29 sub-Saharan African countries reveal how often residents went without enough to eat before the recent food price hikes. A median of a third (33%) of residents said they had gone without enough to eat several times or more in...

CFA: the grip France won't let go.
The economic hold that France still has on its former African colonies is summed up in the currency it created for them in 1945 called the CFA franc. CFA stands for Communaute Financiere de l'Afrique. And the tale of this currency is extraordinarily mind-numbing! Here, Regina Jere Malanda kicks...

The country's former president, Mr. Arge Felix Patasse and three associates have been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor for misappropriating $20bn CFA Francs (about $39m) during his tenure.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: The country's former president, Mr. Arge Felix Patasse and three associates have been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor for misappropriating $20bn CFA Francs (about $39m) during his tenure. The other associates; Mr. Lucas Sanchez, a French citizen would refund 6m CFA Francs ($11,718.00...

AU's new policy shift.
I read with great interest the article: AU: From non-interference to non-indifference (NA, March). Despite Prof Alpha Konare's championing a new policy, it has to be said that the record of the African Union so far indicates that it has hardly lived up to its potential in the field...

Analyze the maps.
1. According to the map, which Darfur city had no restrictions on access for humanitarian workers in 2007? (A) Geneina (B) Kas (C) Nyala 2. Which statement about humanitarian access to northern Darfur along the Chad border is false? (A) The restricted area...

Antsy in Madagascar: a bushwhacking biologist unearths six-legged vampires, cannibals, and silk weavers in his quest to bring every ant to the planet into your home.
In the bleak hour before dawn in southeastern Madagascar, biologist Brian Fisher and a team of five field assistants stand outside a grand, but at this moment lifeless, French colonial railroad station. The passenger train will not be running today, due to some quirk of developing-world travel. When the...

At the crossroads.
In two years time, Cameroon will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence. Those with long memories will recall that Cameroon became a nation in January 1960 amid a great deal of uncertainty--under new leadership in the capital Yaounde on one hand, and a civil conflict rumbling in...

Fathers' and mothers' reports of involvement in caring for infants in Kadazan families in Sabah, Malaysia.
To further examine culture-specific patterns of paternal involvement in childcare, assessments were made of fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their involvement in caring for and stimulating infants in 41 urban Kadazan families in Sabah, Malaysia. Mothers exceeded fathers in the amount of time they spent in cleaning, feeding, and...

Value of regional organizations peace-making, peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.
In the past two decades, the United Nations (UN) has been assisted in peace-making, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts by regional organizations. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently recognized the role of these regional organizations, describing their engagement in the peace promotion efforts as stronger and...